ericg Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) I received the new Roden Bird Dog as a gift from my wife on our recent wedding anniversary (8 years is plastic right?). I promised her that I would start it reasonably soon after I got it and have started building it. I feel that this kt is a nice break from the complexity of my Mirage build and will suit the OOB category at our local show here in Brisbane. A few months ago whilst I was at the Canberra Scale model expo (ScaleACT), i ran into a gentleman who was wearing a small metal Mirage and RAAF crest lapel pins. As I was staying with an ex Mirage pilot for the duration of the show (my good mate Kevin Bricknell), i was keen to see if they knew each other. They hadn't seen each other for quite some time and had both flown Mirages for the RAAF. Upon further conversation with the gentleman, I discovered that he served as a Forward Air Controller in Vietnam on exchange to the US Air Force, flying the Cessna Bird Dog. I had met none other than Mac Cottrell `Mac the Fac' as he is known and I was keen to involve him in this build. I left the show with a promise to get in touch with him via email once the Roden kit was released. Mac (callsign Sidewinder 34) was one of 36 RAAF pilots who served amongst USAF FAC's during the Vietnam conflict. He was there from Apr 1968 - Oct 1968 and was awarded the Ditiguished Flying Cross for his efforts. As the build progresses I will share the action report that accompanied the award. Mac has started sending me some photos of his time flying the Bird Dog. I was quite pleased to see the quality of the pictures and apart from the stunning portrait of a young pilot and his aircraft, there are some interesting features to be seen that will benefit those building this model. Notice the rear windows opened up and stowed. I will plan on doing the same on my model. There is a crudely sprayed 3 digit number on the inside of the engine cowling that corresponds to the last three digits of the serial number of the aircraft. Period photos like this are so valuable and I cant thank Mac enough for sending them to me. Notice Mac's Aussie issue hat and Flying Officer rank stripe. The kit was nicely boxed but has all of the sprues annoyingly packed into the one bag. The result of which is a some scratching of the clear parts ( the almost vertical scratch on the right side of the windscreen being a good example) The clear parts that in the top of the wing required a fair bit of dry fitting and refining to ensure that they fit properly. Once they were fitted, I wicked Tamiya extra fine cement into the gaps and then sanded the entire top of the wing that holds the clear parts with progressively finer grades of sandpaper, before buffing them to a highly polished sheen.The white edges of some of the windows is the residue from the polishing compund that I used. Also noticeable on this pic is the lighter shade of grey that runs the full length of both wings, there is a sink mark that needs to be fixed. I filled it with putty before sanding it back. Onto the interior. I am keen to keep this as out of the box as possible (with some allowable exceptions, more on that later) so I painted on the canvas covers that take up most of the inner panels of the cockpit. I used a dark green and airbrushed the wrinkles with a darker green and then outlined each one with a fine black line. Once the throttle quadrants were in place I lightly scribed the markings into each one, uncovering the lighter plastic colour rather than try and paint or use decals to do it. An allowable addition to an OOB (or single media) kit in our local competition is that addition of simple seat belts. The belts in this aircraft are a little complex in their nature, so I have tried to make them as `simple' as possible without going over board. I scratch built the belts and buckles from lead foil before painting them. The pilot seat and floor assembled. The shoulder harnesses will go through a trapeze that is attached to the roof, so these are ready to be threaded through the as of yet unmade part. A view from the top. The kit is a bit basic and I reckon that Roden could have put alot more parts into it, but for now it looks OK. Fuselage closed up. I still need to add the fire extiguisher and the Instrument panel, but these will be easy to do. Edited March 8, 2017 by ericg tucohoward, Lenny320, quang and 26 others 29 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpk Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Watching. Harold 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reconspit Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 ...really cool, man... mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lothar Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 You've triggered my interest, more so since it is related to a courageous peron. I've always admired the courage of these guys, flying low and within the limits of their rather vulnerable aircraft to help those poor souls on the ground. Lothar mpk and KiwiZac 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Viking73 Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Great pictures and a fantastic build so far! -Derek mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr b Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Lovely. Very fast work The cockpit floor really looks great Rgds mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Cool! Ill definitely end up getting one of these at some point for sure. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quang Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 The simulated 3-D effects on the canvas covers are fantastic. I also appreciate the neat tidy build. Here following with mucho interest. Quang Jeff and mpk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 Looking good as always mate Jim mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karimb Posted February 2, 2017 Share Posted February 2, 2017 (edited) Keeping an eye out for the coming progress. This is gearing up to be a fantastic build! Karim Edited February 2, 2017 by karimb mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 3, 2017 Author Share Posted February 3, 2017 Thanks guys. Moving right along. The fit of the crankshaft once inside the engine was pretty sloppy and would not provide much support for the propeller. I do like to be able to make props removable for transport and also ever since I saw a member of the public lean over the comp table and flick one of the props of my Flying Pancake (for what reason, who knows) I like to make them pretty strong and easy to turn. I pulled the previously fitted shaft out of the engine and re-fitted a new aluminium tube, which then accepted a plastic rod with minimal play that i have attached to the prop. Easily removable for transport and much stronger. The kit undercarriage legs were the next to be beefed up. I reckon these look like they would snap or bend with any sort of movement, as the moment arm acting upon them from the tip of each wing is quite large. First up, the mould seam as below needs to be removed, meaning that each leg will end up being alot thinner than they look. I devised a plan with a small window of opportunity to be able to insert a brass rod through each leg, but with an even smaller margin for error. I thought of how both of my own legs had been fixed a couple of decades ago when I was in my teens and went for the same method. A collection of brass rod, drill bits and pin vice. I started each hole with a small pilot hole, going in as far as I could. These drill bits are not flexible and it was important that each hole stated out straight. Using the longer, flexible bits, I continued the hole along the length of each leg, using the white discoloration of the plastic to determine its progress. I then cut a small channel at the end of each hole. The brass pin was then passed through each leg before being bent into each channel. I decided to test the strength of each one by hanging a heavy resin Dash-8 tiller from it. Great success! alaninaustria, Jan_G, Shawn M and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Brilliant!! Really brilliant. Great work Eric. Jim mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark64 Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 I might get that kit. Im sure Eduard is working on some goodies for it...i hope. in case , nice looking cockpit. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Love it mate. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 3, 2017 Share Posted February 3, 2017 Just came across this! Great story and I will be following.....Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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