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Piaggio P.166 1:48 Scratchbuild


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A bit of progress since last post.  Fin is now affixed.  Main wheel wells are in progress (can't finish till the wings are on given the wheel wells are embedded between the fuse and wing joint - yikes!).  

 

Here's the rear fuse vs front fuse sections with the wheel wells under way 

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And a bit of detail showing what is going on around the wheel wells (looks a bit ugly before a coat of grey primer...). The scrap styrene at the base of the fuselage is defining the horizontal plane - with so many curves going on I needed something to make sure the respective wings weren't skew-if. The hole just in front of the wheel wells is for the wing spar (no way am I doing a butt join for this wing-fuse connection)

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And here it is in the Lego jig.  I LOVE lego - the jig allows me to keep the trailing edge 100% straight, and keeps Dianne Hedral in her place - and keep the fuselage true in most dimensions

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And almost ready for glueing.   Preliminary scribing of wing panels sorted. Rear empennage just sitting in place (and not squared up yet) - it all looks a bit rough and ready (photos are not kind!) - but very happy with the way this is coming together. 

 

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Next steps.  Not relishing the engine pods.  They'll require vacforming - and the L vs R master is not interchangable...  Maybe I'll focus on the front fuselage 'pod' to at least get a Piaggio glider !!

 

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11 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

I love the LEGO jig! I’ve often used LEGO for ensuing bits are squared up but none of my jugs have approached the size of your one... not yet! 🤔

Only achievable due to picking up some really large LEGO base plates at a garage/yard sale many moons ago!   If only LEGO knew the market potential - we'd be seeing 'modelmakers packs' in amongst the Star Wars and other themed packs!

 

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I also think large kit manufacturers say Tamiya, Airfix, Trumpeter should look at providing a construction jig sprue in some of their kits; some biplanes for example. 

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  • 1 month later...

Coming along.  In the interlude, I have finished detailing the cockpit (9 pax layout!) and now have the front cockpit 'pod' glued together. 

 

Below is the basic top section clear glued to bottom section styrene - with very first coat of Milliput over the joint.

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Below shows the front cockpit pod tacked onto the fuse/wings section. Engine pods are not quite trimmed to size and just sitting on the wings to show effect. Ditto tailplane is just sitting in position...

 

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And same again from different angle. Engine pods still to be trimmed and fitted - and front and rear opened up etc etc.  Phew - lot's to do!!  

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  • 3 weeks later...

Some more progress. Engine pods are now on, tailplane fixed and the front fuse sub-assembly now joined on 

 

Here she is straight after the front fuse sub-assembly has been glued on (and set) 

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And after apply a single application of Milliput, sanding back and applying Grey primer to see what we have.  Happy with this - needs another coat of putty then onto panel lines etc. 

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The cockpit glass continues to be masked off until I'm ready for the more final coats. Cockpit framing is just roughed in so make sure we're on the right track

 

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From here, the undercarriage is going to be the next big thing - oh and then the paint = lots of masking then lot's of white, then lots more masking, then plenty of red..

 

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This is the intended scheme - VH-SMF operated by the Snowy Mountains Authority ('the' Hydro Project) in early 1960's Australia  (Photo: Chris O'Neil Collection via Geoff Goodall)

 

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Edited by ianwau
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Quote

I also think large kit manufacturers say Tamiya, Airfix, Trumpeter should look at providing a construction jig sprue in some of their kits; some biplanes for example. 

On my Be2C Airfix did include some wing/strut jigs (I didn't use them) and on their Gladiator there was an x shaped sprue between the interplane struts designed to be removed after assembly, which did make putting on the upper wing easy. I think a separate Biplans jig would be a good seller however I'm pretty much in favour of the old cardboard box method (thought I had a picture, but can't seem to find it, I can take one if people want to see one)

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  • 3 weeks later...

Coming along steadily - canopy masking going on.  And front landing light going in (oversized clear styrene to be sanded down and polished clear again). 

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I do like that Hasegawa stainless cutting template. Wingtip nav lights also done with the clear styrene treatment.,,, 

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and shoot grey primer, white primer, and Tamiya acrylic flat white (covers better than gloss - will Future it later). Temporary styrene sprue landing gear whilst painting!!

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It's still winter in Sydney today - so had to paint in 20 celsius. Seems to have gone OK though - just leaving it under a desk lamp for a few hours though to go off...

 

Next steps - masking for red trim and stripes. U/C is mostly sorted - lots of cantilevering going on. Feeling  like this is on the home stretch now.

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Masking for the Red under way.  Talk about complicated! 

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But getting there.  Tamiya is doing very well out of the masking tape usage    

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and the red is on (and first bit of masking removed just to check it 'worked'. The red is a 5:1 mix of Tamiya Acrylic Red XF7: Green X25 (that's how you get a maroon). 

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And masking mostly removed.  Pretty pleased with this - a few touch ups required from a bit of overspray (undermask). I need to put undercarriage on before removing the outer wing masks. And want to spray with either Future or Tamiya Semi-gloss clear acrylic - it's waaaay too matt at the moment before removing the canopy masks.   Anyone any thoughts on Future vs Tamiya SG Clear - I have never sprayed Future before....

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Not too long now!!!

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  • 2 weeks later...

Definitely on the home stretch now. Mastered up the decals (MS Powerpoint and colour laser printer on clear decal) - and filled up the sheet with various other projects I have on the go (VH-SMF is just top left hand side). You might recognise I have a bit of an Aussie cropdusting theme going on...

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Model cleared off and decals applied (still to clear coat etc). U/C fitted (main is cantilevered engineering but actually strong even in model form).

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Next steps - a few touchups here and there, props, u/c doors, wheels, aerials, lights, a touch of wash through the panel lines, a little bit of weathering (not much).  Suspect this is the last post in thread - next will be Ready for Inspection! Thanks for tagging along 🙂

 

 

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  • 3 months later...

Holy poo-poo! I'm normally not into civillian aircraft, but this is damn darn great!

Incredible modelling skills.

Where will you get the wheels from?

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4 hours ago, daHeld said:

Where will you get the wheels from?

The wheels are from the 'spares box' - accumulated after a few decades of modelling.  Note the finished model is posted on Ready for Inspection must be back in Oct or Nov?  Cheers. 

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