f5guy Posted February 20, 2023 Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) Hello everyone! My recent completion of the BPK 1/72nd T-43A kit as the highly modified "Rat 55" test bed aircraft has spurred me on to finish off another long shelved project. Okay, a REALLY long shelved project: Toko's 1/72nd An-72 Coaler kit. I started this kit 23 years ago (!) when I first made the switch from 48th scale to 72nd scale. I barely got the cockpit done, and rescribed a few panel lines before the reality of what awaited me hit home. It then immediately went into "stored serviceable" status at my personal Boneyard for an extended period. However, I do pride myself on eventually finishing every kit that I start, and my project this year is to start only a handful of new builds, while finishing off a number of shelf queens. So... there's no better place to start than with my original shelf queen! The kit is an older type kit with minimal detail, and a few questionable gimmicks like working ailerons, rudder, and so on. It also has vinyl wheels which are known to melt the kits plastic. In my example the wheels melted into the gun pod, which will have to be fixed later. Overall though, it's a decent kit of a very unique and interesting aircraft. If you're expecting a quick and easy Tamiya build, this kit will disappoint. If you go in expecting a short run kit build, with all of it's ups and downs, you'll be fine. Of course I had to up the difficulty level and decided to rescribe the kits raised panel lines. My original plan was to use the kit supplied decals to build the Ukrainian aircraft pictured on the box art. Later I decided to build it as a CCCP aircraft used in polar operations, and bought some BS Models decals for it. While researching said aircraft, I started to come across some photo's of some Russian Border Guards aircraft in some really awesome camo schemes. Being a total sucker for a cool (and difficult) camo job, I've changed subjects again. See next post. All for now. Fred. Edited February 20, 2023 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 Hello again! So here's some pics of subjects that I am considering. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, none of these aircraft have been represented in decal form. Being one of those kits that one seldom sees built, there is virtually no aftermarket for this kit other than a few decal sheets from BS Model. Some resin wheels would be most welcome. Hello, Res-Kit, Armory?! All of the aircraft pictured I am considering as my subject. The biggest problem is going to be finding sufficient reference pics for the camo.... specifically I'll need a left and right side shot, and at least some elevated shots for the upper camo. Thus far I have only come across a limited number of pics, so if you've got some of any of these aircraft, please feel free to share! Thanks, Fred. Here are the contenders: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 20, 2023 Author Share Posted February 20, 2023 (edited) So here's where I'm restarting at. The cockpit is largely done. Having built these "airliner" type jets before, you can see virtually nothing in the cockpit once its done, so its usually pointless to go crazy with the detail. The kits control columes are grossly oversized, being more like 1/48th scale. But again, you won't be able to see much, so I'll use them anyway. The rear cabin door will be closed, so I didn't even bother to paint its interior. However, the kit detail in that area is surprisingly good should you choose to leave it open. There is an APU unit located in the right rear sponson that will have to be replicated, and the landing lights in both forward sponsons will have to be enlarged. I will use MV lights for these. Last night I rescribed the bottom of the wings, and will work on the top tonight. The stabilizers had already been rescribed 23 years ago! I had to file down the forward right side of the rear cabin section to get the fuselage halves to fit properly. The cabin is a really tight fit into the fuselage. Also, you may have noticed that the main gear well is a little offset to the front for the door openings, leaving a gap at the rear. I'm not sure how I'll tackle this, but likely I'll just extend the rear fuselage bottom to cover the gap and adjust the gear doors if necessary. Otherwise it might turn into a really complex fix. All for now. Fred. Edited February 20, 2023 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dutch Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Fred, Great resurrection of the basic kit. Can't wait to see the final results. Mojo,baby! 😎 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Cubs2jets Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 I saw one of these in real life a number of years ago in Surabaya, Indonesia. It was in civil markings (I think for an oil company). Not a small airplane! Vinyl tires melted the gun pod (!?!) you say? I wouldn't think of this plane as an attack airplane - even though 3 of your pictures show rocket pods under the wings. No telling what those Antonov boys will think of next. Maybe a six engine mega cargo hauler?? C2j Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 3 hours ago, Dutch said: Fred, Great resurrection of the basic kit. Can't wait to see the final results. Mojo,baby! 😎 Thanks for the vote of confidence Dutch! Considering that I let it collect dust for decades, I'm having a lot of fun with it now. Mojo indeed! Fred. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 21, 2023 Author Share Posted February 21, 2023 (edited) 11 hours ago, Cubs2jets said: I saw one of these in real life a number of years ago in Surabaya, Indonesia. It was in civil markings (I think for an oil company). Not a small airplane! Vinyl tires melted the gun pod (!?!) you say? I wouldn't think of this plane as an attack airplane - even though 3 of your pictures show rocket pods under the wings. No telling what those Antonov boys will think of next. Maybe a six engine mega cargo hauler?? C2j They sure did melt the gun pod! I'll post a pic when I get to that point. If you look closely at the pics that I posted of Coalers from the right side you'll see a gray tube just ahead of the main gear sponson. That is a double barrel GSh-23L cannon pod mounted on a stub pylon. Let me see if I can find a pic to attach. I'm not sure what it used for though. Fred. Edited February 21, 2023 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ST0RM Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Nice to see this project make a recovery, Fred. I wanted this kit so bad, when it was released. However, being on a strict hobby budget, the price tag ($80? at the time) was something I couldnt afford. Looking forward to seeing yours. P.S. Dont forget the rockets! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
JackMan Posted February 21, 2023 Share Posted February 21, 2023 Wow, you weren't kidding when you mentioned about the awesome camo schemes! What a unique looking aircraft. Esp with the weapons load. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 22, 2023 Author Share Posted February 22, 2023 10 hours ago, JackMan said: Wow, you weren't kidding when you mentioned about the awesome camo schemes! What a unique looking aircraft. Esp with the weapons load. Agreed! As soon as I stumbled across these pics, my subject of choice changed in an instant! I may have to pick up another kit 😆 Fred. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 22, 2023 Author Share Posted February 22, 2023 13 hours ago, ST0RM said: Nice to see this project make a recovery, Fred. I wanted this kit so bad, when it was released. However, being on a strict hobby budget, the price tag ($80? at the time) was something I couldnt afford. Looking forward to seeing yours. P.S. Dont forget the rockets! Hi Jeff, I don't know that I'd pay $80 for this kit.... yikes! It's been awhile, but I seem to recall only paying about $30 for it on sale at Squadron. It's definitely NOT an $80 kit! Fred. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
the_baphomet_00 Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/20/2023 at 3:12 PM, f5guy said: Hello again! So here's some pics of subjects that I am considering. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, none of these aircraft have been represented in decal form. Being one of those kits that one seldom sees built, there is virtually no aftermarket for this kit other than a few decal sheets from BS Model. Some resin wheels would be most welcome. Hello, Res-Kit, Armory?! All of the aircraft pictured I am considering as my subject. The biggest problem is going to be finding sufficient reference pics for the camo.... specifically I'll need a left and right side shot, and at least some elevated shots for the upper camo. Thus far I have only come across a limited number of pics, so if you've got some of any of these aircraft, please feel free to share! Thanks, Fred. Here are the contenders: Hi Fred! My vote goes to the first contender, so I hope these pics can be useful: Regards, http://charly015.blogspot.com/2019/05/un-camuflaje-exotico-en-un-72p-ruso.html On 2/20/2023 at 3:12 PM, f5guy said: https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10598421 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 (edited) 12 hours ago, the_baphomet_00 said: https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/10598421 Thanks! I had most of those except the two showing the bottom. Thus far, I think this one is the leading candidate. It reminds me of one of the early A-10 JAWS schemes. Thanks, Fred. Edited February 24, 2023 by f5guy Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Quixote74 Posted April 3, 2023 Share Posted April 3, 2023 I have this kit somewhere in the stash (picture the end of Raiders with more dust and less John Williams music 😄). I recall something like a $30 retail price from one of several sadly now departed LHS options I frequented in that era. Without resorting to Scalemates, I believe there were a few of the An-72/74 variants released, as well as a limited run of the An-71 "Madcap" AWACS variant that mounted its radar dish on top of a forward-swept vertical tail! When the time comes to replace the kit gunpod, Dragon/DML did a pretty good one in their Soviet weapons set (the air-to-surface missile set, ironically). There are probably other aftermarket options as well, and from what I recall the kit gun and rocket pods weren't exactly a highlight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
f5guy Posted April 11, 2023 Author Share Posted April 11, 2023 On 4/3/2023 at 7:17 AM, Quixote74 said: I have this kit somewhere in the stash (picture the end of Raiders with more dust and less John Williams music 😄). I recall something like a $30 retail price from one of several sadly now departed LHS options I frequented in that era. Without resorting to Scalemates, I believe there were a few of the An-72/74 variants released, as well as a limited run of the An-71 "Madcap" AWACS variant that mounted its radar dish on top of a forward-swept vertical tail! When the time comes to replace the kit gunpod, Dragon/DML did a pretty good one in their Soviet weapons set (the air-to-surface missile set, ironically). There are probably other aftermarket options as well, and from what I recall the kit gun and rocket pods weren't exactly a highlight. Yeah, this kit has been around awhile. I'm currently stalled on the wing scribing, and fixing the toy-like ailerons which have bad fit, but it's still on the burner. I also got side tracked with several 48th aggressor builds 😉 Thanks, Fred. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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