Avia B-71 - ICM 1/72

[CedB]

Thanks Tony - not very often I see 'glories' and 'body' in the same sentence nowadays.

 

The last few days have been 'interesting'! I think I'm more or less un-sedated now, although I'm not sure I can tell the difference... I had a 'non-diet' day yesterday (white crusty bread - hooray!) on the excuse that I need to re-balance my body. I lost over three pounds during 'the fast and purge', which I suppose proves I'm not completely full of 'it', and only 1.8 has gone back on. That said, I wouldn't recommend this as a good way of losing weight! Actually I'm making a lot of typos... perhaps I'm still a bit dopey... 

 

Four days away from the bench (although not BM) so I've looked for easy things to do. I think it'll be easier to fit the ailerons with the wing halves joined so they're glued, clamped and drying:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Giorgio's idea of BluTak in the nacelles proved a great help:

 

 

and dry-fitting showed a blob in the mount that needs cleaning out:

 

Blob in the slot by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

It also showed that the exhausts and top fairing need to be there to ensure everything fits so exhausts were cut off, flash cleaned and Metal Iron applied:

 

 

 

 

I'll paint some rust on at the end of the painting. A dry fit of the wheels shows that none of the gear will show:

 

 

so the tyres have had some rubber black applied. I've also scaled and printed a diagram showing the towing gear:

 

 

What little reference shots I can find shows that this is 'hollow' in the middle through to the fuselage so I'm intending to cut two bits of strip with a brace in between, shaped (carefully) and stuck on the bottom of the fuselage to cover the gun mount hole. With a tiny little wheel at the end. Better make sure I'm not wobbly before I start that!

[giemme]

Nice progress, Ced   Looks like you've fully recovered  

 

Ciao

[bbudde]

That looks good Ced.  The first part with no fit problem? Hope that the wings join well, but iI would dry fit more than once on that area

Ps.: I studied law here in Münster. The reason,why I moved to here from Anröchte, where I grew up. But I took some courses in the medical jurisprudence. Very interesting but sometimes a bit hard ( Saw the photos of the plane chrash here some years ago at Überlingen). They work very professional, thanks god. Not like their doubles on tv.

[Biggles87]

I don't know about those exhausts, you sure they're not upside down?

Only kidding, they could be back to front for all I know about this kind of B-17.

 

John

[TonyTiger66]

Sarge mentioned 'Silent Witness'. I love that series, especially the first few seasons.

 

They seemed to get a bit too flashy with camera angles and 'technique over content' a couple of years ago and it lost me, I hope it's a bit better again now.

 

On the strange tangent of coroners and their ilk, ´Quincy' is a favourite of mine. One of those shows that is 'a safe place'.

 

It was also quite entertaining how a middle aged man was always able to date very glamorous younger women ! He produced the show himself; I guess I might ensure that I had story lines like that too... .

 

I don't want to suggest an unnecessary complication Ced but:

 

Not many people make 'in flight' models. Given that it's a target tug, in flight, wouldn't it be towing a target? It doesn't have to be but its just a thought. 

 

I have no idea what a German WWII target looks like, windsock? Bit of cotton and a scratched something or other might suffice?

 

Best regards

TonyT

[Beard]

I'm sure everyone will agree when I say that Silent Witness is a third-rate British rip-off of Quincy.

[TonyTiger66]

26 minutes ago, Beard said:

I'm sure everyone will agree when I say that Silent Witness is a third-rate British rip-off of Quincy.

 

[Biggles87]

I don't know about the Quincy rip-off, but they've certainly lost the plot recently.

[CedB]

Thanks Giorgio - apparently not fully recovered yet (still a bit wobbly) but getting there, thanks  

Thanks Benedikt - aha! Studied law eh? Does that mean we have another 'legal Eagle' in our midst?

Thanks John - you may have been kidding but one of them WAS upside down, good call  I don't want to end up with a 'left-handed exhaust' (old story, maybe sometime if there's interest)

Thanks TT - I plan to build this without the target but, if you insist, I may come around with a length of cable... 

 

Now then, Silent Witness...

On the plus side it has Emilia Fox but she's playing someone really irritating. Not as irritating as the Irish fella, obviously, but still irritating. In this series she has also started posing for 'meaningful' looks and sticking her nose in where she shouldn't. As John says, we think they've lost the plot - not hard considering it was only little in the first place IMHO.

So there.

Simon you're right - Quincy, now there's a proper show.

I also like NCIS for their forensics... obviously the Man from U.N.C.L.E. training Duckie received.

CSI? Hmmm. A bit too clever if you ask me. "Oh, that seed in the footprint comes from a plant only growing in this guy's garden - I think we have our murderer" etc.

Blue Bloods still my favourite, although I've just started watching 'Bull' - interesting.

Anyway, enough of this TV stuff...

 

I still don't have any fiddly mojo so decided to make a start on the tow gear:

 

 

Specially purchased 0.06 x 0.188mm strip. Actually I saw it at the Bovvie show and guessed it was about right. Lucky. Two bits the same as the 'template', middle front bit the same angle, straight at the back, small bit cut for the rear, TET 'sucked it together':

 

 

Needs shaping and a little wheel, later.

Nap time!

[TonyTiger66]

Whilst we're on 'Silent Witness', could I possibly venture a couple of favourite stories?

 

1: The one with the helicopter crash in the immigrant camp.

2: The one involving an army camp, a Land Rover and a train.

 

I know it's OT, but I also know Ced lets us drift a bit sometimes .

 

A good Quincy one is the one where, with only X-rays and 1970's technology, he rebuilds and identifies a person from only a skeleton (a light aircraft crash?).

 

Back on topic; the scratch built tow assembly is looking good Ced. The bit that ICM should have included had they had their research goggles on correctly. 

 

Er, I'm a bit worried about you coming round with a length of cable  !

TonyT

[CedB]

Thanks TT - don't worry about the OT post (we all enjoy them) or the cable; unless you mention a 'target' again

 

The new part exposes a hole in the fuselage where the gun would go:

 

 

Not the window (duh), the hole under the part, so I glued in the gun mount part from the kit. I like Humbrol filler 'cos it's HOT so I blobbed some on the underside of the (filed slightly concave) scratch part and pushed it on:

 

  

 

Looks OK so far?

 

 

Sorry about the shadows, we'll have some better shots later. 

 

Like some other parts the aileron hinges seem to be filled with rubbish:

 

 

so, having seem Tony's post about how good his archimedes drill was, I got mine out (fnaar fnaar):

 

 

Trouble was it's a cheap 'Expo' version and when I pressed gently on the bit it just vanished up the collet (nasty). Possibly the drill is too small. OK, use the Dremel flex-drive:

 

 

cut out the rubbish, 'sand' square(ish) with a nano-saw and fit to the wings with TET:

 

 

I also had to cut what looked like locating lugs, but weren't, from either end of the ailerons.

 

There will be G&T later!

[Spookytooth]

G&Y Ced ? Must be the drugs still, LOL.

Still, she is progressing well sir.

I know what you mean about drills slipping up the collet Fnar Fnar.

A damn nuisance if you ask me.

Try getting shanked drills under .5 easily nowadays.

 

Simon.

[CedB]

Thanks Simon - you caught me 'pre-check' and the post has been edited!

Shanked drills? I have those - duh, I am an idiot! I picked up the 'old' drills for this rough job; that'll teach me!

New avatar? 

[Biggles87]

We watched the pilot for Blue Bloods and enjoyed it, but havn't got any further because we are now plowing our way through the complete box set of The Good Wife which was lent to us by friends, and after that Madam Secretary.

Good job with the ailerons.

 

Cheers

 

John

[CedB]

'The Good Wife'? Hmmm, had that recommended by others too, must put it on the list

[Cookenbacher]

Glad you're back from your ordeal Ced, and better than ever.

 

Regarding procedurals, Lorelai Gilmore sums it up. And yes, I'm either very confident in my masculinity, or have completely given up.

[rob85]

2 minutes ago, Cookenbacher said:

Glad you're back from your ordeal Ced, and better than ever.

 

Regarding procedurals, Lorelai Gilmore sums it up. And yes, I'm either very confident in my masculinity, or have completely given up.

Lorelai Gilmore! Didn't have you down as a Gilmore Girls fan cookie, if you want there is the new series on Netflix..... I know because my wife watches it of course  .... that does sum up current TV.

 

I've just finished Narco's, great if you like that kind of thing (I don't mean cocaine by the way) and now I'm watching Gotham which is better than expected, bit different for the cutting up bodies and poking around their insides! Only a bit mind....

 

the build is looking great Ced, blue tack worked well! And it would appear you had nothing to fear with the scratch building! Very nice work mate.

 

Rob

 

 

[wyverns4]

Looking good!

 

+1 for the Gilmore Girls and, what's this about left handed exhausts?????

 

Christian, exiled to africa

[CedB]

Thanks Cookie - love that clip  

Thanks Rob - still nervous about scratch building but getting a bit more confident (with the right materials!)  

Thanks Christian - 'left-handed exhausts' was prompted by John's comment that one might be the wrong way up. In my yoof I worked in a factory where 'the lads' liked to trick new boys. I didn't fall for 'go to the stores for a long weight' where they just keep you waiting for, er, a long time, or the request for 'sky hook', or a tin of 'elbow grease' but when asked to go and get a left-handed 3/4" spanner it seemed like a reasonable request so off I went. The store man gave me a spanner with 3/4" stamped on it so I thought I was safe. Returning to the shop floor, the requestor looked at the spanner and said "No good Ced, they've given you a right-handed one". Back I went and explained the error to the store man. "Let's have a look" he said, examined the spanner and said "Sorry, you're right" then turned the spanner over and handed it back. Got me  

[CedB]

OK, OK, what's the hold up here?? Days of fiddling and so close to major progress. It's the wings... they're troubling me (see below).

 

More fiddling first. Carefully painted exhausts fitted so that the covers are there for the, gulp, nacelle assembly:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Why the gap? Could it be that blob inside the cover? Or is it the worn mold?

 

 

 

 

Who knows. They're on now and will need some attention:

 

 

Later. The wing fit has been bothering me for days and it's time to just get on with it. The drawing posted by Benedikt shows a dihedral where the wingtips are, roughly, level with the top of the canopy. A dry fit shows that one wing fits snugly while the other, er, doesn't:

 

 

I have no idea what's going on here. I've supported the central section with high-precision levelling devices (Lego) and it looks like this:

 

 

The starboard wing is great, the other's wobbly and gappy. Grrrrr etc. The only answer was to prop it up (weighing down where necessary), tape it and glue the top join:

 

 

to get this:

 

 

Later I'll turn it over and see what's happened to the lower joins. There may be tears...

[bbudde]

Hello. This was the guy I mentioned somewhere before:

http://www.modellversium.de/galerie/9-flugzeuge-ww2/10928-avia-b-71-icm.html

Scroll down to the end and  there is  a photo of his wing joins. Somewhat awful and yep you're not alone.

P.S. I wouldn't call myself an eagle ( except you meant Eddie). Mabye something more like a  duck.

Edited February 20, 2017 by bbudde

[Biggles87]

The wings dihedrals look pretty even in your head on shot ( I like the use of the Leggo ) and I'm sure you will be able to smooth out the joints.

Definitely looking like an aeroplane now.

 

John

[Leonl]

Great to see you back in the game Mr B.... great progress!

 

 

[giemme]

 You clearly have totally recovered now! A lot of micro plastic surgery and the LDFM (Lego Dihedral Fixing Method) going on!

 

Ciao

[CedB]

Thanks Benedikt - I'm sure there's some Eagle in you  I agree with the comments in your link (thanks to Google Translate):

The model is the second model from ICM, which I have built. After I was positively surprised at the construction of the first model of the quality and accuracy, this kit was the exact opposite. Actually you can not, in my opinion, speak of passport accuracy, because it really did not fit together! There was a lot of spatula and nerves needed to get a "edge-free" picture. The quality of the parts as well as the quality of the decals were ok, but not comparable with kits of other manufacturers. What could not be said of the building instructions again. The building instructions were absolutely not readable and due to the A5 format in fact not to decipher. Without the Internet, I could never have finished the model. Nevertheless, the rarity of this kit made up for the disadvantages.

In my case, not without my BM friends!

 

Thanks John, Leon and Giorgio - the joins were attacked with sprue soup:

 

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Which will get sanded when dry. I found applying the stuff with a cocktail stick better than a brush - if you start getting strings you can rotate the stick and twist them up.

I also found some masking mojo:

 

 

No excuse to avoid the nacelles now!