Page 38 - Model Airplane International - Issue 175 (February 2020)

KIT BUILD

The one-piece gear doors are an effective way of masking off the undercarriage bays during the With the gunsight carefully attached, the thoughtfully designed windscreen section can be fi tted with
painting process, being a decent push fi t. normal extra thin cement. The join lines can be sanded fl ush with fear of damaging the clear sections.

Masking off the windscreen section was very straightforward given the well defi ned frame lines, In order to represent the blue and white chequer nose, it was fi rst airbrushed Flat White, including
simply burnish with a wooden toothpick and carefully trim with a new blade. the spinner…
gun ports left a lot to be desired as regards achieve the look I was after was always going piece of design and literally drops into place
fi t, needing a couple of rounds of fi lling and to need a bit of work. In hindsight I would before being secured with extra thin liquid
sanding using Mr. Surfacer 500 and 1500 have left it well alone and allowed the detail cement. The small air intake below the spinner
grit wet and dry paper to ensure a smooth Airfi x supply to shine through, though I would along with the radiator intake lip are easily
transition. This was followed by a few coats probably have always wondered “what if I had fi tted and sanded fl ush more or less fi nishing
of Alclad Micro Filler Primer to make sure done that…?”. up major assembly. The fl aps and ailerons
the previous work fi lling the panel lines was The wings, tailplanes and rudder, all were purposely left off as these would need
satisfactorily fi nished, suffi ce to say it needed attached to the fuselage without any issues painting natural metal and fi tted later on.
a little more work with some Mr. Surfacer 500 at all, the wings to fuselage being especially The gunsight was fi tted then the windscreen
and plenty of wet sanding. Did I make a rod for good and tight. The insert for the leading edge/ section over it before being carefully blended
my own back doing this? Maybe, however to undercarriage bay/lower cowl is a very clever with some gentle sanding before being

Using the kit decals as a template, the white sections were The blue sections were simply airbrushed Tamiya XF-8 Flat Blue, The fi nished result, worth the effort? I think so!
carefully masked off… the spinner tip was masked using a circle template…

38 MODEL AIRPLANE INTERNATIONAL - February 2020

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