AIR Modeller - Issue 67 (2016-08-09).pdf

MENGAIRMODELLERAUGUST/SEPTEMBER2016 AUG/SEPT 2016 • £6.50 UK $15.99 www.mengafvmodeller.com 67 CZECHMATEZdenek Sebesta’s Beaufighter Mk.VI AIR 67 cover_Layout 1 08/07/2016 13:54 Page 1

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1 Meng AIR Modeller welcomes contributions from interested parties, but cannot accept any responsibility for unsolicited material. The contents of this publication including all articles, drawings and photographs originated by AFV Modeller ltd become the publishers copyright under copyright law. Reproduction in any form requires the written consent of the publisher. Whilst every care is taken to avoid mistakes AFV Modeller ltd. cannot be liable in any way for errors or ommissions. Meng AIR Modeller is published Bimonthly by AFV Modeller ltd Old Stables East Moor Stannington Northumberland NE61 6ES Tel: 01670 823648 Fax: 01670 820274 email: david@mengafvmodeller.com Editor and Designer: David Parker Deputy Editor: Mark Neville Sales Director: Keith Smith ISSN 2059-5964 We are now on Facebook, ‘Like’ us to follow what we are doing and follow our build projects. 2 Post War Bristol F.2B Michel Gruson builds the new version of on of Wingnut Wings very first kits. 10 Short Sterling Part 4 Megas Tsonos continues to scratchbuild the heavy bomber in 1:48. 20 Half Heinkel Florin Claudiu Silaghi builds the HPH He 111 interior in 1:32 scale. 30 S-3B Viking Andrea Paternieri details up the vintage 1:48 Viking kit. 36 Czechmate Zdenek Sebesta reworks the Tamiya 1:48 kit and models a Czech Beaufighter Mark. VI 48 Air Born New releases. 58 F-16E Kinetic’s 1:48 Block 60 Desert Falcon modelled by Periklis Salessiotis. CONTENTS AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 11/07/2016 13:05 Page 1

W I N G N U T W I N G S 1 : 3 2 POST WAR 2 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:32 Page 2

M O D E L L E D B Y M I C H E L G R U S O N A survivor of the First World War, the Bristol F.2b stands out as one of the most successful designs of its generation. The fact that it remained in service with the R.A.F until 1932 speaks volumes as 15 years of operational service is no small feat! Of all the Wingnut Wings models in my collection, this one stands-out as one of the most demanding so far. It is based on one of the very first WNW releases with new parts added so, before starting this kit my advice is to dry fit, then dry fit then dry fit again! Having chosen the ‘all closed’ option, I did discover that the engine covers were too short and would result in a poor fit without a little work. To reach a gap-free finish I had to use every trick I knew, using some surgery with the X-acto knife, to allow the parts to sit correctly. The engine bearings had to be cut short in order to have the radiator aligned with the engine covers. Another tricky point of the assembly concerns the long wings and the fragile struts which support the whole assembly. I chose not to glue the half- wings to the central part giving better flexibility during the assembly. WNW has accustomed us with plenty of options in the past, but that is not the case with this F.2b where a spinner cap option is missing and metal wheel hubs could have been provided too, the fabric ones are not correct as some references show. One last complaint concerns the normally excellent Cartograf decals which became fragile as soon as they hit the water and which proved resistant to various doses of decal solvent! I decided to use the first of the five markings provided with the kit, aircraft n° F-4392 pictured in Aboukir, Egypt in 1926. The Silver Doped scheme was not the easiest one to reproduce correctly as I discovered! I have to admit that my choice of doing an ‘all closed’ version led me to some extra work fitting the cowls to my liking, even if I might sound pessimistic, this is still a Wingnuts kit with all of their usual high quality features to enjoy. Nevertheless, I would not recommend the Bristol to a modeller without some experience, definitely not the kit to start your WNW collection, as the F.2b is a complicated design. 3 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:32 Page 3

As usual with Wingnut Wings, the cockpit is a model in itself, always one of the highlights of the New-Zealand manufacturer’s kits. All of the wooden parts first received a coat of Gunze H319 to which dots of oil paint ( Sienna Earth and Burnt Umber) are ‘dragged’ with a large brush to simulate the wood grain. The other elements are painted according to WNW’s instructions, but using Prince August acrylics. The instrument panel is base coated black then the instrument decals are put in place using a drop of white pva glue. Pva glue once dry, will perfectly represent the glass of the instrument dials. Once the assembly is finished it has to be detailed-up with EZ line. This product works very well for control cables in tight spaces due to it’s elastic nuture. The complete cockpit is sandwiched between the fuselage halves as a complete unit. As with most fuselage assembly a little detail filling and smoothing was required. c l a s s i c c o c k p i t 4 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:32 Page 4

Engine parts were all painted before assembly which went smoothly without issues. I used Rub’n’Buff for the metallic parts, Mr Metal 215 ‘Gold’ and acrylic drawing ink for the staining. More weathering was then added using Sepia ink and dark Pigments. Soldering wire was used to complete the ignition system. It was during the engine dry fits that the I spotted the engine covers sitting slightly short, leaving me with no other choice than to shorten each end of the engine mount arms to move the radiator back to meet the cowling. f i r i n g o n a l l c y l i n d e r s 5 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:32 Page 5

In order to have a solid fit, I drilled the ailerons to fix two steel wires made from guitar string wire. Corresponding holes were drilled in the wings providing a strong push-fit. With the complicated rigging in mind, I next fixed all of the turnbuckles, using both Gaspatch products and Home made ones. The home made ones worked very well and they are very easily made with thin copper wire twisted on a fine guitar string held in a pin vice. a n t i q u e a i r f r a m e I did not used the Tamiya paint as suggested in the instructions, instead I used a mix of Gunze colours (mostly H8) to stay close to the original shades in my references. Bare metal areas are treated with Rub’n’Buff. Once the decals were in place and dry, the long process of weathering and shadowing the model can start. I work essentially with oil paints straight from the tube, using a soft or a hard flat brush to blend the oils. If you do not get the result you are looking for, it’s very easy to remove the oil paint with a tissue damp with turpentine or white spirit and start it all over again. I use mainly four shades: Ivory Black, Titanium White, Raw Sienna and Burnt Umber. The lighter shades are applied on the parts the most exposed to light, and the dark shades for the shaded areas creating a contrast of light and shade. This technique is used to create some ‘panelling’ of the air frame, this time using some ‘tape to determine the area to be highlighted, after removing the masks the oil paint can be blended until you get the desired effect. 6 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:32 Page 6

R I G G I N G The three part radiator is a real gem and is treated with Silver paste (Rub’n’ Buff), then weathered with dark pigments. Gold marker ink is also used because of it’s fine pigment. Here we can see the subtle effect of the tensioned airframe covering created with the oil paint. Masking tape is uded to create the ribs. On my chosen subject Bristol the wheel caps were metal, but WNW does not provide this option. In order to have a more precise representation, a little scratch- building has to be done. The surface of the part is gently sanded, then a light coat of Mr Surfacer 1000 is done and bolts made from sprue are placed around the rim of the cover. The previous dry fits of parts was now making life easier, and the assembly was a real breeze. Before the wheels were fixed in place, oil paint is put to good use again to simulate the weathering of the engine, and sepia ink to reproduce the oil stains and streaks from the engine. Well, this is the tricky part of any biplane modelling, and we all love it, don’t we? At this stage you really need good organization and supreme patience (if you don’t want to jeopardize all of your previous work!) The instructions from Wingnuts are so well done and helpful in many ways, not least distinguishing the command cables (green) from the tension wires (blue) For this kit I have used WNW RAF flat rigging ref: 00003 fixed in place with CA glue and help from various grips and clamps to ensure correct tension. A lot of swearing and some elbow grease latter... my new rigged kite is finished. Now all that’s left to do is pour myself a cold glass of beer, sit back and admire my handy-work! 7 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:32 Page 7

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SHORT STIRLING I used small wedges of scrap plastic to fill the gaps between the airfoil and the fuselage glued in place with CA glue. Then I applied Milliput White epoxy putty along the finishing of the wing-to-fuselage joint and formed the rear end wing fillets. 10 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 10

MEGAS TSONOS SCRATCHBUILDS THE HEAVY BOMBER IN 1:48 part four These fillets are a cause for concern as they begin aft of the main spar, their topsides run along in a straight line finishing a small distance behind the wings on the fuselage. The wings were thus curved upwards to make room for the retracted flaps. I did this with Milliput and scribed again the affected area. 11 In Part Four work on fixing the wings to the fuselage is concluded with the wing root fairings. Attention then turns to constructing the horribly complex undercarriage and ensuring that the model sits at the correct attitude. The twin tailwheel arrangement is simple by comparison to the main gear but demands the same precision to replicate the stance of the bomber. AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 11

12 The Undercarriage Every aircraft has a design weakness and in the Stirling, this was its undercarriage. Electrically controlled and operated, it went into what was an already advanced and complicated aeroplane for its time and, as with every advanced design, the Stirling tended to suffer accordingly. The Stirling’s undercarriage was an engineering feat and deserves to be seen as such when modelled. I decided that the main structural members i.e. the oleo struts and the drag struts should be made of brass tubes and strips, and detailed with styrene and photo-etched secondary details. As the undercarriage is the assembly which determines the correct stance of all models on the horizontal plane, the Stirling’s correct angle when standing “on the grass” in degrees should be accurately noted before commencing with any work on it. Many photos were closely examined and measurements taken on photos which showed the bomber in exact profile. The Stirling stands at an angle of 10º 30”, and to bring the model to that angle, a “slider” jig was used, angled at this position. Note that I have termed it “slider” because in order to correctly determine the height of the oleo legs, the model was moved forward and upward by sliding it along the angled jig until the distance of the wingtips to the horizontal plane was exactly 3 7/8” (15’ 6” on the real aircraft). Left I masked again and gave the wings a final coat of Mr. Surfacer #1200. I modelled the ailerons at this point using plasticard. I built them on the wings and not as separate components to make them strong enough to handle the model without risking breakages. I detailed them the same way as the elevators and rudder spraying Mr Surfacer over masks. The model was put into a custom made jig, in preparation for the undercarriage work, which called for measurements and calculations. Below Observing the 10deg. 30” angle, the model was moved to a point where its distance from the wingtips could be met with accuracy; then… AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 12

Undercarriage 13 Checks are made to ensure that the model is sitting at the exact position and a cutting mat grid is used to check that everything is true and level. I used the mainwheel axle to determine the distance from the front spar (where the undercarriage structure will be attached), which is also the length of the oleo struts, including the shock absorbers themselves. The previous work was done on a jig. It continued now on the wing, as the drag struts had to correspond with the rear fittings in the wing. The drag struts were not exactly straight, being a little out of line when locked down. This over-centering function mechanically prevented the gear (and almost every landing gear ever since) from an accidental retraction. I bent the drag struts a little before joining them onto the rest of the assembly, as this entailed slightly longer brass rods. With the assistance of alligator clamps, the rest of the framework was soldered in place. I cut the mudguards out of brass sheet and soldered them on the legs. The use of styrene was avoided due to these parts being very exposed and therefore liable to damage. The construction started with soldering the main gear legs with the horizontal beams which support the main doors, via a length of brass rod which was inserted through holes drilled at the main gear legs. A set of tubes cut to the length of the oleo struts, were installed as sleeves so as to leave the shock absorbers exposed below them. AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 13

14 I did the same for the front main gear door supports as well as the door itself. Again the clips are used to position the parts during soldering. Et voila!! The completed primary structure; ready to be dressed up with details. I used sheet styrene for the three arches detailed according to my reference photographs. At the points where the brass rods met the arches, I used Milliput to blend the shapes together, as can be seen on the side of the mudguard. I modelled the undercarriage retracting actuators from scrap plastic and glued them in place at the rear upper end of the drag struts (inset). One of the most delicate parts of the main undercarriage was the upper crossbeams and here again photoetch offered the perfect solution. In order to make the crossbeams convincing, I sandwiched strips of styrene between a set of two nickel-silver photoetched parts, and I produced two identical crossbeams, ready for installation between the main oleo struts. AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 14

15 With the aid of the Archer Fine Transfers Surface Detail decals (raised rivet detail set in decal form), I added the riveting to the assemblies that gave the undercarriage framework the much-needed industrial-looking appearance. After gluing in place, I detailed the crossbeams with rivets, bringing them closer to the real thing. AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 15

The wing undersides were thoroughly masked in preparation for spraying as the entire area of the bomb cells and wheel wells was already painted and detailed (this process will be referred to after concluding the construction of the undercarriage). Before painting the undercarriage, I gave it a coat of Mr. Hobby Mr. Surfacer 1000, not the spray can, but its liquid equivalent that comes in bottled form. This I diluted with Mr. Color Levelling Thinner to allow it to be airbrushed. I used a SOTAR 20/20 airbrush and the results were perfect. Using the Mr. Surfacer 1000 as a primer, I went on with the airbrushing of Alclad ALC 305 Gloss Black Base, which adhered well on the primed framework and in no time it was dry and ready for weathering. I turned my attention to the mainwheels. I used the (diametrically correct) Sanger vacformed mainwheels, one of which was modelled to become a master for two resin copies. The Short Stirling wheel assemblies consisted of wheels (Dunlop AH2233), of the same diameter to those fitted to the Lancaster and Halifax, but fitted with larger tyres (Dunlop IBB.14, 26 ½”x21”) of 70.45” outside diameter, and 27.6” in section. I cut away the tyre of a Tamiya Lancaster and retained the wheel hub. 16 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 16

17 I used a piece of styrene tube the diameter of the wheel hub to correctly extend the width so as to conform to the Sanger tyre and I sanded the tyre flat so that it would stand upright. I modelled the sidewall bulges with Milliput White epoxy putty, inserted and glued the wheel hubs and sent it for moulding in resin at Y.S. Masterpieces. I received the resin copies and sprayed them with Mr. Surfacer 1000. and drilled the holes for the axles. Using dividers I scribed the tyre detail, as in the example seen in this photo. The wheel hubs were masked and the painting commenced. AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 17

The tyres were weathered accordingly, and their stenciling were brush painted with a fine brush and white artists’ oil colour. I installed the wheels in place using brass rod lengths as axles. I left them free to rotate for the duration of the build, and I only glued them just before putting the model in the showcase. In the meantime the brake hoses seen attached on the main oleo struts were left folded up, and I cemented their lower ends into position just after fixing the rotation of the mainwheels. The oleo struts were glued into the fuselage with 5-minute epoxy, the rectangular brass tube playing the role of the horizontal stabilizers rear spar frame. Air Publication1660A&B, VOL.I, SECT.7, Chapter. 5, ‘Tail Undercarriage’ clearly reveals the exact spot as regard the real aeroplane. I inserted and glued with CA glue the compartment sidewalls and ceiling previously made. I added the rest of the details, the chain (twisted wire) that linked the struts together, the chain tensioner and the necessary riveting which completed the work. Then I added the bottom fuselage skin that divided the single compartment into two openings. The twin Dunlop WS14 (10” x 5 ¼”) tailwheels, were chosen by Short Bros. because they occupied less space in the fuselage when retracted. The distance between the oleo struts was 23 ½” and the tailwheels were 18.85” in diameter. They turned in unison as they were chained together with a bicycle-type chain and sprockets. The oleo struts were made of copper and soldered on a brass length of rectangular section. The wheels were cast in resin, and their oleo yokes were cast in metal using the lost wax technique, the masters being made of styrene. I modelled the tailwheel compartment from thin styrene sheet, and Evergreen strips. 18 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 18

19 With this done I sprayed the exterior area with a coat of Mr. Surfacer 1000. I cut the tailwheel doors from thin copper sheet and shaped their bulges. I detailed their inner structure as per the photos at hand. The compartment was painted in Alclad ALC-101, while the tailwheel system was painted in a grayish black colour and weathered. The tailwheels were inserted in their yokes and onto the struts; painted in tyre black with black hubs… Along with the tailwheel doors, the main gear doors were made of sheet copper, much more convenient for shaping, and the shape of the main undercarriage doors is really somewhat complicated. The inside detailing was made using Evergreen strips. Thin lead foil was used to simulate the rubber skirt of the doors which bridged the gap between the doors and the wheel. Seeing the photos I came across two types of skirts, the early (long and more shape-conforming) which seemed to be prone to cracking and tearing, and normal production (shorter and more flexible). As I was modelling an early Stirling, I chose the first option. The designation of ‘early’ and ‘normal’ is entirely my own and does not necessarily reflect reality, as there could have been two types produced at the same time in different factories, or a possible modification, not applied to the Stirling fleet at the same time… Finally I used Archer rivet detail to liven up the exterior a little by drybrushing, following the painting of the doors. ...and seen here in their final form; positioned at an angle to the fuselage centre line on the finished Stirling model. The project continues in the next issue AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:33 Page 19

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half Heinkel Florin Claudiu Silaghi’s dissected Romanian He 111 H3 I have always considered the Heinkel He 111 a thing of beauty, especially as this beautiful aircraft was one of the most valuable assets of Forţele Aeriene Regale Române (Royal Romanian Air Force) in the Second World War. The story of this He 111 takes us to the Eastern Front in 1941, somewhere in the South-East of Ukraine when this plane was part of Corpul 1 Aerian Român, Grupul 5 Bombardament (1st Romanian Air Corps, 5th Bomber Group), piloted by Adj. stg. av. Aurelian Livovschi. This pilot was one of Romania’s most successful bomber pilots and later he would be decorated posthumously with the Royal Romanian Air Force’s highest medal, Virtutea Aeronautica (Aeronautic Virtue), in Gold with swords. The fuselage of his “white 18” He 111 bears the marks of his successful missions, which combined with the very early-type camouflage and colourful markings makes for an interesting modelling subject. When I saw the He 111 scale 1:32 detail set produced by HPH for the Revell kit, I knew right away that I had to build one in the colourful Romanian markings. The project was simple in my mind, but in reality it proved to be much more complicated (and of longer duration!) 21 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:35 Page 21

To the main components; respectively the Revell and HPH kits. I decided to add more detail and thus I ended up adding the BigEd set from Eduard, RB Productions seat belts, a set of engine nacelles from CMK to convert the kit He 111 P-1 to a He 111 H-3, the Aires weapons set for the He 111 H-3, custom-made self-adhesive paint masks, home-made decals... and lots of work! So after gathering all of the elements, I got started. I prepared the left fuselage half by filling the inside of the wing root area with automotive filler. I preferred to do that because the automotive filler sands well and it dries in a few minutes. After sanding, I applied automotive finishing filler, which is self-levelling and dries very fast. Then I moved on to the more complex parts, respectively the tail fin and the left tail plane, with their exposed internal structure. The tail plane was the most complex part, which was made even more difficult by the fact that the instructions provided by HPH were not clear enough. In the case of the tail fin I chose to cover one side with thin aluminium sheet so that I could decorate it with the correct identification number and the Romanian tricolour on the rudder. The most pleasant part was assembling and painting the cockpit. The multitude of details make this area a model in itself. Adding a few wires and conduits to this area brings a noticeable improvement to the finesse. The focal point are the RB Productions seat belts, which apart from improving the look of the area also bring a splash of contrasting colour to the dark grey paint. For the cockpit colour I used the Model Master II RLM 66. The bomb cells were made using the photo-etched parts in the set No. 32293 from Eduard’s BigEd package. After the parts were folded and glued, the whole bomb cell assembly was dipped into a ‘bath’ of Johnson’s Klear, which strengthened it. I painted the parts with Model Master RLM 66. To paint the various parts such as the ventral machine gun gondola, propeller, wheel, I used also enamel paints from ModelMaster. The propeller blades were painted RLM70 and the spinner was painted RLM23. I added a few wires to the landing gear legs to simulate the brake lines. All these parts were finished with Model Master enamels. Prep for surgery... 22 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:35 Page 22

The sleek He 111 takes on a whole new look in the striking three-tone pattern and colourful markings. For once all of the cockpit and interior detail will be on show! 23 AIR 67 Aug Sept 2016_AFV/26 Jan/Feb 06 08/07/2016 14:35 Page 23