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The following model was seen this morning at Lviv exhibition: Beriev Be-12 1:72

Finished just before I go back to work tomorrow - Christmas break well spent I think. This is the Modelsvit 1/72 Beriev Be-12, finished as a firebomber using decals from Begemot. I've been fascinated by the Be-12 ever since I first saw photos of it. I remember contemplating a Revell boxing of the VEB Be-6 in the model shop on Deansgate in Manchester, must be more than 20 years ago now, and wondering whether it could be converted to a Be-12 - clearly not, they're completely different aircraft, good thing I left it on the shelf. I love the unique, distinctive shape, although I wouldn't call it beautiful. It's proportions look all wrong - the wing seems to be in the wrong place, there's way too much fuselage in front of it. But then they must have done something right as it's given 50-ish years of service now (although there aren't many left). I love this kit - by no means shake and bake, it's short run and shows it - for example there are no locating pins and the fuselage is in four pieces (six if you count the nose glazing) - but it goes together well if treated with care. Definitely a case of slow and steady wins the race. Surface detail is very nice and I managed not to obliterate much of it! I was impressed with the undercarriage - it's a complex structure but goes together well and is pretty sturdy. The only bits that gave me any trouble were the clear parts, which weren't the best fit ever but also not the worst. I'd definitely build another. The Begemot set includes 20 or so options, most of them very similar grey maritime patrol aircraft but with two different firebombers - this one and one with yellow panels and blue trim. I was tempted by the Egyptian option, but in the end couldn't resist this firebomber. The set included masks for the red panels on the fuselage - which was nice, but the masks for the top of the fuselage weren't flexible enough to follow the complex curves around the wing roots or around the observer's blister window, and the decals for the white trim weren't the same length as the masks - fortunately they were longer so they could be trimmed back. The decals performed well but were challenging in a couple of places - particularly around the observer's blister, where I had to fix it up with some xtradecal white stripe (which was more opaque than the Begemot white stripes, so doesn't look great close up). I'm not normally much into weathering but had to do some this time - photos of Be-12s, particularly this one, without filthy tail fins are pretty rare, so couldn't not add the exhaust stains to the tail fins. Back when I used to work on combustor aerodynamics for a living I'd have been pretty horrified at this - that much soot shows they clearly didn't manage the temperature inside the can very well, but since the engine is a 60 year old design I'll cut them some slack! On to the photos:

Beriev Be-12 Chayka (Mail) at The Ukraine State Aviation Museum Zhulyany, Kiev. Pics thanks to Dave Haskell.

Hello everyone! Now I want to show you my model, which I gathered for 2 weeks. First I presented It on the exhibition Lviv Scale Model Fest 2014. Have a pleasant viewing experience! And some photos of this work in progress...