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PK-127 Twin Otter Maldivian Air Taxi +++FINISHED+++


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23 hours ago, rob Lyttle said:

Looking very promising so far, Ray. Nice methodic approach on the floats. Your wire additions have paid off. I've got steps to deal with on the Norseman but really they are more like little ladders, so you have a whole different thing to sort out here, I guess 

 

Cheers Rob, I am hoping the wire is strong enough!

 

Ray

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19 hours ago, Jeff J said:

 

Yeah, that bit was tense...

 

For those of a nervous disposition reading this thread, I can safely say that the removal of the floats from the blu-tack was dealt with without damage or swear words! They are wobbly though.

 

Before I did that though, I just had to see what the Maldivian Air Taxi was going to look like perched upon the floats:

 

DSCN8657

 

It did not sit properly as I had still got some masking tape over the forward strut location holes, but it was all square, and had the slight tail-down stance that is needed. It all looks okay for when I attach them properly. The triangular supports will be fitted once the floats are on properly.

 

I am off the add the next coat of Italian Red now.

 

Thanks for looking and for the comments,

 

Ray

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It was crunch time this morning in the few minutes I had spare before tootling off to work. Could I wait until I got home to see if the masking had worked? Not on your Nellie, I couldn't! Things turned out not too bad at all, which was a relief...

 

DSCN8663

 

DSCN8661

 

There was just a little paint bleed in some of the recessed panel lines and a small section where I had not masked properly but all of that should hopefully be covered by the black transfer for the fuselage flash. A little paint should solve any other issues. I then dry-fitted everything I could:

 

DSCN8658

 

Apart from the port wing suffering from droopy wing syndrome, it all went okay, but the floats really do need their triangular supports too, they are exceptionally wobbly without. It makes me even more certain that fitting the floats before the wings will be the way to go so I have easier access to fit the supports (and steps). Oh, and I must also remember to paint the leading edge of the fin black beforehand. I will use acrylic for that, I think. The white section of the fuselage has had a coat of enamel gloss varnish, the red may get it's coat tomorrow despite looking quite glossy as it is. You probably cannot get too much gloss before adding markings. Oh (again!) I must also remember to cut off the light at the top of the fin and replace that as I had widened the fin leading edge.

 

That is it for now, it will probably be Monday before anything significant happens to this next. Thanks for looking, it is getting there now.

 

Ray

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All looks good, I've been having a look around for potential livery options for my next DHC-6 and I can see the ladder access arrangements you're going to be doing.... 👍 That should reinforce the structure alright!! 

Referring to my ramblings about the big flat roof, I found a couple of pictures looking down - don't know if you have seen them.... 

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.airteamimages.com%2Fpics%2F238%2F238166_800.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.airteamimages.com%2Fde-havilland-canada-twin-otter_OY-NSA_nordic-sea-planes_238166.html&tbnid=U1pT327kgfXulM&vet=1&docid=K3WvTG-ov2FV8M&w=585&h=410&itg=1&hl=en&source=sh%2Fx%2Fim

 

A couple of little bumps and an antenna that is well off-centre. But that appears to be it, nothing to get enthusiastic about. 

Hope I've made the link OK 

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@rob Lyttle, many thanks for that link, it is a great view, and probably means a couple of my Twin Otters are horribly inaccurate as I placed both the aerials on the centre line! Seriously though, there looks to be some fabulous photographs through that link, and I hope it has given you some inspiration for your build.

 

Thanks again,

 

Ray

 

 

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3 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Phew Ray, glad the floats came out okay and looking forward to seeing them attached and secure, it is a very attractive scheme  too, great work all round. 

Chris

 

Cheers Chris, Me too!

 

The fuselage has had a gloss varnish all over and is drying now. I must say the thinned brush-coated Humbrol Gloss enamel has gone down very well indeed, no brush marks and a high gloss. I should start getting the transfers on tomorrow.

 

All the best,

 

Ray

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It was a very productive morning today. The varnish had cured okay, so I masked the leading edge and top of the fin and got that painted gloss black acrylic (after remembering to cut off the light at the top of the fin). Then it was time for the port side transfers. The long flash for the fuselage was quite brittle and split just aft of the zig-zag, but eventually it was in the right position judging by my own photographs. Thankfully my masking (on this side at least) was spot on. Only a couple of small areas where the red had bled are visible, but I should be able to re-touch those.

 

DSCN8666

 

I am again very impressed with the Modelcraft transfers, they bedded down over the raised and recessed detail very well, and the red does not show through the white sections of them. I will be off to do the starboard side in just a while.

 

That is it for now, thanks for looking,

 

Ray

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The result of the latest transfer-adding session:

 

DSCN8667

 

Not such good masking technique here, a small section of red has been missed at the back of the zig-zag. I will be in town tomorrow and will get a small, fine pointed brush to repair this error. The fuselage flash has plenty of the red Micro set/sol so should bed down over the detail on the cockpit area, it did on the other side.

 

The Aerocraft replacement cockpit section does seem to give a good upgrade, especially for the windscreen (I still have to unmask it to be sure) but it would give a great result for someone who is much better at eliminating seams, which I am positively not. I think it is in at a slight angle though too, which has only become visible when viewed directly from the front and following the cheatline either side, cockpit windows are nearer the black on one side compared to the other. This is my fault, and not to blame Aerocraft. If I were to do another one of these, I think I would try and fit the cockpit plug to one side and get the best fit possible, then fit the other side of the fuselage to get that 'best fit' with the other side of the plug, then worry about the centerline seam. Knowing me and the Twin Otter, that may well be in my future!

 

That is really it now for the day, thanks for looking,

 

Ray

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The black stripe decals going on really bring the scheme alive now, and look wonderful Ray.  Some minor touch ups would be expected and you have done really well to only have the minor ones to do.

Great work,  this is going to look lovely. 

Chris

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On 5/3/2022 at 8:17 AM, bigbadbadge said:

The black stripe decals going on really bring the scheme alive now, and look wonderful Ray.  Some minor touch ups would be expected and you have done really well to only have the minor ones to do.

 

Chris

 

Cheers Chris, I was pretty pleased that there was only this one bit to do. On reflection, I think I masked the wrong side of my pencil marks that I had put down at this zig zag. I have to do the masking for a Bristol Superfreighter I am building too (I will be using laser-printed 26Decals for Silver City freighter), which will also be another addition to the skillset before I do an Aden-based RAF DC-3 where the cheatline gets VERY thin at the nose and masking will be even more tricky.

 

After three thin coats of red (2x Humbrol 60 Scarlet and 1x Humbrol 220 Italian Red), I am not too far from finishing this repair now:

 

DSCN8669

 

I think it will just need one more coat of Italian Red. There is a very slight raised area where the paint ridged against the masking tape which has aided the application, as did the even smaller raised area of the transfer for the cheatline itself, along with my newly bought fine brush.

 

I am going to try making some steps next from paper either plain or CA-soaked, I will try both and get the steps pre-folded. Doing that with paper will probably be easier than trying to make them out of plastic, and, being lighter, may be easier to fit to their supports when the time comes. I will let you know how I get on.

 

I am hoping now that the red is almost done I can start putting all the major bits together, but, patience, patience I tell myself. Will I listen though? Thanks for looking and the comments and likes,

 

Ray

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Cheers @bigbadbadge, I have halted the Superfreighter at the moment to get this GB done. I have been trying to sand off most of the rivets and tried my hand at rescribing the surfaces. I will get back to that when the Twaxi is completed.

 

This morning I added the last coat of Italian Red to the missed section, and have added the final transfer required around the window frame:

 

DSCN8673

 

These close-up shots really show how dodgy my seam-filling is. The transfer film goes over that window, but when the transfer is dry I will cut it out, then satin varnish the fuselage before glazing the cabin windows with Humbrol Clearfix. I have given some thought (no, it is true!) to the rest of the build sequence, and I have decided to add the wings before the floats when the time comes, as I am beginning to think that the floats will be a bit fragile and prone to being knocked off otherwise, especially as I may need to play with the wing struts to set the dihedral, which I think is one of the known issues with this kit.

 

I will have limited time on this until Monday, so things may slow down a bit.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Ray

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On Thursday I went into town and bought a fresh tin of Humbrol 135 Satin enamel Varnish. I gave it a good shake and then stirred it, but it looks really odd. It looked 'chalky' which my old pot of Satin hadn't, and despite stirring the life out of it for a very long time, the varnish still looked cloudy. Being a brave sort of bod, I used it anyway (after testing on a spare part), but it gave a very matt, streaky finish. Definitely not what I wanted on my Maldivian Air Taxi as they seemed to be kept very clean and shiny indeed, so I re-did it with Gloss varnish instead.

 

This morning I managed to mask the nose for the black anti-glare panel, and tempted providence by using masking tape near the cheatline transfers, and seriously hoping the now two layers of varnish would keep them in place. A couple of coats of Revell Matt Black did the job, and when the masking was remove, the cheatlines were still there. Phew! Then a momentous moment, unmasking the glazing to see what the Aerocraft window shapes would look like, which was the whole point of using their upgrade set in the first place:

 

DSCN8677

 

Comparing that with my Yeti Airlines Twin Otter with Matchbox's original windscreen from earlier in this GB:

 

DSCN8377 (2)

 

There is quite a difference. I really think that someone who can blend in parts like this better than my poor effort would be well rewarded, and I would heartily recommend the parts.

 

Before I went to work this morning, I added the port wing (the really sloppy-fitting one) and propped the plane next to an old biscuit tin to keep the wing in position. I had also added the wing strut, but I used the part as Matchbox originally intended, and did not adjust it to get the dihedral a little better. When I got home, I found that I had not pushed the wing into position properly, so I had to pull it back off. I then added the starboard wing (the very well-fitting side), and then re-did the port one:

 

DSCN8678

 

I will need to repair the paintwork along the starboard wing joint, but it is not too bad. I have decided to add the Clearfix into the window apertures next rather than before fitting the wings - I was hesitant just in case I pushed the Clearfix in while I was trying to fit the wings.

 

Finally, another view of the windscreen, showing just how clear the resin is:

 

DSCN8679

 

This has taken a bigger leap today than I was expecting, and am so chuffed with the cockpit windscreen.

 

That is it for today, thanks for looking.

 

Ray 

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9 hours ago, Ray S said:

This morning I managed to mask the nose for the black anti-glare panel, and tempted providence by using masking tape near the cheatline transfers, and seriously hoping the now two layers of varnish would keep them in place. A couple of coats of Revell Matt Black did the job, and when the masking was remove, the cheatlines were still there. Phew! Then a momentous moment, unmasking the glazing to see what the Aerocraft window shapes would look like, which was the whole point of using their upgrade set in the first place:

 

Living and dying with the unmasking here - I have a couple of canopies just waiting for that unmasking. Hoping they turn out ok.

 

Glad yours did.

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On 5/8/2022 at 4:36 AM, drdjp11 said:

 

Living and dying with the unmasking here - I have a couple of canopies just waiting for that unmasking. Hoping they turn out ok.

 

Glad yours did.

 

Good luck with your unmasking experience!

 

I have quietly been repairing the paint issues along the wing/fuselage join, and have also sprayed the props (the kit ones) and hubs with white primer so they are ready for their paint job too. I have also now added the floats. As you know, I had been a bit concerned about fitting them and also as to how to fit them. Well, in the end I turned the plane upside down and added some CA gel into the location holes for the front supports only, then slipped the float structure into place and lined it all up with the lines on the cutting mat. When that had set, I lifted the back strut section up slightly and added some CA gel to the supports that rest on the fairings and put that in place. A few minutes later, it had all set, but was still wobbly:

 

DSCN8681

 

I then sanded the joining surfaces of the triangular supports and fitted them into place, all the while hoping I did not break off the rest of the floats. Thankfully all went well, so now the Twin Otter can stand on it's floats:

 

DSCN8682

 

DSCN8683

 

I am happy with that.

 

As for the propellers, I have just used the kit parts rather than the Aerocraft upgrades. I have twisted the plastic blades into the 'feathered' position required for an unoccupied aircraft. I am also going to leave the steps for the time being as I am not confident I could do them without damaging the floats so I will quit while I am ahead. I may revisit that idea in the future, I will see how things go.

 

The only things that need doing now are:

  • Paint (or add the Modelcraft transfers) the props white/black
  • Paint the hubs red
  • Add the footsteps
  • Add the two small aerials either side of the nose
  • Add a couple of aerials on top of the fuselage
  • Add the aerial wire
  • Add static discharge wicks to the fin
  • Add the tail bumper (without breaking it when I cut it off the runner)
  • Add the light at the top of the tail
  • Paint the navigation lights

And possibly some things I have forgotten, but they are all small things to do now.

 

That is it for today, I managed more than I thought I would,

 

Ray

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I have managed quite a bit to this today. A recap of what I had remembered that needed doing:

 

Paint (or add the Modelcraft transfers) the props white/black - DONE (painted)

Paint the hubs red - IN PROGRESS

Add the footsteps - DONE

Add the two small aerials either side of the nose - DONE

Add a couple of aerials on top of the fuselage - DONE

Add the aerial wire

Add static discharge wicks to the fin

Add the tail bumper (without breaking it when I cut it off the runner) - DOES NOT NEED IT (it did not break when I cut it off the runner, then I looked at my photograph of the plane just in time...)

Add the light at the top of the tail - DONE

Paint the navigation lights - DONE

 

Then I remembered

 

Add the exhausts - DONE

Paint the two cleats red

Paint the back of the engine intakes black

 

All in all, a good day! It started off with a bit of back-breaking, eyeball aching masking:

 

DSCN8703

 

Thankfully, when I measured the width of the easy-option transfers that ModelCraft supplied on their transfer sheet, the black and white sections for the propellers were 2mm wide which was very handy, as I had some 2mm masking tape in stock. It was very easy to do, especially as the blades had a white section on the front, the same section on the back was black, etc all the way down. A couple of coats of acrylic black later and I had a pair of zebra twins to go with the Twin Otter:

 

DSCN8704

 

Then I added the other bits and pieces. I replaced the footstep steps with some 0.5mm rod, made a couple of blade aerials for the fuselage roof and added a whip antenna from a short length of fishing line. I noticed on my photographs that the starboard footstep faced backwards, so that was how I added it . The instructions show suggest it went forward and that is how I did it with my other three Twin Otters, but that puts it in front of the cabin entry door. I managed to get the tail bumper off the runner without breaking it (for the first time) but then in all my photographs I found that none of the Maldivian Air Taxi aircraft I saw had them. The light at the top of the fin was from some Contrail rod (black) that I had, painted Aluminium then Tamiya Clear Red. It looks better than the squashed oval that Matchbox moulded, so adding the shim to the fin leading edge seemed to work.

 

I have got the first coat of Scarlet undercoat onto the spinners now, so there is not much left to do. I am still trying to get an idea on how to deal with the steps, if at all. Chris (bigbadbadge) has used Aluminium pie container foil for his 1/32 Venom in this GB, and that has prompted me to see if it may work for these too. The steps seem to be all of a single part and give three steps and four risers, so I have to try and fold the material to get the effect. My other idea is maybe just use the horizontal treads and leave off the vertical sections.

 

Here is where I am with the kit now:

 

DSCN8706

 

The alignment seems reasonably okay:

 

DSCN8707

 

DSCN8708

 

DSCN8709

 

That is it for now, thanks for looking,

 

Ray

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This afternoon's work has been 'interesting'. I decided to add the steps after all, it would not have looked right without them, but I have chosen to retain my sanity and only add the horizontal sections of the footplates. 

 

Firstly I cut some paper into strips so I could use that to work out how long the supports would be. My photo references showed that, width-wise, the steps were narrower than the doorway. Having guaged the support length I trimmed some 0.8mm plastic rod to length and popped the end that rests on the fuselage into some CA gel and left the other end dry. With more than a little trepidation, I attached the support to the fuselage, trying to counteract my shaking hands. It worked! Once the CA gel had grabbed slightly, I was able to swing the lower, dry, end into position, again going by my reference images for the appropriate angle, bearing in mind the float slopes downward so the steps were not vertical to the float, but were to the fuselage cheatline.

 

DSCN8710

 

The second support went in a bit more easily as I had a little more room away from the wing to work in. Thankfully there was a slight ridge where the dark grey walkway was, so that gave the supports something to rest against. Then the 'fun' bit - the steps. I was not sure how deep the steps were, but I judged that making them 3mm deep (equating to about an 8.5" tread) would be about right. Measuring the gap between the supports showed it was about 7.5mm wide, so I cut out a number of steps from some 10thou card, and had to trim each one slightly to get a friction-fit. I did the top and lower ones first and they worked well, but the middle one caused no end of problems and finally succeeded on my fifth attempt. The spares may be okay for the other side, but I will do that over the weekend, work permitting. I used Tamiya Extra Thin cement to get them to grab the supports which then allowed some adjustment for alignment, then some medium CA to hopefully lock them in place. Here is how the port-side steps turned out:

 

DSCN8711

 

I am happy with that, despite the fact that the steps have no backs to them. I need to find out if the treads were painted a dark grey, I think they were. I know the mains sections were white.

 

That is it for today so thanks for looking, and I am very glad I changed my mind about the steps!

 

Ray

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Ray this looks lovely with the beautiful scheme.  Great work on all the little fiddly bits and the props look fantastic and will really pop with the spinners on.  I am glad you got the steps added okay too, they look fab.

Cracking work. 

Chris

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On 5/12/2022 at 6:57 PM, rob Lyttle said:

Very tidy results here, Ray 👍Excellent job on the steps. The whole decor scheme is really working now, and great job on the prop blades too 

 

Thanks Rob!

 

On 5/12/2022 at 11:08 PM, bigbadbadge said:

Ray this looks lovely with the beautiful scheme.  Great work on all the little fiddly bits and the props look fantastic and will really pop with the spinners on.  I am glad you got the steps added okay too, they look fab.

Cracking work. 

Chris

 

Cheers again Chris.

 

Well, I am calling this Maldivian Air Taxi complete now. Yesterday brought the build to a conclusion, and I only had five things left on my list of 'to do'. The props fitted the spinners fairly well, but they stood out from the cowlings just a touch. The aerial wire from the fin to the top of the fuselage was InfiniModels 0.091 rigging thread and responded well to CA. Some speaker core cable (silver coloured) was used for the three static discharge wicks on the end on the rudder. The cleats on the top of the front of the floats were painted red and, finally, I found a good image of a Twaxi with the foot treads on the passenger steps painted in a dark grey, so they were done too. This is what I have ended up with:

 

DSCN8712

 

DSCN8718 (2)

 

The big thing (for me, anyway) on this build was the replacement of the cockpit section. Was it worth getting the AeroCraft resin upgrade? The answer for me is YES! but with one caveat. It needs someone who is well-skilled at blending in joints with this sort of 'plug', and I will be the first to admit my skill there is somewhat lacking. However, the front end of the Twin Otter now looks so much better than an unmodified one, like my Nepal Airlines one I did a few years ago:

 

Nepal Airways Twin Otter 003

 

Compare and contrast:

 

DSCN8720

 

DSCN8721

 

The steps were an important part of this, and I am glad I decided to overcome my hesitation and build them on too, even if I did not quite get them in the right position:

 

DSCN8722

 

Thanks to all of you who have dropped in and looked, 'liked' and commented, and especially to those who offered advice and encouragement just when it was needed! I will pop some photographs into the Gallery in a moment.

 

All the best,

 

Ray

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  • Ray S changed the title to PK-127 Twin Otter Maldivian Air Taxi +++FINISHED+++

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