ragnarec

Oh, yes, how to start... I'm the kind of model builder that tends to experiment and do drastic modifications of the models I'm building. In this case, I used two different methods for the two slats. The port one was made from Milliput, and the starboard one of aluminium sheet and epoxy resin. In both cases, I used the plastic slices that was removed from the top wings to form the wing skin under the slats. For the Milliput slat, I tightly wrappen a piece of plastic wrap around the leading edge, held in place with tape, and then pressed some Milliput over it. After the Milliput had hardened, it was carefully sanded to match the contour of the wing. Not fast and not easy, but it worked! The other method for the port slat also worked after some fetling. For my next model with dropped slats, I will probably try something different... Thanks! Regards, Ragnar 🙂

Thanks! Yes, true. It's managable in 1/48, in 1/72 it would be really tiny. Thank you! Thanks. I think it looks smart in the SAS livery.

The models portrays Piper Super Cub "Baltus Viking" as used by SAS Flyklubb from Fornebu/Norway around 1980. Kit is by Bandai, and decals by Lima November Decals. Regards, Ragnar

Thanks - this clearifies things. Seems that the standard procedure was to put the wings in the over-swept position when parking the plane, but that it was technically possibly to have them in any positison. I normally prefer to pose my models in a standard "stance", but I think the F-14 looks better with wings in the in-flight position. Still not sure what to do...

I'm currently building the Hasegawa 1/72 F-14A Tomcat, and plan to build it wheels down. I've understood that the Tomcat's wings will normally be in the over-swept position when the aircraft is parked, but will it always be that way? I mean - will it be technically incorrect to display the model wheels down with the wings in the in-flight sweep back position? If that makes sense ... Thank's for any help on this issue! Regards, Ragnar E

I've finally found some motivation to continue this build. I needed to do quite a number of pulls of the windscreen to get a decent copy. I had made the master a bit oversize, and consequently it was a tedious and time consuming task to trim the windscreen to size. But I got there in the end! The side windows were cut from clear plastic stock and were much easier to do. Here all pieces have been glued in place. The windows were masked off with all joints filled with Milliput. Ragnar

Tanks. I tend to make things a bit complicated for my self, but as soon as the cockpit windows are on I should return to more standard kit building. I hope...

Thank you!

Thanks! I think that the wing mounting will be rigid enough to bear the weight of the wing, but time will tell whether I'm right or not! Mounting side and front windows will also help making the structure stiffer. Ragnar

Work on the little Cub continues. I've added som more bracing inside the cockpit, and started preparations for fitting the side windows and windscreen. I've spent quite a lot of time on the net studying the framing of the side windows. I've found that it is different on port and starboard side, due to the door on the starboard side and a section that can be slid open on the port side. I made a test pull of the windscreen using some thermoforming platic from Squadron. It was roughly cut to shape and trial fitted to check if my "plan" was feasible. I think that it is! Some more pulls and carefull trimming, and we should be there. Hopefully ... I've also cut out a trial side window from clear plastic sheet. It is test fitted in the picture, although difficult to see. Ragnar

I decided to make a new framework for the roof from round plastic rod in stead of using the kit part. This allowed me to get a tighter fit. The kit part also has a rectangular box attached to one of the struts which I can't find in reference photos, and which would have been tricky to remove. The roof has now been attached to the fuselage. I've also added the characteristic V strut under the windscreen, which is missing in the kit. Some more struts need to be fitted before I can start making and adding the side windows and the windscreen. Interesting times ahead 🥴... Ragnar

The landing gear has been faired in, and I have started on a critical part of this build - the canopy. The plan is just to use the roof window from the kit parts. The side windows will be replaced by clear plastic sheet, while the windscreen will "heat & smash" moulded. I've made a casting of the windscreen from white epoxy that will be used as a male pattern. I've done similar things before, and know that it is difficult to make good copies. Time will show if I succeed this time... As the roof holds the weight of the wings, it is critical to get a firm mounting of the roof. I've made a simple jig from sheet plastic in order to keep everything alligned. Front pillars have been made from copper rod, with plastic strips glued to the front and back sides. After some filling and sanding the goal is to get pillars with rectangular cross section. Here, the pillars are just test fitted. Some more preparation is needed before they can be fixed permanently in place. Ragnar

Working on the undercarriage. My aim is to recreate the open space between the fuselage and the fabric cover. First, I glued metal rod (from a paper clip) to the edges of the kit item, and then opened up holes as shown in the photo. The top of the fabric cover will be added later from thin plastic sheet. - Ragnar

IPMS Stockholm forum it should be: https://www.ipmsstockholm.se/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?t=10858 I can't find anything in the BM RFI section, so may be I was wrong in that regard also. Thanks! I made moulds of the wheel master from Oyumaru and casted wheel halfs from white epoxy. The castings din't look quite right, so I decided to redo the master and make another try. The mould material was reused by immersing in hot water. Not perfect, but better and closer to the real thing. After some cleanup I think they can be used. - Ragnar

There was some other Swede building the Revell 1/32 kit in the same scheme a while back. The build was posted in the IPMS Sweden forum, and also here at BM in the RFI section, I think. (The decal sheet contains decals for both 1/32 and 1/48 scale.)

Finally ready to install the engine into the cowling. Here, the cowling is test fitted to the fuselage. The propeller supplied in the kit is rather poor, but I din't have anything suitable replacement in the spares box, so I had to stick with it. The blades were separated from the spinner and reshaped before being glued together with a new centre section. The spinner was reshaped and will be mounted back later after painting. I have drilled throug the engine and glued in a section of brass tube. This allows the propeller to be mounted at later stage. The main wheels provided in the kits are really small. I have never seen a picture of a Super Sub with such small wheels. At least LN-RTC had substatially larger wheels. I found a larger wheel in the spares box that after some adjustments can be used. It is shown to the right in the photo. To the left of it is one of the kit wheels. Ragnar

Thanks for compliments, @bigbadbadge, @Vingtor and @ianwau! Finally getting there after numerous iterations of filling, sanding and priming. , After some googling, I've understood the issue with the cowling. The kit depicts a PA-18-135, while LN-RTC was an ex military L-18C, equivalent to a civilian PA-18-95. A Suber Cub isn't simply a Super Cub! Not only different cowling, but also different engine. The L-18C had a Continental C-90-8F, while the PA-18-135 had a Lycoming O-290-D. Which means that the engine in the kit is incorrect for LN-RTC. But as little of the engine will be visible in the finished model, I will use the supplied engine as is anyway. Just needs a little paint before being mounted into the cowling. Ragnar

The kit comes with a complete engine, and a multi part cowling that gives you the possibility to mount the side panels in the open position in order to show off the engine. I chose to glue the side panels in the closed position. The fit was ok but not perfect. Ather doing that, I discovered that LN-RTC was equiped with a different kind of cowling. What to do ... Well, this is what I did. I removed the to half of the cowling and filled the gap with pieces of sheet styrene. The cowling front was sanded flat and covered by another piece. All humps and bumps on the underside were removed. After rough shaping with files and sanding sticks, pieces of styrene were glued on the top and front and rounded with sandpaper to make the required bulges. Holes in the front were opened up. An aperture was opened up on the underside for what I guess is the carburetor intake. Here, I am in the process of making the "grill" for the carburettor intake. Also shown is the partially assembled engine. Ragnar

I agree that lack of kits of light aircraft is a shame. When it comes to the classic and widely used Super Cub, we have a very nice kit from Revell in scale 1/32. In the most popular scale of 1/72, the only injected kit is a now out-of-production short-run kit by KP. In addition, there have been a couple vac-forms. Let us hope that companies like Dora Wings come to the rescue. Dora Wings has recently made new kits of classics like Percival Vega Gull and Caudron Simoun, and we can only hope that they continue this line.

This is a project I started last year that has been on and off the bench since then. I had initially not planed to make any WIP for this one, but as I have been taking some photos during the process I've changed my mind. May be this will give me enough motivation to complete the model. The Bandai kit of the Super Cub was initially released way back in 1973, togehter with 5 other general avaiation types. Nice kits for the time, but not quite up to modern standards. But as general aviation types are not on the priority list of current kit manufacturers, these oldies have to do. I bought the kit second-hand, and here is what came in the box: I plan to build the model as "LN-RTC" as used by SAS Flying Club around 1980. Decals are from Lima November. Her I have started playing with the parts. The cockpit is not bad, but I decided to add a bit of extra detail. Here, I have added new rudder pedals and control columns, as well as knobs that I guess are throttle levers along the port cockpit edge. Seat belts are made from strips of Tamiya tape and buckles comes from a generic photoetched buckle set I have had for ages. Made by Reheat sometimes in the 90-ties I think. The exact colours used in the cockpit of LN-RTC are uncertain - my guess is light grey overall with dark blue seats. Floor with seats mounted in the port fuselage half. A light wash and gentle dry-brushing brings out the details. Regards, Ragnar

All in all I think this is a very fine kit, not the least considering it is almost 25 years since it was first released. I particularly like the crisp and fine surface details. That being said, there are also some areas that are not top-notch. Examples are the canopy (replaced by an Airways vac-form item in my build), and the engine rocker covers (replaced by a Quickboost resin piece). The cockpit is also a bit bare. More details are described in the WIP.

Thanks for all kind comments! When it comes to the weathering, this model has been a sort of canvas for testing out different weathering techniques. Weathering is not my strongest suit as a modeller. I think it is difficult, but I'm trying to learn! Ragnar

I've finally found the mojo to get the Spitfire finished. I added some more dirt using oils, plus a bit more paint chipping using some aluminium paint and a fine brush. I then put on a flat coat using my usual mixture of Aqua Gloss and Tamiya Flat Base. Then it was time to mount all small pieces. I had some trouble fitting the main landing gear legs, and had to cut some plastic to get them to fit. I also struggled with the alignment of the legs and I'm not sure that I got it 100% right. I should have checked this before gluing together the wings, but forgot to do so... One of the last things to do was to apply exhaust streaks, but I got a little carried away and the result is a bit overdone. I've never really got the hang of it. Pictures can be found in the RFI section. Ragnar

Finally done! Airfix 1/48 kit of the Supermarine Spitfire F Mk 24. Painted as an aircraft serving with 80 Squadron, Kai Tak, Hong Kong, 1950. WIP can be found here: Best regards, Ragnar

Thank you @ColFord, and thanks for all help with invaluable info on the subject during the build!