RC Boater Bill Posted January 11 Posted January 11 (edited) Picked up this kit from the “free” table at last week’s club meeting. It was in a ziploc bag, with the box top. It looks complete, though the decals are questionable. (I have since transferred it to an old kit box.) I already have an RAF Mk II built from a Hobby Boss kit on the shelf, so I’m thinking I’ll do a Finnish Winter War plane- but will need to sort out the markings….. Edited 11 hours ago by RC Boater Bill added photo 16
2996 Victor Posted January 11 Posted January 11 Excellent, Bill, looking forward to seeing your build! Cheers, Mark 1
wanders_up_the_wrekin Posted January 11 Posted January 11 Looking forward to following along and seeing how this one builds up Bill. It's in my list of kits to acquire and build this year. 2
RC Boater Bill Posted January 20 Author Posted January 20 This is going to be an OOB build… Construction started a few days ago. The cockpit parts got a quick coat of RAF interior green. I added some simple seat belts made by painting strips of Tamiya tape— I figure that will be “good enough”, as not much will be visible through the kit’s canopy. 14
RC Boater Bill Posted January 20 Author Posted January 20 I’m going to do the model as one of the Swedish volunteers that flew against the Soviets in the Winter War. I am thinking about trying these masks… https://topnotchmasks.com/shop/camo-masks/gloster-gladiator-tiger-pattern/ 2
2996 Victor Posted January 20 Posted January 20 Great start there, Bill, nice to see this under way! Excellent subject choice, I'd be interested to know how good those masks are. Mark
RC Boater Bill Posted January 31 Author Posted January 31 Construction is proceeding slowly, as I generally work on this as a side project while waiting for something to dry on the ship I’m building. Nothing really photo-worthy yet. But progress is being made…. I’ve cleaned up the flying surfaces, assembled the engine, skis, cleaned and filled seams, etc. Fit is typical Heller, so no surprises, really. I am thinking I’ll just make my own masks instead of buying them. I’m going to try and make this a “decal-free” build…. 4
RC Boater Bill Posted February 2 Author Posted February 2 (edited) Progress made… The fit of the fuselage front piece and the stab are examples of the fit of the parts so far. The front piece has gotten a bit of filler all around, while the stab will be taken care of next session. The landing gear legs have been the loosest -fitting part so far. There’s about a 30 degree arc where the parts can go. The key is to get the axle parallel to the ground. I recommend doing them one at a time- get the first one set, then you have a something to align the other one to. This is all likely “not a surprise” to anyone who has built Heller kits before….. (My last Heller kit build was almost 30 years ago.) Edited February 3 by RC Boater Bill fixed typo 12
RC Boater Bill Posted February 10 Author Posted February 10 The 3-piece canopy fit well, and I was pleased with how clear it is. Next step: Mask the canopy, and then it will be off to spray booth for a coat of primer…. 14
RC Boater Bill Posted February 11 Author Posted February 11 So far, the kit has been a decent build. Fit is generally good (enough). The only thing I’m not keen on is having to deal with the big rigging holes. I guess they thought builders would be raiding mom’s sewing kit for some heavy duty thread? The idea of having to fill the way-oversize holes after rigging with fine nylon monofilament doesn’t really appeal to me. ( I suppose I could just fill and paint them now, and then drill new (much smaller) holes later - or just not rig it at all! ) I wonder what others are doing…..? 5
Jinxman Posted February 11 Posted February 11 8 hours ago, RC Boater Bill said: I wonder what others are doing…..? There's not much rigging on the MS 230, but I'm filling and then re-drilling the holes as they are too large for my liking. 2
2996 Victor Posted February 11 Posted February 11 9 hours ago, RC Boater Bill said: I guess they thought builders would be raiding mom’s sewing kit for some heavy duty thread? Erm..... I did that for the only aeroplane I "rigged" as a youngster. It was a Revell 1/72 Boeing P-26. You can probably imagine the massively overscale and slightly hairy rigging Happy days! 4 1
RC Boater Bill Posted February 26 Author Posted February 26 After two weeks of very cold winter weather here in New England, ( -15C outside) it finally warmed up enough to let me paint in my basement workshop! Last night I primed the various sub assemblies so color is next! Nothing photo-worthy, but soon, I hope……. 3
Snafu35 Posted February 26 Posted February 26 That's why I don't build biplanes; having been a child martyr with the shrouds, it leaves its mark! @RC Boater Bill: If the paint has thawed, I'll be happy to follow your construction again! Regards, Eric-Snafu35 2
RC Boater Bill Posted March 15 Author Posted March 15 Finally, some progress you can see! During our prolonged cold snap, I spent a few hours designing and then cutting the masks to cut on my Cameo4 cutting machine. With slightly warmer temps in March, it was back to the paint booth. The blue went on a little over a week ago. ( I used Tamiya XF-23 light blue. ) Tonight I masked and then airbrushed Vallejo Olive Green for the base color on the upper surfaces. I’ve settled on this aircraft from the Swedish volunteers who flew for Finland in the Winter War against the Soviets. . As I understand it, Sweden “loaned” a squadron of Gladiators to the Finns, and plenty of pilots volunteered to fly them. The planes started out in standard Swedish olive green over light blue, and were given a quick winter camo by painting bands of silver paint over the green. Finnish markings were then added to the fuselage and underside of the wings. 11
AaCee26 Posted March 16 Posted March 16 On 3/15/2025 at 5:56 AM, RC Boater Bill said: As I understand it, Sweden “loaned” a squadron of Gladiators to the Finns, and plenty of pilots volunteered to fly them. The planes started out in standard Swedish olive green over light blue, and were given a quick winter camo by painting bands of silver paint over the green. Finnish markings were then added to the fuselage and underside of the wings. Hi, As a neutral country it was not possible for Sweden sent their military to a war. Instead, they sent one third (!) of their fighters and volunteered staff. Camouflage is as yiu descriped and nattional insignias too. On the lower surfaces without white circle. IIRC I have built three of these in F19 livery and a couple of others. It is one of the earliest kits that I remember when it was launched. Mid-70's to early 80's was a golden age of Heller! Cheers, AaCee 1
RC Boater Bill Posted March 20 Author Posted March 20 (edited) This is the plane I am building… I have made masks to paint all the markings shown. The camo stripes are described as “silver or silver-gray”. My plan is to make up some more Pfalz Silver-gray (need some more for my WW1 builds) and use that here as well….. Edited March 20 by RC Boater Bill 10
RC Boater Bill Posted March 26 Author Posted March 26 (edited) Finally got a chance to mask and paint the silver! Masking the wings was easy- but the fuselage took a long time! I think using blu-tak would have been easier, but the photos and profiles make it look like a pretty tight edge to the silver blobs, so I figured tape would give a better result. I will confess that cutting masks to folllow the pattern on the fuselage was difficult, so I sorta drifted away from the profile and went free-form! We’ll see how it looks tomorrow, when I pull the tape off…….. For the silver paint, I went with a 2:1 mix of Model Air RLM silver and flat white. I want a silver paint look, not a nmf! Edited March 26 by RC Boater Bill 10
Jinxman Posted March 26 Posted March 26 Looking board to seeing that masking come off - hope it goes well.
TonyTiger91 Posted March 26 Posted March 26 I just caught up with you build; great stuff 👍 This kit is in my ‘To build’ pile. Also, as a Finnish variant. Good luck with the camouflage stripes, it’s looking very good 😊 1
AaCee26 Posted March 26 Posted March 26 On 3/20/2025 at 2:44 PM, RC Boater Bill said: This is the plane I am building… This one is likely the best documented of the bunch. and also most complicated camouflage... Mmmmm... I'm thiking to take a Gladiator to the bench... Cheers, AaCee
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