Amodel Il-38N. I/72

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

I have just caught up on this one Pete, not sure how I missed it when you started but it seems I have got here at the right time.

 

It is nice to see these AMonster kits being built, you are doing a fabulous job on the assembly and fixing the inaccuracies.

 

I wonder if there is a paint producer that does this dark grey colour now? There seems to be a varying number of types now wearing it. Velajo or Mig or Akah may make it perhaps?

[Pete in a shed]

16 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said:

It is nice to see these AMonster kits being built, you are doing a fabulous job on the assembly and fixing the inaccuracies.

 

I wonder if there is a paint producer that does this dark grey colour now? There seems to be a varying number of types now wearing it. Velajo or Mig or Akah may make it perhaps?

Many thanks Ray. That's a good idea about sourcing  the paint. I think some Su-30/35s were painted in a dark grey which may be this colour. I shall investigate.

Cheers

Pete

[Pete in a shed]

Well following on from above, I've found that there is a colour for the Su-35 which is probably the same as this a/c, but its a lacquer paint. I don't know what that is so I've plumped for mixing my own. The colours used were were Xtra Colour Post Office Red, Humbrol gloss midnight blue 15, and a Humbrol dark grey 66.

Here's the result. not too far off the colour when viewed in the flesh. The photo was taken outside and looks bluer and lighter than it really is. You can tell from the mat the colours aren't quite right in the photo.

So things should now move on a pace.

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Very nice!  I'm sure with some gloss-coat, followed by some light passes with matte, it's gonna be right on the mark.  This is a colossal machine, and what strikes me is how high up the cabin portholes are, which I guess was also the case with the civil IL-18.

[Pete in a shed]

21 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

I'm sure with some gloss-coat, followed by some light passes with matte, it's gonna be right on the mark.  This is a colossal machine, and what strikes me is how high up the cabin portholes are, which I guess was also the case with the civil IL-18.

I've had a look at it inside the shed as opposed to outside where the photo was taken and it looks really dark. Just like the real thing it seems to change colour depending on the ambient lighting. I hope to get the gloss on in the next few days so we will see if that has an effect on the colour. I've also just had a look at the il-18 on the internet and the portholes do look to be in the same position. Maybe they look high because they are quite large windows.

[Pete in a shed]

I've done a little bit of spraying since the last visit to to add some of the metal detail on the leading edges. The ensuing maskathon was helped along by using a product from Tamiya that I haven't used before. Its yellow tape with thin plastic sheeting already attached to one side of the tape. The area to be masked has the sharp demarcation line from the tape, the attached plastic is then un furled to mask other bits of the model. I found it a bit unwieldy to use but it definitely saves time.

 

The Tamiya tape is on the wings, engines and centre fuselage.

 

Props getting a bit of colour. Plus refurb of the torpedo trolley which I sat on.

 

masking off awaiting some decals

 

The cockpit masks seemed a bit big compared to the engraved areas on the kit part so it will be interesting to see the result when I eventually remove them. That will be after another spray of matt varnish to seal the decals in.

 

 

 

 

 

[opus999]

Wow, that is turning out to be a beauty!  Looks enormous too.

[Pete in a shed]

20 hours ago, opus999 said:

Wow, that is turning out to be a beauty!  Looks enormous too

Thanks, its coming along slowly. It is quite large, 21" span and 22" long. Big enough to be a bit unwieldy when swinging it around in a confined space. (my shed 😀).

[opus999]

18 minutes ago, Pete in a shed said:

Thanks, its coming along slowly. It is quite large, 21" span and 22" long. Big enough to be a bit unwieldy when swinging it around in a confined space. (my shed 😀).

Makes it hard to fly around making airplane noises.  Which is something I... errr... never do...  

[Pete in a shed]

I've started on the decals, in truth nearly finished as there aren't to many to put on it! The national markings come in two parts. The red and white star and the inner blue star which is added later. This worked well as the Begemot decals are very accurately printed, The two parts aligned perfectly. The flags were made from white decal sheet and blue curved stripes from a Mach 2 Caravelle sheet I found in the spares box. The blue was sealed onto the white flag shape with Microscale decal solution, left to dry and then applied to the model. Lettering on the tail and the yellow 78 was from Begemot sheets again. Yellow 78 is named after Fedor Zolotukhin who was the Chief Designer of the “Novella-P-38” search-and-track system installed on the aircraft. To make this name in Russian I used an online Russian keyboard to write the name. I then copied it into word and changed the colour to red. It was then printed onto clear decal sheet. From experience the red from my printer is not very dense so my plan is to overlay two decals. My concern is that the thickness of the decals will leave a pronounced ridge when applied to the model. We will see! 

 

Decaling so far.

 

   The name printed and ready for sealing.

 

Tomorrow I will see if it works. (crossed fingers).

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Impressive!  You're nearing completion here--just a little ways to go.  Is it already resting on its main gear?  The thing must weigh a ton.

[Pin]

Are you printing on transparent decal paper? I afraid without white background the letters will be barely visible on the dark background

[Pete in a shed]

20 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Impressive!  You're nearing completion here--just a little ways to go.  Is it already resting on its main gear?  The thing must weigh a ton.

Hi, yes its on its legs, the total weight must be around 300 grams, I'll weigh it when its finished. There's 250g in the nose. even so it balances on the main gear with the nose leg barely touching. I hope the aerials don't add to much weight, it may turn into a tail sitter😁.

[Pete in a shed]

20 hours ago, Pin said:

Are you printing on transparent decal paper? I afraid without white background the letters will be barely visible on the dark background

Yes printing on clear paper Alexey. I have a cunning plan that involves layering decals to increase the density. It may turn out to be not quite so cunning if the end result looks like there's a cheese sandwich stuck on the side of the model!😁

[kev67]

Pete you have done a great job on the Amodel kit, you don't see many made up, but I guess they are no shake and bake kits

[Pete in a shed]

On 07/09/2021 at 10:04, kev67 said:

Pete you have done a great job on the Amodel kit, you don't see many made up, but I guess they are no shake and bake kits

Thanks very much. The Amonsters take a bit of doing but I find them great fun. I do them as a long project with smaller builds going on alongside as there are usually long periods of sanding going on. Ill have a bit of a rest after this one is finished then start on The Il-76 I have in my stash, I just have to decide what scheme to do it in. Belorussian AF maybe.

 

On 05/09/2021 at 22:55, Pin said:

I afraid without white background the letters will be barely visible on the dark background

Exactly right, My cunning plan to overlay 2 decals didnt work so the aircraft is going to be depicted pre-naming ceremony. Or I may try to get some names printed by a company like Arctic Decals. Had I thought about it I should have tried them first I think.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

An IL-76!  Now that will be something to see!  I've seen one or two of these built up, and they are (surprisingly) smaller than I expected, but still impressive.  All that glass, though, especially for the navigator's position in the lower deck.  Egad!

[RidgeRunner]

I’m sorry I hadn’t seen this before, Pete. It is an impressive build for sure. I bought an AModel IL-20 at one time but sold it as I lost my nerve! ;). You have done really well with it.

 

I remember seeing these hurtling around the circuit at Dabolim (Goa) in the late 2000. You could see and hear them miles away by eye and ear with all that exhaust and sound. I also remember seeing one during the opening ceremony at Yelahanka at around the same time.

 

Martin  

[Pete in a shed]

8 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

An IL-76!  Now that will be something to see!  I've seen one or two of these built up, and they are (surprisingly) smaller than I expected, but still impressive.  All that glass, though, especially for the navigator's position in the lower deck.  Egad

Yes its quite a kit!. It comes with all the freight bay interior in the form of a vac form insert which you slide into the fibre glass fuselage. I'm definitely going to have to work up to that one😓😄.

 

2 hours ago, RidgeRunner said:

I’m sorry I hadn’t seen this before, Pete. It is an impressive build for sure. I bought an AModel IL-20 at one time but sold it as I lost my nerve! ;). You have done really well with it.

 

I remember seeing these hurtling around the circuit at Dabolim (Goa) in the late 2000. You could see and hear them miles away by eye with all that exhaust and sound. I also remember seeing one during the opening ceremony at Yelahanka at around the same time.

Thanks Martin. I would loved to have seen one in the flesh, probably wont now, so my plan is to build my own  Zhukovsky museum in 1/72 and stroll about that instead.😄.

[philp]

On 9/16/2021 at 3:14 AM, Pete in a shed said:

Thanks very much. The Amonsters take a bit of doing but I find them great fun. I do them as a long project with smaller builds going on alongside as there are usually long periods of sanding going on. Ill have a bit of a rest after this one is finished then start on The Il-76 I have in my stash, I just have to decide what scheme to do it in. Belorussian AF maybe.

 

I keep hoping for an injection molded kit, maybe Zvezda or Revell.  Have wanted to do an Iraqi Airways one for a long time.

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Now that would be cool!  It's really not that much bigger than a stretched C-130.  It just sits high, and might require metal landing gear due to the weight of the model.

[Pete in a shed]

On 18/09/2021 at 03:48, philp said:

 

I keep hoping for an injection molded kit, maybe Zvezda or Revell.  Have wanted to do an Iraqi Airways one for a long time

That's an eye catching livery! I may have to make a foray into the realms of civilian aviation to find a scheme for it. I fear you may be hoping for a long while with regards to an injection moulded IL-76 being produced. Have a go at an Amodel one, its mostly injection moulded😃.

[Pete in a shed]

To illustrate the failure of the home made name decals I mentioned above, here's a couple of photos. Had the decal not stained the paintwork, and the carrier been invisible I would have left it on as it wasn't to bad density wise. But!!, As I watched I could see the colour underneath the decal changing before my eyes after I added the setting solution. After a short while I removed it and was horrified to see the staining as shown. I feverishly washed the area with water but to no avail. At this point I went for a forlorn coffee and when I returned to it the staining had subsided. Hence I'm leaving it alone now and will finish it without the name.😕

 

 The staining and screaming!

 

 Louder screaming!

 

Next shots will be it finished I hope.

 

 

[TheyJammedKenny!]

What kind of clear varnish did you use on this?  If it was Future, then I'd wait another day for the light area to dissipate, then airbrush another coat to see if it'll darken.  If not, then some repainting may be in order over this limited surface.

[Pete in a shed]

4 minutes ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

What kind of clear varnish did you use on this?  If it was Future, then I'd wait another day for the light area to dissipate, then airbrush another coat to see if it'll darken.  If not, then some repainting may be in order over this limited surface.

I used my usual Xtracolor Gloss. It was very dry. The decal was put on with on Microset. Luckily the light area seems to have faded away completely after being left overnight so no repainting necessary. Phew!