Salmson 2-A2 (1/32, Wingnut Wings)

[PrzemoL]

Thank you, everybody. I am glad my build has so many faithful followers 

Stefan, I used kit seatbelts, opting for the waist version, not the four point harness. It is my 8th WNW kit, so I have already learned, that their PE elements are very stiff and cry for annealing before handling them. After a session in a flame of my kitchen cooker they subdued nicely to gentle bending to the seat shape. Then a CDL colour (I did not fancy that funny WNW idea of light green belts) airbrushed on, some silver paint on the clamps, a brown wash, a varnish and... done.

[lcarroll]

..............and another question Prze, if I may, your painting is always so clean and realistic, ........What type of paint do you use?
Cheers,
Lance

[radio]

A very pretty start.
Martin

[Ernie]

Just getting caught up, Prze. I have always admired your
work in the teeny scale, but in something this big, your
talents are really shining!   The woodwork is beautiful and
what a great job on the interior rigging.  This build is going to
be a joy to follow.

Cheers,
Ernie

[Adam]

Yours woodwork, as usual, is great and realistic.

Adam.

[PrzemoL]

Thank you, gentlemen.

Lance, I use acrylic paints, mostly Pactra, also more and more Vallejo, and metallic colours are from old Citadel range.

The last photo before the fuselage got closed.




Now the fuselage halves are glued together. My view here differs much from Chris' opinion - I will have to do a noticable amount of filling and sanding, especially on the bottom side. There may not be a slot but a groove is there, due to slight tapering of the plastic along the edges. Some photos will come later.

[stefanbuss]

My view here differs much from Chris' opinion - I will have to do a noticable amount of filling and sanding, especially on the bottom side.

That is interesting - I doubt there are differences in the molds, so the difference has to come from the way both Chris and you worked on the kits (the difference has to come from somehwere, right?). I hope there won't be a heavy impact wrt to misalignment of wings etc., during later stages.

Stefan

[PrzemoL]

Stefan, I do not think this will result in any misalignment. There areno gaps or slots, I only notice uneven surface, a groove along the joint which I will fill flush with the surface. I must admit, I have always problems with gluing fuselage halves, i.e. applying the glue along longish mating surfaces. Even in the kits so nicely engineered as WNW ones I am almost always working with filler along the joints.

[Michael Scarborough]

This is really a joy to follow, Prze, and the suggestions and techniques mentioned are so helpful. Thanks for explaining the blue.

I have plans to do an Otsu but that is well down the line. Your and Chris' builds will definitely be both inspirational and helpful.

Thanks for sharing!

Cheers from NYC,
Michael

[RAGIII]

Stefan, I do not think this will result in any misalignment. There areno gaps or slots, I only notice uneven surface, a groove along the joint which I will fill flush with the surface. I must admit, I have always problems with gluing fuselage halves, i.e. applying the glue along longish mating surfaces. Even in the kits so nicely engineered as WNW ones I am almost always working with filler along the joints.

Prez,
First your interior is terrific as always! The clean and crisp construction, bracing wires, and painting are Very Impressive! As for the troubles with fuselage seams I too tend to struggle with my construction. Seems the molds are always off leaving the bottom right higher and the upper left higher  Actually WNW has almost eliminated that issue for me but I still struggle with Roden and others.
RAGIII

[radio]

Like Rick interior is terrefic.
Martin

[Chris Johnson]

WOW! What a beautiful job you're doing here Prez. I've been a bit remiss in visiting the forum for past couple of weeks and I missed the start of your build log but I have it bookmarked now and will be following along to see how this kit should really be built. I think I'll hold back on mine to reap the benefit of your build. I don't know why this aircraft doesn't get much love compared to other two seaters when she's so much more graceful looking.

Cheers,

Chris

[PrzemoL]

Thank you, everybody. For watching and kind words.

Chris, I am flattered. And quite undeservedly. It is your build that I would like to follow. So do not pause it, please. 

I have done some modelling on my Salmson, though.
First of all, the decking is on. Again, I had some troubles with the joint, a little bit of delicate sanding was required. Doing this I had to sacrifice some fine rivet details, which I redid by drilling small holes which will get wash later on. I hope it will give enough impression of the lost rivets.





The front of the firewall got some dirt, however not much of it will be seen in my concept of engine opening - I will most probably leave the thin covers along the engine off. Thus, I plan to make the rigging in the bay right behind the engine, which may just be seen through the removed side panels. The eyelets for this are already there, just visible here.




Then was the Salmson 9z turn. The kit version of the 9 cylinder star is built from two halves with the seam line along all the cylinders - finely visible when viewed through the removed side panels. It was tricky to hide it, I tried to glue the halves as clean as possible, then used very liquid Tamiya glue pouring it along the seam at few locations where there was a gap, then some fine sanding was done which luckily did not spoil too much of the surface the detail. The final effect is quite satisfactory, though the macro photography here is merciless. Especially for the engine bearer, which like the engine has to be built from two halves. In the real life the seam is almost invisible, here in the photo - quite opposite... 





As you may just notice, I have added the electric wires - at the back from mags, and in the front - to the spark plugs. I also plan to add two fuel lines which (as far as I can make from the photos) run under the left upper longeron, then down along the bearer somewhere to the carburettor at the bottom of the engine. But this only after the engine jumps on its place.


Also the radiator with open shutters is ready to be installed.




More to come soon.

[RAGIII]

Prez,
stunning and Brilliant work on your engine and radiator!
RAGIII

[stefanbuss]

Yes, macro-photography can be merciless - but I think that your engine looks really convincing. I like the amount of dirt and grime you applied.

Stefan