Zero77 Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 By the way i had to cut the sides of the rear instrument panel. I did modified it with lead foil to give it more the shape of someting with a cover, but unfortunately it was then too large to fit the inside of the canopy. So i slightly cut and sanded the sides. Now it's ok. anyway i will have many paint touch-ups to do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Nice work, Nicolas! I'm really wanting to get one of these sets, now. Kev Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted April 9, 2016 Author Share Posted April 9, 2016 I can only recommend it Kev ! The Revell kit is very good and very cheap, and the alleycat conversion is really not very expensive compared to other manufacturer. Even with the few corrective sets, the total may not be more expensive than some Hasegawa 109's in Europe (sometimes more than 60€...) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 WOW, how did I miss THIS one Nicolas! This is a really great and unique subject............VERY cool work going on here. More please!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dora9 Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Beau travail! It's nice to see this strange bird being built! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ollieholmes Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Looks really good and i am now wanting to build one of these. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted April 9, 2016 Share Posted April 9, 2016 Awesome. Love the shape of this one. How cool is this little bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 I'm still working on this nice and cute (and deadly !) trainer. Getting the external sidewalls straight, a flat and smooth cockpit rim, and blending all the resin parts was not that always fun, but now everything is ok. The cockpit after a few adjustment to get the canopy fit : Then i had to spray a flash of primer to check what the seams look like, and if i had to rescribe something or add filler : Ouch, yes i had ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted April 25, 2016 Author Share Posted April 25, 2016 And after a few (though time consuming !) corrections and a new flash of primer, it's almost ready for painting. The next big deal will be to glue the canopy. The center section is a bit bent, so i have a slight angle with the front seat right glass panels. I can try to force it while the glue is curing, but using CA would be a bit risky with all those clear parts. The instructions says bent parts can be straighten using warm water, but they really emphasis on "warm" and not "hot", otherwise the parts may be destroyed. Maybe clear resin is more reactive to heat than solid color resin? Anyway, i'm a bit afraid of that. Also, the rear canopy part on the bottom right side is a bit irregular (maybe small bits broke when i cut it?), so i have to add some material to correct that. I also have a small bubble on the fron left side. I filled it with kristal clear but it's still visible. I may cut the part and used the supplied panel for the open option (even if i used it closed) as this one is totally bubble free. I'm still not decided if i make it open or closed. XOPCT, MikeC, jgrease and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted April 25, 2016 Share Posted April 25, 2016 Looking very good, I might HAVE to buy one real soon... thanks!!! Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 A lot of progress since my last post. Masking the canopy was not funny... For the windshield and the forward canopy, i design them with my Silhouette Portrait, so i can remake them for later Revell 109 builds. However for the rear canopy, i went old school and made them with small bits of masking tapes. And as i had 2 small bubbles in the rear canopy (closed part), i decided to use the part for the opened rear canopy, so i cut the closed part. I still dont know if i will make it closed or opened, but the fit is pretty good, so i can still glue it closed if needed. The rear canopy was designed with glasses in the rear middle, but on the reference pictures, it seems it was actually not a clear area. So i fill the glasses with putty (first magic plastic putty, then a coat of Mr surfacer). Then i drilled a small hole for the antenna. I also reinforced the canopy rim as it was very irregular and too thin to be glued thightly in my opinion. I also finished the shoulder belts, from RB, as i need to glue them and finished the cockpit before gluing the canopies. Definitely the best seatbelts, and the more easy to work with. Unfortunately, when i glued them inside, i made an error and glued the front ones i inverted the left and the right one. It's not very noticeable as the only difference is the buckle, but it's still an error i cant correct without destroying everything. So i will have to live with it. MikeC and mywifehatesmodels 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 Then, the whole stuff masked and glued. It was not easy to glue these very long canopies with CA glue, especially as they were slightly deformed. I tried to make them straight with hot water, but it was not enough, so i tried brute force while gluing them. And it worked. I then had to clean the excess CA and add a bit of filler as the fit was not perfect everywhere (especially on the rear canopy, in fact). And after a coat of primer : D.B. Andrus, AndersN, jgrease and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Brilliant work, Nicolas! I can't help thinking that the rear distended portion of the canopy looks a little overstated, though. It looks like it pokes out to much, but I'm sure that's just due to me not being familiar enough with the modification. Kev Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zero77 Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 (edited) Thanks Kev. No it was the opposite, the rear canopy portion was too much on the inside and needed to be spread. Next, a little pre-shading. I know that today's trend is black primer, but i dont care trend (i should try that black priming, though... but i'm used with the pre-shading). However, i then struggle so hard with a new type of paint that the several coats i had to spray totally get rid of any pre-shading (especially as i always keep it the more subtle possible). And now, finished with the painted national markings. I think i have a few touch-ups to do with the motling, but it's done 99%. I still have to paint the numbers and the cowling (yellow and red). I have a reference picture but as it come from a book, i dont know if i can post it here. The RLM 76 is from AK interactive (with a few drops of light gull grey to make it a bit more neutral as i found it too blue) but the upper RLM 74 and 75 are from Gunze as i was not able to control the AK enough to get the mottling as i want. Edited May 9, 2016 by Zero77 mywifehatesmodels, jgrease, Lars Befring and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 looks sharp! Zero77 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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