Heller 1:72 Arado Ar 196 from 1979 . . . and . . . we are done

[georgeusa]

Great work on the PE.  You make working with those little metal pieces easy when I know for a fact it isn't.  Keep it up.  Look forward to your next installment.

[Mark Harmsworth]

13 hours ago, georgeusa said:

Great work on the PE.  You make working with those little metal pieces easy when I know for a fact it isn't.

Thanks. I think I've been lucky so far - as I've not yet had any small metal bits flying across the desk never to be seen again.

 

My trusty tool of a lump of blutac on the end of a cocktail stick is getting lots of use but I always feel slightly nervous when I use the tweezers  - that always seems more high risk!

 

thanks again

Mark

[Mark Harmsworth]

Time to have a look at the engine.

 

These are the main bits:

Top left is the replacement cowling from Quickboost, on the right of that is the main engine block and on the  bottom row is the p.e. with the kit part bottom right having had the rods cut off and the p.e. attached.

 

A test fit was in order so first:

I'm not really looking forward to attaching all those little p.e rods to the kit cylinders - partly as the spacing doesn't seem to be quite aligned - but, knowing me as I do - I expect I'll have a go at that.

 

Then the big circular thingy (sorry about using technical terms) and the cowling all rested together.

It all fits together ok-ish and I'm hoping that, after assembly and some moderately careful painting, it will look ok as well.

 

I put all those bits in a plastic container for the future and went back to the cockpit.

 

This is the right hand side making progress:

The front is to the left- I've said that as my brain seems to want to tell me that it is facing the other way. And as if to prove that point I'd originally typed 'right' rather than 'left'. How odd.

 

The pilot's seat and framework underway:

The seat is facing downwards with the framing on the back. There are also seat belts - the end of one is just visible.

 

And some more framework attached:

Little spots of glue are showing on the back of the seat - the limits of my skill set I'm afraid. Probably not visible after assembly and painting. I hope.

 

Lastly for this post a little family grouping of bits not yet installed while I work out a sequence of doing stuff.

The strange shaped box on the cocktail stick (yes, another one) goes upright just in front of the rear bulkhead. We've seen that navigator's big instrument panel before. Then there's the control column, pedals and a little box that all go in front of the pilot. Not really sure what the robot dog is - I need to re-check Eduard's instructions. Maybe not a robot dog though.

 

That's it for now.

all the best

Mark

[Courageous]

Some nice cockpit bling there, looking forward to seeing it all painted up. Having another look at the glazing at the start, I'll be doing mine with canopy open.

 

Stuart

[Icedtea]

On 8/20/2023 at 9:26 PM, Mark Harmsworth said:

 

I bought this at a model show just before that pandemic thingy. The seller assured me it was unbuilt and I was looking forward to a fun time with a kit from when I was modelling first time around - although I never had this particular one. Scalemates tells us this is the original boxing of this kit - from 1979. I wonder where it's been all this time.

 

So, on opening the box:

A singe sheet of instructions showing a fairly basic build although with a bit more detail that I'd expected. 

 

Thankfully I don't have to rely on my schoolboy French as there's an additional multilingual sheet with some simple instructions.

That'll do.

 

The sprues are in good shape with no flash.

 

 

 

 

Not a great shot of the transparencies but they do look in decent condition - especially as they've been loose in the box for the last forty or so years.

 

Then at the bottom of the box I found this:

Someone had started the first step of the build and then given up. The pilot's seat looks as though it has been twisted off the sprue with some damage to the top of the back. Recoverable though I think.

 

I then realised that there were no decals. Not too much of an issue as I'd expected them to be pretty much unusable given the age of the kit.

 

So I bought these:

Two schemes from the Tirpitz. That should do nicely.

 

They come with comprehensive notes:

 

Sadly all mostly in Czech - although the footnotes on the colour schemes etc are in English.

 

As I was expecting a rather basic kit I also bought this Eduard p.e. set.

 

 

While I was at it I also bought a replacement cowling from Quickboost:

 

 

Onwards

Mark

If  I recall correctly from my old build of the Heller kit and the unbuilt Airfix job in the stash neither kit includes the exhausts at the rear underside of the cowling? I bodgied up some 'paddle' like efforts from card. other than that I remember the kit as Ok but with the usual Heller style of "plez to steek thees parts to these area around heres silver plait"

be nice if Special Hobby or Academy et al had a go at a new 1/72 kit....

[Mark Harmsworth]

10 hours ago, Icedtea said:

If  I recall correctly from my old build of the Heller kit and the unbuilt Airfix job in the stash neither kit includes the exhausts at the rear underside of the cowling?

You are right - at least as far as the Heller kit is concerned. So I bought the Quickboost exhaust (at the same time as the guns from Eduard):

.

[AaCee26]

13 hours ago, Icedtea said:

be nice if Special Hobby or Academy et al had a go at a new 1/72 kit....

Hi,

 

Sword did one five years ago: https://www.scalemates.com/kits/sword-sw-72085-arado-ar-196a-3--640811

 

A nice kit but might be difficult to find

 

Heller was one of their best and European state-of-the-art kit when new and as we can see still very buildable.

 

Cheers,

 

AaCee

[Mark Harmsworth]

The Eduard instructions show you how to replace the navigator's seat.

 

So I had a go at that.

The kit part is on the left. The arms of the new seat have two folding / bending points but I'm trying not to do that until I install the seat as those parts are quite delicate and look as though they may snap off..

 

I confused myself somewhat with those seatbelts as I kept wondering what would have happened when the navigator needed to turn around to use the gun. Anyway it looks ok, a nice improvement over the kit part, and I've put it in a little plastic container for safety - until I'm ready to paint.

 

Next up I returned to thinking about the area behind the pilot.

 

This is a picture of me thinking.

There's quite a few bits resting in there with instrument panel, control column and pedals all in front of the pilot's seat and the navigators chunky instrument panel behind the pilot. It is the area between those two marked out by the smooth side wall that I'm trying to sort out. What's clear of course is that the pilot's seat and framework is not going to stand up by itself. There are slots in the floor for the instrument panel and pedals but the pilot's seat is expected to hang in mid-air off that framework - and there is no slot for that. 

 

A lump of something underneath the seat was called for - that would probably be invisible once it is all closed up.

 

A short length of plastic tube did the trick:

That's just resting in place and is now back in it's safe place.

 

I learnt a lesson doing that (maybe re-learnt is more accurate) as almost any handling of these folded and glued pe. parts can lead to a need to re-glue. The slightest stress can cause things to come apart. Still, progress is being made - although rather slowly.

 

Just to do something different I did some masking.

No pre-cut masks for once - and I realised it's been ages since I last did this. I find doing my own masking quite therapeutic for some strange reason, Maybe because I don't do it very often these days.

 

That's it for now.

all the best

Mark

[Mark Harmsworth]

I'd been away from the bench for a little while but got back to it a few days ago and progress has been made.

 

Lots of bits ready for primer:

The rectangle of plastic card is intended to be a shelf behind the pilot and in front of the navigator - still some thinking to go on that.

 

And these:

I've decided to paint the inside of the cowling at this point and those other thingies are, on the right, the navigator's instrument panel and, on the left, a little boxy thing that sits in front of the pilot.

 

Primer applied:

 

Then, time to finish the canopy masking:

 

And ready for paint:

 

A liberal coat of RLM02 from xtracrylix for all of that:

 

I then spent a few sessions trying to give that lovely Eduard p.e. some paint to bring out the detail along with some thinned oil paint to run along and around the the detail.

 

The cockpit parts then need to be installed. I worked from the front - not sure why but I had to start somewhere.

 

This is a few images of where I've got to:

 

 

 

 

The instrument panel is a single piece of p.e. with a 'film' behind it with the instrument details. Happy with that.

 

Next I'll be trying to sort out what happens in the gap between the framework behind the pilot and the navigator's panel. There's more framework, a shelf and a small instrument panel to go in there.

 

Then further back will be a seat for the navigator and his gun and a couple of other bits.

 

Onwards

Mark

 

[AdrianMF]

Very nice! Hopefully the canopy is big and light enough to let you see the interior when it's all buttoned up.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Mark Harmsworth]

1 hour ago, AdrianMF said:

Very nice! Hopefully the canopy is big and light enough to let you see the interior when it's all buttoned up.

Thanks. Yes I hope so too! There's a large open area at the rear of the cabin which should help and the transparencies look reasonably good. I'm also worrying a bit about how to do the main painting -  as my usual method of leaving off the transparencies until the very end and protecting the cockpit with masking tape won't really work here. All that p.e. is far too delicate for masking tape I think. I may be attaching the transparencies before painting. A problem for later.

Mark

[Courageous]

Always nice to see things come together. Looking good.

 

Stuart

[Mark Harmsworth]

A brief update as I'm (finally) getting to the end of work on the cockpit / cabin area. Or at least until I get to the very last steps.

 

This is what the right side of the fuselage looks like with the six pieces of p.e. in there: 

 

Looks better from a distance I think.

 

I've spent more time on that area behind the pilot.

I've added a shelf (a section of card), some more p.e. framework from the Eduard set and, on top of the shelf, a small panel which is a piece of scrap resin plus a few bits of p.e. from the spares box.

 

That p.e. framework caused me a few problems as I failed with Eduard's instructions (probably my fault) and ended up using some fairly unsubtle surgery to get a decent fit. And it is ever so slightly wonky.

 

After some paint and the addition of a teeny p.e. instrument panel from Eduard on the right of the shelf:

That's enough in there now I think.

 

Next I just have to work out how to install the navigator's seat - which is intended to hang off the side walls by means of some delicate p.e.  I'm currently thinking that I'll do that after I've joined the fuselage up. Still don't quite know how though.

 

This is the seat - on the right:

 

I have an image in my mind of bringing the fuselage halves together, putting stress on the p.e. cockpit floor, and then lots of little p.e. bits detaching themselves from the cockpit and flying across the bench. Never mind - a little excitement is good for the soul.

 

Onwards

Mark

 

 

[Johnson]

Lovely work.

 

2 hours ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

I have an image in my mind of bringing the fuselage halves together, putting stress on the p.e. cockpit floor, and then lots of little p.e. bits detaching themselves from the cockpit and flying across the bench. Never mind - a little excitement is good for the soul.

Hopefully not - carefully does it!

[Thom216]

8 hours ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

A brief update...

 

This is the seat - on the right:

 

I have an image in my mind of bringing the fuselage halves together, putting stress on the p.e. cockpit floor, and then lots of little p.e. bits detaching themselves from the cockpit and flying across the bench. Never mind - a little excitement is good for the soul.

 

Onwards

Mark

 

 

 

For the PE seat, could you support it with a thin plastic rod (sprue) hidden underneath it?

[Mark Harmsworth]

14 hours ago, Thom216 said:

For the PE seat, could you support it with a thin plastic rod (sprue) hidden underneath it?

I think that is probably option one.  My extra thought is whether to close up the fuselage first and install it from the top - time to try that out. Very carefully.

[woody37]

Just seen this, great seeing these old kits being spruced up, great work so far Mark

 

[Mark Harmsworth]

14 hours ago, woody37 said:

Just seen this, great seeing these old kits being spruced up, great work so far Mark

Thanks. I don't often post in the WIP section but I picked it from the stash for that very reason and I thought if I'm interested in this then others might be too.

 

thanks again

Mark

[woody37]

19 hours ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

Thanks. I don't often post in the WIP section but I picked it from the stash for that very reason and I thought if I'm interested in this then others might be too.

 

thanks again

Mark

Glad you did, it's builds like this that  I love to follow

[Mark Harmsworth]

The navigator's seat installed - although with a little cheat of some support underneath as I couldn't work out how to do it without. Largely invisible I think.

 

 

I'll have to adjust the position of the right hand support arms once I've closed up the fuselage - and hope they don't fall off!

 

Then, after weeks of very delicate work I did this:

 

And hoped that nothing (or maybe not too much) of the p.e. would be disturbed.

 

This is probably a success then:

 

The pilot's seat and supporting framework detached in one piece. Everything else seems to be still in place  - probably tempting fate there though.

 

And the fuselage seams are pretty good with just a modest amount of work required. No noticeable gaps anyway.

 

At this point in the build I would normally protect the cockpit from dust with masking tape and bits of sponge. But I think all that p.e. is far too delicate for that. Looks like I will have to attach the canopy before I start any sanding - not my preferred sequence.

 

Still thinking about that.

 

In the meantime the pilot's seat went back in easily:

 

I also installed another piece of p.e. Some sort of belt behind the navigator - maybe something to do with operating the rear gun and having to turn around to do that. Or maybe to stop him toppling backwards when the pilot hits the turbo button.

 

Installing that was a little challenge in itself - getting the bend just right and then persuading it to stay in place. 

 

Next time for a look at the floats. Here's some stuff:

 

The kit floats with some lovely p.e. detailing and the kit struts. The Eduard p.e. set would have you replace some parts of those struts with p.e. but I didn't like the idea of that. Rather two dimensional and not especially sturdy I thought. So I'm sticking with the kit struts.

 

This is them balanced in place:

 

That fit looks pretty good. The p.e. set also includes some really nice rudders to go on the back of the floats - I'll be installing them at the end.

 

That's it for now. Time to go and stare at the fuselage and figure out how not to fill it with sanding dust.

 

Onwards

Mark

 

 

[Courageous]

Pucker job on the cockpit. Love the look of the floats. Sometimes CA can be a little brittle when under stress and I've been told to use Formula 560 Canopy Glue. I use it on my PE work and have had no problems. Pick and choose when and where to use it, clean up any excesses with a damp brush.

 

Stuart

[Mark Harmsworth]

6 minutes ago, Courageous said:

Sometimes CA can be a little brittle when under stress and I've been told to use Formula 560 Canopy Glue

Thanks - I'll look into that. With the benefit of hindsight I think I got away lightly to be honest.

Mark

[Mark Harmsworth]

I'm starting to see an Ar 196 emerging now.

 

I had a daft idea to use the lower half of the main wing as a sort of jig to get the float struts roughly in the right position. Heller thankfully provides the bottom half of the wing as a single piece (thank you Heller).

 

Like this:

 

That seems to have worked ok-ish.

 

The fuselage joins didn't need any filler but the floats and their struts definitely do:

 

I'm not entirely sure how to get those joins neat. It would have been a lot simpler if I hadn't already added all that p.e. Oh well. Sometimes I hate hindsight. I see some rather careful work in my future.

 

Although I'd prefer not to at this stage - I installed the transparencies to protect the cockpit. My usual method of masking tape and foam might be too much stress for the cockpit p.e. I decided.

 

So, the transparencies actually fit pretty well:

 

The rear area I intend to cover with tape before I neaten those seams - just a few passes with a sanding stick should do.

 

But first, I put that main wing lower half where it is supposed to be:

 

And then the top halves:

 

Again the fit seems pretty good, and it is starting to look like an aeroplane - I always like it when that happens.

 

Back soon.

Mark

[Johnson]

Excellent work Mark.

49 minutes ago, Mark Harmsworth said:

It would have been a lot simpler if I hadn't already added all that p.e

Absolutely. With any new model I reach some stage when I say "next time I'll do it another way", not that a next time is likely to occur.

[Courageous]

As you say, looking like an Ar 196.

 

Stuart