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Airfix 58A Pucara, Grupo 3 de Ataque, Pebble Island, 1982...


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This will be, out of necessity, another OOB kit.  I have three weeks in which to build her.  I think I can do it.  Crossed fingers.

 

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Simple and clean looking Airfix sprue.  Nothing too complex.  Good for me.

 

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And the profile.  

 

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If I can make a big dent in this today I'll be in good shape.

 

--John

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This is a funny kit.  I started working on it yesterday and had the distinct feeling that I was not building an Airfix kit at all.  The plastic is different, no locater pins, no numbers on the sprue...map of the sprue parts with their numbers on the sheet...short run feeling for sure and very...how shall I put this...Czech in moulding style...

 

Indeed, a quick look on Scalemates proved that this is actually a Special Hobby kit re-boxed by Airfix.  No worries there.  I was able to build a fair amount last night.  Little things.

 

This is not Airfix' style...

 

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What I did last night...those parts 'D4' which I think are decals for the IP armrests, don't exist.  Instead there are thin pieces of moulded plastic that get glues into the armrests.  There is some thinking that must be done worth this kit.  Plus, the foot pedals may exist on the sprue but they are not mentioned on the plans.  They are also very small nicely moulded bits.  I glued them on too.

 

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The is what I had accomplished by shutdown.

 

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I have to se what the cockpit colour for this is.

 

--John

 

 

 

 

 

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3 hours ago, Planebuilder62 said:

Looking at other builds of this kit, the canopy looks narrower than the fuselage. To avoid a step on both sides, maybe sanding the fuselage joining faces to reduce the fuselage width is the way to go?
regards Toby

Thanks for the tip.  I'll make a test fit to see how much I need to sand down.  

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I've come a long way since Thursday...

 

There's a lot going on on this picture...

 

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Some painting was done...

 

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The instructions say 8 grams of weight in the nose.  There isn't room for 4 grams, let alone 8.  So I chose just behind the bulkhead wit some Liquid Gravity and CA...

 

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Wings and nacelles came together pretty well.  Some very small gaps here and there.  Nothing to cry over.

 

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This all came together easily enough as long as you remove the injection lugs from the inside of the cockpit sides.  Lots of lugs on this kit, btw...wings halves, everywhere...

 

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A test fit of the wing-fuselage showed a consistent gap on both of the topside wing roots.  An easy fix: just remove some of the underside wing root.

 

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Final bits go into the cockpit.  The front bit of dashboard needed some fettling to fit it in so it would leave room for the canopy.

 

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Painted anti-glare black.

 

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Another canopy test fit showed a clean fit, no steps...or at least nothing I'm too concerned with.  

 

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So.  Time for wings.

 

--John

 

 

 

 

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The wings are on, the canopy is masked and attached.  That was last night.  Today I will go around and fill gaps and, I hope, prime it later in the afternoon.

 

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Now, the propellers...I'm not a big fan of this kind of model engineering.  But I think I did alright.  I don't think they're on backwards...

 

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Parts cleaned up and laid out in, I hope, the proper direction...

 

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And assembled...

 

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Took care of the wheel halves too...

 

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More to come...

 

--John

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I accidentally used the RLM65 for the underside.  I'll keep it.  Perhaps the Argentine paint-shop had some leftover cans from the Peron Administration...in any case, please...don't cry for me!  😁

 

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Funny.  The kit supplied the hard-points, but no whiz-bangs.  I'll leave it.  I have just over 48 hours to finish the one so no fooling about.

 

--John

 

 

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Ok, ok...a mix of Sky Type S and Portland Stone...

 

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Masked for the second round...

 

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And a nice clean coating.  

 

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I'll airbrush the Light Brown splotches freehand...

 

--John

 

 

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I might be able to wrap this one up today if I really go at it hammer and tongs.  The painting is pretty much done; the small parts are all but ready for the final assembly.  I think I will go for decals in about an hour , get those on, give it some varnish...wheels, props....some light weathering...what do you think?

 

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--John

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Decals are on!  They weren't an issue but I think they might have lost some of their stick over the years.  I used solvent and then when almost dry, lightly brushed on some satin varnish to really make them adhere.  I'll spray the same satin varnish eventually anyway.  Yes...the roundels are out of register a bit.  75cm rule applies, please folks!

 

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Next: landing gear, gear bay doors, some light weathering.  Tonight, folks, tonight!

 

--John

 

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Ok....jumping ahead.  The short-run status of this kit really shows in the landing gear.  Funny little pieces that need care to attach and fit properly and chunky moulding.  And the wheels themselves are moulded in halves, so there is seam.  I sanded down what I could but the moulding still could have been better.  I painted the gear green because I have seen photos of the Argentinian aircraft and that's what they are.  Green hubs too.  But the came together alright.

 

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Wheels attached and gear bay doors on as well.  

 

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The props are painted and the bosses attached...

 

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And here it is, basically finished.  Its tail heavy (unfortunately no room for the suggested 8 grams) so I'll make a support out of some clear plastic sprue.  Tomorrow I'll add some smoke here and there and some FloryWash for some depth.

 

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Once again, I really would like to stress the need for a COIN/FAC Group Build.  This is a prime example of the kind of wonderful aircraft that would fit the bill.  There are hundreds of designs from multiple decades (1920s and up...).  And if we do it, I vote we pressure some really good kit maker to release a new mould version of this one in 1/72nd.  We're due for an upgrade.  

 

--John

 

 

 

 

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