West Coast Air Twin Otter

[CedB]

Windows, yuk. There's nothing worse than having a window drop into the model, so frustrating.

Nigel uses 5-minute Epoxy and it's probably the safest but, to be honest, it's a pain to mix small quantities given the fast drying time. I don't have enough patience, must try harder.

I like Humbrol ClearFix for window openings when this happens - you can get 'the right amount' on the end of a cocktail stick, run it around the edges of the hole and then 'pull it' across the gap. It sets flat and clear, honestly. Kristal Klear (and Gator's Grip for glueing) doesn't seem to be 100% safe IMHO, but perhaps I'm cleaning up with water too quickly and weakening the join.

 

Filling seams, double yuk. Like Jaime it's my least favourite bit. I'm using a variety of fillers - Vallejo for very thin gaps, PPP for slightly wider gaps but both shrink so I have to use liquid green stuff or Mr Surfacer until the seam goes away. Humbrol putty for bigger gaps and steps and sometimes 'sprue soup' although I'm still experimenting with the mix.

 

Sanding though has been made easier by using Flory sanding sticks. I watched the tutorial video and learned a lot. I have the Skinny stick Set (but I don't like/use the spongy ones) and the Sponge Four pack. They're great tools and they wipe clean (as shown in the video) - just don't use your trousers!

[TonyTiger66]

This is looking quite complete Chris, quickly too  

 

Individual side windows are a puzzle for me too. I have a Vultee V1 and Caudron Gōeland in the drawer  of doom, both because I made a bobbins of the individual side windows.

 

In the case of the Vega (I mention this as your front windscreen isn't in yet); I used 5 minute epoxy. Small amounts using four cocktail sticks, three pieces of card.

 

One cocktail stick each for glue, catalyst and mixing; the final cocktail stick for application, with a piece of paper kitchen towel to regularly clean the gunk off.

 

I would recommend that as a possible approach. Best not to  join the fuselage halves until you're sure the epoxy has really set. I left it a couple of days; went and worked on another kit.

 

What I wouldn't recommend is this: My Vultee has a vac-form front window that is put in last, after joining the fuselage halves together, to allow it to be trimmed/sanded to fit and faired in with filler.

 

Therefore, like yours, the cockpit is open to the elements until window is in.

 

Sanding/other dust got into my passenger cabin, I don't know how given that, like your Otter, my Vultee has a bulkhead behind the cockpit, but it did.

 

Dust on the inside of the cabin windows. Looked terrible  

 

So I tried rinsing it out by placing it underwater and jiggling it. The water, although only tepid, sent the epoxy a white/milky shade .

 

The moral of this story; I'm a complete Muppet, but also, once the halves are together mask of the cockpit area until the window is due to go in, to protect from dust. Also, warm water and glue don't always go well together.

 

I know that you'll know all this already, but thought it worth mentioning, it could be useful for younger viewers .

 

Well done on rescuing them and not allowing them to fall in  .

 

Best regards

TonyT

 

 

[amblypygid]

I'm one of those chaps that occasionally has moments of enlightenment that reveal truths that were entirely self-evident to most other people. (This must be very frustrating for them; I frequently experience this from "the other side" when it comes to numerical analysis.) So all hints are welcome, as I can be a right numpty.

 

Unfortunately, Tony, the windshield is very definitely in. I have no ClearFix, Ced, but I'm pondering trimming some thin clear plastic to fit. The other tricky bit that I'm approaching rapidly is how to square up the floats. Perhaps one of those Lego jigs to hold them in place. However, I was awake at 3am, and I think I risk a silly, tired mistake if I do anything tonight.

[TonyTiger66]

I'm also in the 'brief moment of clarity' "Numpty Club" Chris  .

 

It's not even as much fun as the 'Tufty Club' used to be .

 

The Lego sounds a great plan; perhaps with some Blu Tak or Plasticene (other brands of blobby stuff is available) involved too.

 

In my experience modelling whilst tired can lead to, shall we say, gross and terminal errors of judgement !!!

 

Methinks a good kip is in order for you .

 

All the best

TonyT

[TheBaron]

On 12/09/2017 at 9:17 PM, TonyTiger66 said:

In my experience modelling whilst tired can lead to, shall we say, gross and terminal errors of judgement

I give you exhibit A:

[amblypygid]

Not sure I could pull off the behatted look. The one on the bottom right looks like a muddy leprechaun.

 

Modelling activity has ceased, as the circuit that includes some critical lights has a problem that our electrician can't pin down. Best guess at the moment is a fried mouse, so I'm going to spend my weekend pulling up floorboards to investigate further. What fun.

[CedB]

Fried mouse blew the circuit? I know, had the same problem last week grilling a shrew

[snapper_city]

I saw a Twin Otter float plane start up, taxi, take off and land the other day here in Vancouver. Great to witness. Unfortunately I can't find decals anywhere online for the operator to do mine in. 

 

I'll post pictures when I get home next weekend. 

Edited September 17, 2017 by snapper_city

[Rob G]

For the record, Twin Otters have 3° of dihedral regardless of undercarriage fitted. The only visible external difference (apart from the obvious) is that the floaty bird gets finlets on the tailplanes. And looks a lot better.

 

In the process of preplanning my Otter, I've made up a jig to help in getting that 3°, and also to prevent the 'oops, that strut's a bit short' issue that I've seen on finished builds in the past. I'll update my thread soon. (Sorry that the jig is too late to help you...)

[amblypygid]

Thanks, Rob! I'm not sure that 3 degrees of dihedral is that noticeable anyway...

 

We're still living by lamplight, but I've fixed up my anglepoise lamp so that at least I can do some modelling in the evenings. And:

 

OK, so I need to tidy up some of the masking and add a bit of filler around the float struts, but otherwise, it's ready for primer. Those nacelles are horrible, by the way. I had a quick look for resin replacements but didn't spot anything. I sense some further fiddly filling and sanding will be needed to approximate the completely smooth cowlings on the real thing. I'll also have a go at scratching the ladders from the floats to the doors. Also looks like I'll be reattaching a fiddly pitot tube on the starboard side! And, sheesh, look at that step on the inner starboard wing leading edge.

 

Talking of floats, I took some photos of the build process, but they are corrupt. I'm satisfied with the final result; they're straight but not quite level. I first glued the two cross-braces to the floats using a Lego jig to get them straight. The floats have keels, so getting them straight was not straightforward! This gave enough structural strength to hold the floats together while keeping some flexibility. The front strut/cross-brace part has some good locating holes on the fuselage, so that made it then easy to attach the floats (using the main struts to help), before the main struts were glued in. Phew...

 

I'm dreading what the primer will reveal, btw.

 

[Rob G]

And suddenly, a Twin Otter appears...

 

That doesn't look too bad mate. If you care, the beacon on top of the tail is a joke in the kit - the real thing is a substantial piece of gear, and it may be worth you replacing it if that sort of thing bothers you. You're a long way further on that I am.

 

@snapper_city - did you manage to get those photos up anywhere? Can't never have too many Twin Otter photos!

[snapper_city]

35 minutes ago, Rob G said:

 

@snapper_city - did you manage to get those photos up anywhere? Can't never have too many Twin Otter photos!

Not yet. I'll try get them up in the next day or two. 

[John Masters]

On 9/14/2017 at 11:00 PM, amblypygid said:

Best guess at the moment is a fried mouse, so I'm going to spend my weekend pulling up floorboards to investigate further. What fun.

All this talk about shrews, mice and otters has my tummy rumbling...

 

 

[amblypygid]

Hmm, I see what you mean, Rob. That beacon is a bit simplistic (though I think it's over- rather than under-sized?)

[TheBaron]

What handsome shapes Chris. I do declare that the electrical duress hasn't stopped you one bit. Lovely!

Tony

[snapper_city]

Finally edited (quite badly) the float plane pics from my recent Canada trip. They can all be seen in the GB Reference area. Cheers

 

DSC_7290 by Mark Inman, on Flickr

[Rob G]

<lots of waffle deleted>

 

The big issue is that the tail fin's too thin to fit the proper sized beacon onto it. Do as you think fit. But certainly a nice new clear one would be an improvement over what Matchbox supply!

[jrlx]

Great progress and looking good, Chris!

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

[amblypygid]

Thanks, all. Great set of pictures there, Mark. I went to Vancouver when I was much younger but certainly didn't get to ride in a floatplane! However, I must try to find that livery for my MilViz Beaver, it's rather magnificent.

 

 

Limited progress this week. I really want to push this to the finish line, so I've decided to postpone the scratch-build of a ladder until after painting. A coat of primer really showed up the seam along the top of the fuselage, and I've had real difficulty in getting the nacelles to look smooth (i.e., I've failed completely). Some sanding action and a blast of Halford's Honda Polar White, and I'm a lot happier with the fuselage.

 

 

The filler is still visible from some angles, but by my standards that's a very good finish  

I do really wish that I'd tried to vary the control surfaces, though. Anyway, now waiting for a bottle of VMA Deep Sky Blue to arrive, since I forgot to buy one last weekend. I'm slightly worried in that Vallejo have previously used the same code for Blue Angels Blue, which is far too light for this scheme. We'll see...

[TheBaron]

Hope that paint comes through for you Chris. That baby's looking good from here!

Tony

[jrlx]

Hi Chris,

 

It looks good primed! Best wishes for the painting phase.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

[amblypygid]

I do have a back-up paint: Revell's Night Blue, a pot of which I acquired several years ago when (for some reason) I believed that I'd need it imminently to paint that big ol' 1/32 Sea Lynx in the anniversary scheme. It's a bit too dark, according to Revell, who recommend mixing it 49:1 with white. OK, then. More importantly, it's pretty thick and oily for an acrylic, so either I didn't stir it enough last night, or it's gone nasty in the pot. I smeared some onto bare plastic with a cocktail stick (with paint this thick, who needs a brush?) and it came out pretty well. Definitely thick, the paint surface is textured, and I really don't fancy spraying it through my airbrush, but it's an option. I also have some dark blue somewhere that was last used about three years ago on a USMC Corsair (of the prop variety), which might do in a pinch, but doesn't look dark enough to me. 

[CedB]

Nice Chris, very nice

[amblypygid]

Thanks, Ced. Paint is en route, so hopefully I'll be laying down some blue this weekend.

[amblypygid]

Well, some paint is on, but this is beginning to drain my mojo. That's in part because the finish line is in sight, I suppose.

 

Test spray of the VA "Dark Sky" was promising. Sunday morning I go to do the main job, after copious masking, and my primary (cheap Sino-clone) airbrush is clogging. Strip it down, give it a thorough clean, no change.  This is not one of those where complete disassembly is possible; it seems quite possible that a solid particle has made it into the chamber and is blocking the flow (I get nice spatter as I move the needle, but no continuous flow). So I've gone crazy and ordered two more, marginally more expensive, Sino-clones. There's only so much effort I'll expend on a £10 airbrush.

Impatience means I turn to my other airbrush, the much nicer, but suction-fed, Iwata. I find that this needs a fair amount of pigment plus thinner to get any flow without raising the pressure significantly. So I don't use it for much other than large area one-colour spraying. All good, but after two coats, the paint is going on like a thick wash and not covering the white base:

 

 

Note also the way it's soaked across that masking tape; I've only just spotted that, and the overspray-wash further along the wing. There's quite a bit of overspray in parts; we're still without main lighting and even in daylight it's flaming hard to see what I'm doing with any accuracy, and parts of the model are damned difficult to mask with the struts etc. I've tried touching up with a hairy stick, with no success, so I guess I'm waiting for the new toys to arrive.