Arado Ar-234 P5 Swept Winged Turbo-Prop Nightfighter - Completed

[trickyrich]

Well I have to admit I have been absent for here for a wee while, namely with other builds, but the time is right for something completely mad like my He-177Z!!!!

Ok I'm the first to admit I am totally mad and this build will prove it!

My work pattern has changed so I will have more time for models!!! So rather than signing up for more GB's which I normally do on another web site, or actually completing the ones I've signed up for on time I decided I needed a new long-term project. The Heinkel He-177Z was a long term project which I loved so instead of building the bigger one (it is still there just waiting to be built) I have gone for this project which I had mentioned a few times on this or other sites..



So the basis for the build will be Hasegawa's 1/48th Arado Ar-234C-3 which will provide the body, interior and undercarriage, though it will probably end up providing a of other bits as well!



I love the look and it's super cool, plus a nightfighter as well! I had received all the bits sometime ago but after a quick look at them I got very scared!! The reason for this is the add on bits from Unicraft!!! The parts may be a little bit basic which is to say they are basically lumps of resin and not much else!

The wings from Antares are nice and need little work to fit my build.



The engines or turbo-props are barely recognisable as engine parts and as can be seen I have had to add sheet plastic to help build them up so they at least may be round in shape! They even come with an internal engine sections if I wanted to leave the engine covers open...or should I say a blob to match the rest of the engine blob!




The new nose is....well more or less useless, as can be seen from the photo is much smaller than the canopy section. The mod kit is for the Hobby Craft Arado Ar-234 which is completely the wrong in the nose section compared to the Hasegawa model, it's way too narrow! So I can either modify the clear section which is pretty well impossible or completely build a new nose section! Plus all the other bits in this mod kit are pretty well useless as well, will have to use most of the kit parts for this build! I will either have to modify the resin bits I have or make a completely nose section, which at the moment looks to be the easiest path!




So I have pretty well given myself a not so easy task for this build. Whether I complete this build or if it is destiny for the box of doom is something to be decided as the build progresses.

For a start I need to get these engines at least round in profile, hence the addition of card to the engine bodies and spinners. If I can get these sorted there may be a possibility this project will get going. Once the main bodies are round in profile I can work on the nose cones and props. Once these are done I can then start to work on how they will mount to the swept back wings, custom mounts will be needed for this.



Well the spacers I added have done the trick and allowed me to move on.



The prop cones needed an extra spacer to make them sort of round, this gave me the chance them to work on them. For this I cut out some disks from plastic card which were to be the reference guide for the shaping.



A micro Dremel to act as a sort of lathe. This setup worked perfectly and in a short while I had two very workable prob hubs.



The main engine pod also had a plastic disk added, though this was slightly smaller, the prop hubs will be temporary glued to the pods for final shaping.



I am really happy with how this turned out as it is or will be the hardest part of the project. There is a lot more work required for the completed Turbo Props but good progress has been made.

As for the cockpit, as has been mentioned I will use most of the kits original cockpit assembly and custom make a new front section to fit the radome.  I was thinking I'll need to cut about 1cm from the Hasegawa nose but I think I will use it as a foundation for the new nose.



So this is going to be a crazily big project, nothing that will be completed in a couple of months for sure! Again I must be completely crazy to attempt this build, I had planned it for a WhatIf GB, but given the work required it's not possible in the time given. So this Christmas or next I'm not sure when it will be finished so welcome aboard on this crazy adventure. Regular updates are not included!

However given the progress so far, I may have to slow down else I will finish it before Xmas!!!

[Dizzyfugu]

This looks like a putty orgy... nevertheless, curious how it turns out. 

[Sticky Fingers]

Pulling all the stops! Me Likey! 

[sandiego89]

Brave effort! 

All the best. 

-Dave

[NARSES2]

Looking forward to this one

[Modelling_Mushi]

Ok I'm the first to admit I am totally mad and this build will prove it!

It looks like a great build idea and Im eager to see how it turns out.

And after its over I think we will all be able to sign off on your entrance papers to the madhouse 

[Army of One]

Oh .....what a beast......!!

[PR19_Kit]

You, sir, are a glutton for punishment! But it's looking good anyway.

[dumaniac]

eeeeeee gads - yeah well, I don't think I will rush into that one

great concept  - bad luck about the resin

[trickyrich]

Thanks for the nice comments and yes punishment is my middle name....among others! I was a little hesitant to start this one due to the Unicraft bits, but they haven't been that problematic once I've started.

So update, despite the best efforts of a cold progress has been made on this project. As the engines will be a doable project I started looking at the nose. There are two options, either try to use the Unicraft one and modify the kit cockpit and canopy to fit, or only use the Unicraft radome and custom make a new front section. The former is a bit fraught with damage is I'd have to cut up a good canopy and nose section to try and get the right profile. Plus the Hasegawa nose section is of the correct proportions where as the Hobby Craft (for which the Unicraft set is made for) nose is too narrow.

So the decision is pretty well made for me, a new custom nose, so out with the razor saw and plastic card and off we go!





First off the kit nose section needed to cut off to match the diameter of the new radome. Using the Unicraft drawings and nose about 8mm was removed along with the lower site housing. The radome on the Unicraft nose was also cut off, there was a nice panel line to help with this.



Next a whole lot of plastic disks were cut out to the same diameter as the radome, this was to help align everything and keep it nice and round. Plus card profiles were made of the cockpit and new windscreen section.





I am now getting closer to the shape and profiles I am after, though the windscreen needs to be sloped more. Plus the radome appears to be just a bit too long and needs to be more rounded when compared to the P-5 drawings.





But it is now all doable which is a big relief, so the project will continue full steam head...until I get distracted. Oh and for those interested the new nose will be made up using 5thou card, layered, this will give the new nose strength and make the profiling easier.

That said as I've gone over all the drawings I can find I have found some noticeable issues, in that the side profile drawings don't really match the head-on views! Because this was a "paper plane" I don't think anyone really sat down and nutted out the complex shape of the nose, as a lot of these profiles don't match up! This will make "accuracy" a wee bit hard, so this will be a little bit more of a Whif than and actual replica of an Ar-235 P-5 (there were even two different looking version of this aircraft!!). That said she will be as plausible as possible.

[dumaniac]

nice progress - looking forward to seeing this progress further

[trickyrich]

thanks...

Well back to this, been a bit distracted with other projects but this is actually quite good as it gives me a chance to see where I'm going with this.

As mentioned drawings for this planned aircraft are quite vague on nose shape and profile, plus in length as well. So I may wander off a little bit into how I think it should have looked.

Ok, the radome seems to have a bit of a hump on the top section but not all the way around??? The easiest way to do this is to add a thin strip of card around the radome around the joint. Then use some filler and shape....then after figuring it doesn't look right after a couple of days, grind off the side and lower sections. Am happier with this look!



After some thought on how I was going to attack the new nose section I started with the new cockpit screen and surrounding panel. This is dead flat which makes making it a bit easier (along with the screen a bit later. Sorry forgot to take photos of the next bit. A rough outline of the new windscreen panel was sketched out with its width to match the nose. From this the shape was transferred to card and templates were made which included the screen cut out. One of these templates had the windscreen opening enlarged so as the give the appearance of a frame around the windows, this is one this that is made clear on all the drawings. Next a frame was made for where the new cockpit section will meet the canopy. Both these pieces were made slightly larger to help with the profiling later.

Now the radome was glued to the nose section and card added to where the new instrument panel and cowling will go along with some bracing which will be hidden. The shape is now looking how it should be (well in my opinion) so now how to fill in the gaps??




I wasn't too sure how I was going to do this as I still needed to have to interior section nice and clean and shaping the inside would be a real pain and there was now way I was going to cut it apart again. So I tried something a bit different and laminated to lower walls with 10 thou card cut into strips. It took some time but I was happy with the results. The upper section was just small bits of plastic scrap.



The results after some initial shaping were better then I hoped for!!! It just looks right so that was a great relief.




On with the first of not doubt many coats of filler, when dried the shaping begins.



The engines now have a new exhaust section and are now the correct length when compared to the supplied Unicraft drawings. The ends will be cut out and some engine detail will be added. The front covers on the top of the engine were added, filled and smoothed out. There is not a lot left to do the engine bodies other then completely sanding smooth and adding some panel lines. The prop cones were drilled for the props, a few of the original holes didn't line up, so were filled. There should only be another two full days left on the engines before they are done with luck, though I will have to make the blades from scratch as the Unicraft ones are no good.




So one of the hardest bits of the conversion is pretty well all sorted out. The only really bit of major scratch building will be the engine mounts for the wings, not sure how I will attack that one but have a few ideas. Once the cockpit is finish I can start painting and detail of the cockpits/wheel wells, then I can close her up and look at the wings!!

[trickyrich]

I just could wait so a quick rub down and a coat of Mr Surface 1000.......





Oooo it does look so good!!!

A section of the fuselage needs to be cutout for the wings to fit, plus I think the engines need to be quite forward like this for the correct CoG I think.

[Gondor]

That is looking so good. Tempted to do the same in 1/72.

Gondor

[loupgarou]

That is looking so good. Tempted to do the same in 1/72.

Gondor

At least in 1/72 Dragon does a kit of the Arado with that funny nose, without need for a conversion.