1/72 A400M - with a difference

[kitnut617]

Ah! yes very nice ---  

I'm going to build mine as a Canadian one, and s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d.  I'm going to call it a CC-400 Kodiak, I've drawn a Grizzly profile and then asked CanMilAir to make a decal of it in the proper RCAF greys.

Here's how it will fit, I made a paper template so I could get the size right, the bear's back will be above the wing.



Here's my decal, it's a re-scaled CC-177 decal CanMilAir does with serial numbers appropriately changed:

[sykotik]

Now that is cool! Love the bear decal -very original. I look forward to seeing how it comes out!
Just on your build, be ready to spend a large amount of time filling and sanding the wing roots and seam lines where they meet the body. F*king awful fit for a new kit 

[kitnut617]

Thanks mate!, with my plan to stretch the fuselage, I might slide the bear decal a bit more forward to how I have it now.

[sykotik]

how - or more to the point - where, are you going to stretch it out from? I am assuming the forward part of the fuselage as there rear could be a bit to complex to do?
Have you started a thread for yours yet?

[Captain Canada]

What a beauty ! Nice to see one in a 'real' camo pattern and not overall boring  Love the weathering....looks the part to me ! The mascot is pretty funny too....

[Father Ennis]

Yes, my friend, a C-130 ' COULD' indeed 'fly backwards'. They did this as a demo at the air show. But to be fair, they didn't do it in the air but on landing. Shortly after the wheels touched ground ,the engines were reversed and indeed it did 'fly backwards' . This was a demo of just how short it could land.  The only planes that could land in a shorter distance were the Piper Cubs !!!!!

[kitnut617]

how - or more to the point - where, are you going to stretch it out from? I am assuming the forward part of the fuselage as there rear could be a bit to complex to do?
Have you started a thread for yours yet?

Front and back, the front is fairly straight forward, and as you say the rear is definitely more complex.  I think that I have to come almost under the wing and then extend the rear.  On top of that, I want to preserve the wing box fairing for another project I have in mind (did I mention I'll buy another A400M to use for this stretch).  I've already got a fuselage sourced for it ----

In all there will be three large Airbus projects to do, A400M-30, BAe 844 and this other I'll call an A410 ( I'll let you figure out what it entails).  I'll start a thread sometime in the near future but I've a couple of other projects to finish first before I start another group.

[kitnut617]

Yes, my friend, a C-130 ' COULD' indeed 'fly backwards'. They did this as a demo at the air show. But to be fair, they didn't do it in the air but on landing. Shortly after the wheels touched ground ,the engines were reversed and indeed it did 'fly backwards' . This was a demo of just how short it could land.  The only planes that could land in a shorter distance were the Piper Cubs !!!!!

Erm!  I've seen a DHC CC-115 Buffalo do that trick at an airshow a few years ago ----

[PR19_Kit]

I did that with a Revell B-24D to make a RW model of the spotty 'First Sergeant' formation ship from WWII.

It has 4 x Spin-a-prop motors in the engines and two AA cels stacked vertically in the bomb bay. It also has flashing lights on the top of the fuselage, ex-Frog Super VC10 kit, and no less than 590 coloured dots over the cmao scheme!

[darthspud]

RAF Hercs regularly used to fly backwards at Gutersloh as they only got parked nose on facing out from taxiways.
The first time I saw it my jaw literally dropped. Fast jet based before my posting to Gutersloh and had been told about it, just thought it was a wind-up.

[PR19_Kit]

Beverleys were the first RAF aircraft to reverse taxi as they had fully reversible props. I used to watch them back out of their canvas 'hangars' at RAF Abingdon in 1953 or so, totally mind boggling. Even more so when they did the trick during a BoB Display to get back to the threshold after disgorging a Landie or two and the odd field gun.

[Father Ennis]

Indeed,a very impressive site and one not to be forgotten ....

[Dizzyfugu]

Wonderful work, in many ways!