Colin W Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Hi Chaps There are quite a few T33s planned in this GB already but I'm joining in with a minor conversion of this into an RT-33 Reconnaissance version. This was a single seat version of the T33. The main change will be the nose at the front and sides where the cameras were fitted. Only 85 were built and fortunately 2 are in the RTAF museum. GWH have moulded the nose on a separate sprue so I wonder if they might plan to release this version in the future. Still it looks like an easy job so I'll give it a go. I'll be using pictures of the museum examples as a guide. I've wanted to do this for a while but I could never face the Academy kit. This seems to be a really good kit so let's see how it goes together. Colin 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TEMPESTMK5 Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 Good evening Colin Welcome aboard an RT33 will be very interesting build to follow . Enjoy your build . Patrice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 12, 2019 Share Posted April 12, 2019 The Rt-33 ? Is this the model that reused the 2nd seat space for radio-telemetry and other black boxes ? I think i remember reading something about these last year, up in the aviation chat section ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
theplasticsurgeon Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 On 4/12/2019 at 8:25 PM, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: The Rt-33 ? Is this the model that reused the 2nd seat space for radio-telemetry and other black boxes ? I think i remember reading something about these last year, up in the aviation chat section ? RT-33 is an option in the Heller 1/72 kit. I've just dug out the instructions for mine. Different nose with cameras (think lumpy F5 Lightning nose grafted on), and some equipment in place of the rear seat. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 28, 2019 Author Share Posted April 28, 2019 Hi Chaps I cant say I've done much modelling for this GB but I have found a picture of the intended plane. This is 56142 on the raised Dias outside the Royal Thai Airforce Museum. The sister 54141 is a longer term resident of the museum, originally in a very attractive 3 tone grey but she has been parked out the back in the storage yard for a few years and looking the worse for it. Kiwikitbasher has sent me a huge amount of detail on the RT-33 so I am now ready to do the modifications of the rear cockpit so I'll make a start this week. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 29, 2019 Author Share Posted April 29, 2019 Well I have made a start on the RT-33. I built both ejection seats rather than loose the bits for the second one in the spares bin. These are built from 7 parts and are as good as the resin ones I have. Fitting of the sides is a bit vague but burried down in the cockpit any errors willbe invisible. The wings went together easily with the only issue being the vague location of the flap actuators. The air intakes were excellent and clipped in perfectly. Some of the connections between the sprues and parts are unnecessarily complicated and could easily lead to damage of the parts and fit issues later. I'm not sure what the life expectancy of the tiny probe under the nose on the port fuselage half is but I doubt that it'll still be there when I finish. Colin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted May 3, 2019 Share Posted May 3, 2019 On 30/04/2019 at 00:42, Colin W said: I'm not sure what the life expectancy of the tiny probe under the nose on the port fuselage half is but I doubt that it'll still be there when I finish. Is it still there?? I figured out what to do about these, because they really mess with the build. While the fuselage is in 2 halves, you can cut the piece out of the edge of the plastic, and leave a little half hole to match the half-hole in the other side. The antenna can be carefully put away and glued back in at the end. I do quite a bit of foil covering, and these things are a real pain for the process. Wing guns can be done the same way. My little Beech 18 had 5 things sticking out of the fuselage half! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted May 8, 2019 Author Share Posted May 8, 2019 Cheers Rob that's a new idea for me. It's still there so I'll try this technique. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted May 21, 2019 Author Share Posted May 21, 2019 Still alive! With the Group builds coming fast at the moment I've neglected this to focus on the Specialist and Training Group builds. These are now complete so I can press on with the RT33. I have learned that most RT-33s were field modifications to the standard T33 so the lack of detailed information is not so serious. The RT33 design was a single seat version so I cut away the rear cockpit tub to allow fitment of the additional fuel tank. This is from an old Airfix Fire Engine but looks like it's meant to fit. I painted it green and sat it mid fuselage while adding some lateral structure to the fuselage. Now to work on the new nose shape. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 With the fuel tanks installed I joined the fuselage. The fit is perfect and with the wings clipped on it holds itself together without glue. Must be time to turn it into an RT33. So I reached for the saw and cut off the nose. I cut out the plan and profile then transferred them to 1mm plastic card. These were stuck into saw cuts in the nose. I also cut out the main camera window to assist with the reference. The card was used as a form for the filler. Here it is after the first application of Milliput has dried. Colin 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 3, 2019 Author Share Posted June 3, 2019 Another week travelling followed by a long weekend has allowed me to get on with the nose. Here the camera Windows are marked for the lower and starboard side. The port main camera I decided to cut out and build correctly. With the filler application I sculpted the window to allow a flat panel to be fitted. Most of the work done so just fitting the window. Semi complete lower windows can be seen at the top. Colin 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 6, 2019 Author Share Posted June 6, 2019 I got the wings on. The fit was excellent except under the intakes which took a bit of pressure. No filler needed except for the nose job! Colin 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted June 8, 2019 Share Posted June 8, 2019 That's a tidy bit of scratch building and modification! That will keep the tail up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 10, 2019 Author Share Posted June 10, 2019 Cheers Rob, Nothing like a kilo of Milliput to hold the nose down. I cut out the port camera bay to reduce the weight. Still pretty heavy though. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 11, 2019 Author Share Posted June 11, 2019 Meanwhile I have been unsuccessfully looking for some more reference pictures of the blue scheme. It's now been confirmed that the blue scheme is entirely fictitious. Thanks to Tony and Khun Sak for confirming this. Fortunately I had not started painting so can switch to the other, correctly marked RT-33 in the museum. She has been there for many years and though looking a bit neglected now I'll do the above scheme as seen in 2004. Colin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 14, 2019 Author Share Posted June 14, 2019 A fairly easy job for the paint preparation so a base coat of Mr colour 308 Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Great job so far! Looks clean and ready for paint 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 24, 2019 Author Share Posted June 24, 2019 (edited) We slow progress but progress non the less. I tried free hand airbrushing the scheme but finally decided that the soft edges didn't really capture the look of the real thing. So I returned to a flat coat of the dark colour and masked down to the light colour applied last. Colin Edited June 26, 2019 by Colin W 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 30, 2019 Author Share Posted June 30, 2019 Well I was hoping to have this finished by now as I'm off on holiday for 3 weeks so no serious modelling. SWMBO objects. I will have a week to finish when I get home so should meet the deadline. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 27, 2019 Author Share Posted July 27, 2019 Hi Chaps Well I'm back from holiday and back to work on the RT33. Decals added top and bottom along with the detail parts like undercarriage doors and sensors. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted July 27, 2019 Share Posted July 27, 2019 Looking great Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jabba Posted July 28, 2019 Share Posted July 28, 2019 Certainly a colour scheme that is a bit different for a T-33. Well done with the conversion. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted July 30, 2019 Author Share Posted July 30, 2019 Well there wasn't too much left to do after the last post so she's pretty much done now. National insignia added to fuselage sides only as per the picture in my copy of the RTAF 100 years anniversary book. Gloss taken back to satin and minor details added. Camera windows and canopy came out well. Rear seat replaced with a fuel tank and some electronic communications gear. Well I'm very pleased with the result. This kit is much better than the Academy effort but takes a bit of care to get right. Towards the end of the build the port undercarriage collapsed in 2 places overnight and for no apparent reason. I drilled out the leg and inserted a brass pin for strength during the repair. It might be due to the weight of the Milliput in the nose but the nose gear is OK. More pictures in the gallery. Colin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted July 30, 2019 Share Posted July 30, 2019 Well done on your Recon T-bird. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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