Posted by Matty on July 20, 2009, 20:05:25 Message modified by board administrator July 5, 2011, 8:54:59
--Originally Initiated 12/17/07--
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This is the build-log thread for this interesting subject - both the MPM (apparently ex-FROG) mold and actual historical aircraft - which seems to be largely unkown by (at least Western) modelers and historians alike. In addition, several novel (to me, anyway) customizations were installed, including heat-formed, replacement clear parts, bomb bay detailing and rotating dorsal turret involving numerous (mostly resin and brass) details and upgrades. (Which is why it took nearly 3 and a half years to finish! )
I hope you enjoy/benefit from it (even half) as much as I have!
A repop of a very crude (possibly Heller?) original, this mold nevertheless seems to depict all major shapes accurately - with the possible exception of the nacelles of the Klimov M103bis engines, which apparently were a little more streamlined and "shark"-like, on the real thing. However I don't think this detracts appreciably from the overall aspect, particularly in this rudimentary camouflage, seen on (at least) some bombers of the Soviet Volunteer Group in the Chinese Air Force, during early- to mid-WWII. The sunburst Nationalist Chinese roundels are decals from the kit, and of surprising high quality. Likewise, the box also included a small fret of PE details (not shown) - an obvious, later addition/upgrade to the kit. On my depiction, the number of blue/white tail stripes should be a couple more than depicted, but difficulties handling/masking the camouflage, once applied, persuaded me to leave them "as-is". The number "4"s are decal spares - fictitious but very similar in style to those on real Soviet aircraft of the period.
The stand, depicting a Japanese "KaiBoKan" patrol vessel sinking by the stern, was still incomplete when the aircraft was finished, as development of the former continues in resin, as a prototype showing great promise for more such displays. All (discolored vacu-formed) clear parts of the kit were replaced by custom, heat-formed replacements, whose main drawback can be a difficulty to cut cleanly - however the improvement was already well worth it, from the start. The dorsal turret was upgraded to rotate, a feature not included OOB. Canopy strapping was provided by aluminum HVAC tape, cut in thin strips - still not thin enough, especially on the nose dome, where they impede visibility into the custom-detailed nose position. Replacement of these may be a subject of a future refit. The clear support pylon is often visually effective - even when in the foreground, and the forced-perspective effect is particularly strong - as viewed from behind. The open bomb bay and its contents were all scratch-built/parts box additions.
Markings depict a(n again) fictitious naval/maritime raider - though the Chinese Air Force did indeed fly numerous coastal and riverine anti-shipping missions - and decal spares depict attacked vessels on the port side of the nose just ahead of the cockpit, as well as a blue-and-yellow group marking - again completely fictitious, but similar to other such marking on Soviet aircraft, and chosen for its color match with the other markings. Propeller shafts, protruding through the spinner tips, were upgraded to real copper-tubing shafts, permitting them to rotate - another feature omitted from the original design! Exhaust stack-ends, protruding through the top of the wings, were upgraded to aluminum tube, and trailing ends of the engine nacelles between them chopped straight, as (I believe is) more accurate. The guns are all cast-resin, copper-core reinforced replacements.
This build was not always a breeze - suffering more than once from failures and lost momentum - however it was always a technical and artistic challenge, making for repeated satisfaction, on overcoming setbacks and, especially, upon completion. Particularly considering that it was since I was 8 years old that I had been inspired by this aircraft - and certainly would have built one then, or in subsequent years had I known any such kits were available - yet the discovery waited over 40 years: until the early 2000's, and the vendor stacks at the 2007 St. Petersburg, FL (PeliCon'07) model show. Thank You, Earl - you made an 8-year-old kid very happy. Four decades later!
Cheers,
-Matty
Brilliant overall finish
Posted by Don Murphy on July 5, 2011, 12:58:36, in reply to "FINISHED PICS"
The camo is striking. Weird, but when you look at it from a distance, you can see how it would disrupt a Japanese fighter attacking from above. One wonders if maybe the Japanese copied this scheme as late war Tony's and Hyabusa's had something similar.
That camouflage - green spattered over bare aluminum - apparently started out as a crude, Russian technique. I can imagine them at some remote airstrip, with 10 cans of newly-arrived paint - and no spray equipment, or even masking tape - just 10,000 square miles of spruce forrest, all around. You wouldn't want to just pour paint over the aircraft - that would be very heavy and also a tremendous waste. So: dip a pine bough in green paint and slap it upside the aircraft, here, there and everywhere - I think that's exactly what they did - or perhaps they did have sponges or rags, but that was essentially it. And also pretty much what the Japanese were reduced to doing, later in the war.
But beyond that, I think it actually made for a pretty effective camo. As you mentioned, it is quite disruptive, visually. Also the silver would reflect every shade of blue sky - here a little darker than the green, and there a little lighter. If the sky was dark and overcast, then the reflections would be darker as well. So it probably blended well against the landscape below, regardless of the weather. I read somewhere that the USN experimented with a mottled green/aluminum finish on (at least one) TBD Devastator(s), just before the war.
The only drawback I can see is that the paint splotches would roughen the surfaces ever so slightly - but again the resulting drag might have been more than compensated-for by weight savings from the reduced paint load, overall.
Anyway, I picked that camo precisely because it was strikingly different: in person, the model looks something like a Christmas ornament! Thanks for the kudos, Donny!
But it's not Stoly's - it's Finlandia. (BTW, the Finnish Air Force also flew Tupolev SB's.) Anyway, the wodka - with fruit juice - is for the girls, when they (are unwary enough to) come over! What The Mens drinks is 12-year-old Single-Malt (lately "Speyside" label - 's f-in' GOOD, too!) on these days when it's who knows (and very soon who the hell cares) how hot. Plus a tall glass of pure, unfluoridated icewater (Group Captain Mandrake)!
Now get on the horn and tell Gates to stop shooting up all the Paki P-3s - out of sentimental regard for the airframes, if for no other reason!
Seriously though, Gus, THANKS for the compliment on my model - glad you liked it, buddy!
Finally, back to attack the last remaining custom-mods - and very stubborn ones they've been, too: the bottoms of the FAB-100 bombs, loaded in the vertical-drop box:
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Two earlier attempts - one involving small straws, and another using resin castings, made from them - had both failed, so I resorted to glueing in brass rings (top), cut from ends of tubing. Inside these, fins were fashioned of thin sheet styrene, augmented/corrected with superglue putty and checked with silver paint (bottom). Although not as fine as the straws (which were probably about perfectly in scale), these had the inestimable advantage of not popping off, nor disintegrating!
At this point, very close to completion - and also consumed by numerous final details - I neglected to take further pics until she was all but entirely finished:
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Including display base (about which I had also been pondering/experimenting for some time) featuring a sinking IJN patrol boat (in 700-scale). The stand is not yet completed: I'm going to mold its basic structure for casting resin copies, before adding delicate fittings - PE etc.. On the aircraft I completely re-did the paint job, whose Tamiya Gloss Aluminum (TS-17) had taken quite a beating from extensive handling. Although I had sprayed the aluminum with clearcoat before adding the sponge-splotches, this paint job cannot be sealed properly, afterwards - the metal is glossy and green is flat - and so must simply not be directly touched, once painted!
Here the aircraft is seen completed, except for dry-fitted propellers and some minor paint touchup. I just took a bunch more pics, which I'll post shortly...!
This is a kit that I saw as a child and never got a chance to build. When my allowance increased to where I could afford it, the kit was OOP! Great job on the paint finish and it's Asian theatre look.
Great diorama idea. Never understood the German/Russian fixation with vertical dropping bombs...
Cheers,
Don
THANKS, Don!
Posted by Matty on June 1, 2011, 22:09:08, in reply to "WOW!"
Funny about those bombs: they were the most uncooperative part of the whole build - and then visibility into the bomb bay ended up being just about zero! I think the vertical storage served two purposes: first and foremost, it made the bombs tumble when (first) dropped - kind of a natural air-brake - so their noses ended up well and truly burrowing downward into the target, and not skipping off (obviously, the days before skip-bombing was employed). And secondly, storing them butt-down might have been (or at least thought to be) safer in the event of a belly-landing. I do know this: they're a surprisingly large pain in the a** to scratchbuild, for very little return!
Glad you liked this build, though - and after all these years, now you know what it looks like!
Recently inspired to resume work on my Do217-k2 build, I was likwise drawn to this one - likewise incorporating (vastly improved) replacement clear parts, and likewise also collecting dust, lying alongside:
In addition to (and in no way excusing) my sheer neglect of this build, progress had suffered due to a baffling misalignment of the twin machine guns and their mounting post, in the nose. When aligned to fit through the clear nose dome (see below) and appearing at least pretty good with it on, when the dome was removed they clearly appeared off-center, and their mounting post not even exactly vertical - a logical impossibility, if everything were really aligned right. And so, in the spirit of "Kai-Zen" - a Japanese phrase I recently learned, meaning "continual improvement" - I set about examining and reconciling this problem, by first painting the entire aircraft underside a uniform, metallic (Tamiya Light GunMetal; TS-42) finish, to check alignment of the heavy "chin" beam (white), supporting the gun mount.
It was indeed found to be misaligned - as (later discovered) also matched perfectly by misalignments in both the nose dome (not shown), as well as belly panel lines on the model! In the above pics these lines have already been re-scribed correctly, and a replacement chin beam installed/aligned correctly, complete with a brass pin, on which the machine gun post was re-mounted.
In the process, the nose gunner was dislodged completely - one of his arms even broken - however this was all to the good, as this would allow him to be repositioned (see below) much better than before, as well as (temporarily) open up access to the underside of the skylight panel (bottom-right, and see next):
The skylight had itself been highly problematic - cut too small - and earlier removed (left, top-left) pending replacement, whose time had clearly now arrived. Except this time its installation would be greatly improved by inserting small triangular supports (left, top-right), chopped from ends of thin Plastruct strip (white), once secured into each corner. I then hunted through my (ever-growing) stash of clear thermoplastic - from discarded household packaging - to find any cylinder sections with about the same radius as the fuselage (left, bottom). The best match - cut more carefully this time - laid (dry-fitted) into place near-perfectly, as shown at right. Likewise, more precise trimming/adjusting around the base of the nose dome resulted in near-perfect aligment with the guns - connundrum solved! The gunner (along with his arm) was carefully re-attached in-place - reaching for the guns yet no longer interfering with their free elevation/depression - which was just exactly as originally intended.
As usual, note these clear parts - even still dirty from frequent handling, as seen here - are so phenomenally see-through that it will truly be difficult to obscure any part(s) of them, with canopy-strapping. In any case, just a little more work in the bomb bay remains before canopy attachment and final, overall painting - and finishing off of - this plane can begin.
Cheers,
-Matty
Update: 4/5/10: Suffering a Second Bombing
Posted by Matty on May 27, 2011, 19:49:31, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 29, 2011, 17:46:41
-- Originally Posted 4/5/10--
I came back for a second crack at making FAB-100 bomb fins, their only parts to be visible, inserted in their vertical drop-box in the bombay:
Along with castings of propellers (ultimately not used on this build) the bomb fin castings - mastered from coffee straws - proved simply too delicate: every one broke either during extraction from the mold, during cleanup (or both), as well as attempts to repair them, either before or after insertion in the bomb bay.
All together, a huge loss of time, and failed attempt. However these are the thinnest castings I've ever done - and now I know the limit!
Great stuff - and you can definitely see the SB's were engaged in maritime/anti-shipping operations around China!
Cheers,
-Matty
Update 2/28/10: BOMBING OUT
Posted by Matty on January 6, 2011, 18:15:26, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 30, 2011, 13:51:26
--Originally Posted 2/28/10--
This build is just at the point, before painting, of the delicate dance of deciding just which detail parts must go on beforehand, and which can be safely left for attachment afterwards. And in the former category, I decided, would go the six "FAB 100 kg" (220-lb) bombs, in their vertical-drop box carrier. The Russian-style bomb - as I presume was used in China - had (like the standard British bombs) a cylindrical fin encircling the four straight ones. The latter were handily provided by tiny parts-box bombs (from the LS 1/72 Type 96 Nell kit), though their fins had to be shaved down - times twenty-four, don't forget - to something approaching scale thickness. Coming up with the ring-fins, at anything like the same fineness, however, presented a real challenge:
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I finally hit upon the idea of mating the tiny bombs with small coffee straws (left), to be chopped off to proper length only after attachment of the tiny bombs. Or actually, just their little butt-ends, as these fins are all that would possibly remain visible (not to mention fit) in the box cells. Leaving goodly lengths of straw also greatly facilitated such installation (right) serving as handles and also excellent guides to keep them oriented vertically.
There was only one problem:
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The whole cockamame scheme didn't work! Or, more specifically, the crucial chopping step failed, due to fierce resistance of the straws - equally resistant to any attempted sawing - and would readily just pop off (top) when stressed - as it also turns out they (and presumably most plastic straws) do not superglue well, either! (Both too slick-surfaced and highly flexible, at the same time, I concluded.) Use of some "hotter" adhesive(s) might have worked - but then most of those could melt the thin plastic and/or goop up the detail (as you can see the repeated attempts with superglue were already doing).
So that was a helluva lot of effort wasted - or actually only 5/6 of it, as I retrieved one set of fins (bottom), nipped and whittled its ring down to as good as I could manage and attached a short mounting peg (white). Thus conscripting it as a master for RTV molding - so that what couldn't be done in coffee straws (propylene), certainly could be done in resin! Particularly when I need 6 of them - and especially when doing so will leave me with unlimited copies to bash up more "ring-tailed" bombs - Russian, British, and several types of USN depth bombs and torpedoes - in future builds.
Thus, this work suddenly intersected with preparations for molding already underway in my Lancaster build:
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Assembled with numerous masters for a (variety of) 14-cylinder radial engine(s), all newly fitted with various (white) spikes and pegs (for mounting in the molding process), the new bomb fins (bottom-left) plus a short length of generic straw (top-back) are additionally joined by two more propellers - themselves representing yet another intersection of the Lanc- and SB-3 builds. Note, compared to the standard "paddle-bladed" silver prop at right, the black and light-gray (with spinner) props have reversed pitch - the Rotol props required by the Hercules-engined Lancaster had such reversed pitch - rather rare, on the whole - yet so did the SB-3 propellers!
Moreover, my MPM SB-3 kit props really sucked - so I had begun searching my stash for any possible substitute(s):
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Short of going back and tearing a prop off my Beaufighter build (a non-starter), my total options for such propellers from unbuilt kits turned out to be only the above Airfix Wellington (left), MPC SM-79 Sparviero (center) and Airfix Pe-2 (right). The Wellington had Hercules engines, and from this kit was selected the black prop seen earlier. The Sparviero had Piaggio engines bearing more than passing resemblance to the Hercules' - right down to the same copper (alloy) exhaust cowling manifolds (note artwork accurately depicts their burnt coloration) - it clearly appears one copied the other (or perhaps there was a licensing/collaborative agreement). The Pe-2, meanwhile, had the same (or very similar) Klimov engines - and props, including the same spinners - as fitted to the SB-3, so this kit's prop-with-spinner was also selected, as seen earlier. The Sparviero prop did not particularly offer anything more than these other two, and so was passed over.
So, while the initial debacle with the bombs really ate up my bench time this weekend, it has left this build abruptly on the point of some parts-molding - piggybacking with the Lancaster build - which is apparently where it was destined, to begin with! And again, the bomb-fin castings will only facilitate the Pe-2 - and who knows how many other - builds in the future.
That is, if I can ever get to any future builds...
Cheers,
-Matty
Update: 1/4/10: A Little GunMetal
Posted by Matty on February 28, 2010, 22:59:38, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 30, 2011, 13:49:58
-- Originally Posted 1/5/10--
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Last weekend I painted the resin duplicates of the machine guns, along with parts from several other builds also needing a gunmetal finish (see below). Here, alongside two types of MGs from my Do217-k2 (left and top-right), the ShKAS-7.62mm (approximately 30-cal) guns of the SB-3 finally get their painting as well, following the stubbier (also 7.62mm) nose guns. Already "purple-primed" with Tamiya spray Purple (TS-24), these have now been overpainted with Tamiya Bare Metal Silver (AS-12).
To be followed by a wash of Testors Gloss Black (1247) in high-quality thinner:
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Multiple washes are (inevitably) required - each must be very sparing - as the Tamiya base paint will not absorb the slightest bit of wash/thinner: it appears completely inert/insoluble by it. The result (so far) is that a lot of excess wash drips all over, dissolving away the masking tape adhesive into a sticky goo, while taking longer to dry, exacerbating the problem (note spots where several parts have fallen over). However on the plus side, the impervious undercoat makes it very easy to start over (just rinse, in clean mineral spirits), as well as fine-tune the application of washes to get precisely the effect(s) desired.
Note the perforated mounting collar (top, at center-left) for the dorsal turret's ShKAS-7.62mm, as well as the guns themselves (near center, top and bottom). All the other parts are from other builds including, besides the above Do217k2, also my RAAF Boston refit as well as CATF Hudson builds.
So, that's a tiny bit done on this build during the short New Years' week and weekend - but definitely some multiple builds going to get finished, in this next year!
Cheers,
-Matty
Update 11/21/09: On THE NOSE
Posted by Matty on November 23, 2009, 0:33:08, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator November 27, 2009, 7:57:04
Last weekend, intending just to intersperse a little work on this build, in between tasks on my Hudson, I instead entered into full-blown inspiration - and resulting progress:
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The last detailing of the engine nacelles - adding small (surpisingly good) kit airscoops and gap-filling around the exhaust pipes, as shown at left (sorry for the poor focus) - finished out pretty well, according the nacelles their final, rather exotic and complex look. Only after, however, a lot of putty mass went in to complete several of the pipes, as apparent at right.
But the really big progress was on the nose:
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Per anticipated very high visibility through the severe-clear greenhouse dome (see below), the kit ammunition boxes and -belts parts were replaced as shown at left, the boxes (top-left) with some more interestingly-proportioned and (oversized rivet-) detailed blocks of plastic (1/32 scale tank hatch, IIRC) from the parts box, and - the real coup - the belts replaced with snippets of circa 20-year-old PC IDE internal (hard disk) ribbon cable, whose copper cores (top-right), thinly clad in silver (not resolved), take on a net brassy sheen very much as intended. Some of you real Rembrandts might even be able to chop such ribbon at a very shallow angle to expose long cable ends, looking even more like bullets, but already this was a major improvement over the kit belts (bottom-left). (I don't know if today's PCs still use IDE, but some type of ribbon cable must surely remain available - and just one will supply a lifetime's worth of these ammo belts!) At right, note these strips are also flexible, very much as the real thing.
I'm still unsure whether or not the nose position was for bomb-aiming or just recon/defense, but what I can say is, whoever was up front was a gunner - having a fistfull of them - whose installation followed quite the complex sequence:
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At top, with ammo boxes (but not yet the belts) installed, a keel extension supporting a gun mounting post - both accurate to the real aircraft - went in, and then machine guns fitted only (bottom), such that the crewman could be properly positioned (looking like his hand is grasping a charging lever), whereupon he could be secured.
Note these two resin clones from the kit's depiction of the uniquely Russian short-barrel 7.7mm (.30cal) MGs (I forget their name), painted up just beautifully (or at least, exactly how I wanted them to look), with first a "purple-prime" spray of Tamiya Purple, then a base coat of Tamiya Silver Leaf and over-wash of Testors Gloss Black, thinned greatly with high-quality mineral spirits, to which the Tamiya paints appear completely impervious - a killer combo.
But the guns could still not be attached yet, as their positioning had to pass muster with the greenhouse nose, as well:
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Gun ports, in the form of long vertical slots had to be cut into my heat-formed clear thermoplastic replacement nose - the first attempt, after beginning well, resulting in sudden catastrophe when the knife (presumably hitting a thin/weak spot) raced clear down the slot and right through the rim! At top, the damaged dome, filled with latex maskoid (yellowish) to protect from superglue fogging, is undergoing attempted repair while I called up the next-best contender, the one at center whose only flaw was a minor crimp along the rim, actually directly facing the camera.
At bottom, the gun slots were cut much more controllably by taping the backup dome securely down on the nose mounting collar, for support - this is the way to do it, and this time it worked perfectly. (Oiy Vey! )
Then and only then could the gun mounting be adjusted/verified good-to-go:
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With the guns now mounted, ammo belts - still left over-long, for ease of handling - were secured first into the ammo boxes (top) and then each flexed to arrive properly at its gun (bottom), where it was attached - before trimming - first with a little bit of CA underneath, and only then carefully and with a very sharp knife tip gently chopped to length, right against the gun block. More CA, thickened into putty, was then added to fair/secure it firmly. Again, the belts are flexible - and I mounted the guns also able to move - so that the entire twin brace is actually able to elevate and depress, like the real thing!
This was really turning into a kick - and BTW I was able to repair the original (otherwise) perfect nose dome, as well - so the only remaining step is to attach one or the other of these, to finish off the nose construction entirely.
I must say, the ammo belt made out of ribbon cable has got to be the most ingenious scratchbuilding trick I've seen! I have a lot of those cables lying around and now I realize why I haven't thrown them away!
Great work on everything. The Hudson project will be one to watch.
Cheers,
Don
Happy Thanksgiving, Donny!
Posted by Matty on May 29, 2011, 17:25:51, in reply to "Prime evil work!"
--Originally Posted 11/28/09--
I thought you'd like that HD cable trick! And - although I haven't really eyeballed it yet - the coarser, SCSI ribbon-cable might be good for 20/30mm cannon belts - or maybe 1/48 scale MGs.
As for the Hudson(s - there might be a second one brewing now), I'm jazzed up and working away on it, at this very moment.
What-up, on your bench, buddy? GIve a Happy Thanksgiving shout-out to all your Clan for me.
Cheers,
-Matty
Update 9/7/09: EXHAUSTING Labor Day
Posted by Matty on September 8, 2009, 14:19:28, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator September 8, 2009, 15:57:01
I got some more work in over the Labor Day weekend - and what an appropriate day, particularly as the build seemed to require endless work:
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Of course the bomb bay, like much else, was a deliberate improvement upon the kit - with the added benefit of making good use of parts box spares. Still, at 12-hours-plus work into it (and counting), as shown, it seemed a poor emulation of the job I once watched Donny Murphy do, completely making up a bomb bay (for the SkyWarrior I gave him) in only about an hour or so! And increasing my "burn"(-out) was the belated realization that 90% of what I had built would be covered up by the bombs! In a full bomb bay, (finally) I realized, only the end bulkheads and doors are really worth detailing.
Fortunately, it was these which I was working on, by then:
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The kit bomb door interiors (top) did indeed sand down (fairly) flat, as seen in our primary reference pic. I drilled some (oversized) pits to indicate flat/countersunk rivets - which was enough to cramp up my hands - but it increased yet more my appreciation for silver paint to simultaneously provide the best look at both the surface and markings, scratched into the paint more precisely than possible by drawing them on, while both more visible and less damaging than if scratched into bare plastic. Though years ago I read of the utility of silver paint, it was only my relatively recent access to Tamiya rattle-cans, that provided a silver which goes on thin enough, dries (super) fast enough, and cleans off easily enough to be practical for such use.
I constructed an 8-cell bomb vertical-drop box, as seen in our reference pic, using square-section plastic tube. Tiring for the moment of scratchbuilding, I turned in very John-Bangeian fashion, to my collection, shown at bottom, of (at least) 8 incomplete Revell 250- and Renwall 200-scale cutaway SSBN kits; for direct match(es) with the electronics boxes (dark) shown in our reference pic (on the aft bulkhead). Incredibly, even with this huge assortment I could not find an exact match - but I think I got something(s) decent enough:
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The vertical-drop box is consistently out of focus - but don't worry, it wasn't quite finished yet, anyway. What turned out by far the most effective details were also the simplest: holes drilled at the ends, suggesting fuselage frames - and the one instance in which the kit's thick plastic was of great benefit! So there's 20 hours or so into a bomb bay which, next time, I will finish in one!
But that was only the beginning, in this last bench session:
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The cockpit and nose-dome, especially, each needed a mounting collar - here made out of shaped 0.04"x0.01" plastic bar - not so much to seat the clear parts (which are actually somewhat oversized) but to hold the thick, internal glue fillets required to secure them firmly; using clear canopy cement, they will be not unlike thick beads of weather seal.
Next it was on to substantial work correcting the exhaust systems:
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This encountered perhaps the worst-yet nightmare of poorly-molded and poor-fitting parts in the entire kit. Note, at left, the holes in the wing from false starts drilling out a receptacle for the pipe, which had proved almost impossible to dry-fit. Not wot worry, though - the damn thing wasn't long enough to reach, anyway! (But then others were; I'm telling you, it was Cruel and Unusual - and will require significant puttying/cleanup, afterwards.)
Defaulting to pure scratchbuilding topside (right), the work went much better. First, the desired cutoff of the aft engine nacelles was about perfect, simply by following the wing panel lines provided by the kit, and then gouging out the crescent-shaped openings - careful not to tear up the underlying wing surfaces. Holes for the exhaust stacks were then drilled, and aluminum tubing secured (with superglue). However, I learned these stacks should be completely prefabricated before attachment; when attempting to flare out their openings after the fact, two of the four squirmed free, spinning uselessly (and unworkably) in place.
Nothing a bit of cussing and a little more tubing and time couldn't fix, after which - with the additon of one more item - the result was pretty decent:
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At top, note the far-side (starboard) engine nacelle, conveniently out of focus, resembles very well our fuzzy reference pic; also shot from off to the side, depicting this same area. At bottom, closeups from the frontal view include a final item: the wing leading-edge light, its reflector the inside of a split plastic tube, "fished-in" with a length of plastic dowel which, when subsequently cut off, left a stub doubling remarkably well for a light bulb (especially after it will be crowned with a large drop of clear glue). Not shown here are significant starts I also made on the light lens, bombs and display stand.
Quite a bit of work - exhausting - and adding a customized item to practically every square inch of this build - but with the result that it is starting to look decently detailed, and not nearly so clunky now.
Plus, having completed all the above - and the earlier progress on replacement clear parts, crew figures, turret, machine guns and spinners, etc. - practically all significant construction is now done, and final assembly should be possible quite soon...
and highly detailed as well. Yeah, there's only so much that can be seen so kudos for picking only the relevant areas. Keeps the Scotch drinking to a minimum.
Me? Been down with the freakin' flu, lovingly joined by all three kids. Oh lookee, I'm better now...just in time for work on Monday...
Yeah, the flu sucks - I wonder what SWINE! (sorry, but now whenever I hear the word "flu" I am compelled to cry out "SWINE!" ) is responsible for that. I haven't had any flu (or any illness, knock wood), but have indeed been dragging a** lately - making it difficult even to maintain "business as usual". My paranoid hippie friend (he and his girlfriend are the only "hippies" on the entire island ) says we're being sprayed with something, along with the mosquitoes. Actually, though, he's not paranoid, so much as psychotic - and not even a hippie, either, so much as a fat lecher!
Anyway, I appreciate your encouragement - I know these airplanes are not holding the interest of many of our regulars, and have taken steps to remedy that, with resumption of my Boxer build - or at least more research/photos on it, which took up the whole day, yesterday.
I'm going to try and jump-start a little more productivity this week, so hopefully can get to some more progress and post it before the weekend.
Cheers,
-Matty
Update 8/14/09: ChangeUp, Pt.2 - Digging Into The GOLD MINE
Posted by Matty on August 19, 2009, 8:14:32, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 29, 2011, 17:11:52
--Originally Posted 8/14/09--
Stepping back from the inspiration to redirect this build - and probably also my Hudson - to portray Chinese examples as inspired by these new photos, let us take a deep breath - refocus on the opportunity at hand - and not overlook the wealth of details these pics contain:
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Again, the camo/markings illustrated at top appear typical of most Chinese SBs - and especially the SB2-M103s - seen in most photos, as at bottom. However the middle plane shows major differences in appearance: the upper camo is much lighter - if not completely absent in places, especially aft and on the tail - and some undersurfaces appear very shiny, particularly the landing gear doors and again, the aft fuselage, beginning at the wing root. Not all undersides, though; note some areas - particularly under the wing, and under the nose - appear distinctly non-glossy. In addition, the middle plane does not appear to have any ID number on its tail while, also in contrast to the other two, it does have on its waist a large sunburst roundel (which the website translation calls the "Sunny Day" ).
Whether the middle pic is evidence of a second camo/marking scheme for some SB-2-M103s, or simply showing an incomplete paint job - or even a pieced-together aircraft; recovered from variously-painted wrecks - it strikes me as being the more interesting appearance, by far. Thus, it was with mounting interest that I also discovered the following:
Note this is indeed a lighter topside camo - and, provocatively, also a rather shiny-looking wing underside - like the middle picture, above; though this is an earlier SB-2 version. Regardless, the idea of doing this (apparently) sponge-painted, emerald green mottling, over a bare metal finish, I find quite appealing - though probably not quite accurate, even for the earlier SB-2s (see below).
What does seem clear is that the earlier SBs did receive a wider variety in paint/markings:
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Note all these - even the yellow/red (formation lead?) aircraft, at top, are clearly depicted with sky-blue undersides - the mottled scheme (third from the top) being no exception. At bottom-left, it is again depicted (from overhead) - this time to demonstrate the difference between the SB-2(bis) and the SB-3 (bottom-right). Note the latter shows correctly-shaped engines for the 2-M103, though not the dorsal turret. Whether this indicates an error in the drawing or, once again, a great variation among which-, when- and how planes actually got these turrets, may be up for debate. However for my build it will make no difference - not after all the work I put into my turret ; it is definitely going on (whether accurate or not)!
What concerns me more in the above, SB-3 drawing is the straight-chopped termination of its engine nacelles, atop the wing. This is indeed accurate for the earlier SBs, as seen in the following:
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Clearly apparent at left, is the chopped back end of a nacelle - as well as the reason for it: to let the exhaust stacks exit freely over the wing (where their jets should have increased lift). This pic had a caption specifically identifying the planes as SB-2s; translated "SB-2 bombing on the way from cannoneer position photography picture". Similarly, the pic of a crashed plane at right (top) shows the chopped termination of the earlier engines, captioned "Because the Japanese forces raid SB-2 which destroys" ( I love these translations - they're like quotes from Yoda! )
Seriously though, my kit seems equally clear that the later-model, SB-3 nacelles terminated smoothly (as rounded blisters); with exhaust stacks now routed up through the wing top; to protrude alongside. That the latter is accurate seems borne out by the very first of the new pics presented earlier:
Here greatly enlarged, note firstly that on the back of the (starboard) wing, two light-colored exhaust streaks extend backward from well outside the engine nacelle. Each can in fact be traced forward to its origin at a (fuzzy-resolution) exhaust stub - #s"1", in the inset - which is exactly as depicted in my kit. Between the two, however, the terminus of the nacelle - #"2", in the inset - does appear chopped off - or, at the very least, squared off. Thus, it appears both my kit and the above drawing are somewhat in error; the very end of the nacelle is indeed chopped straight - but not nearly to the extent (stack-to-stack width) indicated by the drawing. Clearly, the nacelle must have tapered significantly before terminating - though not quite all the way to a complete, smoothly-curving "blister", as depicted in my kit.
Which is, accordingly somewhat of a shame, as I had already put in a fair amount of work - filling the kit's lousy seams - to make it so:
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Shown here are operations to fill three sets of just awful seams: engine nacelles, at top; (dry-fitted) landing gear doors, at middle; and wing air inlets, at bottom. The nacelles required yet more fill around their wing joints - again, protected by aluminum tape - than provided by the initial glue-up; it was the same for their ends, atop of the wings (not shown). The landing gear doors fit lousy as you can see, but were much improved simply by sanding along their hinge-lines, enabling them to settle in much closer to flush.
The wing leading-edge vents were another interesting mating of thick plastic with delicate PE (gratings; see inset), for which I resorted to my method of "fishing" them into place; using plastic rod "handles" sunk temporarily into the assemblies and chopped off afterwards. Attached with copious CA putty, the entire outer surface of each was completely ground/shaped in place; too late I realized I could have removed much of the crude, thickness of plastic by mounting them much higher - protruding higher above the surface - to be largely ground/shaved away. But I hope in the end - perhaps also with a bit of clever painting - they won't look too bad.
From here it will be on to finishing the bomb bay, as well as the nose position - details of both of which are shown in the following:
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Here serving as a backdrop for both Russians (top) and Chinese crews (bottom), earlier-model SBs present their noses - details of which remain applicable to the later 2-M103s, particularly the unique chin stub hard point, which anchored a post-like yoke (inside; not visible), supporting the twin guns. Note also a bomb door cross-section is clearly visible in each pic; at top (and as seen earlier), its inside face appearing flat (or nearly so) while, curiously, at bottom appearing to be concave, per more conventional designs. This probably indicates an earlier model/fit for the plane at bottom, whose engines also appear slightly boxier and less streamlined than at top.
That the engines on this plane had evolved considerably - from a bulky, initial design through increasingly streamlined configurations, over time - appears to be confirmed by the following pic:
Bearing what look like a pair of farm tractors built into its wings, this SB appears to be the earliest version yet seen (by me, anyway) - though its caption translated simply as "The SB-2 formation launches an attack". In any case, the original design intent - to mate a relatively small fuselage and thin wings with the largest feasible powerplants, just as in the DeHavilland Mosquito - is clearly apparent.
All in all, a pretty cool airplane - amazing that you hardly even (if ever) heard of it before - and one which, now aided by these considerable references, I'm looking forward to finishing off as well as possible.
Cheers,
-Matty
Lookin' good so far...
Posted by Don Murphy on August 19, 2009, 9:57:24, in reply to "Lookin' good so far..." Message modified by board administrator May 29, 2011, 17:13:14
--Originally Posted 8/19/09--
and of course, the turret fitting is indeed a task of epic proportions. Having wrestled with a vacuform kit before, you have my encouragement.
Yes, and your Sea Hornet - in shape and design, though of course later and far more advanced - is the most similar aircraft to this one, I think, that ModelFleet has ever displayed. (Send me your writeup on it again and I'll post it permanently to the Gallery.)
It makes me think of another category for a series-build - "Maritime Mosquitoes"; the naval related attack bombers of every combatant designed with petite, lightweight and streamlined fuselages mated with the largest possible (two) engines - like the DeHavilland Mosquito. About every nation had (at least) one: Kugisho Frances, Tupolev SB (followed, apparently by the Yakovlev Pe2), Ju88 - or especially the Me410 (if it was ever maritime-employed), and for the US, I guess either the A-26 Invader or possibly the B-26 Marauder -or even the F7F TigerCat. (Though none of these was really all that close; the US never really did produce a Mosquito-type design).
Meanwhile my SB-3 turret is, of course, already part of a larger "side story" yielding clear parts - and better than "normal" injection-molded ones - tremendously upgrading my Nell (and very soon, also my Boston and Do217-k2). I've even started stockpiling clear thermoplastic scrap; against the day when I will again do a marathon "heat-forming session", for yet more replacement clear parts. A prime candidate, just discovered yesterday, being the canopy in my Airfix 1:72 Mosquito - which is cracked just about in half. And I already have an early bubble canopy - like for a Fury or Banshee - completely prepared (resin-filled-on-a-stick).
Of course, making each of these customizations into a "grand operation", to service all kinds of future builds, is a big part of what takes me so long. But I must say, I am enjoying the interest it adds to each new build - challenging, and improving my skills - and the results come out as good as I am capable of doing.
(Wow - too much coffee this morning! )
Meantime, thanks for the encouragement, buddy!
Cheers,
-Matty
Update 8/1/09: ChangeUp - "DEFECTION" To CHINA!
Posted by Matty on August 16, 2009, 11:34:49, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 29, 2011, 17:06:48
--Originally Posted 8/1/09--
Adhering to the First Principle of finishing a model, I have stuck to working on this build - not least because it still holds my interest - especially after I struck a gold mine of references, at a couple websites. The first of which describes in detail Chinese air operations during WWII, including the statement: "...Among the aircraft delivered to China from the beginning of 1941 were SBs of the last series with M-103 motors and the upper, enclosed MV-3 turret. The Chinese knew them as the SB-III...".
Bingo - but that was only the start; the next website I found was in Chinese (simple text) - and has all the photos:
Including this smiling Ruskie - and closeup of the SB-series cockpit he is strapped into - among a ton of others documenting in great detail the exploits of the Soviet Volunteer Air Group in China during WWII; the website title translating (via BabbleFish) as: "Soviet wish air unit () Bomber force in China (1937-1946)".
Note how small is the cockpit - looks like a fighter - even after you notice the wing-mounted engine, in the background. This and other pics (see below) only reinforced my growing impression of how gracile this plane was - rather similar even to the DeHaviland Mosquito:
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Like the Mossie, its wings, while having a very broad chord, are in fact rather thin - as is the fuselage, especially compared to the huge engines. The photo at top was accompanied by a caption translating as: "The China and Soviet Union ground crews maintain SB-2, prepares next time launching an attack". However, it is clearly an SB-3 - the later-model 2-M103 - as evidenced by the dorsal turret (and engines). (Though the turret in the photo does look a bit squashed, compared to my kit as well as other pics - so it is possible this one was some sort of earlier prototype turret, or even a field retrofit.)
In any case, the above prompted me to switch the build to an in-flight depiction - the better to show off its graceful lines - and also, I realized, would avoid the expected struggle with yet more crude kit parts comprising the landing gear. An airborne depiction would also better show off the bomb bay, which I decided to open up, especially after encountering the following:
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At left, a photo with caption translated "In the SB missile bay's ammunition box, this kind uses for to load 6 FAB-100 high bombs" shows, I would guess, a box rack for 100kg (220lb) anti-personnel bombs; dropped from low altitude - and vertically so they wouldn't skip past the target. Note the rest of the bomb bay - what can be seen of it - as well as the bomb doors are relatively featureless. And that the latter are not concave on the inside, but plated flat - good news for converting the thick, kit plastic doors (right), after being sawed loose.
What relevance this anti-personnel fit would have to a naval-related build would be problematic - except that in China in those days, it appears many missions which struck naval-related targets (mostly around the river deltas) had been sent out armed to attack any targets of opportunity, to wit:"...27 November 1942...Six Chinese A-29s and five SBs bombed enemy vessels and ferrying equipment at Shasi, Shayang and Tatukow. Airdrome and storehouses at Shadi were damaged..."
Meanwhile the prevalence of additional photos of the late-model 2-M103s argues they were employed in significant numbers in China:
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The illustration at top appears representative of the great majority of China-deployed SB-3s; solid (dark olive green) upper camo, sky blue undersides, blue/white striped rudder and prominent ID number on the vertical stabilizer - apparently yellow, as are the spinners, at top (and possibly at center, but not at bottom).
The bottom pic was the only one having a caption; it translated to, "The SB-3 engine radiator changes the ventral intake, reduced the resistance". However I realized with a jolt it is recognizeably the same airplane - now without the Chinese sentry standing in front of it - and undoubtedly photographed within minutes, as the one I first saw in my Martin Caidin book. So the circle closes, 40 years later - and that's all I needed to shift this build "officially" now to depict a Nationalist Chinese Air Force bird, of the Soviet Volunteer Group!
And that wasn't all (far from it) which I found at the Chinese website:
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Depicting the Japanese adversary, and presented with a caption translating "G3M2 96 type bomber aircrafts", the pic at top portrays (though with some inaccuracies) an aircraft with markings almost identical to the Genzan Air Fleet "Nell" which I just built.
And, on the final page (6) of the website - which for some reason wouldn't translate - so I did not know why this was included with discussion of the Soviet group - the illustration at bottom, showing a (export version of the) Lockheed Hudson; another plane I am building. It was only afterwards that I learned the export version of the Hudson was called "A-29" - the same plane reported (above) to have operated with the SB(-3) in anti-shipping strikes!
All the loops snapping "full circle", now - I will need a second Chinese twin-engined subject to satisfy my "paired twins" project (meanwhile I've got a ton of other British options to take the Hudson's place) - so I think another "defection" is now also in the works.
Stay tuned - there's (already) more...
Cheers,
-Matty
Update 7/18/09: Putting Her Together
Posted by Matty on August 16, 2009, 0:59:44, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 29, 2011, 17:02:40
--Originally Posted 7/18/09--
More progress has revealed just what an odd combination of the Crude and the Elegant this kit truly is:
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At left, the cockpit components are revealed to be most very heavy, and with terrible fit. A crudeness on par with the original turret dome, now replaced by the exquisitely clear thermo-formed replacement, shown behind. However amidst the "dung" note also the "diamonds" of the delicate throttle levers; PE from a small fret endowing the kit with some very nice detail parts. At center-left, note these also included instrument dash boards; for use with beautifully printed dial faces, on some equally beautifully clear plastic sheet (especially curious, considering the horribly yellowed plastic of all the other vacu-formed clear parts).
When combined, all the above together made for a pretty decent cockpit (center-right and right), expecially after closure of the fuselage (below) would hide most flaws. Additional flaw-hiding being furthered by adding crew figures from parts box (as the kit had none). However before all that could be done, a foundation for the rear turret - which had not even been designed to rotate(!) - was scratchbuilt (right; background).
That last was rather demanding:
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The turret base and mounting collar seen at left, are both fruits of second attempts - due primarily to the very fine tolerances around the neck (white ring). The mounting ring - actually a cone section; cut from the drop tank shown at lower-left - fits on top of the neck and presents an inner lip; to mate flush with the clear dome, as shown.
Progress now starting to yield some real gratification, I plunged ahead with constructing the engine nacelles (right), which again included the bizarre mix of the very nice - PE radiator grilles - and the very heavy and bad-fitting plastic components. It seems - and may well be the case - that this was a dated and very crude mold, lately rescued/rejuvenated with PE and the instrument dials (and probably also new box art). If so, they really need to do more - of which decent clear parts would be substantial and probably the easiest to provide.
Masking and re-masking to fill- and then smooth the engine nacelle seams got old real fast, and had a direct impact on the next work:
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Rather than tediously attach and then fill the (universally bad) seams of the wings, stabilizers and engines, I just went ahead and attached all of these using liberal amounts of putty directly. Its quick-setting necessitated a frantic correction (left) of the severely exaggerated port wing dihedral - requiring first one and then a second length of strapping tape to hold it down - in the process causing some messiness (center), however this CA-based stuff tends to pop off pretty cleanly, if caught just as it sets (which I did).
If the spinner base plates - especially the port one - look wobbly, it's because they were; yet another attempted remedy of bad parts - not even meant to spin(!) - which failed the first time around. At right, the much more robust solution embedded a copper-tubing spine through each assembly; from its retainer bushing (inside) clear through the spinner (here only dry-fitted). Not only are the tolerances much finer now, but the spinners are greatly enhanced, with hollow crankshaft tips protruding, as in the real thing.
Note also how well the seam along the main wing root cleaned up; the others I expect to end up equally good.
At this point, the build is really starting to "give back" some gratifying results; I'm getting psyched to see just how good I can make her look, finished!
Cheers,
-Matty
Update 12/30/07: Replacement CLEAR PARTS
Posted by Matty on July 21, 2009, 0:47:46, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 29, 2011, 17:00:12
--Originally Posted 12/30/07--
Some progress and some (pretty well off-topic) background to this build. Firstly, with the help of Don Czech I knocked out (what I think are) suitable replacements for the rotten "clear" parts which came with this kit:
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The making of these parts is described in detail in our "Clear Thermoplastic" thread here. Stay tuned for details on how they ultimately cleaned up, fit, and looked, etc..
Meantime, I ran across two dusty, old books - the source of my very first interest in the Tupolev SB-3 - which I want to show you:
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This is what I was reading (and re-reading, over and over) when I was about 8 years old. And in particular, studying - and trying to learn to draw from - the pictures, of which Martin Caidin's "Ragged, Rugged Warriors" (be still, my corny heart! ) provided the following, tantalizing glimpse of the Tupolev bomber:
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I did not remember he called it "SB-3" - nor even now do I know if this was just a typo or factual error (of which this book is chock full). However I never forgot what it looked like - or at least, as much of it as I could see here (and in another, equally incomplete line-drawing elsewhere in this book).
I also didn't remember this was an "Official US Navy Photo" - nor do I have any idea why the Navy would have been at an inland Chinese airfield to take this photo. In any case, this is the plane - its features (what are visible here, anyway) matching my SB-3 kit exactly.
And apparently in fact "naval-related"; from the day this photo was taken which started my entire interest, some 40-plus years ago, in the first place! (Scary… )
Cheers,
-Matty
Project Start: 12/17/07
Posted by Matty on July 20, 2009, 20:11:45, in reply to "Matty's TUPOLEV SB-3, In Progress" Message modified by board administrator May 29, 2011, 16:54:59
-- Originally posted 12/17/07 --
This is the most difficult parts assembly I have ever made:
It is not a resin confection; it is simply the "clear" plastic dorsal turret assembly - from two hemi-spherical halves - which came OOB on a vacu-formed sheet in the MPM 1/72 Tupolev SB-3 (or "SB-2M 103bis"; see below). Note the large cutout for the gun elevation - leaving even less than half of the edges - which trace only about 2/3 of a circle in the first place - where they have to butt together (right; out of focus). And don't forget I had to cut out these parts and make the edges perfectly smooth and to align perfectly to begin with!
If you don't immediately sense how difficult this is, just try it sometime; try cutting out two bowls which will fit together to form a perfect, symmetrical ball with only one third of their edges to butt/attach them together. Oiy! Of course, this could all be done very easily if the turret were also being attached to a flat base (ring) - and there is one provided in the kit. But I couldn't use it (yet) because I need to use this as an armature over which to form a truly clear part; to replace the dirty-brown tinted plastic of these MPM parts.
Yes, I'm again going over to Don Czech's and we gonna make up a mess o' more awesome stretched thermoplastic clear parts!
But first I needed to do something extra to prepare these particular parts:
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Inside each little blue clay "volcano" is a dome, turret or canopy, etc.; turned upside-down, with half a popsicle stick glued to its interior and then filled with a "lava" of epoxy resin. The purpose of the clay being not only to secure the piece and create a dam for the resin but also - and primarily - to seal off completely the all-important outside surface of each part from coming in contact with any resin. (The parts had also been painstakingly masked with Scotch tape on the outside to help ensure their protection - a very necessary addition, it turned out.)
After the above, the resin "freezes" in place to form what can only be described as "parts popsicles":
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Part-sicles; each one now supported over its entire interior by solid resin - fixed, equally solidly - on the end of a stick. The inermost layer of clay remains embedded in the epoxy wherever it intruded through a surface piercing, leaving some flecks of blue inside the part-sicles after the piercing is dug out, but the appearance of the insides isn't important. It is the outside surfaces - including a surprising degree of their textures - which the thermoplastic will pick up, when stretched tightly over these armatures. So, stay tuned for that.
OK, by now I've recovered from the initial trauma sufficient to back up and tell you about this build:
This SB-3 will be one from the Soviet contingent in my "Paired Twins" series; yet another example of a land-based plane which saw significant coastal/naval-related action - as just one look at the above box art will confirm. Actually, the box depiction "turns the tables" in that it shows a Soviet (L-class) submarine being bombed by a Finnish Air Force SB-3 - no doubt purchased from the USSR just before they became belligerents. (A wacky war in that part of the world, as originally started!) The actual Finnish AF markings were not blank white circles, but four Swastika-like bars within these circles; the artwork has been "politically corrected", per many European anti-fascist-symbol laws (I have mixed feelings about this regarding historical depictions, such as here - but I guess I won't knock it, since it is increasingly clear that we still have too many F-ing Nazis alive today in the world…)
But back to the MPM kit - of which you will see much more later: you may perhaps already surmise from the above example of the clear parts that it is rather crude; having also thick parts - with particularly thick sprue attachments - and no locator pins/sockets on key pieces, such as the fuselage halves, as well as having sparse and rather crude surface detail. It attempts to compensate - and we shall see how successfully or not - by including some nice-looking photo-etched details, among which is even a little black anodized fret containing one of the most effective - and apparently easily installed - depictions of an instrument panels I've ever seen! A very interesting mixture - and concept - for rounding out such a kit.
In addition of course, the subject itself - the Tupolev SB-3 - is an exceedingly rare one. I have been looking to build this plane since I was 13 years old, but had never seen one anywhere. This MPM kit was one of several I bought in October at the St. Petersburg PeliCon'07 show (Thank You, Earl!); after only learning of their very existence for the first time when I ran across them in the vendors' stacks up there.
In any case, with the above turret assembly and preparation of the other clear parts for duplication, the build of the Tupolev SB-3 is now officially off and running! (Progress updates to appear as "responses", below.)