Azur 1/72nd Breguet Br.693AB.2

[Heather Kay]

1 hour ago, stevehnz said:

I seem to have missed this thread before today, shame on me

Not to worry. Ideally, the build would be in my French Air Force WIP thread. I posted a link to this thread from there, and when it’s all done I’ll possibly do a précis of the build and gallery shots over there.

 

 

 

I'm calling that done. The finish is still streaky, which is down to my rather slap-dash mixing routine. If the paint is very thin, the oily streaking is the result of me being a bit heavy-handed (or fingered) with the airbrush trigger. Experience tells me the streaky effect will tend to fade under a coat or two of gloss varnish, and will disappear almost completely under a final satin or matt varnish. Don’t forget, I’m hoping to recreate a rather battle-worn finish anyway.

 

This will be left to gas off for a spell. I think I’ll try to get varnish done tomorrow, and while the extractor and compressor are set up I have one or two day job tasks I need to sort out.

[Heather Kay]

 

Stickers done. I think it’s @stevehnz that recommends laying transfers in a bed of Clear. I’ve been using the technique on and off, mainly for small stencil and data transfers. Thankfully, the kit transfers are very thin and conform to the fine panel lines well without setting solutions, but I hope I’ve avoided silvering on the rudder data panels.

 

I'll let that dry for a while, then a dose of satin varnish to protect before thinking about final details and weathering.

 

Being self-employed I am treating myself to the rest of the week off. There are various domestic duties disrupting things, so there’s hardly any point in me trying to work on paying stuff. Well, that’s my excuse anyway.

[TonyOD]

That looks great. Mind if I ask what that spinny turntable thing is? I think I'd find of those useful! (Are those Tamiya stars?)

[Heather Kay]

5 minutes ago, TonyOD said:

I think I'd find of those useful! (Are those Tamiya stars?)

It is a Tamiya painting turntable. It comes with a smaller turntable with metal cradle to support things like large scale car body shells.
 

https://mm1models.co.uk/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=476&search=Turntab&description=true

 

Inexpensive and indispensable.

[TonyOD]

Thanks Heather. I shall be acquiring one of those forthwith!

[Heather Kay]

 

It's always the little fiddly bits that take the longest, and I usually leave vulnerable fiddly bits till the last thing. Here I am desperately trying to get the stalky undercarriage to fit square and level. Let’s just say I don’t want to hear anyone complaining about Airfix Mosquito undercarriage, okay? Where I’d usually rely on styrene cement, I’ve resorted to CA to hold it all together. My plan was to leave the wheels free to rotate so I could set the plane up the right way resting on the flats I filed on the tyres. Then a couple of drops of CA should fix them in place.

 

 

Getting there. That spine antenna has lost one or two of its nine lives. Happily, the plastic is quite soft and it tended to flex rather than snap. Either way, there’s no positive location hole or peg to help, so CA came to the rescue again. It’s a good job it doesn’t need a wire strung on it. This sort of thing I usually make from brass rod, but the triangular shape is not easy to replicate.

 

 

I am unhappy with the canopy fit. It is one of the things I find hardest with this hobby of ours. I am not happy with sanding and polishing clear parts, so I attempted as clean a fit as I could managed. As seems to be the way, I have not quite succeeded once again. Oh well, it is what it is. 
 

The nose machine guns, and what I think is a single cannon on the starboard nose, are brass rod. The scabby nose cone is intentional. I haven’t gone as far as the prototype photo I found, which was virtually bare metal! The 693s were used as low level ground attack fighters, and during the Battle of France were worked very hard indeed. I wanted to show that if I could. The satin varnish is a bit too shiny, unfortunately, but I think I may apply some careful sanding with fine grit emery to dull some of the surfaces a bit.

 

 

The rear gun is a fine resin moulding. The kit expects it to be attached to a long, curved PE part. A small moulded peg on the bottom of the weapon was convenient for me to glue it into a hole drilled in the rear shelf. Good enough.

 

The only detail I’ve forgotten is the PE gunsight on the nose. Be right back.

[Heather Kay]

I am calling this done. Trying to do anything more, or rectifying the minor errors, will just spoil it.

 

 

From low down it captures that awkward high stance of the real thing quite well.

 

 

I have attacked the shiny bits with abrasive. It’s now looking a bit more scruffy and care-worn. 
 

 

Fairly happy with the overall finish. B+ I think.

 

I'll try and sort out gallery images soon. The bench, which doubles as the photo studio, is a bit cluttered with modelling gear right now.

[Terry1954]

You should be very happy with that Heather, its a beauty! I love the colours especially and the surface sheen and weathering are a triumph IMHO.

 

Well done!

 

Terry

[Heather Kay]

Finally, I managed to get the bench cleared for some photos.

 

Gallery entry here:

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Excellent work Heather. 

[Grandboof]

Looks great Well done again 

Martin H

[Biggles87]

Superbe!

 

John

 

 

[stevehnz]

Nice job Heather, it looks great in the gallery, as it should for the effort you had to put into it.

Steve.