Dart_Schatten

Trumpeter 1/32 model,
Kagero decals,
Reskin wheels set,
Phoenix cockpit, 
All colors MRP
 



 








 
 












 
 

but what, another night fighter?
well yes, and there will be others if I make peace with the work table! the specimen I chose, MM 7584, is the protagonist of a short sequence present in a documentary by the Luce institute:
 
from what I have found, Captain Ricci, who is credited with the assignment of this aircraft, was a veteran of the Spanish civil war and of the African front, before being tasked with forming and commanding the first unit specialized in night fighters, based in Rome Ciampino.
the ICM kit made many modelers happy, giving the possibility of having a very honest CR42 (as well as other models absent from the shelves) on a large scale. several boxes have been edited, I think as many as six, with different liveries, insignia and roles.
after having struggled a bit with the yak I decided on another project that wasn't too demanding, I still don't feel in the right state of mind for things that are too complex, and I did well, it seems: I didn't even start and I immediately made a mess, in fact, step 2 of the instructions involves assembling the seat, in three comfortable pieces.

 
and I thought it best to lose the seat, on the clean and tidy work table, moreover. dismantled everything, spent hours on all fours on the floor... nothing. let's start well... in the end I gave up and did it from scratch, amen.

 
then I immediately started playing with the dedicated Eduard PE set. the kit itself is made up of not many pieces in a soft plastic that many don't like, but I find it comfortable to work with when wanting to make improvements such as rivets or other small modifications.

 
so few pieces that it makes you want to complicate your life a little... for example, the CN version has these two beautiful spotlights under its wings. big stuff, in 1/32. and if...

 
...I tried to stick two LEDs inside?

 
ok, they go in, what if we turn on the power?

 
mmmmh... working on it might make sense, just for playing.
of course you have to put a diffuser in front and shield the sides of both the LED and the body, otherwise it becomes an abat-jour.

 
but nothing that can't be solved with a bit of heat shrink tubing and some adhesive aluminum:

 

 
Well, well... we can improve it, but I'd say we're there, and they also make a nice light!

 
of course now I will have to resolve the question of how and where to pass the wires to power them, but I have faith, I can return to the path of classic modeling in the meantime, possibly without losing any more pieces.
 
see you soon, cheers, Paolo

Good day, friends!
I want to show you my new model - revell He-219 A-7.
In work I used:
BigEd,
BigSin,
Barracuda,
Master 20, 30 mm gun barrels,
Profimodeller antennas,
CMK seats,
HGW belts,
SWS crew,
and DML Kettenkraftrad.
I used Gunze paints and oils.
 
















 

Thank you all for your interest and encouraging comments!
especially thanks to Denis, it seems that by pure chance I placed the telelevels in the right position. John, the Yahu indicators fit perfectly into the kit's wing holes (unlike the supplied lenses, which would have needed grinding to fit properly). inserting a plasticard disc to make thickness and a transparent styrene disc will be much better than those supplied by the kit.
 
well, I'd say we call it FINISHED, decent photos needless to say, obviously, for the moment some shots, ugly as usual of the last details added to complete it: on the original flight manual page you can see the reference painted on a blade to align the gunsight. just a simple white cross.

 
again taking inspiration from the original manual, I improvised the two handles (black) to open the sliding canopy and the one (red) for jettison it in case of emergency.

 
the mechanical indicators of the extended landing gear...

 
the thermoformed rear transparent with armored glass and pass-through antenna cable (bad pic, just trust me) 

 
the damage on the clear part, fortunately not very visible with the canopy open.

 
the antenna tensioner, the microbial stencils with the aircraft serial number (present in a dozen units) the position light made as usual, with a "bulb" of heated fishing wire and the glass of UV glue.

 
view of the belly with the flaps adjusted completely arbitrarily to 30°

 
and a couple of overviews. I redid all the details which included tubes with brass, aluminum and syringe needles: pitot, machine gun and cannon muzzles, various vents.

 

 
and that's it.
I had much less fun than I hoped, but I must say that the basic kit is good, I'm the one who needs to start using my hands and head properly again.
cheers, Paolo
 

claro que sì!
obviously I'll try until the end and beyond, even if this model is driving me crazy.
in several places you can still see the film, and here and there some silvering, but I got bored of it, so I switched to oil weathering. few and targeted washes, given that since the Yak-3 were mainly made of wood, there are very few paneling lines and rivets here. then dot technique, again in oil.

 
and exhaust fumes, airbrush oil. a little too much...

 
better.

 
silvering around the red line that delimits the walking area, and fuel level indicator... wrong, I'm afraid: there are no indications in this sense, but being right and left mirrored, I imagine that the minimum level was downwards, i.e. towards the wing's trailing edge. obviously I noticed it after placing and gluing everything, backwards.

 
just as I noticed only by presenting them in position, that I inverted the internal and external colors of the tail wheel doors. but how good!

 
to establish the correct angle of the trolley legs I made myself some cardboard templates, since the measurements are a bit fluctuating. then I listened to the leg retraction levers and messed up everything. a genius.

 
overcome by the desire to remove it from before my eyes, I immediately placed the flap boxes

 
and then the internal parts. it wasn't very simple, perhaps the best technique is to place the boxes in the wing and build the interiors directly in the wing.

 
Now I have to find a way to eliminate the visible slots between the internal truss and the boxes.

 
I placed the rear clear part, and mysteriously the glue damaged it. it seems that the plasticard frame, although painted, has lost some of the white on the transparent. oh well, this thing was really born badly.
However, I managed to connect the radio and the antenna connection with a cable, which is not very easy to do, also considering the presence of the armoured glass in the middle.

 
well (let's say so) one more effort and I'll close this chapter...
cheers, Paolo

hi all,
I'm arguing with this kit more than expected.
but it wanted to be a gym, and in this sense it is doing its job, above all excercising my patience. not the best for rediscovering the mojo of modeling, but everything serves the purpose, as it said.
so, what has happened since the last time... I put the cutting plotter aside for the moment, it was becoming frustrating, and I only need one caltrops at a time, so I decided to rely on the kit decals and peace, all the more that in any case I would have used them for stencils and personal and squadron insignia, and then they are Cartograf!
here, exactly. Murpy strikes again:

 
It took them over three minutes to detach from the support in warm water, and this alone should indicate that something was wrong... maybe they were old? the result is a series of big and little bubbles, pleasantly mainly on the irreplaceable decals.

 
and perfect stars, obviously starting from the less visible ones.

 
all of them, however, if they haven't blown bubbles, have a film as thick as a pig's rind.

 
...which I did not trim with the intention of using it as a springboard to drown it in the Future and then plan everything with abrasive pads according to the well-known technique. a great success:

 
maybe if I didn't use brand new pads it would be better...

 
the super bizarre thing is that the pizza in the wood-fired oven effect manifested itself not only after the application, but also after a session of Mr. Softner, a night's rest and a coat of Future!
the only thing I could think of doing (besides whistling it in the plastic garbage pail) was to pierce the leavened parts and insist on the softner in a targeted manner.
it's a shame that while doing this I got distracted and when I looked back at the model I found chasms dug by the liquid that should help them, the decals, damn the world!

 
and then touch up, resurface, repaint with future, and start again... now it's less than remotely good, but I'll carry it on like this and bye bye, augh.

 
the other more than bizarre, but paradoxical thing is that I would have liked to make the mask of the spiral on the spinner with the plotter: apart from the fact that it is a little chubbier than the historical photos, I was afraid of applying this snake to such a mangy surface. and yet here she is, docile as a little lamb.

 
of course, the film is always steep as already said, but I can wax it by immersion like in candy gel, if it's really necessary.

 
in short, I'm not even a little happy with what I'm doing. I don't give up on it due to ringworm and because, as mentioned, it wanted to be a tool, rather than a result. However....

 
cheers, Paolo
 
 

Hi everyone, little update, I've worked on the upper colours, lightening the AK colours, which in my opinion are a bit dark. I started using some Patafix masks

 
which however did not satisfy me, so I retouched using cardboard masks, still obtaining strange halos and irregularities

 
in the end I went with low pressure and freehand, obtaining a mediocre result, but I'll make it work and I'll play the rest with weathering. I finally freed the seats of the fuel level indicators

 
instead of using the parts supplied by the kit, whose lenses are not only over 1mm thick but also larger than the hole in diameter, I would have decided to use the dedicated Yahu parts, with scratchbuilt flanges and lenses.

 
everything assembled should come out like this, taking care to color the external flange like the surrounding wing surface.

 
actually Yahu provides three types of indicators, of which only one is dedicated to the Yak-3, while the kit instructions provide two, without specifying which is good for which version of the yak. I will use this, following Yahu's directions.

 
next step, decals!
cheers, Paolo
 
 

thanks everyone, let's see if I managed to fix it: I made a plaster cast of it, equipped with a handle to better use it. considering that the original piece is slightly narrow compared to the fuselage, I will print on the outside of the original piece.

 
obviously I printed a certain number of them (4) one will be sacrificed for the various tests, two others as a reserve, and one, the best, will go on the model.
the problem of the base frame here is a bit complex, having a rounded and angled shape. I traced it on the original piece with paper tape, and then I returned it on plasticard, it's that sort of  white "U" on the wing.

 
well, as measures we should be there. now I could glue the frame to the transparent, and the whole thing to the fuselage, BUT masking such a thin transparent makes me worry, so I would have decided this way: I glue the frame to the fuselage, and only after having given the camo's final colors will I fix the transparent inside.
mmmmh... the smiley face with the fingers crossed is missing.

 
then I glued the frame in its final position, dirtying the radio in the process, bravo.

 
and then I gave it a coat of AMT-12, which will cover most of the clear area.

 
then I tried to improve the gunsight provided by the kit. not that I succeeded, or much is understood, in all it is "large" about one cubic mm!

 
in addition to having glued it in position, I also placed it under the shelter of the canopy, in view of the colors of the upcoming camouflage. along the way I stripped the radio for the necessary repairs.

 
and that's all for today, we're getting closer to the colours, the phase in which I usually do huge damage...
cheers, Paolo

I finished this one a while ago, as some of you may have seen. The WIP thread can be found HERE. As this was an In-Flight display, I decided to have a name plate made for it. I just received that today, so it is officially complete!
 
Parts used were:
Trumpeter kit.
Aerobonus pilot figure
Quickboost exhausts
Fusion prop and spinner
FCM decals (but the number "21" I masked and painted, using a Cricut cutter to make the masks, as the decals are yellow, but it was most likely white).
Added a "canvas" cover around the tail wheel, sculpted with Milliput, as the original had the doors removed and a cover added. It would have been in a fixed position.
Made a landing light from scrap plastic.
Gun barrels from brass and aluminum tubing.
Antenna lines are E-Z Line
Paints were from MRP, Tamiya, Akan and Mr. Hobby
 
Here are some photos of the completed model, including several I made while playing with my editing program, to enhance some of the "in-flight" images.
 
 




 



 







 
Thanks to everyone who followed along and helped me along the way. I greatly appreciate it.
 
John

wow, I didn't think this kit would arouse so much interest! I will try to honor him, even if I started off with a heavy hand, I think.
Mozart, thanks for the offer of help, for the moment I'm trying to understand how to name the files (!) and how to copy elements in the same file to duplicate them (!!). in fact I think I'm at the paleolithic level, with IT, even the most basic. we'll talk about it in the next few days on the dedicated forum, if that's okay with you. 
 
well, we understand that it will be a bloody construction: there will still be a lot of slaughter to do, I think...
after opening the flaps compartments, I thought it smart to try them in place, when it was still easy to use a blade and file, and to do that I had to assemble them. the Eduard flaps for this kit were evidently designed by a mind that likes to dare: in fact the compartment, flap and ribs of the flap itself are printed in a single PE, which requires a series of very risky folds and twists. only the ribs of the compartment are designed separately, but joined together by truly tiny stringers. here are the two main parts during assembly.

 
and here's a complete one. However, I decided to keep the compartment rib groups separate until after the installation of the compartments themselves in the wing, to avoid unnecessary risks.

 
or at least that's the idea, present time. however, if they go there, it will be necessary to work on the wing thickness once the two shells have been glued, there is a risk of causing the compartments to collapse or worse, leaving them partially exposed, as I understand it. I would have decided to give up on opening the two oil radiator flaps, too much effort for a result that was all in all not very visible.

 
as regards the setting of the flaps, you will have to rely on the system visible at the base of the wing. it goes without saying that if you play with it too much it will break, which is another reason to put these things aside until the end of the general assembly, if possible. and no, that on the adhesive tape is not color, but the usual sacrifice to the new #11 blade, a classic.

 
Well. Having understood this, I can move on to the landing gear compartments, a rather infernal thing, each made up of 4 parts and no certain gluing points or reference number with respect to the instructions, useful for assembly. furthermore, when assembled from the box, there is a gap right where the LG leg will be installed, I found it necessary to add a piece of plasticard to stiffen the compartments and provide a support for the leg. with three other pieces of plasticard I closed the bottom of the air ducts to avoid the risk of seeing light once the model will be assembled, and created the vertical walls that divide the ducts. nice blurry photo, bravo.

 
after one hundred thousand strokes of sanding file I understood that the best way to glue the two shells that make up the wing was the one already used by an undisputed master:

 
four stitches and off we go!

 
SH styrene is quite soft and reactive to glue, pinching it would have left marks on the surface, and using adhesive tape would have easily brought the glue everywhere due to capillarity. instead, once the joint is dry, all you need to do is remove the stitches and fill the relevant holes. Perhaps.
while it dries, a first round of black cyanacrylate to fill and round the vents.

 
You've now understood that I aim for quick assembly to get to the colours. the kit includes ribs to be inserted in the landing gear compartments, of an exaggerated thickness, so I used them to cut more credible ones in plasticard. the pipes are the usual solder wire.

 
despite the apparent crudeness of the kit, some details are well printed and unexpectedly accurate, such as the retaining hooks of the LG legs in the retracted position. other details raise doubts, such as the supports that will have to house the legs in position, here the small square visible on the bulkhead at the top in the photo.

 
and that's all for today too, see you soon with the cockpit and fuselage, I hope. cheers, Paolo
 

hi all, 
having seen new Furie's discussion with his YAK-9, I can't help but open this discussion!
in fact, having stopped since this summer, I wanted a relatively simple kit to get back to grips with, and I was thinking of starting the Special Hobby YAK-3 with the colors of the Normndie Niemen group, except that this started a spiral of meaningless complications: I didn't find the version with the French decals, nor the decals alone, so I started working on a customized decal sheet to remedy this, but I wasn't satisfied. then I started to study the possibility of getting a cutting plotter, which I finally did, it arrived a couple of days ago. but now I have to learn to use it.. and now the styrene is moving further and further away!
 
so, I decided to make this kit as Soviet using the box's decal, wich are cartograf, by the way, and peace.

 
obviously having had it for a while I saved up a bit of aftermarket:

 
and some documentation, of course. searching on the books and the web, i found that the kit has some bugs and shortcut, so I took into account a series of modifications to make: obviously opening the seat of the flaps, having the Eduard ones to install. then open the coolant radiator flap, and perhaps also the two oil radiators. modify the wing root vents, completely wrong in the kit. and then the canonical ones: improving the Cockpit, the undercarriage compartments, the muzzles of the weapons, etc.
 
and thank goodness it was supposed to be a simple kit to get back to grips with and get back into the mood... I started with the front air intakes, the most unpleasant problem, it seems to me.
looking at the photos and then the drawings it is clear that these are not angled, almost parallel to the contiguous part of the wing leading edge, but almost orthogonal with the fuselage.

 
here perhaps you can understand better, having only cut the upper part.

 
essentially it involves bringing the mouths of the air intakes to an angle of around 15°

 
and so far we are. now it's a matter of thinning the edges in the thickness of the material, and reconstructing at least the initial part of the internal ducts.

 
since I was a low butcher I immediately opened the radiator flap.

 
as you can see, the kit includes significant thicknesses of the material. here I started to thin the left wall (at the top of the photo) so that I could then reinstall the flap in a believable way.

 
and here is also the seat of the flaps open and ready to welcome the PE. I have to decide whether to open the two little oil radiator flaps, which are rather inconvenient, and the ailerons, I would save it if I could.

 
and that's enough for today, in the next few I think I'll work on the landing gear wells so I can glue the two valves of the wing.
cheers, Paolo

Hi guys!
Italeri newest release, overall fine fit with raw surface and good interior details. I changed look of elevators and rudder, corrected fuselage wide lines and erased few on wings, added some cables and missing things in engine compartment. Corrected by a bit spinner too. I've made some rivets by painting from handmade masks and using watercolor crayons.
WIP MC.202 Duo Camo

I used thinned Surfacer 1000 to fill fuselage panel lines, this will tone down them. Erased panel lines according to Maurizio article. Only one side will be opened, few touch ups needed before using primer.




 

I present to you the well-known trumpeter kit in which I have used the following aftermarket products.
Undercarriage,seat belts and mask by Eduard Cockpit by red fox Pitot tube by Master Wheels by Reskit PE by profimodeler The camouflage's colours are by Gunze 
 








 
 

Good day, friends! Allow me to present my finished model. It's SH Morane Saulnier type N on Russian service. This is plane of russian WWI ace pilot Ivan Smirnov.
That was difficult to built. I've used a lot of scratch build detals in cocpit. Also I used some detales from WnW Sopwith Pup.
I used AK paints and some Tamiya. Decals from Begemot. Finished with Gunze oils.
Thank you!























Regards, Sergey Budyansky.

Good day friends!
I've built this model just for relax and some fun 
That was OOTB constructing. I just added some belts by scratch and wires and PE gun sights.
I used empty ("refueling") markers to paint "snakes" over original camo.
All paint are from Gunze.
Thank you!
 
 
 
 
 
 
Regards, Sergey Budyansky

Tomek Wajnkaim
 
 
It's time for the final gallery, presentation of the model, but also a summary of Donat Makijonek's activities and the construction itself.
Before we get to the summaries, however, I would like to thank:
 
Tomek Wajnkaim, who did me the honor and brought my model to life, drawing for me an amazing picture of Makijonek's fight with Albatross. Thank you also for designing the masks, thank you for all the advice and support, but also for being patient and enduring the constant bombardment of photos and modeling questions.
Piotr Mazurek for making a flawless hubcap, which made this model one of a kind and allowed me to get closer to the original during this construction.
Ewa constantly for support, faith and patience. Certainly, for someone who is not very interested in aviation and modeling, it is not easy to hear about it.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone for supporting me here on this project. For interest, advice, support, motivation and warm welcome. Thank you very much.
 
Historical summary.
 
In his aviation career, Donat Makijonek made about 600 sorties, fought dozens of dogfights, in which he won nine victories (four of which were officially confirmed). He flew fourteen types of aircraft.
 
He began his service as an ordinary soldier, with bravado, courage, extraordinary dedication and great aviation talent, he reached the rank of captain in the aviation of Tsarist Russia and the rank of major in the Polish Army. For bravery shown on the fronts of World War I and in other battles, he received the following decorations: the Russian Cross of St. George of all four classes, the Order of St. George 4th class, Order of St. Vladimir 4th class with swords and bow, Order of St. Anna 4th and 3rd class with swords and a bow, the Order of St. Stanisław III class with swords and ribbon and II class with swords. In the Polish Army, he received: Virtuti Militari V class, three times the Cross of Valor, the Order of the "Cross of Independence", the Medal for Victory and the Serbian Order of the White Eagle.
 
Many times he got out of huge oppression, many times he performed the most difficult tasks and flights in the worst weather conditions. During his service and combat flights, Makijonek was always characterized by unprecedented courage, which earned him sympathy and respect. Undoubtedly, he is one of the most outstanding Polish pilots of the First World War and one of the most recognized fighters from the period of 1918-1921. The 3rd Intelligence Squadron under his command was considered one of the best units in Poland, which clearly proves Makijonek's commanding skills. During the fighting in Volhynia in 1919, he made daring assault flights, shelling and bombing the enemy from the smallest heights. During the period when flights could not be performed, he conducted training for the unit's personnel, including mechanics, because being a mechanic himself, he knew perfectly well the principles of operation of aircraft engines.
For almost a third of his life he served in the air force, went through three wars, and the fourth was the end of his life. It is during World War II that Makijonek ends up in the death camp in Auschwitz. He is murdered by the Germans in unknown circumstances.
 
It can be said bluntly that he was an outstanding man who deserves to be remembered, especially by his compatriots. Unfortunately, few people know and remember Makijonek, even among aviation enthusiasts, this and many other characters have been covered by the darkness of oblivion.
 

 
 
Let the words of the introduction to the book "Polish Air Forces in 1918-1920" by Mariusz Niestrawski serve as a summary:
 
“(…) The task of disseminating knowledge about the beginnings of Polish aviation is certainly not easy. Many Polish readers interested in military history still prefer feldgrau or even black history to Polish history. It would be nonsense to criticize the pursuit of knowledge, although it is worth trying to gradually change the proportions in favor of Polish history. The second obstacle to overcome is the specific attachment to defeats and their love for them, which has developed in Polish society. Closely related to this is the widespread use of the notion of "moral victors."
It should be believed, however, that this kind of approach may be changed by popularizing the moments of glory of the Polish army, showing the fate of real heroes whose achievements really brought Poles closer to independence. It was, among others, the heroic deeds of the airmen in the years 1918-1920 that brought Poland victory. These heroes don't need the epithet "moral." They were simply victors to be remembered. Gloria victoribus!(…)”
 
If anyone wants to follow Makijonek's biography in detail, I invite you to the workshop, there I posted a chronological story of Donat's life and activities during the report.
 
Link to the workshop and history of Makijonek
 
Workshop summary.
 
The model represents a rather unusual version of the Nieuport XXI with the serial number 2453. The Nieuport XXI was basically the XVII version, but with a weaker engine. Although the external appearance was identical, the internal structure allowed it to be much lighter. Although the aircraft was primarily intended for training, in the realities of war Tsarist Russia used them successfully on the fronts of the First War.
 

 
 
Nieuport XXI number 2453 was equipped with an unusual for this version, full engine cover and a hood that almost completely covered the engine intake. There is only one picture of this machine. Donat Makijonek won most of his victories in the first half of 1917 on this Nieuport. The model under construction shows the machine from the spring of 1917 during the fighting in Galicia.
 
I started working on the model on April 6 this year, the whole thing took me 50 days. The model put a lot of challenges in front of me and I must admit that I had hard times with it. I had never had contact with the CSM company before, nor did I build a model from that period, except for one for testing.
The final test came at the very end when the model fell off the table and broke into several pieces. Luckily, we managed to get to the end and do the final photo shoot. However, I think that this is not a model for beginners, there are a lot of traps in it and it requires extraordinary accuracy from the modeler.
 
Apart from what was in the box, I used:
 
- second set of CSM Nieuport XVII 1/32.
- the cap is made in the thermoforming process, the last was also made to order.
- national markings painted from masks that were designed and made for this model
- decals of "Polonia" and Owls made by Mr. Bogdan Żołnierowicz, also to order.
- Gaspatch machine gun.
- Gaspatch turnbuckles
- strings from AK
- string tubes from AK
- all the chemicals came from the following companies: AK, Gunze and Tamyia.
 
For the next year from me there will be no workshops or models on the forum. During this time I plan to do a larger modeling project, which I will not post on the forum. However, I hope that as soon as I finish the planned work, I will contact you again and I will be able to reveal more details.
 
I invite you to the gallery and see you.
 
Regards
Lukasz
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Best regards
Lukasz
 
 
 
 

sometimes they come back...  
 
I don't believe it either, but I can finally declare FINISHED this model on which I sweated so much but which also amused me so much.
not to contradict itself, given that I bought the 1978 kit in 2003 and put it on the workbench in 2021, the decals had to wait for that further year. the friend who had taken charge of it has gone through and is going through a series of vicissitudes that I wouldn't wish on anyone, so I resolved to do the simplest thing (I thought): contact professionals. I won't name names, it seems inelegant to me, but the first attempt, made with a company with a name that should give guarantees and with a friendly and helpful owner, took over 4 months and countless emails and phone calls to get me a well printed, but on a thick backing such as a quilt. and yes, while I was at it I optimized preparing the groundwork for three further projects to come.

 
thick, opaque, and with the aggravating circumstance of requiring two steps: one for white and one for colour.

 
stupid me that I launched myself directly on the model instead of doing some lateral tests.

 
then I did a thousand thousand tests, also contacting the company and informing them of the bad results, pointing out that if the problem was the support (other decals from the same company are fine) they risked dissatisfying all future customers. the answer was that they will do some tests too.
given the time that had elapsed, and in fact almost two months passed without news, I closed my eyes and made the first random number found after a search on the web. result, after a phone call to finalize the details and a week of waiting, I received this.

 
after a couple of more than satisfactory tests on the side, I peeled off poor Lysander's areas and started over. better I would say.

 
the red shoots a bit, and my sanding steps to reduce the step of the film partially damaged the color, making the background white appear in some places.

 
nothing that a few gouache touch-ups on the suggestion of the friend Master of Color and a veil of black oil applied with an airbrush cannot solve.

 

 
aaaand... ta-daaaah!! FINISHED!!

 
decent pics in RFI section coming soon I hope. meanwhile, as proof that the house is hiding but not stealing, the original instrument panel is hacked out. take your time, no prob!

 
and that's all, thank you all for your participation, patience and perseverance in following me in this madness.
I remind those interested that I have kept the masters for the transparent parts and I have an excess of customized decals, in case anyone wants to try their hand at the only Lysander currently available in 1/32. 
cheers, Paolo.
 

 
 

Project 4/23 1/32 Zoukei-Mura model, Wheels set ResKit, Maketar & Omask painting mask, all colours MRP.
 



























 

1/32 Zoukei Mura model, Zoukei Mura accessories, Maketar & Omask painting mask, Eduard wheels set, all colours MRP.  










     

Easter update.
 







 
 

 

 
 
 

Exhaust covers installed
 





 

well, I don't want to sound like a complaining, squeamish or exaggeratedly demanding or critical modeler, but perhaps I am a little,and for sure I have my reasons, allow me 5' of complaints: but dammit, how is possible to conceive a kit as big as a diver's fin in which it takes at least three hands to assemble the fuselage, with the added complication of having that little bit of tail and airbrakes in between, risking wrecking everything?? but what did it take to design a teflon washer to place the elevons at the end of the assembly, or positive joints for the speedbrakes, so as to position them after the tail, which is as tall as a three-storey building??
 
 

 

alright. I could have made the aforementioned changes, without even trying too hard, but I didn't feel like it, mea culpa. after a certain number of contortions and invocations to different deities, I managed to obtain a coupling that was roughly satisfactory, but certainly far from perfect.

 
after a night under pressure, I connected the two half-fuselages, another source of discontent: the front one engages on the rear through a bayonet joint that will remain hidden in the air intakes. nice idea, and also well done, pity that there is a half mm gap in the lower contact line.

 
rather than modifying the connection inside the air intakes, characterized by complex curved lines, I preferred to keep the gap, also because the fit is good in the upper part, and in the end that will be the most visible side.

 
ditto for the air intakes, each made up of five parts whose alignment is based on the internal vertical wall, integral with the fuselage. and if this is good morning...

 
okay (let's say so). I plug the gap with plasticard strips, and I reinforce the inside with plasticard plates, given that it is in any case a structural coupling of a certain importance.

 
assembling the vents I focused on the alignment visible from the outside, which leads to these interiors, however visible, snooping through:

 
and in any case some brute force will be needed, to get a decent alignment of these... the same for the hump behind the cockpit: there is at least a mm of gap between the parts.

 
by rectifying the coupling breakouts and -again- brutalizing the hump a little, it comes out, but let's say that the relaxing part of this hobby is somewhat lost, like this.

 
in short, I'm getting close to completing this model, and I must say I'm really happy with it, I'm not having much fun with it.
cheers, Paolo

hi all, little updating.
not that I've gone very far, also thanks to my predisposition to cha cha cha, or to take one step forward and two steps back, but I've produced something.
for example, after having painted and applied the decals to the AIM9s I realized that the fixing system to the rail provided by the kit is a longitudinal recess that has nothing to do with the real one, which instead consists of two hooks on the body of the missile, so that the sidewinder is separated from the rail, except for the two single contact points.
so I plastered the opening on the body of the AIM9, planing the correspondent on the rails.

 
here it is. it's not perfect, but it's definitely better.

 
I used the minor parts to test the Tamiya can sand, and I must say that it satisfies me, any touch-ups with lifecolor are practically invisible.

 
well, I'd say that here we are, net of the BOZs I want to go back to with the Alclads. then a round of futures and decals for everyone.

 
since I like this yellow, let's get down to it. after studying the instructions and considering the complication of painting after assembling all the parts, I decided to paint the subassemblies separately.

 
also giving a first round of oil lining.

 
in this way I can (I have to, in my opinion) now apply the decals in areas that will be extremely uncomfortable, once everything is assembled. for example the sides of the fuselage will be very awkward to reach, with elevons and wing in place.

 
Now I can proceed with the assembly. in the end, after much thinking about possible modifications to install the elevons with the fuselage closed, instead of open as foreseen by the kit, I decided not to give a damn and accept the risk of having these two double sheets between my hands for all subsequent operations.

 
now turn this photo upside down and tell me if it doesn't remind you of Mazinger?!?
 
next step: closing of the fuselage and assembly of main sub-components.
cheers, Paolo.
.
 

This aircraft is made from the Hobbyboss kit and it was a nice enjoyable build, there was a few tricky areas where it needed re-riveting but nothing too serious. 
I did a bit of research and came across 'Silver 6' by accident and thought it slightly different with the half star on the rear fin, so i made up a set of masks for the aircraft Silver 6 which was flown by Snr.Lt. A.I.Borodin of 504. ShAP (74. GShAP – Guards Assault Aviation Regiment – from 18 March 1943), Stalingrad front, winter 1942/43.
 
Painted with gunze and tamiya paints and weathered using Abteillung 502 oils 
 
'Glamour shot to start with...
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 

 

 

 

 
All comments are welcome :-)