AMK 1/72 L-29 Delfin, Uganda Air force

[Jocaj]

 

Good evening All,

 

I'd like to join this GB with this little trainer. This is my first WIP thread and first GB as well, so please be gentle with me 😊

 

I got this kit in my stash a while ago, but I didn't really have inspiration to start it. I couldn't really decide which scheme to do, but as I was always intrested in smaller air forces, this GB seemed like be a good challenge for me (especially the timeframe, since I am usually building at a snail's pace..😬🐌 )

 

The kit is nicely moulded, I found just a little flash here and there. There are plenty of ejector pin holes on the parts, but after a quick check, I found that they won’t be visible after assembly. I wouldn’t waste too much time on the review, there are much more detailed ones around the web. So, an obligatory sprue shot:

 

I plan to build it OOB mostly, the only aftermarket items will be the pitot tubes from Master, and decals from the Hungarian manufacturer HAD.

 

Two schemes are provide on the decal sheet for Ugandan planes. The sand/green camo is too „logical” (at least for me), but the earlier grey/brown scheme looks weird enough to catch my attention. I’d be really curious, who and how figured it out that these colours will be adequate for an African air force??  🤭

 

Since then I cut off the main parts from the sprues, and cleaned them up. The dry fit shows very nice fit 😃 That's good news, my builds usually take the direction to the shelf doom by endless filling-sanding circles...

 

thanks for looking, to be continued (hopefully) soon..

Jocaj

[Smudge]

Great choice. Looking forward to this one.

 

(I have one of these and was thinking about doing it, so I will be interested in how you get on) 

 

7 minutes ago, Jocaj said:

.............................please be gentle with me 😊

 

We're quite friendly here, really 

 

Welcome to the GB.

[Davek72]

Welcome Jocaj.  I really like the Delfin but haven’t seen this kit built up.  Have fun. 
 

Dave

[RidgeRunner]

Nice :). I have one of these stashed away. I'm interested to see how it comes together ... I'm tempted to find mine

 

Martin

 

[TonyOD]

Really interesting subject, that. Looking forward to your progress.

[RidgeRunner]

I’ve had my eye in this, Tony

 

https://www.armycast.cz/cs/172-decal-sets/141-l-29-flying-dolphin.html

[Wez]

I'm another one with this kit in the stash and quite keen to see how it comes out.  It's an interesting choice.

 

 

[klr]

Believe it or not, I tinkered with the idea of building this kit with Ugandan markings, which I have left over from the old KP kit. But if I do get around to building it, I would probably use the Egyptian option that comes with the kit.

[Col.]

Welcome to the GB and indeed GBs in general Jocaj  As everyone says you've picked a good subject and what sounds to be a good kit of it so we're all keen to see your progress.

[Jocaj]

Hi All,

 

Thanks for the greetings and many positive feedback 😊 I felt a bit bad because the recent weeks really depleted my creative energies thus keeping you guys deprived of updates and any activity…so I was keen to see my own progress as well 😬

On 12/03/2021 at 20:10, klr said:

Believe it or not, I tinkered with the idea of building this kit with Ugandan markings, which I have left over from the old KP kit. But if I do get around to building it, I would probably use the Egyptian option that comes with the kit.

Klr, believe it or not, my second idea was the Egyptian options 🙂 Not because of the GB, but anyway. Good luck with yours when it reaches your workbench!

 

Even if not much progress has been made, but the parts are no longer intact, they have already seentheir fate, though so far only some speed dates with the glue and paint happaned😊

Taking a closer look at the sprues, I found that some parts need a bit of trimming, removing a bit of flash, or filling ejector pinholes. Like this one here, the side „panel” (I don’t know what is it exactly) of the back seat:

 

Or the inner side of the seats and the rear side of the headrests:

 

Nothing disastrous that some sandpaper, a hobby knife or a spot of Surfacer couldn’t solve. The fit is still very good at most of the parts.The fit is still very good at most of the parts.

I found some minor inaccuracy during the dry fit of the nose and radio compartment. There was a gap between the firewall (?) and the floor of the compartment. Another issue was here that the locating pin was slightly bigger than the hole, and I only realize it after those got stuck together…I only managed to separate them by breaking the pin into the hole…well, at least there will be no gap…

 

Another flaw I found during the test fits, that the supports rods behind the forward seat are not reaching the middle bulkhead, but they should have, like on this photo:

 

But in the kit they look like this:

So, I decided to cut them off, and they will be replaced with starched sprue after finalizing the cockpit.

 

What I really miss from the kit, are the seat belts. The seats look “bare” without them, and I think they could have been included among the PE parts, or at least on the decal sheet (for me it would be enough with closed canopies). I found a pair of old resin seats (maybe Pavla) in my stash, but their “quality”…well… probably their clean up would be a bigger challenge rather than scratchbuild the harnesses. Oh, and the size difference makes the change pointless anyway…

 

Meanwhile, the cockpit parts were “impaled” and got their base coat in an old-fashioned way: using Humbrol 140 (with a drop of white) and a hairy stick. The tanks were painted with Vallejo Dark Blue, but since I repainted them with Deep Sky Blue to make more flashing in the small and dark wheel bay. Oh, and the black parts got their color  by AK NATO Black acrylics.

 

An enigmatic question raised at this point, namely the colour of the intakes. Nor the AMK, neither Eduard’s instructions (that I'm using too, as the AMK instructions, especially the colour guide was a big vague for me) are helpful in this regard…

It is clear from the original photos (though I found only 2 pics of the Ugandan planes in their original livery on the net) that the first part of the intakes is painted with corresponding camo colours. I saw the same practise with other camouflaged Delfins..

 

But what about this part?

Camo colour in full lenght, natural metal, internal grey? Or I am thinking to change to plan B, namely stratchbuild the intake covers 🤔

 

Thanks for looking, 

J.

[RidgeRunner]

Nice work so far  .... You are encouraging me to get mine out of the pile!

[Jocaj]

Thanks, RidgeRunner!

Am I encouraging? This is something new for me.  😁

It would be nice to see more Delfins ready. I think it’s a bit of a neglected type and not seen too often, even though AMK kits have been on the market for a while ... So I’ll be curious about yours. 🙂

[RidgeRunner]

On 3/28/2021 at 12:41 PM, Jocaj said:

Thanks, RidgeRunner!

Am I encouraging? This is something new for me.  😁

It would be nice to see more Delfins ready. I think it’s a bit of a neglected type and not seen too often, even though AMK kits have been on the market for a while ... So I’ll be curious about yours. 🙂

Well, mate, seeing her come together is encouraging and is tweaking me to open the box and build! The problem is I flit from project idea to project idea on a daily basis ;). I’d love to be another contributor with a Delfin my right now my Frescos, Fishbed and Fitter are keeping my shelf full! Maybe once they’re done? But then so have other plans ........ Oh, it’s the modeller’s curse

 

Martin

[Smudge]

Nice work. I'm enjoying this one.

[Jocaj]

Hi Martin,

 

Modelling multitasking, both in theory and in practice (aka the modeller's curse)? I have never faced and never even heard about it 😁🤣 

But true, it can keep busy

 

On 29/03/2021 at 21:58, Smudge said:

Nice work. I'm enjoying this one.

Thanks Smudge  

Edited March 31, 2021 by Jocaj

[Col.]

Great to see you getting this one underway J. As for the intake colour conundrum; I'd guess silver in there would be a safe bet and if nobody else knows the correct answer nobody can say it's wrong  

[Jocaj]

On 03/04/2021 at 10:25, Col. said:

Great to see you getting this one underway J. As for the intake colour conundrum; I'd guess silver in there would be a safe bet and if nobody else knows the correct answer nobody can say it's wrong  

Thanks Col  I am trying to keep this build going...a bit faster than my usual sloth-pace 😬😇🦥

Regarding the intake colour, I'll make one more attempt to find conclusive evidence, but if I find nothing, then I go with the silver

 

Some progress has been made in the meantime:

The cockpit "tub" and the sidewalls, IPs and the nose gear bay declared ready. I added the throttles from scratch.

The buttons and bits were painted with AK NATO black, Revell 37, Italeri acrylic Insignia Red, Vallejo Off-White, based on the pictures found here.

Washed with MIG Neutral Wash and gently drybrushed the edges with MIG Oilbrusher Light Flesh (maybe it sounds weird, but on this small surface it looks more like an off white/very light grey. The covering on the side walls are Italeri Flat Dark Green acrylic, washed with MIG Green-Grey Wash. 

Finished with a layer of Vallejo Matt Varnish (I may add a second layer, but to decide I should take a look at the parts in daylight, not only by night.. 😐

So the pics:

 

Thanks for looking,

J.

[Col.]

Tidy work on such small parts J

[RidgeRunner]

On 4/7/2021 at 12:38 PM, Col. said:

Tidy work on such small parts J

It puts me to shame ;(

[Grandboof]

6 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

It puts me to shame ;(

Me too . Well done 

Martin H

[Jocaj]

On 08/04/2021 at 22:24, RidgeRunner said:

It puts me to shame ;(

 

18 hours ago, Grandboof said:

Me too . Well done 

Martin H

Don't exaggerate guys I'm just trying what Dave suggested: having fun 😇

But I am glad if you like it 😊