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1/72 Kharkiv KhAI-3 from MikroMir


Unkempt

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Right, I finally got bored with finished all the sanding and puttying. I did an initial spray with a Tamiya can for the silver; I always have problems with silver for some reason but I've got something up my sleeve for later to (hopefully) perk it up a bit  But for now: Masking!

 

U9BQEO5.jpg

 

A bit of preshading:

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And finally, some blue. I don't really have a local model shop but I do have a local art supply shop and they recently started selling this stuff:

 

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'Tru-Color', which is apparently made for the model railway guys. It's an acetone-based lacquer paint which airbrushes very nicely. Pity about the spelling but what can you do. I found a good match for the blue on the instruction sheet; it's 'EMD Late Demo Blue', whatever that means. So:

 

rCoK584.jpg

 

NbJTneZ.jpg

 

Next up: more masking, white for the gondolas and tail, then undercarriage and engine. Nearly there.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Right, where were we.

 

Masking off, silver and blue:

 

aGbGDIT.jpg

 

More masking for the white:

 

0FKvImN.jpg

 

Masking off:

 

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Huh, not too bad. Needs a few touchups.

 

Let's get those windows uncovered:

 

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Not too shabby. Next up, the engine. Not as nice as the job @Andrew.S made of his here

 

 

... but I'm OK with it for now

 

 

CQXbLDq.jpg

 

Next up: undercarriage, decals, finishing up!

 

 

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Such a shame the passengers weren’t able to take full advantage of the panoramic windows perched over that massive wing.

 

Model is looking ace.

 

AW

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Thanks guys. The pilot sits in the front seat of the right hand gondola (left hand in the pics) which probably gives him a better view than a centre seat would. And yep, the passengers have a lovely view - of the wing. They should have made it with glass floors really. Blohm and Voss probably would have.

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Nearly there! Today's a good news/bad news thing. Good news: I thought I might as well try the provided masks on the wheels.

 

3jHU9u1.jpg

 

They fit very nicely and worked as advertised

 

jntFGyV.jpg

 

Lovely. Can't guarantee they'd be as good on the windows but they're way better than the last lot I tried.

 

Bad news: well, there's a propeller and an engine. They are connected together... somehow. According to the instructions, it should go engine ->cowling->part 17->prop->spinner.

 

6HwxiNi.jpg

 

Part 17 fits in OK

 

IQtlL0P.jpg

 

... but there's no way that prop's fitting on there. For extra funsies, there's also a part 11 that looks like it should be somewhere in the mix but doesn't appear anywhere in the instructions

 

Je0HEqP.jpg

 

Well, I don't think part 17 fits in either. so I took 17 off, left 11 on the sprue, attached the prop straight onto the cowling (it fits beautifully, I think it's supposed to go on there) and put the spinner over the prop (it does not fit beautifully, the carving knife came out again for the prop hub and the inside of the spinner).

 

And here we are:

 

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Now it needs decals, a few more touchups and whatever this thing is:

 

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Some sort of pitot tube? It's on the painting diagram -

 

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- but nowhere to be seen in the kit...

 

Probably be a couple of days, tomorrow I will mostly be baking bread and making sausages. At least they'll fit together nicely.

 

 

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So yesterday I made three things:

 

Bread

 

Jf1QCo6.jpg

 

Sausages

 

pOPAbnX.jpg

 

Both of those together

 

cba0dy6.jpg

 

... but, more relevantly, a pitot tube

 

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... which goes in under the pilot (no, not for that)

 

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... with a bit of ez-line for that little bracing bit. Finally decals! There are only four, but I managed to ruin one so it's only the Sergei Kirov on one side. Sorry, Sergei. On the plus side that's the only side there's actually photographic evidence of so who's to say what's on the other side? So here it is.

 

XcaW09z.jpg

 

wD0fNyr.jpg

 

And I'm pretty much done here. I'll take another look tomorrow and see what needs tidying up then take a few more pics in the daylight. After that, I've got an Airfix Tiger Moth in the stash which needs building and I quite fancy something that fits together properly for a change.

 

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  4 hours ago, Marklo said:

Really lovely build. The more I look at the more disappointed I am that they weren’t used all over the place.

I know, it's just got that fantastic 30s look to it. The skies should be full of things like this, dodging between the airships.

 

Thanks for following along, everyone. A few more pics:

 

3JJCpSW.jpg

 

OfPWhS6.jpg

 

AGzK4XG.jpg

 

... and I'm done. And I know I said I'd do something easy next but now I'm looking at that Lee Richards Annular Monoplane and thinking...

Edited by Unkempt
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