Hírfolyam

Roland Sachsenhofer
This project has been waiting long enough, now the time has come! The "shell", seen here, is quickly put together, the glued seams are still wet, so to speak. I plan to show the A90 in a proper dio - gliding just above the water!

Michael Kohl
One one those weird sovjet constructions. Will be fun to follow.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Oh yes, Weird and.... big. That must have been a massive vehicle!

Ben M
watching

Skyhiker
Neat

Roland Sachsenhofer
Feel very welcome! 🙂

Treehugger
I just remembered, I have this kit in my stash.
Are those windows on the side? Like on passenger jets?

Roland Sachsenhofer
If this was some kind of passenger aircraft, I would book a flight for sure. 🙂
I will drill the windows and fill them with Krystal Klear.

Raz1
No windows, apparently.

See en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A-90_Orlyonok

Dave Flitton
Watching!!

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you both for interest and comments! Well, I will think over with that windows.... Thank you for the link!

Skyhiker
Looks to me like there are windows in that Wikipedia photo.

Raz1
I stand corrected. I had originally not seen the windows. Thanks, Skyhiker.

Plenty of interior photos here: flickr.com/photos/la..597/with/45021731405

And the last surviving example (per Wikipedia) is here: museum-vmf.ru/

Even though the appropriate page won't load here, a photo displays in the top-of-page banner rotation.

Skyhiker
Wow, those interior shots are incredible.

Roland Sachsenhofer
I agree, what pictures! The question of the windows should now also be answered "from the inside" as well. Thanks for these excellent links, mates!

Roland Sachsenhofer
A few new pictures here too: the finished pre-shading has shown a few touch-up needs, but tomorrow I want to be able to apply the surface colour!

Michael Kohl
Probably too late, but that project would have been perfect to try a levitation display.
amazon.de/Magnetic-L..aps%2C127&sr=8-3

Roland Sachsenhofer
I think it's a really wonderful idea.... A few Star Wars themes are in the making, possibly here: I would also like to see a Tie-Fighter hovering over this base.

A nice encounter - magnets are actually being used in this project! Since I want to show the "Orlyonok" gliding over a water surface as well as standing still, I have prepared two versions of the props. In order to be able to change them stably, I attached magnets to the axis of rotation. The one on the engine was inserted through a hole from the outside. It sits on the tip of a toothpick, which has been inserted through the hole in the inside of the engine. The magnet now sits exactly in the centre of the engine diameter. The second magnet only had to be glued to the two ends of the propeller axles. Now, it works perfectly with a soft "click"! 🙂

Łukasz Gliński
Interesting project, will follow

Robert Podkoński
Following for sure. It is a great idea to use magnets.

Roland Sachsenhofer
Thank you mates for interest ans motivation!

Roland Sachsenhofer
The Oryonok still looks a bit 'artificial', but in principle shows its surface colours, which will hopefully breathe a little life into it, are the traces of use and wear that I will still apply. The windows on the fuselage will of course also be drilled out and filled with clear white glue.
At the same time, the water base is now being worked on. This time I'm using a light filler on a polystyrene base as a base for this, with Vallejo water gel on top.
The magnetically interchangeable ahrwerk and propeller have worked - which is great news of course!

Skyhiker
That's moving along fast.

Skyhiker
My next big project is turning this FROG into a Prince. Wish me luck I'm going to need it.

Moreno Baruffini
Good luck! 👍

Robert Podkoński
Ambitious! Keep my fingers crossed!

Nicolas
I'm following. In my opinion the Ta-152H is the most beautiful plane of WW II. I got the kit from Kora in my stash and hope to start the build in spring this year. Good luck and, above all, have fun building it.

Skyhiker
Nicolas, I agree. It's a long, lean, fighting machine as they say. Definitely one of the more elegant designs to come out of the war.

DerMattes
Taking a seat 🙂

Skyhiker
I had to widen the fuselage today, in order to make space, before I scratch build the cockpit.

Jennifer Franklin
Following 👀

Skyhiker
Bit more done today.

Lukas Muller
good job 🙂 Following

Łukasz Gliński
Respect for your patience 👍

Martin Nevo
this is going to be awsome.
I am picking kits that are near perfect so I have fun.
but there are also people who pick not-so-perfect-kits like this Ta152 and they still have loads of fun!
GL 🙂

Skyhiker
Well mostly I pick not-so-perfect-kits because I'm a cheap skate. I'd rather pay 6 euros than 40 for a kit. I do have some moderately priced kits and they are a lot faster and fun to make, but often I just have the need to challenge myself and see where my skill level is at.

Rui
This looks like a real challenge; I'm watching 🙂

Moreno Baruffini
@Skyhiker: I totally like your approach and I think you did a great start!

Martin Nevo
same here @Skyhiker, I really like the 6eur price point. so affordable. probably thats why I started to look into the 1/144 scale 🙂

Skyhiker
A bit more progress on the scratch built cockpit today.

Jennifer Franklin
Excellent work on the exhausts, and the cockpit is coming along nicely.

Skyhiker
I did a bit more today but I can't seem to get any images to upload. Anyone else having these problems?

Treehugger
Looking at photo #17 I want to give a tip:
I would be a little careful keeping the roll of masking tape on the table. I like keeping them in a holder, or placed in a bag, to avoid the side of the roll picking up all kind of dirt.

Skyhiker
Yes, I keep my tapes in a bag but it doesn't seem to help as well as it should. I think I need a better bag. When I photograph things at this scale there is more dust than I realize.

Jennifer Franklin
I can finally upload my images again now, I was having problems too.

Skyhiker
Thanks Jennifer

Skyhiker
Treehugger I cleaned my tape and got a new bag. Thanks for pointing that out. No need for fuzzy tape.

Skyhiker
Cowling remade with a lot of sanding, cutting new flaps and a PE grill.

Moreno Baruffini
Really a great progress!

Skyhiker
Thanks Moreno, I am having fun with this one.

Skyhiker
I have to take a break and will be back in a week. I must say I am in love with this plane. It's really a beautiful design with those long wings. I can't wait to get back to it.

Lukas Muller
I'm agree with you, one of the most beautiful plane for me 👍

Dave Flitton
I like it so far!

Guy Rump
I'm going to build this one from my stash this year, definitely following! 👍

Skyhiker
The canopy was totally uneven and so I decided to do the risky thing and file it from the inside. Hopefully I didn't just ruin it.

Vincent
This is already an impressive build. Good luck!!!

Skyhiker
Worked a bit on the cockpit today.

Oliver
Follow. Want to See the result

Trez Mackenzie
I have built 70s Tamiya kit - but that was a least workable. The base was there even though many errors. This 'kit' just seems like a waste of time. Like trying to make a dog poop look edible by putting a cherry on top.
If I saw this kit I would stamp it into the ground. Useless

Skyhiker
This kit has its flaws but nothing that can't be corrected with a little bit of skill. Are there more accurate kits out there that are easier to build - yes. But the modern trend of wanting perfect kits seems counter to the art of modeling. If you have ever built a model from a block of wood you wouldn't call this kit useless. Challenging or time consuming I can agree with but it is not crap.

Trez Mackenzie
I agree with your modern trend thesis - especially if you add in the AM factor. But I think there is a line to be crossed between the kit manufacturers chucking out a quick buck kit with no effort in a fancy box (my pet peeve - rebox) etc, and thereby throwing the burden on the modeller and on the other side 'great expectations' along with spewing out bundles of dollars on AM on an already close to perfect kit.

I suppose if you are saying the kit can be built into an accurate replica then the modifications and work are justified.

I do admit that scratch building is the purest form of scale modelling so it depends on one's 'Weltanschaaung' and philosophy.

Anyway it looks like you gave up on it which influenced my previous comment - in other words all that effort bore no fruit

Skyhiker
I haven't given up yet. Sometimes life forces me to take breaks but I hope to get back into this one soon. I have to put a lot of tiny details in the cockpit next and I need the right head space for that. Kits like these take time and often I will start easier kits mid process to keep things flowing. I absolutely agree that reboxing old kits without a mold date is deceptive. Thankfully with this site we can look up the history and sometimes see the sprues before buying anything. I've only had one kit that I couldn't do anything with. I bought it for 20 bucks opened up and threw it directly in the trash. That was a Top Gun F/A-18 Hornet snap kit, which really was a piece of shit.

Trez Mackenzie
lol - hopefully I wont end up with one of those 'open kit open bin' models. I would reconsider throwing in loads of detail in that cockpit because none will be seen - it may be one of those more of a burden - but it is your show.

As I'm just getting into it again I bought several boxes of the 1/72 AZ joy packs - about 20 bucks - 3 kits in a box - although the Gustav set has no stencils the Emil set does but no decals - much easier to deal with. I am using them to practice some skills. (Will post on here soon)

Just to add they are about to bring out AZ Mustang Joy pack - I'm only into German aircraft and armour but it might be for you. I suspect they may bring out another later mustang set

Remco van Haren
Following. Really looking forward to the end result.
Especially since I built this kit myself last year. Although I didn't put so much effort and detail into it as you are doing.

Johne 69
So gar so good 👍

Skyhiker
I added a bit of detail to the scratch built cockpit today.

Skyhiker
Worked on the canopy and tried to figure out how the scratch built cockpit will fit into the body.

Skyhiker
I corrected the seat position today.

Skyhiker
Added some space for the wheels

Trez Mackenzie
It's coming along!
From about halfway back on the underside there should be no join line - but forward of halfway you are good which makes things a little easier.

Just an idea but you can download the ZM instructions to get an idea?

Skyhiker
Trez your message is pretty cryptic. Are you talking about panel lines or internal wing structures? The last photo is just a dry fit. I haven't started with dealing with any panel lines yet. I've been working on the inside of the wing walls to make something that gives an impression of space for the wheels.

Trez Mackenzie
Apologies - I meant the external join lines. I can see what you done - it looks good. I thought the ZM instructions would help as a guide

Skyhiker
Trez, thanks for your ideas. I'm using a lot of photos and the instructions from a 1:32 model to help figure out what is going on. This little model is a challenge to correct but I'm having fun pushing my skills and learning as I go.

Moreno Baruffini
I'm really enjoying this build! 👍👍👍

Skyhiker
I worked out most of the cockpit issues today. It's not perfect but I got it in there.

Skyhiker
Moreno, I'm glad you're liking it. This is kinda pushing my skills a bit. We'll see what happens in the end together.

Trez Mackenzie
Don't worry too much about updates - things like that can cause one to rush. We ain't going away so take your time! 🫡👍

Skyhiker
Getting this kit to accept a cockpit was like pounding a square peg through a round hole. I had to reshape the whole damn fuselage.

Patrick Hagelstein
Whoah!!! Amazing what you did to that old tooling! Very cool to watch! 👍🏼

Skyhiker
Thank you Patrick. I'm trying. We will see if it works.

Bruce Huxtable
Really liking what you're doing, Skyhiker, and learning lots too. Impressed with your skills 🙂

Łukasz Gliński
What is that superglue thingy?

Skyhiker
Łukasz the shape of the hood is really off in the kit. The superglue is just material for me to try and sculpt into a better hood.

Łukasz Gliński
I was just wondering if you have mixed it with something

Skyhiker
No, It's just cheap super glue from a discount store that I poured right from the tube and hardened with accelerator.

Skyhiker
Started reshaping the fuselage today.

Skyhiker
Hood work today.

Nicolas
That looks very messy. But as long as it works, and it looks promising.

Skyhiker
Yes, very messy but it works. Old school style.

Patrick Hagelstein
The effort put into this is just amazing! 👌🏼

Skyhiker
More work on the exhausts today.

Moreno Baruffini
The true essence of modelling!

Skyhiker
I began rescribing the panel lines today. This will take a bit of time.

Tony Cooke
Dedication!!

Skyhiker
Bruce, thanks for your encouragement. It definitely helps.

Dave Flitton
That's a lot of work!

Skyhiker
Well the fine engraving blade I just bought broke within a day of use. Very frustrating.

Skyhiker
Luckily I bought a .02 mm blade in addition to the .01 mm that broke. It will have to do even though I would prefer the lines to be a little bit thinner.

Skyhiker
I finished the panel lines on the underside of the wings today.

Vincent
Impressive work!! Keep it up!

Patrick Hagelstein
Amazing progress! Once you go the route of updating such an old kit, there's no way back, is there?

Skyhiker
Thanks Patrick, your right there is always more to discover and do. I'm having fun with it. Of course I have no idea what it will look like in the end. I'm spending far too many hours allowing myself to be lost in process. But if that's what it takes, why not?

Skyhiker
It's amazing how every kit I look at of a FW Ta 152 H is different. All the photos of the original aircraft are so blurry that details are impossible to pick out, so I'm left with looking at kits and guessing which ones are correct.

Skyhiker
Anyone out there with a book on the TA 152? I'm trying to figure out if the top of the flaps have a vertical line down the center of them or not. From underneath there is a line there but I am getting conflicting images of the top surface. Can anyone post a decent image?

DerMattes
I looked through some of my books and picture collection. But to find even a picture of the Ta152 is rare. 🙁

Skyhiker
Thanks Mattes. There are a few decent books out there but they go for 80 Euros and I can't afford that. I doubt the library would have anything worth while. Maybe the model shop will let me look through one of their books but usually they are sealed in foil. Hopefully someone here has something. Getting panel lines correct is not so easy. Even worse are the rivets.

Skyhiker
I found this image which clearly shows the flaps divide in two sections. Interestingly the sections are not even like the underside.
[img1]

DerMattes
Maybe this would be helpful? flugzeugclassic.de/f..hlands-bester-jaeger
I do not have the magazine, but kind of stumbled over the link 😉

Skyhiker
That's cool Mattes. Thanks for the tip.

Ben M
I admire you trying to make something of this kit.

Skyhiker
Thanks Ben, this kit gets a bad rap. It's not as bad as people make it out to be. Of course I am putting a lot of work into it to make it better. But if its done straight out of the box it's not that bad. The backwards propeller is a stupid engineering mistake but that's an easy fix.

AndreasK
Nice project, Skyhiker. And really stunning what you achieved so far. 👍🏻

Sy Bar
Can't wait to see fruits of your hard work 🍿

Skyhiker
I'm worked on the top side of the wings today.

Skyhiker
Panel lines... panel lines and more panel lines...

Matthew A
Owch

Skyhiker
Yeah, I was a little heavy handed, but it's not a problem. I just glued it back together. I prefer trenching and filling over trying to get the lines the exact depth overall and then accidentally sanding away lines. The only problem with using this method is the deep panel lines can make the model unstable in places if you are not careful. But in the end it should all work out.

Skyhiker
I am slowly moving forward on the panel lines behind the scenes. This is the part I have to force my way through because I don't really enjoy it. But it is coming along and I could have some photos soon.

Patrick Hagelstein
Looking forward to that! 😊

J35J
Good progress, great craftmanship!👍🏻

Skyhiker
Got most of the panel lines down. I still have to do the bottom.

Moreno Baruffini
I personally ate re-scribing, so my admiration for you is huge!

Skyhiker
Thank you Moreno, re-scribing is definitely the part that's the least fun for me too. Some days I have to force myself just to do one line. If you do that once a day eventually it gets done. But yeah, re-scribing sucks.

Skyhiker
Big step made with attaching the wings. It makes me feel like I am moving forward after all.

Patrick Hagelstein
There ya go! 😄

Skyhiker
Wing plates are made.

Pietro De Angelis
An impressive amount of work, your patience and skills are incredible, congrats!

Skyhiker
Thank you Pietro.

Thomas Kolb
Wow, what an insane amount of work you put into this project! I am humbled by your perseverance and attention to detail!

Skyhiker
Thanks Thomas, I enjoy the process of trying to figure out how to do stuff. The model is just an added bonus in the end.

Skyhiker
Today I continued with the landing gear. A few pictures added.

Moreno Baruffini
As I wrote above, it's the true essence of modelling!

Skyhiker
Thanks Moreno. I'm having fun with it, mostly. The panel lines were a drag but I got through that part. Hopefully after the primer I won't have to any major touch ups. But we will see. One step at a time...

Skyhiker
Primer started!

Johne 69
Nice Details 👍

Skyhiker
Yesterday and today I filled the panel lines to the appropriate depth.

Patrick Hagelstein
This keeps on being cool to watch! 👍🏼

Vincent
Watching you making process is indeed great to watch. The plane is starting to look great!

Moreno Baruffini
Wow! How do you filled the lines? How was you able to calculate the exact quantity?

Skyhiker
Moreno, I used an engraving tool to cut deep lines and then I rubbed white putty into them. By rubbing the excess off it automatically brings the lines to just below the surface of the model. As the lines dry they also shrink a bit. So, it was not too hard to do. The trick is to use enough water and a brush to apply the putty and to use enough water on a paper towel or cotton bud to remove the excess. Hard to get to areas need to be cleaned up with a wooden tooth pick.

Robert Podkoński
I never would believe that the base kit is a Revell's offering.... Awesome job!

Moreno Baruffini
@Skyhiker: Super! Many thanks for the explanation!

Alec K
Great project and some serious dedication to a challenging tooling 👍

Rando
Very cool, I'm getting the Mikro Mir kit, interested to hear how it goes together

Patrick Hagelstein
True! Joining in as well to see how this builds up. Enjoy the build! 👍🏼

J35J
Joining, have one in my stash waiting, watching with intrest👍🏻

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat, of course 🙂

Łukasz Gliński
Following too

Martin von Schreckenstein
joining in. looking good so far

Robin (WhiteGlint)
A Draken 👀

Dave Flitton
Watching.

S M
Welcome, mates! I'm building also a Hasegawa kit alongside with this for comparison and for testing painting.

Oleg Bogolei
Following! Very interesting comparing!

S M
Welcome, Oleg! I just got Afterburner assembled, and the cockpit is ready.

Łukasz Gliński
Seems like Hasegawa is not that bad after all 😄

Finn
Following

Patrick Hagelstein
Łukasz, I was thinking the same. That 'old' Hasegawa kit isn't that bad after all. The MikroMir kit is only marginally more refined as it seems.

S M
Hasegawa has only 60 grey parts and 3 clear parts, but it is pretty smartly made and easy to build. MikroMir has 150 grey parts, 5 clear parts and 67 mandatory PE-parts. Being a short-run kit its parts need more work to fit. Still MikroMir contains more details (and Falcon missiles) than Hasegawa so it's comparatively cheaper.

Patrick Hagelstein
OK, so you do think the MikroMir kit is the more detailed one? Good to know when I get to my Austrian Draken project (sometimes this century.... )! Following your build with interest! 👍

S M
Well my background research is still going on, but atleast the cockpit is more detailed.

Patrick Hagelstein
That's good to know already! ☺️👍🏼

S M
I have to update that MikroMir's IRST is not as good as Hasegawa's. The seeker head is a clear part and there is one PE-part fin, but the two-part frame is bulky and doesn't have panel lines. Luckyly the Draken version I'm goingt to make doesn't have an IRST so I used the clear part and the PE-part to improve my Hasegawa-Draken's IRST.

S M
New photos starting from 36. The airframe is assembled.

J35J
Progressing nicely👍🏻

Mirko Römer
Interesting model kit, following

Urban Gardini
Intresting mate!

S M
Slow progress, but I'm very proud of this simple tool that I made in 15 min to make 0,8mm diameter styrene circles.

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

J35J
Great work with setup of tool and outcome of the chaff & flare dispensers👍🏻

S M
Thanks, J35J!

Rando
Amazing idea with that tool you made! Gonna remember that

Michael Kohl
Following

Rando
Man. Struggling away with the clear parts on my RF-8 right now. Toughest part of modeling probably. Nice work on your canopy!

J35J
Progressing great S M!

S M
Thanks! @Rando I agree it is one of the most tough and riskiest parts. They took me 3 days because I wanted to make them pretty shiny with Humbrol Clear, but it takes lots of time to dry and it has become too thick. Next day when I check the clear parts they have some ugly residues and unevenness +hair. On the other part I just sanded and polished some minor points, but the other part I cleaned the varnish away with isopropanol and tried to dip it in varnish again. Next day still unevenness so I just sanded and polished them avay and dipped it in my more reliable floor polish that also dries faster.

Rando
Yeah I've always had that with dipping parts in the floor polish, it doesn't dry evenly for me so I just polish with Tamiya and Novus compound. Good to get over the hump and onto painting and decals!

S M
Bad luck with painting. I have to redo the top surface by removing most of the paint. It was a bad idea to preshade yellow with pink.

Clement
I've had better luck using tamiya XF-3 or any other flat yellow and following with a gloss varnish.
Gunze gloss yellow, orange, white etc are virtually useless to cover anything.

S M
Yeah my choice of paints haven't been perfect, but I have settled for them and now the decals have been added. The big wisent needs some fixing.

J35J
Final strech, good job with fixing the paintwork and decals👍🏻

Clement
Looking good! Given how short lived that scheme was, no preshading is probably the right call anyway 🙂

S M
I hope this gets finished in one day, because only landing gears are missing. I almost ruined this model with bad painting and bad choise of gloss varnish.

Robert Podkoński
Looks fantastic already! Keep it up, S M!

Thomas Kolb
I love the detailed build log! The Draken looks amazing too!

S M
Thanks J35J, Clement, Podkon and Mimoid! The model is now ready, but I will take better photos tomorrow.

S M
Now the final photos are taken

Mona
taking a seat , looking forward to seeing more of this build 👍 🙂

hiveloc
Thanks Mona! It's coming along, latest picture in 3…2…1…

Rui S
Looking good 👍 I'm in 😎

Mona
it's ready for action ..and weathering .Looking 👀 good

Neuling
Clean work!

hiveloc
Time to put this on the shelf. I really need better lighting/ photography, 'cause my pictures don't do it justice.

Rui S
Great outcome 👍

hiveloc
Thank you Rui and Neuling!

hiveloc
Bumping this so what happened 10 years ago today (MH17) is not forgotten.

More info here: bellingcat.com/news/..n-three-years-later/