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Azur 1/32 IAR-80-A


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6 hours ago, Kaeone57 said:

Maaaan....Not an aircraft subject I care for, but just aircraft/scale work I care for.... NICE !!!!!!!

Alfonso 

 

Thank you Alfonso for checking in.  It's a cool looking plane, looks like a racer to me with the narrow proportions and tightly cowled engine

 

 

Matt 

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22 hours ago, scvrobeson said:

 

Chuck, is this the Hobbyboss kit, or the ancient LTD one you're working with?

 

 

 

Matt 

It's the Icearodesign 1/48 resin kit. A beautiful kit- it's a shame they seem to have ceased production.

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8 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

Nice cockpit, the lever to the right of the seat looks like it could have been taken from a railway signalling box!  :D
 

John

 

Yes, it was the seat adjustment lever. Definitely an old school design on that

 

 

Matt 

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20 minutes ago, chukw said:

It's the Icearodesign 1/48 resin kit. A beautiful kit- it's a shame they seem to have ceased production.

 

I forgot about that one. Looks like a really nice build, and it partners well with your Lancer MiG

 

 

Matt 

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Final details have been added to the sidewalls, now it's time to close up the fuselage.

 

PSX_20240726_195057-X2.jpg

 

Oxygen hose was added using .25mm copper wire wrapped around a 1mm copper wire core, with a small disk of sprue added at the end. First time trying to make an oxygen hose, I think that it went decently well. It seems like Azur planned to add one to the kit, but didn't at the last minute.

 

PSX_20240726_195208-X2.jpg

Elevator trim wheel added using a piece of lead wire, and the rudder pedals were rigged using Inifini stretch line.

 

PSX_20240726_195324-X2.jpg

 

Headrest added in. Another quirk of the instructions are that they show you using the wrong headrest for the marking options in the kit. Option B could use the early headrest, but the other three require the mid-production rest, which the instructions tell you not to use. Either way, they also forget to tell you to use the backplate if you want it to fit the cockpit opening. Don't use the modified headrest that the instructions say. That wasn't introduced until No.181, and reference photos don't back it up as being retrofitted to these planes.

 

Let me know what you think. Gluing the fuselage together is the next step

 

Matt 

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6 hours ago, MikeMaben said:

Looks great Matt,  seat belts looks a little flat, what are they made of ?

 

They're the PE belts from the kit. RB Productions made a fabric seatbelt set at one point, but they're next to impossible to find

 

 

Matt

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55 minutes ago, dennismcc said:

Nice work, the RB seat belts were superb, its a shame they are no longer available.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

Peter does the RB belts branded as Airscale on his website now, but think he just does the ‘standard’ RAF, USAAF and Luftwaffe versions..

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10 minutes ago, Shoggz said:

 

Peter does the RB belts branded as Airscale on his website now, but think he just does the ‘standard’ RAF, USAAF and Luftwaffe versions..

Never knew that, I have some Airscale ones as well and never twigged.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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Posted (edited)

And just like that, the fuselage halves are joined.  First job was smoothing out the halves with sandpaper, since the molding was a little rough. Then, repeated test fits and tweaks were made of the bulkheads and fuselage halves until everything closed up cleanly. Tamiya Extra Thin was applied and left to set up overnight. The front fuselage seam was reinforced with superglue, as I'll have to apply panel lines and rivets across that seam.  Some Mr. Surfacer 1200 was applied and smoothed off.

 

PSX_20240728_153148-XL.jpg

 

PSX_20240728_153355-XL.jpg

 

The small vent in front of the cockpit was opened up using the back of a No.11 blade. Can't find a clear picture of it to see if there's anything in this vent, I'm guessing it's an air intake for the cockpit.

 

PSX_20240728_153456-XL.jpg

 

20240728_150459-XL.jpg

 

PSX_20240728_153551-XL.jpg

You can see on the bottom that the strengthening strap was sanded off. It will be replaced with plastic strip once the wing is attached, since the strip is supposed to cross that.  You can also see the rivet lines that didn't line up. These have now been sanded off, and the rivets will be redone now that the halves are joined.

 

 

PSX_20240728_153714-X2.jpg

 

The holes for the tail struts were filled in with black superglue. These struts weren't added until IAR-81 production, so not appropriate for an IAR-80A. I tried out John Kim's debonder trick, and it seems to have worked beautifully without the need for sanding.

 

 

Next up is tackling the wings and control surfaces. Most of the control surfaces have needed small amounts of shimming so far to fit. Life with an Azur kit.

 

Please let me know what you think. 

 

 

Matt 

Edited by scvrobeson
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