dh Hornet PR5

[PR19_Kit]

Yeah, but then I'd have to a) make some, and b ) get the old 100 gall ones off and they're already painted.

[kitnut617]

a) make some,

Well, I've already made a mould of the two master tanks  I but I don't know how quick the postage would be.

and b ) get the old 100 gall ones off and they're already painted.

Probably easier to revise the back story then   

[PR19_Kit]

Probably easier to revise the back story then   

I'm WELL used to that. 

I'll need to re-do some of range calculations as I've effectively lost 400 galls worth of fuel from the original plan.

[JayBee]

I'll need to re-do some of range calculations as I've effectively lost 400 galls worth of fuel from the original plan.

Just use that new fuel they developed during that period. You know, the one infused with Unobtainium. 

[PR19_Kit]

I'll need to re-do some of range calculations as I've effectively lost 400 galls worth of fuel from the original plan.

Just use that new fuel they developed during that period. You know, the one infused with Unobtainium. 

Yes Jim, they were intended to use it in the first place but Lord Louis Mountbatten wouldn't let them burn it on operational flights over the Japanese mainland..............

[PR19_Kit]

Having made a right mess of drawing up some BFP roundels, it took me THREE more goes before I got them right. 

But having got that sorted I could put the decals on the PR5, and here it is.





All the decals bar the serials were home printed, and as the backstory says all eight PR5s were once PR2s, why not use the kit decals? 

Just the landing gear and the props to do now, plus the small detail painting.

[Rheged]

I've been following this build with great interest.  Not far to go now, and I know the finished item will not disappoint!

[chrisonord]

This is looking  very nice  Kit and a testament to  the hard work and effort you have put into it 
Chris

[PR19_Kit]

Sadly AZ have SERIOUSLY screwed up with the landing gear. 

Their system has a U shaped brace attached to the bottom of the main gear leg, and it's held at the correct angle by the rearward facing retraction strut. Neither of these parts have location positions moulded into the main leg so it's pretty difficult to figure out where they're supposed to go and at what angle.

But worse is the U strut is 7.5 mm wide over most of its length and the main landing gear hatch is only 6 mm wide! How the devil am I supposed to get the assembly in there even if I can build it? 

Luckily I think there's a solution, as looking at pics of Hornets it's not obvious that there IS a U shaped strut, even if you were lying on the ground alongside the aeroplane. So I think I'll just glue the main leg in place at the correct angle, derived from the pics, and then add the retraction strut, leaving the U strut out altogether.

Modelling life shouldn't BE like this!

[zenrat]

Did you print those on white decal paper and carefully cut them out or do you have an ALPS printer?

[PR19_Kit]

Did you print those on white decal paper and carefully cut them out or do you have an ALPS printer?

I WISH I had an ALPS, but sadly no.

I used a two layer technique, printing out the white backgrounds with a black outline, and cutting VERY carefully just inside the line, and then overlaying them with a colour decal printed on clear paper.

I've never had much success with cutting white backed decals out because you can always see the white edging, so I developed the two layer business. And with normal decals I make the black outlines slightly smaller than the coloured part so they're hidden.

[Dizzyfugu]

That's looking very good. 

[NARSES2]

She's starting to look the business now Kit 

[PR19_Kit]

Sadly there's even MORE problems with the landing gear.

There's no definite location for the gear legs, you could glue them to the internal nacelle bulkhead anywhere along its height, which is ridiculous. I measured the correct distance the hub should be from the underside of the nacelle on my 1/72 scale plans and glued them in place to suit. It turns out that should be with the leg as far out of the nacelle as possible.

As the leg base is wider than the access hole I applied some superglue to the front of the base, inserted it into the hole sideways, turned it through 90 degrees and pulled it out as far as it would go, until the base of the leg bottomed out on the inside of the nacelle. Then I held it there for the requisite 20 secs and bingo, job done.

But of course it shouldn't be like this...... 

Oh yes, the holes in the main wheels are about 50% of the diameter of the hubs that are supposed to fit in them, so I had to drill them out, about 1 mm.

(SIGH!)

[kitbasher]

Top build, Kit (as ever).  I think you've persuaded me not to buy an AZ Hornet.  Will look to invest in a Skybirds 86 F3 to augment the F1 already in the stash.
It'd be great if someone produced accurate canopies, definitely would get a pair.
What then to do with the Special Hobby F3/F4 in the stash?  First world problem!