Unbelievably, it is already the end of January. Work continues to demand most of my attention, so there hasn't been much done the last couple of weeks. I have been quasi-successful getting 10 minutes a day at the workbench. Better than nothing and helps the mental state reset before heading to bed. Sunday afternoons remain my haven and have been the chance to work on models.
I used to work a model from start to finish, get it done before moving on to the next model. That philosophy served me well for may years, but lately not so much. The last few years I have worked on two models at the same time, intentionally spacing progress so one is in construction while the other tends to be in painting or finishing. I have found that this helps keep my interest up, letting me move between the two kits as I want. It has become particularly important when I am are tired, when the effort to move out of the chair for 10 minutes at the bench sometimes seems too great. As a build starts to get to the end, my mind tends to wander to the next project. With the 737 getting close to the finish line, I have started to ponder the next kit.
My “stash” is too large - to the point that I have started selling duplicates and items that no longer fit my interests. Recent additions have tended to be presents. Rather than let these sit in a dark closet to wait their turn, I decided a year or so ago that presents should take priority. The current Avenger build was my 2019 Christmas/birthday present from my friend Dave. Continuing the theme, here are the next in the que.
For the next kit, I have picked a F-RSIN CL-44 in Flying Tigers colours. For reasons, I have been fascinated by both this plane and the Flying Tigers scheme for a very long time. F-RSIN came out with this kit a little over a year ago, making it an immediate want. When the option of the Flying Tigers was announced, it became a must. I bought this one early in 2020 using Christmas money from my parents - tying back to the presents theme. F-RSIN does not have a good reputation for quality. I build their resin Avro Jetliner last year, and it took a lot of work. This is an injection moulded plastic kit, and “short run” gives it a lot of credit. It has very crude moulding, enough flash to make a second kit, and is short shot in a number of spots. It is going to be a challenge and likely will take a long time to finish. On the positive side, it looks like a CL-44. It is going to take a while to get thru this one, likely trying my patience along the way.
A nice, simple kit would be appropriate as a break while building the CL-44. This Christmas, Dave gave me a Kalmbach book on building better airplane models. It contained an article on building the BPK 1/144 CRJ-200. Perhaps not surprisingly, I have the kit, as well as a really nice set of decals from Nazca for a red maple leaf Jazz scheme. I bought this kit last year with Christmas money from my parents, so it doubly fits the of a present build theme.
After the CRJ is done, I was thinking it may be good to have another kit ready when the CL-44 mojo starts to flag. To fill the moments when I want to see if the CL-44 can actually fly, I decided on this Northstar. I bought this last year with birthday money from my parents - gift build theme continues. I had originally intended to build it in RCAF colours, then realized that it has the cross over exhausts. The RCAF didn’t use the cross overs, but I found a really nice decal set for Trans Canada Airlines, who did. This is a Welsh resin kit, and looks to be very nicely moulded.
Now, back to the kits in progress.
737
Last Sunday I finished the primary decals on the starboard side. Here is how it looks at the start of today.
I noted in an earlier blog that PWA appears to have updated this paint scheme at some point. The two most obvious differences are the location of the speed bird emblem on the tail, and the door details. The older scheme had the speed bird centered, and silver door outlines. Nice and easy. I picked the the newer version. The speed bird touched the tail trailing edge, and had contrasting door trim. I had spotted the contrast while looking at pictures, then realized the decal sheet allowed for them. It had blue door tirm where the fuselage was white, and white door trim where the fuselage was blue. The decals compensate for this by providing the dominate colour for the full door, and then the contrasting colour as partial doors. If you look closely at the front door, you will note that the white contrast is actually in the middle of the door, with blue above and below.
That meant some rather tedious measuring with a pair of dividers, cutting the decal, and then applying the tiny pieces using choice words. Well, the choice words are optional, but I found them necessary. Also interesting if you plan to build this kit using these decals, was the rear blue decal details were right and left handed. I noticed this as I was cutting the decal out, wondering why they did that. The doors must be the same width. Wrong!. The rear doors aren't the same size, and I naturally applied the wrong contrasting door piece to each side. Because the heights weren't quite the same on each side, I couldn't simply swap them. In the end, I ended up cutting them vertically. One side overlapped, while the other needed a small blue filler piece.
Really getting close to the finish line now. Next step is to all a number of small details using decals.
Avenger
The Avenger is nearing the end of construction. It took several sessions of fiddling - sanding, filling, fitting - to get the rear vac form canopy to fit. I don’t know if it was the cuts I made initially, the canopy moulding, or how I cut the canopy out, but it has been a challenge to get a decent fit. I debated how to actually glue the canopy to the kit, finally deciding to use Testor’s canopy glue. This is a very thin, almost watery glue that dries to a rubbery clear bond. I didn’t want to risk CA for risk of fogging. It is also harder to recover if the joint doesn’t go well. Once glued, I needed to figure out how to close the gaps and smooth the joint. More debate before deciding to use Perfect Plastic Putty, a white chalk based filler that can be smoothed and removed with water. The white colour may cause problems if it becomes visible thru the opposite side of the canopy, but I thought being able to use water to smooth the joint, or remove it should it be necessary, was a big enough plus to justify using it over other fillers.
Here’s the results
picture 1 - canopies test fit without glue
picture 2 - glued in place and Perfect Plastic Putty applied
picture 3 - Putty blended.
I think the concept worked, but I am not happy with the results. The glue joint failed in several spots as I removed the putty. Putty did get under the canopy and will be visible, and the glue left a rough surf in several spots. I can do better, so I will remove the rear canopy, clean things up, and try again.
picture 4 - canopy cleaned up and reglued. :Looks better but it is going to need some careful gap filling. I will need to go away and think about how I am going to do that.
Somewhere in all the test fitting, I have misplaced one of the pilot's canopy sections. The pilot's canopy is actually two pieces that slide on a top rail. I had both on my desk for test fits, but only one is there now. An hour of looking turned up nothing. I can probably fake another using the kits original canopy.
Til next time.
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