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Hi, another Sparrow

Wouter

By Wouter
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Wouter

Wouter

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Posted (edited)

Hello all,

 

First let me introduce myself. I'm Wouter from the Netherlands (sorry for any typo's in advance), 34 years young, and returning to this fantastice hobby after several years. Before I stopped, around 2005, I mainly build WW2 armor in 1/35. But then, you know, you get married, buy a house, change jobs, get a kid and before you know there is no more time left for modelbuilding. That doesn't mean that I didn't think about it. So occasionally I looked here and there how things where going. Only a few months ago I stumbled upon LSP. I always loved bigger scales, I mean, you can see a lot more in 1/35 (armor) then in 1/72. The same goes for aircraft. 1/72 en 1/48 where the way to go in aircraft around 2000. Well, I probably don't have to tell you guys that 1/32 is better  :P ! Luckily for me 1/32 is now better served then a decade ago.

So things started to tickle... and before I knew I bought myself a 1/32 kit. Then, I started looking in the attic for my modelstuff (I had the sence to keep it and not throw it away back then). But 8 years of inactivity doesn't work well for your paintbottles. Luckily for me, the Dutch IPMS had its annual meeting on 26 october. That got me hooked up with the stuff I needed to get started again. 

 

And so here I am. Starting with a cheap kit, the Revell Heinkel He162 Salamander, or better Sparrow. Looking in the forums, I came across the excellent build thread from Bernd alias 'Snokri' (http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=36453&hl=he162). While I'm not nearly as good as him, or anybody else here, it was a good starting point, especially for correcting the flaws in the Revell kit.

 

The kit is pretty straightforward,, but I don't like the shiny plastic it's made off. So the first thing i did, was giving it a light sanding. Then I filled some casting errors around the cockpit and engine nacelle with putty. Next was a base coat of grey primer. Then I started on the small bits and pieces in the cockpit and landing gear.

 

Without further do, here are some pics of the build process until now.

 

Drilled out machine gun barrel and correcting flare gun opening

_DCS8161.jpg

 

scratchbuild wiring for steering column

_DCS8158.jpg

 

partially scratchbuild main landing gear springs

_DCS8164.jpg

 

Critic or feedback is always welcome. More pics will follow.

 

Cheers, Wouter

Edited by Wouter
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Wouter

Wouter

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Hi all,

 

thnx for the warm welcome. Managed to get some things done last week. Paint job isn't final and I have to do a fair amount of cleanup. But nonetheless I would like to show some progress.

 

Left side: Added small bits and pieces. The bleu tank is the compensator for the variometer and will be just visible from the outside because there is a gap between the IP 'hood' en the fuselage.

_DCS8186.jpg

 

IP: hand painted. Added foot straps from aluminium foil and wiring for the REVI sight.

_DCS8188.jpg

_DCS8190.jpg

 

Seat: scribed the moulded harnass and painted the cushioning with oil paints.

_DCS8192.jpg

 

Right side: more bits and pieces and scratchbuild oxygen regulator and radio.

_DCS8195.jpg

 

And some test fitting to see if it all fits.

_DCS8178.jpg

 

Enjoy!

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Wouter

Wouter

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So here we are again with a little update. Finished the cockpit. Not to happy about the result, but I figured that I wil close the canopy on this one. Should have gone for the Aires cockpit, which is very nice... Anyway, I bought this kit as a starter and it should be treated like that. And it was my first go at scratchbuilding and AM seatbelts :-).

 

Enough talking, here are some photos.

 

This the IP with added decals and light weathering. I tipped the instruments with a dot gloss varnish to represent the glass in front of the instruments.

_DCS8205.jpg

 

The finished ejection seat with HGW seatbelts. These are really nice! If you can afford them, buy them. Allthough I had not much reference on how to build the seatbelts I think they give a very good representation of the real thing.

_DCS8207.jpg

 

The right side interior wall with the scratchbuild oxygen regulator and a litlle reading light. I totally missed the ejection mark just above the machineguncover...  :hmmm:, well you probably won't see it when the cockpit is closed.  :innocent: You'll also notice that I filled the nose. Because this plane is a real tailsitter, you need to add substantail weight to the front. I used decoration lead foil, heavy stuff but very flexibel and easy to cut with a hobby knive or scissors. Ideal for the job. You can fix them with your average superglue.

_DCS8227.jpg

 

And the left side. Added some extra wiring just below the upper rim. Filled the nose with lead as well.

_DCS8241.jpg

 

Well, that's it for now. Next time I will be closing the pit and continue on the main landing gear. 

 

Cheers, Wouter

Edited by Wouter
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Showtime 100

Showtime 100

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Posted

Well, i'll need more patience in building. Sometimes I rush things and I think that shows here and there. Glad you like it though :)

 

Welcome fellow nOOB :hi:  !

 

 

Beautiful work you have going there, dude :thumbsup: .

 

 

As a reply to your post: "A problem well stated is a problem half solved."  Seems like you're well on your way ;) !

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Wouter

Wouter

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Hello fellow moddelers,

 

made some progress on the sparrow. From the cockpit I moved on to the wheelbay. The wheelbay is reasonly detailed but I felt there was room for improvement. So I added some plumbing which prominent in view if you study the reference. I also added the pully-system from the landing gear. Wires run over the puly's to the cockpit. On the real thing the pilot pulled the lever which unlocked the landing gear. The springloaded landing gear would then extend (or retract). Pretty clever and easy! For those who don't know it, here's a video of the restored French He162 landing gear: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=UlRL320cCGY.

 

Due to the extensive weight I added(to overcome tailsitting), I wanted to strengthen the main struts. So I drilled them out for 1 cm and put an iron wire in it, The wire is one piece and looks like a giant staple. This links the left and right strut and thus prevents them from sagging.

 

Revell also made an error in the doors, they are supposed to be right, but the kit parts have a curvature. I corrected this.

 

See pictures for a better understanding. Sometimes my English is just not good enough to express myself if you know what I mean.

 

 

Here you can see the wire (right side) running over the top of de landing  bay and linking the right and left strut.

_DCS8309.jpg

 

Some extra plumbing made from styrene rod. Also note the pully.

_DCS8304.jpg

 

_DCS8306.jpg

 

 

And here's a better view of the pully's.

_DCS8307.jpg

 

And the corrected landing bay doors:

inside

_DCS8310.jpg

outside

_DCS8311.jpg

 

Landing bay is only dry fitted. Now on to some painting. Yeah!

Edited by Wouter
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