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Canadian F-86 434 Bluenose Schooner


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Hello all!! Starting my entrant into the GB. The basic build will be OOB with the exception of aftermarket decals. As the title says, it`ll be in the markings of 424 Sq., RCAF. I sent a request to Canmilair for some decals for a plane in the 3 color camo. The basic overall shape looks okay. Panel lines/rivets look a little heavy, should take a wash nicely. Something i notice is the lines and rivets have a look of stressed skin with a wrinkling effect. Would look really nice in a NMF scheme. This kit reminds me of a Hobbycraft kit with soft details and simplified parts. Fitting the fuselage quarters shows an OK fit, gun bay doors needed a little sanding and bending to fit nicely. The intake duct.....wow, i don`t think i`ve ever seen such a poorly thought out assembly as this. This may be the first time i use FOD covers on any kit i built. Price is a little high for what comes in the box IMO, i bought the Golden Hawks boxing that has the special sheet from Leading Edge decals but they must have removed the normal sheet covering 2 USAF birds. Darn. Anyway, refined the gun ports with a file and drills. As moulded they are too shallow, the wrong shape and location. There are aftermarket parts available, i chose to rework them. One pic for now.

IMG_5093a.jpg

Don

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Cool! Show us those decals when ya get 'em!

Will do!! Spent some time today working on the intake. The bottom half has an insert to be glued in to form part of the floor of the intake. The upper half had no such insert, leaving a big rectangular hole in the roof of the intake. To fill this in i took a section from a spare drop tank half, trimmed it and glued it into the space. I had to use a bit of Evergreen styrene to fill some gaps at the side. There were two other small areas that needed filling as well, i used scrap stock to fill these. I sanded the halves to get rid of sink marks and to blend in the patches, there are still small blems that i will fill with Gunze Surfacer, sand it, then join the halves. I guess i could have used the covers, but none of my builds have them, not interested in using them now. One pic for the night.

IMG_5095a.jpg

Don

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Nice job with the gun ports Don, along with the intake bit. Enjoy the seam it creates when you join the top and bottom pieces. I look forward to your progress.

Mike

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Nice job with the gun ports Don, along with the intake bit. Enjoy the seam it creates when you join the top and bottom pieces. I look forward to your progress.

Mike

I wouldn`t use the word "enjoy"when referring to the seams in the intake :) :monkeydance: I have to say, working away at the intake tube took 5 nights of work filling then sanding then fillingthensandingfillingsandingfillingsan......you get the picture. In the end, i still didn`t get rid of all blems. There are some spots that just refused to stay filled. I called it enough and gave it and the turbine face a coat of silver. I washed the face and installed it, and without a flexi light you can see NOTHING!!! Oh well!! Some pics.

IMG_5103a.jpg

IMG_5101a.jpg

IMG_5108a.jpg

I also glued the front fuselage halves to therin respective rear halves. The fit was very nice with no mismatch or seam to fill. The fit tf the right to left halves was just as good.

IMG_5110a.jpg

Next will be the cockpit, a very simplified assembly.

Don

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Hi Don,

That's some tremendous work in the intake trunking. :salute:

I know how much it must have taken to get it so smooth so kudos to you for that! (I'm chickening out and going for the FOD guards)

Neat work on the joints too. :salute:

I'm finding that building a similar model to a bunch of other guys really makes me appreciate how good you blokes are.

The seams on my Sabre did n't turn out nearly as sharp as these......good job Sir. :cheers:

:cheers:

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Thanks guys!! That seam is a real pain to do. The thing is once it's done, you can't see anything anyway. I have zero progress on this build, slashed my finger open at work. Hopefully be back next week.

Don

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  • 2 weeks later...
Thanks guys!! That seam is a real pain to do. The thing is once it's done, you can't see anything anyway. I have zero progress on this build, slashed my finger open at work. Hopefully be back next week.

Don

Hope the injury is not too serious..Get well soon. :D

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Hey guys!!! The finger healed up quite nicely, thanks!! My motivation however took a nose dive. The weather here has been fantastic with clear skies and hot temperatures, so staying inside modeling isn't happening. I did get the CanMilAir decals today, they are really nice. No pictures of anything right now as i finally ditched my Dell ( real POS they are ) and using my Toshiba now. It doesen't have my camera program loaded and i can't find the CD. Camera is starting to do wierd things too, so a new one might be next step. I should be irritated, but the weather is so nice there is no way i could be mad.

Don

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Enjoy the outdoors...if you can. If you're enjoying 110 Farenheit in the shade, you're a better man than I am! I think I'll work on my Sword today. Good luck with the new computer and camera set up.

Looking forward to your progress Don.

Mike

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  • 4 weeks later...

Well, i still haven't done anything on the build or getting my camera up and running. I will say this, all the NMF finishes have me thinking of doing a WIFF in NMF using the decals i have. Supposed to be 3 color camo, but the shiny birds are so attractive..... I also have to scare up a set of stencils as the kit and CanMilAir sheet don't have a complete set. On vacation right now and the weather is so nice i can't stay inside doing models. I'll get back to it soon.

Don

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  • 2 months later...

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