N.A. / Sud Aviation T-28S 'Fennec', 1/48th scale.

It's a blasted shame with your pains old boy, if C- or T-Stoff don't work, do try S-Stoff!
As always Biggles, your work impress and inspires!

Thanks awfully old chap !

hope you are still okay terry

Thanks Michael. Things have stalled slightly, once again due to my hands and wrists deciding they don't wish to obey signals from the brain!
However, I've made a little, very slow and uncomfortable progress with the preparation of the main resin cockpit parts and, given that I don't say "**** it" and bin the whole lot, I may have something to show in the next day or so.

Nicely done so far Terry!

Thanks very much Hugh.
As promised, there's a little progress to show, as well as the reason I took the decision to use the inexpensive resin cockpit, rather than scratch-build onto the kit parts.
PICS 1 and 2 Show the kit parts for the front and rear seats, along with one of the resin seats. As you can see, apart from 'Mr. Blobby' being moulded as an integral part of the front seat, the rear seat is also very narrow, and under scale. Comparing the resin seats to the kit cockpit tub, they would not have fitted convincingly, and as can be seen, the kit cockpit is very narrow across the 'occupied' area, compared to the (now painted) resin cockpit.
It was therefore easier to use the whole resin cockpit, allowing for some slight details changes specific to the T-28S, which will be added later, along with the throttle grips and control columns. The rudder pedals have been fitted, but the seats and instrument panels will be fitted later, along with the loop antenna dome behind the rear seat, normally wrongly described as a 'beacon'.
PIC 3 shows the cockpit resin side walls painted, with the details of air vents and canopy handles etc picked out.
PIC 4. The front and rear panels painted, with the instruments 'glazed' with drops of 'Future/Klear'. A front centre console is provided with the resin parts, but this was not fitted to the 'Fennec'. Note that the colours are overall black, the 'in' colour for the 1950's 'season', when the Fennecs began life as T-28A's. The more 'relaxing', light grey finish wasn't introduced until much later, and was also re-painted during deep-service or up-grades in the 1970's and 1980's.
Next step is to fit the very delicate, two-part control columns, together with the throttle grips and seats, followed by the front instrument panel. The cockpit assembly will then be attached to the fuselage using two-part epoxy, and the rear instrument panel and shroud fitted after joining the fuselage.
Thanks for your interest so far and, given my hands don't declare independence again, I hope to show more in the next few days.

you may be in pain terry, but those pics show that definately you aint lost it. Nicely done

Very nicely done Terry.

Can only agree, sweet work Terry!

Thanks very much indeed chaps!
I would have liked to have used the rather neat kit decals over the resin instrument panels, but the decal background is grey, and the instruments far too tiny to try to cut out separately. I hope to get some more done sometime over the weekend, although Sunday I'll be tied up with Rememberance Day, so probably won't get much done in the time available.

Not much to show after four slow, painful hours work, but the half bulkheads and the nose gear locating holes have been removed from the forward fuselage. This is to allow easier access when opening the slots for the exhausts (one of which can be seen at right), and also to allow this area to be packed with lead weights later.
The nose gear bay will be reduced in depth, and fitted later, with the nose gear leg being adapted to fit into slots cut into the forward wall of the bay.
The first lot of exhaust stubs have also been added, using brass tube, and these will be reamed later, to reduce the thickness of the side walls, and the area cleaned-up.
An anchor post for the front seat harness has been added, by constructing a box-section from plastic strip, and the tail strap of the moulded harness has been extended, by adding a strip of foil. A similar exercise will be carried out for the rear seat, where the tail strap anchors inside the support bracket for the radio altimeter loop antenna housing, before completing the detail painting of the seats, and fitting these into the cockpit tub.
I'm hoping to get the cockpit finished and fitted within the next couple of days, hands permitting, and then close-up the fuselage halves.
More soon - I hope!

Looking very good Terry. Very sorry to hear how painful this is to you.

Smashing work old boy, the cats miaow, dogs sphericals, bees knee and all that rot, carry on what!

Have a snifter!

Great work Terry.

With all here Terry. Smashing job.

Thanks very much chaps!
I've now go the seats and harnesses painted and fitted, and hope to complete the cockpit later today.
All being well, I should have some pics later.

Keep plugging away Terry, it looks great so far!

Thanks Hugh, the encouragement is welcome, and needed! Still bl**dy painful even to try to hold the parts, but if I don't crack on, I'll have a stash going to waste!
Anyway, the cockpit is now complete, apart from fitting the rear instrument panel, the radio altimeter loop antenna, and a scratch-built roll bar and gunsight - oh, and a MAT-49 SMG and M1 carbine! (These were carried in the front and rear cockpits respectively, clipped to the port wall, and were for use in case of being forced down in rebel territory, and have been known to have been used in anger. I think I can make passable replicas, based on some old 1/48th scale infantry weapons I have lying around somewhere).
Both control columns were supplied in two parts - the stick, and a separate grip, and these, plus the separate throttle grips, were extremely fiddly to assemble and fit, and even more tricky to paint the various buttons and switches correctly!
But, it's done, and the cockpit tub has been attached to the starboard fuselage half, using two-part epoxy in order to allow some time for adjustment. The fuselage halves have been temporarily taped together, to hold the tub in place whilst the epoxy sets, but they will be cemented tomorrow. And yes, the one-piece tail plane is attached - it slots into position on the inside of the fuselage, and will need some adjustment, and a bead of PVA around the joint, when the time comes.
Once everything is properly aligned and cemented, the rear instrument panel console will be attached - it was left off to allow a clear view of the side walls, where they fit around the cockpit tub, whilst fitting the tub. The roll bar will be fabricated and fitted in front of this, although I'll probably do this after painting the model, to allow for easier masking of the cockpit area.
Next task is to sort out the nose wheel bay, and do something about the landing gear legs (you'll see why in the next post!), and the last photo shows the gap where it should fit, in the lower fuselage, as well as the area opened up ready to accept a lot of nose weight.
Once that's remedied, it'll be time to get down to some real butchery - er, I mean surgery, by attacking the wings, to lower the flaps, provide landing lamp housings, and arrange the mounting points for the under-wing stores, which will be adapted from stuff found in the spares box.
Getting back to the bench might be proving difficult and painful, but I'm enjoying this build, more so because it's a less common subject, and in the course of the research, I've learned a lot about the aircraft, it's operations, and the Algerian war in general.
Thanks again for your interest and, more importantly, your encouragement. I just hope the pain and discomfort are temporary, and not a sign of things getting worse.
All being well, I hope to post another up-date some time tomorrow.

I like it Terry looks busy