Zenrat's Flying Circus

zenrat · November 12, 2021, 04:29:19 AM

RDO today so after dog walking, a visit to the dentist (check up), shopping, laundry, and pruning I spent the rest of the day at the bench.

I started painting the engine & prop parts of the Raiden but spent most of the rest of the time working on cars. Mainly AMT '49 Ford. PSR on the bodywork is nearly there and the engine is coming along nicely.

zenrat · November 14, 2021, 03:27:47 AM

Thought I would get the Asurada GSX Cyber Formula car finished today.

This was not to be the case. Final assembly has not gone as smoothly as I hoped.
There is an issue with the fit of the rear bodywork. There is a 1mm gap between the top of the (grey) chassis tub and the bottom of the (blue) bodywork infant of the rear wheels adjacent to the radiators.
Some of the photos in the painting & transfer guide appear to show a gap here but it would be ridiculous on a 1:1 vehicle and can be closed if apply pressure so I think it maybe due to paint thickness or parts misalignment and they had the same issue with one of the prototype models.
However, rather than forcing the bodywork down with clamps while glue dries I have adopted the more elegant solution of cutting shims of 1mm styrene sheet which as they are white, look like they are part of the red/white/blue colour scheme.
The other thing holding me up is the transfers. This thing has nearly as many as a 1/72 Phantom. Being a race car though they would be stickers on top of the paint and so I will not need to clear over them.
Should be finished by next weekend.
As may the Raiden. At which point I shall start another aircraft. Possibly the A&A Lavochkin La-200b I got out of the stash for a good grokking. What did period Soviet AAMs look like?

PSR on the body of the '49 Ford is finished which means that after polishing up the primer I can paint it. Now, what colour body and what colour flames?

NARSES2 · November 17, 2021, 02:17:09 AM

Quote from: zenrat on November 14, 2021, 03:27:47 AM

Possibly the A&A Lavochkin La-200b I got out of the stash for a good grokking. What did period Soviet AAMs look like?

Large, chunky and clunky ? My only knowledge comes from some early kits so I've no idea how accurate they were

zenrat · November 17, 2021, 02:18:33 AM

Finished off the transfers on the Asurada this morning. All I have left to do is some detail painting I missed and glue a few parts on.

Old Wombat · November 17, 2021, 06:13:32 AM

The first Soviet AAM didn't enter service until 1957, whereas the La-200B was dropped from development in 1953.

However, if it had entered service, it may have been modified to carry the RS-2U (a.k.a. the R-5MS or K-5MS) (NATO: AA-1 "Alkali") in 1957.

The last version being the K-5M(RS-2US), in 1959:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/K-5_(missile)

The next Soviet AAM introduced was the Vympel K-13 (NATO: AA-2 "Atoll"), in 1961, which was a reverse-engineered AIM-9B Sidewinder.

zenrat · November 18, 2021, 12:38:36 AM

If I start this i will be positing that Soviet AAMs were in development in parallel with the LA-200. Something big and slow with a large, possibly nuclear warhead.
I've done no background reading yet.

Thanks for the links.

zenrat · November 19, 2021, 03:53:49 AM

Asurada GSX is finished. Beauty pics tomorrow.

zenrat · November 22, 2021, 03:38:22 AM

I have started a new thread for the Asurada.

I have f**ked the shine on the Raiden trying to matt it down like Jon's pic. Acrylic clear really did a job on the Alclad. Valuable lesson learned. I painted a camo scheme on it. Painting round the transfers took me right back.

And in a fit of enthusiasm I started an A&A Lavochkin La200b. Typical Eastern Bloc kit. Bang seats and cockpit made up from a thousand parts which need modifying to fit well, and fuselage halves that look like they will need persuasion to join. I have started cobbling together early Soviet AAMs for it using eggplane missiles and scratch.

Old Wombat · November 22, 2021, 05:16:24 AM

Bit of a bugger about the Raiden.

I noticed; It looks good!

zenrat · November 23, 2021, 02:29:55 AM

Ah the Raiden was always meant to be a test mule anyway. I thought the clear could react but didn't expect it to be so bad. Now I know better for future NMF builds and will stick to the alclad aqua clear.
I've camo'd it in black and dark green and it looks very Russian.

NARSES2 · November 23, 2021, 06:11:01 AM

Quote from: zenrat on November 23, 2021, 02:29:55 AM

I've camo'd it in black and dark green and it looks very Russian.

I can imagine that with some patriotic slogan all the way down the fuselage.

Rick Lowe · November 23, 2021, 08:02:30 PM

Quote from: NARSES2 on November 23, 2021, 06:11:01 AM
Quote from: zenrat on November 23, 2021, 02:29:55 AM

I've camo'd it in black and dark green and it looks very Russian.

I can imagine that with some patriotic slogan all the way down the fuselage.

Plenty of room for it on that barrel...

zenrat · November 25, 2021, 02:58:37 AM

I tried putting patriotic slogan transfers on an eggplane today. They were by ICM. They shattered. I did get the red stars on though.

I'm satisfied with the Raiden's paintjob v1.2 and have moved on to the fiddley bits. Surprisingly I have managed to get this far without snapping off the gun barrels, pitot, or ariel.

As far as the Lavochkin goes I have assembled numbers of tiny parts into small subsubassemblies. I will need to then paint said subsubassemblies before joining them into subassemblies which will fit* into the fuselage before closure.
The kit contains one (out of two in the aircraft) detailed Klimov VK-1. It can be built into the model or put on an included display stand. I shall be installing it into something innaproriate like a DH2...

49 Ford is still undergoing PSR. There is a stubborn ghost seam in the bonnet where I sanded off moulded trim.

*Reading this back I feel I may be being uncharacteristically optimistic here...

NARSES2 · November 25, 2021, 06:21:51 AM

Quote from: zenrat on November 25, 2021, 02:58:37 AM

I'm satisfied with the Raiden's paintjob v1.2 and have moved on to the fiddley bits. Surprisingly I have managed to get this far without snapping off the gun barrels, pitot, or ariel.

I certainly hope you were touching all the wood available when you typed it

zenrat · November 26, 2021, 02:55:48 AM

I have every confidence in my ability to be carefull...

...right up to the point where I relax and then SNAP!

Here's where it's at now.

Raiden WIP 26-11-2021 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

I have pronounced the PSR on the Ford complete and put a coat of paint on it.

49 Ford WIP 26-11-2021 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
And this is a giraffe skin seat cover.

49 Ford WIP 26-11-2021 01 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

Here's some of the subsubassemblies of the La-200. The undercarriage bays in the fuselage halves need gaps filling where they don't quite fit.

Lavochkin La-200b WIP 26-11-2021 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
It strikes me that the circular cross section fuselage would be perfect for a large radial engine like an ASh-73. Or maybe two coupled together.

La-200B by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr