1/72 PZL P.11c H161. The Heller Polish Duo Part One (Finished)

[Foxbat]

No help with colours, but I was rummaging through my decal stash tonight and found a complete sheet from the Encore re-pop of this kit. It's yours if you haven't sourced one yet.

 

Andy

[fightersweep]

On 10/4/2020 at 10:56 PM, Foxbat said:

No help with colours, but I was rummaging through my decal stash tonight and found a complete sheet from the Encore re-pop of this kit. It's yours if you haven't sourced one yet.

Hi Andy!

 

PM sent.

 

Best regards;

Steve

[JeroenS]

Happy birthday @fightersweep!

 

I'm impressed that you still have your cassette player! Hours were spent recording songs from the radio, while cursing at the DJ for talking through beginnings and/or endings!

[fightersweep]

4 minutes ago, JeroenS said:

Happy birthday @fightersweep!

 

I'm impressed that you still have your cassette player! Hours were spent recording songs from the radio, while cursing at the DJ for talking through beginnings and/or endings!

Thank you Jeroen! 51 today. Ouch! 

 

That has been one well loved cassette player. I've still got the box and paperwork that came with it. I still clearly remember being taken out on my birthday to buy it, and it cost £114 back in 1982, which was probably about my Dad's weekly wage then. I treasured that cassette player, and still do. All I've had to do over the years is replace the odd drive belt and pinch roller, and regular cleaning.

 

Yes! Well remember recording the top 40 on it, or trying to pluck out the tunes I wanted. Used to also tape John Peel's show and some of the new local radio stuff that was beginning to appear back then. Funnily, I can still remember the first record that I heard the first time I powered it up on my birthday....Zoom by Fat Larry's Band.

 

Steve

[Stew Dapple]

Happy birthday Steve

 

Hope you're having a good one!  

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[Rabbit Leader]

Hope your birthday is filled with plastic bits rattling inside a nicely wrapped box. Happy Birthday mate. 
Cheers.. Dave 

[fightersweep]

1 hour ago, Stew Dapple said:

Happy birthday Steve

Hope you're having a good one!  

Cheers,

Stew

 

57 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Hope your birthday is filled with plastic bits rattling inside a nicely wrapped box. Happy Birthday mate. 
Cheers.. Dave 

 

Thanks Stew and Dave! Much appreciated. Relaxing day so far, it's not raining and some nice presents. Four new vinyl albums to play later, a retro Star Wars "Escape From The Death Star" board game (wanted that as a kid) that comes with a limited Moff Tarkin action figure...awesome!, along with a box full of Heller kits from Kingkit. Happy days indeed!

 

Steve

(The Elder)

[fightersweep]

Hi all;

 

As explained in my PZL.23 thread, my progress has been hampered by my inability to get my trash Nikon point and shoot to take any decent photos worth posting here. It is the most miserable gadget I have ever owned, period. How Nikon had the nerve to put their name on this trash is beyond me. I am going to kill it, and dance around it's funeral pyre. A new camera is on route, and if this one isn't any better, I shall be declaring war on all tech industries. Seems to me we pay through the nose for trash that isn't fit for purpose. Don't get me started on my HP laptop. Sheesh! 

 

Moaning aside, progress on the P.11c is going ok. It's ready to be buttoned up so the pace should pick up. Lovely kit with no complaints from me. Hopefully, the next installment will be better, and I can only throw a couple of photos in that don't help much, but the other 15 are blurred, unusable and in my computer's recycle bin....but I need to update to move on.

 

 

In the WIP box with the P.23. Sorry, but this was all the camera could manage!

 

 

Steve

(The frustrated!)

[Rabbit Leader]

Once again.. all looking good Steve. I know Arma Hobby have produced a new tooled version of this kit, however I still like the look of this Heller kit. I’m sure it’ll look great once finished.

Cheers.. Dave 

[fightersweep]

Woohoo! Progress. Discovered that my smart phone's camera is pretty decent, knocking the shameful Nikon out of the park, so that meant I could crack on.

 

Got the airframe together on the P.11. No major issues except for the wing struts that don't have any locating pins where they join the fuselage, so very fiddly indeed. Then there's the undertrollies. My! These are very fragile, with not much in the way to fix them to the fuselage and no visible means of support. How long before a: I break them during the completion, and b: they splay under the weight of the kit. Stay tuned for certain disaster in the next episode of "When Heller Kits Go Bad!"

 

So here we are ready for a bit of a clean up and some filler....

 

 

 

 

Thanks also for the modeller/smartphone/PC interface advice. Hopefully, it's worked!

 

Edit: Oh yeah! I forgot to mention I broke off both wing MGs during sanding. Doh! Holes drilled for replacements!

 

Cheers

Steve

[Rabbit Leader]

Looking very smart there Steve and glad the phones camera worked for you.. the pics look quite good, as does this lovely kit. Handle with care and looking forward to the next update. 
Cheers.. Dave

[Jinxman]

That looks very neat.

[fightersweep]

Afternoon Ladies and Gents;

 

Not too much to report as I've been focusing on the Karas, but I did manage to get some paint down on the P.11. Having read around here, the general consensus on the underside colour was that RLM 76 is a close match, so that's what I used. A un-opened 40 year old tin of Humbrol Authentic RLM 76 did the trick nicely applied with a hairy stick in true 1983 style (well, it was for me as I couldn't afford an airbrush as my paper round didn't stretch that far). Those old paints are so good, and this one performed flawlessly. Not sure the colour shows up too well in the photo, but it's there. Next stop, PAF topside mud colour!

 

 

Steve

[Rabbit Leader]

Agree, I’ve still got quite a few Humbrol Authentics and am happy to use them when required. The good news is that they spray quite nicely as well. This PZL does look very nice and along with the Karas, you’re gonna have a lovely pair of Heller kits to boast about very soon.

Cheers.. Dave 

[fightersweep]

Thanks Dave! I do love the older paints, and pick them up whenever I can. They just seem to perform so well, especially if brush painting.

 

Hope to make some more progress tomorrow. Really enjoying these two kits at the moment (except the masking on the Karas), but I want to get them done soon as I'm already getting itchy to start the next pair. So many nice Heller kits and January 24th seems to be getting nearer all the time!

[Rabbit Leader]

1 hour ago, fightersweep said:

... but I want to get them done soon as I'm already getting itchy to start the next pair

 

I totally agree, so am pushing through with my two in order to make a start on the next couple. So many great choices available and as we all know... time stops for no one (although I'm sure we can extend this show if we all ask nicely!). 

Cheers.. Dave 

[Toryu]

20 hours ago, fightersweep said:

A un-opened 40 year old tin of Humbrol Authentic RLM 76 did the trick nicely applied with a hairy stick in true 1983 style

 

I love to brush-paint whenever possible. With antique enamels you can get the nicest surface without an airbrush. Just look at this wonderful blue coat...!

[fightersweep]

More progress on the P.11 and even more hairy stick action. @Toryu Absolutely! I enjoy the venerable old brush far more than the stress I endure with an airbrush, and with the right paint and thinning, a great finish can be had. I'm having a blast with these lovely old Heller kits and some hassle free old skool modelling straight from the box. 

 

Top coat being applied here with an old tin of Humbrol 142 with a dash of 163. Looks ok to me, but I'm no expert on PAF colours. This will need another coat before I'm happy.

 

 

Fast forward a bit, and we've got the upper side colour done along with a coat of future. I've also painted the cockpit coaming and the tail get's a splash of white for my chosen marking option. There's a few fiddly bits to attach, and maybe a spot of tidying up, but I think we're almost at the stage where I can think about adding the decals. I like that bit. Stay tuned folks!

 

 

 

 

Steve

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

8 hours ago, fightersweep said:

Top coat being applied here with an old tin of Humbrol 142 with a dash of 163.

Hmmm colors look good but cant get Humbrol here in the States. What are the color names so I can try to source similar colors for my IBG PZL-23. 

[JOCKNEY]

43 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Hmmm colors look good but cant get Humbrol here in the States. What are the color names so I can try to source similar colors for my IBG PZL-23. 

Hi Dennis

I used XF-62 Olive Drab, however I believe the latest thinking seems to believe the colour is more of a brown. As all the pictures I've ever seen were green, I'm very happy with my green one.

Looks great Steve, keep up the good work.

Cheers Pat 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

26 minutes ago, JOCKNEY said:

Hi Dennis

I used XF-62 Olive Drab, however I believe the latest thinking seems to believe the colour is more of a brown. As all the pictures I've ever seen were green, I'm very happy with my green one.

Looks great Steve, keep up the good work.

Cheers Pat 

I was thinking Of doing a 2-1 or 3-1 mix of olive drab and dark earth. I think I will do a color test tonight. 

[fightersweep]

The colour I concocted was using Humbrol 142 Field Drab and Humbrol 163 Dark Green, with a 90/10% Field Drab/Dark Green mix. 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

16 minutes ago, fightersweep said:

The colour I concocted was using Humbrol 142 Field Drab and Humbrol 163 Dark Green, with a 90/10% Field Drab/Dark Green mix. 

Thanks I’ll mix those up from my collection and see if they come close to the Humbrol colors. 

[Rabbit Leader]

Looks great Steve. I wanted one before, I want one even more now! 
Cheers.. Dave 

[fightersweep]

4 hours ago, Rabbit Leader said:

Looks great Steve. I wanted one before, I want one even more now! 

 

It's a really nice little kit and I certainly recommend picking one up. The only problem with it is that it's very delicate, especially the U/C struts. Decals going on today hopefully, but I'm wondering how they will fare with those very fine corrugations.