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Attitude Aviation Buchon Conversion


LSP_Kevin

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I've also realised that most in-service Buchons probably had rounded wingtips, whereas I've replaced them here with the resin square tips to represent the mods done to the movie bird, so I guess my path is set. I do still have the GMF conversion in the stash, however, so that will definitely be an active service machine. Might have to make it work with the Revell kit, however, as the Hasegawa one is devilishly hard to find!

 

Kev

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So, I've decided to stick with the movie scheme for this one, which clears the path ahead for a quick finish. But for those of you who thought it was looking good, I offer the following photos as rebuttal:

 

v4QQaK.jpg

 

cXrK2n.jpg

 

2obL4r.jpg

 

The area around the nose join still needs some work, and there'll be plenty of panel lines to rescribe when that's done!

 

Kev

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4 minutes ago, Out2gtcha said:

Yike!   I guess it depends on what you used to glue them in with........

 

I couldn't get them to conform properly, so I used everything! Now I know why. I doubt I'll be able to remove them in one piece, but I can probably rob them from my other kit. That will narrow the options for that kit, but that's no big deal. Just when I thought the way ahead would be easy with this one!

 

Kev

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25 minutes ago, MikeA said:

Cut out the entire panel and flip it around? I ended up doing that with a similar stuff up some time ago. Was easier than trying to re-create the bulge shape for me at least.

 

Cheers,

 

Mike

 

I managed to find 2 other examples of the Hasegawa kit in the stash (both G-4s, one in a Revell box), so I've decided to grind off the existing misplaced bulges, and replace them (correctly this time!) with a pair from one of these kits. Then, should I need to, I copy the remaining pair in resin to replace the ones I'm stealing. I just don't think there's any way I'm getting the existing ones off those wings without substantial damage to all areas, and probably destroying the bulges in the process.

 

Kev

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I ended up grabbing the kidney bulges from the Revell G-4 kit, as it was easier to extract from the stash than the original Hasegawa kit I also have. It's moulded in a mildly repugnant brown plastic, which translates into a polite beige in the photos. I started by taping around the bulges to protect the surrounding surface, and then using a combination of a #11 blade and some photo-etched razor saws, I removed the old bulges:

 

PyrnRq.jpg

 

As I feared, they didn't really survive the experience. In fact, one of them pinged off into outer space, never to be seen again. You can see in the photo the remnants of the filler I had to use to blend them into the wing surface - a need that with hindsight only came about because I had the orientation backwards.

 

The next step was to remove the detritus and prepare the surface for the new part:

 

iGEWKH.jpg

 

And obviously the next step is to glue the replacement bulge in place:

 

pn935f.jpg

 

Drawings suggest that the pointy end should point forward, but I found that the parts conformed to the surface better if I faced the more blunt end forward, so that's how it went. I'll confess that I was a bit sloppy with their exact placement, but hopefully they'll pass the eyeball test - and certainly be less jarring than being completely the wrong way around!

 

eVfGfV.jpg

 

Next step is to clean the area up, add a touch of Mr. Surfacer around the edges to disguise any obvious gaps, and move on!

 

Kev

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  • 2 months later...

Proof of life! Having failed miserably to get the Mustang over the line for the LSP GB, and finding the windscreen unwilling to submit to my resolve, I've decided to return to the poor neglected Buchon project. Here we see the addition of the fake nose guns (which I'd previously forgotten about), and the very real flaps. I see more black primer in my future!

 

DOU2Z8.jpg

 

Hopefully I'll be back with another update soon. Really, there's only a paint job and some decalling between me and the finish line at this point. Probably going to keep weathering to a minimum.

 

Kev

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