More relics for renovation - Mig I-270 and Zlin 142

I think CMK's MiG I-270 might be the first resin kit I tried. And perhaps just as well as the resin kits I worked on afterwards were the challenging Unicraft offerings. It's been  a fair few years since I built this so I can't really remember much about except it seems to have been an  easy introduction to resin as the  finish seems okay.

As you can see, there is insufficient room in the nose  for  lead weight to counteract the heavy resin rear fuselage, so this one needs a base and a tail trestle. I substituted  plastic main-wheels from the spares box  by the look of it Also it looks as though I experimented with Alclad for the first time too.

My Zlin didn't fare so well. I think this was the first injection molded kit from Broplan and I found the canopy a difficult fit. Still it was a nice project and it'll get replaced sometime as I have the Hobby Boss kits in the stash.

Dusty 1/72 relics from the past - Harrier and Bobcat

I've been having a massive tidy-up; trying to get the spare room ready for students. In the shuffle of bookshelves I had to relocate some old models. Some of these have languished next to a window and the pain has peeled  or faded. i thought it proper to at least record these before they get consigned to the wargames fleet or binned. Perhaps I will restore one or two.

Anyway, first  is the old Airfix Harrier. No  vanes ahead of the windshield nor antennae on the hump. Needs a new nose probe. Judging from the hairy stick application this was certainly built for wargaming and I might pop it on a base.

Airfix Harrier GR3

Next ,  the  Cessna T50 Bobcat  by Pavla. Over the years since I built this (for Scale Aviation Modeller International), the decals have started to blister and flake. i wonder if I forgot to varnish over the top of them?

One of my few bright yellow aircraft, I think a little touch-up is in order and this can go back on display.

Pavla T50 Bobcat

Pavla T50 bobcat

Me 261

This was due some repair work after I'd mistakenly stuck one of the main wheels on backwards after a previous repair! Gave it a dust, removed and reset some wonky props and put the undercarriage on the correct way round. I also added the nav lights on the wing tips as I often forget these.

This was a resin kit, probably by Planet and usually way out of my financial reach for a kit. Fortunately I was sent it for review by Scale Aircraft Modeller International and I was careful to get as clean a finish as possible. The whole of the upper forward fuselage is a single clear vac-form piece and this is very fragile so it was supported with plastic strip around the edges so it would survive filling and sanding.... just. It did well at the local club night despite not having masses of weathering and panel shading. Thanks for looking.

Airfix Gnat 1/72

Had fun last year (or was it  the year before?) building the new Airfix Gnat. Lovely little aircraft and not a bad kit. Attention needs to be paid to the intakes and undercarriage. Other than that it's sweet. I have another on the kitchen side ( much to the annoyance of my wife) so I can build a Yellow Jack and I have an old Aeroclub single seater for a Finnish Gnat or Indian Ajeet.

BV P.213

This funny little jet comes from the Luft '46 collection of Unicraft.

 The jet pipe was replaced with a  section of aluminium tubing. If i could do it again I'd use my airbrush to do nice multi-colour heat staining.

Somehow I think it would be an awful gun platform -  unstable, fast, made of MDF and short on fuel.

KHAI 3

This is an interesting flying wing design from 30's Russia. I believe  there were one or two flying examples.

 I found a radial engine to fit it and had fun wiring it up.

The long thin vac-formed canopies were a nightmare to blend in and mask. As you can see - it didn't work.
Damn! I forgot the nav lights again :(  But I did find a little venturi in the spares box.

SNACAO ACA 5 M

This was a unicraft kit for a French project that never flew (unsuprisingly). It's small size might have made it a contender for the  Aeronavale had they obtained an aircraft carrier.

 It's not one of my best, with its line of wonky exhaust ports!

 and a Heath Robbinson  tail hook!

 I do like the base though :)

and the drilled out cockpit. Just enough room to squeeze in a pilot without  burring through the fuselage sides.

Me 1109 Luft '46

Here's one of my 1/72nd  Unicraft kits. Thought I'd better introduce at least one of my aircraft models whilst I'm waiting to return to that genre. Busy as I am painting up wargames units, there's still one hundred plus unfinished aircraft projects in the work-room. This is one of the rare finished items.

Originally purchased from Unicraft of the Ukraine this model would be hard to source from elsewhere. A paper project / Luftwaffe '46 Me.1109. This aircraft would have had a pivoting biplane configuration. Opposed wing planes would advance opposite wingtips, producing two sets of fully swept swings. As you can see from  the pic below I've built up a complete cockpit and added cones to the nacelle interiors, but what you can't see is the scratch-built main undercarriage.

 After plenty of sanding and filling  some old fuel tanks were used to make fan fairings - front and back along with a scratchbuilt nose and main gear well.

I figured the undercarriage would be too long  for easy maintenance if good ground clearance was needed - so I presumed a hydraulic undercarriage that would  lower the fuselage when the engines were powered down.

 A fully equipped cockpit was scratched along with air hoses, wiring and etched harness. Gear covers were made from thick aluminium tape and the cockpit was opened and given appropriate handles.

 Pitots and aerials finished the job. Damn... I forgot nav lights...again!

TT-1 Pinto

Temco Pinto TT-1
Special Hobby 1/72

I wanted one of these for a long time before I picked one up. A lot of money for a little model and  the  general lack of  fit that comes with SH kits. Saying that, the engraving is sublime so I'll  stop whining and get on with the kit.

I did a little research but couldn't find a good colour pic of the cockpit. Super Pinto pics show updated cockpits but I needed original. After assembling the two separate cockpit tubs I dry fitted them and noticed big gaps between the instrument panels and the coaming. It was necessary to adjust the angle of  both tubs. They certainly don't fit as depicted in the instructions. Here's a quick phone pic of the tubs in situ -

 I've used a clamp to hold the  bottom of the rear tub and the top of the front tubs' rear section under pressure, eliminating the gap above the rear instrument panel. Always a bit of a bodge with these kits!

As you can see, the  rear tub cants back.  if I straightened the rear  bulkhead then I could raise the rear of the  rear tub. I would also have to reshape the rear bulkhead and tub to fit higher in the cockpit. No! Not good enough! I ripped them out and started again..