Harbour Air DHC-3T Vazar Otter (Single)

[Terry1954]

Fantastic work Alan. 

 

Every update brings with it something I especially like, and in this case it has to be these door internals ...........

 

12 hours ago, hendie said:

 

Of course, everything else is just as good, it's just that I can easily get hung up about doors 

 

T.

[Brandy]

14 hours ago, hairystick said:

Wow! Just catching up on this build, another magnificent Hendie modification one.

Love those seats inside, they look superb.

 

 

I'm suspecting that the "T" is in relation to Turbine, as this looks very much like one.

 

 

I'm still undecided about the "electric" modifications to aircraft. With a "normal" aeroplane you take off, fly around burning off fuel load, then land.

 

With electric planes, every nook and cranny is reportedly jammed with batteries, meaning that your take off and landing weights are the same...

 

Not a problem if your max landing weight is the same as your max take-off weight!

 

Ian

[hendie]

Here we go again. This time it's a bit of a milestone update and I'm feeling a bit happy with myself. Smug, even. So something is bound to come and bite me in the bahookey very soon.

 

First off, @Ragtag, it looks as though I may well have been mistaken then - my apologies.  It's not the first time and I'm sure it won't be the last.

As mentioned previously, I wasn't entirely happy wit the instrument panels so I reprinted them after making some modifications.  I'm much happier with these.

 

 

That is, until I went to fit the darned things. They were too small!

It's amazing just how much difference a millimeter can make,- especially when you need it. Dammit.  

 

Moving on, I printed up the latest version (3rd!) of the cockpit seats. This time I'm happy with them.

 

 

Especially when you compare them to what the kit offers. (It's the one in the middle btw)

 

 

Now, I knew I shouldn't have mentioned the height of the tailplanes in front of you lot. That's like a red rag to a bull. I knew you lot would never let it go so I went ahead and started the process of lowering the tailplanes. Yes, I made a right hash of the new hole - but I have a plan.

I also need to fill in the old location hole, and I had some styrene sheet that was the perfect thickness - just a slight push fit. The problem was how to make sure I got the entire gap sealed up? 

I had a stunningly cunning plan for that. Cut two tapered pieces that, when inserted from opposite sides will force each other to wedge into the hole. I was so very pleased, I almost impressed myself.

 

 

... until I came to fit them.  Good old Hobbycraft had molded the tailplane position out of alignment with the starboard side being lower than the port side  The styrene sheet I had was such a good fit that there was no way I could push it through without deforming the vertical stabilizer.

I ended up just filling it the old fashioned way... equal portions of skill and luck.

 

Anyway, here we are with the new tailplane added.  I think I might need to fettle it a bit more 

 

 

Then sanded back.  I filled that horrible arrowhead panel line while I was at it. At first I couldn't figure out what that was supposed to represent, but eventually I came across a half decent shot of the tail area and I could see there's a cover plate above and below the tailplane - the Otter has a variable incidence tailplane. The real thing looks nothing like that arrowhead they've molded on there.

 

 

Then with a first pass of primer. Still a little bit of work to do but at this stage I'm happy with that. The other side needs a bit more work - which is why I'm only showing you the better side 

 

 

The topside also got a smattering of primer to check the seams. Again, it needs a little bit of work. The main problem is that longitudinal seam. - it's always going to show itself due to the starboard side fuselage taking a dip as it heads towards the centerline. I can only hope that some greeblies and white paint will minimise the chance of it being noticed.

 

 

Talking of greeblies. Here's one!

 

 

There's a few more greeblies - a lot more than I imagined - to go on top but the rest are fairly small and will be added once I've sorted that seam out.

 

I thought it was about time I cheered myself up after that oopsie with the instrument panel so it was time for a quick dry fit. A few more swipes with the file finally got the first IP to fit in there without too much stress (on the kit, not on me!)

 

 

You can't really see much, can you?

Is this any better?   I actually took about 5 or 6 shots and this was the best so you 'll just have to live with it. I said you weren't going to see much in there.

 

 

It seems I'm finally getting somewhere with this build though there's still a long way to go.

 

Now, for this next bit... I pondered and mulled and procrastinated over whether I should attempt this today, how I should attempt it, and what I should attempt it with. With me so far?

It was also getting a bit late in the modeling day and I didn't want to put myself in a position where I was going to rush something, as I always muck that up

My choices were: 5 minute epoxy - messy and maybe too quick setting.

Normal two part epoxy - just as messy and maybe too long to set.

Styrene glue - doesn't work with resin

UV cured resin - wasn't sure it would take the stress

Superglue - I hate it and it sets really quick - not time for adjustment.

 

Eventually I worked myself up to the job and decided to try superglue...

 

then... 

 

 

I reached a milestone.

 

 

There's some slight gaps but to be honest, I've worked on kits that have bigger gaps. Come to think of it, this kit is one of those. 

 

 

After all the mods I've made to this kit and how it's been handled and bashed about over the last few weeks, I am pleasantly surprised at the quality of the fit of the nose.

I need some primer on there to really see what's going on but I am hoping that I can get away without any filler and any slight misalignment or gap can be explained away as  - well, the panels don't fit perfectly on the 1:1 either

 

At end of play today we are now at this stage.

 

 

It almost looks Otterish!

 

 

 

[Terry1954]

1 hour ago, hendie said:

 

A ta-da moment indeed. That looks beautiful.

 

....... and I just love those I/P's

 

T.

[marvinneko]

Having worked through a Norseman on floats with an interior, I've got a lot of appreciation for all the work you've done here. Really lovely details! The 3d printed stuff turned out so well.

[TheyJammedKenny!]

Excellent work!  The fine details on the pilots' seats really set these apart, so with the doors open that's the first thing people will see at eye level.

[Ragtag]

The new panel and pilot seats are looking the business - definitely coming together

[giemme]

New IPs and seats looking outstanding, but the nose plug is the star of the day!   Cunning solution for the tailplanes too, BTW  

 

Ciao

[heloman1]

Alan, don't you just love it when a cunning plan is thwarted by the kit manufacturer but hen, you have built Italeri Wessex so, you should be well used to it!

Is the black nose piece, the colour it comes out of the printer?

 

Colin

[perdu]

The fact that the kit hates you obviously means nothing Alan, tish, you spit upon its obvious dislike.

 

Feeble attempts at cod humour aside you really are stamping this into line, the cockpit seats are stunning and the nose base works incredibly well.

 

Stunning progress mon ami.

 

Stunning.

[81-er]

Fantastic work again, Alan  Not that I expected anything less, mind you  The IP and seats make a huge difference, especially as you're having the door open. The fit on the nose is excellent as well, not an easy thing to achieve given the base kit. I'm very much looking forward to the next installment of turd polishing, we'll be able to clearly see our faces in the sheen you achieve at this rate

 

James

[silverfox63]

Hendie, those new instrument panels, magnificent, most impressed.

Cheers,

Chris.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Just caught up from the top.  Blimmin’ lovely work, all of it - not that I was expecting anything else, obvs.

[Brandy]

A very pleasant way to end the modelling day! I love the IP and seats!

 

Ian

[CedB]

Amazing Alan. Seats, panels, lovely stuff  

[hendie]

On 6/4/2025 at 2:34 AM, heloman1 said:

Is the black nose piece, the colour it comes out of the printer?

 

Oops - I meant to answer this yesterday.  - In this case Colin, yes. I'm using black resin in one printer and grey resin in my other printer and depending upon which one is in use, I'll use whatever one is available.

 

 

Here we go again... another coat of primer was added to check things out. I had hoped to get away without using any filler but that was not to be the case.

 

 

it's not horrendous (much!) but I had hoped for better.

 

 

Starboard side was a little worse.

 

 

I opted to use Mr Dissolved Putty thinned down and applied with a fine brush.  That was allowed to cure overnight then this morning it weas attacked with some sanding sticks and another coat of primer.

Much better but still needs a little work.

 

 

The starboard side came out better even although it was the worst offender of the two.

 

 

With it all coming together now and primer being flashed about, it was time to add those other bits, starting with the rear underside fin thing. That was glued in place using a couple of brass pins, which you can just see inside the resin.

 

 

That was followed by the underside strake which was cut from sheet styrene, and I also removed another bumpy thing hanging from underneath as apparently that was intended for the ski version.  I really should pay more attention to these instruction thingies.

 

 

During this maneuver I came across yet another oopsie of mine. This time concerning the rudder...again. Yes, that ruddy rudder.

I don't know how I missed this but I did - can you spot the deliberate error in this photo?

 

 

Yup! It's way too thin.  

So, yet another version has been printed overnight but I was so busy with other stuff that I forgot to check that it will actually work this time. Maybe tomorrow.

 

After all this palaver I needed something to cheer myself up so I began to add some greeblies that I spotted on my reference photos. Nothing complicated - just little rectangles of sheet styrene but it's amazing how different it looks once you start adding these greebles and it's no longer just a flat bland expanse of white.

 

 

The next greeble had me thinking for a while though. It's the cabin roof escape hatch which is quite visible on top.

I searched through my PE leftovers and eventually found one piece which was the right shape - but too small. I then considered whether I could cut one out of styrene - and the answer was a resounding No!

That led to a rummage through the spares box and that also produced nothing... until I came a leftover from my Whirlwind build a few years back. Remember those window rubbers? Perfect! But it was too small.

I had the answer though so modeled one up and fired it off on the printer.

That was the easy part as I then had to actually fit the darned thing and the frame is only 0.75mm wide. It was positioned, taped at one end, then I prised one side up just enough to get some superglue under there. Press that down then repeat the job at the other end after removing the tape.

 

 

Job done!

 

 

There's still a few more greeblies to get fitted up top but I'm not sure whether to fit them now or later as they will be quite fragile. However I think I'm going to have to bite the bullet and fit them so I can get an even white coverage with that primer.

 

Talking of which, it was prime time again.  First coat of primer on the new additions at the back.

 

 

some more up top

 

 

... and while the primer was out I gave the nose it's first flash of white.

 

 

It's quite surprising just how large this beast is. (The nose is just dry fitted at the moment  as I haven't yet put any thought as to how to retain the propeller and spinner).

 

 

I think those seams look worse than they actually are because I've used black resin ( a poor choice methinks). Since the black is still showing through it makes it look like shadows. Hopefully a few more coats of white will make that problem go away.

Aside from a few more greeblies to be added, the fuselage is almost finished aside from multiple coats of white so I'd best start working on the other bits.

 

Floats it is then. I need to figure out the float arrangement and how I'm going to attach them, hopefully securely.

 

 

 

Total kit parts count to date... Ehrrr... 2.

Those are the fuselage sides, and I had to cut the front end of off those. 

 

 

[Tomoshenko]

Seriously bonkers brilliant Hendie.

[giemme]

1 hour ago, hendie said:

Total kit parts count to date... Ehrrr... 2.

 So, OOB basically?

 

On a more serious note, I'm impressed by the overall construction and details showed in this update!  

 

Ciao

[MrB17]

I’ve now realized Hendie, that I should be addressing you as 

 

 

I’ve fittingly substituted the ground hog with a sea otter.

 

Cheers

 

Jeff

[Terry1954]

1 hour ago, hendie said:

Total kit parts count to date... Ehrrr... 2.

 

Ah, I get it, this IS an OOB build. You take everything out of the box, bin it, but for those two parts. Brilliant!

 

I remain in admiration of everything going on here Alan. Just saying.

 

T.

[81-er]

This one just gets better and better with every update, Alan

 

James

[CedB]

Agreed. 
 

More coats of primer? That’ll be about twenty now? No wonder you run out…

 

looking amazing though. Love that hatch. 

[heloman1]

Neat work with the escape hatch surround Alan. That's a large fin on that ruddy rudder!

[perdu]

That hatch, why would anyone doubt that this one will be a WIN?

 

Amazing.

 

Maybe you should sell that basic shape in your web shop, various sizes in a pack

 

The dHC instrument set too, its almost identical to the Beaver and no doubt the Twotter too so could be a frequently requested 1/72 scale set

[Robin-42]

I just tried using magnets for my latest Spitfire build to retain the prop and spinner as the resin aftermarket spinner and nose had nothing. Worked perfect.