French a/c group build 2012-13

LOL great work on the morane Vance!! actually the name seems tamiya putty TP-406 :)

Martin-Baker Mk.4 according to aftermarket detail set from Wolfpack...

I guess I'll start cutting sprue.  Any idea what ejection seat a mirage IIIc uses?  I thought there was a link for that somewhere.

John

Hey John, trying to get wrapped up by Feb 28 2013, would love to have your Mirage in the mix.

When the end date for this build?  I have a mirage IIIC I'd love to start.

John

Hmmm - I've got a new secret code name for the MS.406... the putty princess!
Hard to see from the pics, BUT, the repair needed at the wingroot in this case isn't so much side-to-side, which is only about 1mm or so. The bigger issue is more of a ste-up, but of course this doesn't run a straight line, it's a big wide arc. May take several applications of putty and likely the replacement (even if just drawn in) of some features before painting. Very thin plastic in that area is slowing things down as well. Ahhhh - c'est la vie!

Annnnd just because I love contrasts... a look at the two kits I was working on last night...

No problem stik - life happens!!!  Feel free to drop in & keep an eye on us though.

Vance, I am afraid I am gonna have to drop out of this one. Some personal life complications popped up and once the current projects that I have going are done in the next few weeks I will not have time to start and complete my Rafale before the time is up on this GB.

I make it a priority to learn something every build. This one amounts to aittle more pre-planning. BUT I saw a few minutes of bench time & rushed it...

VanceCrozier

OK, cockpit assembly, well, assembled & placed inside fuselage halves. Scratched instrument panel is in there as well although it'll be hard to see much of it anyway. Decided against dropping the flaps as the plasic above that area is super-thin.


Holy wingroot gap, Batman!! I'll need some putty work done topside.


And had to shim in a couple of places. Leading edge of the wingroots had to be thickened up after attaching the outer wings. Also a good little gap at the forward wing-to-fuselage join.

(And if I'd been smart, I could have used a piece of styrene rod as a spacer inside the fuselage to take care of that gap.... except my cockpit assembly is attached to both sides already...

Looking good so far.

I see you are quite accomplished with that Wing to Fuselage bondage procedure.

As for second thoughts about filling that gap:

" c'est la vie " 

OK, cockpit assembly, well, assembled & placed inside fuselage halves. Scratched instrument panel is in there as well although it'll be hard to see much of it anyway. Decided against dropping the flaps as the plasic above that area is super-thin.


Holy wingroot gap, Batman!! I'll need some putty work done topside.


And had to shim in a couple of places. Leading edge of the wingroots had to be thickened up after attaching the outer wings. Also a good little gap at the forward wing-to-fuselage join.

(And if I'd been smart, I could have used a piece of styrene rod as a spacer inside the fuselage to take care of that gap.... except my cockpit assembly is attached to both sides already...

www.facebook.com/TheBugatti100pProject

http://bugatti100p.com/

Very cool! I am not familiar with it at all.

For 1939 this aircraft was quite advanced.

...and then that turns the elevator into a "blown" control surface - wow!

The intakes on the tail are for the radiator. Its a diffuser that slows the air down enough to effectively draw heat off the radiator. The air then flows out the slots on the trailing edge of the main wing.

ahhh - the ol' "lighter fluid massage". Thought you could only get those in Thailand?

Love the shape of that Bugatti. Any idea what the intakes on the tail surfaces are for??  Think I'll have a chance to get some more done on the MS.406 tonight. Once I get her closed up the pace should pick up.

Excellent WIP on the Bugatti Scorp .

Hopfully the major issue's with the kit are behind you and you can coast from here onwards .

Tony the F4U-7 is looking sharp ...Great Stuff .

John .

Ha thanks. Its easy when most of the kit comes as a solid lump of resin.

I will get around to the Mirage eventually. I added the Corsair a week or two back as I was building it in French colours anyway.

Nice work on the Bugatti, I've got a few Bugatti kits in my car stash.

Cheers

Tony

Front page must not have been updated. I thought you were building a mirage? Oh well. Looks good so far.

Managed to sort my problems with the bugatti.

Wiped it with bleach then lighter fluid. Light coating of primer. Found it was full of pinholes from where there were bubbles in the resin while it was being poured. Filled those by putting some filler on my fingertip and massaging it into the resin, then wiping any excess off with lighter fluid.

I have to pop the exhaust stacks off and reshape them, they're completely wrong and way too big and bulbous.

After that i have a fair amount of work to do in the cockpit. Alot of detail is missing thats quite obvious, and the edges have all been moulded too hard. It was lined in leather, so i need to soften things up a bit.

Here's some more progress on the Corsair.  I've cut open the cowl and will put the Pavla resin engine in to replace the kit item.

Cheers

Tony

Correct BSY, well spotted. AM belts and panel, the rest is either kit or scratch.

Cheers

Tony

Great work on the corsair cockpit!! i suspect there some aftermarket on it

Vance has agreed (Thanks Vance) that I can chime in with the 1/72 Italeri F4U-7 that I am also building for the African GB. It will be in French markings with Suez Crisis stripes.

Here are some photos of it so far. I have since pulled the engine out of it and will replace it with a detailed resin one. I'll have to cut the cowl to fit it in.

Hopefully it will measure up to some of the other models in this GB.

Cheers

Tony

hmmm - I know I did a lot of fiddlybit work, this is the only pic I took?? Fuselage halves glued together, seat cushion installed (real leather!) belts painted & cut (they look kinda thick in this picture though?) and lots of test-fitting of the cockpit floor. Still trying to decide if I want to offset the control surfaces etc on this one. May try opening the canopy as well - this one is a slider I believe??

Great works again helo 

Good progres Vance, the heller ms-406 is the same mold i have with the smer box, just yesterday night i dissassembled mine to buit it better :)

On the nieuport some work, primede lots of pieces but no pics and finished the engine

Saw some new stock Heller kits at Al's Hobby in Elmhurst, Il over the weekend.

An Al's employee told me some kits are again being imported into the USA.

Good news for the BIG FRENCH GROUPIES among us.

Another pic of lifted off the net seems to show some French soldiers wearing beret's with a French H-34A in the background ;

The web site is called French Wings over Algeria . There's some really great aircraft reference pic's !

John .

HA! Love the big toothy grin on that one!