1/48 E-2C Hawkeye, Collect-Aire Models
Here is the resin wonder.
It's not a kit for the beginner, the usual things that come with resin, lots of air holes ranging in size from pin pricks right up to pea size.
The instructions look like they are from my daughters colouring book, but not as good!. Here's the kit parts.
As you can see, some very poor parts that will need a lot of attention and replacing.
I started with the cockpit.
It's not the best but as you won't be able to see much it will do.
OK, here was the first problem, the kit would have you fit the cockpit to far back but it's not, It goes up against the square on the side wall. In the next pic it shows it half done.
After a lot of playing with, and dry fitting, I painted the cockpit.
Next I had a look at the engines and they're not pretty either.
Well I finished the engine's. Re-shaped, re-scribed and livened it up with some plasticard.
Well the Aero bar as I call it is coming along. I call it an Aero because of all the bubbles just under the surface, which is a nightmare to re-scribe. You have only got to touch it and you have made a new hole to fill.
Oh well here's a few pics........
Just to show that you have to cut through 5mm of resin to get the wing roots in.
Here it is with the wing on to test the fit.
These two shots show the weight, I think it's going to be about a 1KG when done.
I have added more weight because I'm worried about it being a tail sitter.
Oh, did I mention that it is covered in holes. It's taken me a day to fill and re-scribe it all.
Well it's coming together, but the vac form canopy is a nightmare with little in the way of windows so I have had to work out where they are.
Finished off wet and drying the primer and getting the first two white coats on.
Now lots of masking for the light gull gray, black leading edges, walkways and metal finishes.
Dark Gull gray or XF-20 in my case, then the black leading edges and a coat of Future.
And here she is...........................and with over 75 grams of weight in the nose she is still a tail sitter!
With a all up weight of almost 1kg I'm worried about the very soft metal undercarriage bending under the weight.
Then I saw I had put the outer tail fins on upside down.
So I have just changed them over. not easy as I had pinned them in place with metal rods that I had to cut through.
Well decaling done, lots of problems there as the damn things shattered as soon as they got wet, even with a coat on micro film, they still had a habit of breaking up.
And here she is after a coat of future all ready for the wash, Oh and some weathering. 
The Promodellers wash on.................
and off
Well Peeps it's all done and finished.........and a Phantom.
I have to say, this has been the worse kit I have worked on in a long time but I'm very happy how it turned out.