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Flight of the Phoenix **COMPLETED**


Mike N

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Looks really good, been a privileged to watch this all come together.
That is looking rather good. Don't forget the bag with the monkey stuffed in it. :)

The lettering on the side looks perfect to my eye.

Thank you very much to both of you :)

You know what, I had forgotten about the monkey! 1/72 scale monkey? :undecided: I will have to have a think about that, but it will be tiny!

Mike

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Thank you very much to both of you :)

You know what, I had forgotten about the monkey! 1/72 scale monkey? :undecided: I will have to have a think about that, but it will be tiny!

Mike

You can't forget Chucho! You have to have the monkey! By the way, your toy aeroplane looks great, Mike.

Regards,

Jason

Edited by Learstang
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Managed to put in a whole load of time in the last few days to do the last few bits...

The prop came from the Quickboost set for the B-25, which may be a little small but I couldn't find anything better, and does look the part.

Phoenix119s.jpg

To make the windscreens I had toyed with doing each individually but that would have been really hard to make everything line up and be robust enough. So I decided to do it in one piece. I cut some paper to the approximate size and then kept cutting and trying it until it was something like right. I then cut round this on acetate sheet, which took me two goes.

Phoenix120s.jpg

I also finished demilitarising the figures to become survivors. These are the soldiers with all equipment and weapons removed. I also replaced the heads with ones from the Airfix USAAF set again as this had plenty of bare-headed figures and I also needed another one with a cap for Moran.

Phoenix122s.jpg

Back on the plane itself, after adding a few of the detail parts like the exhausts, I started on the rigging. This aircraft has a lot of it for a monoplane! I used thin elastic bought from the Aeroclub stand at a model show a few years back as this will keep taut when installed stretched. I decided the best way to attach it was to use hooks made from fuse wire which were inserted into drilled holes. At the tail I tied a knot in one end around the hook, added a little superglue to keep it locked, and then threaded it through the fin, before doing the same at the other side:

Phoenix123s.jpg

Excess elastic was then carefully trimmed. The rigging wasn't actually as bad as I expected, but did take a little time.

Finally, everything was pretty much complete and ready for final assembly...

Phoenix129s.jpg

The rigging was painted steel. The ribs on the windscreens were stock styrene strips painted grey and cut to length, and then added using Future.

Now for the grand finale!

Mike

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She's finished!

Phoenix137s.jpg

Phoenix134s.jpg

Final touches were adding the last cockpit details which can hardly be seen in the pics such as the control yoke and coffman starter, the elevators matching the column position, and of course the figures.

Phoenix140s.jpg

I painted each according to their appearance in the film, although I quickly confirmed my lack of skills at figure painting! I did try to get the details right though, even adding Moran's wristwatch!

In conclusion, I'm really pleased with how the model has turned out. Sure there are some things I'd like to have done better, but there are only so many hours and a mountain of other kits to tackle! I learnt a lot of new skills and boosted my confidence at scratch-building, but most of all I really enjoyed this project!

Phoenix143s.jpg

And just for a bit of fun using a slow shutter speed and a blow on the prop:

Phoenix146s.jpg

Thanks for everyone's encouragement and kind comments throughout, they were very much appreciated, and I hope you like the finished article!

Mike

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Been following this & Wow, what a result, thats just super. I could hear the roar of the engine & see the sand blowing back in that last shot. Do you have any plans to place it on a diorama type base, even if just some sand & a few bits & pieces about? It'd sure finish it off.

Steve.

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