Bridlington & Wolds Scale Model Club Forum
Models => Modelling Projects => Topic started by: Wizzel on June 10, 2016, 05:47:29 PM
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Hot on the heels of the Lavochkin LA5 FN, I'm keeping up the momentum and am just about ready to start on my next aviation project - there is also a maritime thing I'm busting to get stuck into as well but more of that on an other thread. I thought I'd tease you all a bit first though and test you knowledge. So to begin...
This is not a mainstream aircraft so hopefully you won't get it easily. It first flew in 1936, was accepted into general service two years later. It was produced during 1938 and 39 and was retired in 1944. It saw combat from 4th September 1939 onwards. There were only 11 produced of the version I'm building here including the first prototype. It was used by two main airforces and some were captured and used by the enemy.
The kit itself (I'm keeping the manufacturer a secret for now) is very reasonably priced for what it is. In terms of quality and detail I would rate it somewhere between Frog and Heller. There's plenty of flash to clean up, some ejector pin marks in the most inconvenient places and the sprue gates are quite thick. That said, I enjoy dealing with these issues as I see myself as an aspiring modeller rather than an assembler!
My first task will be to sand down the raised panel lines and scribe them back in as recessed as I have decided I will try and learn a new skill with each new build. Cunningly, I have a second kit which is ALMOST identical (different version with only one significant difference) that I can use as a template for the scribing. Obviously if this goes to plan, when building the second kit, I can follow on by using the first kit as my template.
Anyway, some pictures which I hope won't give too much away for now. I hope you enjoy seeing this come together and that it takes much less than 3 years!
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Hi Wizzel,
Could it be the Polish Bomber commonly know as 'Los' or 'Elk' in English. Twin engine, twin tailed, used by the Germans and the Czechs??
Bigkev
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Crikey Kev, you're far too good at this game - it is indeed, well done. I made the fatal Army instructor mistake of "assuming zero knowledge". The little research I've done and the kit markings would have it that it was the Romanians, rather than the Czechs who were the other main users but I shall be building it in Polish markings anyway. I have both the A and B version, the significant difference being single and twin tail fins respectively and I plan to build both in tandem with any mistakes in kit A hopefully not being repeated in kit B which, logically, should be of a slightly higher standard. Mmmmm!
The A is under the very early stages of construction as you read this, having had a rough rub down to remove raised panel lines and I've just started filling the ejector pin holes with Vallejo liquid putty so far tonight but I can report that the manufacturer is Mister Craft. The plastic is quite soft and so easy to work with on the bits I have done so far. I'm taking time cleaning all the bits up first with constant dry fitting and plenty of forward planning to see if there are issues such as potential steps between the nose glazing and fuselage that I can do something about before I have sub-assemblies that don't fit as well as they could have with a bit of work. A few photographs of the parts just to satisfy those who prefer pictures to words are attached.
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Pictures will follow but an update on this so you know I've not lost interest:
Outer surfaces have been given a rough smooth down then checked and finished properly ready for re-scribing. Sink holes inside the fuselage that would be visible through the glazing have been filled and sanded and the interior sprayed silver, as has the flight deck, bomb aimer's area and wheel housings under the engine nacelles. Painting of the interior detail commences tonight then it will be time to join the fuselage. I thought the fuselage was going to be about 1mm narrower than the nose glazing at first which would have meant plasticard shims in between the forward fuselage halves to widen it slightly but once the mating edges of the nose and glazing were cleaned up so they sit nicely together, it seems to be a good match.
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Some small progress to date. The interior is painted, installed and the fuselage stuck together. As you can see, the joints are not spectacular so tonight they will be cleaned up and filled where necessary ready for the panel lines to be scribed in - my first attempt at such a thing. Engine components have been given a first undercoat and they will be assembled tonight. There was lots of cleaning up required, particularly on the propeller blades but it was enjoyable al the same. Also on the bill for tonight is starting work on the flaps. As they are moulded into the upper wing section, my only option is to carve them away completely and make new ones out of plasticard which I am looking forward to. I'm also going to clean up the nose glazing and cockpit then give is a good dip or two in Klear ready for masking. Pictures of this forthcoming work will follow in due course.
As I am currently without a laptop - the motherboard failed and as I've just forked out for a new washing machine and fridge freezer, IT is a low priority - I can only get online at work so will update you as and when I can but be assured, work is progressing nicely on this kit despite all the faults.
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Nice to see a burst of activity.
Haddock.
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In between tending my crops at the allotment, learning the bass lines for 30 songs for the band I'm joining and hand washing the laundry (new washing machine being delivered tomorrow), I have found a few hours spare to lavish on the PZL. As I am putting the flaps in the lowered position and they are moulded into the top half of the wing, the process was a bit more complicated than the Lavochkin. First I had to grind and sand away the existing flaps and clean up the inside of the wing then I had to cut out new flaps from plasticard to fit the gap and sand them to profile. Easy for them with the experience but it's the first time I've ventured into major surgery so it took some courage to make a start. Anyhow, tis done as far as removing the old flaps with the exception of a little smoothing on the underside of the top wing. The shape of the new flaps have been cut out and just need sanding to profile then I can start putting the major assemblies together. It's still a little rough and ready still but I'm still learning as I go so I'm not overly concerned. I know I'll be pleased with the end result. Pictures attached as evidence!
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Hi Wizzel,
A thumbs up from me on this one. Nice to see you putting in extra detail on a kit. Well done!
Look forward to seeing it progress.
Bigkev
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Since the last post I've made some progress - the fuselage has been filled, sanded & primed. Priming revealed that a little more filler was required and this has now been sanded down again. More primer will follow this evening which will hopefully reveal a clean join ready for panel line scribing.
The wing halves are together and the joins cleaned up.
The tail section is moulded as a separate unit to allow both versions to be made from the same kit (the differences being with single or twin fin). For the A version, this involves cutting off the upper tail cone from the top section as this part is also moulded as part of the fin assembly. This is great for me as it's testing my surgical skills and I have to say I am enjoying 'converting' this kit immensely. It's not that hard after all is it? There is also a need to adjust the fit of the connection between the tail and the fuselage and I mulled over either sanding down the projection at the back of the fuselage or thinning the inside walls of the tail cone. In the end, I opted for the latter as the plastic was thick enough to allow this. It still needs cleaning up but you get a rough idea from the pictures.
I'll be continuing this next week as the Hull Model Show will keep me busy this weekend but I imagine once this is cleaned up, things will progress fairly quickly as all the major components will be ready to assemble.
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Good stuff Dave, even the small ads to read as well.
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Hi Wizzel,
Nice to see you are getting to grips with this model. It'll be nice to see once it is finished.
Keep plugging away chum, you've got this one under control.
Bigkev
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Inbetween setting up and running the HVSC Model Show this weekend, I managed to take BigKev's advice and do a bit more plugging away at the PZL. I managed to plug up the back end in fact by getting the tail on. This was no mean feat as the structure meant a lot of carving to get it to sit right and as a result, plenty of filling and sanding will be needed. There was a time when I would have hidden from such a task but now I'm really looking forward to the challenge. I glued the bottom half of the tail-cone on first. This had the horizontal stabilisers fitted so I could make sure to get them level before working on the top half of the tail-cone and fin. Superglue held it on a treat, firm enough for me to carve the sides of the lower cone so that the top half would sit flush with the top of the fuselage. Big gaps at this stage but I'll fill these with a mix of Squadron Green Putty mixed with Revell liquid poly. This makes the putty a lot more compliant and it also sets much harder, making the finish smoother and easier to sand, particularly in awkward areas. Pictures of this when I get that far but for now, that tail section...
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Hi Wizzel,
Nice to see it coming along and interesting to hear about the Green Stuff and Liquid Poly, must try that one.
I think 'tail' end or 'rear' might have been a better (more appropriate) description.............................
Bigkev
I got me thesaurus out and chose "back".
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The tail section is now in place. The horribly large gaps have now been filled - whether they could have been made smaller with more careful surgery, I have no idea but a concoction of aforementioned Squadron Green Putty and Revell liquid poly did the trick. This mix works very well for me as I find that the putty on its own is a little too inflexible and dries quicker than I can apply it effectively. The poly not only thins it down (and you can control the viscosity by putting more or less poly in) and makes it easier to fill gaps with but slows down the setting time AND ensures it dries very hard so is much easier to sand to profile. This was a tip passed to me from one of the Havixbeck Model Club members.
Once the mix had dried overnight, I gave it a good sand down and then applied Mr Surfacer 500 to any obvious areas that I had missed with the putty/poly mix and when dry, rubbed it down and gave it a blast with primer. As you can see, there are still a few small blemishes that need attention but that's the whole point of the exercise isn't it! On the whole, I am pleased with how the tail looks, particularly as when dry fitting it throughout the build I know what it WAS like at the start. Again, this process serves to boost my confidence in my modelling. I am hoping that this will be finished in time to be brought to the club meeting in August and that the version B, with the twin tail, well under way.
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Great work, it is all in the detail.
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Like most of you, I've been busy with other stuff; allotment and garden projects for me when I'm not at work, but I've still managed to get some bench time of an evening. The PZL is about ready to go together now; I have the tail section on and am happy with the finish. The wing tips had some awful gaps between the upper and lower sections which I filled with my green putty/liquid poly combination - a picture of before and after sanding attached for you and although the finish looks rough in the picture, I have now primed it and it's spot on (battery ran out, hence no picture of the primed wing yet).
So tonight, the wings go on and I can then start to assemble the undercart and mask off (some of) the extensive glazing with bare metal foil. Pictures of that to follow. I also decided that at 1/72 scale, recessed panel lines could be a bit of a waste of effort and out of scale so I'm going to do what Barry Ketley did and put them on with pencil. I had a quick trial over the primer on the fuselage and was very pleased with the look of it. It'll also save me running thinned paint along them later on I reckon. If it all goes pear shaped, remember I have the 'B' to try something else with.
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Hi Wizzel,
Nice to see the PZL coming along. Like the idea of Green Stuff and liquid poly, which I've yet to try.
Also I didn't realise the panel lines were done in pencil on Barry Ketley's models, now that's a new one on me, and I look forward to seeing it on yours. Bring it on.
Cheers,
Bigkev
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Thanks Kev, it seems to work very well for me and I've always had problems working with just the putty on its own so this is the way ahead.
Anyway, my plans fell a little short yesterday as I was stung in the eye by a nettle so modelling was on hold. his morning before work however, I got the wings on! The starboard wing was set a little lower than the port and didn't fit right into against the fuselage fillets so I had to slice away a little at the top of the opening to correct that - something I would have ran away from not too long ago. Wings on and tonight's plan is to get the seams filled and sanded ready for priming. There looks to be a bit of a step on the inside of the port engine that needs attention too, now I've seen the photographs. Funny how they show up every little fault that the naked eye misses - whether it's un-stung or otherwise...
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Lookin' good, nice to see it all square and level.
Haddock.
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It took a bit of work to get it that way Haddock, but it was something I enjoyed putting the work into to achieve. "Lots of fettling required" I think is the official term?
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After a rather lengthy break, I am back on with this. The reason for the break was the usual stumbling block which I have finally got the confidence to proceed with. To explain. The nose glazing had some very lightly inscribed framework on which I felt would be difficult to mask off or paint freehand so hit upon the bright idea of sanding it off completely, polishing the glazing and the working out how to put the framing back on. The sanding and polishing went well and after a dip or two in Johnson's, the nose was ready to have the faming reinstated BUT, how to do this?
Well, at first, I had a break of about 8 months to think about it, then considered my options. As I had by now intended to spray the aircraft, the framing really needed to be sprayed too as the paint I am using is ready thinned for spraying and is not easily brush painted, so I could:
1. Make the framing out of sprayed Tamiya tape or sticky label, cut it into strips and stuck on. I disregarded option 1 almost immediately as I felt the medium would be too thick and I would have prominent 'bumps' where the tape crossed over at junctions, plus it would not conform to the curves on the glazing easily.
2. Make the framework out of sprayed bare metal foil cut into thin strips and stuck onto the glazing. I have used this before and knew it would be thin enough and easy to apply to the curves of the glazing BUT would it take and hold the paint?
3. I could cover the whole nose in bare metal foil and cut the framework out, effectively making my own mask, then spray the nose, peeling the foil mask off once the whole thing had been sprayed and finished.
Option 3 sounded like a lot of fiddly work so I decided to give option 2 a go. Accordingly, I sprayed a strip of foil, gave it a coat or 2 of Johnsons to seal it and then some matt varnish. Once completely dry, I put a new blade in my knife and had a go at cutting thin strips. There was a bit of 'silvering at the edges and when 'burnishing' the foil onto the nose with a cocktail stick rubbed smooth with 1200 grit wet 'n' dry (the slightest little lump, bump or splinter will tear the foil), the paint sadly didn't hold too well. Although it would be a grand way of doing a very well weathered nose glazing, this was not what I wanted to achieve so it was option 2 then.
Tonight, I bit the bullet, covered the nose in foil and began the painstaking process of slowly cutting away the strips that would make up the framework, first marking the rough lines in with pencil. TO MY SURPRISE, I thoroughly enjoyed the process. Taking it nice and steady and gradually getting each 'frame' to the correct thickness, I sliced and pared away minute strips of the foil, burnishing the edges back down once I had taken enough off. It will take another couple of nights before I am done but at last I am making progress and have discovered another thing I can do! So as not to waste the foil, I used the rest of the strip I had sprayed and filled in the areas it did not cover with 'raw' foil. I hope you can see the results of my work and also the heavy chipping effect of my experiment.
Hopefully it may inspire some of you who have not used the foil before to pluck up the courage and have a go. It's wonderful stuff and I really don't know why I've been such a baby about it.
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Keep it coming Wizzel
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A little more progress. I'm getting more confident with cutting the framework and though it's far from perfect yet, it's certainly good practice and you may remember the kit was only a few quid anyway so I'm losing nowt but gaining a lot if it all goes wrong.
There are a few sections of the nose glazing that are not quite right but I reckon I can sort that out by covering and re-cutting those small sections as the foil is that conformist. The glazing HAD to be fixed to the plane at some stage so I decided to pass the point of no return and get it done. This also involved fixing the Lewis gun in place first and I thought there being less chance of damage if I was just very careful rather than to cut off the barrel and fix it back afterwards where it was bound to sag or just drop off into the carpet 2 minutes later.
The cockpit glazing I decided to fit PRIOR to covering with foil and then cut the framework in situ. It's going okay. Again not perfect but I'm enjoying it.
The fit of the glazing is not perfect on either pieces - the nose glazing sits slightly high on the underside so I will be taking a sanding stick to the belly to remove the slight step. The cockpit canopy broke the seal of the fuselage halves in between it and the nose glazing so again, I have a small step to fill and re-sand to profile. GOOD PRACTICE. I fixed the glazings in place with wood glue which hopefully will be strong enough to keep them secure but not mess up the transparency. There is a little cleaning up to do around the edges but that's for another day.
A couple of pictures are attached so you can see my somewhat clumsy efforts so far.
Oh, don't worry about the messy finish on the aircraft so far, I have been practicing airbrushing on it. So far, it's had coats of panzer grey, flat coat (accidental winter finish!), rubber black, dark earth and light sand! It'll get rubbed down a bit before the silver goes on.
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It is good to see that you are willing to experiment, learn and share your experiences with us. Thank you.
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Hi Wizzel,
Fully agree with Kiteman, its nice to see what you have done and your efforts to get a good result.
I'm watching this one closely.
Bigkev
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smooth Wizzel, very smooth. Nice one.