Be12b conversion

[DaddyO]

Cheers Tim - they should look okay under a coat of paint.

Well I should have been working really the last couple of days, but wanted to get stuck into this one so took some time off and plenty of progress was made with no interruptions from outside 

First up struts. These are made in my now usual way of sanding down brass wire to a flattened strip and then shaping. I've left the cabanes overlong at this stage and they all need a good polish before spraying with an etch primer (from a rattle can)

Be12b struts by Paul S, on Flickr

Those who looked really closely at the proposed nose swap photo in an earlier post may have noticed a slight issue - The manifold cowls on this one overlap the nose cone very slightly rather than being set back from it as on the Roden Se5a parts. Looking at the photo's this is quite obvious; combined with a few other detail differences (slots under nose and shuttering layout) it meant the original nose swap wouldn't have been quite accurate. Should I care? Sadly I'm afraid so which meant a new plan was needed for the nose on this one 

Strips and blocks of plastic were glued inside the abbreviated nose section and this was set aside to dry when I was happy everything was square. You may also notice the modification to the front of the cockpit opening which was incorrect for this one and the shaped scrap of sprue used for the headrest as well as plenty of filler to build up the general shape. Difficult to see at this angle, but I've also added a few wrinkles to the fabric of the fuselage sides using a drill. So no work done, but plenty of modelling stuff sorted out (While I was making dust I also made a start on a 'background' secret project posted elsewhere . . .

Be12b fuselage by Paul S, on Flickr

[NigelR]

I applaud your attention to accuracy and look forward to seeing how you address the challenge of the new nose......

[DaddyO]

I applaud your attention to accuracy and look forward to seeing how you address the challenge of the new nose......

Cheers Nigel
Would anyone have noticed? Perhaps not, but I'd known and it would have really bugged me every time I looked at it. Thus, once again, I managed to drag a slightly more involved conversion from a nice simple one 

[DaddyO]

Although not always fitted I quite liked the extra tank fitted under the top wing. Not having any suitable drop tank or similar to modify I resorted to a more drastic solution 

Enter stage left an old Historex horses head; nice plastic just not quite the shape I was after still a quick razor saw and sanding session later and we have a passable tank

Be12b tank


The vents under nose were next since the Roden kit part in my boxing showed two rows of vents rather than the single row on this one that meant getting creative with drill, file and a couple of layers of plastic card sandwiched together

Be12b vents

[macsporran]

Just caught up with this, Paul. Great stuff.
I laughed when I read your initial comments about a nice easy conversion! Sure enough AMS has of course taken over!

Love your attention to detail.
Will continue with interest.
Sandy

[DaddyO]

Just caught up with this, Paul. Great stuff.
I laughed when I read your initial comments about a nice easy conversion! Sure enough AMS has of course taken over!

Love your attention to detail.
Will continue with interest.
Sandy

Hi Sandy, thanks for that mate 
Part of the reason that I'm drawn to older kits and conversions is the challenge, but I always forget to take into account that better references also mean more reasons to add work - ah well onwards and upwards as they say . . .

[NigelR]

The plastic horse's head mafia strikes! That is innovative scratchbuilding...... More excellent model engineering here.

[DaddyO]

The plastic horse's head mafia strikes! That is innovative scratchbuilding...... More excellent model engineering here.

LOL. Cheers Nigel 

Bit of time over the weekend meant I was able to push forward with the new nose. I added some sheet sides and top over the previous internal structure and sanded down so now I have a lovely smooth nose that just lacks a 'few' details 

Be12b new nose 2, on Flickr

Mix of Miliput (white) and Mr Surfacer 500 (grey) was used to refine and get rid of any minor gaps at the joins and whilst that was drying I added a few wrinkles to the fabric sides at the rear of the fuselage. All the Be12b photo's that I've studied seem to show quite extensive wrinkling of these areas possibly because of their nocturnal flying or maybe they all had a really hard life. Anyway I thought I needed something there rather than just flat sides so I further refined my earlier subtle attempts using a Dremel with a round bur and then finished them with a bit with sandpaper.

You might also spot that the original position for the front cabane appears too far back; looking at photos it appears to be right on the join of the new cowl. I'm not entirely sure whether the new engine was heavier and thus needed a slight tweak in the upper wing position to retain the CofG or if the plan is wrong, the original kit isn't quite right or (more likely) a combination of all three. Anyway I'll address this later so the front strut position matches the photos.

Be12b new nose , on Flickr


Lastly I was worried about how I was going to create the staggered cooling scoops which are a prominent part of this ones cowl. Turns out after a few false starts that they weren't too difficult 

Here's the first one I made once I'd sorted out a method that worked for me

Be12b vent prototype , on Flickr

I cut a strip of plastic card the width of the scoop and sanded off the corner on one long edge gradually creating the back taper of the scoop along the whole length of the strip. Next I trimmed and sanded this end of the strip to give one half of the curved back edge and blended the new curve in. When I was happy with this I cut it off to the appropriate length of the scoop and repeated the cutting/sanding to get the other side of the curved back edge (This was much easier to write than actually do and resulted in a few pinging off never to be found again)
All that was needed were three pairs of slightly differing lengths 

Be12b vents 2 , on Flickr

[AngryJazz]

Very nice work! Shaping up nicely 

[NigelR]

Superb carving work there! The nose job looks great.

[DaddyO]

Thanks Ben and Nigel 

Currently carving a new set of manifolds from sprue which is an interesting exercise. pics later
Paul

[DaddyO]

As promised here are the new manifolds carved from sprue together with a dash for the cockpit (still need to detail and add a seat, control column etc. to that)

BE12b Manifolds and dashboard , on Flickr

Adding a splash of paint to the dashboard brings it to life a bit 

Be12b dashboard , on Flickr

[enathan]

Look like your BE12b is low on fuel Paul 
Looking great!

[DaddyO]

Look like your BE12b is low on fuel Paul 
Looking great!

LOL - Nice to see you're paying very close attention to the build mate 

[Flute]

Watching raptly, when I can. I've stopped commenting again because every few days I get prevented by Clodflare from accessing the site, for a week or more.

t'Other Paul.