Matt P Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Well....just taken delivery of this... intending to convert to this... What could be easier ......new floor and interior, two new photographic windows in the rear door and port panel, make a FLIR setup and get some decals.Simples......(what have I let myself in for this time?) Having flown in this aircraft for 3 years waking most of Teesside and the North East I definitely have a huge soft spot for it, so couldn't resist 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinky coffeeboat Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Following along with this build, I've got one to do in straight forward civvie scheme (Olympic from 26decals), so no cutting, modification or add-ons for me!! Jeff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted January 9, 2019 Share Posted January 9, 2019 Nice! Definitely be following this! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 OK, Interior is pretty much done except for a bit of tidying up paintwork. I realise that most of it won't be really visible once the fuselage is together but just wanted to give the impression of a busy (and usually untidy!) space inside. Next up is working up courage to cut holes in the fuselage sides for the extra rear windows. Anyone got any tips? 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dnl42 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Do you mean the window that appears to be visible in the photo above? Looks like a rounded rectangle? If so, I'd 1st scribe the outline into the plastic. I have some scribing templates with rounded rectangles that would work nicely, perhaps you have such a template, too. Then drill closely spaced holes inside the rectangle. Close to the edge but not such that the edge of the drilled hole meets the scribed outline. Once you go all the way around, you can remove the bulk of the plastic. Then clean up the hole using an equalling file (thin rectangular cross section) and round files. Ideally, start with a 2 cut, then 4 cut, and finally finish the edge with a 6 cut file. This will provide a nicely polished edge that matches the outline. HTH -- dnl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 thanks for that. Proved easier than I had imagined thankfully. Drew the shape onto masking tape freehand then drilled and filed to shape Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andyf117 Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 (edited) Content withdrawn - I will NOT be threatened by a moderator, simply because I queried the actions of another... Edited June 27, 2020 by andyf117 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 That's correct. Hampshire, Cheshire, GMP and North East all had Islanders at one time or another. We had bot the Islander and an EC135 helicopter and in my humble opinion the Islander was as good or better at most jobs, particularly lengthy surveillance, area searches and jobs where the conditions were marginal for helicopter flying. The only real downside was the incredible noise when flying at low level, which was most of the time Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveWilko Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 I was going to mention that Cheshire Police operated an Islander a few years ago,but I see you have covered that fact already. My wife and I used to see it quite regularly when shopping in Crewe on a Saturday afternoon if the 'Alex were playing at home and yes,it was a rowdy beast at low level(about 700' i guessed). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 10, 2019 Author Share Posted January 10, 2019 Quote Hampshire Constabulary opted for an Optica (anyone remember those?), which later crashed and was replaced by an Islander... I remember that. A horrible fish bowl with wings. If I remember correctly when it crashed it was being flown by a Police Sergeant who had a PPL rather than a pro pilot (Not that it was a cause of the crash). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 Seeing the police use them and another use is skydiving perhaps the two could be combined as a sort of fast reaction “flying squad”. Model looking good so keep it up. Looking forward to seeing the rfi 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted January 10, 2019 Share Posted January 10, 2019 4 hours ago, JohnT said: Seeing the police use them and another use is skydiving perhaps the two could be combined as a sort of fast reaction “flying squad”. Chris. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jonners Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 Very interesting, Matt, especially seeing the interior setup in the Islander. I flew the MD902 in the police role a few years ago (next unit south, also now sadly disbanded!), and your unit once hosted my Sea King crew for a no-notice cuppa one night when we called in at EGNV for fuel after a task. This will look good, and all the better for being so unusual. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Beema Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I frequently see the Britten Norman Defender BN-2T-4S 4000 operated by the Air Corps for the Gardaí (maintained and crewed by the Air Corps, tasked by the Gardaí). Seems to head out in a costal direction from Baldonnell on a daily basis. I see though that this version has the Trilander mainplane and extended fuselage.. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 11, 2019 Share Posted January 11, 2019 I am interested to see how this build progresses as I have it in mind to get one of these kits and do an Indian Navy cab. Martian 👽 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 12, 2019 Author Share Posted January 12, 2019 (edited) Ok, I've cut the extra windows and put the perspex windows in (which was a pain!) ready to start assembly and paint. The fit is pretty good but very annoying as there are no attachment lips or pins on anything, so lining everything up gets tedious. Also the parts are numbered wrongly on the instruction sheet so need to be physically checked at every move. The windows are exactly the same size as the openings, with no lip around the inner edge as you would normally have, so again quite difficult to them lined up without getting glue on the faces (My excuse is boing spoiled by Tamiya kits for years!). Other than that it is going swimmingly so far Next job is to get the interior fitted and the fuselage halves joined....... Edited January 12, 2019 by Matt P 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 17, 2019 Author Share Posted January 17, 2019 Not too much progress recently due to work distractions etc....:( However, I have managed to build something that looks a bit like a FLIR camera pod to mount to the side of the fuselage, and to eventually paint the gloss white on the fuselage and wings. That was a saga in itself as I just couldn't get my airbrushes (Plural!) to handle white paint and eventually used a Humbrol rattle can. Decided to keep the wing and body separate at the moment as the cheat lines are very thin and easier to get at like this. I must say I am continually unimpressed with some of the moulding issues, especially the lack of mounting points etc. The small pins on the back of the props don't reach the sockets for them insode the engines for instance, so will have to be pinned, as were the undecarriage legs. Ho hum... 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted January 17, 2019 Share Posted January 17, 2019 ." Proudly hosted by photobucket", eh? D'you think they're trying to raise their corporate profile a bit, and enhance their reputation?? Don't know if there's a way for you to get rid of that paste-on insult, but if you can, do so. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dcrfan Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 You did much better than me aligning the fuselage halves😒 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 18, 2019 Author Share Posted January 18, 2019 Quote You did much better than me aligning the fuselage halves Which takes me back again to the frustrations with this kit Some of the moulded detail is superb yet there are basic things like attachment points, decent instructions etc missing. It took a lot of faffing about to get the fuselage halves lined up and filled etc and that could have been eliminated by some simple tabs for mounting. Likewise lots of other parts unfortunately. However it is what it is and should still build up to look good hopefully........................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thorfinn Posted January 18, 2019 Share Posted January 18, 2019 Great project! Having 'togged out' a number of police and rescue aircraft over the years, I admire what you're doing. (Nice FLIR, by the way.) Looking forward to seeing her with colours. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 24, 2019 Author Share Posted January 24, 2019 (edited) A little progress made, although it seems to be two steps forward and one step back with this kit for some reason Had paint problems with the white, then when I sprayed the blue to ended up leaching under the masking tape where the raised fuselage details are. In the end I probably painted most of it by brush to tidy the mess and put the gold lining on. Just waiting for some decal paper to arrive and then make up the transfers before putting the wing and fuselage together. Annoyingly I spoke to around half a dozen 'custom' decal makers, only one of which said he would be willing to make me some, and then he didn't reply to any further e-mails, so it is DIY decal time! Luckily there aren't that many to do thankfully. Various aerials and add ons are made from plasticard and pins. While I'm waiting for the decal paper to arrive I thought I'd make a start on the stand. This is made from a Hobbycraft 10" x 10" wooden frame covered with a portion of Ordnance Survey map showing Newcastle (where we spent a lot of time flying around in this thing!), and with the 3 police force badges making up the unit and the unit badge around the edges. This will eventually be covered in clear resin before the aircraft is mounted on it............ (My apologies to those sensitive to Photobucket logos on pictures. I can't figure out if they can be removed before posting here I'm afraid). Edited January 24, 2019 by Matt P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt P Posted January 27, 2019 Author Share Posted January 27, 2019 (edited) Well at last it is just about finished, and I must say it has been a daily disaster area on this build. Whatever could go wrong has done, and sadly I'm not in a hurry to rush out and buy another Valom kit any time soon . I am not happy with the result but more than happy to put it to one side as 'finished' and move on........ho hum. I must add that I cannot lay all the blame on the kit, my own ineptitude certainly didn't help! The final insult was despite putting twice the recommended amount of lead weight in the nose (and couldn't fit any more in if I tried!) it is still a tail sitter and needs to be glued down to the base to sit properly, hence the tail propped on the oil drum for now Edited January 27, 2019 by Matt P 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now