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Dora Wings 1/48 Vega Gull


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Something about this one really appealed to me. A lovely art deco-y 1930s plane with no struts or rigging? Sign me up.

 

R6Jxej0.jpg

 

Sprue shot! Also includes a small PE fret  and canopy masks.

 

KAmS6EO.jpg

 

There's a bit of flash to clean up, but nothing too terrible

 

fJnYMP4.jpg

 

 

OK, this is going to be pretty much OOB and probably quite slow; I haven't actually finished anything this year and I think only one last year, so this thread's mostly here for a kick up the a to remind me to get it done. So far I've stuck tailplanes/wings together just to get started, and I've had a go at the instrument panel:

 

xuzKLz4.jpg

 

The dials were supposed to come on acetate which was missing, but Dora provided a pdf replacement to download, and I think it looks pretty good, actually.

 

There are four decal options and I've decided to go with G-AEKE, winner of the Schlesinger air race. According to the instructions it's a similar blue/silver to Beryl Markham's plane so I'll go with that. I've ordered a pot of this for the main colour:

lD9sDyl.png

 

- looks pretty good to me, but according to Polish Post tracking it's been sitting in Warsaw for the last two weeks so there might be some delay there.

 

As for the interior, I found this cutaway on the net:

 

FhNl1lk.jpg

 

I think I'll put that extra fuel tank in the back, replacing the back seat. Unfortunately, I can't find any info about interior colours. I have found some pics of a red Gull and its interior is all red so I'm thinking of making mine all blue.

 

Does anyone know any better about interior colours?

 

Anyway, let's see if I can actually finish one this year.

 

 

 

 

 

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A beautiful nice civil model on BM!!!!! A special event no doubt, as we mainly meander in visiting the site between the bomb craters, the bullet holes and other such lovely and uplifting recreations of destruction and death!

I will enjoy this build, even if it is (I resist to pronounce the bad words...) in 1/48th (there, I said it).

Cheers

 

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Told you I was slow...

 

OK, the interior. Dora give you seats that look like this:

 

wjTZ3Xd.jpg

 

The rear one isn't too bad but the two front seats don't really look like the ones in the diagram and I remember one of the threads on here saying they're more like military seats. But I think you can get a good compromise by just cutting the tops down a bit, which makes them match the rear seat. They also need a couple of cushions, and since I won't be using the rear cushion bit:

 

qcafrgP.jpg

 

RdUHt6G.jpg

 

I've also decide that the all-grey cockpit looks a bit drab, so I'm arbitrarily declaring that these guys probably forked out extra for some nice blue leather cushions. Here's where I am now:

 

w6FNLw9.jpg

 

KJlhIBD.jpg

 

The belts, compass holder and the barely visible black lever are all from the provided PE. There should be at least one more lever which is currently, ah, somewhere in my house I guess.

 

I've also made a stab at the rear fuel tank, which I made out of a cut down rocket launcher or something from the spares box; needs a bit more work though.

 

YH675Yi.jpg

 

And that's where I am now.

 

If anyone else has this kit, does anyone know what PE parts 18 and 19 are? They look like small instrument panels and it's be nice to fill the cockpit up a bit if I can use them somewhere.

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Well hello again chaps, looks like I actually got some stuff done a bit more quickly this time.

 

Engine:

 

f3iCEf7.jpg

 

Half a dozen parts, two bits of PE. I think it'd look good with the inspection panels open, but there's no provision for that in the kit and you'd have to take a saw to it which I'm not going to do. As it is, it's a bit of a shame that all you can see is

 

ZXZ9tq9.jpg

 

Ah well.

 

Also finished up my auxiliary fuel tank:

 

LXRdUuW.jpg

 

... and here's where we are at the moment with the fuselage closed up:

 

atzc6D0.jpg

 

kxi1tCZ.jpg

 

Next bit might be a while as I'm completely baffled as to how the instrument panel/coaming/canopy all fit together at the front of the cockpit; my dry runs so far have a huge gap whichever way I try to fit them together. I'll try again tomorrow, hopefully something will click.

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9 hours ago, Unkempt said:

Next bit might be a while as I'm completely baffled as to how the instrument panel/coaming/canopy all fit together at the front of the cockpit; my dry runs so far have a huge gap whichever way I try to fit them together. I'll try again tomorrow, hopefully something will click.

 

I am currently building the 1/72 scale version and the instrument panel/coaming is a near to perfect fit. The parts break down on the 1/48 scale model is very similar. Could it be that you fitted the fire wall in front of the cockpit at a too steep of an angle so that the upper part is now interfering with the panel/coaming assembly?

 

Cheers, Peter

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6 hours ago, Basilisk said:

 

I am currently building the 1/72 scale version and the instrument panel/coaming is a near to perfect fit. The parts break down on the 1/48 scale model is very similar. Could it be that you fitted the fire wall in front of the cockpit at a too steep of an angle so that the upper part is now interfering with the panel/coaming assembly?

 

Cheers, Peter

 

I don't think it's that, but I certainly wouldn't rule out me being the PEBCAK.

 

My problem is this:

N5tQacu.jpg

 

That squarish bit I've circled is a hinge or catch or something for the engine panels and it's definitely supposed to be there; the problem is that when I try and fit the coaming (is that the right word?) then I get either

 

C9Njs8U.jpg

 

or

 

3aHZL8d.jpg

 

both of which are clearly wrong. The obvious thing to do is fettle a little bit off the coaming so it fits, which I'll do today, but I can't see how it was supposed to fit at all. What does the 1/72nd look like there?

 

edit: Peter, looking at your thread I think I can see a little cutout exactly where I need to make one, is that right? Also, you've got more detail in your 72nd cockpit than I have in 48th...

Edited by Unkempt
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10 hours ago, Unkempt said:

edit: Peter, looking at your thread I think I can see a little cutout exactly where I need to make one, is that right?

 

Yes there is a little cut-out in place on the coaming part on the 1/72 kit. Looks like they forgot it on the 1/48 scale version. Shouldn't be too hard to file one in to make it fit.

 

Cheers, Peter

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Before you do any trimming, make sure the canopy piece will fit in with the coaming pushed all the way forward. That should at least give you a clue as to what needs to be done. I’d hate to see you file that piece, only to need it to be in the rearward position with more to fill. 

 

Plane is looking mint, though! Good work so far. 

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20 hours ago, Basilisk said:

 

Yes there is a little cut-out in place on the coaming part on the 1/72 kit. Looks like they forgot it on the 1/48 scale version. Shouldn't be too hard to file one in to make it fit.

 

Cheers, Peter

Thanks, I thought as much. OK then, let the fettling begin!

 

7K4Fhjz.jpg

 

Iot6SeT.jpg

 

uNXlSpi.jpg

 

Yep, that's better. Might need a smidge of putty in there but it fits now. Easily fixable but I don't get how they missed that.

 

I still haven't got my turquoise paint - the guy very nicely sent me a replacement for the one that's obviously lost in the post somewhere between Poland and Vermont, but according to the tracking the replacement's still in Poland so there might be another delay coming up...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Further paint update: I found this stuff in a local hardware store

 

7aEvqrI.jpg

 

Now, this is not designed for scale modelling or even for plastic; it's a water based acrylic that says 'general craft and decorative painting' on 'wood, canvas, plaster, clay, metal, bisque and more'. But it's almost exactly the colour I'm looking for, so... I thinned some with IPA and tried airbrushing it onto a test I-16 I keep around for the purpose.

 

s8BIYnK.jpg

 

That's actually not bad, and it's only one coat. Takes a while to dry but I can live with that. I think I can use this.

 

 

In actual model building news, I've also stuck a few more bits on!

 

n0lwn2V.jpg

 

 

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You can probably tweek the final colour by the colour of primer you use.  White will probably bring up the blue, a light yellow would make it more green.  I wouldn’t use grey primer as it will make it more dull.

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18 hours ago, bar side said:

You can probably tweek the final colour by the colour of primer you use.  White will probably bring up the blue, a light yellow would make it more green.  I wouldn’t use grey primer as it will make it more dull.

Current plan is to spray the whole thing silver and then do the blue over that, but I might do some more tests first.

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Flaps and ailerons:

 

PmrVqBb.jpg

 

Those inboard panels are the flaps - they look pretty strange and on the underside there's a noticeable gap:

 

7YO96Cl.jpg

 

It does look a bit odd, but I found this, um, action shot of a guy fiddling with his flaps on the internet

 

08VcgIh.jpg

 

- so I can actually believe that yep, there's a big gap under there where the whole thing hinges out.

 

I also masked up the canopy.

 

DA6KgaS.jpg

 

I don't usually use pre-cut masks but these were provided, easy to position and seem to fit really well. No idea why they're made out of transparent grey film but there's enough colour to them that you can see what you're doing so I'm not complaining.

 

Next post should be paint time!

 

edit: found a pic here:

https://www.airplane-pictures.net/photo/314584/g-aezj-private-percival-p-10-vega-gull/

 

- which seems to show a gap where that underside flap line is, so I'm leaving it.

Edited by Unkempt
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11 hours ago, Unkempt said:

Flaps and ailerons:

Those inboard panels are the flaps - they look pretty strange and on the underside there's a noticeable gap:

 

Those aren't aerodynamic 'flaps', they are the portions of the wings which are to be folded upwards to allow the whole wing to be  pivoted back alongside the fuselage.  Pretty common for 1930s aircraft which were touted as being able to be stored in an automotive-sized garage.

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Looks smashing! The craft turquoise colour looks spot on too. The only thing I've noticed about craft paints is that they can be a bit grainy, so a good shake/stir prior to use is a must!

 

Regards,

Adrian

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1 hour ago, Roger Holden said:

Those aren't aerodynamic 'flaps', they are the portions of the wings which are to be folded upwards to allow the whole wing to be  pivoted back alongside the fuselage.  Pretty common for 1930s aircraft which were touted as being able to be stored in an automotive-sized garage.

Ohhhh, that makes sense. I was wondering what the heck was going on there. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Some slow progress.

 

I quite liked how the interior turned out so I thought I'd leave one or both of the windows open. To do that though I need to paint the interior framing of the canopy, something I've never bothered with before and no masks are provided. So, at a very gradual pace, this happened:

 

Z3jnjUM.jpg

 

... and then this

 

PlWzXdF.jpg

 

Looks OK so far. You can see the undercarriage in that pic too; here's a close up:

 

wwlt86K.jpg

 

I thought it was a bit odd doing the legs in two pieces like that but a look at the photos showed that there is a noticeable join in the real thing so that's OK.

 

Cockpit mostly on:

 

yC3dxqI.jpg

 

GLVZnKX.jpg

 

I'm currently trying to get rid of that obvious join line between the transparency and the fuselage, as there isn't a panel line there on the original that I can see. Still, getting there (slowly)!

 

 

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Thats looking fantastic ! thanks for sorting the hinge out forward of the canopy i thought i'd mucked mine up ! 

 

How lucky are we to be getting these Beautiful Aircraft in 1/48 at last , all hail Dora wings !

 

Cheers

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Well that craft paint was horrible and I've completely failed at mixing up a good match, so I'm going to cheat here.

 

I9Epvl3.jpg

 

Not perfect but that's what I'm using.

 

OZSShr5.jpg

 

HCHbBaF.jpg

 

WwyU8bM.jpg

 

lCqS1Fc.jpg

 

Needs a bit of cleanup and some minor detailing. The end is in sight, honest!

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