1/144 F-RSIN Douglas DC-5

[Jinxman]

Having been exposed by @JOCKNEY for entering a Japanese subject into this weekend's Blitzbuild, guilt has got the better of me and I will be entering this little kit into the fray. A captured KNILM aeroplane was pressed into service by the Japanese during WWII. I'll post some pics once I get back to the stash - not sure what state the kit is in, but it can't take that long to knock up can it?

[PeterB]

Interesting!

 

Just for a minute I was mixing this up with the Douglas DC-4E which was cloned by Nakajima as the G5N or "Experimental 13 Shi Attack Bomber Shinzan",  The Japanese aquired the sole prototype of a failed Douglas design, not to confused with the production DC-4 and tried to build a heavy long range bomber from it but it too was a failure and the only ones built ended up as transports. The DC-5 is I guess one of the "forgotten" Douglas transports as very few were built, and looking at it with its tricycle undercarriage, shoulder mounted wing and distinctive tail it reminds me very much of a larger version of the Boston/A-20. I did not realise that the Dutch were using them in the Pacific and that the JAAF captured a damaged one and used it themselves - this will be be one to watch.

 

Pete

Edited April 29, 2022 by PeterB

[trickyrich]

..yeah we can all blame @JOCKNEY for that..... there was no pressure from me to join this GB at all!!    

 

Sounds like a very interesting build you have planned too, she's an interesting looking aircraft as well.

 

Plus it's a resin model as well!!! All is forgiven! 

[Jinxman]

On 4/30/2022 at 1:48 AM, trickyrich said:

Plus it's a resin model as well!!! All is forgiven! 

Phew! Yellow pages removed from trousers. 😁 

[Jinxman]

Dug it out from the stash, and had forgotten it was the R3D-2 boxing. No matter, the parts are the same, markings shouldn't be too tricky to mask, apart from the tail, as it is a captured aeroplane.

The resin looks well-endowed with air bubbles, so I'll be washing everything down a little later to have a look-see.

 

[Jinxman]

Here we are with some rattlecan primer on. We've got bendy bits, pin holes, and short shots. Nothing that can't be resolved, and the fuselage must have a lump of metal in it as it feels very heavy - hopefully it won't be a tail sitter. It'll be sitting for a while whilst I try and get my Matchbox GB builds finished.

 

[trickyrich]

she's an interesting looking model.

 

With the fuselage feeling heavy, I wonder if they added some weight to hep stop her from being a tail sitter? Those metal legs are going to have the work cut out for them!!

 

Looking forward to seeing this one started.

[CliffB]

On 5/7/2022 at 11:57 AM, Jinxman said:

We've got bendy bits, pin holes, and short shots

 

Ah, the joys of resin .  It's great subject though.

[Jinxman]

10 hours ago, trickyrich said:

With the fuselage feeling heavy, I wonder if they added some weight to hep stop her from being a tail sitter? Those metal legs are going to have the work cut out for them!!

 

Must have something in there - the metal legs haven't been out of the bag yet - hopefully they'll be up to the job.

 

3 hours ago, CliffB said:

 

Ah, the joys of resin .  It's great subject though.

Indeed - resin is always fun, though some might disagree! 🤪

[Jinxman]

Minor progress - major parts separated, some rubbing down done, and that's about it. The wing to fuselage fit looks good, but the crystal ball is telling me there will be a few sand/fill/prime cycles for this one in the future, as well as hot air treatments to get rid of some of the warped areas. Regardless of that, it's a charming little kit that needs a bit of tlc. No more progress for a couple of weeks whilst life gets in the way.

 

 

[Jinxman]

First round of filling in of holes and mis-moulds done - it seemed to expose more holes in the surface though, so not much progress. Another coat of primer let's us continue, and a quick push together of parts shows it looks very much like a DC-5. Looking at the few photos I can find, it looks like the wing leading edges have slots in them, and info on the Dutch machines confirms this is probably the case. Once the finish is a little better the razor saws will be out 😎. The Planet 1/72 kit allows for this, looking at the parts breakdown, as well.

 

 

[Jinxman]

After more filling, sanding, etc we have an issue. The resin keeps 'sweating' underneath any paint finish. It looks fine for a day, but then comes through. The rattle can primer I use does have a solvent base, but it is very mild. Tried enamel with the same result. Now on Airfix starter kit acrylic - I can't think of anything less reactive than that. We'll see. If this doesn't come up trumps it is out with the knot sealer!

 

Edit - As of this morning it looks ok - no discolouration etc. I may try some Badger Acrylic primer to see how that goes...

 

2nd edit - Nope, the acrylic hasn't adhered to the surface at all. Going to sleep on this as it is now slightly irritating.

 

[trickyrich]

yeah resin can do that at times. I generally use Tamiya acrylics to undercoat resin, with a bit of lacquer thinners to thin it down, plus I find it make the paint finish a but tougher than straight Tamiya paint which can be a bit soft at times. 

[Jinxman]

On 7/16/2022 at 1:24 AM, trickyrich said:

yeah resin can do that at times. I generally use Tamiya acrylics to undercoat resin, with a bit of lacquer thinners to thin it down, plus I find it make the paint finish a but tougher than straight Tamiya paint which can be a bit soft at times. 

Back with it tomorrow - I'll give the Tamiya paint a go, nothing to lose really.

[trickyrich]

11 hours ago, Jinxman said:

Back with it tomorrow - I'll give the Tamiya paint a go, nothing to lose really.

hopefully you'll be pleasantly surprised

[Jinxman]

Well, on revisiting the kit, it had 'sweated' even more under the primer - so stripping nearly everything off seemed a sensible way forward. I used Mr.Color levelling thinner. It has a strange affect on the resin - some of it disappeared, assumed dissolved. Anyhow, it'll dry off tonight, and I'll give it a coat of primer in the morning.

 

[Jinxman]

Prior to priming again, it was noticeable that the marbling in the resin was more pronounced. I don't know if this was a reaction during the paint removal process. Once the primer was on the state of the resin was clearer - far worse than when the kit was actually started, and it wasn't great then. Anyhow, chances of finishing by the deadline are slim, but the KUTA GB isn't that far away in any case. 😃 Interestingly, this was a kit up for consideration as a Blitzbuild candidate - dodged a bullet there I reckon.

 

[Andwil]

That really doesn’t look like a lot of fun.

 

AW

[Jinxman]

7 hours ago, Andwil said:

That really doesn’t look like a lot of fun.

Just good practice for my Mach 2 Alouette I reckon!