How to build a paper airplane model - tips based on a 1/33 Il-2 Stormovik

Hello TB!

ORP Maly sounds very unlikely... The wartime destroyers taken over from the British were ORP Piorun (N-Class) and ORP Garland (G-Class) - both published by "Maly Modelarz" in the late eighties. Maly modelarz also did ORP Błyskawica, ORP Burza and ORP Grom, beginning from the sixties. So I still wonder what could it be...?

Have a nice day

Paweł

Hello everybody!

Today I'd like to start writing about building the landing gear vor my Il-2. I've already shown you this one - how I started building the wheels by glueing together several cardboard disks and sanding them until they started looking like wheels with tires:

I also started making the struts by bending some 1mm steel wire. I have also rolled some thin paper to shape the struts. A package of biscuits served as a cheap source of silver foil that will make excellent oleos:

The parts of the landing gear from the kit look like on the photo below:

The 67P and 67L will be replaced with my tubes rolled from the thin paper like shown on the photo below:

I have also cut thin strips from the thin paper and made some rings to make the struts more detailed. After this was done I painted the struts light grey. I have also made the diagonal braces using mostly the kit parts. They will have to be touched up with the grey paint as well:

I will have to put some work to make the part of the landing gear that is hidden in the nacelles - the kit is pretty vague here... But you can see this is taking shape, right? Hope you like it, thanks for reading and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel, I'm very impressed with your work on the Stormovik. This type of modeling requires a whole other set of skills and I'm looking forward to seeing more progress. I followed the link you posted earlier in the thread and it appears there are a huge number of paper kits available, including many types we'd never see produced in plastic in the larger scales. Do you have any recommendations on who makes the best kits? Also, where can the vac canopies be found?

Hello! Thanks a lot for your comments!

GraySnake - I'm glad you like my results! Many years ago I got to build a Guillows balsa aircraft and some of the parts there were supposed to be made out of cardboard, so I believe I understand what you are saying. And paper models and balsa models are a bit like a big scratchbuilding project, maybe with an exception that the kit gives you the basic dimensions to work with.

Grag - thanks a lot for your kind words. I agree with you about the wholly new skill set - that's why I recommend kits lkie this to plastic modellers - after building one their other models will get better, that's how I feel it.

As for my recommendations - the GPM company makes good models, they also sell vacu canopies for them. If you wish you can also get laser-cut bulkheads for most paper models. I can also recommend other companies like "Mały modelarz" (a veteran - older models are more simple), "Kartonowy arsenał/Haliński", "Modelik", "WAK". There are also others and if you're looking for a specific model, most of the time you can look at the parts and instructions on the internet and decide for yourself if they look good to you. If you need help with translation from Polish please let me know - I'll see what I can do.

And I've been working on the landing gear. On the photo below you can see how I used ice cream sticks for jigs to get the right stance on the landing gear struts:

That was a dry fit to see if everything fits - after that I have removed the landing gear and I have tried to re-create at least some of the internal structure of the nacelles and some hydraulic cylinders for lowering and raising the landing gear:

Next step will be to install the gear and it's doors. Thanks for looking and have a nice day

Paweł

Pawel!

   Thank You sir! It is indeed the ORP Grom! As I said I couldn't remember the proper name . Very intricate but satisfying model! And yes, Modelik are great too! My greatest group are the Wilhelmshaven Products followed by Schreiber and MALY Modelarz

Hello Doc!

Those older warship models from Maly Modelarz are nice - they have enough detail to keep you busy, but not so much as to drive you crazy or discourage you. But of course on can always go bananas and use modern modelling techniques like adding PE railings and so on to make them more accurate.

The most modern Maly Modelarz ships have parts so fine, that you start wondering how in the world are you ever going to cut them out... IMO it starts taking the fun out of building something like that.

Thanks a lot for your comment and have a nice day

Paweł

Coming along nicley.