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Welcome Home! (Eastern Express 1/144 Antonov An-2 Colt)


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The Antonov An-2 was widely used in Russia, and neighboring countries. A hardy, easily maintained, Short-Takeoff-Landing aircraft, it proved to be a life-line to many far flung rural communities. This little vignette is supposed to reflect the aircraft in that vital role.

The Build:

There was some minor scratch-building attempted on the aircraft:

  • The cabin door was molded closed, so it was opened and a basic interior was created before joining the halves together.
  • The engine was detailed a little as it's visible thru the front.
  • The kit was missing the prominent wing-flap hinges, so they were created from 0.5mm styrene sheet.
  • A bi-plane without rigging is no bi-plane at all, so despite the 1/144 scale, it was worth the effort.
  • The cockpit frame was created with decals, unfortunately that area is one of the weaker points of the build.

The rest of the scene is scratch built.

  • The base was made from epoxy-putty, with real stones,graded sifted soil and match-sticks for the fencing.
  • Static grass and colored saw-dust was used for the ground cover.
  • Twisted wire and brush bristles dusted with colored saw-dust made the conifer trees.
  • The chocks, access ladder and crates were built from stretched sprue, styrene sheet and choice expletives.
  • Barrels were just bits of sprue.
  • The man and dog were made from styrene sheet and stretched sprue. The man measures around 1cm in height, and had me cross-eyed for a few days after making him.

On to the photos!

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Thanks for watching! :)

Cheers,

Alex.

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Wonderful diorama! :coolio:

Thank you very much for the detailed guidelines. Great scratchbuilding skills!! At first i thought i was looking at figures out of N scale Preiser or Noch!!

The Antonov An-2 is one of the best-looking aircraft ever, and i understand they are still flown today over the great expanses of Eurasia.

Your vignette skilfully captivates this atmosphere!!

Kind regards

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Thank you everyone for your encouraging support! :)

Absolutely beautiful - a little masterpiece by any standards! :goodjob:

Is the Eastern Express kit the same plastic as the Amodel one?

Yes, the Eastern Express seems to be a re-box of the A-Model kit. The sprues are the same. The PE set in the EE kit is missing the wing-flap hinges. Since they are a prominent feature on the An-2, you might want to get the A-model kit if you choose not to scratch build them.

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