mingwin Posted August 14, 2014 Author Share Posted August 14, 2014 little update... i'll have to trim some paint that dries "in crust" slightly beyond the parts...(in the "square" hole, next to the rudder's pedals) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 and now trying to fit that nice PE assembly inside the fuselage left half... that's now that the "fun" begins... seems like the floor of my pit is larger than the inside of the fuselage...not sure how it will survive/resist to the closing of the fuselage... but at first glance, it doesn't look that bad... the PE set used for this build, give a very nice woodcage assembly... and looks really good... even with my inexperience in such complex sub-assembly... the problem here doesn't come only from the PE set... but also from the plastic parts of the kit, which, in some case are too long (like the vertical aluminium center beam) ...and kit's instructions could have been more explicit in the location of where should be glued some parts... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 here's some other photos of where i am tonight with that build... woops... that close it looks like my work is covered with dust... i've take a quick look at the real thing... it isn't that bad... blow some breath on... (it's now ok) that thing look not so terrible when zoomed 6X (at least) ...but i'm rather satisfied by the real thing! not perfect, for sure... still learning new modeling skills! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 small update, just to place some images of the closed fuselage. seams have been puttied and sand down as smooth as i've could... the closing of the fuselage didn't happened without big troubles... the PE floor under the seat literally bend (it was too wide for the fuselage) ...but it isn't much visible from the pit entrance... and the seat had just to be push a little to be settle at right angle. but i foresee othe incoming trouble caused by the PE floor of this build. i'll have to sand paper thin, the part of the lower wing, that close the fuselage, to make it fit... fun fun fun time ahead! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 17, 2014 Author Share Posted August 17, 2014 here's what i'm talking about for the PE floor, and the lower wing hard-time-to-come sanding/fitting: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 little update...after nearly a week without any... not that i haven't done plenty of works on my four builds.. first, i've thinned the middle section of the wing to make it fit... (here compared to the normal wing, for another of my build that don't have to deal with the PE floor) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 i have also done some improvement, using eduard's wire stretchers set. to enhance the holes i've made earlier in the process, on the stabs, that where slightly too large... so i've used tiny PE oval rings. i've put a layer of primer...sand a little... and it looks better. rather satisfied (but haven't take photos) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 lower wing have been glued, the whole model get a primer coating... some sanding...some more primer... till i get the desired result. (or was convinced i would't get better finish...and risk it turn worst... sometime, a thin line not to cross!) Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 and an underside view of the primed model.... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 24, 2014 Author Share Posted August 24, 2014 and the 3 nieuport 17 side by side: that will be all for now... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 time for a little update... rudders have nothing to align them to fuselage (no pins, nothing) so i decided to drill holes and put so wire to help assembly... drill in a less than 1 mm wiide rudder is not that easy... and i broke my 0.03 drill bit in the process... (those drill are very fragile...) ...i ordered 2 replacements... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 then i begins to spray some aluminium color paint... i have masked the contour and ribs... in hope to create a nice effect... not completed yet... but here the base... metallic colors always give me some trouble to paint... and to take good photos ... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 base colors are polished aluminium (because i have plenty of) and white aluminium. it is now receiving some clear coat to protect the paint... and i'll do some touch ups to achieve a better finish ... still a lot of work to do... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted August 31, 2014 Author Share Posted August 31, 2014 and , to finish this update on my builds... here's the cowling for that little bird... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WymanV Posted August 31, 2014 Share Posted August 31, 2014 Pretty good looking bunch of progress. Nice to see some of these get close to the finish line. Ken Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 Thanks Ken progress is made, mainly on my 3 Nieuports 17... my Nieuport 11 is doing stationnary.... (or more exactly, one step forward... one step backward...) those builds are not as advanced as they might look because lots of work have been done on the fuselage area... but i have still done nothing in the landing gear area... nonetheless... i've have applied decals (most of) this evening/night... with various degree of success/luck... tomorrow i'll have to coat them somehow to protect them... first, an underside view of the 3 wings... 3 russian planes, but none have the same roundels! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 1, 2014 Author Share Posted September 1, 2014 (edited) everything went right with the "mermaid" decals... so, i'm happy! as it was that bird that i was mainly wishing to add to my Russian aircraft models collection. Edited September 1, 2014 by mingwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 here we are for a very little weekly update... been busy with other things than modeling (i'm in the middle of a two week vacation... i mostly have to wait till late night to have some modeling time) so i haven't done much progress.. been doing some machineguns... (here's the 3 that will goes on the Ni-17's) ...not completed yet... have to wait the good assembly step to doing so. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) another thing i've been doing this week (today, precisely) was to try to replicate the fabric rope/elastic bands that holds the wheels shafts on the landing structs (that i have glued earlier this week) it's a rather visible feature of the nieuports landing gear (my guess is that those rope/elastic are acting as chock absorbers for tle landings (on the real aircraft) but i understand that a kit manufacturer can hardly replicate this in plastic or PE... there is 4 of them, as my nieuport 11 will also have its own... its done with a regular black thread and CA glue... i know they are far from being perfect... perfection is too far out of reach for me anyway! but it will give a nice "touch" in this area of the model... Edited September 8, 2014 by mingwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 and this one doesn't make exception! as my 3 Ni-17 are at the very same stage of completion. aluminium tape have been use to give a special "cachet" to the access panels and heat panel (the name i give to the part that is on the underside, just aft the engine cowl) lacing have been paint (buff) and decals (black)... i've been doing some work on the wheels (but haven't take pictures yet) been adding some "screws" on the access panels (i would hardly thing they've use rivets there...) using an hypodermic needle. i'll have to put some flat clear over the lacing area as the decals have a undesired glossy finish... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 8, 2014 Author Share Posted September 8, 2014 (edited) and again, finally (for today) my 3 Ni-17 side by side... i'll soon begin some rigging work... thank you ...to give a glance at my builds... and, as always, comments are welcome! have a nice modeling time! Edited September 8, 2014 by mingwin Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 so... here i am... my very first attempt at rigging... what a tedious task! i haven't done that much yet... but that give me a glimpse of what i'm about to do for the next two weeks (or even slightly more...) even with the best tools, it was hard on the nerves! never work on something that small before... and i only done the aft rigging on one aircraft yet! ouch in the process i've broke one of my control horn...then put too much CA glue... then have to remove the mess with debonder... i also have some trouble with the gluing the wire to a horn... all sets wrong (partly because i've use a CA glue accelerator)...so i have to use debonder again to set it right... my first conclusion : accelerator is a must-have for rigging! ...and debonder is a must for any who use CA glue...but must be cautious with both... the first can set something in wrong position in less than a second! ...the latter can unbound...but attacks the paint as well... here' the pics: debond have caused the white cloud on the stab.... even if it doesn't turn perfect, i'm rather please with the overall look of that first attempt at rigging! "Ushi's rig that thing" wire is also a must for the task! it's so fine, thin, and elastic! you can see the big blob of CA glue that build up without i notice on the broken control horn... i later try to repair and clean as much as possible... the other control horn was broke earlier in the build process... those parts are sooooooo small...the holes to put a wire in, also... can't believe i manage to do this! even with optivisor! ...couldn't barely see what i was doing! i have use some small PE parts from the eduard PE set to replicate the wire fixture to the control horn. those are not glued, just the wire running through, using holes at each extremity of the small PE part... i've try to repair the CA glue mess, with moderate success... but man! that mess was 3mm wide!!! i had to be cautious not to touch the horn with debonder... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 9, 2014 Author Share Posted September 9, 2014 on the topside i spray some clear (a mix of gloss and flat to achieve the same finish as it was before) to make the cloud disappear... still some slight clouding in some viewing angles... but it isn't that much obvious "in person"... so, that will be all for today! i tire... this was a hard task... but i'm proud of trying new things and new techniques! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 10, 2014 Author Share Posted September 10, 2014 landing gear is rigged and glued to the fuselage... gluing the landing gear have caused my some troubles... their assembly had kind of "warp"/bend when i did the rope/elastic band ... so lining up pins and holes was rather hard... that one was done in third rank among my attempts, so it suffer les that the two others i did before... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
mingwin Posted September 11, 2014 Author Share Posted September 11, 2014 the wing structs have been glued on the fuselage, the headrest and some PE bits also... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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