Magna Jetstream T.2 1/72nd scale

[Mr T]

As my mother’s condition has stabilised, I feel I can start a new Work In Progress and have decided to pull a Magna kit that has been sitting in the stash for a while. Although the A Model Jetstream is out (and I have a T1), rather than ditching the kit why not build it? Now I know some of you will be saying ‘Oh Mr T, this is a Magna kit and they are so hard and rubbish, how can they ever be built’*

But lets us go foward to where Men are Men, Women are Women and Small Furry Creatures form Alpha Centauri are real Small Furry Creatures from Alpha Centauri.

The Magna kit can be built as a T1 (RAF) or T2 (RN) and is one of their later productions and so has decals which potentially makes live a lot easier. The kit comes in a stout box and the contents are packed in separate plastic bags. For some strange reason I had two sets of transparencies and two sets of white metal parts, well that may come in useful later on. Alternative resin noses are given for the T1 and T2 and the resin is a pale cream not too hard and surface detail is engraved and not too deep. A few air bubbles/holes are present. All resin parts have casting stubs present that will need to be removed with care to prevent too much resin dust forming.  Cabin windows are represented by decals, given the problems I have had in the past with Magna kits in this area might not be a bad thing. Some warpping of the main wings was apparent, but this was straightened with hot water and a steel rule (cheeky!).

White metal parts are provided for the instrument panel, rear cockpit bulkhead, props and undercarriage. These are of much better quality than earlier kits, but still not as well defined and softer metal than the late lamented Aeroclub range. Two vacformed canopies are present, with some detail, albeit a bit soft, but on the plus side they are clear with no blemishes. There is a large decal sheet with most markings and a smaller sheet of roundels and instrument panels. The curse of off centre red centres is present.  The instructions are typically Magna in terms of presentation, typewritten with hand drawn diagrams supplemented by written information and quite reasonable colour notes.

So there we have it, how will this kit go together? Next post I hope to have some parts cleaned up and some primer/paint on the cockpit detail.

 

Thanks for looking, martin

*This comment is not entirely original, I cribbed it from an Australian comedy sketch on YouTube called ‘Chopper Reid does Resuscitation’ that a colleague at work showed me when I was involved in Basic Life Support teaching for healthcare students. Please Be Aware the bad language in it is very strong, profane and frequent and for adults only 

[Lord Riot]

28 minutes ago, Mr T said:

Please Be Aware the bad language in it is very strong, profane and frequent and for adults only

 

I think that would also apply to me if I attempted this kit! 

[Nickthebrief]

If only someone would do one of these in 1:48 scale - I think it's a lovely aeroplane...

I shall enjoy following your progress. I have built a Magna Sea Balliol which wasn't too bad. I shall keep my fingers crossed for you!

Nick. 

[Pete in Lincs]

Jetstream in 1/48th?

I have a couple in Saudi markings.

They are 'desktop' resin models but I can't remember the name of the manufacturer.

I did convert some to RN T-2's for a mate while I was over there.

Pete

[Mr T]

Back again with some progress.

I have cleaned up the white metal bits, that took a little while and primed and started on painting them. Compared to some other Magna kits I have built (about seven, this will be number eight), the white metal was of much better quality with clearer definition and much less flash around the parts. Undercarriage legs, doors and wheels are nearly finished with a bit of touching up required and props are finished. The red-white-red tip blades are given as decals and so going to give them a go It is worth trying at any rate. The cockpit interior comes as a resin floor with seats and side consoles moulded in. Rear bulkheads, Instrument panel and control wheels are white metal. I did not add any detail as I do not think a lot will be visible through the cockpit windows. Colours came from the instruction sheet, web photos and the training aid at the aircraft museum at Doncaster. The first decal was also added, this being for the instrument panel. The decal is very thing and need careful handling but settled well with no silvering

The major resin airframe components were removed from their casting blocks and cleaned up. Any large air bubbles were filled at this time. Once the cockpit interior was added as was weight (aquarium plant weights) to about 20 grams as suggested in the instructions.

The fuselage had some blemishes wet sanded off and matched up and were found to be a good match. The fuselage was a bit longer on one half, but that was probably my cutting off the moulding block and not a major issue so far as I am concerned. Actual sticking together of the fuselage halves was by a combination of tacking the halves together with superglue and then filling with epoxy resin. As past experience has demonstrated that using superglue on its own does not always give a strong enough join to stop the joint splitting under the weight of wings etc.

 Once everything was dry I did a bit of filling (and it does need it) and then added the tail fin and ventral fin. The engines were also added to the wings to make clean up easier. More filler was added as needed and rubbed down and before the wings are added I might do a bit of priming on the fuselage and engines to see if the joints have been cleaned up to my satisfaction. Filler and some plastic card have also been used on the coaming in front of the instrument panel as the panel and fuselage was not a good fit. Holes have drilled in the tailplanes and fin to take some brass rod, fortunately some guide indentations are present. They will be added quite late on in the build to minimise breakages. The nose will be added when I can see the model will not be a tailsitter. It is solid and will stand some drilling to take weights if required. So far this kit is what I would expect of a Magna kit, not terribly sophisticated, but workable with a bit of effort. I quite like something to stretch me a bit.

Next up will be the wings and nose (Tailplane will be held on with tape to see how it balances). 

 

[cngaero]

On 6/21/2018 at 6:22 PM, Lord Riot said:

 

I think that would also apply to me if I attempted this kit! 

I think that could be applied to most Magna kits !!

[Azgaron]

Nice progress! Looking good!

 

Håkan

 

[Hamden]

 

Nice start I like watching Magna Kits turning into superb replicas

 

    Roger

[Paul J]

I built one of these some years ago for a review in SAMI.  Enjoyable challenge... but... it had rather excessive dihedral  So something to watch for with yours!

[Terry1954]

Good progress so far. I did a 1/144 Welsh Models T3 a few years ago, and that was hard work! Mostly resin also. I'll post an RFI sometime.

 

I'm certainly impressed that you have the stamina to tackle a Magna Models kit!

 

Terry

[Mr T]

Thanks for the comments everyone l, it is much appreciated. 

Paul, I did wonder about the dihedral as the fit of the wings seems a bit vague in the vertical plane and thanks for the heads up as I was thinking of putting on the wings tonight when it is a bit cooler.

Terry 1954, 

I have to say I quite like Magna kits for their choice of subjects and it is a pity they have gone as I would have liked their Twin Pioneer, as would probably have been a bit easier than the Hallam Vac kit. 

[Paul J]

24 minutes ago, Mr T said:

Thanks for the comments everyone l, it is much appreciated. 

Paul, I did wonder about the dihedral as the fit of the wings seems a bit vague in the vertical plane and thanks for the heads up as I was thinking of putting on the wings tonight when it is a bit cooler.

Terry 1954, 

I have to say I quite like Magna kits for their choice of subjects and it is a pity they have gone as I would have liked their Twin Pioneer, as would probably have been a bit easier than the Hallam Vac kit. 

Ah! The twin Pin. I have one ofthose built as well. Another review sample. Weighs a fair bit too when built! Will try and post pics here some time soonish.

[Colin @ Freightdog Models]

33 minutes ago, Mr T said:

I have to say I quite like Magna kits for their choice of subjects and it is a pity they have gone as I would have liked their Twin Pioneer, as would probably have been a bit easier than the Hallam Vac kit. 

 

Don't worry, Magna haven't gone! Dave Little of Combat Kits bought all the masters last year, he is slowing working to re-release them with re-worked masters and MUCH better casting (commercially done, not in a shed, no disrespect to those who cast in sheds!). The Twin Pin is the first to get the treatment, a very small sample batch were available at Telford last year, only a dozen without decals as that was how many clear resin canopies were cast up in time, no more vacform). Decals are still in progress so expect the production kit to go on sale by next Telford, along with the single engine Pioneer.  

 

Sorry to hijack the thread, the Jetstream looks a lot better than I though it would from the rough castings, great work.

 

Colin

[Massimo]

This is a subject I really love and RAF colours are THE option!!!

I'll follow with intrest!!!

[Mr T]

Hi Colin, that is good news about the Twin Pin, completely missed it, but it was my first Telford in six years and was a bit bemused. Will start saving as my wife wants to go to Shrewsbury again. Does it need it to be test built (tongue firmly attached to cheek)? The Jetstream I reckon was about as good they got with Magna, I think it was one the last kits other than the real. biggies. BTW are you likely to recast the Spitfire 22 improvement set for Telford? 

Massimo, doing the Navy one as I have AModel T.1, which I think the a RAF scheme suited it well. 

[Terry1954]

9 hours ago, Mr T said:

Massimo, doing the Navy one as I have AModel T.1, which I think the a RAF scheme suited it well. 

Good choice! Just posted my 1/144 RN T2 in RFI. A sample shot:

 

 

I am looking forward to seeing this one completed in the One True Scale!

 

Keep up the great work!

 

Terry

[Mr T]

Well I hope mine comes up as well, very nice and you would not think it was 1/144th scale. Not looking forward to a mix of white tailplane and black de icer boots, but as Eddy the Shipboard Computer would say 'ho-hum'.

Have got wings on and they might be a bit flat rather than excessive dihedral. Will try and get a bit more done when it cools down. 

[Darby]

Good to see you went with the T2 option. Anything else would be unforgiveable.

[Mr T]

Some more progress over the last couple of days. The wings have been added as mentioned above and some filler needed as there were some very obvious gaps., which did not surprise me and used some epoxy resin to strengthen the joint and to help fill it. The nose was added and this is where I came across a fir issue. The T.1 nose is a pretty good fit, however the T.2 nose is not a brillant fit, being a bit too large. 

Not the end of the world and as the resin is easily workable, a bit of trimming and very wet sanding produced this.

 it was about five or so minutes work. The two photos below show where the model has got to. In addition i also thought i would try to see how the red-white-red propellor blade tips decals worked. In a word they did not as they are two narrow compared to the blade width. So the blade tips have been masked off and a white undercoat applied prior to further masking and some red. a bit annoying.

Next step will be sorting the vacform canopy out. I want to do this before before adding any more parts to minimise possible damage. I already know the rear cockpit bulkhead needs some work heightwise and experience of Magna kits suggests some filling will be required. The canopy look a bit flimsy and I am grateful for spares. A big pipe that runs through the wheel wells also needs to added. I will not be around for a few days as off up North to the Scottish Borders to see Mum and so you will have time to sharpen the stakes get the crosses, silver bullets and garlic ready to ward off the evil of Vacform canopies. Thanks for looking

Useless s fact for the day. Last night, as I was doing a bit of light modelling  and watching 'The Day The Earth Caught Fire' from 1961, Michael Caine popped up in what was his first speaking role in a film, he had one line and was not credited in the cast list. The film was X rated at the time. My copy was rated 15 and the most recent release was rated 12.

Edited June 28, 2018 by Mr T
Inability to spell

[Terry1954]

This is coming together really well. I like the work on the nose "thimble" especially to get it to look right.

 

Terry

[Mr T]

Sorry for the delay in adding something new, been a busy time with visits to Scotland and London with the cat being terminally ill in between 😢

Anyway, some more progress. Completed some of the detail work, courtesy of the Britmodeller walkarounds. The main undercarriage had some hydraulic lines from 5 amp fusewire as this is quite noticeable on the real thing and a big pipe that is runs across the main wheel bays was also added, this time from 15 amp fuse wire. Not sure what is, but it looks lagged to me and so I wonder if it something to do with the wing de-icing. The tail planes were also added, and various joints filled, sanded. primed and re-filled. From experience this happens a lot with Magna kits, but they are resin, which is not always predictable when it comes to shrinkage on curing. Since the photos were taken, I have primed the model again and there are still a few areas that need attention, but I am getting there.

Wheels and props are nearly finished with just a bit of touching up required in places.

Next area to be dealt with is the canopy. This is a vacform and big as it covers the entire cockpit area. Fortunately, there are two of them. My kit has very clear canopies, but the windows demarcation detail is poor on both and the canopy will require careful masking. Helpfully Magna have provided ledges around the cockpit opening which will give the canopy something to grip on to.

Everyone has their own way of dealing with vacform canopies (often by avoiding them) and this is mine and seems to work for me. First off you know before you start the canopy will just not fit without a fair bit of work and errors are easy to make, so there is no point in rushing or cutting corners. Before I start cutting anything I usually cover the canopy itself with a couple layers of masking tape. It stops me from being too adventurous with sharp edged tools and helps prevent damage. I put the tape so that the edges of the tape correspond with any demarcation lines or where the canopy is supposed to fit. I might pack the canopy as well with Blutack to help support the canopy and prevent distortion. I usually cut of a fair amount of the waste material around the canopy with a pair of small scissors. I have a pair of small good quality embroidery scissors for the purpose, but companies like Squires have similar pairs that look like paediatric dressing scissors to me.

 Once most of the waste material had been removed then a trial fit will give some indication of how good (or bad) the fit is. Only at this stage do I start to use a modelling knife with a fresh blade. A Sharp knife is important as it is less likely to slip and will cut the relatively soft material of most vacforms quite easily. Vacform canopies tend not to be very strong and are easy to crush or tear if care is not taken. With the blade I will start removing excess material a little at a time and frequent test fitting. When I am getting near I will often use sanding sticks used wet to minimise clogging. Sometime all of a sudden you will have a good fit all round, but often with larger canopies no matter what you do the fit will be less than perfect.

This is what happened with the Jetstream. I managed to get a reasonable fit around most of the canopy, except at the front, where looking at both canopies the front edge has not formed well.  I think there is a way around this and will show the result in the next instalment.

Currently the canopy is on the model. It was tacked in place in stages using small blobs of thick cyanoacrylate applied from the outside with canopy held against the ledges on the fuselage, so nothing was inside the canopy. Once this was dry the edges were filled with clear epoxy resin. This had hardened and there appears to be no fogging and the test bit of sanding looks promising.

Thanks for looking and more soon I hope.    

[Mr T]

Making some more progress, albeit a bit slow as gone back a step with the props. I thought I had more or less sorted these, but  when I looked at a preserved Jetstream I realised that a) the red colour was way too dull and b) the proportions of the red-white-red tips were out, so sanded off and re masked and being re painted. Also we took the weekend end out to go the DeerShed festival in North Yorkshire near Thirsk. This is a family festival and although my family are grown up (ha!, so why are they living with us?), my daughter runs the accessible campsite and we have guest tickets as my wife is related to the family that run it. Had a good time sat on the grass with a pint watching Goldfrapp headline.

Apart from that it has been a case of further smoothing in the canopy area, which is now about as good as it is going to be and eliminating the bubbles in the resin that seem to spring from nowhere and reinstating surface detail. It is a case of fill-sand-prime and repeat and  now seem to be at the stage of putting some colour on , or will be when the temperature is low enough to have some confidence that the paint will hit the model whilst still wet, I have sprayed some primer at about 11.pm and it is drying before my eyes 

The cockpit windows have also been masked. This was a chore as the markings on the vacform cockpit cover were very indistinct or absent and I ended up having to measure out where the masks needed to go.   

 

Thanks for looking and another update once I have fulfilled my familial duties and travelled north.

[Azgaron]

Nice work!

 

Håkan

 

[Mr T]

I thought I had better put an update as I have made some progress and so that you do not think i have forgotten about the thread.

The basic paint scheme of Light Aircraft Grey with white fuselage top. fin and tailplane has been airbrushed on in acrylics and the de-icing boots and engines have been masked  and painted. I have never yet managed to mask anything perfectly and this model was no exception, so some touch up was required when the masking come off, but not too much. Beginning to look the part now I think.

After gloss varnishing a start has been made on decalling. There are a number of aerials and small pitot heads on the Jetstream and no way were theses going whilst I handled the model so much. The  supplied decals are very thin and once on the kit they do not want to go anywhere with a lot of water etc. With this in mind I am putting on the decals for the wing and tail and then varnishing them before starting on the big fuselage decals, which will cut up as I do not think they will go on very easily in one piece. So far I have used some Microscale decal film painted on as they they have been in storage a long while and to give them a bit of strength to withstand handling. Fantasy Printshop white blanking decals have been used as I am not sure how opaque the white sections of the roundels are.

Hopefully I will do some more work on this in the next few days.

[Mr T]

just a quick update as we are supposed to be going away for a couple of days. Managed to put some more decals on. Wing roundels were from a supplementary sheet in the kit and went on with no problems. The long fuselage blue stripe had me a bit worried as to how well it would go on, but in reality it was less traumatic than I thought. I divided the decal just in front of the roundel and removed the 'Royal Navy titles and emergency markings and they went on alright with lots of water and bedded down with a mix of De-ionised water and Klear. There are a couple of small tears  and a slight gap between the two halves as otherwise the stipe appears fractionally short. The fuselage roundels are noticeable off centre and have been replaced with some of an old Xtradecal sheet. The fuselage codes under the cockpit at first looked as if they might have been wrong in being sloped rather than a more standard upright font that seems to have been the norm later in their career, but a check on the internet turned a couple of photos with aircraft with the style of numbering given in the kit. they also showed differences in aerial fit that will need to be addressed.

Thanks for looking and progress is being made, if somewhat slowly.