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Rat 55 finally finished! BPK 1/72nd 737-200/T-43 heavily modified.


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Here she is after an extended build process. A full build link can be found here:  

 

 

Despite its ups and downs, this has been one of my most gratifying builds. It seems like the tougher ones always are 🤪 Regards, Fred K.

 

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1377156710_NT-43A73-155Rat554.jpg

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3 minutes ago, bluedot25 said:

Nice..!!! A beauty of a conversion... and I think I can safely say we wont be seeing many of them... very unique and eye catching..!

 

Thanks! It certainly is eye catching alright 👍 Fred.

 

I love the Cone of Silence reference! Classic stuff!

Edited by f5guy
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  • 2 months later...
16 hours ago, Dutch said:

Fred, how did I miss this one! Awesome build. I watched all the pain you went through with the conversion,  but it turned out beautifully! Well done sir. Can't wait to see the Eastern 738. K/r, Dutch 

 

Thanks Dutch! It was a bit of a push to get it done at times, but it sure looks great sitting in my display case. I have the pitot antlers on now, and it really adds a nice touch to the model.

 

It's funny that you mention the Eastern Airlines 737-800 that I'm working on. After being sidetracked with building a string of 48th scale aggressors this spring, I've been getting the itch to build another airliner. However, I'm not going to do so until I finish off the Eastern jet, so back on the bench it went last just last night. I got a little burnt out on it with the endless sanding involved, but now the mojo is flowing again 👍 Thanks for checking in! Fred.

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Wow!   Like Dutch said, not sure how I missed this post.   Fantastic job on a difficult build Fred.   I too was following along with your build thread so I know all the issues you had with this.   It looks just like the pic.  Well done!   And you win the prize for having the plane with the biggest bumps and bulges.

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36 minutes ago, Drifterdon said:

Wow!   Like Dutch said, not sure how I missed this post.   Fantastic job on a difficult build Fred.   I too was following along with your build thread so I know all the issues you had with this.   It looks just like the pic.  Well done!   And you win the prize for having the plane with the biggest bumps and bulges.

 

Hi Don,

     Thanks for the kind words! It looks great sitting in my USAF case (bottom left). 

 

     As for the most bumps.... I don't know.... some of those USAF C-135 were pretty heavily modified too. I'll tackle them later 👍 Take care, Fred.

 

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Fred, Wow! That is one impressive display case. Where can I get one? No kidding,  impressive work, there. I see that you have a penchant for N.Dak ANG aircraft.  K/r, Dutch 

Edited by Dutch
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36 minutes ago, Dutch said:

Holy cow!  A full-fledged museum!  Track lighting and all!  Whoa!  I am going to have to redo the retirement house plans.  Wait until the missus sees this!  Where did you get the display cases?

 

Your missus is going to kick you out of your house if you show her that pic 😆 I'm fortunate that when we had this house built 4 years ago, my wife was totally cool with the idea of turning a room that we really had no plans for into my own little museum. She got her big bedroom, closet, and kitchen. I told her that I wanted a big garage, a model room, and someplace to display my built models. Peace ensued!

 

The three smaller cases I bought new from a store display place in nearby Salt Lake City. Every few years I'll pick one up. The bigger one with my USAF subjects my daughter found on Facebook. It was used as a trophy display at a karate studio that went out of business. The guy wanted $500 for it and my daughter got him down to $100! I had to buy a lot of shelves for it, but still.... $100?? Sure! Take care, Fred.

 

 

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16 hours ago, kellyF15 said:

That is a beautiful build of one very ugly airplane lol

 

Thanks! For whatever reason, I find those heavily modified "snooper" and test aircraft quite interesting. Regards, Fred.

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  • 2 months later...
10 minutes ago, Loach Driver said:

Congrats on a fabulous build of a rare and fascinating aircraft.

 

LD.

 

Thanks LD 😉 It was a very gratifying build to be sure. Fred.

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  • 1 month later...

Great build, Fred.  I'm with you when it comes to lumpy-bumpy, cargo/commercial aircraft.  In a similar vein I have a penchant for commercial planes that I could see at my local regional airport turned into military jets.  I have just finished converting the old Aurora DC-9 into a C-9 Nightingale and will soon be turning my sights on my Aurora 737 conversion to a T-43.  Your build inspires me.

 

And I'm with Dutch on your museum.  Perhaps your wife could start a thread on ARC geared towards helping our wives learn to cope with our hobby and just let us turn a section of the house into our own indulgent museum.  🤣

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On 8/9/2023 at 3:15 PM, fessSto said:

Great build, Fred.  I'm with you when it comes to lumpy-bumpy, cargo/commercial aircraft.  In a similar vein I have a penchant for commercial planes that I could see at my local regional airport turned into military jets.  I have just finished converting the old Aurora DC-9 into a C-9 Nightingale and will soon be turning my sights on my Aurora 737 conversion to a T-43.  Your build inspires me.

 

And I'm with Dutch on your museum.  Perhaps your wife could start a thread on ARC geared towards helping our wives learn to cope with our hobby and just let us turn a section of the house into our own indulgent museum.  🤣

@fessSto,  

Hey I just purchased two Aurora DC-9s with plans on making C-9Bs.  I have measured and plan to cut the fuselage and insert 3D printed plugs.  I have roughly drawn the diagrams, just need to make a few more mx and refine the drawings for the first test print.  Oh yeah, I have to ask my son to use his printer.  If the plugs turn out half decent, I will make a post somewhere (not sure which thread: Airliners? Jets?).

K/r,

Dutch  

 

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3 hours ago, Dutch said:

@fessSto,  

Hey I just purchased two Aurora DC-9s with plans on making C-9Bs.  I have measured and plan to cut the fuselage and insert 3D printed plugs.  I have roughly drawn the diagrams, just need to make a few more mx and refine the drawings for the first test print.  Oh yeah, I have to ask my son to use his printer.  If the plugs turn out half decent, I will make a post somewhere (not sure which thread: Airliners? Jets?).

K/r,

Dutch  

I wish I would've thought of doing it that way or waited until you made the plugs.  I ended up heating up sheet styrene and forming it to the shape of the fuselage and wing roots.  It took a while to get the right shape plus a LOT of putty but in the end I think it turned out okay.  Made mine as a C-9A.  Need to finalize the markings and will post pictures once fully completed.

 

In regards to where to post, you would probably get the most bang from Airliners.  Not sure how many people even know about the C-9 let alone want to tackle that build.  However, few airliner modelers probably want to build a short body, DC-9-10 and would have more interest in the plugs.

Also, just found these DC-9 drawings that I wish I had during my conversion.  Passing it along here; hope it helps. https://postlmg.cc/mt3wqHCH

Edited by fessSto
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