Frogspawn Tupolov SB2

[TonyW]

I'll be kicking off with this beauty...

 

 

Definitely under a tenner, I might even have been paid to take it away. It's not one of the most sought after kits out there.

I've had it years and the origins are long forgotten.

 

It's an eastern block version of the old FROG kit from 1969. This one comes with added flash and seems to be made of a combination of polystyrene with a bit of added soap. The decals are out of register and cracked as well. The box art is a bit basic and the poor quality card is starting to come apart at the seams.

If ever a kit needed a bit of care and attention, this is it. This could be its lucky day, and with luck Cinderellaski will go to the Ball.

 

Apparently the original FROG kit was due for release in 1965, but it took a while to sort out production problems.

 

To keep my own production problem free hopefully, I'll be ignoring any accuracy issues and just going with what I've got. I have spare original FROG transfers so they won't be a problem. 

Assuming it goes together reasonably well, I'll treat it to a base as well. Probably a snow scene as I've not done one of those for ages.

 

More as it happens...

[PeterB]

Hi Tony,

 

This will be interesting. I think it was @Mjwomack who built one of these a couple of years ago in the Frog GB and as I recall it was hard work! Hope yours is a bit easier. I have one in the stash and even bought some resin guns for it, but hesitate to build it given the problems he had - maybe yours will change my mind.

 

Pete

Edited May 15, 2021 by PeterB

[AdrianMF]

I did one recently here and I have to say it was an interesting build. I still haven’t finished the ICM one alongside it, which is objectively a much nicer and more accurate kit.

 

Apart from its - er -“loveable simplicity” and the width of the fuselage (too wide) it isn't far off the ball, although for me all  the trailing edges needed a lot of sanding down.

 

I got mine from a dealer at SMW 2018 for eight quid I think.

 

Looking forward to your build!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TonyW]

I remember your build Adrian, mainly for the very distinctive cammo scheme. I liked it a lot.

 

Re-reading your build thread reminded me of the fuselage width issue. I wish I had checked out your thread before I got stuck in, as I've had a bit of a Tupolov build frenzy today but it didn't involve slimming the fuselage down. Ho Hum. It is what it is.

 

I agree with you about the trailing edges, they are a bit on the chunky side. I'll be attacking them once the glue has dried on the airframe.

 

Speaking of which...

 

Here's the parts, followed by the work done so far. Basic clean up and assembly really, with filling and sanding next in line. The interior will get a couple of seats and belts but not a lot more as the glazing isn't exactly crystal clear.

 

 

 

 

 

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff Tony

Can't help myself when it comes to Frog kits especially their Donetsk Toy Factory cousins, usually with enough flash to qualify as a Vacform kit !

Best of luck.

Cheers Pat 

[Mjwomack]

5 hours ago, PeterB said:

Hi Tony,

 

This will be interesting. I think it was @Mjwomack who built one of these a couple of years ago in the Frog GB and as I recall it was hard work! Hope yours is a bit easier. I have one in the stash and even bought some resin guns for it, but hesitate to build it given the problems he had - maybe yours will change my mind.

 

Pete

It's true I did, as a Spanish Civil War version with the FROG colour guide rather than what modern research would suggest. There were definitely issues with the kit and they weren't all of my own making (for once)

[Mjwomack]

5 hours ago, TonyW said:

I'll be ignoring any accuracy issues and just going with what I've got.

I'm sure your sanity will thank you for this approach!

[PlaStix]

Hi Tony and welcome to the GB. That looks to be an interesting choice of kit for this GB. Sounds like it could be an 'interesting' build Hope it goes well. Looking forward to following your progress. 

Kind regards,

Stix

[AdrianMF]

4 hours ago, TonyW said:

didn't involve slimming the fuselage down

Nobody will notice unless you put it next to the ICM kit. If I had built it on its own, I wouldn’t have bothered!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TonyW]

Here's the original FROG kit.

 

 

Artwork by Carless. He also did a load of Aeroplane and Flight covers and adverts. I like his work. It's very dramatic here, but the planes seem to be scoring an own goal. Those tanks look more T34 than PzIII to me. Probably historically accurate on more than one occasion but an odd choice to end up on the lid.

 

The plastic is quite a bit sharper than my kit. The clear parts are lot clearer as well. Still not clear enough to look right though. I'll be having a crack at replacing them.

 

Four decal options in the box. I have no idea how authentic they are but it's a nice gesture from FROG anyway.

 

 

 

 

Back to the build. 

An hour here and there over the last day or two has got the Tupolov build well under way.

 

A coat of hi build primer showed up all the gaps and flaws, and there were many. Loads of plastic removal took place on all the trailing edges, they had an edge like a scaffold pole on them. The tail surfaces have been reduced by about half and look better for it. Quite a bit of Milliput fine was needed at the wing roots and engine cowls. More rubbing down followed, then more primer.

 

 

An earth covered base was dug out and has had a bit of snow and ice added.

 

 

 

 

This morning the airframe was fine sanded and sprayed with a rattle can of NATO green. Most of this is going to dissapear under a winter whitewash, so the green wasn't critical. The plane was left out in the sun (between heavy showers) to dry off and some original FROG decals were then applied. I've followed the original FROG placement with them, even the wing top stars. 

 

 

Propping it all up on the base see's things starting to come together...

 

 

Things are moving along at a relaxed and enjoyable pace here.

So relaxed and enjoyable that I'm eying up a Contrail Petlyakov PE8 kit I have here, that I've noticed has a Comet Miniatures sticker on it for £10.00. Oh dear, here we go again...

[TonyW]

Up with the Lark, and off to the shed.

 

Blue undersides added and the first very thin coat of whitewash got applied. About 60/40 turps to Humbrol Matt White, brushed on in a fairly wet layer. It goes nicely patchy and is very controllable. Two or three coats build up into any stage of wear and tear needed. I doubt these planes got to live long enough to get really knackered paintwork, so this one will get a fair bit more white added. I'll stop when it looks right.

 

It's sat out in the sun to dry now, before more coats get added later. 

 

 

 

[ColonelKrypton]

2 hours ago, TonyW said:

so this one will get a fair bit more white added. I'll stop when it looks right.

I quite like the look of it now, subtle and not too overdone either weather or war weary nor to too freshly done up.

 

cheers, Graham

 

[TonyW]

Thanks Graham, A bit more white won't hurt though...

 

 

...along with some 10 thou clear plastic bent into canopy shapes and a bit of exhaust staining. Nearly there now, just a bit of fine tuning here and there. The probably incorrect wing stars need tidying up a bit. I've also added fuselage stars as the plane looks a bit bare in that area.

The new canopy covers are crystal clear. That means a bit more interior detail than first planned will probably be needed. I'll line the canopy frames before I get too carried away here though. A trio of the compulsory diorama oil barrels have been started as well, along with a bit of flak repair on the tail. That looks a bit too distinctive at the moment, I'll tone it down a bit later.

 

It's all back outside, sunning itself again. More might get done later today if I'm lucky. It would be nice to set it on its ski's.

 

 

 

 

 

[stevej60]

Hell Tony I thought my Flanker was going together quickly but this is really flying great job so far too!

[AdrianMF]

Looks great in the winter camo!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TonyW]

A steady chipping away on lots of little jobs moved things forwards yesterday.

 

A bit more thinned whitewash was added here and there and the decals and blue undersides were dusted with matt white as they looked a bit stark against the whitewash uppers. Its taken the edge off the red and blue and toned things down a bit. I've added a few runs to the whitewash here and there as well.

 

The nose transparency was sanded down, as its fit was less than perfect, being a bit larger than the fuselage itself. Its polished back as clear as I can get it and I'll be using it rather than attempting to make my own, which was my first thought. I'm trying to keep this build simple. 

 

The ski's and scaffold holding them is now fitted and a start made on paintwork and weathering.

 

The radiator grills up front got a black wash followed by a scrub in dark metal over the bars. The outlets on the wing tops have had a bit of Tamiya mesh added to the insides. I have no idea if this is right or accurate, but its better than being able to see through to the ground through the holes.

The props are both painted and ready to go.

 

Today should see more of the same kind of progress.

 

 

 

 

 

[TonyW]

Out of nowhere, I can see the end in sight! Probably tempting luck a bit by saying that but there's not really that much left to do here.

 

The front of the pilots glasshouse was trimmed and fitted. It will need the outer frame on it reduced a fair bit. I didn't attempt it before fixing as it's a delicate part now it's been cut about. Superglue fixed it and also filled any gaps around the base. I'll be adding the framework tomorrow. The two replacement canopies are currently squeezed into the V of a couple of pairs of tweezers to try to encourage them to take a set into something like the right curvature.

 

I'm a big old lump of a bloke, but a couple of seats that would comfortably fit on my fingernail have been going a few rounds with me, and very near beating me as well. The clarity of the new canopy parts led me to have a go at adding a bit of detail under them. Spare parts box seats got lead foil belts cut and added. Then the punch up really started when I dug up some old Monogram seat belt photoetch buckles. Four of the smallest buckles I have ever seen got added after a protracted no holds barred fight. Miniscule dabs of glue on the belts, followed by cutting out the buckles and then trying to find them on my bench. Once found, they didn't want to be picked up. Once picked up, they didn't want to stay where I wanted them. Once finally on, I really can't make up my mind if they are the right way up or not. I suspect they are 1.48 scale as well. How anyone can do this work in 1.72 is beyond me.

They are fitted now, and I'm calling for me, on points. A close run thing though.

 

The picture is merciless, it looks OK to me if I leave my glasses off.

 

 

Moving back a bit, things start to cheer up some.  The glazing gets a bit of framework tomorrow.

 

 

 

 

 

[PlaStix]

Hi Tony!! WOW!! You are making rapid progress with this project and it's looking superb already!! Your worn whitewash looks fantastic! Awesome modelling!

Kind regards,

Stix

 

[TonyW]

There's a few areas of the build that have started bugging me. I initially went for a straight out the box build, making things up a bit where it suited. I now think I strayed too far in that direction and have made a series of errors that will need sorting. I could have avoided all this by doing a bit of basic research before diving right in. Lesson learned... maybe.

 

First up, there's no way the kit nose is useable. The nose glazing and bars is the most prominent part of the whole plane to me and the original part provided is just so far out of whack as to be useless. I've made a milliput nose and will plunge mould a hopefully more suitable part tomorrow. The original kit part is sat in front of the plane in this shot.

 

 

 

 

Then there's the exhaust area. I've got too much staining going on there. An easy enough fix.

I've also fitted  four exhaust pipes that are wrong. Wrong length, they should be slash cut and the area they sit in should be flat on the wing. All fixable. All should have been done right first time. Grrr. New ones tomorrow.

 

 

Most annoying of all though is the windscreen and gunner canopy framing. I followed the FROG box for the pattern, and it's wrong. I got the number of glazing bars wrong, front and rear. Hells Bells, I've been building these things for long enough now that I shouldn't be making basic blunders like this.

I've removed the glazing bars and will be having another go, you guessed it, tomorrow.

 

 

Phew, self criticism session now ends. Normal service will be resumed as soon as possible.

 

Tony.

 

 

[TonyW]

Stage one of the recovery mission has been started. 

 

 

After a mere eleven attempts, a usable nose piece has been made. Two prop blades and a wonky ski mount were collateral damage along the way.

 

I'm not pushing my luck by trying to detail the front area, a coat of black instead is my wimp out method. The framing is quite involved and I don't think much would be seen in there anyway. I'm also a bit wary of cutting out slots for the guns. The guns may well be in the workshops for service on this build.

The nose is fixed in place, awaiting stage II

 

The exhaust stains have been covered and the vent area under the exhaust pipes has been filled. Once that's dry enough I'll make and add new exhaust pipes. 

 

That then leaves all the canopy framing to do, a couple of aerial wires and re-staining of the wings behind the exhausts. No doubt there will be a bit more than that before I'm done, but it's getting close.

 

Tony.

[AdrianMF]

Despite your troubles (or perhaps because of them) it is looking fabulous. I do like a Winter Whitewash scheme.

 

Cutting slots for the guns is asking for trouble (ask me how I know!) but you could consider just making two holes for the guns to poke through, and paint it up like there are slots?

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TonyW]

That's a good idea Adrian. Consider it stolen. 😁

[TonyW]

I'm calling this one done now.

Canopies have been re-framed, exhausts replaced with something a bit closer to the originals and no end of paint revision. I'm getting to the point of overworking it, so best to call it a day here. I'm tempted to tone down the exhaust staining (again) but that can be for later.

 

There are not that many Russian planes in my collection at the moment. This GB is helping quite a bit with that sorry state of affairs. 

 

Gallery pictures on the way...

 

 

[PlaStix]

Hi Tony. That truly is an awesome looking build!! I am really impressed with your finish and weathering on this. An absolutely superb looking model and scene!! Very well done!

And thank you very much for building it in this GB!

Kind regards,

Stix

[AdrianMF]

Tony I am truly gobsmacked. Marvellous! And the base is fabulous too. Never seen such a well balanced “grimy snow” scene, and I am a bit partial to them.

 

Regards,

Adrian