Mal_Belford Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 That cockpit looks real great, nice weathered, just lovit..... /Mal EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urs Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Great built so far, sadly the nicely done engine will disappear underneath the panels. Strange two days ago l played with the thought to buy the HB lL-2M3. lol Will you sand the riveting of the rear portion of the fuselage? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 An item to add to the bill of materials, just received the Montex mask for the Zoob's aircraft. Montex K32194 about $19 delivered Design @ Marketing Intl 10 days order-to-delivery time Includes markings for 2 versions, both of which were on my short list Yellow 3 with the summer camouflage scheme has the wooden rear fuselage with the external stiffeners. If doing this version, the rivets and panels lines on the rear of the fuselage should be removed and the stiffeners will need to be added as the kit does not include these. The stiffeners were added to address structural failures with the wooden fuselage. Internal reinforcement was implemented on the factory production lines subsequently thereafter, so this design feature was not widespread (I believe it was on single seaters only). Yellow 3 also had wooden wings, so the rivets and panel lines on the outer wing panels should be removed there as well. Lastly, I'm pretty sure the summer scheme on Yellow 3 should actually be green and black-green, not the brown shown in the color profile. The profile for Yellow 3 indicates an unknown unit- the VVS research site provides some information on this (http://mig3.sovietwarplanes.com/il-2/il2-camo/il2-1942/il-2model1942.htm) A.V. Chuvikov, 606th ShAP, 214 ShAD Za Otradnova ("For Otradnov", a fellow pilot in the unit that was KIA in Autumn 1942) Chuvikov himself was KIA in Spring 1943 Massimo Tessitori also has a beautiful rendition of this aircraft with the green and black-green scheme at the link above Also of note is the orientation of the number 2 on the winter scheme, which should be level with the ground when the aircraft is static on the ground. It should be off kilter from the aircraft horizontal axis. One of the questions I had while ordering this was whether the set included the masks for the slogans on both sides of the aircraft or not. This in turn raises another question- when are slogans on Russian aircraft duplicated on both sides or not. There are countless photos that show both ways (or are inconclusive). I speculate that stencilled slogans relevant to the unit (dedication, ceremonial or duplicated on multiple aircraft) might be duplicated on both sides, but it seems reasonable that hand painted "passion" slogans were on one side only. I could be wrong, and I certainly welcome any insight on this. The set does in fact include masks for the slogans on both sides, though it recommends (by virtue of the provided profiles) that the slogans were most likely applied on only one side. Hope this helps anyone else interested in this set Kai mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 4, 2014 Author Share Posted April 4, 2014 Mal, Urs- Thanks! I'll definitely be removing the rivets and panel lines on the rear fuselage. I can only find 1 picture of Zoob's aircraft, and it definitely has the wooden fuselage (not surprisingly), but nothing conclusive (that I can see) regarding the metal or wooden wings. So, I think I will leave the metal wings on this project as-is, and show the wooden wings on the IL-2m. The kit has done such a nice job with the engine, I'm tempted to open it up on the 2m or 2m3 build. Urs 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 4, 2014 Share Posted April 4, 2014 Nice progress Kai! Jason Moore did a fantastic review of the IL-2 on Skis and the follow-up IL-2 (this kit) that points out many of the obvious and not so obvious. Here are the links for anyone who's interested: Hobby Boss Il-2 Hobby Boss Il-2 Single-Seater Kev Learstang 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 What a great job so far! Those exhausts look particularly convincing. The Sturmovik is such a rugged aircraft, I'm sure you'll do it justice. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Kev- Thanks for catching those links for me. Still a little behind in posting my pics, but should be caught up soon. The wing is composed of a left, right and center section. Before starting anything delicate, the ribbing had to be removed for the Eduard PE landing flaps. Here is the upper portions of the starboard and center wing sections with the original ribbing. Also pictured is a shot of the Eduard instructions Same parts here but with the major removal work done. Lots of clean up and planing with an Xacto blade to prep for the landing flaps still to go. The hardest area to get at is the nook on the right. Here, the kit supplied PE has been applied to the bomb bays, and those in turn glued in to place with the landing bay. The radiator housing was pre-painted MM Russian Underside Blue, and then the respective Eduard exterior details added This is a still from a world war 2 Russian training film showing the front view of the radiator housing. Of particular interest is the revolving plate that controlled air flow to the radiator. The rough finish is notable. The same view, but upside down, of the front end of the radiator housing. The Eduard set does a nice job here in sprucing it up, especially the inner screen. However, it is clear in this picture how the thickness of the housing walls are way overdone. In reality, the walls of the radiator housing should be 1/3 of what they are in the kit. I agonized for a bit as to how to address this, which can be quite a bit of work since it really should be cut off and replaced with a scratch built housing using sheet styrene of the proper thickness (probably .015). But doing so would also mean the Eduard PE would no longer fit. Ultimately, I decided to thin what I could and let the rest go. A view of the rear of the housing, from a walk around I found on the net. And the kit housing with the Eduard PE. The wall thickness is especially evident here. I'll do a quick follow up posting showing the wing air filter intake Kai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Some follow up shots of the wing center section, specifically work on the dust filter All 4 versions of the Hobby Boss kit come with the extended dust filter for the leading edge air intake. However, this device was introduced in June 1942, so early versions of the Sturmovik should not have this, but rather just a round opening in the wing leading edge. As I am depicting an aircraft from January 1943, and without any photos to the contrary, I decided to leave it on. Above is a pretty awesome pic from the net that shows an aircraft without the device, as well as various other details that are usually hard to see. The Eduard exterior details set includes parts to really clean this up. Here, one of the 2 screens for the filter has been rounded into shape The same screen in place. A huge improvement over the accordian-like detailing provided in the kit. The completed dust filter with the wing root dry fitted to the fuselage. A couple of shots here from an IL-2 walkaround (http://vvs.hobbyvista.com/Research/Ilyushin/Il-2/Walkround/Serbia/). The Eduard set does a nice job of representing this. Same as above, but from the front. A couple of notes here- early versions of the IL-2 that did not have this device, but rather a hole in the wing with this cross hatch and screen as is visible here. Also, when on the ground, normally the front end of this intake was close up (like 2 eyelids from the left and right sides). The control for these shutters was linked to the landing gear so they would open when the landing gear was retracted. Thanks for looking! Kai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Matt, Kevin- Thanks for the kind words Joining the wing center section to the fuselage... Overall, the wing center section snugs up pretty tight to the fuselage with only a few minor issues. Here, a small gap at the aft of the center section. The area around the landing flaps will also need some clean up. A small gap on this side- the other side looks good though. Some instant gratification putty- plasticlay squished into the gap with a toothpick. Kneading the plasticlay first will warm it up and make it more malleable. While not hard, it is definitely firm enough for painting when it cools off again. While not appropriate to net a smooth seam, it is perfect when the seam is also a panel line and some relief is still needed. I haven't had any issues with it taking enamels or acrylics. Same section after cleaning up the plasiticlay first with the toothpick, then a swipe of a finger and then with a paper towel. The total time to seal this gap was about 90 seconds. Wiping the seam each time yields a slightly deeper panel line, which can be controlled, and if necessary, more can be added to start over. A very forgiving process. On the bench and waiting for wings. Just beyond the fuselage in the background- the photo-etch landing flaps... Kai Mal_Belford 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Most excellent work ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dennismcc Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Great work, nice to see one of these being built, if I did not have two on the go at the moment I would get mine down from the loft and start it. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Thanks guys! Putting the wings on this bird The shell ejection ports on the wing need to be drilled out. Considering how prominent these are, it's a little surprising these were just scribed in on the kit Before and after for comparison- makes a huge difference. I might also mention here that the instructions call for the openings for the extended housings for the cannon barrels to be cut out, but the indent for these cutouts are a little too big. Some shimming and filling was required to clean these up. The gun barrels themselves are molded with openings in the ends and are really well done so I didn't feel it was necessary to replace with brass rod. big picture on the bench The metal reinforcement strip that runs along the join between the center and outboard wing sections, from the Eduard exterior details set. An excellent view of the wing reinforcement strip from a wreck, which also has the metal wing (versus the wooden wing). There are a ton of little hints and clues in this picture alone, such as primer color of the internal structure, seam along the undercarriage fairing, actual exterior colors, etc. Kinda hard to tell, but this appears to be an IL-2m3 with the canted wings. This is from a thread at http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234933995-vvs-colours-in-the-great-patriotic-war/page-8 The ailerons should be split, which I did via a scribed line. There is some indication that the metal winged IL-2's had metal ailerons, though I'm not positive on this. If so, then the kit supplied fabric covered ailerons are incorrect. Also, the 1/48 Accurate Miniature kit has a cant on the leading edge of the aileron towards the outer end. Not ready to take the AM kit as gospel or if it even applies to this version, but does raise some questions. In any event, I went with the ailerons as-is. Some photo-etch detail work on the undercarriage area from the Eduard exterior details set The photo-etch for the landing gear doors, with a before and after for comparison A landing gear door from a recovered wreck that I found on the net. I believe this is also from a later IL-2m3. Of particular interest is the primer color on the inside. There is a tremendous amount of variation when it comes to the interior colors, which seem to range from silver/dope, green chromate, tan and gray, so I'm not sure how applicable this is to the earlier version of the IL-2. For the moment, I've finished the gear doors in gray, but will probably finish with an overspray of this green chromate color. Thanks for looking! Kai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal_Belford Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Wow....them details shure add to the whole. Whats the plan on winter weathering....quite early but im wery curious. /Mal EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 5, 2014 Author Share Posted April 5, 2014 Glad you asked Mal- I'm a little up in the air still on how to approach the winter weathering. My working plan for this at the moment is: Green and black-green camo. won't bother with pre-shading as this is background for the whitewash anyway Gloss coat Primary decals and markings (not the slogan though) Hairspray Brush application of thinned off white Smooth out the white wash with airbrushed coat of thinned white Chipping Mask for the slogan Pin washing, pastels, weathering, etc... Open to suggestions and new ideas though (for example, I haven't had an opportunity to try the AK chipping fluid yet). What is inspiring my approach is some of the reading I've done recently in Rinaldi's Tankart books. For example: Looks awesome, especially on armor. I realize that it needs to be toned down for aircraft, but the underlying process is what intrigues me. The net result i am looking for: This is of course the actual aircraft I looking to depict. Kai Mal_Belford 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Urs Posted April 5, 2014 Share Posted April 5, 2014 Perfectly done Kai. Just ordered the M3 two seater at my dealer, today. Lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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