Tu-134UBL "Black Pearl"
Komentáre
54 11 January 2023, 17:50
Reaper_leadI'm already complaining it's gonna be a difficult build, so here I go making it harder 😉. I'm going to add some lighting to this kit. The most difficult part will be adding the position lights in the wing tips. The plan is to add interior lighting in the "passenger" section of the fuselage, as well as two overhead lights in the cockpit. Taxi lights should be simple to add as well, given there will be plenty of space to hide the wires away. I will add uper and lower red strobe anti collision lights, and as mentioned, the wing tip position lights. I can't find any anti collision lights on the tail so far, so no plan to add them either
airplane-pictures.ne..y-tupolev-tu-134ubl/
12 January 2023, 21:07
CuajeteGreat project.
"Black Pearl" can be a very interesting scheme 👌
Following!
13 January 2023, 19:16
Reaper_leadInterior is fully sanded. LEDs should be arriving tomorrow, but in the meantime, I will begin painting the interior. I'm not sure how I will replicate the texture of the walls shown in this walkthrough. My best guess right now is many different layers of random lines with different shades of beige. The other option, in addition to the varying paints, is to score the interior with a panel line engraver or something similar to actually provide depth to the plastic.
17 January 2023, 13:43
Łukasz GlińskiJoining the party and wondering whether their standard 134 kit is any better 🙂
18 January 2023, 08:58
Reaper_leadThanks everyone! This project is at a bit of a roadblock. I'm waiting for a mask set to arrive before I can finish up the interior since I've added the windows. The light structure that will sit along the top of the cabin is also stuck as some of the LEDs I ordered were not according to specification, so I'm working with the shop to resolve that issue.
28 January 2023, 00:54
Casey RupleyGreat start! Nice to see the challenge of adding lights. Are you going to control them with something like an arduino micro controller so they can flash?
31 January 2023, 15:40
Reaper_leadThank you! I have some LEDs that came with built in repeaters, so they strobe on their own without any kind of controller. That does mean that the upper and lower strobing anti collision lights might flash at the same time, but I'm not too concerned about that
2 February 2023, 03:16
Reaper_leadThey're great. evandesigns.com/prod..ck-burst-stobe-flash
I get all of my LEDs from this store.
3 February 2023, 15:23
Reaper_leadThank you! Everything is clear coated and ready for some weathering. I decided to try future/pledge/klear as a gloss coat, since I've been curious about it for a while. There are definitely some areas where I sprayed a bit too much, but overall it looks to have been a success. I'm interested to see how it turns out, particularly because some people have experienced yellowing with it
19 February 2023, 04:32
Reaper_leadCockpit is 3/4 assembled. I need to wire the nose taxi lights, cockpit lights, and red strobe anti collision lights before I close the cockpit up. The next future hurdle will be decals, as this kit does not come with the right decals for the black pearl scheme. While researching how to get around this, I discovered that the flag depicted on the aircraft actually represents the commander in chief of the Russian Navy. This obviously changes the purpose of the aircraft from "trainer" to transporting VIPs. The cabin as it stands isn't necessarily the most luxurious interior, as there aren't even any chairs. depending on how long the wiring takes, as well as lining up the fuselage sections, I may add some interior details. Back to the decals. I am getting a set of decals for the Zvezda 1:144 black pearl kit shipped. I will then need to scale them and re-print them (something I haven't ever done either). Lots of challenges, but these will be a good learning experience to tackle.
20 February 2023, 18:34
Alexander GrivonevI really like when modelers have the know how to do illuminated stuff. It adds so much realism and just looks so cool 👍
20 February 2023, 21:28
Reaper_leadLots of putty and sanding today. There's a bit of sanding left to do on the second layer. The windows are very cloudy from sanding, but are all flush with the fuselage now
28 February 2023, 02:56
Łukasz GlińskiTrue A-Model indeed 👍 My hint: check the geometry, just in case
28 February 2023, 18:40
Andy BallI keep looking at that fuselage and the windows and see a freshwater pike! The ambition on the build is superb!
28 February 2023, 20:24
Reaper_leadIt definitely isn't 100% symmetric @Lukasz, but at this point I'm ok with that. I think the lesson here is to spend more time prepping and bending the fuselage halves.
1 March 2023, 03:09
Carlos MartinThat looks perfectly aligned from here. Beautiful plane and great work so far.
2 March 2023, 09:39
Reaper_leadThank you Carlos and Cuajete. I'm having difficulty rescribing tight curves, anyone have any suggestions?
17 March 2023, 22:51
A.J. MadisonIn increasing order of "fuss factor": I have a fairly stiff sheet of brass that I got from the 'hobby brass' display at the hardware store. It is well used, and has a permanent curve to it. But it's only good for modestly curved shapes, but you hold it down tight along the line you want to scribe, and you're done. If you can find it, Dymo Label tape is a great, but is a expendable solution for tight curves and perverse shapes. Snip off a section, remove backing film, and apply adhesive side directly to the model. If you can't find Dymo, you can cut a strip of scrap 20 thou (.5 mm?) and with some tape, stick it to the model. I've also resorted to applying transparent tape to the model, drawing the line I want to scribe to the tape. Remove tape, apply it to scrap sheet styrene, then freehand or use a french curve to first scribe, then cut (or scribe & snap) along the line to create a custom scribing template.
18 March 2023, 06:47
Carlos MartinReaper, I use scribbling tape. It used to be difficult to get and expensive, and the replacements as dyno tape are not as good,, but it's easy to get now, at least in the UK. Ammo is selling one version. Every mistake I make scribing now is because I'm lazy and I skip using the tape.
18 March 2023, 07:36
Reaper_leadThank you, I'll have to take a look at both of those, although the idea of using some bent brass is a great one, since I have a bunch of spare sheets lying around
18 March 2023, 13:25
SkyhikerI often use a zip tie with some double stick tape on the back as a general guide. Or on really curved areas I sometimes layer thin strips of styrene with double stick tape. They're not the perfect solutions but they work.
19 March 2023, 14:09
Maciej BellosThis one needs some real estate in the shelf or the cabinet in order to be displayed. I hope you have some available.
Looking good by the way!
6 April 2023, 20:39
Reaper_leadI think it's going to be relegated to the top of my display shelf next to my A-400M. After some serious thinking about the describing problem, I remembered that I had a set of Tamiya scribing guides, which worked (mostly) perfectly for what was needed.
6 April 2023, 23:22
Dominik Weitzermate. i like that plane a lot. has a very nice styling. it looks like a lot of work on the kit itself (without your lightning) and i'm thinking about buing or not.
I'll watching till your result :-D
3 May 2023, 07:25
Harald BesoldWhen the model is finished, it will be a real gem in the showcase. Very good work.
16 May 2023, 18:56
Reaper_leadThank you for all the kind comments, they keep me continuing on this slow build. I have covered all of the overspray with a slightly darker shade of the main color, and finished it off with a gloss coat. The APU exhaust, thrust reversers, and nose gear bay will be painted next (with hopefully no overspray)
22 May 2023, 02:55
Reaper_leadAfter quite a long break from modelling, the landing and taxi lights are finally in place. Next, I will focus on getting the landing gear attached, and then the horizontal stabilizer assembly will get attached.
25 July 2023, 17:18
Reaper_leadThanks @cuajete! The gear is in place: it might be the worst gear I've assembled in the last several years or longer. The engine nacelles need a coat of metal protector. There are several areas on the model that need a touch up on the main body color. The gear bay doors need this main body color as do all of the various antennae. After all of that, another gloss clear coat. The next tricky step will be to take the decals I received from the 1:144 Zvezda kit and adapt them to 1:72.
31 July 2023, 14:40
Reaper_leadI started looking into modifying the Zvezda 1:144 decals, but I pretty quickly realized I was way out of my league given I have 0 experience printing decals. I'm having an expert create the larger decals, but I don't know how long that will take. I have sealed all the remaining items in a ziploc bag and semi-sealed the aircraft in order to minimize dust.
11 August 2023, 16:02
CuajeteYou do well to protect the parts and the model in bags to avoid dust during the time without working. I also have mine like this until I can take them back.
I love the result that this Tu-144 is having. I hope I can hold the break until you can resume it with the arrival of the decals 👍
16 August 2023, 20:20
Album info
I don't know which of the pictured aircraft I will replicate. Either the "Black Pearl" scheme or the other "Blue Wave" or whatever it might be called.
