L391 Search and Rescue LeO 453S - Update 15mar21 - Flory wash, windows, hand rail, etc

[Jinxman]

Phew, that's a lot of work! Looking forward to seeing it progress.

[Michou]

1 hour ago, RidgeRunner said:

The line you can see along the slot windows is the route of a cable (?) that clearly shows on this variant.

 

Martin,

I think that the "cable" along the fuselage is a handrail to aid entry.  I have a photo captioned "Accès au LeO 453" and you can see from the shadow that it is slightly proud of the fuselage surface and it follows the profile of the walkway on the wing root.  I shall send the photo - check your email.

Mike

[RidgeRunner]

Thanks Mike!!! I didn't consider that!!

 

Martin

 

PS: thanks for the mail

 

[RidgeRunner]

Fantastic service - my decals arrived today! I'm now set up ;). I will be using them in conjunction with some kit decals and roundels from the Berna set.

 

 

Martin

[RidgeRunner]

Despite promising to work on the MiG I got a little more progress done today on the LeO :). 

 

First of all I applied some Kristal Klear around the nose transparencies, to give them a more robust (I hope) fixing. This was the two side circular windows (one in the door), and the nose side windows. I will later use PPP to fill remaining indentations. Meanwhile I fitted the upper nose transparency and gve it the same treatment. Each was also sanded a little. When I fill around I will use progressively finer pads and then polishing compound to get the smoot, clear finish back. Being an old mould these trransparencies need this treatment. 

 

 

 

 

Next I attached the dorsal "bump" to the rear of the former "turret" and cannon installation. Clearly these transports/SAR machines didnt have this. In fact they had a smoothed hump and a clear panel to give a little light. It is ossible, too, that this was set up so that it could be opened.  Some photos seem to show this but I've opted for it is a fixed position. For this hump I have used a widened tank from a Super Mystere. It is now attached and the surrounding area is built up with stryne strip and card. Once cured I'll build it up with Milliput. 

 

 

I have also added a tail cone extension template, around which I will build up the more pointed tail of the 451/452/453/454/455. I'll use Gloop for his, I think. Additionally I have cemented spare styrene in the nose gun recesses rior to filling. 

 

Earlier today I attempted some scribing of panel lines. I quickly gave up as the plastic is extremely hard and I was making more errors than I should. I will therefore fill my errors and eventiually sand some of the rained panel lines off as they are very inaccurate. As this aircraft was lacquered it doesnt need to have the lines showing anyway. Well, that's my reasoning. 

 

As of now:

 

 

Martin

 

 

 

Edit: correction to the above - I used Gloop around the upper bump as well as the tail cone. Both now curing before I take a sander to them

 

 

 

 

  

[RidgeRunner]

Question: the Falcon nose transparency is in two parts, longitudinally. The forward radome is one piece, without any seam. How can a clear join be acheived with a vac form canopy, please?

 

Thanks a million.

 

Martin

 

(if this is the wrong place for this I apolosise. Please redirect me. Thank you,)

 

***APOLS - SCRUB THIS***

[TonyOD]

23 minutes ago, RidgeRunner said:

Question: the Falcon nose transparency is in two parts, longitudinally. The forward radome is one piece, without any seam. How can a clear join be acheived with a vac form canopy, please?

 

Thanks a million.

 

Martin

 

(if this is the wrong place for this I apolosise. Please redirect me. Thank you,)

 

***APOLS - SCRUB THIS***

Why did you scrub it? I received my Falcon set in the post the other day and was wondering exactly the same! 

[RidgeRunner]

I realised that there was actually a vertical seam

[TonyOD]

2 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

I realised that there was actually a vertical seam

Oh... I haven't looked closely enough, obvioulsy!

[RidgeRunner]

39 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

Oh... I haven't looked closely enough, obvioulsy!

Neither did I  

[Terry1954]

A challenging subject her Martin but coming along great!

 

Terry

 

PS I now have three Eduard Mig-21's. An MF,a PFM, and a PF. They are rather superb. All your fault!

 

Terry

[RidgeRunner]

Thanks Terry @Terry1954. As always I am a bit slow as I only devote a few hours each week to modelling. Today I gave the dorsal turret a second layer of Gloop to fill the void. I’ve also been polishing the various transparencies and got them masked. The upper nose window has had some Gloop around it to fill some of the gaps. I also got the tail empennage on - a task and a half as it doesn’t sit squarely. A shim and some cement later and I think I got it wrestled in to place okay ;). Pictures on my next post. 

 

I broke plastic on the wings too, getting them ready to accept the undercarriage legs. Unfortunately one upper half is warped so I need to fix that.
 

I’m glad you like the MiGs. Soon I will get the MiG-21UM done and on RFI. It utilises parts from the Eduard PFM and MF plus the key bits from the KP UM. It was an interesting challenge bringing them together ;). It should be ready in a week or so. Meanwhile I have to get the LeO progressed so I can start the Su-7 and Alouette III.
 

Martin

[RidgeRunner]

I chop and change like the wind! I was determined to get the last few bits done on the MiG and then I looked at the LeO box and my plans were scuppered! It has been a LeO day!

 

Those following the build will be relieved to hear that a change of "scenery" is approaching :). First though, I had a few little jobs to do on the fuselage. Firstly, the empennage(?) was - you may remember - a poor fit. I jabbed in a shim of scrap and this now needed fixing with some permenance. Simply, the gap needed cementing fully to strenthen it. Here it is prior to having more Extra Thin run around it.

 

 

 

 

I'm happy to report a firm join now. 

 

Next was the upper nose window. I had first buffed it with various fine pads and Tamiya Polishing Paste, and then applied a 6mm x 7mm mask. Around this I then used Gloop to flill all the gaps around this ill-fitting part. 

 

 

 

 

Today, having left it to harden over the weekend, I have sanded it back to a smoot surround to the window. I'll replace the mask.

 

My third job on the fuselage was sanding the upper "turret" area. You may remember that I started by cementing a halved tank from a Super Mystere to the area. Around this I filled the gaps with stryrene rods and card. After that I masked it and used Gloop to fill the rest, adding strength to the area. 

 

 

Again, having left it over the weekend, I have taken various sanding sticks to it today:

 

 

 

It will still need more filling to remove the small number of pit marks. I'll use Squadron Green for this, I think. 

 

Now and change ..... I clipped off the wings and got the Renaissance undercarriage set out. This set is very nice. I started by cleaning up so that each was ready for insertion in to the lower halves of the wings. It took a little trimming of the langing gear apertures but I got there in the end. Heller have you fit these before mating the wing halves. I just hope I take good care of these beautiful 3D-printed creations! 

 

   

They are now instaled and the wings halves are mated. I have also started work on the engine installation. These aircraft had P&W R-1830s and for this I acquired a set of Airfix engines, cowlings, etc from James @1903flight. I had also bought a resin set of cowlings but I've opted for the Airfix option as it gives me a full installation rather than having to get everything within these. My approach has been to cut the "firewall" paart so that it will fit directly on to the forward flat and square point on each wing that wolud normally take the Heller engine set up.

 

 

This means that I can directly install the Airfix engine assembly on this. However, I may have a better resin R-1830 courtesy of @occa. I'm just waiting for these to arrive before I finally decide which to use. Here she is during my dry fitting process. 

 

 

So, a big change today! I have wings and tomorrow I hope to get the engine mounts on!  They will need filling behind.

 

Here she is right now ......

 

 

Back soon! 

 

Martin

 

 

 

[TonyOD]

Fantastic progress, a pleasure to watch.

[Terry1954]

Love the way this is coming together Martin.

 

Mig's can be quite a distraction can't they ............ my Eduard PF arrived yesterday and I love it!

 

Terry

[Toryu]

The detailing starts paying off! Nice to see a plane take shape. The undercarriage looks somewhat bizarre.

[RidgeRunner]

8 hours ago, TonyOD said:

Fantastic progress, a pleasure to watch.

At least I’m doing something other than fiddling with the fuselage! She should be looking like an aeroplane soon!

 

7 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Love the way this is coming together Martin.

 

Mig's can be quite a distraction can't they ............ my Eduard PF arrived yesterday and I love it!

 

Terry

Thanks Terry :). 
 

Yes, those Eduard MiG-21s are quite addictive!!

 

4 hours ago, Toryu said:

The detailing starts paying off! Nice to see a plane take shape. The undercarriage looks somewhat bizarre.

yes, it’s a bit complex. The Renaissance set made the job easier ;). 
 

more tomorrow I hope!
 

Martin

[AdrianMF]

Looking good!

When they weren’t looking like flying bus shelters, French bombers were out on the other extreme of exaggerated curves and tapers. Where’s the sensible compromise like the Blenheim or Beaufort? Just doesn’t feel right, I tell you!

 

Regards,

Adrian 

[RidgeRunner]

Some might argue the same about British bombers, Adrian - Whitley and Bombay in the less-than-pretty camp, and even, dare I say, the Hampden and Stirling! Countering that, of course, is the Mossie ...... oo, that's about it! Now I'll get my hard hat on and wait for incoming

 

Martin  

[RidgeRunner]

Arghhh..... the sirens of the Heller gods have tempted me on to the rocks and obstacle course that is my 453 build ;). 

 

Today I started out with the wings, with a determination to get these pretty much done. Ahead of me was the challenge of installing the engine mount plates, such as they are, cementing the flap and aileron parts to the upper wing, filling the original air intake on each wing, outside of the engine pods, and filling the area behind the engine mounts. As it happened I got most of this done before the school bell rang! Firstly the engine mounts. I needed to ensure that they are cemented in a central position and parallel to the ground. To accomplish the first I drilled a pilot hole on the middle of each plate as well as the recipient surface on the wing. By adding a piece of rod I got the centre sorted. The reference for the level was taken from the slight humps on top of the engine pods that would normally lead in to the intakes on top. This gave me a good and robust guide.  

 

  

 

sorry about the focus!

 

At the same time inserted some stryrene rod to fill the air intakes. You can see this on the upper photo above.

 

I filled and sanded a few sink marks

 

 

 

Then I tackled the aileron/flap parts. This is where I had to hold back on the swearing with Mrs RR on a conference call in the room next to me ;). These are a shocking fit. They also benefit from some internal support as there is none. Without it you would certainly press them in during general handling. Also, the flap/aileron parts need thinning a lot on the inner surfaces. Eventually, of course, I got them installed. Also on the wings I got the gaps behind the engine mounts part-filled with styrene rod in readiness for filler (Gloop or Milliput). In this process I also discovered that one of the undercarriage trains had come loose. This was a pain to fix but I managed to fiddle in some supporting plastic and more superglue. All seems okay now! Fingers crossed!

 

 

Back to the fuselage and I have now fitted the transparency for the upper fuselage aperture. For this I took the kit part and cut it to shape, installing it with thin cement before filling around with Kristal Klear. As far as I can see on photos this window had no framing. I therefore sanded this off and progressively used finer sanders and then polishing compound to get back to the original clarity. It isnt quite there yet and will need a little more buffing. One thing that did happen is that I got dust ingress on the inside so I will get a long skewer with a cotton tip to try to remove this before I fit the final glazing.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And that was my morning!

 

 

Next I will finish the filling behind the engine mounts, glazing the remaining side windows, fit the main undercarriage doors, and start on the tedious process of removing the Falcon canopy set from its sheet and getting each piece masked. Before that I'll hoover the interior and get out as much dust as possible!!! I need, too, to decide how to fashion the intakes that sit atop the cowlings.

 

Martin

 

   

    

 

[AdrianMF]

7 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

Some might argue the same about British bombers

Fair cop about the Whitley (especially if you are looking at "Whitley as moulded by FROG") , I've built a fair few Blenheims, Beaufighters and Beauforts, so they just look "normal" to me I guess.

 

Great going on the LeO though. It's a very distinctive aeroplane. I have to say once I saw the kit for the first time in this GB I lasted about a day before my stash grew by one!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[RidgeRunner]

 I agree about the Blenheim and Beaufort, Adrian @AdrianMF. I remember building the Airfix Blenheim while on hols in Pevensey Bay when it first came out. Typical of me, it was marked French!

 

I'm glad to see the elegant lines of the LeO rubbed off on you! 

 

Martin

 

 

[Courageous]

A visit to your GB Martin has found lots of detail stuff going on, excellent work. Keep at it and hopefully we'll see a cracker at the end.

 

Stuart

[Terry1954]

On 11/10/2020 at 3:43 PM, RidgeRunner said:

I remember building the Airfix Blenheim while on hols in Pevensey Bay when it first came out. Typical of me, it was marked French!

 

I had a similar experience, and I also chose the French option! I notice that the new release has the cross pf Lorraine in blue, which many sources seem to imply is correct now, but examples of the cross of Lorraine on flags and such show both blue or red. Maybe both could have been used? Certainly on some monochrome photos of French Blenheims, I would go for blue, as the tone matches the centre of the roundel.

 

Such trivia can keep me occupied for hours..........

 

Terry

[RidgeRunner]

Hi all!

 

Sorry, I got distracted! Today I turned my attention to the wings. The gaps behind the engine firewalls was filled with Gloop a week or more ago. Being a fairly substantial chunk of liquid sprue ut needed some time to cure so today I tested it and tried to sand one side in to shape. I think it was successful so far, with the basic shape achieved. It will certainly need some filling here and there to get a smooth surface. I'll get to that later. I will now get the rest of this wing tidy before doing the same to the other. 

 

 

Here with the DC-3/C-47 cowl placed to show how she will eventually look. 

 

 

 

I've tried to protect the raised lines with Tamiya tape, which has been partially successful. When I get to the priming sage I'll decide what to keep and what to sand off. I will need to work out how the exhuast protruded from behind the cowling. It was a short stub and, I think, came out at a 30 degrees. I'll get to that soon. I also need to replace a couple of cowl flaps as they were different on the LeO. Later I will fashion and add the intake that sits atop the cowling.

 

Back to sanding ........

 

Martin