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Bozzer
I enjoyed looking at your pictures and reading the descriptions. My very first car, was a mini. I believe, it was actually an 850, but that's a long time ago. After that fell apart, I had a 1000, like yours. I loved both cars. I remember a grille, in the passenger side wing, where the radiator is. I definitely don't remember any cowling, between them both? I also remember the SU carburettor, but I don't remember the air filter? I probably removed them, to make the engine sound beefier? The rear door pockets, I do remember. I also remember the radio being on the passenger side, because the heater was in the middle. I always wanted 8 spoke alloy wheels for mine, but they were well out of my price range. On my second one, I had a key operated, Selmar Alarm, along with automatic electric aerial. That was fixed in the front wing. Thanks for the memories, my friend 🙂

Wouter Roerdink
Yes there was also a Clubman with a different nose and a 1200 cc engine. The radiator had an open grille behind the left front wheel. The engine in the model is of a Cooper, which was slightly different. The driver mirror was also different and it had sliding front windows, which our car didn't have. But it was a great car and lovely to drive. Happy memories!

Bozzer
The Clubman, with it's square face, never really had the same character, as the classic mini. They kinda looked more serious, and business like? I always wanted a 1275 engine though. A buddy of mine had a Cooper S lookalike, with roll cage and everything. It was a beast, and I always wanted to do something similar. In the end, I ended up with a Vauxhall (Opel) Chevette (Kadette) because you can fit a double buggy in the hatchback. Bloody kids, take the fun out of everything? That didn't last, and I progressed to a MK3 Ford Escort. Now that, was like driving a larger, sensible Mini. 3 decades on, and I'm still having fun with front wheel drives. I guess we never forget, where we started?

George Williams
Ah, great memories, Jeremy Clarkson said that you can't be a true petrol-head unless you've driven an original Mini.

Sheri Edwards
Any update on release?

Chad K
Priorities shifted this year, but hoping to have it ready in early 2024. The plan is to upgrade our printing equipment first. But we HAVE started taking measurements from the ARII kit, so it won't take long once we get started.

Chad K
This kit has officially been released and given item number CK2408: Bonanza Conversion - V35 to ..3 (CK Mod Kits CK2408, 1:72)

Sheri Edwards
Brilliant, thank you for letting me know Chad! 👍 Do you know anywhere in the UK that is selling or importing it? Or can I buy direct? Many thanks, Sheri

Alec K
Can't miss this one! Very nice start 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Good to see you, Alec. As you can guess, this is gonna be a big show. There's gonna be a lot of cutting, a lot of editing, and of course, I'll be scratching out new parts. At this point, I'm still planning the build process. But work on the model will soon be in full swing.

Pierre Pierre
very intersting transformation. Following

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome, Pierre, I'm very pleased to see your interest. I hope you find my rebuilding interesting.

The manufacturer of the Avia BH.9 model states 1/48 scale on the box. Actually the model is made in a slightly smaller scale 1/50. I don't mind that in this case. The Avia BH.10 is very similar to the Avia BH.9, but because it is a single-seat aircraft, it is smaller overall than the Avia BH.9. . So even if I build a single seat Avia BH.10 in 1/48 scale, I will be scaling down the fuselage and wing parts from the kit. I have been comparing the fuselage and wing parts to a 1/48 scale drawing of the Avia BH.10 and wondering how to scale the parts down to fit the desired shape and size.

Robert Podkoński
Taking a seat, of course!

J35J
Great start! Following👍🏻

Villiers de Vos
A great project.

bughunter
Nice project! The BH-10 will fit nicely between your finished BH-9 and BH-11 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Frank, you make a good point. The Avia BH.10 will add to my collection of Avia BH series monoplanes from the 1920s. They are very interesting and modern aircraft for their time, if only because biplanes dominated the skies at that time.

Ludvík Kružík
I finished modifying the fuselage and wings to 1/48 scale.

Ludvík Kružík
I started making new parts for the model.

bughunter
Successful reshaping of kit parts 👍
Not very much left of the kit, but it looks like that way needs less work compared to a full scratch build.

Ludvík Kružík
That's right. Due to the great similarity of the fuselage and wings of both Avia's, it is easier to modify these parts than to produce completely new ones. Still, there will be a lot of work involved in building the model.
At the moment I have the basic parts roughly ready. I still have to work on them. I will have to do some puttying and sanding. And then fill in all the details.

Alec K
Nice progress. Watch, KP will release their 1/72 kit in 48 just as you finish… 😉 😄

Ludvík Kružík
I'm not really worried about that. Even if it happens, I'm fine with it. Avia BH.10 in 1/72 scale is not very accurate. And if KP goes the route of enlarging parts of the 1/72nd scale model while making a 1/48th scale model (which I think is very likely), it will transfer all the errors of the original model to the new one. Plus, I really like these "crazy" rebuilds. It's a lot of fun for me. 😉

Alec K
I fully agree, scratch builds and conversions are a lot of fun. I'll have to compare the KP kit to drawings before starting mine 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, before building a model you have to choose which machine you want to build. I'm building a first production run machine, but KP's 1/72 scale kit is a second production run machine. Otherwise there were machines with special modifications. And be careful which drawing you want to use. Some drawings are not very accurate (for example the drawing from Modeler 7/1986).
I have described the basic differences between the first and second production series machines in the attached photo.

Alec K
Great, thank you! Do you have a drawing recommendation?

Ludvík Kružík
Alec, you can find a lot of useful information about Avia BH.10 on Czech Modelforum in Pavel Kloucek's overviews.
Information about machines from the first production run can be found here: modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=310&t=143236
And information about the machines of the second production series is here: modelforum.cz/viewtopic.php?f=310&t=143254
A lot of interesting information about the Avia aircraft designed by Benes and Hajn is in this book: nasevojsko.eu/nasevo..onstrukce-Benes-Hajn

I sent you a PM about the drawings.

Alec K
Super, thank you very much.

Ludvík Kružík
I am continuing to build the model by making a new cockpit.

Ludvík Kružík
Unfortunately I only have one period photo of the cockpit, which shows the instrument panel and the right side of the cockpit.
I'm working from the drawing to create the controls and instruments on the left side of the cockpit and floor, with the help of photos of the Avie BH.11 cockpit.
Since the Avie BH.9, 10 and 11 have the same engine and very similar construction, I think most of the cockpit controls were designed very similarly, if not identically.

gorby
Very impressive work so far.

Alec K
Cockpit looks great, those instruments are superb 👍

bughunter
... and the wood looks good too!

Ludvík Kružík
Welcome my friends! Thank you for your interest and popdoru. I really appreciate it.

Ludvík Kružík
I finished the cockpit. After gluing the starboard side to the cockpit, I'll mount the cockpit to the fuselage.

Alec K
Your prop effort beats mine. I tried with sandwitched colored paper infused with resin but needed a painted color overlay. I need to try with correct colored card stock next time.

Ludvík Kružík
Making a propeller out of coloured cardboard was an experiment for me. I wondered if it would work.

Ludvík Kružík
I finished making the cockpit. Now I'm going to glue the bottom of the fuselage and then putty and sand the fuselage.

Ludvík Kružík
It was time to puttying and sanding. We'll see how many times I have to repeat this cycle.

Villiers de Vos
A lot of attention to detail. It will pay off in the end.

bughunter
I will buy shares of putty manufacturers. 😉

Ludvík Kružík
Villiers, welcome! Good to see you again.

This aeroplane is very simple and there are very few small details on it. But the few that are on it, I'll be sure to pay attention to. 😉

Bughunter,
maybe your plan to buy shares in the putty maker will pay off. At least in my case the putty maker made a profit 😄.

I know the fuselage doesn't look good with a heavy coat of putty. But the hull needed that layer of putty on the bow. I had to fill in all the joints and minor unevenness. There won't be much putty left on the hull after sanding, but since the putty shrinks as it dries, it's hard to tell ahead of time where more putty is needed and where maybe not. In this case, more is better.

Ludvík Kružík
The fuselage, wings and tail surfaces are ready for minor detailing. In the end I just needed one rough puttying, sanding, spraying surfacer, one fine puttying of minor defects, sanding again and final surfacer.

Jakub Fiala
Super! 👍

Alec K
Very nice progress 👍

bughunter
The polished surfaces looks great! 👍

TH SCALE MODELS (Thomas Haberl)
Amazing how this turnded out till now Ludvik! Biggest respect for this special project and efforts you make on it. Looking forward to the next steps 🤩

Ludvík Kružík
Mates, thank you all!
It's great to have you on board. Your support means a lot to me.

Ludvík Kružík
After a short vacation I returned to building the Avia. I haven't had much time to build it yet.

I taped the tail surfaces with masking tape so I could spray thin strips of surfacer on the ribs.
To indicate the slight sagging of the canvas on the wing surfaces that were only covered with canvas, I started scraping these surfaces very gently with a round-bladed scalpel. Once I had completed this operation on both wings, it was my turn to cover them with masking tape so that I could spray strips of surfacer on the wing ribs.

I'll add photos of the work in progress next time.

Ludvík Kružík
I started adding details to the fuselage, wings and tail surfaces.

Ludvík Kružík
I'm slowly resuming my work. I've sprayed the rib bands on the wings and added some minor detailing to the left side of the fuselage.

Ludvík Kružík
The top and side surfaces of the Avia are sprayed with the first of three camouflage colours.

Moreno Baruffini
WOOOOOOOWWW! Super!

Alec K
This will be another beauty 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Moreno Baruffini, thank you, I appreciate it.

Alec, when this Avia is finished, it will complete my collection of Avia BH-3, Avia BH-9 and Avia BH-11 monoplanes from Benes and Hajn constructors.

Villiers de Vos
Still nailed to my chair.

Ludvík Kružík
Villiers thank you for your interest.

Due to the summer season and its associated activities and the occasional babysitting of my 15 month old grandson, I have less time to build the model. Progress will be slower.

Ludvík Kružík
The upper surfaces of the Avia are already covered with tri-colour camouflage. There was no time to spraying silver paint on the lower surfaces today. At least I know what I will do next time 😄.

Villiers de Vos
Coming together nicely.

Alec K
The colors look great 👍

bughunter
The colours bring it to life!
And no worry about slower progress - family and life is very important.

Moreno Baruffini
I totally agree with Bughunter!

Ludvík Kružík
@ Villiers and Alec
Thank you for your support, it is very much appreciated.

@ bughunter and Moreno
You are right, family is important and has a higher priority than building models. Don't worry, I'm clear on this point. 😉

Ludvík Kružík
Today I had time and also the daytime temperatures dropped to a bearable limit so I took advantage of it and moved the construction a little bit again.

Ludvík Kružík
I continue building the model by making parts for the landing gear, propeller and wings. I also printed the decals with the serial numbers.

Villiers de Vos
Fantastic skills.

Robert Podkoński
Presumably, you're approaching the finish line, Ludviku 🙂

Ludvík Kružík
Mates, thank you!

Robert, it's true. Once I finish the individual assemblies, the model building and completion of the model will move forward quickly. 🙂

bughunter
Nice details on the undercarriage - the kit seem to be short run.

Guy Rump
Looking great! 👍

Curatorm
This model seems to be workable ^_^

Ludvík Kružík
@ Bughunter,
you're not far from the truth. During the building of my Avia BH - 9 and Avia BH - 11 kits, I received quite a lot of inquiries from Czech modellers asking if I was thinking about releasing the kit in a short run.
Unfortunately I don't have the equipment or experience to produce these kits. That is why I am sticking with my rebuilds and builds from scratch. But they say "never say never". So who knows, maybe someday... 😉

@ Guy Rump, Curatorm
Thanks for the kind words, it's a great inspiration for me to continue working on this project 🙂.

Skyhiker
Your hard work is paying off. Looking forward to seeing it all come together.

Ludvík Kružík
Skyhiker, thank you for your contribution.
And I can at least partially satisfy your curiosity. I've attached the wings with struts and horizontal tail surfaces to the fuselage.

Alec K
… and it has wings! Looking awesome 👍

Villiers de Vos
Very nice progress.

Ludvík Kružík
Summer weather and holidays are not very good for modelling, but I have noticed some progress. I am gradually making small parts. Most of them are in the semi-finished stage.

Ludvík Kružík
Tomorrow (if nothing goes wrong) I will spray the Avia with glossy clear coat. Then all that's left to do is add the last few parts and indicate a bit of operational wear... and we'll be done. If there are no complications, it could be done in three days.

Dietmar Bogatzki
Awesome build 🙂

bughunter
I really like the well presented open engine at the front 👍

Ludvík Kružík
Thank you for your kind contributions.

bughunter, the engine is a standalone accessory produced by 3D printing technology and manufactured by MH models.

Avia BH-10 is finished. As soon as I have a moment, I will take better photos of the model and put them in the gallery... and I will add a family photo with BH-3, BH-9 and BH-11.