Kustenfliegergruppe 406, Coastal Aviation Group 406, was formed in April and July 1937 and went through several designations before 1/Ku.Fl.Gr. 406 reformed from 2/Ku.Fl.Gr. 506 on 22.10.39, disbanding in 10.44 at Hommelvik, Norway. 2/406 is listed as forming in 1937 before becoming 3/SAGr 130, Sea Reconnaisance Group 130, on 13.7.43. The latter being the inspiration for this 'Gruppe' build.
My Supermodel kit of the Bv 138 used by 2/406 dates from 1983 and has markings for an aircraft in March 1942 when it was based in Trondheim. Coming in an open ending tray box with painting and marking options on the back and build instructions giving the history in four languages it includes four grey sprues of plastice plus one clear and the decals. I did some initial work on this kit several years back and at that time was going to build the mine de-gauzing option but as I now have a He 115 in my stash as used by 1/406 that plan got shelved. The decals applied to the radios and console at that time had started to curl so had to be held back with superglue. This was followed by repainting the darkened painted parts Humbrol RLM 02.
Another wiered one Chris - GREAT
Aha, the flying clog takes to the bench.
Always found this an interesting aircraft. Will be watching with interest.
Kevin
Another interesting aircraft Chris.
Yes Martin it's a(nother) weird one. The hull shape betrays Blohm un Voss' origins as shipbuilders so does it count in your book? Officially named 'Seedrache' (Sea dragon) it was called by the less flattering name of 'Der Fliegender Holzsch' (The Flying Clog) as you so rightly point out Kev.
The turrets need to be built and painted so they can be trapped in place when joining the fuselage halves, unfortunately the frames are indistinct in places and so some 2nd guessing is going on plus they're moulded in two clear havles which means the join has to be disguised as best as. So far I haven't found a clear photo or diagram on the internet for these but I'll keep looking. One on line build says you can see into the fuselage from the rear upper turret so I've made a bulkhead to block this off. The radio operators floor and seat don't have definite positions below the seat so this is a best guess.
Coming along nicely Chris.
Looking at the Revell instructions of the re-box of this kit it appears there is no frame at the reverse of the turrets where the join is. As this is not the easiest of joins to remove I'm going to live with the fact that I've tried to disguise it. There is a set of vacform turrets available but then that asks the question how do you fit the cannons without a major rebuild? The next tricky step regarding the turrets is getting them into place whilst joining the fuselage halves together. The upper open turret has been glued into place to make this a two step problem not a three. I started by putting the front turret in and then glueing so far along the fuselage, during which I had to remove the instrument console and reaffix to get a good join. When this was something like I did the same with the rear turret before running glue into any gaps and then bringing them together with elastic bands and clamps.
Earlier on whilst waiting for the turret framework paint to dry I'd started work on the beaching trolley cleaning up mould seams and sanding joints. This was put together using Humbrol tube cement to give a firm bond followed by PlastWeld. To ensure a 'square' frame I initially used a sanding block as a jig followed by the cutting mat lines.
Gun turrets moulded in parts have always been difficult to master.
Looks like you are getting there though.
Keep at it.
Kevin
Nice progress Chris.
With the fuselage halves joined the main canopy was test fitted which showed that the instrument console didn't allow it to sit properly. A bad fitment has been mentioned online so it was removed, a couple of times!!!, and carved and sanded to try to get a better fit, as was the canopy part. Not quite there yet but....... The outer engine intakes are just blank plates and the inner had a join line that would be difficult to hide so some etch brass mess was cut to size and fitted to give some detail. The tailboom to wing joints have had to be filled with Squadron putty as they fit to a greater or lesser degree. Whilst waiting for things to set/cure I finished the beaching trolley apart from the tow bar.
Nice work Chris.
The tail booms have been made up and attached to the wings. These are not a great fit, one in particular needing a lot of coaxing and filler. The small intakes which go on each engine had blank faces so these have been drilled to give some detail.
Whilst waiting for sections of the 138 to dry etc. I started work on the Heinkel He 115. This is the 2012 Revell release of the original 1975 Matchbox moulding with an attempt to remove some of that info from one of the fuselage halves. The instructions are more up-to-date as are the decals. As the interior has next to no detail, a floor and two seats, I turned to the spares box and have used the resin parts from the cockpit of Kawasaki Ki-45 Kai 'Toryu'. Ok it's not accurate but it's better than a gapeing void. Other parts will also come from spares and bulkheads and floors from plastic card.
Plenty to keep you busy, or is that 'out of trouble'?
Watching with interest.
Kevin
Back to the 'Clog'. The wings and booms have been added to the fuselage, this took a lot of sanding and filler to look something like, followed by the elevators, rudders etc. When I came to fit the cockpit canopy I found that the instrument console still prevented it sitting correctly so it was 'gently' removed and sanded down until a good fit was achieved. The canopy was then masked with Tamiya tape and sponge. The area around the turrets had been brush painted RLM 73 Grun just in case I didn't get in correctly when airbrushing. These were then covered in Maskol. The undersides of the fuselage and floats along with the leading edges of the wings and propellers were brush painted Tamiya Dull Aluminium and once dry chipping fluid was applied. RLM (Humbrol) 65 Hellblau was then applied after having been thinned with Mr Color Levelling Thinner 400. I must have got the mix right as for once it didn't clog up the airbrush. Whilst I was away I trawled through the Help postings on here and read the comments re paint and thinners, which were useful, but as I didn't have any Humbrol thinners I resorted to the 400 which did the trick. The propellers and spinners have been brush painted Xtracrylix RLM 70 Scwarzgrun.
I spoke to soon. Unlike Kevin my next attempt at thinning using the Humbrol acrylics ended in failure and meant an hour or so of cleaning the airbrush at a later date!!!!! So it was back to the hairy stick. Firstly RLM 73 was applied and once dry this was masked ready for the RLM 72 which is the darker of the two greens. Has anyone else noticed that at times side and plan profiles for the painting guides don't match up? This caused a bit of frustration in the area of the middle engine. Once dry the masking was removed and because I'd used the hairy stick there were some ridges to be removed using one of Tracy's old nail buffers. Some touching up of the paintwork is needed in places before I can varnish ready for decalling.
Hi Chris,
Got to admit that you've had a battle with this one. Not sure what went wrong with the spraying, but it looks okay with the 'hairy stick'
Modelling isn't a clear cut science, sometimes you have to adapt your approach which you have done in style.
Watching the final run to completion.
Cheers,
Kevin
It's keeping you busy Chris certainly.
After a coat of Klear the kit decals were applied with swastikas from Xtradecal for a machine of 2/Ku.Fl.Gr. 406 operating out of Tromso Norway in 1942. Despite using Set and Sol there was still a little silvering to be fettled as best as. All the small bits that could fall off or break, some did whilst cutting from the sprues. I blame the heavy connection points, these were repaired, and it was on with a coat of Acrylic Satin varnish after some weathering. Once dry the masking was removed and a little touching up followed to rectify bleed through. The tow bar for the beaching trolley was added, this is supposed to fit into holes in the frame but the lugs were over size so I just superglued it to the frame. Not a silk purse from a sow's ear but it looks like a 'Clog' so I'm happy.
Well Done Chris.
You have made a good job of this one despite it giving you problems all the way. It certainly looks like a 'Clog' that has seen active service.
Nice work and a thumbs up from me!
Kevin
And thumbs up from me Chris, very nice.
Looking good.
Thanks everyone. I got the wrong T in my rush to post it was based at Trondheim not Tromso, doh!!!!!!
A very interesting looking aircraft.
Well done Chris.
Back to the He 115: The fuselage was joined up after some trimming of parts then the wings and tailplanes were added along with the engine cowlings which were attached with Mastik to simplify masking. The floats were also made at the same time then it was out with the primer followed by matt aluminium and then chipping fluid in places. After masking the fuselage openings it was time for my airbrushes to be defeated by the Humbrol artexes yet again so once more it was out with the hairy stick. RLM 04 Yellow was applied to the wingtips and once dry it was also masked and RLM 65 Lichtblau applied to the undersurfaces. Lots more masking and it was the turn of RLM 72 and 73 for the upper surfaces. In hindsight I should have fitted the nose glazing to each half of the fuselage before joining it up as it took a lot of work to get it in place and things got even worse when I went to fit the upper decking. This was shorter than the location point and the glazing had a short shot at the rear which isn't apparent in the photo. A combination of PPP and Glue and Glaze have been used to start filling the gaps but more work will be required. It appears that when Revell took over the Matchbox moulds they didn't tidy them up or make corrections, strange as they went overboard on the decals.
Sounds like another labour of love Chris
Just think about the FUN you are having - hohhoho
Yes the fun continued with filling the gap and blending it in then fitting the nose section followed by the main canopy which also took a bit of work to get settled in properly. Then it was on to the floats. Much nautical language and several attempts later I got them to fit, the locating points were opened to help but the orientation of the smaller struts wasn't clear and had to be worked out. Despite sanding the mating surfaces the main struts still didn't sit correctly so it was out with the PPP and they were blended in. Once dry it was time to touch up the paintwork. Work will now be on hold as we're off to Ku.Fl.Gr.406's hunting grounds for two weeks from Wednesday.
Enjoy your trip.
Have a great time
Looking good Chris. Have a good trip.
Thanks guys, Svalbard and Norway were fantastic but it was back to reality with the build. As per recent Revell kits the decals are excellent, the problem arises when you come to apply them as the panel lines on the instructions aren't on the kit so much deliberation was made as to where to put them, bin excluded. I should have known better as I've had this problem with other Revell kits. Being honest some turned out to be slightly out of position when checked against further references. Memo to self DO THIS FIRST!!!! Hakenkreuz came from the Xtradecal set. Once they were on the fiddly bits like mass balances were added but I had to make a new aerial mast as the original snapped when I was taking it off the sprue. Not the first time this has happened either. Some weathering was done with Revell powders then it was on with a coat of Satin varnish before removing the masks, followed by initial paint touchups. I definitely haven't turned a sow's ear into a silk purse but tell myself the rough finish is because the plane has just come back from a long sortie over the Arctic Ocean.
As there is no beaching trolley included in the kit I bought the Kora resin one, the downsides are the instructions are the drawing shown in the photograph, so a lot more research needed, and the spacer stays and drawbars are the fine plastic in the photo, the former will definitely not hold their shape once the a/c is placed in the carriages, so brass rod will be used.
Done a nice job on this one Chris, despite its age.
Looks like it has been well used.
Will look good when you have got the beaching trolley done.
Kevin
Looks very nice Chris.