Star of Chenonceaux - Revell 1/144 Lockheed L.1049G Super Constellation

[PattheCat]

Good afternoon, fellows. The engines are now painted but there was a little sinkage at the curving junction between the engine nacelles and the leading edge (only the half that's part of the upper wing).

So I decided to put some filler before going on with the build.

 

While I was at it, I went all the way with smearing Mr. Surfacer 500 over all the seam lines......

 

So now it looks dreadful but I'm quite certain there won't be much left over after sanding and cleaning with IPA.

 

As you can see, about nothing of the engines shall be visible (pun intended). But like in the cockpit, that doesn't mean I'm not happy with Revell to have put it there.

 

It's very windy here today. Hope you have better weather at your place.

Bye for now.

[PattheCat]

Good evening. Nearly nothing done for a week except some sanding and rescribing (which in my case is somewhat like "rinse and repeat").

Still there is a thing worth mentioning.

Each time I was looking at the underside something was nagging at me. So  I searched for pictures of the actual aircraft and found one of it landing with flaps down. Bingo!

 

The seams between the wings assembly and fuselage cut through the two innermost flap sections!

 

So it was filling, sanding and rescribing and now it loks like this:

 

And now I'm looking for a way to hold the main gear doors in place so they don't cave in while the glue sets (4 parts each).

 

Have a nice evening.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

28 minutes ago, PattheCat said:

The seams between the wings assembly and fuselage cut through the two innermost flap sections!

 

I hate when they do that. 

[Ray S]

What a very graceful airliner this is, and you are doing a grand job with it. It was an especially good save with the flap join lines! I really must try and use that Mr Surfacer 500 and IPA, it sounds a good combo.

 

Weather here is dreadful chucking it down all day, but probably making up for April when we only had about 4% of our April rainfall here.

 

Ray

[PattheCat]

Many thanks Ray. I preferably use IPA to wipe the excess of Mr Surfacer 500 while it's still rather fluid but it hardens fast; so that later most of the job has to be done with sanding sticks except for thin layers. But this "nail varnish cleaner" smell is ...... 

Luckier with the weather here, but it's not great. Sunny then overcast periods with some drops of rain and so on along the day, and just 14 degrees c. now.

[PattheCat]

Hello fellow Britmodellers. Yet another small update.

 

I put the engines inside the cowlings halves and couldn't get the props axles to properly spin because their baseplate was blocked by a locating pin . So I thinned the baseplates.

To avoid the axle going back (and inside!) when putting the props later on, I glued a bit of sprue behind the baseplates.

 

 

I thought the front gear cover would fall into place easily as it's moulded in one piece and there are ridges along a good part of the sides of the wheel well. Nope!

I either got a side too low and another too proud.

As it was late I just added more glue and sanded it level the next day. Well, what's done is done. Be wiser than me and put a support inside the wheel well.

Oh, and don't forget to scribe panel lines on the cover as there are none.

 

 

Being warned, I added a piece of sprue inside the main wheel wells and sanded it so that it would match the supporting ridge at the rear of the nacelle.

 

My apologies for the slow progress. Thanks for watching.

 

Take care of yourselves.

[PattheCat]

Hi everybody.

 

With the addition of a "supporting beam" the gear doors went on without fuss: (with just some surface sanding)

 

Under (very) good lighting some extremely shallow sink marks became visible on the tailplanes (both sides) and flaps. Some sanding and a minimal amount of filler dealt with this:.

 

The windshield was a tad too narrow around the corners and I had to sand the fuselage surrounding the offending part of it:

 

 

With a bit of filler it shouldn't look too bad:

 

With the clear part on, the front makes me think of a fifties SF spaceship .....

 

I hope you had a good day and wish you a satisfying modelling evening.

 

[PattheCat]

Hi chaps. No update as some setbacks came up. It seems the plastic doesn't like extra thin as the fuselage partly came unglued (again) and the windscreen went off in the repair process. Also my new airbrush doesn't want to work properly. Paint flows with much difficulty and stops completely after a minute at the max. I tried with water, paint limiter set at half open and got just a trickle of spray, Can't find what's wrong. No answer from the reseller nor the producer 

Sorry for the delays.

 

Edit: I needlessly fought the carpet monster, I had put the windscreen "aside" (certainly to not lose it 🤣). Sighing in relief. Now I can't find my Humbrol gloss varnish to fix it again. Guess who inspired Dory's character to Walt Disney studios.

[stevehnz]

Sounds like a step or two backward just now Pat, hang in there mate, you've done too much good stuff to be beaten now, 'sides which, I'm liking your tips a lot, handy for mine come the day.

Steve.

[PattheCat]

On 5/24/2021 at 1:02 PM, stevehnz said:

Sounds like a step or two backward just now Pat, hang in there mate, you've done too much good stuff to be beaten now, 'sides which, I'm liking your tips a lot, handy for mine come the day.

Steve.

Thanks, Steve. Also got a small fit discrepancy between the engines subassemblies and nacelles. I don't want to put filler to save the details. Still thinking about what I could do.

 

Don't worry, I don't intend to let it go.

Show, share, help and enjoy. That's just the point of this place, isn't it?

 

Edit 26/05/2021: Hi. Got an answer from the seller of the airbrush but it seems to work properly now after unscrewing and putting the paint limiter "chuck" back on. Weird.

I think the fit problem with the engine subassemblies is partly my fault. When putting the cowling halves together there was a gap at the upper seam so I scraped the inside of the cowlings around the engine for good fit. But then I the subassemblies didn't fit onto the nacelles any more so I scraped at the inside rear end of the cowlings for wiggle room. Maybe just filling the seam would have spared me the hassle.

Edited May 26, 2021 by PattheCat
Things clearing up

[dnl42]

This is coming along nicely! Oh so much faster than I am! 

 

I worked with some Lockheed engineers--they all held the Connie in very high regard!

[PattheCat]

10 hours ago, dnl42 said:

This is coming along nicely! Oh so much faster than I am! 

 

I worked with some Lockheed engineers--they all held the Connie in very high regard!

 

Thanks a lot. You worked with Locheed engineers, how lucky!

[PattheCat]

Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Quite some time since my last post but I had a new laptop and printer to set up for my daughter and I made a mess trying to get the engines to fit right. I'll spare you the pictures of the slaughter (putty, sanding, putty off, shims, sanding,..) because IMHO all this pain could have been avoided. I found builds on the net where there was putty everywhere around the nacelles and others with no fitting problem at all, as well as those who left this half millimeter difference alone (what I should have done).

To spare yourself all the trouble, here is my advice:

- put the wings together but don't glue them together nor to the fuselage

- build the engine subassemblies as is

- test fit the engine subassemblies on the wings assembled with tape or clamps not forgetting to clamp the portion of the nacelles that's part of the wings

- IF there is a noticeable difference in diameter at the junction between the portion of the nacelles that's part of the wings and the engine subassemblies, don't tamper with the engine subassemblies but

  only touch up the contact surfaces of the nacelles between upper and lower wing

 - fill or sand at the contact surfaces according to your observations

- recheck fit before glueing the engines subassemblies to the wings

 

Should I have done it so, it certainly wouldn't have looked as bad as this:

 

 

 

Still some details to rescribe, not really happy with myself but the show must go on.

Next comes full clean up and a first coat of grey primer to see what's still to correct (if I'm able to)

 

Bye and have a nice evening.

 

 

[stevehnz]

8 hours ago, PattheCat said:

it certainly wouldn't have looked as bad as this:

As bad as what? It looks pretty good to me & I'm sure it will look the goods when done.

Steve.

[JeroenS]

4 hours ago, stevehnz said:

As bad as what? It looks pretty good to me & I'm sure it will look the goods when done.

Steve.

I have to agree with Steve there, Pat. What are we looking for exactly? Looks absolutely fine to me. Time to relax and enjoy this hobby, mister!

[PattheCat]

You're too kind, guys. I admit I'm particularly stressed by the fact it'll receive a metal finish thus highlighting the tiniest flaw. Thanks for your support. Time to relax and get a beer.

[JeroenS]

Hobby and stress don't mix, enjoy your beer 😎

[PattheCat]

I hope it's not tactless to post something around tea time, but as there is a bit of progress done, I take the risk.

I'm bad, I'm bad, you know it I'm bad ..... who's bad?

 

First my apologies for the rather downcast tone of my last posts. Some upkeep of the house's surroundings got my mood cleared up.

 

Temps fell under 30 c. since yesterday so a first coat of Stynylrez grey primer was sprayed all over (else is dry tip too much of a problem for my taste).

What I like the most with priming is that it highlights flaws. Better than to notice them after a first coat of paint.

 

 

 

I'm sure I can get these carburetor intakes to look better (the scoops were a tad oversized)

 

the too heavily rescribed panel lines I'll forget but there is filler to add where I rectified the flaps and onto some scratches and part of the seams

 

still a bit of work to do around the windshield (it's fit being the most annoying shortcoming of the kit, methinks)

 

I'm quite happy with the state of things. After tidying up the best I can, I'll put a coat of black primer where the model will receive a metal finish (wings, tailplanes, belly).

 

And don't forget to sing the all times number one around modellers "Fight for your right to putty" by the Beastiekits Boys.

 

 

[Thom216]

Very rarely is it not a fight! Looking good, good sir.

[PattheCat]

Good afternoon, my friends. No pics today. I just want to keep you informed. After a session of light sanding and minor filling it looks far better. Still, some more primer revealed a few small areas that can be improved. Just a little bit of work to entrust to the faithful  sanding sponge and thinned Mr Surfacer before I can call it ready for paint. 

I'll do my best to have this finished in time, but I already have to say that my first participation in a GB is rewarding and a lot of fun. And that thanks to you, good people. So .....

 

[PattheCat]

Good morning, my friends. Some time devoted to modelling since sunday so some progress too.

The dorsal seam cracked again so more than a "final" tidying up before paint was needed.

Most of the surface received a coat of flat black primer (over the grey) prior to spraying silver (Vallejo Metal Color).

 

 

 

Areas like the junction of the clear part with the fuselage and the carburetor intakes were revisited, as were different seams and panel lines on the belly.

 

 

 

I didn't want a too shiny look but with a flat black base, the color is maybe not "reflective" enough. I spray two or three very light misty coats before a wet coat. One more light wet coat should help.

 

 

I'm really happy with the result (as usual with these paints).

 

Have an excellent day.

Bye.

Pat.

 

 

[ajmm]

Very nice progress! I've just finished this kit and I can feel some of your pain. You did well to block those hubs from slipping back inside the engine nacelles - yup, guess how I know...! I've built two of these but not yet had a go at a civil one. This is very inspiring.

 

 

[Thom216]

A beauty and a beast all in one!

[PattheCat]

2 hours ago, ajmm said:

Very nice progress! I've just finished this kit and I can feel some of your pain. You did well to block those hubs from slipping back inside the engine nacelles - yup, guess how I know...! I've built two of these but not yet had a go at a civil one. This is very inspiring.

 

 

 

1 hour ago, Thom216 said:

A beauty and a beast all in one!

 

Thanks a lot, guys. Comments much appreciated.

I wouldn't call this kit a beast but it sure requires more care and work than I thought it would when I dry fitted the main parts. Dorsal seam cracked three times! I'd advise to strenghten the attachment with a plastic strip.

If Revell would reissue this kit I'd buy at least one.

Just one doubt, looking at pictures of the real thing I think the wings should have more dihedral.

 

Ajmm, please could you give me a link to pics of your builds?

[Brad]

Nice metal coat. I might have to try that one.