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1/72 Sentinel AEW.1 (Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter AWI) - inspired by Freightdog's 1/144 conversion kit


Red Baron

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Hi there,

 

this is going to be my very first 'Work in Progress' article. And it's something a bit ununsual: converting Academy's C-97 Stratofreighter into an AEW bird.

 

Sometimes you stumble across a subject, a thing or so and you say: "amazing!" That's what happened to me when I first came across Freightdog's conversion kit for a C-97 AWI / AEW aircraft, of which I never had seen anything before. Honestly, I think none will ever dare to question the beauty, elegance and grace of e.g. a Griffon-powered Spitfire. Well, the early-warning version of the Stratofreighter would not have been among those aircraft if it really would have made it to become reality. But from almost the first moment on, I knew, I wanted to build this, well..., 'thing'. Unfortunately Freightdog's conversion kit is only available in 1/144 but not in 1/72 scale.

 

Anyway... I bought it ... and then Academy's 1/72 C-97 Stratofreighter kit ... and then Minicraft's C-97 kit because the Freightdog conversion refers to panel lines of the 1/144 kit as points to measure from, e.g. for cutting the forward fuselage or glueing on the the radomes. Maybe you kown this feeling: "looks good, but I am not really sure...". Indeed there are differences and it is necessary to compare (and recalculate) the data given for the 1/144 kit with what they would be and where certain points would be on the 1/72 kit (simply doubling dimensions does not work!).

 

I had already started some time ago to make friends with the 3D software 'Blender' so that I could finally use my 3D printer for my hobby. It soon became clear: this would be my first major 3D construction. So, here ist the result of many, many hours.

 

Photos will follow (if linking them to flickr will finally work... sooner or later)

 

To be continued!

 

Cheers,

The Red Baron

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so, here are the photos / screenshot:

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the 3D parts in Blender

 

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and printed, with the Freightdog 1/144 parts for camparison (yep, the radome tops ar a bit more rounded)

 

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on the right side are the parts for the wheelbay an -doors (top) and for the cockpit with a tool for forming the canopy's clear parts

 

The rest ist sanding and priming and priming again and puttying and sanding and ...... let's see.

 

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@ TheyJammedKenny!

 

The bird will be wearing dark sea grey feathers (like the AEW Shackletons), maybe with a white top (like the Shackleton MR.3s).

Here is a sample of the decals (in low quality 😎)

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Roundels and fin flashes will be taken from a Xtradecals sheet.

The RAF serial WF517 comes from a gap in the Washington B.1 serials range. To me, this seemed to fit.

 

Cheers,

the Red Baron

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Hi there,

next step is creating the forward landing gear: I wasn't really happy about the 3D printed results so I did it the old fashioned way: scratchbuilding. Only the "roof" of the wheelbay is printed, but some structural details are made of plastic sheet as well.

All in all I am content with the result, also because it has much more detail than Academy's part (the grey one).

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I also like to show to you the inside of the lower forward fuselage. You still can see the remainders of the supporting structure of 3D printing.

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Next steps will be painting the wheelbay and glueing it into the lower fuselage part.

 

To be continued 🙃

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Sunday is surgery day!

The bird is about to get its new nose test-fitted while the front gear assembly was painted in interior green (US) and is drying.

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By the way: I forgot to show the ingredients of this project besides the 3D printed parts:

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To be continued!

 

Cheers

Red Baron

 

Edited by Red Baron
typos
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Hi there,

 

things are developing: the nose gear well was assembled and painted (US Interior Green, Xtracolour), got a washing with dark brown water colour, later a bit of dry brushing. You will not see very much of this, but I know it is there 🤗. The nose gear leg was painted in Revell 99 Aluminum and later washed with black water colour. Then the lower forward fuselage section was glued onto the main parts. I needed some thin pieces of plastic to fill the gaps.

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Later lots of lead balls were glued into the nose in order to prevent the bird becoming a tail-sitter.

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Next episode: The Moment of Truth 😬

 

 

Edited by Red Baron
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The Moment of Truth....

 

Will the new radar nose fit well to the kit's fuselage 😬😲

 

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IT DOES!!! (no glue used here, only 'dry' test fitting) 🤗😃

 

You wonder about the engraved door? Wait for next episode: Miracles of Academy - or - where are the doors?

 

Cheers,

The RED BARON

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Miracles of Academy - where are the doors?

 

The instructions of Freightdog's 1/144 conversion set tell you to "cut the fuselage off at panel line just forwand of entry door". It is not difficult to locate a similar panel line on Academy's 1/72 C-97 kit, but... where is the entry door? Well, the kit does not have doors! Ok, that's not 100% correct as there are some - you will find them... on the decal sheet! The doors are only provided as thin black lines! It is the same with the vents on the engine nacelles or the wings. Only decals, no recessed lines or so on the plastic parts! Hey guys of Academy - this is really poor!spacer.png

 

So, one of the things I don't like on building model kits is engraving lines using steel templates. Anyway, I cannot accept decals as "doors", so I had to do it.

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Next step is more pleasant: giving the insides a black spray and painting the cockpit. The dashboard, control columns and seat come from the kit, the base is 3D printed.

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The seats and columns need a bit of dry brushing and of course the seatbelts will be painted. Next week the decalsheet will arrive so I'll be able to finish the cockpit.

 

Cheers

Red Baron

 

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Thanks!

The 3D-parts are printed in PLA, which is harder (sanding is really hard work here!) than the usual plastic used for model kits, but similar in many other aspects. E.g. it reacts well with plastic cement (I am using Revell Contacta).

 

Edited by Red Baron
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Hi there,

 

last week the dacals arrived. I am very happy about the very fine detail still visible (e.g. the instrument panels):

 

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Now the fuselage halves are put together, the two radomes added (they fit better than I expected) and the seams filled with putty. The long fuselage parts are made of rather thin plastic so they tend to warp and therefore the seams are not fitting precisely (some more locating pins also would have been a great idea, dear friends of Academy's construction team). Luckily putty and sandig paper were invented somewhen 😜.

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The dorsal radome already recieved some putty, too.

 

Now: It's "sanding time ...." 🙄

 

Have a nice Sunday

Red Baron

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On 2/28/2021 at 2:58 PM, alhenderson said:

She looks a bit like a submarine at this point 🤣

As a youngster, I remember seeing the 'Cruiser for the first time in Spike and Suzy/Bob & Bobette/Suske & Wiske comics.

It seemed so futuristic in there... always liked the look of that double bubble fuselage and characteristic nose.

 

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Minor update:

The cockpit recieved its decals. Most of the details will not be visible later, but I know they are there 😉

 

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Next step: "sanding time" (fuselage, radomes)

Edited by Red Baron
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14 hours ago, Red Baron said:

Minor update:

The cockpit recieved its decals. Most of the detail will not be visible later, but I know they are there 😉

 

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Next step: "sanding time" (fuselage, radomes)

 

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13 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Where did the flight engineer sit on this potential monstrosity?  He would have needed to be in position to slap the pilots now and then!

We don't slap pilots. We wouldn't sully our hands, although a pointed verbal rebuke may be in order. Personally,  I just pull the control CBs to stop them moving anything....😁

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2 hours ago, isaneng said:

I just pull the control CBs to stop them moving anything....😁

Very funny indeed!  I understand the R4360 was a beast of an engine to handle, and the FE had to watch the cylinder head temperatures pretty closely during altitude changes.  If the C-97/KC-97 went through layers of cold and warm air, the big engines could develop problems.  There were all sorts of things the engineers had to guard against, including overheating, oil pressure problems, spark malfunctions, and the like, and judicious use of the cowl flaps was essential.  This also required close coordination with the pilots.  Thank goodness we're now flying jets!

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