K-409 : Dornier Do 18 V-2/D-2/G-1 (1979/1980)

[TonyW]

A bit late in the day to be starting yet more builds, but I have a bit of previous yer Honour. An Airfix SM79 got started and finished in the last knockings of the Airfix GB and I'm hoping to repeat that performance here.

 

The build has come about thanks to a Model Club member bringing along a bit of stash clearance at the club night yesterday. I homed in on a pair of Matchbox kits. The same guy provided the kits that turned into my Wellington and Me410 builds. Thanks Andy. I doubt I'll get the Privateer done, but I'm optimistic with the Dornier.

 

 

 

The kits have been stored in a shed for years. Once the mouse droppings and dead flies have been removed and the parts rinsed off things looked a whole lot better.

 

My thinking is to get the great big underwing crosses on the model ASAP as if they don't work, the build stalls there. The sheet is filthy with a layer of dirt that might clear off. It all looks good other than that. A damp wipe over of part of the sheet saw clear colour show for the first time in many years.

With that in mind I've given the parts a first coat of Humbrol enamel in the colours called out on the instruction sheet. Humbrol 30 and 91 for the greens, 65 for the blue. The same as the Me410 in fact. A Luftwaffe colour expert would be horrified, but I'm building this one just a level or two above the bare plastic Marauder that went together so smoothly recently.

If it comes together, I'll have another Hobby Store window type build and I'll be plenty happy with that.

 

 

Another coat of blue in the morning, then it's decal time around lunchtime. If the big crosses work OK, the rest should be fine as well.

I don't want to clearcoat them as it would lock in any dirt I can't remove. With luck the dirt will float off when I wet the decals.

 

Fingers crossed...

 

 

 

 

[JOCKNEY]

2 hours ago, TonyW said:

 

 

 

The kits have been stored in a shed for years. Once the mouse droppings and dead flies have been removed 

 

I believe that's called patina in classic car circles Tony 

 

Best of luck with this one 

 

The temptation to add to the stash is overwhelming isn't it, not just in kits either....

I've just added a 1966 MGBGT to my fleet, did I need it ? No, but it needed rescuing  , no one tell Mrs Jockney !

 

Cheers Pat

[TonyW]

An early start this morning got a very thin second coat of Humbrol 65 on the undersides of the wings. A couple of hours later things were dry enough to try the decals. They went on without any problems at all. A bit of Sol and Set were added out of habit but neither were really necessary.

This means the build is properly on now, and construction can start later today. A bit of dry fitting shows a very good fit to the various parts so things are looking good for the build.

 

 

The Sol and Set in the picture have been stood in a plastic container and some clear resin poured in to hold them. It would take a very determined effort to knock them over now. The bottles as they were fell over at the slightest breeze or any contact, and the stuff is too expensive for that!

 

 

[PeterB]

Hi Tony,

 

Know what you mean about the bottles - after years of knocking them over I used a hole cutter on a block of wood and now have "sockets" for both the Tamiya/Gunze jars, and the smaller Humbrol/Colourcoats tins, and Humbrol Acrylic jars - the hole for the latter also works for Micro Sol etc bottles - should have done it ages ago!.

 

Pete.

[TonyW]

Steady progress is being made on the build with the cammo now masked up and the dark green added to the wings and tail surfaces.

 

 

 

Once the wing halves had been joined and allowed to dry, a semi gloss clear was brushed on . The clear darkens the finish a bit. Once dry, a bit of weathering with oils took place.

 

 

The fuselage needed a bit of filler on a couple of dodgy seams and has had a coat or two of the base Humbrol 30. Once that is dry I'll start masking up for the dark green and add that. The canopy needed a bit of shaving on the edges to fit properly. That's been done and the canopy has had its framing added as well. I didn't mask it as the frame is quite proud of the glazing and is an easy job freehand. I'll own up to a bit of cocktail stick line straightening.

I've also fettled the wing to fuselage joint surfaces to give the best fit I can get to try to minimise any filling there.

 

I should get more done over the weekend.

[TonyW]

I got more than a bit done over the weekend, I finished it this morning.

 

Things just rolled along, with gluing and painting taking place at a very relaxed pace over the course of a few days. 

 

 

 

No problems to report really. The wing and tail roots needed a bit of filing  to get the fit closer. I drilled a hole in the underside of the hull and fitted a plastic tube to take a paper spike as a stand or a length of brass rod to sit the plane over a water base I use for this type of model

. A couple of clear discs were cut out of clear plastic to use as spinning props. The kit prop blades were a bit chunky and as the model will sit on a stand, I went for the discs. A bit hokey maybe but in line with the basic build

Some light weathering and a couple of coats of ultra matt clear were added, and that was that, another build completed.

 

 

 

 

During the photo taking session this morning, I shot a low level view of the plane, over the water base.

 

 

Not good enough to use as it is, a bit of Photoshopery cheered it up some. It's cheating to show a model like that, as it's not what's in front of the camera, but now and then I can't help myself.

 

 

The sea got extended sideways, the support rod removed and a bit of moody sky added. Filtered to B+W, then  a bit of grain and some scratches were added as well.

 

There's a debate to be had as to what digital add ons are fair and what ones are cheating. I'll crop an image and brighten it up as needed. I'll even tidy up a background. I draw the line at interfering with the model itself. It would be easy enough to add rigging and improve the fit of parts, but who's kidding who here?

 

 

[AdrianMF]

Superb result from a bit of a dodgy kit! Nice solution to the propellers, and your B+W photoshopped photo looks totally realistic.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TonyW]

Thanks Adrian. 

 

I did more of the same, using the same kit as well, back in the first Matchbox GB!

 

 

That one got smoothed out and backdated a bit. It looks like I didn't get on with the kit props during that build either. I did force myself to add those ugly symbols on the fin of the current build though.

 

The silver model is currently on holiday in the Dean Collection, otherwise a few pictures of the two together could have happened.

 

[JOCKNEY]

Congratulations Tony

This is a kit I've had in the stash for many years, and despite the size of this GB...

It's still in the stash ! 

Cheers Pat

[drdjp11]

On 5/23/2022 at 4:49 AM, TonyW said:

I got more than a bit done over the weekend, I finished it this morning.

 

Things just rolled along, with gluing and painting taking place at a very relaxed pace over the course of a few days. 

 

 

 

No problems to report really. The wing and tail roots needed a bit of filing  to get the fit closer. I drilled a hole in the underside of the hull and fitted a plastic tube to take a paper spike as a stand or a length of brass rod to sit the plane over a water base I use for this type of model

. A couple of clear discs were cut out of clear plastic to use as spinning props. The kit prop blades were a bit chunky and as the model will sit on a stand, I went for the discs. A bit hokey maybe but in line with the basic build

Some light weathering and a couple of coats of ultra matt clear were added, and that was that, another build completed.

 

 

 

 

During the photo taking session this morning, I shot a low level view of the plane, over the water base.

 

 

Not good enough to use as it is, a bit of Photoshopery cheered it up some. It's cheating to show a model like that, as it's not what's in front of the camera, but now and then I can't help myself.

 

 

The sea got extended sideways, the support rod removed and a bit of moody sky added. Filtered to B+W, then  a bit of grain and some scratches were added as well.

 

There's a debate to be had as to what digital add ons are fair and what ones are cheating. I'll crop an image and brighten it up as needed. I'll even tidy up a background. I draw the line at interfering with the model itself. It would be easy enough to add rigging and improve the fit of parts, but who's kidding who here?

 

 

 

Very nice. Mine is coming along, and the 2 week extension will allow me to finish it. Otherwise time was running out. I stumbled across a thing called propblurs, which are PE prop blades that have a blurry effect when painted up, so I'm waiting for them in the mail. Overall I was quite pleased with the kit - there are lots of big parts and the struts are very fiddly to get right, but that's the nature of the subject. I'm not sure there's a perfect solution to designing a kit to make that easier.

 

Here's an example:

 

And the review...

https://modelingmadness.com/scott/accessories/propblur.htm