DHC-6 Twin Otter

Michael Kohl
Like the plane and what you do with it. Anxious to see whether you worked on the exhausts. Did you cover/block the air intake? I found the alignment of the gear challenging. Any tip or just try and adjust?

Nicolas
I'm following,

Harald Besold
Hello Nicolas,
thank you for your interest in my project.

Hi Michael,
I have already painted the air inlets and air outlets. I started doing this because it's easier to mask them. I painted the air inlets dark gray, so that they contrast with the main yellow color and the dark color better conceals the end of the approx. 0.5 cm deep air inlets. The air vents are finished in a dark "burnt iron" tone.
For the main landing gear, I first started with the wings, as these are connected to the landing gear via the crossbars. I glued the wings in a slightly V-shape, as this is also the case on the original and the wings on my kit were warped in such a way that they hang a bit. The slight V position of the wings at least partially compensates for this.
After the glue had cured on the wings, I glued the main landing gear together with the crossbars. The bars offer a certain amount of flexibility - but a lot of filling and sanding has to be done. The areas are not so easy to reach and the sanding took a while. (As with the entire kit). But at some point it's done.

Cuajete
Well done so far.
Following.

Michael Kohl
Thanks Harald for your detailed description. That might help me with my build.

Harald Besold
Hello Cuajete,
thank you very much for your positive comment.

Skyhiker
I have this one in my stash. Watching with interest.

gasolier
I have it on my work bench as well, and I can say it is a pain. The fact the fuselage is flat on the top makes very annoying to obtain a smooth surface. From the putty I see in the pics, I guess you reached the same conclusion, Harald...

Robert Podkoński
A bit late, but joining the party!

Gordon Sørensen
Incredible work opening the doors. The interior looks great. It has been 24 years since I last flew the Twotter. Great airplane with great memories.

Cuajete
Good progress 👍

Harald Besold
Thank you for the kind and well-meaning comments.

@gasolier
There is a lot of filling and sanding to be done on the model. By gluing in the partition wall between the cockpit and loading area, the roof of the aircraft was slightly distorted, so a lot of filler was necessary to compensate for this. The Twin-Otter generally requires time-consuming filling and sanding in many places.

Another unexpected challenge for me was the windows, some of which didn't fit well and could easily be pushed inwards when sanding. Fortunately, this could be repaired later.

It is recommended that anyone building the Twin Otter make sure the windows are secure before gluing the fuselage halves together.

Have fun to everyone who accepted the challenge.

Michael Kohl
A technique I like to apply with such plane is to cover the windows on the outside with Cella Tape and to pour transparent 2-component resin into the windows. The main draw back of this technique - apart from the price and the necessity of a fine scale - is the formation of bubbles while mixing the ingredients. I find it pretty difficult and annoying to pick out all the bubbles one by one and to remove them. Apart from that you get a window which is in perfect alignment with the outer surface of the fuselage.

gasolier
@Harald: I totally endorse your recommendation about windows (and the rest as well)! I pushed a couple of windows inward when already assembled, and I had to glue to them a tiny electric wire with vinylic to pull them out again! I can't say they're perfect now, but I had no other choice except reopening the fuselages...

Harald Besold
Hi Michael,
Thank you for sharing the idea.
I've also thought about working with a method like this. This is probably the cleanest way to build windows.
I still have two similar models in my stash that have similar window problems. I'd like to come back to it.
Thank you for sharing your method.

Harald Besold
Hello Gasolier,
the installation of the windows is a sensitive issue with this model. The quality of the windows isn't the best either. In my kit there were small streaks in the plastic on most of the windows that couldn't be copied out.
If too much sanding is done on the outside of the model in the area of ​​the windows (as I did in individual areas), then the windows will hold even worse.
With this model, it would perhaps be better to use the method described by Michael Kohl above.
I'm still afraid that a window will fall in when I touch the model.
The wire and glue idea is good for getting a window back out. Thanks for sharing the method.

Skyhiker
Glue 'n' Glaze might work to glaze the windows, if you want something that would be easier and faster than epoxy.

Harald Besold
Hello Skyhiker,
Thanks for the hint.

Finn
Looking good!

Harald Besold
Hello Finn,
Thank you very much for your comment.

Jennifer Franklin
following 👀

Harald Besold
Hello Jennifer,
thank you very much for your interest in my project.

Robert Podkoński
Looks great already. Keep it up, Harald!

Harald Besold
Robert, thank you very much for your comment and your words of appreciation.

Cuajete
Those colors look great! 👍

Skyhiker
Very vibrant. Looks great. You might want to update the teaser image.

Jennifer Franklin
The colours are really bright and sharp. Very nice.

Harald Besold
Hello Jennifer
hello Cuajete,
thank you very much for your appreciative words. The model was photographed under very bright light and covered with a glossy clear varnish. This makes the colors appear very strong.

Hello Skyhiker,
Thank you for your comment. You're right about the teaser image. I updated the cover photo.

gasolier
Good job! It must have been tricky to tension the antenna on 3 points in the vertical stabilizer area. I wouldn't know how to do that!

Michael Kohl
Came out really beautiful. You successfully managed all the challenges: landing gear, dihydral, yellow color. Chapeau!

Finn
Really well done, congrats!

Lochsa River
sweet piece.....great work

Nicolas
Realy good result. 👍

Harald Besold
@ Michel, Finn and Lochsa,
Thank you very much for your appreciative words. I've been very happy about it.

@gasolier
To attach the antenna wires, I drilled a small hole in the tail fin (diameter: 0.5mm) and then glued in a thin wire (diameter: 0.4mm) with superglue and then trimmed it off with side cutters so that it was only about 0 .5 mm protrudes from the tail fin. I did the same thing on the side torso section. These short pieces of wire serve as a point for attaching the rubber band.

Then I first glued the long rubber band from the tail fin to the front area of ​​the aircraft with little tension. After about 15 minutes, the superglue has hardened sufficiently so that the rubber band can be tensioned. The second rubber band, which pulls the long rubber band towards the fuselage, was first fixed to the long rubber band with a small drop of superglue and then, after the superglue had hardened, pulled down and glued to the piece of wire on the aircraft fuselage. (I hope this is written comprehensibly????)

I cut off the excess rubber bands under slight tension with a new (sharp) blade of a cutter knife. This is more accurate than using scissors.

I hope you have fun with your Twin Otter. Once the primer is on, the hard part is done with this model. From then on it's just fun.

Zbynek Honzik
Very nice! 👍

Jennifer Franklin
Absolutely gorgeous!

gasolier
Thank you Harald! Fortunately my twin otter does not have that antenna (it's an airliner), but I'm saving your guide for future reference!

Harald Besold
Hallo Zbynek and Jennifer, thank you very much for your appreciative comments.

Findus
Gefällt mir. Sauber gebaut und schön in Szene gesetzt...

Neuling
Findus nimmt mir das Wort aus dem Mund.

Harald Besold
Hallo Findus, hallo Neuling,
vielen Dank - es freut mich, dass es euch gefällt.
Thank you very much - I'm glad you like it.

Cuajete
Great result. Very nice job.
Congrats!

Harald Besold
Hello Cuajete,
Thank you very much for your words of appreciation.