1/72 Bristol 138A by NOVO (originally a FROG tooling)

[fastmongrel]

Picked up this old NOVO kit off eBay for a fiver. I built the original FROG kit when I was a nipper but I hope to do a better job. The Soviet moulding isn't too bad obviously from the early days before the moulds started to wear, I have seen some horrors emerge from the old FROG tooling.

The box is a bit shabby and the kit has been started but everything looks to be there, not that there's much to the kit.

The kit engine looks like it was Friday and the toolmaker wanted to get off early. Luckily I had a spare CMK resin Pegasus engine.

The cockpit is a bit of a barren wasteland so I will be throwing some bits of sprue and spare parts in to give the pilot something to look at.

There is a fair bit of raised panel details which needs to go, the original was glued plywood panels on a Mahogany and Ash frame and was sanded smooth before Aluminium dope was applied.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Airframes]

Nice one.
I remember this kit ( Frog ) from when I was a youngster - yes, I have a long memory !!!

 

[rochie]

another new one to me !

 

[Wurger]

Nice one.
I remember this kit ( Frog ) from when I was a youngster - yes, I have a long memory !!!

Same here Terry. I still have a couple of them in my stash.

 

[Gnomey]

Nice work so far!

 

[buffnut453]

Summing up that kit in one word....BASIC! Fairly typical for the Frog era. Then again, Frog made a great many kits that either haven't been produced by any manufacturer, or which have only recently been available as modern kits (AW Whitley or Gloster Javelin, anyone?).

It still saddens me that Frog, and Matchbox for that matter, failed to stay in business. Kits by both manufacturers were the among first I ever purchased.

 

[fubar57]

Looking forward to the build

 

[PFVA63]

Hi,
Can't wait to see more. I like old kits like these. They were fun and simple to build when I was a kid, and now a days, with a little extra work they can still give you a nice start on building something you can't often find eleswhere.

 

[Crimea_River]

Looking forward to seeing your magic on this one Stu.

 

[fastmongrel]

Fitted the CMK resin engine with pushrod tubes, I am going to fit inlet pipes and exhaust pipes as well. The oddly shaped with ribs engine cowling has been filed into something a bit more like the original.

The very chunky propeller has had the blades sanded down a bit

 

[buffnut453]

That propeller doesn't so much push the air as it does beat it into submission.

 

[Wurger]

 

[fastmongrel]

Adding a bit of detail, there was no instrument panel so I have found a spare etched brass panel and glued in a backing.

I have glued some plastic rod to give some detail inside the intercooler and removed some moulded on pipes and replaced with the same rod.

There's quite a few sink holes which need filled. One of the lower outer wing panels is just a sink hole might have to come up with a cunning plan to fix that.

 

[Wurger]

 

[fastmongrel]

Just after I pressed post reply on the previous post I reached for the brass instrument panel and there was a ping. I have spent last twenty minutes hunting for the little custard.

I have one more brass instrument panel but it's for a flying boat and will need some fitting

 

[fastmongrel]

There was nothing to mount the resin engine to just a big hole. So I cut the cylinders off the kits pathetic engine then glued it into the hole, when I come to fit the engine I will cut the original crankcase flush and epoxy the engine in place using the brass pin I glued to the propeller to line things up.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Snautzer01]

Nice

 

[fastmongrel]

Induction pipes fitted. See if you can spot the two pipes that went ping.