U-2A Dragon Lady
Comments
26 12 December 2022, 20:23
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Off we go. Here the products used for the project. Already started so many parts are off the sprue.
12 December 2022, 20:25
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Wings off the sprues, one already glued together. Removed the parts I identified for subassemblies that can be already cleaned out and glued, then primed.
12 December 2022, 20:27
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checking this out...please change the name to that of the kit or something else...
13 December 2022, 15:03
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Wings glued together and the vertical stabiliser also. Glued the stick and photo etched pedals to the cockpit. Sone lines were missing from one side of the stabiliser, did rescribe them. It is hard to understand why the stabiliser isn't moulded in one part like the horizontal ones as it would save some effort for both the company and the builder.
14 December 2022, 19:06
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Love all the cold war 'warriors' especially those in natural metal finishes. Dragon Lady was definitely on the ragged edge of the envelope.
15 December 2022, 07:16
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Did assemble the seat without the headrest and the cussion. Did assemble part B5 to the side of one part as in the instruction which ended as on the picture. I advise to first assemble the seat mainframe and then to glue part B5. My first impression is that HB has not put much effort in this kit as the seat is not straight and other parts do not fit good at all like the wings.
15 December 2022, 21:02
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@A.J. yes theye are something special from a time where manking tried to push the technological envelope to it's limits.
15 December 2022, 21:04
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Dig glue the exaust pipe and some elements of the main gear bay today. Fit is acceptable but not what I expected from a mainstream manufacturer. Hoped for some easy assembly after the P-36...
16 December 2022, 17:39
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@ photo3. Why two parts for vertical stab? Well... I'm working on the 1/144 Mini Pan Am Pacific Clipper, and two of its tails are molded in one piece, and both of them have 4 (4!) ejector pin marks. And on a NMF kit no less. I've resorted to scribing the panel lines, then doing the fill & sand. Admittedly, I give the Mini Pacific Clipper a B- on the moldings.
17 December 2022, 01:26
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@A.J.: Thank you for your feedback! I understand what you mean but this is a 2021 mold and they managed to mold both horizontal stabilisers in one piece with no ejector pin marks on the same sprue, that's why I wonder why did they went for that decision.
17 December 2022, 09:18
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Following your build with interest cause I've planned to
build the black U-2C. Keep on modeling, mate.😉
30 December 2022, 17:00
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Thanks for beeing here Bernd! I saw the C lately and it is basically the same kit with new decals- you just add the hump for the C. Would advise You to buy the pe fret from Eduard as the cockpit is devoid of any detail besides the controll column, seat and front panel. The side panels are empty and there are no decals for them. Not the best fit all around but still nothing too bad - just not the usual level of Hobby Boss in this regard. My impressions are that they done it with not much effort put in it. Pitty as I also long awaited a new mainstream kit of the U-2 in this scale.
30 December 2022, 17:37
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Thanks Patyk. It seems that they have made little effort for the high price of the kit. I wonder if they will release an R or TR version.
Happy 2023!
31 December 2022, 19:36
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I'm even later than Robert, how come? 😛 Very curious about the sprue quality and the finish
1 January 2023, 12:50
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Working on the right wing while I clean up small parts for priming. Added the photo etched fuel inlets and added some super glue in the position where later version had pods (and here they were closed by additional parts which are not flush) in order to blend them with the wings.
23 January 2023, 19:41
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@Andy: I will most propably mess up this perfection with the canopy as the tamiya sprays and primers are at least for me difficult when demasking the clear parts, but I am forunately getting better with every kit so hoping to get this right.
24 January 2023, 08:33
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Cleaned up the main gear doors today. Enourmous sprue attachment gates but nothing some sanding can't manage. Working on the wings also.
16 February 2023, 20:20
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Getting ready for priming of all subassemblies parts. Working to replace the internals of the speed brakes - the eduard ones are more accurate. The wiring immitation of the hb plastic is nice but the parts lack many details.
13 March 2023, 21:04
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Did some additional reasearch - the Hobby Boss brakes are correct for the TR-1 versions and up. For the U-2A eduard PE ist the better choice, though it is not 100% accurate also, but gets very close to the original.
14 March 2023, 08:18
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Did assemble some PE parts today and cleaned up the airbrake frames fo the PE.
17 March 2023, 17:26
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Did some PE work today. Assembled the first airbrake and added some wiring and glued the PE oleo scissors to the main gear. Also drilled out a hole by the main strut to add some detail.
18 March 2023, 19:15
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Both internals of the speedbrake done. Was afraid it would be the hardest part of the build but it went reasonably quick as for my first time doing more complex PE.
20 March 2023, 21:09