Revell 1/72 Flitzer

[MichelC]

I wish you success with this twin-boom kit!

Thank you, Tophe. Like twin-booms, eh?

M

[MichelC]

Eyes and hands after 60 - are just not what they used to be.  Glasses with increasing level of magnification just do not help.  I have progressed from 72 scale to 48 scale which helps.  The cut-and-shut of Luft46 just happens on a different scale.

And the old hands are a bit shaky these days - painting details by hand results in many unintended schemes, even in a cockpit.  Folding photo etch just takes so much longer to get everything in it's correct place.

But it does not prevent me from admiring the lovely work of others in the following generation.

Keep up the great work.  Let me find my glasses to proof read this before I hit the send button

Oh, I see. I seem to remember some outstanding models of the 262 coming from you. Managing that level of modeling in spite of everything says quite a lot about you. So you too, Sir, keep up the good work!

M

[dumaniac]

Hi MichelC

you have shamed me into trying to post an article.  I must be the only dumb cluck who can't do it.  Anyway, I have tried to post an article on my Me 262 E1 "bomber buster" - we will see how successful I am

Thanks for the encouragement - I made the transition from 72 scale to 48 scale many years ago yo counter the age thing. 

Cheers

Bernie

[Dizzyfugu]

Oh yeah, right. I usually check my books before starting on a build but it seems that in this case I forgot to go back to this major reference! Yep, turboproped Flitzer, right there on page 56. Thanks for reminding me, Dizzyfugu and wishing you the best for your own Flitzer projects. I'll mention any other pitfalls on the Revell kit if I do run into any.

M

Thanks a lot! Will take lots of time until I start any of these (either the personal ground attack variant or the single-tail PTL version), but they are on the agenda. 

[MichelC]

Hi MichelC

you have shamed me into trying to post an article.  I must be the only dumb cluck who can't do it.  Anyway, I have tried to post an article on my Me 262 E1 "bomber buster" - we will see how successful I am

Thanks for the encouragement - I made the transition from 72 scale to 48 scale many years ago yo counter the age thing. 

Cheers

Bernie

Yeah! I'd love to see it!

M

[MichelC]

Here are the same pics as in the last update but this time shot on color film! 











The seat and stick are missing cos there are some fit issues, the Airwaves seat having a higher back than the Revell seat. That means reworking the seat once the tub is in place and the fuse buttoned up. No biggie, just has to be done later.

M

[The Wooksta!]

I'd replace the wheels with those from a 190 - the kit ones are thicker than the wings and with those spokes...  Let's just say that they don't look German.

[MichelC]

I'd replace the wheels with those from a 190 - the kit ones are thicker than the wings and with those spokes...  Let's just say that they don't look German.

No worries, the gear will be up.

BTW, I asked earlier in the thread what kind of an a/c is in the clean config but not in flight and not crash-landed either to see if someone would guess right as to what I have in mind for a dio for this model. It didn't take long for someone to come up with the right answer: ZELL setup. I asked the same question on other forums but no joy there. No coincidence, I'm sure. Whiffers are used to think out of the box! 

M

[Gondor]

I'd replace the wheels with those from a 190 - the kit ones are thicker than the wings and with those spokes...  Let's just say that they don't look German.

Tip noted. I have a spare set of Fw190 wheels that were not going to be used for anything, they are now!

Gondor

[MichelC]

More work done, this time on the engine or rather what can be seen of it, namely the exhaust. Actually there are 2 engines: to assist the Flitzer in reaching altitude quickly the Heinkel HeS 001 turbojet was supposed to be supplemented by a Walter 109-509 rocket engine. Apparently, the rocket engine was canceled in the later stages of design but Revell has included it, which is just as well as it is imperative for my project that the a/c be equipped with maximum propulsive power (still no one guessing?)

Some detailing work was necessary here as the Revell HeS 011 is wrong.



The restrictive cone has an open end and there are 4 supports holding it in place. Something like this:



For the Walter engine, I had just the thing: Eduard PE leftover from my Komet build. Glued to a piece of tubing it plays the part quite well.





More to come...

M

[Army of One]

Looking forward to more........

[MichelC]

Thanks Army of One!

Nothing very exciting happening. Some rescribing and stuff like that. Here are some pics of the work done on the gun ports.

The kit's ports are off: the troughs are nowhere deep enough and there are some suspicious looking fairings I thought should be gotten rid of.



The fairings were sanded off and the troughs deepened with the Dremel tool. Holes were drilled for the hypo needles that'll stand in for the gun barrels.



Revell offers black rectangle decals for the gun ejection ports. I ignored those and made some real holes instead.



Before and after:



To be continued...

M

[MichelC]

This build hit a slow-down for a couple of reasons, one not modeling-related, the other having to do with the canopy.

With the fuselage buttoned up, it was time to have a look at the canopy. The Revell part is one-piece and on the thick side.



Can't see much of what's inside, can you? I decided to give a shot at separating the windshield. I used my thread-saw: a simple sewing thread mounted in a frame. It is slow going as there is much less bite as with a razor saw. So why use it at all then? Because you can slip as many times as you want and you won't ever scratch the canopy! LOL



I wasn't happy with the result, though. It just shows how thick this canopy really is!





No good at all. Only one solution: crash mold my own canopy.

I used the kit part to make a positive mold, mounting it onto a blob of epoxy filler fixed to a nail. The latter makes it possible to secure the mold in a vise.



Next I heated a piece of acetate over a candle flame and once it had softened I pulled it down over the mold.



I had never done it before and incredibly enough, it worked for the sliding canopy part on the first trial! On the other hand the windshield required many attempts before I could come up with a part I was not too dissatisfied with. It only worked when I finally used the canopy from the second kit, which was still in one piece.



The tape is for protection against the epoxy which tends to go all over the place.

Here is the final result:







The parts are not only thinner but much more transparent.



There is still work to do on the new canopy and windshield but the toughest part is done. After a dip in Future the parts will be set aside while I get on with the rest of the build.

Thanks for watching.

M

[loupgarou]

I am amazed, apart from your builds, from your sawing method.
How do you manage to cut plastic with a sewing thread? It's smeared with abrasive, or is a special thread? Never heard of this.

[PR19_Kit]

A veritable MASTER of the art at work here.