mywifehatesmodels Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 (edited) I will be starting this one next week, but thought I should get the preliminaries out of the way and get this thread rolling. I'm building this for a friend and have to admit that I know very little about the type. The kit apparently provides both "I and II" variants. However, the only difference I can see between them, so far, is that one has a shield for the rear gunner, but I really haven't been able to dig really deep into this one yet. So, if anyone else has any useful information they would like to share, I would greatly appreciate it. The kit will be built "OOB", but it appears to have plenty of PE parts and actually a pretty good level of detail, from what I've gathered by looking in the box and at some builds online. It will be in Romanian markings, for sure. We haven't pegged exactly which aircraft yet, but most likely one of the two options with the crosses (there is also a third option, with roundels, which my friend already ruled out). Here's the box top and the profiles we're leaning towards, so far. So, I'm hoping this goes as straightforward as possible and that I can complete it in a timely manner, as I'm hoping to use the proceeds to fund the Mi-24 Hind kit (and possibly some more accessories) I need for the upcoming Helo GB! Regards, John Edited November 16, 2015 by mywifehatesmodels BradG, scvrobeson, Tnarg and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chukw Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Sweet! I love this plane- even built a rubber-motor free-flight version that really flew well. Cheers! chuk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 John Looking forward to following with great interest. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Wow, unusual subject! This should be good Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 18, 2015 Share Posted September 18, 2015 Good luck with this one, John. Looking forward to your progress! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted September 19, 2015 Share Posted September 19, 2015 Looking forward to this one John. These Polish planes are cool looking, I'm sure you'll do an awesome job on the Carp Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted September 19, 2015 Author Share Posted September 19, 2015 Thanks for the encouragement, everyone! This one will certainly be a break from the norm. I look forward to it. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted September 24, 2015 Author Share Posted September 24, 2015 Just to prove that I've actually been doing something.... So far, everything is going together really well. The pour stubs and sprue attachment points are a bit thick in some spots and there is a little flash here and there. So, every part takes some cleanup time. However, the detail is pretty good and the plastic is on the soft side and somewhat flexible. At times, it almost feels like some of the more modern resin kits. There's still a ton to do in the cockpit, but I thought I should snap/post a few pics along the way (sorry for the crappy lighting). John Girlscanplay2, scvrobeson, BradG and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tnarg Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Can you imagine this one in 1/32? Thanks for letting us watch. What a great plane. Tnarg mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 8, 2015 Author Share Posted October 8, 2015 (edited) Can you imagine this one in 1/32? Thanks for letting us watch. What a great plane. Tnarg Thanks and, yes, a Karas in 1/32 would be pretty cool! I'm overdue for an update. Unfortunately, the last week or so has had me busy with other things, as well as suffering from some back pain that really didn't have me to excited about hunching over the workbench. Feeling better, finally, so I managed to get the cockpit pretty much done. There are still a couple of small PE straps to attach and some touch-ups to do, but other than that, it's pretty much ready to button up. The instrument panel is a plastic part and the decal sheet has two separate pieces for the instrument faces; and upper and lower section. The lower section goes into place without too much trouble. However, given the raised detail on the upper half, coupled with the size of it, I had trouble getting the decal into position. So, I ended up carefully removing it and putting it back on it's backing sheet, letting it dry, then cutting it into several segments before wetting it again and reinstalling. The decals fit the dials pretty well and an application of Micro-Sol settled them in very nicely. Once that was dry, I installed the PE hood over the top (which didn't want to fit as easily as I thought it would) and painted it before shooting the entire IP with flat lacquer. Once that was dry, I went back and gave the instruments some "glass" faces, using small drops of Future. Since I had saved the IP for last and had already attached the right sidewall to the right fuselage half, I had to squeeze the IP into position. A drop of CA and some accelerator was all it took to get it to sit properly. I also had to do a little scratch work on the rear gunner's seat pedestal. The center cyliner, to which all the legs attach, went flying into the netherworld when I was trying to fit the legs. So, I cut a new one from aluminum tube. The front legs, which are a single piece, fit to this quite well. The rear legs, however, weren't going to work. So, I made new ones out of sections cut from a paper clip. My plan is to have the fuselage buttoned up in the next day, or so. However, family plans and activities are already piling up for the weekend, so we'll see how far I can get. I think the cockpit is likely to be the most time consuming part of the build, so once I get the fuselage together, I 'm hoping that everything else will move along at a steady pace.....back pain aside! Thanks for the comments and for checking in! John Edited October 8, 2015 by mywifehatesmodels BradG, Lars Befring and scvrobeson 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted October 8, 2015 Share Posted October 8, 2015 Looking good John, that IP is great. Don't often see so many colours on the dials, it makes for a high level of visual interest. Hope your back is feeling better soon, that kind of thing is no fun. Cheers Jim mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 9, 2015 Author Share Posted October 9, 2015 (edited) Thanks, Jim! I thought the same thing about the colored instruments. In fact, the decals were a little too bright for my liking, so I toned them down with some pastel chalk before adding the Future to their faces. It did help but, yes, they sure stand out! That's okay. I'm not opposed to color. It adds life, especially to an area that's usually so dark (the cockpit). Not much of an update, but I did manage to get the left sidewall attached, everything lined up and then the left fuselage half was added to button things up. Once again, I was very impressed with how everything fit. When I attached the port side cockpit wall, I had to align/insert the instrument panel bracket, three upper deck sections, the two wing spars and the legs on the rear gunner's seat. Then, all that had to fit into the fuselage half before squeezing the two halves together to button it up. I had anticipated problems in doing all of this, but I didn't have any at all! To join the fuselage halves, I started out at the rear half and tail. I applied CA, then held it tight while applying some accelerator. I then did the same thing for the center spine on top, finishing off with the forward fuselage. Alignment of parts was excellent, even though there are no locating pins. It's a tight fit, but not too tight and I didn't even break anything. Given how many parts are involved with all of this, I was actually a little shocked at how well it went together. The CA blobs on the seams make it look worse than it is and this is typical for how I do my seams, since I like to be able to polish them smooth without any "ghosts" popping out through the paint, if possible. I'm hoping to get started on the ventral gondola and/or wings over the weekend. We'll see how much time I get. But, so far, so good! Thanks again, John Edited October 9, 2015 by mywifehatesmodels Lars Befring 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted October 10, 2015 Share Posted October 10, 2015 Great stuff, nothing like a trouble free fuselage assembly. Rock on man! Jim mywifehatesmodels 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 13, 2015 Author Share Posted October 13, 2015 Got back to the bench today. I decided to work on the belly/lower wings and I also coated the canopy parts with Future. There are some gaps to contend with on the wing roots, particularly the right wing, but nothing a touch of filler won't fix. The only really frustrating part has been with the canopy parts. The clear sprue was packaged with the main sprues and there were some scratches to contend with, as well as one ding in the main canopy panel, over the pilot's head, that was actually all the way through the plastic! It reminds me of a rock ding in a car windshield. I did the best I could to smooth this out, but there was no true fix for it. The Future helped to fill it in somewhat, however. On the positive side, the canopy will be posed in the open position and with the side panel folded up next to it, you'll have to look pretty close to see it. Also, it won't be in the center of your view when trying to look at the cockpit, as it would if the canopy was in the closed position. So, I'll let the Future and putty cure for the night and get to working on the seams, tomorrow. Thanks for following along! John Lars Befring 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted October 15, 2015 Author Share Posted October 15, 2015 And a little further, today. I discovered just how soft the plastic is when I started working on some of the seams. I started on the spine, where I left some pretty deep scratches. So, that put a halt on the sanding and I puttied the area to help smooth it out again. At that point, I decided to add the outer wing panels and putty those seams, as well. They actually aren't that bad on the top and probably didn't even need it. The bottoms were a different story, as they have some gaps that certainly needed filler. The canopy was a little more difficult than I had anticipated, but nothing really frustrating. It required a little bit of pushing and pulling to get things aligned along the whole length of it. I will be busy tomorrow, so I'm not sure how much time I'll get at the bench. But, once these seams are finished it should be pretty smooth sailing to the finish line (fingers crossed). John Lars Befring and Girlscanplay2 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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