Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Good afternoon fellow modellers! After a visit to a well known airshow last month and foolishly walking into the amazing pop-up model stalls that appear on those days, I made a bit of a mistake... Overcome by nostalgia, and with my Old Man edging me on, I picked up Airfix's He 177 'Greif', fully complete and in 1970's boxing for a reasonable twenty quid. Now... this is where the fun began (but honestly what more did I expect?!). I've spent hours upon hours on her so far from completely reworking the cockpit, with bulkheads, control panels, new seats with milliput padding, through to sanding the entire thing down removing all raised panel lines and rivets then re-scribing the whole bloody lot! There is still a ridiculous amount of work to do and I have some issues I hope you can help me resolve. First up, the clear glass in these ancient moulds are horrendous and also, through all the re-scribe work one of the 'windows' has popped through into the fuselage. PVA just didn't cut it this time does anyone have any genius ideas on how to, from the outside (!), replace the window? Secondly, does anyone know if there are replacement clear parts for these? I've looked online but haven't been able to find anything. Thanks as always, JB And for those of you interested, here she is so far: 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhantomBigStu Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 humbrol clearfix for the window replacement, used it successfully on several builds so far coming along nicely, been tempted myself by the new revell one in my local shop, though as I can't paint mottle its remained on the shelf. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SmashedGlass Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 For clears, Falcon Clear-vax set #9 includes the bits for the Airfix Greif. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 22, 2017 Author Share Posted October 22, 2017 Hi Stu, that's genius! Just watched a video on making them with the glue - exactly what I need. I'll order a bottle tonight She's certainly coming along. Go on... get the revel one and have a go with the mottling! They're pretty rare now; a familiar auction site wants serious money for them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 22, 2017 Author Share Posted October 22, 2017 5 minutes ago, SmashedGlass said: For clears, Falcon Clear-vax set #9 includes the bits for the Airfix Greif. Nice one - I'll see if I can obtain one/ask in the 'wanted' section. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Nice work on what I consider a fine old kit, I fact I have one in my "to finish" pile. and another n the stash. Martian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungalow_Bill Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Some nice work here! I remember ruining this kit as a kid! I didn't know anything about Luftwaffe camo, so made up a desert scheme. They didn't even fl;y in the desert... but what did I know? Gaz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbudde Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Oh, I'm in here for that. Outclassed now by the Revell one it wasn't a bad kit for it's time and the only game in town. Good, except of the clear parts, which are awful. Better to exchange them by vacu. Anyway, good process so far. Maybe you should rework the cowlings (Kühlerklappen) As usual the brilliant Box art, which made made me very keen on that : 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bbudde Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 (edited) I would try Humbrol clearfix for the little window. You could also try to glue it from the outside and sand it plain and smooth. Here a link for the rest: http://www.falconmodels.co.nz/clearvax/set09.html I don't know, if the Revell ones would fit , so maybe something for their Abteilung X for spare parts and conversions Cheers Edited October 23, 2017 by bbudde 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannie Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Nice! I recall building this kit at age 17 in high school - final year - and I hand-painted all the framing with a super-fine brush. It came out remarkably well seeing as I USED to have a super-steady hand and it was my pride and joy (so many school friends built models as well in those days - now it is all computer games I guess). I do have the Revell kit from some 5 years ago in my stash... Looking forward to the rest of the thread! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 On 22/10/2017 at 5:39 PM, Martian Hale said: Nice work on what I consider a fine old kit, I fact I have one in my "to finish" pile. and another n the stash. Martian She's a beauty in some ways. I built one when I was 12 or something and still remember that when it was finished, it was one of my favourites - hence the nostalgia. I remember my attempt at the mottling too... this time round it's going to get the airbrush treatment 'gulp'! 13 hours ago, Bungalow_Bill said: Some nice work here! I remember ruining this kit as a kid! I didn't know anything about Luftwaffe camo, so made up a desert scheme. They didn't even fl;y in the desert... but what did I know? Gaz Cheers Gaz, bet that looked awesome though 9 hours ago, bbudde said: Oh, I'm in here for that. Outclassed now by the Revell one it wasn't a bad kit for it's time and the only game in town. Good, except of the clear parts, which are awful. Better to exchange them by vacu. Anyway, good process so far. Maybe you should rework the cowlings (Kühlerklappen) As usual the brilliant Box art, which made made me very keen on that : 9 hours ago, bbudde said: I would try Humbrol clearfix for the little window. You could also try to glue it from the outside and sand it plain and smooth. Here a link for the rest: http://www.falconmodels.co.nz/clearvax/set09.html I don't know, if the Revell ones would fit , so maybe something for their Abteilung X for spare parts and conversions Cheers The box art is excellent - that's another thing that drew me to it: I contemplated doing something about the cowlings but opted in the end to just increase the depth of the lines between them to remove the flat no detail when looking at it from aft: @murfv has very kindly sorted me out with some leftovers he had from the falcon set, I'll just have to ensure I put a little bit more effort into the cockpit as it will be far more visible now!! Also ordered some clearfix so that should sort the port window to the rear of the plane. Thanks for the info though 9 hours ago, bbudde said: 34 minutes ago, jannie said: Nice! I recall building this kit at age 17 in high school - final year - and I hand-painted all the framing with a super-fine brush. It came out remarkably well seeing as I USED to have a super-steady hand and it was my pride and joy (so many school friends built models as well in those days - now it is all computer games I guess). I do have the Revell kit from some 5 years ago in my stash... Looking forward to the rest of the thread! We all did didn't we - this was just a great looking plane with the HS 293's under the wings. Can't wait to detail those! For those that want some more nostalgia, how about some of these old parts: Look at those machine guns!! And almost transparent ejector marks... going to have to sort them out, that's for sure. Cheers, JB. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted October 23, 2017 Share Posted October 23, 2017 Squadron do a set for a he 177 though it is for the Revell kit so not sure how it would go on the Airfix model, available here. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 23, 2017 Author Share Posted October 23, 2017 27 minutes ago, stevehnz said: Squadron do a set for a he 177 though it is for the Revell kit so not sure how it would go on the Airfix model, available here. Steve. Thanks Steve, @murfv is sorting me out his spares from his Falcon set. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jannie Posted October 26, 2017 Share Posted October 26, 2017 (edited) Hi! Just wondering - are you going to go for the RLM76 sides + mottling, then? The He177 has always been one of my favourite aircraft, notwithstanding all its problems there is a certain "elegance" to it (for want of a better word). But then again, I think the Bv141 was an absolutely awesome looking plane so perhaps I should not be the one to throw words like that around Edited October 26, 2017 by jannie Missed a word 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cocky05d Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 On 23/10/2017 at 8:17 PM, Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen said: She's a beauty in some ways. I built one when I was 12 or something and still remember that when it was finished, it was one of my favourites - hence the nostalgia. I remember my attempt at the mottling too... this time round it's going to get the airbrush treatment 'gulp'! Cheers Gaz, bet that looked awesome though @murfv has very kindly sorted me out with some leftovers he had from the falcon set, I'll just have to ensure I put a little bit more effort into the cockpit as it will be far more visible now!! Also ordered some clearfix so that should sort the port window to the rear of the plane. Thanks for the info though For those that want some more nostalgia, how about some of these old parts: Look at those machine guns!! And almost transparent ejector marks... going to have to sort them out, that's for sure. Cheers, JB. Hi ,built this kit sometime in the early 70s ,the type of pilot figures always reminded me of the wasp larvae we used for fishing . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drift Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 On 10/22/2017 at 6:16 PM, Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen said: Hi Stu, that's genius! Just watched a video on making them with the glue - exactly what I need. I'll order a bottle tonight She's certainly coming along. Go on... get the revel one and have a go with the mottling! They're pretty rare now; a familiar auction site wants serious money for them. Link to video please. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 28, 2017 Author Share Posted October 28, 2017 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 On 27/10/2017 at 12:03 AM, jannie said: Hi! Just wondering - are you going to go for the RLM76 sides + mottling, then? The He177 has always been one of my favourite aircraft, notwithstanding all its problems there is a certain "elegance" to it (for want of a better word). But then again, I think the Bv141 was an absolutely awesome looking plane so perhaps I should not be the one to throw words like that around So the painting instructions say licht blau underneath, licht grau on the sides with the dark green mottling over that which I’ll stick too. I’ll probably paint a line of the grey with the air brush rather than mask over the blue... going to be a challenge this one but looking forward to giving it a go. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted October 29, 2017 Author Share Posted October 29, 2017 On 27/10/2017 at 12:26 PM, Drift said: Link to video please. And it works. pay attention to the instructions he gives precisely and you can't get it wrong. Any fogging does go away as it dries. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Victory-is-in-the-Kitchen Posted November 5, 2017 Author Share Posted November 5, 2017 Good evening BM's, a little progress report. Most of the He 177 is built, re-scribed and riveted which has taken some time to say the least. I managed today to get the licht blau on and give it some subtle variations in toning: I've still got some work to do around the cockpit which has taken many, many attempts at fitting sanding and generally trying to get right. It's not far off: I ended up using the kit transparencies in the end despite being very kindly sent some vac form parts... I just couldn't get them to fit right no matter what I tried. A shame but then it is an old kit. Hopefully I'll be able to use the remainder of them on the tail and gunner positions. Cheers, JB 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted November 5, 2017 Share Posted November 5, 2017 Very impressive ... looking forward to the finished product. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted November 5, 2017 Share Posted November 5, 2017 w-w-o-o-o-o-o-w-w-w-w..... Brave man. I have TWO of these in the stash ($8 each), and fondle the plastic from time to time. I am following this build to the end!! Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bungalow_Bill Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Wow, I am impressed that you've rescribed and rivieted the beast. Nice work! Gaz 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Its looking very impressive! Martian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Booty003 Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 An incredible looking aircraft - you have done a great job on re-scribing and riveting the old Airfix beast - no small task indeed. Looks fab under a coat of primer. Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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