PZL.46 „Sum” 1:48 Art. of Trans

[Kriss]

When I saw the announcement of the release of the Polish PZL.46 "Sum" reconnaissance-bomber aircraft, I was delighted; dreams do come true. Having it on my shelf is a joy. I have just received my first 3D printed model from the Art of Trans company in the 3D Polish Wings series. They have it in 1:72 / 48 / 32, and I'm going to get it in 32 too. So this is what it looks like inside, instructions in pdf form, vacu glazing. The kit doesn't include decals or bombs and the open bomb bay is begging for them. And I'm happy to get it right away as it's one of many models I've always dreamed of having on my shelf.

 

 

 

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

This should be interesting! Good luck with the project, Kriss. I'll be following along.

 

Kev

[Kriss]

Thanks, I hope I can make a model out of this that I will enjoy and I hope not only me. Now I'm faced with the work of finding what can be added to it, and as it's a very niche subject I don't expect any additions. The only thing that can be done is to adopt something from the PZL.23 "Karas" as the "Catfish" is a wrap-up of it.

[Kriss]

The central part of the fuselage looks to be the most difficult part of the model to clean, on one side is the crew cabin and underneath we have the open bomb bay and the recess for the retractable gunner/bombardier cradle.

 

 

[Kriss]

The kit comes with two options for making the cab, in both closed and open versions. The frames are printed in both versions and the glazing is in the vacu version. The model is going to the workshop so the next post will be from the workshop.

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Still following!

 

Kev

[Kriss]

26 minutes ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Still following!

 

Kev

I'm glad, I've had my first fitting and the parts fit like LEGO bricks.

[Kriss]

Finally I have some free space in the workshop and I also have some time, so I have to continue building the PZL.46 "Sum" model. After cutting out all the supports from the printout, I prepared the model for painting and suggesting from the literature the interior of the model was silver, so it will be the same for me.

 

 

 

[scvrobeson]

Nice to see this one back on the bench.  Cool to see a 3D printed kit available, will be the way to get a lot of rare planes on the market.

 

 

 

Matt 

[Kriss]

Construction is progressing and the 'Catfish' is starting to take shape. Apart from the flaps, these are all separate surfaces and I will make them pivoted. The fit of the parts is very good and instead of the traditional dowels and holes for joining parts, rectangular grooves and wedges are made. It is very easy to build the model keeping the geometry correct in such a simple way. The only downside is the surface texture, it is not as smooth as the plastic models and polishing alone will not help much. The only option is to lay down a primer and sand it down re-creating the dividing lines and rivets, or skip it altogether and leave the model as it is. You have to look closely to see the surface texture where you can see the print marks. I leave it as it is.

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Looking great so far!

 

Kev

[Kriss]

I wanted to take a shortcut but it didn't work out, looking at the fact that the PZL.46 "Sum" is a development of the PZL.23 "Karas" design I wanted to use the extras from the "Karas" in the "Sum" and it turned out that they didn't fit. There is a big difference in the dimensions of the instrument panel, so the panel from YAHU went to the magazine. And coming back to the model the board is very nicely done and consists of three parts. I have checked in all ways and the best way is to mount it before the engine is mounted, together with the cowl, because once the engine is mounted there is the problem of positioning it.

 

 

 

[Kriss]

I had concerns about whether I would be able to cut out and then paint the engine, which was made as one piece. And I have to admit that these fears turned out to be unnecessary. It took some time to remove these supports from the print, and the rest was painting and masking until I was satisfied with the result. You can see how it worked out for me in the photo below.

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Nice progress, Kriss.

 

Kev

[Kriss]

I prepared the model for painting and it was this kind of painting that I divided into instalments for myself. After masking the inner surfaces I applied khaki colour to the undercarriage shroud part, the manufacturer printed it together with the wing part. Then masking and primer again. Coming back to the model still, we have two headlights in the wings and the pictures only show the one in the left wing and the one in the right wing has been removed.