Jump to content

Search the Community

Showing results for tags 'Glider'.

  • Search By Tags

    Type tags separated by commas.
  • Search By Author

Content Type


Calendars

  • Community Calendar
  • Group Builds
  • Model Show Calendar

Forums

  • Forum Functionality & Forum Software Help and Support
    • FAQs
    • Help & Support for Forum Issues
    • New Members
  • Aircraft Modelling
    • Military Aircraft Modelling Discussion by Era
    • Civil Aircraft Modelling Discussion by Era
    • Work in Progress - Aircraft
    • Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
    • Aircraft Related Subjects
  • AFV Modelling (armour, military vehicles & artillery)
    • Armour Discussion by Era
    • Work in Progress - Armour
    • Ready for Inspection - Armour
    • Armour Related Subjects
    • large Scale AFVs (1:16 and above)
  • Maritime Modelling (Ships and subs)
    • Maritime Discussion by era
    • Work in Progress - Maritime
    • Ready for Inspection - Maritime
  • Vehicle Modelling (non-military)
    • Vehicle Discussion
    • Work In Progress - Vehicles
    • Ready For Inspection - Vehicles
  • Science Fiction & RealSpace
    • Science Fiction Discussion
    • RealSpace Discussion
    • Work In Progress - SF & RealSpace
    • Ready for Inspection - SF & RealSpace
  • Figure Modelling
    • Figure Discussion
    • Figure Work In Progress
    • Figure Ready for Inspection
  • Dioramas, Vignettes & Scenery
    • Diorama Chat
    • Work In Progress - Dioramas
    • Ready For Inspection - Dioramas
  • Reviews, News & Walkarounds
    • Reviews
    • Current News
    • Build Articles
    • Tips & Tricks
    • Walkarounds
  • Modelling using 3D Printing
    • 3D Printing Basics
    • 3D Printing Chat
    • 3D Makerspace
  • Modelling
    • Group Builds
    • The Rumourmonger
    • Manufacturer News
    • Other Modelling Genres
    • Britmodeller Yearbooks
    • Tools & Tips
  • General Discussion
    • Chat
    • Shows
    • Photography
    • Members' Wishlists
  • Shops, manufacturers & vendors
    • Aerocraft Models
    • Air-craft.net
    • Amarket Model
    • A.M.U.R. Reaver
    • Atlantic Models
    • Beacon Models
    • BlackMike Models
    • Bring-It!
    • Copper State Models
    • Freightdog Models
    • Hannants
    • fantasy Printshop
    • Fonthill Media
    • HMH Publications
    • Hobby Paint'n'Stuff
    • Hypersonic Models
    • Iliad Design
    • Hobby Colours & Accessories
    • KLP Publishing
    • L'Arsenal 2.0
    • Kingkit
    • MikroMir
    • Model Designs
    • Modellingtools.co.uk
    • Maketar Paint Masks
    • Marmaduke Press Decals
    • Parkes682Decals
    • Paulus Victor Decals
    • Red Roo Models
    • RES/KIT
    • Sovereign Hobbies
    • Special Hobby
    • Test Valley Models
    • Tiger Hobbies
    • Ultimate Modelling Products
    • Videoaviation Italy
    • Wingleader Publications
  • Archive
    • 2007 Group Builds
    • 2008 Group Builds
    • 2009 Group Builds
    • 2010 Group Builds
    • 2011 Group Builds
    • 2012 Group Builds
    • 2013 Group Builds

Find results in...

Find results that contain...


Date Created

  • Start

    End


Last Updated

  • Start

    End


Filter by number of...

Joined

  • Start

    End


Group


AIM


MSN


Website URL


ICQ


Yahoo


Jabber


Skype


Location


Interests

  1. This will probably be quite a slow project, but here goes! I'll be building a Grob Astir CS77, and, if all goes well, it will be G-CFTR/NU, my Astir- or the closest there is to it! NU belongs to the University of Nottingham Gliding Club, which I am currently the president of and one of the few members who can fly our single seater. NU is currently in the workshop for its annual, so it's a good time to start this model with better access to unusual areas of the glider. Not every day you get to build a model of an aircraft you have unlimited access to and fly. The kit is the 1/72 Kovozávody Prostějov Grob Astir CS77. It's a bit... basic. It certainly looks Astir 77 shaped, which is a good start! I'll be putting in a resin cockpit by Brengun. The cockpit also comes with PE airbrakes, but I won't use these. Astir 77 airbrakes will stay out if you put them out on the ground, but the slightest knock and they'll crash shut. They're certainly never left open. I sometimes wedge the lever in the open position when doing a DI (daily inspection) on NU so i can have a look inside the airbrake box on each wing without needing to get someone to hold them open. In the topic of the airbrakes, they are modeled on the kit as both upper and lower surfaces, Astirs only have top surface airbrakes.
  2. About the glider: SZD-15 Sroka (Magpie) - a Polish single-seat training glider designed to train intermediate pilots constructed at the Glider Experimental Plant in Bielsko-Biała in 1955-1956. It was one of the designs submitted in the League of Friends of the Soldier competition for a new training glider. The design competed with the SZD-16 Gil design. SZD-15 Sroka was eventually selected as a winner. All in all, having no special advantages, it was produced in the number of 2 prototypes and 20 serial copies. About the copy: Unfortunately, I know very little about this copy - its biggest advantage was the fact that several shots of this glider from different sides are available online, which made it possible to reproduce quite faithfully its painting. About the model: The model is based on the design of colleague Vieh_san from the Modelwork forum. He also printed it on his printer . The project required several corrections. Traditionally, I added a few details (the most visible are the brakes on the wings). I also had to develop my own decals to match the SP-1720. Personally, I would classify my product as average - I did not manage to remove all 3D artifacts and also at the finishing stage I had some problems related to the brittleness of the resin. However, I do not hide the fact that in the end I view it surrounded by other gliders with pleasure
  3. One of my SWM2022 purchases was this tiny glider kit. It appears to be an old Polish brand SZD 41 Jantar in 1/72 scale, although the Jantar's distinctly pointy nose looks decidedly blunt here I love the box art, although it could be printed better. It doesn't however match the decals included. You cab see the decals under the sprue here, they are incomplete and poorly printed. No painting instructions are included and I can't find any glider matching the registration of the decals. I'll print my own The parts are pretty simple, bare bones basic. There was nothing too interesting to report during construction of the kit, I just had to adjust the angle of the wings, adding a little dihedral as if there were some wing loading; it will be displayed on the included stand and it would look wrong to me with unloaded wings. I was pleasantly surprised by the fit, I expected far worse. The canopy is slightly too wide, I can't easily do much about it though. I didn't originally plan to post a WIP thread, so please excuse the lack of early build images. As expected, the nose is far too blunt. This image from Wikipedia shows what the nose profile should be I don't think I can perfectly fix the shape, but I can improve it. I decided to add some milliput to the nose, and that's where the model is now. This can be sanded back to a pointer profile and blended with the kit plastic once cured. The canopy remains dry fitted for now. After a while searching for a scheme I like and can easily print decals for, I came across this image of C-GVTZ belonging to the Vancouver Soaring Association in 2006. https://www.airport-data.com/aircraft/photo/001174335.html From this angle I cannot tell definitively if any writing is below the cockpit. Glider type is often displayed in a stylised font there, and Jantars almost always have this; I recently added something similar to my university's Grob 103a Twin II Acro after it kept on getting mistaken for an original Grob 103 Twin Astir, an unrelated but very similar glider that was replaced by the Twin II. Anyway, I did end up finding another photo on the VSA's website that shows C-GVTZ from the front in a club fleet photo. It's not great resolution when zoomed in but it's enough to tell the area under the canopy is just plain white. That was the deciding factor in doing this scheme as it makes decals much easier to design. The only remaining decal related research to do now was to find the font used for the registration. I got lucky and quickly found the font Helvetica which looks very close to what is on the glider, so that's what I'm going with.
  4. These are my completed build numbers 3 and 4 this series of 1/72 Air Cadet gliders. The AZ models double kit of the Grunau Baby. These are actually builds numbers 5 and 6 in my glider collection. The kit is very nicely moulded and contains parts for two complete aircraft. I did add some etch from Brengun and other details inside each cockpit, as well as some etch on the forward underbelly skids. The tail skids on each are fine lengths of wire cut and bend to shape. Both gliders were primed using MRP Fine Surface primer (flesh for the RAF and white for the FAF). Topcoat for the RAF example was Revell's Aqua beige (The square pots). This is extremely thick paint and needs to be heavily diluted with Tamiya X-20 Acrylic thinners, but it airbrushes beautifully. Thanks for that must go to Steve @Fritag where I picked up the idea after seeing the excellent result he had using this paint for the red on his Valley Hawk. For the French version I used a mix of Tamiya gloss and flat white, mixed in equal parts, thinned with Mr Colour Levelling magic thinner. The dayglo patches were applied using MRP's Dayglo Orange. All paint was airbrushed. Decals all came from the spares box or specialist sheets by Modeldecal and Xtradecal for the various serials etc. One last minute panic caused by lack of suitably sized (12 inch type Droundels) for the RAF version, was solved with help from @Martian who kindly donated a variety of type D's which included the size I needed. It helps to live close to a generous allien! The WIP can be found here.... So first the RAF Grunau.... And the French Grunau..... And both together......... A quick shot with the much bigger Viking..... And finally the family so far........ Next glider build on the schedule will be a Slingsby T.53B Phoenix of the Canadian Air Cadet organisation .................. Comments/questions welcome, thanks for looking. Terry
  5. Gotha Go.242A (48226) 1:48 ICM via H G Hannants Ltd Germany broke new ground in WWII in the successful use of Paratroop landings in gliders that met with some initial successes, although that method of delivering soldiers and materiel hasn’t seen much use since the end of WWII, possibly following the experiences of the Allies later in the war and around D-Day. Gotha created the small DFS 230 that was used by Fallschirmjager units during the early part of the war, and the RLM subsequently issued a specification for a larger glider that could carry 20 fully equipped troops into action, or alternatively bring equipment of an equivalent weight to the battle. Gotha’s offering was a simple tapered box on wings, but with a twin-tail boom that allowed the cargo version to unload from the rear using a simple flip-up rear fuselage, and later the troop carrier could also unload from the rear with the addition of new doors. The type entered service soon after its initial flight in 1941, with over 1,500 manufactured in various guises. The initial A series was split into troop and cargo types, with the following B series being improved from experience and sporting upgraded landing gear, plus double rear doors for faster troop exit. A further C series was intended for water landings using a boat-shaped hull to carry explosive-laden small boats to maritime targets, although that never reached service. Gotha later added engines in nacelles that extended the twin booms past the leading edge of the wings, allowing it to get aloft under its own power, rather than being towed by a Heinkel He.111 or an adapted Stuka, but take-off was marginal with a heavy load, so RATO bottles were developed to give the aircraft an extra boost. The Kit This is a minor re-tool of their recent kit of this boxy glider, and one of a number of variants, hopefully including the powered option. Despite their difficulties at the moment, ICM are still working hard to keep on producing kits, and our collective hats have to go off to them for that. The kit arrives in a top-opening box that has the Ukrainian flag emblazoned in the top right corner, and a painting showing the aircraft from the side with its landing gear clearly visible. The outer lid is extremely tight, and if you can get it off the usual captive inner lid is exposed, with eight sprues in grey styrene, one of clear parts, the instruction booklet in spot colour, and a long narrow decal sheet. The first thing that’s evident on perusal of the sprues is that the aircraft is that the wingspan is really quite wide, and the designers at ICM have put a lot of effort into the detail that’s moulded-into the model, especially the sections that are fabric over a tubular framework. Construction begins with the large floor space, which is made up from the fabric outer skin with visible ribbing, onto which the floor surface added in two sections, after drilling a number of 1mm holes in the skin first. The forward section is then enclosed by a tubular framework that stops at the centre bulkhead, which also has short spars moulded-in, with a bulkhead between the passenger and pilot sections. The twenty passenger seats are each made from horizontal and vertical sections that are then arranged into two rows of 10 and are fitted out with diagonal braces that mate with the rear legs, plus a length of top brackets that allow the seats to stand clear of the wall. Both rows are glued into the passenger compartment either side of the central spar, and a triangular section of framework is attached to the aft section of the area, following which the side walls are made up from two parts each, and here the A variant had a different layout to the rear windows, that are applied from the inside. The walls are fixed to the floor assembly along with the roof once the cockpit is made up. This isn’t a training variant, but the controls are still duplicated on both sides of the cockpit for redundancy, starting with a well-detailed pair of rudder pedals that each comprise of four parts. The control column differs between stations, with the pilot having a two-part right-angle column with separate yoke, while the co-pilot has a straight stick for when he needs to take over, for example when landing under fire and the pilot is incapacitated. The seats differ too, as the pilot has a sturdier five-part seat that has an adjustment wheel, while the co-pilot has a simple two-part affair. These are all inserted onto a cockpit floor that is placed within the front of the fuselage at the time when the sides and roof are both added with a single tube bracing the top of the diagonal rear divide. The cockpit surround is incomplete at this stage, having the nose added along with a simple instrument panel on a pair of supports fitted and dial decal applied, then underneath a clear window is inserted beneath the co-pilot’s feet, plus two panels of side glazing and a single windscreen part that has an optional 0.8mm hole drilled in it before fitting if you are mounting the guns. Take it easy if you decide that’s the option for you, as clear styrene is much easier to damage because of its brittle nature. Light pressure and plenty of patience is the way to go. The boarding ladders are cut away from the underside of the fuselage, as the earlier crew were expected to leap up athletically. The wings of the 242 are necessarily long for lift, as once the towing aircraft cuts it loose, the only way is down, so a long glide slope is an absolute necessity. The wings are each moulded as top and bottom skins, which have some lovely ribbing and other details moulded-in as you can see above, and have the flying surfaces as separate sub-assemblies of two parts each. Once the halves are joined, they have the front fairings of the booms added top and bottom, then have the two flap sections and long ailerons slotted into the trailing edges. This is repeated twice in mirror-image of course, and the two wings are slotted onto their projecting spar sections, taking care to put them on with the leading edges and canopy pointing in the same direction. A pair of supports are added underneath in recessed sockets, although I’d be tempted to leave those off until after main painting was complete so they don’t get damaged. The aft section of the fuselage is missing at this stage, giving it the look of a “ute”, but this part is next to be assembled. The tapering sides have windows inserted from inside and the internal framework added, then they are spaced apart by three more framework sections, after which the lower part with window, internal floor with steps, and roof with framework and observation window (the reason for the steps) added, to be finished off with a transparent end cap giving even better field of view, just in case they’re being stalked by a fighter from behind. The door pivots upward between the booms, and can either be glued closed, or propped open with five supports holding it at the correct angle. Again, if you are using the self-defence armament, another 0.8mm hole needs to be drilled near the hatch in the roof of the aft section. The booms are simple and made from two parts each, with separate rudders and a single two-part elevator panel with separate flying surface. The instructions show the completed assembly being offered up to the rear of the model, but it may be more sensible to glue one boom in place first, then add the other with the elevator once the glue is set on the first boom. A number of actuators and mass balances are added all around the flying surfaces, but first the landing gear is made, based on a single axle that is mounted on an extended A-frame that runs under the fuselage, and sports a two-part wheel at each end. The rest of the airframe is supported by a trio of sprung skids, the rear two with tiny wheels on the very end, the forward one having a hook on the tip. The final parts are used for two optional self-defence machine guns that are fixed to the windscreen and in front of the observation window in the aft section of the fuselage, both having a moulded-in concertina dump bag for the spent brass, and a double C-shaped ‘snail’ mag draped over the breech. Markings There are four decal options on the sheet, three of which are very similar and sporting yellow wingtips with a tail band in the same colour, while the other is over-painted with a wavy brown camouflage pattern. ICM have also included a printed template for masking the copious glazing that’s present on this aircraft, which should come in handy, and save some hassle, even if you’re confident masking canopies yourself. From the box you can build one of the following: Gotha Go 242A, Mediterranean theatre of operations, 1942 Gotha Go 242A, presumably Eastern Front, summer 1942 Gotha Go 242A, southern section of the Eastern Front, 1942 Gotha Go 242A, Eastern Front, winter 1943 Decals are by ICM’s usual partner, which is a guarantee of good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion The Go.242 is a quirky-looking box that appeals due to many factors, including the detail being excellent, so it’s a big thumbs up for a kit that has been produced under very difficult circumstances. Very highly recommended. Available in the UK from importers H G Hannants Ltd. Review sample courtesy of
  6. About the glider: The FVA-10b "Rheinland" glider was built in 1936 as a project by students of the Aviation Technical Group at the Aachen University of Technology. Only 29 copies were built. The glider was characterized by excellent aerodynamic shapes, a large glazed cabin, a large wing extension and the use of air brakes and a takeoff and landing wheel. About the copy: After II World War one "Rheinland" glider was found in Grunow. Rebuilt in the workshop of the Gliding Institute in Biala, it was flown at Zar and performed technical flights there for testing and research. Later, it was assigned to the gliding school in Fordon near Bydgoszcz, where it was flown competitively until 1949. After deletion, it was transferred in 1949 to the warehouses of the Museum of Communication in Gądków, from where, after subsequent changes in storage, it ended up in the collection of the Museum of Aviation and Astronautics in Cracow. (compiled on the basis of material from samolotypolskie.pl) About the model: A 1/72 scale model based on injection kit from the Kovozávody Prostějov KPM 0153. From myself, I added a bit in the interior of the cabin, DFS type airbrakes, reworked the wheel (the kit has some mutant - the wheel in the folded position and the flaps are unknown for what) and.... I lengthened the wings 1mm on each side (the dimension did not hold the scale). I developed the painting and decals based on "Foreign gliders in Poland" published by Stratus. It was supposed to take a week, it took 18 days, but all in all I don't regret it - this is my 10th glider model. The collection is growing
  7. Model built on base of the injection kit from Bracia Darscy (re-box of kit from PZW from '80) with some scratch added (for details see WiP topic). Next one (9th) to collection of gliders registered in Poland
  8. I decided to try build something similiar to polish glider Bocian SZD-9 bis 1D. I will try not to write and only show progress
  9. This is my completed build number 2 in this series of 1/72 Air Cadet glider builds, the Heritage Aviation resin kit of the Grob Viking. This is actually build number 4 in my glider collection. Although being a “simple” resin build, much work was done to the cockpit area including using a small dremel to grind out the whole area to produce a more in scale look, modified cockpit seats, scratch built IP, seat cushions and belts. The supplied canopy was a challenge to achieve a conformal fit to the rest of the fuselage, so a copy was made in resin and extended slightly in length to produce a new buck, to vac form a new canopy A small hole was drilled in the extreme front of the nose for the aero tow attachment point, and a similar under fuselage hole drilled for the winch launch attachment point. Finish is overall Tamiya X-2 white, thinned with Mr levelling thinner. The Tamiya Acrylics thin superbly with the Lacquer based thinners. The orange areas were applied using MRP International Orange Lacquer paint, with the nose area up to the decal trim masked and airbrushed, along with the wing tips and tail area. The dayglow wing bands were masked out and MRP Dayglo Red applied. Undercarriage wheels were hand painted in Tamiya tyre black. All decals were from the kit, apart from the earlier mentioned nose and tail trim. Small see through inspection panels were made by very shallow drilling the appropriate holes (two in the port tail fin and two under each wing), filled with grey paint and then some humbrol clear. The WIP can be found here….......... Completed Viking build pictures.............. Close ups can be a bit cruel! The actual internals are hard to photograph through the canopy, this is what they looked like early in the build: The Viking can now join the Grob Astir, the Slingsby T21 and the Slingsby T31 And a final shot showing size comparison to a good old Spitfire! Earlier builds can be seen here..... Sedbergh T21 Slingsby T31 Grob Astir Thanks for looking. Comments, questions etc welcome! Terry
  10. The model is in 1/72 scale and based on Admiral injection kit. It's a part of my (still small) collection of gliders registered in Poland. The model started months (years really) ago had no luck. First I destroyed the canopy (here's a new vacuum-formed one), and then I found photos with the flaps extended, so.... I tried to cut them out and "somewhat" destroyed the wings. Fortunately, in the end I can show the finished model I hope you will like it.
  11. Gotha Go.242B Update Sets (For ICM) 1:48 Eduard ICM have released this unusual twin-boom glider fairly recently, and you can check out our review here. Eduard's new range of sets are here to improve on the kit detail in the usual modular manner. Get what you want for the areas you want to be more of a focal point. As usual with Eduard's Photo-Etch (PE) and Mask sets, they arrive in a flat resealable package, with a white backing card protecting the contents and the instructions that are sandwiched between. Interior (491287) This set contains a single fret of nickel-plated and pre-painted PE. The simple instrument panel is replaced by a new layered panel, new side consoles, with replacement rudder pedals, brackets and straps fitted to the kit’s cross-bar. The asymmetric front bulkhead is removed and replaced by a new PE part, joined to the new side walls by separate angle-brackets. A small vision port is added to the exterior of the nosecone, then back inside a vertical rack with triangular sections is glued to the front bulkhead framework of the passenger compartment, and at the rear there is a detail strip that is fixed across the edge of the floor if you are leaving the main door open. SPACE 3D Printed Cockpit Decals (3DL48072)) The Eduard SPACE sets use new 3D printing techniques that lay down successive layers of different colour resin, creating highly realistic almost full complete panels that are supplied on a decal sheet. They can depict metallic shades, plus glossy, satin and matt colours too, which really ups the detail on everything they print. In addition, a small sheet of nickel-plated and pre-painted PE is included for the aspects of the set that lend themselves better to this medium, such as seatbelts and rudder pedals. The decal sheet includes the simple instrument panel in front of the pilot, side console, plus another dial just below the main panel. The PE includes an in-scale coaming around the panel, two sets of pre-painted seatbelts for the crew, and some levers for the side consoles, with a scrap diagram showing their correct orientation. Seatbelts STEEL (FE1287) These belts are Photo-Etch (PE) steel, and because of their strength they can be etched from thinner material, which improves realism and flexibility in one sitting. Coupled with the new painting method that adds perceived extra depth to the buckles and other furniture by shading, they are more realistic looking and will drape better than regular brass PE. This set is unusual because it includes an impressive 20 sets of seatbelts for the crew and their passengers. Masks (EX686) Supplied on a sheet of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with a full set of masks for the canopy, the side windows and the rear windows. In addition, you get a set of hub/tyre masks for all the wheels, allowing you to cut the demarcation perfectly with little effort. Masks Tface (EX689) Supplied on two sheets of yellow kabuki tape, these pre-cut masks supply you with everything above, but also give you another set of canopy masks tailored to fit the interior of the glazing so that you can paint the interior and give your model that extra bit of realism. Review sample courtesy of
  12. Here is the first of a series of builds of a number of gliders in 1/72, representing the Air Cadet organisations of the UK and other nations. I had built the Phoenix vac form kits of both a T21 and a T31 a couple of years ago and decided to expand the collection to include post war gliders used by both UK Air Cadets and some overseas users. The idea is to show the history of post war gliding starting with machines used by the Air Cadets. I currently have around 7 planned and will likely expand that number to also include powered aircraft such as the Chipmunk, Slingsby Venture and Grob Tutor, although the Tutor is proving hard to source in 1/72! The WIP for this one, and all the other builds planned (around seven so far) is here: So this is KP's rendition of the Grob Astir, with detail parts in the form of replacement wheel, wheel doors and cockpit from Brengun. I chose to model the option for the Belgian Air Cadets. The model was a fairly straightforward build. Although the mouldings were quite basic with wing and fuselage joins requiring a jig to get aligned, it is a very nice little kit. I used MRP's excellent range of paints for both priming and white top coat. With much of the white masked off, I then used Tamiya's lacquer acrylic bright red for the ailerons, wing tips, nose, elevator and rudder. Final varnish gloss coats were MRP gloss varnish. Although Brengun do provide etched brass spoilers (air brakes), I chose to model these closed. Some quick shots of the Brengun internals, which are superb resin and brass items, very difficult to see once the canopy was closed up: The canopy itself was the biggest challenge as I wanted to recreate the very smooth join which required much filling, sanding and final polishing. I am pretty pleased with the final results, so here are a few shots show the elegant lines of this aircraft: And a final shot with a couple of earlier vac form builds of a T21 and a T31: Thanks for looking Terry
  13. GAL.48 Hotspur Mk.II (211) 1:48 Planet Models by Special Hobby General Aircraft Limited were approached by the British government to create a new troop-carrying glider after the German Fallschirmjager’s successes with them in the early war. The Hotspur was the result, but it was soon realised that its 8 troop limit was insufficient for their needs going forward, and the initial Mark.I suffered from some teething troubles that were addressed by the more competent Mk.II after only 18 Mk.Is were made. Changes to the wing were made to improve flight characteristics, and the fuselage was stiffened to reduce the likelihood of it breaking up during a hard landing. Other improvements included a braking ‘chute that prevented it from careening through field and glen after its 91mph landing (a terrifying prospect if landing downhill), a better canopy for visibility, and side doors to aid fast deployment of the troops. Because of the type’s limitations however, the glider was generally used in training because of its forgiving handling characteristics that helped learner pilots, although it did have a high sink-rate that was either a boon or a curse, depending on whether anyone was shooting at you. In the run-up to D-Day, it was suggested that the gliders could be used to carry crew and equipment over to the makeshift RAF airfields in France, and Spitfire Mk.IXs were considered for the towing task. Experiments showed that it was just about practical, but the caveats were that the Spits had a habit of overheating due to the low speed, and would have been vulnerable to enemy fighters whilst towing at a stately 160mph maximum. Some bright spark even thought of increasing the passenger numbers by creating a twin-fuselage “Zwilling” with a straight 12ft centre wing section between the two fuselages. That one got as far as prototyping, but it would be an easy conversion if you had two kits to hand. once hostilities ceased, the Hotspur was retired rapidly as the training need had evaporated overnight, but fortunately a few airframes found their way to museums, where they remain today. The Kit This is a new tool resin kit from Special Hobby’s resin division, Planet Models. It has had a long gestation that has been further extended by the vagaries of the pandemic, but at last it is with us. It arrives in a small white box with a large sticker on the lid to tell us what’s inside. On opening the captive lid we find several heat-sealed and channelled bags within, containing all the resin parts, using trapped air to protect the parts, and the rest of the box filled with packing peanuts to further protect the contents. The largest parts are the fuselage halves and the two wings, followed by the elevator fins, and twenty-two smaller parts in the same grey resin on twelve casting blocks. Two vacform canopies, 13 clear resin window plugs, two white metal gear legs and a decal sheet round out the package, with the instruction booklet supplied on three sheets of A4 printed on both sides, and with colour profiles on the rear pages. Resin usually comes still attached to its pour block, which is where the liquid resin is poured into the mould as well as acting as an overflow, and as bubble-catcher for more rustic manufacturers that don’t have access to pressure casting methods. The blocks will have to be removed before you can assemble or paint the parts, so there will be a little extra time needed to prepare the model for construction. With resin, you should take the precaution of wearing a mask when cutting or sanding it, as the tiny particles are harmful to your health if breathed in. Washing the parts in warm water will also improve the adhesion of paint, as there may still be some moulding release agent on the parts when you receive them. Take care not to use water that is too hot, as this may cause deformation to more delicate parts, but this technique can conversely be used to fix warped parts, using cold water to “freeze” the changes in the shape. Construction begins with cleaning up the parts, such as the fuselage, which has a few areas where casting blocks have been, and clearing away any flash from the windows and join lines. After that, the cockpit is made up from a narrow floor with seats and twin control columns, the ribbed sides of the fuselages with additional bracing and equipment added, plus a twin frame that makes up the cockpit sills, to which two simple instrument panels are fitted, along with some dial decals to improve detail. The fuselage has a number of windows dotted around, and these are all clear resin parts that are inserted from inside, so they need fitting and sanding flush if necessary before you join the fuselage halves around the cockpit floor, then you add the sills in the opening and the canopy over the top of that. Many people are a bit phobic about vacform canopies, but with some blutak pushed inside it to hold it rigid and by using a sharp blade, they are relatively easy to cut out as long as you make regular light strokes. With the fuselage closed up, there is bound to be a little sanding and possibly some filling, so please remember the precautions mentioned above. The white metal landing gear has a tiny “spat” cover that plugs up the socket for the strut when it isn’t in use, but when fitted, it hangs over the front of the leg, which is outfitted with a pair of small resin wheels, with four supplied in total. The wings and elevators all fit using the traditional slot and tab method, and epoxy may be a slightly more forgiving option for these joints, as it gives you some curing time to ensure you get the correct dihedral on the main planes, and fit the elevators perpendicular to the tail fin. Once all those parts are cured and made good, you can fit the long skids into the holes under the fuselage. On my example those were a little obscured by flash and moulding debris, so if this happens to you, use the skid parts as a pattern if you’re having trouble finding some of them. That’s it! It was a simple glider, so it should be a simple kit. Nice though. Markings You get two decal options in the box, both of which are for training units. You can build one of the following from the box: BT551/L No.2 Glider Training Unit, Weston-on-the-Green, Oxfordshire, England, 1942 BT744/B1 No.1 Service Flying Training School, RAF Netheravon, England, 1942 The decals have good sharpness, register and colour density, although the yellow around the roundels do look like they could be a little translucent. There has been a lot of speculation about the colour schemes around the web, and that includes Britmodeller, so have a look at the thread [url= https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235019681-148-general-aircraft-gal-48-hotspur-mkii-gal-48b-twin-hotspur-mki-resin-kits-by-planet-models-hotspur-mkii-released/&do=findComment&comment=4108029]here[/url] to see what people have to say on the matter. Conclusion It’s been a long time coming, so troop glider fans will be very pleased that it has finally landed, and that it’s a 1:48 Hotspur. Detail is good, the resin is well-crafted, and once clean-up is completed, it should go together much like an injection moulded kit. Take care of the seams with super glue or epoxy, and make sure you have plenty of masking tape handy if you plan to depict the yellow/black striped decal option. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  14. Taking advantage of the "opportunity" (COVID isolation) I completed the model of the DFS Rhönbussard glider. The base was CMR resin. Attention! The set hull is too short by 4 mm. Apparently not much, but in this scale and with the size of the model it's VISIBLE. Fortunately, I was able to add the missing part This glider (reg. SP-125) was taken over and reconstucted in Poland after II World War and served 3 years. I tried to show as many moving wing elements as possible and the structure of the airfoil. I hope you will like the model And at the end current status of my collection of gliders used in Poland. Only six, but I've ideas for next 20
  15. EoN Eton TX.1/SG-38 Over Western Europe (SH72442) 1:72 Special Hobby The Schneider SG-38 was a bare-bones glider designer to be an introductory airframe in flight schools. It was designed in the late 30s, and was manufactured by a number of companies, latterly Elliotts of Newbury as the Eton TX.1. It was employed in the UK and other countries after WWII as a cheap glider to be used by aeroclubs, which were still popular after the war. It was a truly basic in design, with a fabric covered wing and empennage, using bracing wires to hold it rigid like a WWI fighter. The pilot sat at the front totally exposed to the elements with his backside only a few inches from the ground, with a skid landing system that had some element of suspension between the ground and the pilot. The Kit This is a reboxing of the original 2015 tooling, with a collection of decals from the RAF, Belgium, Sweden and France, hence the “Over Western Europe” tagline. It’s a small glider, so in 1:72 it’s wee-tiny. It arrives in a short figure-sized end-opening box, and there’s a single sprue of grey styrene and a decal sheet in the resealable bag. The instructions are portrait A5 and printed in colour, with only two pages actually devoted to the build, the rest taken up with a sprue guide and all the profiles for painting and decaling. There are a couple of spare pilot cowlings within the sprue, one of which isn’t used on this boxing, the other is suitable for two of the decal options. Construction begins with the mating of the tail and supports to the one-piece fuselage, quickly followed by the wing that is slipped over the A-frame that juts out of the top, with a fairly visible seam on the moulded-in seat that will need a swipe with a sanding stick if you aren’t sourcing a pilot figure from somewhere. The pilot controls consist of a column and a choice of two styles of rudder pedals, then follow two drawings showing the installation of the tensioning wires in red, which you will need to source yourself. The final stage is the optional cowling around the pilot that can be fitted to the first RAF and Swedish decal options A & D. That’s it! Markings There are five decal options included on the sheet, which is also pretty small, but you have plenty of colour choices to go at. From the box you can build one of the following: EoN Eton TX.1 WP270, c/n 038 Maidstone Grammar School Combined Cadet Force (Air Cadets) Sept 1951 EoN Eton TX.1 WP265, c/n 033 Air Cadets, RAF West Malling, 1950s SG-38, PL-21, Royal Belgium Air Cadets, Beauvechain, 1959 G-101 (SG-38) built in Sweden by AB Flygindustri), No.80 Sweden, 1943-53 SG-38, No.95 “Le Timide”, France 1945 Decals are printed by Special Hobby and up to their usual standards with good registration, sharpness and colour density, with a thin gloss carrier film cut close to the printed areas. Conclusion This is a cool little kit that some of our older members may in fact have flown back in the day. It has some nice raised and engraved details, particularly around the flying surfaces, and should look quite special under paint and with the guide-wires in place on a representation of a piece of field somewhere. Highly recommended. Review sample courtesy of
  16. Next glider finished After almost two years from start (read: it's not so complicated kit; just the modeller was lazy....) I've finished model of first Polish post-war glider: "Sęp". Model shows a prototype which is easy to distinguish from serial ones - has no air brakes on top wing surfaces. The source :
  17. For this build I am doing the Jach 1/72 Baynes Bat kit. It is nice and simple, having just 12 plastic components and a little bit of photo etch. This is a 'family friendly' Blitzbuild as my partner has tolerated a lot of my plastic modelling this year which is why I started at 3pm - we had a nice walk with the puppy first. Hence this will be the most leisurely build, starting 'Boxing day' and probably finishing two days later on "Boxing day" 😉 My subject is a glider flown in 1943 to test the viability of the swept wing configuration for attachment to a tank to deliver said armour to the battlefield. This 'batty' idea was manifested in a 1/3 scale glider which had good handling characteristics but the project was cancelled before a full size wing was built. I'd also like to introduce to you 'Hammond', the rubber crocodile - already a veteran of two Blitzbuilds and many other model projects this year, who is here to see fair play.
  18. Finished. Finally. It should take me two or three times less time, but... The most important is that I'm quite enjoyed at the end. Enjoy watching. WiP thread is here.
  19. My new project - looking easy to build Grob Astir CS from Kovozávody Prostějov. I've chosen polish markings - SP-3703. Firstly I filled places for bottom air brakes - Grob Astir have only upper! Additionally I cut and shifted ailerons. In second step I glued fuselage halves, cut hole for wheel and add butt floor. Next I modified a seat and instrument panel shape (SP-3703 have different panel than others).
  20. DFS Olympia was a glider projected for Olympics 1940. Unfortunately due to IIWW this type was used rather for training new pilots than for sport competition. After IIWW some of gliders were abandoned by Germans on territory of Poland. 21 of them were restored and used. SP-390 was restored in Gdansk and flew in Malbork. As a basis I used an AZ model kit in 1/72 scale. I've added few parts in cockpit (invisible at the end), aerial brakes and printed own set of decals. Enjoy watching
  21. So having tested the water with a couple of RFI's here, I thought I'd take the plunge and start my first WIP. Its a Vacform 1/72 T21 by Phoenix models. Like my T31 I posted in RFI a few weeks back, this is another aircraft that I spent some happy years experiencing the joys of flight as a teenager, with 615 Gliding school at RAF Kenley. As you can see, although basic, they are probably all that could be offered for such a kit. Thanks to some very helpful information from Chris @stringbag I also have some plans from an old edition of the Aeroplane. The plans appear very accurate and are ideal for working on this model in this scale. Thanks again Chris! So a start has been made on separating (almost) all the parts from the main sheet..... The first thing I plan to tackle is the wing which I think will be the biggest challenge. As Chris pointed out and the plans confirm, there are two stages of dihedral on the undersurface, but the top surface of each wing out from the centre is perfectly flat, with just a small amount of dihedral at the centre point. I decided to use some brass strip to help form this, which enabled me to produce a plastic spar (both seen below). The brass is very rigid and was bent in a small vice at the three points along the wing. The plastic spar was then assembled against the brass with superglue joins. The next stage will be to modify the plastic spar such that the outer two sections are flat across the top, but retain the anhedral underneath. At the moment this is a trail and error idea. I may end up having to produce some internal wing ribs as there appears to be some under camber on the lower wing. I cant promise this WIP will be quick, but it might be interesting watching me grapple with this thing and my ideas! Stay tuned if you are interested! Cheers Terry
  22. Having completely gone overboard with GB fever, I thought I could put in this small kit of the General Aircraft Hotspur II Glider - no engines so must be simple! I have been extremely impressed with all the builds going on in the 'Trainers' GB currently in progress with all the yellow paintwork so I thought I might cover two GB's with one kit and build this for the Frog Squad GB as well. If I'm to make it, I can't start until 1st June and need to finish by the 9th, having started my other two kits in order first. I don't really know anything about gliders so here is a new arena in which I will need to to study up. Lovely yellow and black colour scheme on this one. I'm going to send away for that modelling knife.... Look at that fantastic yellow plastic! I must find a way of preserving some of that. The original crew appears to be missing so I have brought in a couple of trainees from a Novo Tupolev SB-2 Katyuska which I am using for spares. At least they came from a Frog mould. Must try to get those transfers out into a bit of sunlight to clear the yellowing. Only 5 Gold Tokens this time.
  23. A build from 2008, 11 years ago: I bet you never heard of this one. 1919…a seaplane-glider...now, that’s a concept. Whatever the logics behind it, the result was as cute as cumbersome. A not well known Fokker apparatus that was also tried on wheels, apparently didn’t produce any remarkable results to assure a place in posterity…other than this one. Towed by a motor boat with and without a pilot, the flight performance was strangely about the same. It was reported that among fish and cattle some stress cases were developed but fortunately without major consequences. Same goes for the pilot. It is a small model in 1/72, with simple lines that render design and construction easy enough to be dealt with over a weekend.
  24. After almost a year, I can now finally present the completed Phoenix models vac form of the T21 Sedbergh glider. Those of you that followed the WIP will know that this model took an immense amount of effort, with much of the fuselage being rebuilt in my quest for accuracy. I am particularly grateful to @stringbag for much very useful reference material and advice at the start of the build, a big thank you Chris! Also thanks to all those of you who followed the WIP with much encouragement. It was originally completed for Telford last year, but post that show I decided to re-do the cockpit windshields, and also replace the main wing struts with more accurate and stronger representations. At first my intention was to build an aircraft dated around the late 60's early 70's, in silver doped linen and dayglo, similar to the T31 I completed last year. In the end I decided to do a slightly later era white and red scheme. I used a mixture of Xtracrylics and Tamiya paints. Decals are Modeldecal for the roundels and home made for the rest. The original WIP can be found here: And finally some shots with her slightly older stablemate: Thanks for looking. Terry
  25. A build from 10 years ago: What about another beautiful sailplane? First flight,1934!! Victor Nikolaevich Belyayev was part of a group of visionary designers that created innovative, ahead of their time planes. The BP-2, or TsAGI-2 was a high-efficiency, 20 meter span sailplane that used a variation of the “Babochka” –butterfly- wing. It was practically a flying wing, with “positive arrow”. As usual, not much exists around regarding this beautiful design, but I got enough from the Net to build the model. This plane seems to have been flown with and without a horizontal stabilizer mounted on top of the two fins. Some changes in the painting can be also detected. A year later another variant was created, the BP-3 or TsAGI-3, a two-place machine with changes mainly in the area of the “tail” and with the “centroplan” with a remarkable dihedral. Savvy modelers would have already noticed the resemblance with another plane from the same designer, the DB-LK twin-fuselage project of the WW-2 period. This is a relatively simple project, but you have to pay attention and aim for a sound engineering. I can’t tell you how much I enjoy scratching these designs. It takes me no more time than a normal kit (after a little practice, of course) and my potential subject horizon widens immensely. You can see the parts breakdown in the accompanying images. The “centroplan” actuated as the main “anchor” part to which all other sub-assemblies were attached. The pod, as said before, was provided with an interior and a minuscule vodka flask for the comfort of the Russian pilot in case cold weather has to be faced. Gliders/sailplanes are a growing segment of the modeling subject spectrum, which is a welcome alternative to what you usually see -again- in at the shelves in hobby stores and contests. This one in particular offers a daring design, a strong appeal and a relatively easy engineering. I am sure you can find many more.
×
×
  • Create New...