Danstream

Beautiful car and model! Dan

Hi, few more small steps with my Bulldog, which as said earlier requires an approach where patience is the key. Few steps forward might implies also some steps backwards to correct mishaps on finished parts caused by the gluing of new ones. For example, this is a picture of the type of masking required to correct a blemish on the already painted green spine: Before going onwards, I decided to complete the decaling of the fuselage sides and seal the decals with X-22 clear: I also glued on the small windscreen piece which required several iterations. Here the problem was that the space left between the transparent part and the coaming is very narrow and the glue was sucked by capillarity into the gap. Fortunately, I had decided to use PVA glue (Kristal Clear) so that I was able to remove the messed windscreen, clean the parts and repeat the application until I got a reasonable result. Then, the cabane struts were finally glued in place: To check their alignment, I dry fitted the huge main wing which will be painted next: The main wing looks a bit wonky now, but I will adjust its final position by tensioning the cables that I will pass through it. I also started to work on some few remaining small items that require the application of several colors to finish them: That's all for now, best regards, Dan

Hi Mike, thanks for your feedback! Indeed, as I wrote in one of the early posts, this model obliged me to follow a less straightforward build sequence due to its configuration. In this case, what I did is: - Spray the portions finished with the aluminium dope; coat with X-22 gloss for protection; mask these parts; - Spray the cowlings with chrome silver; coat with X-22 gloss for protection; - Mask the the area for the matt green and spray the anti-glare green (note that I usually add some drops of X-22 to Tamiya matt paints, how much? I go by eye, say for ten parts of matt paint, 3 parts of gloss (*)). At this point, when I remove the last masking, the surfaces have the right final finishes. However, as I said in my posts, I had few times the need to repair here and there the paints and this adds more complication with additional partial masking, etc. This is the point where I am at present. Now, before putting on the top wing, I will complete the decals for the fuselage and the lower wing and I will seal the decals with additional X-22. This might require to mask the green area, but without the the top wing and the rigging in place, this should not be a major problem. Note: sealing the decals might not be strictly necessary if I don't apply panel liners or oil colors, which might be well the case for this build, I have not made up my mind yet. Then the top wing, already painted, will follow and necessary touch-ups (these will be necessary because of the way I will rig it, i.e. some of the wires will go through the wing and will be glued from above; then some local sanding and painting will hide the wire attachments). Decals and top coat will follow. In a sketchy way, this is the plan. I don't claim that this is the best way, but it is what I have in mind. (*) I always since ever add some X-22 to Tamiya matt paints because these have otherwise a chalky finish and they become slightly more robust to touch and wear. Best regards, Dan

Hi, I started to prepare all those small items that are going to be placed on the top of the fuselage. Because of their small dimensions, this revealed to be a non trivial job. Some details are a bit soft, like the crosshair reticle, f.i., but this is to be expected for such small parts. I am going to replace the reticle piece with some spare P.E. that I happened to have while the mounting brackets will be remade with small brass tube. The new parts are here posed in place: I glued them in place and painted them black. Again, I spoiled the green and aluminum several times and I had to repaint them accordingly. At the end, this is how they look like: Eventually, I was pleased with the new parts. Now I urge to put in place the cabane struts as soon as possible so that they can somehow protect these delicate items from being accidentally knocked off. That's all for now, Best regards, Dan

Dear all, I went on, as said in small steps and also paying attention to the build sequence which differs from what is standard for me. For example, I already had to put on some decals that otherwise would have been difficult to position at a later stage. After that, I tackled the landing gear struts and the long exhaust pipes that required some adaptation to fit the new gas collector outlets: Then, I rigged the landing gear struts: For that, I used a monofilament fishing tread which was glued in place with CA glue. One end of the tread went through the axle so that it could be easily tensioned before gluing it. I also had some collateral damages, when I discovered that some glue mysteriously migrated to the underside of the starboard wing. As seen above, some sanding was necessary to smooth out again the surface. Here, the tread attachments were finished off and the wing was repaired. The Bulldog now can rest on its legs: By the way, I must note that the quality of the decals is very good with no carrier film visible. They also respond very well to the Microscale liquids. That is all for now, thanks for following, best regards, Dan

I didn't comment this build before, but I am catching up now. This is a great representation of a Fokker DVII, very carefully assembled as usual and which hardly gives away its paper-made nature. I love how you molded the louvres of the cowlings. I made a WnW model several years ago and I got to love this plane. Congratulations, Dan

Could you address me to where? I don't remember a build of yours with these schemes.

Well, I have not yet decided which version will I choose, but surely a very colorful one. Thanks for dropping by, Dan

Nicely done. Great, spotless black finish. Congrats, Dan

Hi, thanks for your comments and 'like's. Indeed, the metallic paints are a bit fragile, but they deliver nice results if treated with care. Here it is the green anti-glare spine freshly painted (dark green XF-61): Then, the SBS cylinders were dry fitted: I didn't use any glue for them, because I wanted to leave them some play to allow some adjustments for when the gas collector ring is mounted. Finally, the Bristol Jupiter is complete, the gas collector ring is glued on and it is keeping the cylinders in place (I hope): Also in this case, all the parts were finished with different shades of Vallejo Metal paints. In particular, the collector was first sprayed with 'steel', then the shine was a bit muted with a matt brown diluted mist and finally, some 'dark aluminum' dry brushing was applied on selected areas. I tried to keep everything rather dark, as seen on pictures of the real aircraft. My Bulldog is slowly taking shape, but some difficult steps have still to come. After some initial hesitations, I can say that I appreciate very much this kit. Best regards, Dan

@Javlin, thanks for your comment, which I didn't see before. Sorry for reacting so late, you comments were always appreciated. Best regards, Dan

Brilliant! from the upper side, although it seems you have some reservations, I couldn't notice big blemishes. Now rereading your text, perhaps you mean that the edge of the fillet panel doesn't run side-by-side with the edge of the black anti-slip strip. But that is hardly noticeable for one that doesn't know all the fine details of the build. So, I can say it is a good save. Dan

Good luck with the modification. The work so far is very nice. Best regards, Dan

Dear all, progress is now very slow because from now on additional parts need to be completely finished first and then glued on without damaging the metallic finished parts. I coated the painted assembly with Tamiya X-22 which didn't dull too much the reflective paint and then I glued in place the short struts that brace the junction between the fuselage and the lower wing and the power generators as well. I already managed to scratch the chrome finish once and I had to reapply the metallic paint and the clear varnish. From now on, I must remember to protect the metallic paints with a piece of low tack tape close to the area where I am working. The other side had the same treatment: Next, I will paint the anti glare matt green on the spine of the fuselage. In parallel, I started to work on the engine. This is surely a focal point of the Bulldog fuselage and needs some care. I bought the nice replacements 3D printed by SBS that represent the cylinder heads without the rocker covers as seen in period pictures. The SBS parts are very accurate and they come with a gas collector ring which is slightly more detailed than the kit part. Actually, the replacement of these parts is absolutely not necessary, nevertheless, I was pleased with the purchase. As I said, not much progress to show, but just few small steps. Best regards, Dan

Hi all, thanks for following and for the likes! Back to my Bulldog, I sprayed its fabric covered parts with a Vallejo Metal color 'white aluminum' following a careful wet sanding with ultra fine grits: Before proceeding with the masking, I waited two days for the paint to fully cure and then I coated it with a Tamiya gloss clear (X-22) for providing additional protection. When I was really sure that everything was cured, I masked off the fabric surfaces and sprayed the uncovered cowl panels with a Tamiya gloss black (X-1) in preparation for the required shinier metallic parts: For these latter parts, I used a Vallejo Metal 'chrome' obtaining a nice metallic reflective finish: I tried to keep all the applied paint layers as thin as possible so not to obliterate the nice surface details. Now the build is getting more and more difficult because there is the risk of scratching or marring the metallic finished while adding the remaining numerous details. I will let the chrome paint to cure for at least a day and then I will protect it with a layer of X-22 which I hope will not mute dramatically the reflectivity of the finish. That's all for now, Best regards, Dan

Hi all, thanks for your feedback! @Diver, indeed, I also read that about D. Bader. I went on and after some little repairs and a wet sanding session, I put back the tail feathers on the plane. The elevators were positioned slightly drooped and also the rudder was slightly off neutral to add some movement. Probably the rudder cables, which are made of stretched sprue, are a bit out of scale, but I couldn't handle thinner ones. Another light coat of Mr. Surfacer 1500 followed to reveal remaining blemishes. Next, a silver dope paint will follow for the fabric covered parts before putting on additional small accessories. To the next installment, best regards, Dan

Dear all, after long time spent in my home country, I back home and I am again here for posting a WIP about a new Airfix kit, i.e. their recent Bristol Bulldog in 1:48 scale. The subject is a classic British biplane which was produced and flew during the inter-war period. This is a little kit which is quite known by now and this is its box with its rather nice box art: You might find reviews on the web concluding that this is a nice kit and indeed the level of surface details is very nice: However, in my opinion, one drawback is the quality of the plastic which is a bit rubber-like, hence difficult to cut and sand cleanly. I started with the cockpit which renders the internal truss structure and few other details rather nicely. I replaced the seat with an Eduard resin, not because the one of the kit is not good, but because I wanted to buy their p.e. harness which came with a resin seat. The cockpit assembly had to be painted black and once included in the closed fuselage, very little can be seen from the cockpit opening. I also painted the inner sidewalls of the fuselage with two colors to represent the metallic panels and the fabric covered part: I replaced the instrument panel of the kit with a Yahu one which is quite nice: Finally, the complete assembled cockpit is placed inside the fuselage. From the dimension of my fingers you can see that this is really a tiny model: Once the fuselage was closed, the distinctive fairings of the cylinder heads were also glued on. Several points on the junctions had to be addressed on the upper and on the lower side. As said, the plastic gets crazed when sliced or sanded and this makes for me difficult to judge when a seam is finally ok. Several applications of Mr. Surfacer were necessary to fill small gaps. I also separated the elevators from the tailplanes before gluing them on the fuselage. The trailing edge of the wings are too thick for this scale and some extending sanding is necessary. Finally, the lower wing is sanded and glued in place. Now everything is ready for a preliminary coat of Mr. Surfacer 1500 that will allow to check the work done so far. The result is not bad, with only few blemishes requiring further work. I am going also to wet sand everything with a very fine grit to insure a smooth surface in view of the silver finish. That's all for now, best regards, Dan

@ccoyle, @AJohnson, @GrandpaPhil, @FriedClams, thank you very much for all your nice feedback input! I am glad that you liked my result. @gsdpic and @DocRob in particular, commented the weathering which indeed was for me one of the theme of this build. It is great to know that you found it pleasing and not obvious. Thanks also to those that followed the build and hit the 'like' (even 'wow') buttons here and in the post of my build log. At present, I am halting my modeling activity because I will be traveling to Italy, my home country. I will stay away quite long time, but I will keep an eye on the forum, although I expect I will not be very responsive. See you when I am back, until then stay healthy and enjoy your hobbies, warmest greetings, Dan

Very neatly done and finished! A real beauty. Dan

You have a fantastic model there. It is full of details and finely built. Congrats, Dan

Good progress and neat painting, Andrew. Are you using Humbrol enamels? Yes, the magazine (from 1951!) and the era that it depicts are really fascinating. I am also fascinated by the elegant look of people portrayed on its cover. Cheers, Dan

Thanks Mike, nice feedback from you, as always! Kind regards, Dan

Nice painting, especially with the metallic parts! Kind regards, Dan

@king derelict, Thank you Alan for your kind comments and for constantly provide me with feedback. kind regards, Dan

Dear all, just to let you know that I just finished my model and posted it in the completed non-ship models section. If you wish, you could also use the link below in my signature. Best regards, Dan