A 'different' Airbus A-400M Atlas - FINISHED!

[PR19_Kit]

I guess the advantage of close ups with large models is that they can still be far away...

Dead right. 

I took those pics at a range of about 3-4 ft, WELL outside the range where you'd see the faults. It'll be at the back of the stand at Telford for the same reason. 

[TheChronicOne]

    ^

Ha!!!  Sounds like my type of shenanigans....  Good thinking!

I think it looks fantastic so far. . .   

[Captain Canada]

Oh wow is that ever good ! Love the look of it and it makes complete sense. Great build.

[NARSES2]

I can see that with 4 under slung turbo fans rather than the turbo props. Almost a large Hs 146 then ?

[PR19_Kit]

A VERY large Hs146 indeed! 

All the decals are on now, or at least all the ones I'm going to apply. There's WELL over half the Revell sheet left.

The props are nicely matt varnished, yes, the real ones really are matt, and I've snapped off all the sticky-out bits as I'm fed up with trying to find them when they got knocked off! They'll be the last things to be replaced at the build end. The remaining main landing gear goes on tonight and the gear doors too with luck. After that it's just tidying up really.

After last week's disasters I'm surprised I've got this far really. 

[PR19_Kit]

Another landmark, the landing gear, wheels and doors, are all glued in position. 

With the aid of some meticulously accurate scalpel work, copious quantities of superglue and accelerator all of the remaining 10 main gear legs/wheels are now glued in place. Hopefully no-one, or not many of them anyway, will notice that only the two rear outboard  wheels actually touch the ground, together with the bumpers at the end of the loading ramp, as otherwise it would have needed far more accurate cutting work than I'm capable of at this stage of the build. In addition the main gear doors make excellent shields to prevent the over querious from noticing this fact. 

The more observant of you will notice that the nose probe seems to be missing. Well, is really IS missing, as during the heaving and swivelling involved in fitting the gear legs I caught it in my shirt and PING, off it went. Luckily it's only the glue joint that's failed and it fits back together quite nicely. In addition it may make the red stripe painting a lot easier.

To which end I bought some Sharpie pens on Ian the Kiwi Herder's recommendation, but I'll give them a test on something else first before using them on the probe itself.

We're getting there. 

[rickshaw]

Make the Nose Probe removable, Kit.  It'll save trouble later!   

[PR19_Kit]

Make the Nose Probe removable, Kit.  It'll save trouble later!   

It actually plugs-in quite nicely so I may do just that. The props will be 'plug-on' as well or for sure one of those umpteen blades will snap off in transit to a show.

[zenrat]

...The props will be 'plug-on' as well or for sure one of those umpteen blades will snap off in transit to a show.

I do that.  However, you do introduce a new hazard - that of the props falling off and getting trodden on while moving it from table to box (or display case to box).

[PR19_Kit]

I'll leave the props off until it's sitting on the stand itself. That's what I  do with the RB-35 Northampton and that seems to work OK.

So long as I don't lose the props in the transit box of course.......

[zenrat]

Ah, you say that now but there will come the time when you are flying it round the house, put it into a dive, step forward and...
...crunch.

Don't ask me how I know this.

[PR19_Kit]

Ah, you say that now but there will come the time when you are flying it round the house, put it into a dive, step forward and...
...crunch.

Don't ask me how I know this.

Hehehe, this thing is SO heavy there's no way I'll be doing anything so bizarre. 

I can only JUST hold the darn thing in one hand!

[McColm]

Could the propellers be motorized or internal lights fitted?

[PR19_Kit]

Could the propellers be motorized or internal lights fitted?

Almost anything's possible these days......

I built a 1/72 Revell B-24D finished as a formation leader that has 4 x Spin-a-Prop motors and flashing lights on the fuselage top and that's powered by 2 x AA cells in the bomb bay, I did that in 1973 or so.



But I guess so, the engine nacelles on the Atlas are pretty large, and there's enough room in the fuselage for a power station, let alone some batteries!

[McColm]

Thanks Kit