Hi folks,
Here's my first foray into transport aircraft builds. It's an old Airfix mould kit circa 1960, yup, a kit which was around even before most of us were here. It was re-issued by Airfix a few years back and sad to say was not updated accordingly. Besides from the propeller options, this kit is really showing it's age. It's even missing the passenger ladder which is indicated in the instructions. Oh well...
The kit is as spartan as it can get and being a transport, and it leaves much to the imagination on how to dress it up in any way. So, a few modifications were implemented, namely;
1) Added cockpit details> (even if it can't be seen);
2) Added landing gear details;
3) Added height to the vertical tail fin fillet;
4) Added horizontal tail fin blisters;
5) Replaced/added starboard and port tail section air scoops;
6) Added missing starboard and port windows for the front passenger cabin;
7) Added details for the cargo bay doors;
8) Added details for the engine cowlings;
9) Routed-out the exhaust pipes;
10) Added brass pipe shafts and sleeves for the propellers> (Yes, I like spinning props on my kits when I can);
11) Replaced the ventral v-antenna;
12) Thinned down all landing gear bay doors;
13) Sanded down and re-scribed panel lines;
A lot of test-fitting is necessary as the whole fuselage and wing assemblies are a tad warped. The openings for the window clear parts needed some fiddling as well. This is where you need to put a spacer in the front fuselage to align better with the windscreen. The longer nose cone option also doesn't align well with the front fuselage, so this also needed a lot of filler to get the shape right.
This kit is also a heavy tail-sitter, so a lot of lead counterweight was needed. The wing joints doesn't have spars to help align them properly, so gaps and uneven joints are quite evident that also needed a lot of filler. The wing flap hinges were reversed in direction, as the instructions show these pointing the wrong way.
This kit is also huge for a 1/72 scale build, as it measures approximately 33.00cm (length) x 40.50mm (width) x 11.00cm (height at tail fin) when completed. The passenger cabin and cargo bay have great opportunities for super detailing, but we will leave these options to aftermarket providers and crazy people out there. The decals also are from the old options of airlines from the Netherlands, Turkey and Australia, which gives a superficial fix for the missing passenger cabin windows on both sides.
There is also an old ESCI 1/72 kit as an option available on-line, with recessed panel lines and passenger cabin seats even.
This is definitely a kit that's highly recommended if you're keen on doing a build of this ubiquitous workhorse of an aircraft. Hopefully Airfix finds it necessary to release a "new mould" version soon as well.
Here's my first foray into transport aircraft builds. It's an old Airfix mould kit circa 1960, yup, a kit which was around even before most of us were here. It was re-issued by Airfix a few years back and sad to say was not updated accordingly. Besides from the propeller options, this kit is really showing it's age. It's even missing the passenger ladder which is indicated in the instructions. Oh well...
The kit is as spartan as it can get and being a transport, and it leaves much to the imagination on how to dress it up in any way. So, a few modifications were implemented, namely;
1) Added cockpit details> (even if it can't be seen);
2) Added landing gear details;
3) Added height to the vertical tail fin fillet;
4) Added horizontal tail fin blisters;
5) Replaced/added starboard and port tail section air scoops;
6) Added missing starboard and port windows for the front passenger cabin;
7) Added details for the cargo bay doors;
8) Added details for the engine cowlings;
9) Routed-out the exhaust pipes;
10) Added brass pipe shafts and sleeves for the propellers> (Yes, I like spinning props on my kits when I can);
11) Replaced the ventral v-antenna;
12) Thinned down all landing gear bay doors;
13) Sanded down and re-scribed panel lines;
A lot of test-fitting is necessary as the whole fuselage and wing assemblies are a tad warped. The openings for the window clear parts needed some fiddling as well. This is where you need to put a spacer in the front fuselage to align better with the windscreen. The longer nose cone option also doesn't align well with the front fuselage, so this also needed a lot of filler to get the shape right.
This kit is also a heavy tail-sitter, so a lot of lead counterweight was needed. The wing joints doesn't have spars to help align them properly, so gaps and uneven joints are quite evident that also needed a lot of filler. The wing flap hinges were reversed in direction, as the instructions show these pointing the wrong way.
This kit is also huge for a 1/72 scale build, as it measures approximately 33.00cm (length) x 40.50mm (width) x 11.00cm (height at tail fin) when completed. The passenger cabin and cargo bay have great opportunities for super detailing, but we will leave these options to aftermarket providers and crazy people out there. The decals also are from the old options of airlines from the Netherlands, Turkey and Australia, which gives a superficial fix for the missing passenger cabin windows on both sides.
There is also an old ESCI 1/72 kit as an option available on-line, with recessed panel lines and passenger cabin seats even.
This is definitely a kit that's highly recommended if you're keen on doing a build of this ubiquitous workhorse of an aircraft. Hopefully Airfix finds it necessary to release a "new mould" version soon as well.
