DHC-5 Buffalo - Amodel 1/144

[zebra]

With a bit of space created on the bench by finishing the YS-11 and moving the Chipmunk into the garage for painting, it's time to start build no. 2. This will be the Amodel 1/144 Buffalo. Obligatory sprue box and shot:

 

 

I've also got an FCM decal sheet with markings for Ecuadorian, Brazilian and Canadian examples. I think this is going to be Canadian, in camouflage, using the FCM decals.

 

I'll make a start tomorrow

 

cheers

Julian

[CliffB]

A very characterful subject.  A great choice 

[Paul J]

I've done one of those and the Caribou. Great fun with a fair bit of work.

[zebra]

I'd really better get a move on with this. Got the fuselage assembled today:

 

 

The kit comes with a cockpit and an interior for the fuselage, but I rarely bother with these in this scale. I'll paint the inside of the windscreen black and will use Krystal Kleer for the fuselage windows. Leaving out the cockpit has given me a convenient spot to put some liquid gravity.

 

Assembly of the fuselage was fiddly - the bottom of the fuselage is a separate part, with Amodel quality engineering, so took some fettling to get it in straight. But it's done. The whole thing needs a lot of filler though, so I've got some cleaning up to do tomorrow.

 

cheers

Julian

 

[JeroenS]

You're doing such a great job with these small scale kits, I'm actually thinking I might pick up one or two at some point. I'm not an aircraft builder (built a 1/48, stalled  a 1/72) but I do like to build small (1/72) scale trucks so maybe the 1/144 is something for me. 

[RidgeRunner]

She is certainly the right shape, mate. Great so far  

[zebra]

On 9/19/2022 at 3:56 PM, JeroenS said:

You're doing such a great job with these small scale kits, I'm actually thinking I might pick up one or two at some point. I'm not an aircraft builder (built a 1/48, stalled  a 1/72) but I do like to build small (1/72) scale trucks so maybe the 1/144 is something for me. 

 

Thanks Jeroen. It might be my favourite scale at the moment - it works very well for the larger aircraft and transport aircraft do appeal to me. Plus I have a bit of a thing for airliners and transport aircraft that have been converted for other uses - testbeds etc. So I've been focusing on 1/144 a bit lately.

 

It's been a while since I posted an update here - work has been ridiculously busy the last week or two and has left me without an awful lot of energy left - but I've made a bit of progress on the Buffalo. Wings and nacelles are assembled - the instructions called for the main undercarriage to go into the nacelles before closing them up, but that's asking for trouble, and I think I'll be able to get them in later. Fit isn't fantastic (surprise, surprise!) and some filler will be needed, but I've seen worse. I've also painted the inside of the windscreen part black and attached it - some sanding will be required to blend it in, followed by some polishing. I'm planning to use Krystal Kleer for the cabin windows.

 

 

cheers

Julian

 

[stevehnz]

You've made a good start with this Julian, I like your philosophy too, big things get built in a smaller scale, hence I bought one of these to do an Aussie one I saw at a local airshow, the 1/72 one was just too big to my mind. Your pragmatic approach to this appeals too, I'll watch on for the rest of the build.

Steve.

[zebra]

I seem to have forgotten to post some updates! The airframe's complete and painted - almost, just need to paint the nose and the de-icing boots.

 

 

thanks for looking

Julian