Brewster Buffalo

[Eduard]

I started the kit last week.

Basically it is not bad.

The usual production in two sprues of different colours, one a non-usable green, the other a non-usable brown, and clear parts (including a stand! If someone wants it, mail me at sieboes@nutsonline.nl, i will not use it).

First I painted the small parts.

Pilot figure, I will use it as it is,even if....

Engine: I first planned to do the "Firewall" in green, but as I then found out that it is very close to the front I'll have to do it black. The cylinders I had already painted black, but as I like them to stand out a bit, they'll be gun-metal. Cylinder heads, aluminium. Crank case medium grey, gloss. All this to add a bit of show to the engine.

Fuselage fit is allright, but as the mating pins and holes are a bit roomy, I had to be careful to get the outlines well lined up. Wing halves no problem, carefully lining them up, glue and tape to keep them lined up when drying.

As I'm doing a Buffalo of the Dutch East Indies Military Flying, (KNIL-ML), the thing for the dinghy, behind the seat, goes. Hole is plugged, will be sanded tomorrow.

General fuselage fit is okay, but will need some filling and sanding, which I'll start tomorrow.

In the sixties I have done the Revell Buffalo, which even had a sliding canopy ( ah, those Revell kits then!) and this one seems a bit more gross, overall.

But still a nice little kit, to make a nice looking model.

More to follow.

Greetings,

Eduard.

[Eduard]

Some time later, and some work done....

In fact, compared to the Revell kit that I built in the 60ties and the Tamiya 1/48 Buffalo this kit is bad.

No gun ports in wings or cowling, lower intake far too big, too much room for wings and tailfeathers, so I had to be very carefull to get it right, gun blisters on the wing wrong shape, wrong place... u/c very sketchy, with no clear and obvious attachment points for the smaller struts... etc.

Engine part (only a front half moulded on a disc) not correct, if you fit it as given the cylinders will be in a wrong position...

But once most of it is put together, the general look is definitely "A Buffalo" . Which is what I want it to be.

So, most of it is put together now, needed some sanding around the cowling, and the separation lines on the cowling are a bit too large. First coat of green ( a lighter , Humbrol 149, is applied, to be followed tomorrow by the second colour of the camouflage, H 66), then the bottom in painted alu colour.

This is according to my information, from the book "Camouflage and colours of Dutch planes" ( only in Dutch and out of print), where these colours are mentioned as being called, when they were used, "Jongblad (149) and "Oudblad (66) which means Young leave and Old leave!

I've "Kleared" the canopy, at the same time I put a coat of Klear over some of the decals that I won't use, so I can test them too see how they work.

I usually do this by taking some parts of the sheet that I don't need for my kit, applying it on some scrap model, which is painted half matt, half gloss, apply the decal over the separation to check for silvering, see how it will react to mattcote or varnish, etc.

Anyway, the little beast is nearing completion! I'll see if I can post some pictures soon.

Greetings,

Eduard.

[Eduard]

Most of the painting is finished now, and although I still think this kit is quite poor compared to many other Matchbox kits that I've build (Like the Norseman, the Swordfish on floats, the Siskin, to name a few) it will look like the thing, and once hanging from the ceiling next to the CW 21, a Hurricane, and in the near future, the Glenn Martin Bomber, it will give a nice impression of Dutch East Indies planes from the beginning of WW 2.

photos to come.

greetings,

Eduard.

[madmike]

I gave up on trying to get the interior to fit on the Norsman :unsure: