Kurt H. Posted July 4, 2015 Share Posted July 4, 2015 I finally made the time to start the A400m, and as expected assembly begins with the interior. This kit has a fuselage within a fuselage, allowing a nicely detailed interior with out sinkmarks on the out side of the fuselage. The colors in the instructions are all Revell paint colors. based on pictures, and what I had handy I decided on FS36320, mr color 307 after using up a whole bottle, I got the parts painted It looks a little too blue, but I think I will roll with it. After this color dries It is on to detail painting the interior / cockpit and assembly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Youngtiger1 Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 That's a monter if a plane and a great kit. A friend build one and it turned out super. So, you have a great start to a great project. :thumbsup:/> Now, are you going with the box decal/scheme or this will be one of your own? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 In this update, detail painting! I painted each of the jump seats, 25 per side and the stairs, rack, and black parts of the cockpit, as well as the IP, which is not pictured here on to further cockpit details next time... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 5, 2015 Author Share Posted July 5, 2015 That's a monter if a plane and a great kit. A friend build one and it turned out super. So, you have a great start to a great project. :thumbsup:/>/> Now, are you going with the box decal/scheme or this will be one of your own? Thanks! I am planning on using the decal option for the German air force with a gray/green camo pattern. It is listed as "presumably" in the instructions, but I do not want to build it as the prototype, and I want to build something a little more interesting than all gray. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted July 5, 2015 Share Posted July 5, 2015 Great choice on the two-tone camoflage! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 8, 2015 Author Share Posted July 8, 2015 (edited) Still working on the cockpit I made a bit of a mess of the horizontal panels and I have the seats painted The sprue attachment points on the bottom were fairly large, and In the process of cutting them off the sprue, I also cut off the mounting pin on the bottom of the seat. oopsie! Once all this dries, I am going to spray a coat of future, and then give it an oil paint wash to bring out a bit of depth. might be a few days, since it is rather humid here Edited July 8, 2015 by Kurt H. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted July 8, 2015 Share Posted July 8, 2015 Lots of nice work on the interior details. I will be curious to see how much of your effort shows at the end of the day. I am WAY lazier than that when I build these big beasts. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 13, 2015 Author Share Posted July 13, 2015 And moving right along, I have grunged up the interior I am still getting the hang of doing an oil wash After a coat of future was nice and dry, I started by mixing up some black and brown, and applying it messily Then came back later and wiped most of it off with low odor thinner and the flight deck parts I will give it a dull coat then begin assembly Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Looking good! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted July 13, 2015 Share Posted July 13, 2015 Coming along nicely, Kurt. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 I will keep an eye on the mounting posts for the seats when I do mine. Nice progress Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 18, 2015 Author Share Posted July 18, 2015 Yikes! It has been almost a week with out an update, but I am still making progress. I will update this again tonight, but the interior is done. It is almos ttime for major assembly. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Major progress next order of business was to assemeble the inner fuselage The bulkheads mount to the floor, and the cockpit also mounts to the bulkheads The cockpit: and the parts prior to assembly and the whole inner fuselage: the next task was to install the windows in the fuselage. Thankfully Revell has tooled it up with an groove in the inside of the fuselage, and a flange on the window. It was also important to glue them in securely. few things are more frustrating than having a window fall into the fuselage. The proper adhesive is important. CA may cause fogging. Liquid cement could work if you are VERY careful, but I am clumsy. white glue dries clear, but just does not hold well. This left me with Epoxy. Epoxy is strong, and dries clear. It is also easy to clean up excess epoxy before it cures with denatured alcohol so I mixed up a small amount of 6 minute epoxy , and very carefully glued the windows in. to be continued... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 Next thing to do was to ensure enough weight was added to the nose. The instructions called for 80 grams. Ok... no problem, I have a box of sinkers. I did the math and that ends up being 3 ounces. Since I do not want a tail sitter, I got out my postal scale and kept adding sinkers .... Really? where am I going to put all that? While I thought it over, I assembled the nose gear well After a lot of test fitting this is what I ended up with. I had to shuffle the sinkers around since one of them was interfering with the fit of the cockpit. So after an hour of dry fitting, and fiddling, I used a full touch n' flo of tenax, and here we are! That was a day ago, I am going to leave it for at least another day to ensure the seam is fully cured, but not wanting to loose momentum tonight, I started assembling the wing. I only had enough clamps for one wing, I will move on to the other one tomorrow. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted July 21, 2015 Share Posted July 21, 2015 (edited) Nice progress Kurt, coming along nicely. I saw the tooth picks in the last fuselage shot and was not sure of their purpose, then the penny dropped! To keep the tape off the join and prevent the glue wicking under the tape! Nice one. Something I must try next build. Edited July 21, 2015 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 2, 2015 Author Share Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) After a trip to the NATs, and a busy week at work, I finally made the time to back to this model. I assembled the tail, and the stabs. So, now all major airframe components are assembled Then, on to the fuselage. The seam shifted a little, so in some areas, I had to build up putty and feather. Thankfully the top of the fuselage is fairly flat, so I do not need to worry about it going out of round. (my Anigrand C-133 which has a round fuselage cross section, and seam I messed up has taken months of work to get right... ugh) There are also sink marks around the area where there is a mounint pin, so I am in the putty / sand/repeat cycle I also assembled the 8 flap actuator fairings, and glued them on the wing. The fit was not great, so I think it is going to require some Mr. Surfacer magic Next up is to paint the inside of the intakes so I can assemble the engines, as well as the gear legs, so I can install the landing gear pods. I am tired so airbrushing will need to wait for another day. Till then, may your seams be flush, and your glue flow freely Edited August 2, 2015 by Kurt H. typo Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted August 2, 2015 Share Posted August 2, 2015 (edited) I am enjoying this Kurt, nice work If I did not have 3 KC-135s on the bench I might start my A400 Edited August 2, 2015 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AX 365 Posted August 3, 2015 Share Posted August 3, 2015 Kurt, That's some fine work. Not a subject I would build but you're doing a really good job. Kudos on hiding all that nose weight too. I really do hope it's enough though. There would be nothing worse than adding the weight and then discovering the instructions didn't specify enough weight. As me how I know... I like the toothpick and tape trick. Something I never thought of. I'm stealing that idea. Look forward to more progress. Mike Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 So here is the look I am going for, this is a Luftwaffe C-160 IPMS stockholm lists the colors as 34102/34079 and RAL 7021 . which after some digging is a very dark gray. Almost looks like gunship gray Thoughts? Since I can not get ahold of revell paints to do the mix they suggest, I will need to do "that looks about right" Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Dmanton300 Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 (edited) So here is the look I am going for, this is a Luftwaffe C-160 IPMS stockholm lists the colors as 34102/34079 and RAL 7021 . which after some digging is a very dark gray. Almost looks like gunship gray Thoughts? Since I can not get ahold of revell paints to do the mix they suggest, I will need to do "that looks about right" It's more of an "off black" really, but it does weather quickly. Look for something like Tamiya XF-63 German Grey - that will be pretty close in 72nd. XF-58 with some yellow makes a decent 43102 and I've used XF-65 Field Grey for 34079 (yes, Field Grey is green!) with no dramas in the past. Edited August 5, 2015 by Dmanton300 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hajo L. Posted August 5, 2015 Share Posted August 5, 2015 That will look great on the A400! Can´t wait to see the painted aircraft! HAJO Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ALF18 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 That's a very impressive, large, kit. You're doing a terrific job of assembling it with lots of attention to fit and finish. ALF Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kurt H. Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Thanks for the help on the colors, and for everyones encouragement. While still plowing through the putty / sand / repeat cycle, I think I have assembled the landing gear struts and painted the rest of the parts I need to finish assembly. Let me tell you about the undercarriage I do not know the technical name for these boogers you see on injection molded parts But the main gear strut halves had 3 on each part, and they were on the parts in such a way as t make clean up tricky. I did not think to take a picture until I was done. I am guessing they are there to help tune mold, give the part more volume, perhaps to help prevent short shots or something by giving the plastic more volume to flow through? maybe? any way I did paint the struts, and turbine faces. The instructions did say aluminum color, and that is fine with me, any excuse not to paint landing gear white is ok with me... I did have to paint some white as well, for my ongoing 1/32 F-4g and the fuselage where the landing gear pods are mounted Now I have everything painted enough to finish assembly to the point of finish painting. Kind of a mile stone... up next, putty / sand / repeat and on to the wings/engines. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lancer512 Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 Kurt, this is really some Nice work! It sure will be interesting to see an A400M in the Norm 83 camouflage. Be aware that the above picture of the C160 has a blueish tint to it. Compare it to this C160 which appears to be a recently painted a/c. I managed to photograph it from both sides within two minutes. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Trojan Thunder Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 (edited) Doing good Kurt. Those 'lugs' are to help the plastic flow into the all the areas of the moulds. Nice to see you progressing. That Transall scheme looks a beaut. I am sure it will look great on the A400. Another kit in my stash is the C-160 and I think I will do it in a Luftwaffe scheme like the one Lancer has posted above. The greens and greys look very effective. Edited August 9, 2015 by Trojan Thunder Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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