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Matchbox 1/72 DHC-6 Twin Otter


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Nice Twotter. I flew in one of the BAS ones when it was leased to Jersey European Airlines in 1985. It was a trip to Jersey and was in the same colour scheme except for the fuselage titles which was the airlinescscheme but white on red and  a civvy teg G-BKBC. But I didn't know the wing and tailplabe tops were black aswell. Your model looks very nice  and the unsual red bands in line with the engines are certainly different. 

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Lovely model, and the work you’ve done to improve it has certainly paid off!.

 

I see the real aircraft (without skis) was at Shuttleworth yesterday, due to depart this morning. Not sure if it’s the actual one - did they have more than one of these?

 

Cheers, Andy

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1 hour ago, Andy Young said:

did they have more than one of these?

 

Hi Andy - BAS currently operate four Twin Otters; VP-FAZ, -FBB, -FBC and -FBL; alongside a DHC-7 VP-FBQ

 

1 hour ago, NavyWessex said:

How did you find the fit of the replacement nose section? I assume the fuselage cut has to be VERY precise...

 

Hi NavyWessex, I am an average modeller who sometimes gets lucky, so you can rest assured that a very precise cut is not required. Inside the fuselage are two raised locating ridges for the cockpit aft bulkhead, which then fits between them in the standard modelling manner if you're building out of the box. I carefully ran a scalpel around the rear of the forward ridge to remove the original cockpit section and leave a lip ahead of the aft ridge, if that makes sense. I did this to both sides, then test fitted the two fuselage halves with the new bulkhead (as provided by aerocraftmodels) in place. Next I gently sanded the lip of the fuselage halves back with the fuselahe halves securely taped together and kept check-fitting the new bulkhead until it protruded slightly (as per aerocraftmodels' instructions), which aligned the new cockpit section to the fuselage. There was some care needed to get the lower grey resin section and the upper clear resin section of the new aerocraftmodels cockpit to fit together neatly and fit snugly to the fuselage, but nice and slow, a small sand here and there with a check fit every time and it was very straightforward. aerocraftmodels does state that 'some blending may be required', and this is definitely the case to get a nice smooth join between the original fuselage and the new resin parts, but this is nothing difficult, it just requires a bit of filler and patience. The nose of choice from the kit, short or long, just fits straight on to the front of the new section (though I had to cut the moulding/locating lug back a bit) and after a little more blending the job is done.

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4 hours ago, Natter said:

 

Hi Andy - BAS currently operate four Twin Otters; VP-FAZ, -FBB, -FBC and -FBL; alongside a DHC-7 VP-FBQ

 

Thanks Dave - I should have checked registrations! It was -FBL at Shuttleworth this weekend. Lovely aeroplane and a brilliant model you’ve made there.

 

Cheers, Andy

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That's all of the above!  This is first-rate work on your part, making this Matchbox kit look like the real thing.  Well, that does it then: I'm investing in the after-market resin cockpit at a minimum.  Did you polish the paint and clear coat to achieve the spectacular finish?  Best regards, Alex

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2 hours ago, TheyJammedKenny! said:

Did you polish the paint and clear coat to achieve the spectacular finish?

 

Hi Alex, the finish has a gloss varnish had some localised polishing. The top coat was Mr Color GX112 gloss varnish, though GX100 would work as well, Where there were minor blemishes or the finish was rough it was gently rubbed over with micro-mesh 12000 and then given a going over with fine polishing compound where it had been micro-meshed.

 

If I were to make another I would leave the support struts off until after painting as the finish on the fuselage sides is not as good as elsewhere because I just couldn't get in properly with the airbrush. 

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