jean Posted February 17, 2021 Share Posted February 17, 2021 Hi everyone, well I did not finish this Etendard IV M in the Heller GB that just ended. Not by a long shot. So I am carrying on and hopefully can finish it in the next few weeks. Here is the WIP to date: Here is the state of the build at this moment: The re-scribing is almost over and sometimes next week fuselage halves and wings can be glued together once I have dealt with some work on the exhaust area. The decals are a bit yellowed and are going to be stuck behind my shed window (when the sun returns, which may take a while!). The crest of the 59S Flotilla is a terribly poor representation and has to be trashed (Shame on you Heller!). I found a possible very nice replacement on an Alize decal sheet. Just need to check the size... So things are in motion... Talk to you soon with some progress. JR 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted February 21, 2021 Share Posted February 21, 2021 Great to see this one being completed. Sorry to hear about the decals, fingers crossed the Alize ones are suitable. Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 Etendard moving along, that is one step forward and two backward, mostly due to my own clumsiness... Tidied up areas Heller molded either far too softly, or short shot. The tip of the rudder and the front of the vertical surface where it meets the fuselage back were rounded when hey should be showing sharp angles. Sorted that out with some CA glue and talcum powder. I am adding a photo that shows the work in progress. Getting there! Cheers JR 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted March 21, 2021 Author Share Posted March 21, 2021 Hi everyone, well, being being away quite a lot lately and having to share my modelling time with two Skyhawks needing completion, this Etendard has been lagging. The re-scribing is finished and I am quite happy with it. Lead weights have been glued in front and behind the cockpit. I have painted the engine and glued it, adding some wedges for safety. So now the fuselage top can be glued in place and the start of the painting is coming much closer. For some reason I have removed the wing tip lights... so more work with clear plastic. Cheers and keep having fun! JR 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted March 22, 2021 Author Share Posted March 22, 2021 Hi,, at long last, the top fuselage is glued, along with a few small pieces. The fit is nowhere near Japanese! More like French after a good lunch and a few bottles of wine... But nothing some sand paper cannot sort out. Thanks for watching. Have fun with your builds. JR 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 Hi, the sorting out of the top and lower fuselage halves is ongoing and something decent can be achieved with a delicate wet sanding. I added the intakes and got quite a shock. To put it plainly, the fit is a complete disaster! See the photo below ... So more putty seems to be required. But I am sure it can be sorted out. Fingers crossed. Cheers. JR 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted March 24, 2021 Author Share Posted March 24, 2021 I could only think of one way to deal with this mess. Create another mess. It is still a work in progress, but I am sure the intakes will look reasonable when this tedious work is completed. So far so good, and I am far from finished. Thanks for looking. JR 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alt-92 Posted March 24, 2021 Share Posted March 24, 2021 Ooof. That's a handful Some time back, I picked up the 100 yrs Dassault box: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/heller-52320-100-years-dassault-aviation--1019819 Wonder how those moulds have kept up, from a quick perusal, it didn't look too bad.. Like the rescribing very much, does improve the look. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted March 25, 2021 Author Share Posted March 25, 2021 18 hours ago, alt-92 said: Ooof. That's a handful Some time back, I picked up the 100 yrs Dassault box: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/heller-52320-100-years-dassault-aviation--1019819 Wonder how those moulds have kept up, from a quick perusal, it didn't look too bad.. Like the rescribing very much, does improve the look. Hi, You have to love Heller kits! At least with them it is still real modelling. But sometimes they throw you a curved ball when you expect it the least, witness the air intakes of the Etendard. After the initial shock, it is actually great fun. Bottom line, this is a fun kit! And yes, call it what you want, but rescribing always makes a kit look much more refined. Although it is a real pain in the ... So top marks to Heller for this collection of plastic bits! I had never heard of the 100 years Dassault box (not surprising considering my neighborhood) but the kits within are all great ones! Not one that should not be there. Tons of fun in the box. I hope you will take care of it one day. All the best JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted April 13, 2021 Author Share Posted April 13, 2021 Hi everyone, the vagaries of modelling... I am sure it has happened to us all, but it is hard to remain cool and collected when this happens. The Etendard is almost ready for painting. I am just working on the ejection seat, thanks to great detail photos @basket kindly sent me. You can't trust anything French! The blasted Etendard decided to go on a maiden flight without any authorization... and landed on the tip of the rudder. Here is the damage and the planned salvage. Deep breaths are required. Only a small delay... Thanks for watching. JR 2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 She's coming along, mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Bonsoir Jean . Hi all . Glad my pics helped you . Waiting for your paint job . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted April 13, 2021 Share Posted April 13, 2021 Sorry to hear about your accident damage mate. The proposed fix looks a good one and you should get a great lift when the paint goes on. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted April 15, 2021 Author Share Posted April 15, 2021 Hi, in between trying to move forward with my two Skyhawks, I am determined to finish this Etendard. So I did some work on the rudder fix tonight and I am not displeased with the result. So now it will take a good polishing with abrasive cloth and a bit of rescribing to call this model ready for painting. I love the French Navy dark blue over white scheme! Cheers JR 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 Hi JR @jean, did you get this finished? Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 Same question ! 😁 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted February 26 Author Share Posted February 26 On 2/23/2024 at 1:08 AM, RidgeRunner said: Hi JR @jean, did you get this finished? Martin On 2/23/2024 at 10:47 AM, basket said: Same question ! 😁 Hi guys, the answer to your question is a shameful "Not yet!" I did lose the mojo for a reason already forgotten, but it is getting quite close of the top of the to do list. So that will definitely happen in 2024. I just need to work harder on my self discipline... Thank you for stopping your insane giggle. Cheers guys. JR 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 26 Share Posted February 26 3 hours ago, jean said: Hi guys, the answer to your question is a shameful "Not yet!" I did lose the mojo for a reason already forgotten, but it is getting quite close of the top of the to do list. So that will definitely happen in 2024. I just need to work harder on my self discipline... Thank you for stopping your insane giggle. Cheers guys. JR Great, JR. My interest is purely selfish as I have a Heller IVM, a IVP conversion and a decal set. I plan to get a brass pitot as well as a resin MB mk4 seat soon, too. I now know that the kit needs to be scribed - my first challenge! I may start it later this year and, if so, will be looking out for your build. I am wondering if ?I can slip a SMB2 cockpit in as a “generic” replacement. Maybe, or maybe not! Thanks for your reply! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted February 27 Author Share Posted February 27 @RidgeRunner Hi Martin, Yes, it is a great little kit, and I must finish it off. The plastic is good, so the rescribing was much easier than on the Frog kits I am busy building. And I was unable to find a AM pitot, so I will have to play with the kit's one I removed before the build. Re the cockpit, it is a very narrow affair, painted black in real life, so nothing much will be seen through the canopy. Buying an AM seat is the easy way. I was lucky to be given access to some great photos by @basket and decided to do some scratch building on the kit's seat. I am very happy with the result. All this to say that if a SMB2 cockpit fits inside the fuselage, go for it. Nobody will notice. Enjoy. JR 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 I will notice ! But who cares ? 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 8 hours ago, basket said: I will notice ! But who cares ? 😁 I would welcome your help when I start building her, Remy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
basket Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 3 hours ago, RidgeRunner said: I would welcome your help when I start building her, Remy My pleasure.😉 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 27 Share Posted February 27 2 hours ago, basket said: My pleasure.😉 Thanks Remy. By the way, do you fancy joining my proposed French in Africa GB? If so, click the link below :). Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RidgeRunner Posted February 28 Share Posted February 28 Hi gents (@jean and @basket), I have located the SH Super Mystere cockpit from my SMB spares as well as an Atar jet pipe. Would the jet pipe be approapriate for the Etendard IVP? I also have a spare fin and tailplane from the SMB2. Was that common to the Etendard? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jean Posted February 28 Author Share Posted February 28 Hi @RidgeRunner as far as I know, only the nose of the plane was changed on the Etendard IVP. The jet engine remained the same. The photo reco Etendards were in fact IVM airframes transformed into IVP. The airframe numbers were the initial IVM number to which a prefix 1 had been added. Hence an Etendard IVM numbered 40 would become an Etendard IVP number 140. Only one squadron (Flotille 16F) flew the IVP and the tip of the underwing fuel tanks were painted in yellow (Kodak yellow as the Marine called the color). Re the commonality between Etendard and SMB2 of the fin and tail plane, I have absolutely no idea. These are interesting questions. Keep having fun. JR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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