John Masters Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 I am not really sure which one I am gong for with this build. I like the trainer with the two-tone white/blue under the wings, so it might be that. This now has been lurking about in the stash for a couple of years so it is good to get it on the bench, plus, I have a yen for those early jets. Nice looking box art... The sprue. Decent glass, nice decals and a nifty set of resin wheels. Not too complicated sprue-wise. This looks to be a tail sitter. Time to dig out the lead weights. I'll get into this in the next couple of days. --John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 27, 2021 Share Posted November 27, 2021 Delighted to see you tackling this one John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted November 27, 2021 Author Share Posted November 27, 2021 37 minutes ago, Col. said: Delighted to see you tackling this one John Me too! As I said, it's been lurking... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted November 28, 2021 Author Share Posted November 28, 2021 I neglected to photograph a few steps, namely the cockpit construction. Not much to say, really. A seat, some minuscule PE (some of which I skipped). I sprayed the interior a medium dark green as I have seen on photos. I'll touch up the PE with some tan/grey and the seat with some khaki, the IP some black. Then I'll close up the fuselage. The front wheel well is a fit-by-feel job and reminds me of the insecure design of the older KP Model Mig-21 kits. I think this Special Hobby kit is from an era before the fine moulding they are offering now. I mean, it's excellent moulding, but some of the attachment points seem to be vague. --John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 That cockpit certainly looks busy enough for 72nd scale Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted November 28, 2021 Author Share Posted November 28, 2021 2 hours ago, Col. said: That cockpit certainly looks busy enough for 72nd scale Almost too much with all the PE, most of which I disregarded. Even with the canopy open, one would be hard-pressed to see much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted November 28, 2021 Author Share Posted November 28, 2021 Tail booms, buttoning up the fuselage, wing sections... The tail booms need some cleaning up due to the large ejector pins. Not a problem. Snip and sand. I closed up the fuselage . I ended up sanding down the wheel well piece in the nose a lot so the underside of the fuselage fit cleanly. Strangely, not surprised. Everything is tight now. The instructions for the next phase are not so much vague as unspecific for the placement of the rear wheel wells. Luckily there is a little line inside the wing piece that guides you! And once again, some ejector pins. Easy clean up and leave it like that for the night. --John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted November 28, 2021 Share Posted November 28, 2021 I hope you remembered to pack as much weight into the nose as you could fit, otherwise it’s going to be a tail sitter. 11 hours ago, John Masters said: Almost too much with all the PE, most of which I disregarded. Even with the canopy open, one would be hard-pressed to see much. I left most of it out of my J-21 as well, I could barely see some of the levers with the optivisor on and it wouldn’t be seen after close up anyway. I don’t know why they bothered to include it, or how you are expected to glue them in place with microscopic attachment points! AW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 6 hours ago, Andwil said: I hope you remembered to pack as much weight into the nose as you could fit Damn! I knew I forgot something...I'll have to crack it open. Thanks for the reminder. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 Fill everything forward of the instrument panel with lead. It's the only way to be sure! This is a cute little kit, warts and all. When I did my pair in the last Nordic GB I also moved the tip tanks 4-5mm forward, to better match with plans and photos. Also, the pitot tube is incorrectly placed in the instructions IIRC. You made a great start though! Take care with the boom/wing joint, that's a tricky one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 Thanks @Christer A. I was able to fill the nose with lead and actually some of the center fuselage behind the seat. I think it'll sit right. The booms are tricky. Not very well aligned, lots of gaps. I ended up CA'ing them in place, then used Tamiya Thin Cement to work into the seams. Putty all around the wing roots, and and all gaps...sanding and pushing the dust into the cracks...I added the stabilizer wing after carefully sanding that down to fit and it is not quite square with the fuselage. It's very slight but it's off. The solution would be to remove the port boom and shorten it by 3mm at the root. Hmmm...It could happen. If I lose sleep over it, I'll fix it, but for now I am ok with what I have here. Yes...there are indeed warts, but that's ok for such an interesting aircraft. The images are pre-putty, sanding, etc... --John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reini Posted November 29, 2021 Share Posted November 29, 2021 You're on fire! That was some fast assembly, I blinked and missed most of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted November 29, 2021 Author Share Posted November 29, 2021 Thanks @reini. Aside from the PE it’s not a very complex kit. What you see is fewer than 15 pieces. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 4, 2021 Author Share Posted December 4, 2021 The glass is masked. I will make this a closed canopy, maybe. I am also almost ready to prime and paint. I am thinking of RLM76 for the Light Grey Blue and RLM80 for the topside Olive Green. --John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 5, 2021 Author Share Posted December 5, 2021 For some reason I didn't post this image. I have progressed a bit more already... --John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 6, 2021 Author Share Posted December 6, 2021 I finished the glass (closed canopy) and gave it a layer of primer... It looks alright. There are some gaps where the canopy meets the fuselage but noting some PPP cannot fill! Time for paint! --John 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 Nice! I see that the Paddan (Toad) gun pod is to be included as well Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reini Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 Great to see couple J-21's flying around. I think everyone built Viggen & Draken in Nordic II - and now people gotta move onto other SAABs Which is cool of course, gotta have SAABs! I have that same kit in stash but I have to wait for Nordic III or beyond... @John Masters Yours is looking neat and tidy, certainly ready for paint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 6, 2021 Author Share Posted December 6, 2021 4 hours ago, reini said: Nordic III 😋 4 hours ago, reini said: Yours is looking neat and tidy, certainly ready for paint Thanks @reini 5 hours ago, Christer A said: I see that the Paddan (Toad) gun pod is to be included as well I'm not sure what to do with it. It's not on the box art. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted December 6, 2021 Share Posted December 6, 2021 Nice progress!. The design is very intriguing, those outer wing backward angle definitely quite unique! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 9, 2021 Author Share Posted December 9, 2021 On 12/6/2021 at 6:07 PM, exdraken said: The design is very intriguing I agree. I will get some paint on her today, I hope. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 9, 2021 Author Share Posted December 9, 2021 The painting begins... I have decided to use this profile, with the white wing parts and the blue nose. I used Vallejo Off-White thinned with Ajax for the air brush. I'll let that dry thoroughly, then apply the RLM76, let that dry, mask off the edges and apply the RLM80. Landing gear, decals, etc...moving right along here. --John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 10, 2021 Author Share Posted December 10, 2021 The Light Blue underside looks good... I'll let that dry overnight and then apply the mask for the green. --John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted December 10, 2021 Share Posted December 10, 2021 Looking at your model lying on its back I noticed the holes at the ends of the booms for the lights and I remembered that on my J-21 I had a lot of trouble making the clear parts fit, so I ditched them and splodged in a dollop of canopy glue into each hole, which dried and shrank into perfect glassy lamps. You can make out the effect in this head on shot: AW 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted December 11, 2021 Author Share Posted December 11, 2021 7 hours ago, Andwil said: I had a lot of trouble making the clear parts fit Thanks AW. I'll keep it in mind when I get to that stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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