Northrop Delta 1C build

After washing the sprues, I began by separating the port side fuselage from the sprue. The gates are rather large, and cutting them with a sprue cutter still left nubs that needed to be sanded. The plastic is not particularly soft, though not quite as brittle as the major kit manufacturers. The molding is clean and free of sprue. The inside of the fuselage has ejector pin stubs that will need to be sanded down. 

The first item of business was to address the passenger entry door, the only major surgery I anticipate for this model. This particular model used a door that was larger than the other early Deltas, one that opened upward rather than to the side. The kit notes that this is a difference (though it is not included in the drawings of the AB plane in the instructions), and supplies a supplementary instruction sheet along with two masks for the properly-sized door and window. If the door was to be modeled closed, then some sanding off of handles and hinges and the filling of a window is all that would be needed. Then one of the masks could actually be used to represent the door on the finished model. However, since I have decided to model the door open, I had to cut out the door opening.  

Door cut from sheet styrene and shaped for fit and contours. 

Build of cockpit and cabin and dry-fitting in the fuselage. 

The kit has no locating pins, so I added a couple of tabs to assist with assembly when the time comes to close the fuselage. 

Primer coat for the interior. 

Interior base colors painted. Also added locating strips for the cockpit floor. Cockpit interior painted with Vallejo Metal Dull Aluminum, which sprayed beautifully and looks great. First time I've tried it, and I'm quite pleased. Part of my motivation for this subject was to try a natural metal finish using the Vallejo Metal line. 

Interior details painted. Still need to add seat belts, pick out details on the IP and consoles, place the control yoke, and add windows and curtains for the cabin. 

Picked out details in cockpit. 

Added Tamiya tape seat belts to cockpit and cabin seats. 

Foil blanks for window curtains.  

Decided that the foil curtains did not look very good, so I decided to print curtains instead. 

Windows installed and curtains mounted. 

Curtains mounted on both sides. 

Fuselage closed up. 

Horizontal stabilizers assembled and added. 

Wings assembled. 

Cabin windows, door, and cockpit masked and prepared for painting. 

Engine assembled and painted, and landing gear and spats assembled. 

Major parts assembled and ready for priming and any additional filling needed. 

After a few rounds of priming, filling, sanding, and re-priming, she is ready for the NMF. 

Airbrushed with Vallejo Aluminum. Went on nicely and came out very smooth. Masks removed and ready for the fiddly bits to be added, touch-up painting, and decals. 

Final assembly completed. 

Applying decals. The decals with this kit are thin, prone to fold and fragment, and don't slide very well. They look nice once applied, but applying them is difficult. Hopefully the smaller ones will maneuver a little better. 

Completed model.