This Build is another slow paced event, must be the press of Spring time clean up duties and a fall of the "Modeling Mojo" index which I attribute to this seemingly endless Pandemic. There's also the nature of the Kit playing a part, there are many areas that I can't resist attempts to improve on or add detail to which further slows down progress. On the other hand it's an enjoyable project for certain.
The fuselage was weathered and the longeron locations accented using Tamiya Weathering Master pigments. I was pleased with the three dimensional look that resulted. Most of the reference photos show well worn and soiled finishes on these aircraft and the red metal areas, added as a recognition feature to hopefully prevent "friendly fire" incidents, was quickly chipped and marred by use. Here's the before weathering results:
........ and a few shots of the weathered fuselage:
side tape strips still in place......
....and the finished effect .....
As mentioned earlier the cane half round wood rib "tapes" were added using wood grain decal stock ......
Next came the double anchor points for the rigging and wing warping control wires which were made from salvaged copper wire. These will be filled and touched up in the final stages.
The empennage components were highlighted and the tiny PE Control Horns added, I found these PE components were very well made and fit beautifully.
The landing main frame was "pinned" with stainless wire and modified by opening up the axle slot, I'll add some scratched bungee later when the support brace has been installed. Here it is "posed" for the photo...... and before sub assembly.....
Last for this update the support frames for the rigging and flight control wires top and bottom seen here with the landing gear struts:
The upper support frame has a pulley to guide the wing warping control wires which is supplied in the Kit Resin Package. It is TINY! I spent hours trying to duplicate it in brass and styrene with no success which was a colossal waste of time. When I reverted back to the original one I was pleasantly surprised, it was beautifully molded and with the supplied PE mounting plate should be sufficiently strong enough to do the job. Kudos to whoever produced that little gem! Note the molding details here:
and the Number 11 blade for scale:
Now it's sit back and ponder the sequence for the rest of the Build; I'm thinking rig the wings, then assemble and rig the tail feathers before adding the landing gear and engine etc. Yes indeed, small parts count, mostly OOB, and a simple little model to relax with .........
Cheers,
Lance
