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1:72 Italeri H-21 Flying Banana


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Don't let Eduard find this or they won't believe your complaint. "See, you got it to work. It looks excellent. What's the problem?"

I was just thinking that myself.

Whilst I feel your pain, I can't help but think that eduard somehow cover themselves with some statement somewhere that says

'some modifications may be required in some cases to ensure a perfect fit'

Or at least words to that effect.

Model is looking great though, and is a testimony to your skills.

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In asking for compensation from Eduard my tongue was firmly planted in my cheek, but you never know. To date I have not heard a squeak out of them, nothing, nada.

I think, useless...!

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You are quite right Igor I will get nowhere with my complaint but at least I tried.

Banana Build - Day 67

Tonight I started to make an air intake vent (I think) for the cabin wall:

P1040180_zpsa93026e8.jpg

It is made from some 1.5mm Evergreen channel section with end caps and a top added from plastic strip. I also cut out a grill from some 1mm aluminium mesh (as used on the engine floor plates).

This is what I am trying to reproduce:

H21%20rear%20door%20looking%20forward.jp

Let me explain further and things will become clearer.

This is where the air intake box will sit:

P1040181_zps7b342965.jpg

I have also added the riveted brass strip from the Extratech "Structure Elements" set. I knew that stuff would come in handy.

I had an idea that I could reproduce the ducting using Milliput like that in the cockpit. I temporarily glued in some polythene and had a practice go:

P1040182_zps1f77d25d.jpg

I rolled out the Milliput and squashed it flat using some polythene greased with a light smear of vaselene:

P1040183_zps1a9e1f59.jpg

I then left that to harden up under a lamp while I made my dinner.

Unfortunately the heat from the light took it too far and it was brittle and useless, I had also squashed it too thin:

P1040185_zps6b864668.jpg

Fortunately there was still a big lump of mixed Milliput that had not been under the heat source and it was now in a nice stiff, Plasticine like state. I rolled that out:

P1040186_zpsacd44243.jpg

When squashed flat and fitted into place I got this:

P1040187_zpsb73782ef.jpg

That is now curing under my light. I will wrap selected areas of it with the Micropore tape to simulate the insulation when it is ready.

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Great work Nigel and a very interesting discussion on the Eduard set,

Also Jessica thanks for the 1/48 scale link , Nigel turning 50 well congratulations !

Cheers from downunder where in my neck of the woods we are in a 7 day spell of over 40 degree heat , thank god for airconditioning

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I got a little bit more done last night, the ducting was cut to length:

P1040188_zpsc81584c8.jpg

I then started to wrap it in Micropore tape to represent the insulation:

P1040189_zps34273d32.jpg

I don't think there will be an update until Sunday now.

Bye 'til then,

Nigel

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Excellent; a Daddy slug to go with his baby up front. Looking convincing already, and we all know you'll make it better yet.

[Reminder to self: this is 1/72, this 1/72, this is 1/72...]

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Banana Build - Day 69 (I'm saying nothing)

I finished off the insulation:

P1040194_zps95e57ccc.jpg

Here is how it sits:

P1040195_zps2ac0c812.jpg

I am not going to glue it in yet as I want do have it in different colours. I can also still get a window in with it in place.

I glued on a floor level stringer and did a fit check with the floor:

P1040199_zps0ae30cf6.jpg

I also checked the bench seat fit:

P1040200_zpsc3a8e580.jpg

With all the gubbins on the cabin wall I thought I would have to fill and redrill the seat leg holes but it was fine.

The legs from the kit are rubbish and Eduard parts not much better:

P1040201_zpsd6e0365b.jpg

These will all have to be replaced with brass rod, 0.5mm I think.

The kit seat backs are also poor. Here are the Eduard replacements:

P1040202_zpsd22ba53b.jpg

I had been thinking about replacing these with lead sheet so that they could be made to sag in a more realistic way but can you imagine the amount of work involved? I will live with the PE parts, maybe if they were annealed they could be manipulated a bit.

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Damp tissue paper of kitchen roll sprayed with diluted PVA? Maybe you could do the entire back of all the seats in one go then cut out the sections between seats once it's set. That would certainly make the folding/rippling/sagging easier (or would it???)

Edited by hendie
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I then added a seat level stringer like this:

P1040203_zpsc47eddcf.jpg

By removing the other seat backs and side door I completley cleared this sprue:

P1040204_zpse8c6c966.jpg

There are a few other parts left on the other main sprue but not much. I always think that once the sprues are clear I am about half way through a build.

The final job required to finish this cabin wall was to remove a section of rib so that the ducting could be inserted later:

P1040205_zpsa3ed1edd.jpg

I have had a closer look at the seats and came to the conclusion that it would be less work and more realistic to scratch build the whole thing from brass rod, tube and lead sheet:

P1040207_zpsfed45908.jpg

With the kit seats in place a lot of my detailing becomes hard to see:

P1040206_zps72c208c7.jpg

The PE seats are more open but it still seems like a shame.

Of course the seats are modular and removable. Plenty of examples don't have any seats at all. There is even this interesting version with stretchers and a folded seat:

H-21_ClassicRotors2.JPG

I suppose we have to ask what would the Japanese civil defense version be fitted with? I would also be interested on g-usa's thoughts as he has actually flown on them.

Edited by Nigel Heath
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P1040206_zps72c208c7.jpg

Got to be honest here - that is pretty hideous.

Looking at the real interior pics... the seat backs are pretty open and the webbing is quite narrow. I think I would be tempted to see if there was any plastic mesh/netting available, maybe from supermarket onions, or something. That would be a lot easier to deform, and would still let you see the interior detail you have created here.

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Thanks Jorgen and hendie, I am thinking of doing something like that last photo with stretchers (which seems quite feasible) and one bench of three seats at the front on both sides. It would be nice to find pictures of the interior of the actual machine. Not a bad idea on the onion mesh hendie, I had not thought of that approach. More thinking and Googling is required. I am not sure about the tissue paper though, that sounds tricky, lead sheet will be better I think.

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I don't know about where you are at Nigel, but here in the states, in the vegetable section different fruit and vegetables are wrapped in a plastic mesh that might be cannilbalized for the seat backs. Just a thought. What also might work is one of those crazy soap thingys women use with liquid bath soap. (Sorry, real men use bar soap and hands, just a rule. SWMBO keeps buying me that foo foo stuff thinking I will use it, but I can only be domesticated so far.) it is very meshy. It's at least worth a glance or two.

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