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1/72 Bloch 152 (Smer re-box) (#L091) - Finished


AdrianMF

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Heather very kindly sent me her Smer re-box of the Bloch 152 after building the RS kit instead.

 

Given that someone stole my car out of my driveway in the wee small hours of Thursday morning this act of kindness has rather restored the balance of my universe!

 

I am going to try to add a bit more detail to the basic kit. It have made some notes:

45086864-8-C81-4-D5-B-9-F0-A-46-CAA700-B

 

I must remember to add “shell ejector chutes” to my list. There seems to be a big hole for shell cases and a smaller hole on the feed side.

 

(The notes also cover a pink Spitfire PR1G - please ignore!)
 

I have thinned the back lip of the undercarriage bay so that I can put in a spar to close it off:

28-EB443-F-F0-AB-4322-A80-B-428-F768-E9-


The clear plastic inserts for the rear-view quarter lights do not fit and I’m not convinced yet about the shapes either, so I will be re-shaping them to look more like photos of the real thing:

175-E6-A8-D-8-FFA-4-E95-BFCE-1546-AFF13-
 

given that the canopy is very large, I can show it slid back over the rear quarter lights, this avoiding having to glaze them:

48-E023-A1-4-D22-4-DAB-AFAB-43689835-A8-


this means I will have to add some detail to the cockpit.

 

Wings are together now:

036-C9-A1-B-0204-4-DFE-9-FAF-F87-F7-F378
 

Next up: detail wheel wells, make cannon ejector chutes, lose the overdone fabric effect everywhere and the erroneous flap detail on the upper wing surface. Then on to the cockpit and to decide whether to fake up an engine in the cowling or not. I also need to check out the 2.6 degree port offset of the engine cowling!

 

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14 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

I also need to check out the 2.6 degree port offset of the engine cowling!

I remember seeing a profile of this 'plane as a kid and couldn't get my head around that offset - I always thought the artist had made a mistake! 🤨

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3 minutes ago, JOCKNEY said:

I thought that was really difficult now

Er, apparently not!


I’m surprised by how indifferent I feel about it.
 

I don’t think I’ve driven more than twelve short trips since March and Mrs MF won’t drive it because it’s too big. So instead of getting tea and sympathy after reporting the theft I got invited to look at listings of second hand Fiat 500s!

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5 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Er, apparently not!

I think it actually got easier... And if they don't want to take the whole car they can still take all the airbags etc... happened to me twice already. 

 

Ah well... I think most of us would be worse off when the stash was stolen instead of their car!

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2 hours ago, JeroenS said:

Ah well... I think most of us would be worse off when the stash was stolen instead of their car!

And can you imagine the conversation with the insurance company - "Your stash is worth HOW much?"

 

Seriously though, sorry to hear about your car Adrian, but glad that you're relatively fine with it.

 

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I'm on the point of declaring one of these for another build Adrian. I'll be treating your build thread as a instruction sheet! 📋 Try not to get things wrong, there's two builds to consider now. No pressure there then!

 

Your plan with not glazing the side windows is a masterstroke. That area always gives me problems, P40's in particular. The real deal looks thin and delicate, the kit parts always a bit eye catching and oversized.  Leaving the glazing out completely will let the eye see things as it should be.

I'll be taking a slightly different approach and use a replacement Falcon canopy , mainly as I have one here. I can see your method being the more effective. I've already cut away the rear window area otherwise I would have followed your lead here.

 

Good luck, I'll be looking over your shoulder throughout.

 

Tony the Plagiarist. 

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It turns out that the angled offset in the cowling is provided by the part with the cooling gills, This has to be mounted the right way up to match the cowling ducting, and is thicker on one side than the other. Interestingly, the original Heller instructions contain a little call out telling you that the cowling is not straight, presumably to avoid people sending back the bits because they are wonky...

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Le Weekend is here! Back to the bench, starting to get the interior kitted out so there’s something to look at in the open cockpit:

 E0-D418-E8-3903-4546-BED3-FD740135901-B.
The ‘orrible fabric effect and upper surface flaps have gone and I re-scribed the control surface edges in the putty.

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3 minutes ago, Prenton said:

How did you do the IP?

Two layers of plastic card cut to fit, mini drill through the top one. When it’s all painted up, I twist a slightly larger drill backwards over each hole to rub off a tiny bit of paint on the rim. If you go forwards, the drill bites and then you have to start again. This is all with a hand pin vice, not a Dremel or Black and Decker!

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Adrian - thanks for the reply - great stuff!   (my Bloch is stalled, as I am waiting for the Yahu IP to come from Poland.....I am sure your result will be just as good as that....when it arrives)

 

Philip

 

 

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I always find superglue sets in the wrong time/place and there’s too much paint to use poly cement, so I’ve coated everything liberally with PVA to get some sort of stick and some fiddle time when I drop the seat in. Why didn’t I glue it in before closing up??

342-FD11-B-BE6-B-4-A49-973-A-4-A9984864-

It went perfectly. First time I dropped it and had to wipe a dribble of PVA of the front of my gardening attire. Second time I got PVA all over the control column, which then transferred it back to the visible part of the seat... 🙄

 

All in and mended now, assuming it doesn’t fall out when I turn it upside-down and shake after my coffee.

 

Note that the area under the engine cooling gills has been painted black (as has the inside of the gills) to avoid seeing flashes of light glossy plastic later on.

 

Here’s why I don’t buy expensive aftermarket.  Picture taken at 7x zoom from 3 inches away with exposure pushed right up:

EE68305-A-D896-4-B6-E-BBEE-9615076-F5743


Yep, can hardly see a damn’ thing IRL!

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The oil cooler (or whatever it is) under the port wing seems a bit small so I’ve built a new one out of card:

A62-DEE54-1-C71-4-C0-A-ADA2-E7682-F4-C51

 

Here next to the kit part:

38-E8-F501-B398-46-F8-AAEE-1-A8726-EC4-D
 

And fitted:

D1-C067-A3-E8-F4-4-AE2-9-AF4-B9-D32-DC04


I rather belatedly realised I’ve been staring at a stand slot for most of the build without realising it, so I filled that too.

 

I have to say the fit has been pretty good so far, with only a bit of filler. The undercarriage will take a bit of fettling though to get the right lengths and angles. I might have a look for some less balloon-like wheels too.

 

The Smer schemes are both for C1s, which seem to have had different cooling gills and possibly no oil cooler. I’m not sure whether I will do anything about that...

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On 10/25/2020 at 11:49 AM, AdrianMF said:

hand pin vice, not a Dremel or Black and Decker!

My kind of modelling ;) I dont possess anything powered for modelling, except the airbrush ;)

 

Martin

 

 

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