greggles.w Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 G'evening all, happily reporting that I'm back on track, after 2x weeks of hectic lock-down-home-school-holidays. Nose paintwork repaired, though it was more like 're-plastering', given the lacquered layers of top coats & primer coats which flaked off. In the end I resorted to daubing White Mr Finishing Surfacer 1500 with a brush into the sinkhole! Most importantly - no new lifting of paint, & red markings unscathed! I'll let that rest for few days before (gently!) buffing surface, in anticipation of a few tiny custom decals which I've got on order. Nearing the end ... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Great save on ghe lifted paint, this looks gorgeous, good luck with the Gentle buffing. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc2 Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Lovin' it. Looking super sharp! Malc. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Immaculate repair! Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Just caught up with this build...fantastic. Pity about the problems along the way but skill and determination one the day. I want one in 1/72! Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted October 10, 2021 Author Share Posted October 10, 2021 On 10/5/2021 at 8:32 AM, Courageous said: Just caught up with this build... Nice to here from you Stuart, you will note this one has switched out the ‘Malteser’ for an Australian alternative: the ‘Kool Mint’ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 Snatched a few brief, but quiet moments today to apply decals as delivered in the mail during this past busy week. Two tiny ones to the tail, and the faux heraldic shield - ‘Knight Twister’ - either side of the cowling. Decals done! Leave that to dry, back to the busyness … 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc2 Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Oh goody, an update! Looks great, where did you get the decals from? M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Lovely decals, they look great. Cracking work Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Nice. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted October 17, 2021 Author Share Posted October 17, 2021 8 hours ago, Malc2 said: where did you get the decals from? An air racing enthusiast in a F’book group linked me through to a whole suite of photos he’d uploaded to ‘smugmug’, of the extant machine in a museum. These were excellent basis for generating my own artwork, using CAD & Adobe software from work. I have blank printable decal sheets but they are suited to the office laser printer - much higher resolution than my rubbish bubblejet at home! Unfortunately lockdown has cut my access to that printer, so this time I paid a pretty sum & had them printed out of QLD here in Australia. Glad I did as these are very small & the printed resolution is much better than even the office printer would achieve. They are a little on the thicker side, but I’ve had some success just now with very, very carefully sanding the edges away with 12,000 micromesh. Hoping the remaining film boundary will be lost in subsequent clear coats … 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 15 hours ago, greggles.w said: carefully sanding the edges away with 12,000 micromesh Brave man... Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc2 Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 17 hours ago, greggles.w said: An air racing enthusiast in a F’book group linked me through to a whole suite of photos he’d uploaded to ‘smugmug’, of the extant machine in a museum. These were excellent basis for generating my own artwork, using CAD & Adobe software from work. I have blank printable decal sheets but they are suited to the office laser printer - much higher resolution than my rubbish bubblejet at home! Unfortunately lockdown has cut my access to that printer, so this time I paid a pretty sum & had them printed out of QLD here in Australia. Glad I did as these are very small & the printed resolution is much better than even the office printer would achieve. They are a little on the thicker side, but I’ve had some success just now with very, very carefully sanding the edges away with 12,000 micromesh. Hoping the remaining film boundary will be lost in subsequent clear coats … Interesting! I have had great results from Arctic decals, I send him the art work or a picture and he posts the decals back, but I guess Finland to Oz may be expensive for a few decals! Malc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted October 31, 2021 Author Share Posted October 31, 2021 Hello all, an update, ticking a few final tasks off the to-do list ... First, a first, my first .. panel wash! I suspect a white aircraft is not the usual subject to initially try this technique. Given these racers are kept in fairly good condition, and this represents the machine in one of its earliest configurations, I was not going for 'wear & tear' or 'grease & oil' wash, but more just subtle emphasis to some select areas, sufficient to give a little depth to an otherwise 'flat' gloss white finish (if that makes sense!?). I mixed up a custom tone a few shades darker than the base colour & tentatively applied to only the cowling, aileron & elevator panel lines. Here shortly after ... you'll have to take my word for it! After that it was semi-gloss clear coats followed by tentative sanding to diminish the film edges of the decals ... On 10/18/2021 at 4:08 AM, Courageous said: Brave man... Stuart ... and as Stuart could clearly foresee, I tore through one of the decals!! Luckily I had spares printed within the set-price sheet area. SO, re-decal, re-clear coat, and re-finish - but much less aggressively! After that I meditatively polished the select metal panels to a high gloss, in contrast to the semi-gloss fabric areas. And so - a milestone! I have finally epoxied the upper wing in place! Back in the jig ... All seems to have aligned nicely, with the minimum of touch-up ahead at the top of the inter-plane struts. The cabane struts look just fine as they are. ... letting that wait the full 24hrs before attempting first barrel-roll! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc2 Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Marvellous! M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Good to see the upper wing fixed on. Glad you were able to recover from the torn decal. Looks great Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2lefthands Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Beautiful model! I liked it also polished without paint 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted October 31, 2021 Share Posted October 31, 2021 Glad to see a 'come back' after my jinxy statement. Those jigs of yours definitely do the job. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted November 10, 2021 Author Share Posted November 10, 2021 An update, dare I say a final one before Ready For Inspection !?!! Sure feels tantalisingly close to done ... That busted undercarriage has been repaired, repainted, & fixed in place. The windscreen has also been fixed in place ... again ... 3rd time lucky?? Last time I polished it, dipped it in Tamiya clear & fixed in place ... and then witnessed it going yellow over the subsequent days! So I pulled it off - again - re-sanded with micromesh & re-polished with compounds (no easy feat when the thing is smaller than my little-finger nail) & stopped there. No dipping. Looks good enough for me. So only 3x things remain: tailwheel, exhausts, & carb intake cover - so close! Indulgent test-mount at end of last session ... 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malc2 Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Luuuverly! M. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Great to see the final bits starting to go on and it up on the excellent base too. Looks awesome Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vesa Jussila Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Nice! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted November 10, 2021 Share Posted November 10, 2021 Very nice indeed and will look even better without the WIP background. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Farmer matt Posted November 15, 2021 Share Posted November 15, 2021 Hello, I stumbled across your build thread on a random interweb search. My father was Brian Lawrence (LDM), the aircraft kits were his pet project excuse to make model aeroplanes rather than cars, buses etc. He would have been thrilled by your efforts. It is interesting you got the kit from Japan, they were popular there when new. I was not aware of problems with the u/c, but the later Extra230 kit had a zinc casting for the u/c so maybe a lesson was learned. After 40 odd years, it is good to see someone enjoying one of his kits and making a lovely job of it. 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greggles.w Posted November 17, 2021 Author Share Posted November 17, 2021 On 11/15/2021 at 11:02 PM, Farmer matt said: Hello, I stumbled across your build thread on a random interweb search. My father was Brian Lawrence (LDM), the aircraft kits were his pet project excuse to make model aeroplanes rather than cars, buses etc. He would have been thrilled by your efforts. It is interesting you got the kit from Japan, they were popular there when new. I was not aware of problems with the u/c, but the later Extra230 kit had a zinc casting for the u/c so maybe a lesson was learned. After 40 odd years, it is good to see someone enjoying one of his kits and making a lovely job of it. What an unexpected but wonderful message to receive! Thanks for reaching out & saying hello. Your father was clearly a skilled craftsman. As an architect myself I admire kits which are not only beautifully true-to-form when complete, but which also show careful & clever forethought in the way the parts & assembly have been considered. These kits have just such ingenuity! I have one other in my stash - a Caudron C.460 - and I keep my eye out for others ... but don't hold my breath while waiting!! Occasionally they turn up for premium prices, rarer still at fair price, either way I always pay attention to them. I've noticed that they are starting to drift into the 'collectable' market, not just the 'buildable', turning up at specialist toy collector auction houses ... I feel compelled to subvert this & buy to build! Interesting that you note they sold well in Japan. So my find was not an aberration! Shouldn't be surprising given their cultural appreciation for skilled craftsmanship. Well, one day soon (??!!) domestic obligations will abate sufficiently to allow me to bring this one to a conclusion & I hope you can see the finished product happily displayed and declared done! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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