Contrail PETLYAKOV Pe8 Vac Form.

[Mike]

On 17/06/2021 at 13:38, TonyW said:

A Quinta Studio PE8 detail set. Quite amazing detailing on such tiny parts, as there should be for a tenner. Adding this set to the build has doubled the cost of the project! 

I kind of knew you would, but did you see they also do a clear vacform set of transparencies too?

 

 

[TonyW]

2 hours ago, Mike said:

I kind of knew you would, but did you see they also do a clear vacform set of transparencies too?

 

 

 

I did take a look at the Quinta clear parts but decided to have a go at doing my own. First attempts look promising,  

The raised frame bars on the Quinta set looked a bit chunky to me as well. They could probably be sanded down a bit but the thought of wrecking a not inexpensive set of parts held me back from taking the plunge.

 

[PlaStix]

Looks like some good progress Tony, when last time seen!

Kind regards,

Stix

[TonyW]

The Pe8 has been a bit neglected lately but I got back on its case today and it made a pleasant change from battling a Rareplane Savage into shape. Now that one is done I can get on with this one.

 

 The glazing under the nose was never going to work as Contrail intended. Indented window areas were supposed to be cut out and glazed by the builder. I tried cutting out a couple of frames but it looked terrible. I've decided to mould the area in clear plastic. I've filled the indents and will fill the nose solid with clay for the plunge moulding. The clay can be removed and the process repeated for the nose side windows. It will mean three separate glazing pieces being let into the nose, the bomb aimers position and port and starboard cheek glazing.. A bit long winded but I think it will work out OK. It does mean this build will take a while but I'm happy with that.

 

 

One of the underwing gun positions has been reshaped to get a bit closer to pictures of the real thing. The nose and tail turret backs have been cut out and reshaped as well along with one of the rather basic seats. The first of the undercarriage doors has also been cut out and thinned right down

 

 

Not pictured but also worked on were the three tail surfaces and one of the wings. That lot got filled and smoothed where needed as the Contrail detailing was a bit soft.

 

Plodding along here today has made me realise what a task I've set myself. Just about every bit of the model is going to need some serious modification. I suspect little and often is going to be the way forward with the build. If I can repeat todays progress a couple of times a week, I should be fine.

 

 

[PlaStix]

Great to see this is still progressing Tony and I am seriously impressed by your patience!

Kind regards,

Stix

[Mike]

On 18/06/2021 at 20:01, TonyW said:

 

I did take a look at the Quinta clear parts but decided to have a go at doing my own. First attempts look promising,  

The raised frame bars on the Quinta set looked a bit chunky to me as well. They could probably be sanded down a bit but the thought of wrecking a not inexpensive set of parts held me back from taking the plunge.

 

 

You might have also run into an issue with fit, if there's discrepancies in size between the two kits.  Keep up the good work

[TonyW]

51 minutes ago, PlaStix said:

Great to see this is still progressing Tony and I am seriously impressed by your patience!

Kind regards,

Stix

 

I'll be needing quite a bit of patience before it's finished! It's a steady plodder, rather than my usual Banzai efforts but I'm enjoying the build.

 

It's on a back burner for a bit as there are a couple of Ford Mustangs fighting for attention on my bench. I'm full of enthusiasm for them at the moment but that will fade a bit soon enough. At that point something with wings will get a look in. My habit of going in at the deep end with GB's means I have to swap subjects about a bit to keep things fresh. It sometimes even works.

 

Tony.