Tintin in Tibet (L-749 Constellation)

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February 25, 2021
Now that is a big box!
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February 25, 2021
The sprues are so large...
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February 25, 2021
...I had to take two pics just to get them all in!
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February 25, 2021
A quick dry fit just to get my head wrapped around the size. I also pulled out four big motors... I might be able to actually fly this one!
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February 25, 2021
Got the wing tips and the tail glued together... did I mention this sucker feels BIG!
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February 25, 2021
The cockpit is a bit sparse, but after having looked at some other builds, you really can't see the inside very much, so I'm not going to "waste" time on this one building out the navigator station.
7
March 2, 2021
Interior given a coat of Tamiya XF-22 just to deaden the bright white. Why XF-22? That's just what was handy.
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March 2, 2021
Took a lot of glue... but the fuselage is together.
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March 2, 2021
Despite my best efforts at keeping the seam aligned, some putty is required.
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March 9, 2021
First coat of paint... I ran out of room to hold on to. This is really just the first coat to identify the touch up areas, so it doesn't really matter.
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March 13, 2021
Everyone reports that you'll see basically nothing of the interior... so red seats are about all the detailing needed.
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March 18, 2021
Added some lead weight to the nose. Likely not enough to sit on its own, but hopefully will take some of the stress off the attachment to the base. I also glued the windshield in place.
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March 18, 2021
Hmmm... another coat of paint, but it looks like more sanding is required.
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September 26, 2021
Third time's a charm. I can't believe how much paint it takes to cover this baby up!
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September 26, 2021
Masked off and ready for some Tamiya XF-2 White paint! I normally just tape, but those wings are so huge.
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September 26, 2021
Can you still see the seam? I can.
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October 2, 2021
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December 24, 2021
Tine for some more masking!
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December 24, 2021
Not bad, but a bit of overspray that I'll have to deal with. I thought I was being so careful too!
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December 25, 2021
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December 25, 2021
That is NOT what you want to see when you pull off some masking tape... back to the drawing board I guess!
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December 28, 2021
Bringing it back down to basics.
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December 28, 2021
That's looking a lot better. I really should've used the Tamiya primer from the beginning.
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December 28, 2021
Now let's get these engines sorted out. The wiring is done, but how to attach them on the inside?
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December 28, 2021
The touch uys see to have worked! Looking pretty good if I do say so myself!
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December 28, 2021
Town engines on... two more to go!
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December 30, 2021
Most of the wiring is done so that I can hide it in the wing. Fingers crossed this works!
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December 30, 2021
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December 31, 2021
Went through the spares box, looking for some literal stuff to use to build the passenger loading stairs.
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December 31, 2021
Viola! Some plastic, some wires, some stairs!
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December 31, 2021
All painted up and ready to go!
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December 31, 2021
And there we are... done!
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December 31, 2021
Whoops! Always check the connections to make sure they're still working!
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March 8, 2024
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March 8, 2024
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March 8, 2024
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March 8, 2024
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March 8, 2024
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March 8, 2024

Greg Baker
Already got one picked out. 😉

His is by far the biggest kit I've ever tackled. Had trouble with cement running a bit wild... mainly because I tried to make sure the fuselage halves were even. Still had some uneven edges along the seam, and now I've got a few fingerprint spots to sand down.

2 March 2021, 06:21

gorby
I love the constellation so I'll follow along.

2 March 2021, 16:07

Martin Oostrom
A Connie! I always wanted a 1/72 Connie. Not sure about where to leave it when done. Is it big?

2 March 2021, 18:58

Cuajete
Greg's factory is on fire! I can see there's another diecast car in a box waiting its turn.
Following!

2 March 2021, 19:46

Greg Baker
It's big... especially for someone use to working on 1/144 scale. It's such a great looking plane though and I'm hoping I can do it justice with some Air India livery. I am still trying to figure out where I'm going to put it though. My Tintin shelf is already a bit packed.

Cuajete - there's actually two diecast cars in that box. One is a Zil 115 (a close cousin of the car from Tintin and the Picaros) and the other is the Audi R6 which is the family car from the Miyazaki (Studio Ghibli) movie "Spirited Away".😉

2 March 2021, 20:33

Don Edgecomb
Excellent Me 262A-1a and is that also a Messerschmitt too? That is what you were talking about, right???? LOL

3 March 2021, 05:05

Greg Baker
I've got three Tintin related builds on the go... The Messerschmidt Bf109 from King Ottokar's Sceptre, the blue Ford Zephyr Taxi from The Black Island, and the Connie from Tintin in Tibet.

The box on the left side, near the Bf109 has two diecast cars, the Zil 115 and an Audi R6. I've also got my Haunted Tank project stalled for a bit, the Spad XIII rigging at the top of the pic is going slow...

And the Me262 has been misbehaving, so it's sitting there until it decides it wants to cooperate again...😉

3 March 2021, 06:13

Chaz Gordon
Love the connie, beautiful looking aircraft. My wife bought me an art deco style metal ornament that is a connie flying over a domed globe base. Really brings back the golden age of aviation.

7 March 2021, 17:37

Torsten
Follow this 👍

13 March 2021, 06:27

Gary Kitchen
Greg your output is as prolific as it is amazing. You'll need a sub-basement soon as a display space surely? Just another project I guess 🙂

13 March 2021, 06:40

Erik De Smet
I see motors on picture 4 , but no cables afterwards and no nav lights either. No fancy features this tile Greg ?

13 March 2021, 10:27

Daniel Klink
Connie from Canada..... Count me in 👍

13 March 2021, 11:37

Greg Baker
Thanks Gary. That thought has crossed my mind... which is part of the reason most of my builds are 1/144.

Don't worry Erik... I didn't forget about the motors. Since this one will be wheels down, I've got a plan for the wiring that doesn't need to run through the fuselage. I'm having enough trouble handling such a big bird while sanding already - having a bunch of wires sticking out would've been even trickier to work with.

13 March 2021, 13:22

Spanjaard
the old trick of the refuelling hose?

13 March 2021, 14:17

Chaz Gordon
Ground power connection in the nose undercarriage is more realistic for powered aircraft kits, allows you to have all lights on and could even be in place for ground engine runs.

13 March 2021, 16:44

Greg Baker
My plan, such as it is, is to run the electrical wires for each set of wing engines out through the tires and into the base.

Does anyone know if the Connie requires nose weight? I'm guessing yes, but the instructions make no mention of it.

14 March 2021, 00:53

Erik De Smet
I did run the wires of my Sabena Douglas Dakota that way and that works fine. You could even hide an Arduino in the base and program the engines. With the four motors in front you might not need nose weight.

14 March 2021, 08:52

Chaz Gordon
Interesting plan Greg, Doing it that way, you have the opportunity to use uninsulated wire for more metal per mm2. I would expect a connie to have the potential to need a bit of nose weight, or course, you could also run one of the wires through the nose gear and use that to secure it to the base.

14 March 2021, 17:28

Greg Baker
The plan... such as it is... is to secure all three wheels to the base with wire and glue. The wires running the motors will come down the landing gear - hopefully looking like brake lines, and then move through the tires into the base. I wasn't extremely worried about nose weight because it will be secured to the base, but a bit of weight will put less stress on the wire to pull it down towards the base. Erik's comments about the motors sitting in front of the centre of gravity is something I hadn't quite considered, but I'm going to try and do an ad hoc test to see how much that helps.

The arduino is an interesting idea... It's possible and I have a couple of nanos sitting around... but what would I do? Fire the engines in sequence? Hmmm...

I've got 3 more large planes scheduled for inclusion into my Tintin 1/72 projects... The Heller DC-6, the Mach 2 Convair 440 and the Heller B-707 (which I plan to light up like a Christmas tree!).

14 March 2021, 19:36

Chaz Gordon
Well, I guess it depends on what the scene is planned to be. If you are replicating the panel with the passengers disembarking, the engines would never be running. If the engines are running, All nav lights would be on too.

15 March 2021, 07:37

Erik De Smet
If all 4 engines have to work seperately, you will have 4 "brake lines" on each undercarriage. If you put both motors on each side in series, than you can do it with two and use a 5 V powerbank as power source. With a variable resistor in each circuit, you can start the engines "manually" . I guess you have already glued the wing and the fuselage together. Otherwise, you could run a common + line on the nose wheel leg and through the fuselage, and have separate - lines for each motor through the main legs.

15 March 2021, 07:40

Cuajete
Nice progress!

28 September 2021, 20:02

Greg Baker
Decided to scrap the motor idea and rescue this one from the shelf of doom. A bit of overspray will require a bit of touch up.

24 December 2021, 07:28

Alec K
Somehow I missed all this fun back in March. This is a BIG kit!

25 December 2021, 05:49

Rui
Looking good 👍

25 December 2021, 06:49

Greg Baker
The white coat may have been a bit too thick… sigh. Merry Christmas!

25 December 2021, 15:46

Daniel Klink
Merry Christmas Greg.. And oops yeah,,, white is a very tricky coat anyway...
But keep up the effort mate.. Looking great so far despite of the peeling 🙂

25 December 2021, 15:49

Mike Siemers
Love the Connie, always thought it was one of the most beautiful of the piston engined era. Keep up the good work.

25 December 2021, 16:12

A.J. Madison
Oops. Was that low tack tape? I did a Star Trek ship with a custom multi-color paint scheme masked with low tack tape, before the vinyl masking sets came out, and even though I let the white base coat cure for a week, I still had some paint lift.

25 December 2021, 22:21

Ben M
Merry Christmas, Greg. Some paint hassles but definitely salvageable. I have one in my stash, didn't learn my lesson after building a 1/72 DC-9 😀

25 December 2021, 22:51

Greg Baker
Ok. Back in action. After several repaints and a mountain of masking tape… time to worry about the engines!

28 December 2021, 21:31

Spanjaard
Nice recovery!

28 December 2021, 23:32

Cuajete
Looking so good, Greg 👍

29 December 2021, 18:54

Greg Baker
Thanks guys. I had too much invested in this one not to save it. It seems like touch ups after touch ups, but the painting is done, and the electronic motors work… so on to the decals and the finish line!

30 December 2021, 06:38

Robert Podkoński
That's perhaps the biggest item in your Tintin collection, Greg. Looks really cool. And I love these revolving props 🙂

30 December 2021, 06:56

Greg Baker
Thanks Robert! You're right. It is the biggest item in the Tintin project… so far. I've still got a DC-6 and a B-707 which should take the prize… unless I figure out how to make a 1/72 scale Karaboudjan freighter, or maybe the moon rocket. 😉

I hummed and hawed about the props. I've done most of my lights/motors in 1/144 scale… but I'm glad I did it. They do look cool.

30 December 2021, 07:22

Michael Kohl
Sorry to tell you, but you did a mistake. You powered all four engines. But the Connie was known as the best tri-motor plane. 😉
(for the non-insiders: on long distance flights often one engine failed. Hence the nic-name).
Move on Greg and keep us posted on this beauty.

30 December 2021, 08:16

Greg Baker
So that's why only three engine started when I flipped the switch! I thought it was because the prop was pushed a bit too far down the motor shaft and was binding on the engine cover. Now ai know the real reason! 😉

30 December 2021, 08:39

Alec K
😄 😄 😄

31 December 2021, 01:17

Greg Baker
And…. Done! Even a last minute scratchbuild of some passenger stairs, just for fun. All in all, I'm pretty pleased. Stay tuned for some final images.

31 December 2021, 06:46

Alan Kingston
Lovely model of such a distinctive aircraft, I grew up near, what was then, London Airport (Heathrow) and my brother and I used to cycle to there and watch the Constellations, Stratocruisers, Britannias, etc.

31 December 2021, 06:51

Robert Podkoński
Fantastic! And a perfect work on the stairs, Greg!

31 December 2021, 07:03

Greg Baker
Thanks guys. I've been on a bit of a mission to finish this one off. Didn't want to lose the momentum. There are a few other half begun projects that need some love now. 😉

31 December 2021, 07:14

Marius
Greg, very nice effort there on a gorgeous subject! Congrats!

31 December 2021, 07:20

Robin (WhiteGlint)
Ready to start! 👍
Beautiful work, Greg.

31 December 2021, 07:58

Spanjaard
She looks really great, Greg!

31 December 2021, 08:17

Martin Oostrom
It took a while, but the result is great!

31 December 2021, 08:24

Erik De Smet
Hurrah! Impressive Tintin plane and running engines too.

31 December 2021, 08:53

Cuajete
Fantastic result, Greg. Bravo!!

31 December 2021, 10:10

Moreno Baruffini
Mamma mia! Bellissimo!

Really a great result, congrats Greg!!!

31 December 2021, 10:16

Nils Steyaert
amazing work, as always, Greg! 👍

31 December 2021, 11:35

Matthew A
Insert superlatives

31 December 2021, 14:18

Ben M
Emit wonder

31 December 2021, 19:30

Greg Baker
Thanks guys! My last completed build of 2021! Hooray!

Just in case anyone wants to see it in action, I added it to my YouTube channel.
Youtube Video

31 December 2021, 21:21

Alec K
So cool 👍 👍 👍

31 December 2021, 22:20

Clifford Keesler
Awesome.

1 January 2022, 00:01

Alex K
Epic! GREAT job! 👍 👍

1 January 2022, 05:32

Rui
👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻

1 January 2022, 07:23

Dietmar Bogatzki
realy cool 👍

1 January 2022, 07:35

Cuajete
Great!! 👍👍👍

1 January 2022, 10:16

Daniel Klink
Fantastic Greg👍
Most impressive

1 January 2022, 11:49

Villiers de Vos
Your Tintin-Universe is expanding. A very nice model.

1 January 2022, 13:39

bughunter
Unusual big, at least compared to your other projects 😉

1 January 2022, 14:36

Thomas Espe
Very nice!

1 January 2022, 22:58

Chaz Gordon
Beautiful Connie.

3 January 2022, 02:57

Łukasz Gliński
Very neat. And dat props!

3 January 2022, 09:31

Foxbat
Wow Awesome work! Just saw this from your comment on my 1:144 Constellation.

30 June 2023, 16:55

Jean-Louis Durand
Two of my passions in one : Tintin and this wonderful plane ! You really did a great job ! I love this unique style ; the Constellation is so elegant...

30 June 2023, 17:06

Greg Baker
Thanks Jean-Louis! If you're interested in Tintin... there's more where that came from - strobez.ca/wp/index...1-72-scale-projects/

30 June 2023, 18:58