Z-37A Cmelák. Eduard 1/72.

[Andrés S.]

Hi all.

 

Well, a few days ago I was at a modeling contest and there are events that you can't go to when you return home "empty"...

I had a list of things that interested me but the event is clearly less important than I imagined, so there were only a couple of stores and I found absolutely nothing that I wanted to buy. However, and without premeditation, I ended up buying a couple of Eduard's kits at 1/72. One this and the other the Avia B-534B III, the latter in a Profipack edition with its photo-etched parts and masks. Two jewels of the Czech brand that for 10 euros each was a "Bicoca" that was hardly dodgeable.

However, the same day I got home I already started looking for information on this little-known plane, at least for me and I think for most of the modelers I know.

As this kit is another wonder from the Czech factory and the bug entered my body immediately I started it. At first I thought of making it OOB, but between the fact that it doesn't have even a small photoengraving to detail the cabin because it is the weekend edition and the photos I found were magnificent, I ended up ordering the underwing sprinkler system for fumigation in resin, and some other things. For now I have only done a test of the cockpit paint, and little else.

But at first some photographs of this small agricultural plane to get an idea of it, because as I said above I don't think many people know it.

 

 

 

 

 

I have found a page where a good series of photographs of this plane are exposed. From the passenger compartment I lowered several, one of them being the following.

 

 

 

 

According to Eduard's instructions, the color of the sides of the bathtub in the passenger compartment must be Gunze's H-63 Blue-Green, which, when applied to the corresponding piece, turned out to be just like that.

 

 

 

 

 

In my opinion it is not appropriate to use this paint. Firstly because it is made up of metallic particles, which are too visible, and secondly because the varnish that gives it its color is more blue than green and not very similar to the real thing.

For this I have previously experimented with a white plastic spoon on which I have airbrushed Aluminum from Alclad and on it I did it gently with a mixture of transparent green H-94 and transparent blue H-93 from Gunze.

The result is the following, and in my opinion it is more acceptable than the H-63 proposed by Eduard.

 

 

 

 

The other thing that I have done to this model has been to glue the semi-wings and make the places where the pilot climbs into the passenger compartment, with those characteristic black non-slip surfaces. To simulate it I have used the reference that AMMO offers for this, in its black variant. When the time comes, it will have to be painted and treated, but it already offers a very adequate appearance. Its use is simple: it is applied using the sponge technique to make chips, except that instead of using paint, the sponge is dipped in this product, which has a consistency similar to toothpaste. The result has been the following, having masked with Tamiya tape to delimit where the product is applied.

 

 

 

 

Surely I will do something to it over the days but until the shipment arrives with what is necessary to detail the interior I will not be able to advance much except for small details.

 

Andrés.

[Andrés S.]

Hi.

Well, I have received some "sweets" that I ordered for this kit and I have been able to move forward with the cockpit and the propeller.

For the cockpit I have used a set of photo-etched parts and 3D decals. Well, the photoetched parts have behaved as expected, but the 3D decals have been a total disappointment, they have been the worst I have used to date. I find it incredible that being Eduard the manufacturer of the decals and made for one of his kits, the adjustment is so bad. I had to carefully cut each of the decals with the knife because they all had dimensions too large for the place where they should be placed.

 

Well, some photos... Except for the base color used and shown in the previous entry, I have used Vallejo MC colors to paint belts, seat, floor and backrest (in the latter I think I have gone too far trying to show some dirt).

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I have also been able to make the propeller, for which I have refined the blades although they were already reproduced with little thickness. I have painted the propeller with AK extreme metal Aluminum and AK Realcolor yellow for the ends. For the hub I used a mix of orange and red. Varnished with Aqua gloss by Alclad.

The engine is painted but it is somewhat useless as it will be completely hidden by a kind of grille that it will have on the front.

 

 

Andrés.

 

 

[ianwau]

Beautiful work on the cockpit!  I like your new blue/green colour mix.

[Andrés S.]

Thanks ianwau, I'm glad you like it.

 

Andrés.

[Bejay53]

It looks really nice.

I built two, from the Eduard dual combo. Fun builds. Biggest issue was deciding on the paint scheme!

[Andrés S.]

Last night, after the previous entry, I glued both the fuselage and wings to it and rear stabilizers as well as the engine nacelle with it inside. There are still some things to put in, such as the corresponding rudders and the windows or the leading edge flaps, but the final appearance of the plane can already be seen perfectly. Today I putty where it was needed, although I must say that it is a consequence more of my somewhat hasty assembly than of the kit itself.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In the following photograph I indicate with arrows some details reproduced in solid when they are clamps to access the plane and that I will replace with copper wire. With green boxes I show some details that I will show in detail later.

 

 

 

 

One of the details marked with a green box are what I think are some places where some rods are inserted to lift the plane from the back.

 

To reproduce them, since they are on both sides of the fuselage, I have made some holes with a 0.6 mm drill bit and introduced a section of aluminum microtube held on the inside of the fuselage by a small ball of bicomponent putty.

 

 

 

The other detail, added to the top of the drift, has been the base for an antenna.

For this I have used this time a brass microtube of 0'3 mm to which when the time comes, which will be at the end of the construction, I will introduce a small section of thin stretched plastic.

 

 

 

Is all for today.

Greetings.

 

Andrés.

 

 

 

 

[k5054nz]

I love the extra detail you're adding, Andrés. It's shaping up to be a beautiful little Bumblebee!

[Andrés S.]

19 minutes ago, k5054nz said:

I love the extra detail you're adding, Andrés. It's shaping up to be a beautiful little Bumblebee!

 

Thanks for your kind words.

Greetings.

Andrés.

[Andrés S.]

Hi.

 

As I indicated in the previous entry, pointing with arrows at some solid handles, today I have removed them and replaced them with 0.3 mm copper wire, bending it with tweezers. On the plane there are more clamps on the right side than on the left, not that I have forgotten any. In the following photo you can see a handle on the left side as well as the perfect fit of the front glass with the fuselage pieces.

 

 

 

More photos showing the remaining handles.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

In this last photo you can see the 5 handles and the 3 hinges that the piece had but that I had to reproduce with stretched plastic for having erased them with the sanding, indicated with green arrows.

 

 

 

Andrés.

 

 

[Vesa Jussila]

Lot of nice details. And good progress.

[drake122]

What were you sanding on the top? Was there a step? Because that area is a natural panel line, there is a compartment that opens using those small handles I believe.

 

Very nice modelling all around.

[Andrés S.]

8 minutes ago, drake122 said:

What were you sanding on the top? Was there a step? Because that area is a natural panel line, there is a compartment that opens using those small handles I believe.

 

Very nice modelling all around.

 

As I have indicated above, I had to use Tamiya putty, I think because of my speed in gluing the two parts of the fuselage, or rather my incompetence. This caused that, although there was a panel line at that point, there was a difference in level between one half-fuselage and the other that I am sure would be visible with the final paint finish, which is glossy or satin close to glossy. Sanding removed the hinges and thereby i fixed the error.

 

Thanks for your words.

 

Andrés.

[Andrés S.]

Hi all.

 

In some photos I have seen that this plane has some containers under the wings, similar to fuel tanks in military planes. I don't know if they will be for fuel, to lengthen the flight time, or for more fumigation liquid, since the main tank seems to be behind the passenger compartment. Be that as it may, I intend to put them on my model, although I do have several photos of them and I do not see any duct that joins them to the wings that can transport any liquid except the anchors themselves for their attachment to the wing.

 

The color indicated by the instructions is Gunze H-413 yellow, but I have several yellows from both Gunze and Tamiya and AK, as well as Vallejo Model Air and Model Color. Among all of them I have considered that the yellow RC 267 of AK Real Color is similar enough, if not the same, to the one I see in the photos of the plane. I have painted the filler cap detail with aluminum from Vallejo MA and the red detail on the back with vermilion also from Vallejo MA. After applying oil to highlight the few details that it has, I varnished it in brilliant to seal it and later I applied satin varnish of Titan in enamel. This plane has a gloss finish but as such I see it as something strange, like all of them at this scale have a gloss finish, and this type of varnish is in the range that I consider adequate to represent those planes with a gloss finish.

 

 

 

 

 

Andrés.

 

 

[HOUSTON]

I like your detailing.

Coming along very quickly. 

 

Beautiful  job so far.

 

[Andrés S.]

19 minutes ago, HOUSTON said:

I like your detailing.

Coming along very quickly. 

 

Beautiful  job so far.

 

 

 

Thank you very much HOUSTON, I'm glad you like the work done so far.

 

Greetings.

 

Andrés.

[Mihajlo]

Hi, Andrés!

Long time no talk to you… As always, it is a pleasure to see a new project from you.

Very nice subject. Well, let me tell you that I fell in love with this plane the first time I saw it. For a long time I was waiting for a model kit of this plane. Now I have three 1/72 Eduard and a 1/48 Maco kits...not done yet …as usual.

Excellent job with the cockpit and the improvements you have been making to the kit. I will take this thread as a reference for my Cmelák 😉

The underwing fuel tank paint...wonderful! By the way, as far as I know, this is an auxiliary fuel tank. In fact, the Maco kit includes some decals with the following inscriptions for the tank: “FOK 78 Feuergefährlich; Fok 78AI; Betriebsstoff” (according to Google Translator, “FOK 78 Flammable; Fok 78AI; fuel”). Regarding the color, I found some pictures with the fuel tank in yellow, grey,… Please, see below links.

 

https://www.steffenkahl.de/luftfahrt/let-z-37/

 

https://igor113.livejournal.com/993208.html

https://www.planephotos.net/photo/14351/Zlin-Z-37A-Cmelak_OM-HJX/

 

In none of the photos do you see how the tank is connected to the wing. I believe that it connects through the conduit that you have painted in red.

This link is for the MH-Model resin fuel tank.

 

https://www.super-hobby.es/products/Z-37-Emelak-additional-fuel-tanks.html

By the way, what paint scheme are you doing? I have the items Eduard 2131 and 7097. Check them and if you want to build any of the options included in those kits instead of the option of your kit, let me know.

I take the popcorn… 😉

¡Un abrazo!

Miguel

[Andrés S.]

Hi, Miguel l!!!  Long time no talk, my friend !!!

 

I keep the photos of the links, that the good is never much.

 

Cheer up with this "gang", Eduard's is a new jewel at the height of all the latest that he has released.

 

Thanks for the comment on the underwing tank. But I'm turning it over in my head. Now I'm not too happy with the color I've applied and what looks like reinforcements at the top where those kind of handles end I noticed last night that you don't see them on the actual tank. I don't know what I'll do if I leave them like this because I've seen that in some cases the shades of yellow differ from the rest of the plane , remove the reliefs I mention and repaint them with the final tone of the entire plane.

 

The chosen decoration is not that of the box but that of a sheet of decals offered by Eduard and that I bought together with some other "candies", with the upper part of the fuselage in white, a longitudinal red slit on the sides of this and the rest of the plane, except for small details, in yellow-orange.

 

The resin tank is interesting, like everything Eduard does, but the quality of the kit part is such that I think it can be used perfectly.

 

I don't remember who has the ball on his roof but I'll write to you shortly.

 

Un abrazo !!!

 

Andrés.

 

[TheBaron]

Enjoying your work here very much Andrés.  Colour work is lovely but those extra handles are really going to add something special to the final feel this aircraft

Regards,

Tony

[Andrés S.]

30 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

Enjoying your work here very much Andrés.  Colour work is lovely but those extra handles are really going to add something special to the final feel this aircraft

Regards,

Tony

 

Thank you very much Tony, it is a pleasure that you like my work.

 

Cheers !!

 

Andrés.

[Andrés S.]

Hi.

 

Well, while I'm applying numerous thin layers of the yellow color to gradually saturate the color, I've decided to make the platform where it will go the plane.

The base has a side of 10 cm and on it I have simulated a piece of field with grass but where there are bald spots that allow us to see something of the terrain and thus break the monotony of seeing everything covered with grass.

 

For this I have used beach sand and small stones from railway dioramas painted with Vallejo earth color as well as light sand to lighten the earth color and apply it as a dry brush. I used the light Vallejo sand to paint those pebbles that were larger . This after having applied a general washing of oil color natural shadow.
Once everything was dry, I used electrostatic grass of various shades and lengths of 2.5 and 3 cm, although I also used a few 6 cm to be used as the stems of small and sporadic flowers that I painted with Vallejo without diluting and that can only be seen in the last photo.

 

 

 

 

 

 

This last photo, with the plane placed in position, is to capture the image of how the set will look.

 

 

 

 

Cheers.

 

Andrés.

[k5054nz]

A lovely base befitting a lovely model - nice work, Andrés!

[ianwau]

Looking real nice! Glad to see this one progressing - I have this kit in my stash and your progress is nearly inspiring me to start it!

[Andrés S.]

4 hours ago, ianwau said:

Looking real nice! Glad to see this one progressing - I have this kit in my stash and your progress is nearly inspiring me to start it!

 

Hi.

 

Go ahead with him  !!!
It's another little gem from Eduard and I think you'll have fun with it.

 

Cheers !!!

 

Andrés.