A Texan in the Heart of Darkness - T-6G in Biafran war

[dutik]

Don't forget about the landing gear placement... 

 

And here is the answer to that question - together with a how-to to fix the issue.

 

 

I love the LSP forum!

 

 

Back to the workbench painting and adding more parts...

- dutik

[Out2gtcha]

And here is the answer to that question - together with a how-to to fix the issue.

 

 

I love the LSP forum!

 

 

Back to the workbench painting and adding more parts...

- dutik

 

 

Yes!  I too read that tip when you asked about it.  That article that K1 pointed out is a very simple little ditty, that really helps explain how super simple it really is to change. 

[dutik]

Something odd:

 

The ex-Portugese Texans were used in combat, so they had a sight. They were former French aircraft, so a French sight. Here we go:

 

French article about the sight.

 

Portugese article with a photo of the sight installed (at the bottom of the page).

 

 

Do you see it? The sight is installed head-down! 

 

The caption says that was the correct position...

 

Scratching my head now.

 

...

 

Oh, another one:

 

KHs instructions show a combat load of 250 kg bombs, four of them. These are 500 lb bombs, for our english speaking friends. A full ton of bombs, or 2.000 lbs! And the bombs provided by the kit are large enough to be 500 lb bombs.

Guess that is a little bit over-achieving, isn't it?

 

The French used 50 kg bombs. This might be more appropriate. The Biafrans used makeshift bombs, so I will look for a suitable replacement.

 

While talking about the armament:

The French used 7,5mm AA-52 GP machineguns, not a 7,7mm as called out in the instructions. Later rechambered to 7,62 NATO ammunition. So there is no need to replace the solid barrels with 7,7mm or .303 brass barrels. The French barrels were solid, without cooling jackets. Maybe drilling out the muzzle, but thats it here.

 

Regards!

- dutik

Edited June 30, 2016 by dutik

[dutik]

Closed the fuselage and set it aside to dry. Also shot an amount of superglue and filler pearls from inside at the seams to avoid any splitting over the time. Remember to scrap off any paint or primer reidues from the mounting slots/tabs/pins whatsoever. The fit is so tight that even a coat of paint will cause problems and misalignment. Also apply some pressure to get the parts sit flush.

 

Took a look at the detail work at the fuselage:

 

Have to drill out the 3 formation lights below the fuselage and to block them from behind. Praise KH for the extra turtledeck that allows you to do so!

The camera hatch at the bottom is too small and needs some hinges too.

No fairing needed for the tail wheel.

The Portugese T-6Gs had the full set of wireless wires (har, har, an oxymoron). Fin - antenna mast and canopy - elevators. Ordered some of Bobs buckles to apply the wiring.

The radio boxes behind the backseat were different than the kit provided. Got a photo, will correct this.

And we need a sight...

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

Meanwhile working at the engine. Same procedure: Remove all flash/sprue/ejector styrene. Re-drill all pinholes. Clamp the parts together until dried. The engine is too small to clamp all cylinderheads at once, so I glued all even heads first, then all odd, using Tamiya thin cement. Some silverpaint, a black wash, the front ring painted NATO black (a dark grey), and here we are:

 

 

Rear side:

 

 

The rear is invisible onec installed. No need to paint it. It acts just as a spacer for the rear bulkhead and is nessessary to get the engine glued into the fuselage.

 

Regards

- dutik

Edited July 1, 2016 by dutik

[dutik]

Have to drill out the 3 formation lights below the fuselage and to block them from behind. Check.

The camera hatch at the bottom is too small and needs some hinges too. Check.

No fairing needed for the tail wheel. Check.

 

 

 

Also found four 50-kg-bombs. A gift from the Luftwaffe, from a Bf 110 kit:

 

 

Much more appropriate than the kit part. Note a French design, but they used homemade ordonnance once the supplied stock was used up. So this is "The original Biafran Makeshift Mk.1 bomb"

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

Moving onwards:

 

The air intake below the fuselage is solid. Drilled and carved it out, added a strip styrene at the front to "make a box", a little bit of sanding, done:

 

 

The turtle deck is too small. Height and lenght ok, but the sides meet barely the fuselage sides. Some carving, sanding and filling needed. Set it aside to dry. No image yet.

 

The worst fitting part until now:

 

 

Looks like the Suwalki gap. Will have to add strip styrene to get a solid surface...

 

Center wing glued together. Don't forget to relocate the UC leg supports before! Overall fit is great. Dryfitted it to the fuselage too, and the fit is flawless. Looks like we shall need no putty at the wing root. Excellent!

 

 

And now for something completly different:

 

 

The finished cockpit looks nice, indeed. Left off the roll bar and rear dashboard until the installation of the canopy to avoid breaking them off. The Eduard PE adds a lot, even just the Zoom set and the seat belts. Highly recommended!

 

Enjoy!

- dutik

[dutik]

Rubber bands are my best friends.

 

 

Regards

- dutik

 

p.s.

Had the idea to add an adversary to the build.

Possible large scale options: Mig-17, Do-27; braille scale option only: Il-28. Kit is here, AM parts are incoming!

[LSP_Kevin]

Lovely work, dutik! That cockpit looks especially nice.

 

Kev

[dodgem37]

Nice stuff!

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Spaced Marine]

Looks good.  This is another kit on my get list.  

[Mr b]

Good progress sir

 

Had the same issue with mine .....on the top gap....

 

Rgds

Mr b

[dutik]

Facing some trouble. While forcing the upper front part in place the self-adhesive PE dashboard face popped off (and into the fuselage). Not so nice but I think I will be able to fiddle it back in place and to glue it with clear barts glue (to save the dial printings).

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

Got it fixed. Clear parts glue did the job at the paneel.

 

Added some extra parts to the UC bays to fill the gap left by moving the UC legs as well as some more lines.

 

 

Added some styrene inside the fuselage front to give the engine some glue surface.

 

Regards

- dutik

[dutik]

I've got my wings!

 

 

There was a small gap at both outer wing joints. I decided to have the gap at the bottom to have a clean joint at the more visible upper surface. Filled the gap at the lower surface. At the moment filling some gaps between the flap sections.

 

Also made progress at the "adversary build".

 

The Biafran Air Force used mostly Texans and other small aircraft as bombers. The Nigerian Air Force was able to buy Il-28 jet bombers from the Soviet Union (and Mig-17 fighters too). No LSP kit at hand, so I go with Trumpeters 1/72 kit. It is an early Trumpeter kit. They got the overall shape right, but it is simplified here and there, not to mention some fit issues. But it is much better than the older Italeri/Bilek kit of the Il-28.

 

 

You see the gaps and the putty...

 

One major flaw of the Trumpeter kit is the lack of the front wheel bay. To fix this I ordered Pavlas resin set. I hope to get them within the next days. The set also has cockpit interiors for the pilots and the navigators compartment. If you more into PE: There is a set from Kuvalaiinen, available from Hannants, but I left this off. Other AM stuff are Eduard canopy masks and a brand new set of weighted resin wheels from Armory. Not to forget some decal sets - one of them with Nigerian Air Force markings.

 

Regards

- dutik