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Airfix 1/72 De Havilland DHC-2 Beaver ** FINISHED **


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Fond memories of this kit from the time of release. Always wanted to have another go.

 

The only comments I remember about this are that the undercarriage is tricky to fix properly and that there is ‘something’ not quite right about the shape of the tailplane. Not sure what though 🤔

 

Trevor

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Update #3

 

I've been playing with too many Spitfires of late so apologies for not giving this Beaver the bench time it deserves.  Anyway, I was at it for about an hour yesterday and managed to make a bit more progress. I started to sand all those rivets off the base plastic and was surprised how easy it was with some 400 grade Wet n Dry paper. It really was only one or two swipes here and there and off these came. I also decided to remove the elevators and rudder from the horizontal stabs and vertical fin. This has two advantages - it allows me to keep the rather nice surface texture from the trailing edge bits whilst also allowing these to be positioned at an angle for something a bit different.

 

The Airfix Beaver is based on the British Army AH.1 version. This has a number of lumps and bumps all over the fuselage which are not required for RAAF Beavers. The four upper deck windows also need to be filled in and sanded smooth. I'll also need to fashion a lower cowling intake which I'm hoping to source from the spares box or more than likely make from scratch. I've still got one of three Spits to complete for the RAF 100 GB, so I'll change to a higher gear with this Beaver build once this Spitfire Vb crosses the finishing line.

 

Cheers.. Dave.

 

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On ‎6‎/‎13‎/‎2018 at 12:43 PM, Rabbit Leader said:

Update #2 - first hurdle! 

 

I’ve never built an Airfix Beaver before and have not read any previous kit reviews. I’ve just come across my first hurdle with this kit and am posting this as a warning to others who may have one of these in their stash. 

 

I was merrily cementing a few parts as per the kits instructions and have just noticed that the hole guides in the cabin floor for the front crew seats are actually located about 10mm too far back!! The seats are supposed to line up with the forward windows but are way off. I’ve already cemented the seat legs in place, but now have to cut these out and reposition them further forward. I’m annoyed I didn’t see this earlier however am

now in recovery mode just two days into the build. Ominous signs?  - let’s hope not. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

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Hi Dave

 

Not a build review exactly, but Mike Grant built a Beaver for the Airfix Build & Convert series - book 2. He has some interesting tips in there about the build & adding some extra detail.

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If you're interested there's also a good book called 'Think Like A Bird' by Alex Kimbell which features the AAC Beaver quite heavily. I found it a great read.

Edge

 

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Thanks Edge. I love Mike’s modelling techniques but don’t have any of his Airfix books. I’ve been meaning to by them, but so far I still haven’t. Thanks for the advice.

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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All the Airfix Beavers I have ever built had that seating arrangement issue. Quite simple fix though. One other thing, that  pitot looking thing  poking at leading edge of the fin I think is only on British Army ones so need to come off for any other Beaver.  Do a dummy run if you use floats!! I found that the struts are too high up at front end. This issue appears also on the Hobbycraft kit. Aileron and flap hinge lines could do with enhancing on top surface of wing too.

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Thanks for the Beaver tips Paul and glad to know I’m not the only one with the odd fitting crew seats. I’ll be going the Ski / Wheel option for my kit and have a few nice reference photos to guide me with the various lumps, bumps and pointy bits. I’ll post an update shortly. 

 

Cheers.. Dave 

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1 hour ago, Paul J said:

What about the overhead cabin windows? Are they there on your chosen finish?

No Paul, RAAF Beaver A95-201 didn’t have the upper cabin windows or the various kit bumps. Now I’ve just dealt with the windows. The first photo shows plastic card inserts and strips, the 2nd is all sanded smooth, but still not to the final finish as yet.

 

Cheers.. (and please keep chipping in with recommendations).. Dave

 

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I built one of the lovely white plastic examples probably not too long after the original release date. 

More recently in the Winter of 2005 I built an example for Humbrol to verify the mould ahead of the Civil Aircraft set being released. It just wasn't the same in grey! 

Since I didn't have decals for the 2005 build I finished it as a Dutch example from the spares box. 

John 

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I’m finding the white plastic is not the easiest colour to work with, however I’m not sure if this is down to my modelling eyes being adjusted to all the various shades of grey over the years. Still, it will help with the overall solid colour as I won’t need to ensure the white primer is 100% perfect - not that that’s ever  achievable on my work bench! 

 

Cheers.. Dave

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  • 1 month later...

Belated Update #4 !!

 

Apologies for the long delay. I'll be honest, I got sidetracked with other modelling projects and a few small household reno jobs. The young fella is also in his last year of High School so we've been visiting all the Career Expos and local Universities for a few weekends now. They've been long days that's for sure. 

 

Anyway, back to the Beaver. I had the opportunity to sit down for a few hours yesterday and contemplate this build a little. When I last left it, I was kinda stuck with the fuselage transparencies as they had some minor scratches that annoyed me a bit. Once cemented in place, I decided to take to them with a few grades of Wet n Dry, Micromesh and then a quick coat of Clear. The end result is what you see here. Prior to all this, I painted the window edges black, so that I would not be left with an unpainted white rim once the clear parts were glued in. It looks a little messy now, however this will all be primed in one universal colour prior to the application of the top coat.

 

I've now got a vision of what I want the end model and display to look like, so hopefully this recent spate of enthusiasm will accelerate this build to the finish line.

 

Cheers.. Dave

 

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That's showing an eye for the details - it's little things like this which really make the kit into a model! That black will look like the rubber inserts that seal in the glass to the window frames. Great to see this one moving on. Cheers. Mike.

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Update #5

 

I found a little more bench time over the last two days and have painted and assembled the kit's cockpit. Those of you with long memories will recall that I had some issues with the crew seats as the holes Airfix provide to mount the seat bases are way too far back. Looking at the instructions, I now believe that this is done purposely in order to allow enough room for the pilot (with full legs) to sit, however the seats then don't line up with the cabin doors. I resorted to re-attaching them in a better spot, however this then cramped up both the control column and Instrument Panel.

 

Anyway - I don't know why I worried over this as you won't be able to see anything once the fuse and top wing are all buttoned up!! Courtesy of the spares box, I found a pair of 'Mail bags' that I thought might look OK placed in the rear cabin and should I find the time and energy to mount this model on a display base, I've painted up a small tent that may tie this whole Antarctic Beaver thingy together. The seatbelts are just painted up Tamiya tape, which add a bit of life to the boring brown seats. I'll close up the fuselage later tonight and sand the seams once dry. I'm not a huge fan of 1/72 cockpits, however now that this chore is over it'll hopefully speed up the progress of this kit a little more.

 

Cheers.. Dave 

 

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The inside of the cabin looks excellent now Dave, and the window surrounds look well 'finished'. Looks like they got some silver over the black? Can't help thinking that those mailbags are big enough to be hiding a couple of stowaways! Enjoying this build. Cheers. Mike.

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Update #6

 

I agree Mike, those ‘Mail bags’ do look awfully large however I was taken aback when my 12 year old daughter joked - “Are the pilots about to fly off with a big haul of cocaine, Dad”???  Clearly she’s been watching some inappropriate shows whilst I’ve been modelling - so what’s Mum been doing? Yes - good question?? 

 

Enough of all that. This is where this kit is at after three days of on and off modelling. I suppose you could say I’ve been Beavering away!! OK - enough of the corny Dad jokes. She’s starting to look like one of Canada’s finest exports  don’t you think? 

 

I’ve taken quite a liking to this kit and think Airfix did really well to capture the lines of this boxy workman like aircraft. Might even be tempted to build a Skyservant when the next Matchbox GB rolls around? 

 

Cheers.. Dave

 

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Superb work Dave! 👍

 

On 14/08/2018 at 11:00, Ventora3300 said:

The inside of the cabin looks excellent now Dave, and the window surrounds look well 'finished'. Looks like they got some silver over the black? Can't help thinking that those mailbags are big enough to be hiding a couple of stowaways! Enjoying this build. Cheers. Mike.

Totally agree with that!!!

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There one of these came up on the local auction site last week, finished yesterday. I didn't win even though I pushed further than I meant too. :( At least I made the winner work for it. :) It were your build that inspired me to give it a nudge Dave, let's hope Airfix releases it as a classic.  :)

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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