popeye the sailor

hi Egilman......welcome as well! rushed.....repair man is coming!

just do'in my part OC welcome! hello Jack.....welcome to the log as well

the engines consisted of four parts....later the two cowls and props will be added. I did goof by cementing the wrong narcele on the wrong wing...noticed by the notch for the main landing gear strut. I got out of it by cutting the same notch in the proper place on the inside facing the wing root. the notch on the outside was filled in with cement to make it less noticeable. the interior of the fuselage was painted gray........the port side fuselage half was then added, later to be painted as well. the wing root tabs were added after that. then the seats........two for the cockpit, three for other places in the fuselage. the fuselage top at the nose was added. the top aft section of the fuselage was added.... every step involved fitting parts....the windows at the nose had to be 'tooled' as well. this was also the case for the stabilizers.........the butt end of the fuselage, and drilling out the hole for the pin on the vertical stabilizer {rudder}. there was a little stabilizer root protrusion that needed to be trimmed flush for the proper placement of the rudder. two struts brace the rudder. the wings were dry fitted in place. the mating surfaces need to be sanded flat for a better fit more as I go.........

I started to assemble the fuselage. there isn't a whole lot of detail....or parts for that matter, the edges needed to be squared for a clean assembly. the bulkheads were added.........then the cockpit decks. the engine narceles were assembled at this time.........again, sanding and squaring edges, so the fit would be good. the wings were assembled next. when they were dry enough, the narceles were fitted in place. the mating surfaces on the narceles were sanded for a good fit.

getting more into the kit, I did a breakdown to give a better sense of the parts involved. the parts do have a certain amount of flash. 😄 I don't recall a model where I had to assemble the fuselage like this........should be fun. there is some fairly good molded detail, in spite of the flash. there are some spots that are indented for the fuselage......these are points that need to be bent or shaped to form the fuselage. I do like the boxy style of plane.......also an indication of the period it was in service. the starting point is to assemble a few of the sub assemblies.

during the mid thirties, the Czechoslovakian air force was having a hard time modernizing. they wanted a heavy bomber, but really didn't have the knowledge for the construction of such an aircraft. this made it hard for the domestic aircraft factories to come up with a suitable airframe. they turned to the French Government for aide, but at that time, even the French were dealing with the same issues. faced with limited choices and ideas, they finally arrived with the construction of a high wing heavy bomber. it would come to be called the Marcel Bloch Aero MB200 En-4. the contract to build them was given to Henry Potez and the Aero factory in Prague. the initial order was for 75 planes {one was set aside for testing}.........as they progressed, they did experience problems, and changes were made along the way. the Twin engine bomber was powered with 588 Kw Walter K-14-I radial engines with Letov Hd-43 airscrews. the port engine revolved clockwise, while the starboard engine revolved counter clockwise. this made it almost impossible for the plane to fly on one engine, if one was damaged or had a problem. armament consisted of five 7.92 MG's Strakonice VZ 30 machine gins and could carry 1,400 bomb weight. they were released pneumatically......the crew consisted of 4 - 6 airmen. at the time of the Munich crisis, the Czech air force shared around 54 bombers, between the several squadrons, which made up the two main air force regiments. during the German occupation, the air force was stripped and the MB's were sent to Bulgaria and Roumania, serving alongside the Verdun MB - 210 bombers, which had been moved from the French air force. by the end of the Thirties, they became obsolete. the construction was all metal with stretched skin, quite an accomplishment from their earlier form of construction......metal fuselage with wooden wings. the cost for each bomber was 300 thousand Fr........if the plane was equipped with long range fuel tanks, of course the cost was a bit higher. this model was produced by KP models in Czechoslovakia in 1984 what interested me was the domestic airliner / military feel the plane has. during this time period, this was somewhat of a common practice.......the germans even modified plane for reconnicence or military service. I took these pictures when I first got the kit. the decals are a bit yellowed.......I put 'em in the sun for a while. the model a bit jumbled......some manipulation is apparent. the instructions are thin.......like newspaper. this is the only way to select the parts needed for each step.......they are numbered, although some shown in the diagrams are not. the diagrams appear to be hand drawn........very little text is available. should be fun

the update has grown, so I better post it before it gets too large now that the fuselage is assembled, I can start to add what has already been done. the tail glass has been fixed, but needed to be fitted still. it is now in place. it still rises up into the rudder area.......I'm hoping that it isn't going to hinder the addition of it. the navigator glass was added next, along with the gun that sticks out. the pivot that the gun sits on can be seen. the glass had to be painted by hand....surprised with how well it came out. the nose is going to need some work.........I found that these two openings are not seen on the Memphis Belle.......baffled to see that there are four silver rectangles there instead. the cockpit glass has been cemented in place. here a shot of the waist gun I promised you. It will be easier to decal her while at this stage.....and so I started........ bad thing here........the port side is backwards. personally, I think that the starboard side is too, but this is how the instructions show it. I've checked pictures and seen that the starboard side is correct. I will change the port side.......not a big deal, because if they get damaged, I have that sheet of letters. Egilman pointed out that blotched out field on the horizontal stabilizer { rudder fin}........that was an 'A'.......not in the traditional triangular field shown on other squadron planes. I haven't been able to find out why it was removed.......I'll keep looking because it's an interesting feature that could be added, as I did on the Wulfe Hound. later it was found to be a useless attempt, since the swastika appears out of scale and covers it.......oh well. the stabilizers and rudder were added next. oops! **spoiler alert** ahhh-hmmmmmmmm.....moving on...... as you saw, the starboard waist was called Virginia.........the port side was named Sally I'll have the port decals fixed by the next update.

late to the party............suspension looks awesome in the older car kits, they used to supply real springs........selected ones though. that's a cool paint kit you got there.........when Lou mentioned detailing the undercarriage, I though about stay'in within the same color.......different hues would make a big difference and still accomplish what one want to achieve. very nice start

very nice job on the bridge.........the funnels look really good too. highly detailed.......... your usual standard of superb workmanship

looks awesome Robert..the base completes it very well

👀 lots of good content here! I will never get to build one......too rich for my blood.......... your progress looks super Grant.......good choice to keep things as they are. move the engine.........move the drivetrain. nice looking car Rick!

thanks Robert......I didn't do anything to her yesterday.......I was playing with something else { damn my MDD........Model Distraction Disorder}. the wing surfaces were all done with airbrush........I got impatient waiting to get thinner, so I painted the fuselage {upper and lower surfaces} with a brush. at one point in time, I had given up the airbrush, thinking that they were too much of a bother for the tasks that were small. but, since I got into building wooden boats, I have great need for it. large surfaces are a killer with a brush. now a days, I juggle both. I'm getting there........I've already seen her with the wings {dry fit}..........I'm happy.

fabulous work.........the wood effects really make it look real the gate is very well done.......your having fun.....I can tell! Ekis said:....... So here we are, concentrating on trying to make the best out of a traditional medieval French fortified village, and we find ourselves in the pissoir... What a sad fate! 🤣😂 .......this made me laugh!

I feel like I missed most of the party......your about done the wrecker looks great.....really like the use of the two drabs. these older kits are why I enjoy being a nostalgia nut.....especially if I had built them before. it gives ya a chance to see how evolved your skills have become. really sweet looking model.........hell yea on the rusty chains

....a flying saucer? lost in space perhaps? interesting concept.............nice looking hoist

....in the land of Lilliput.........don't tell me..........let me guess.........your chief mechanic's name is Gulliver! kinda cool in a way........it shows the scale of the model. with the large scale models I've built in the past, I wondered about it too.........why aren't some of these ports tooled open? there so much that can be done to enhance these models.....are you going to use screen for the ports, or did they simply have the butterflies in there? I suppose we'll just have to see what your pint size pit crew comes up with.

...a very interesting way to mask camo the methods are endless here........so far so good

WOW!.......OC ...she came out great! few bumps along the way, but ya did it.........sweet looking plane and none the worse for wear glad ya stuck with it

just a short update at the moment......done during the work week. these are the parts I will add to the plane: I had glued that small part on the other navigator's window....I had to remove it to put it on this one. the guns were added to the nose of the fuselage, the last bits to be added before closing it up. the deed is done I should have done a close up of the waist guns.......they show quite well with the belt additions. the tail is on as well. it can't be seen here, but the belly turret sticks out quite a bit...... must be in the lowered position. I had painted the tail gunner's glass with the masking, but it came out foggy. I lightly scraped off most of it and painted it freehand.....I also did the navigator's window too. it came out reasonably well......I used a very fine tipped brush. the cockpit glass looked kinda light too, but I chose not to touch it up since it came out better than the rest. I trimmed it to fit and am impressed with how good it looks. I'm gonna start adding to the fuselage.......

awesome looking plane joe........the camo is superb!

you had a Roden kit that wasn't up to par too? guess I'm noit the only one

made 'em think.....didn't ya?!?!? I had the same trouble with 1001 Hobbies in France....took a month a Sundays to get my order...........an in the middle of it all, they sent me a survey . I didn't fill it out.......I e-mailed them.......had just as much fun! the car's look'in great Andy.......

looks good scribing the mortar joints will give it some extra detail........lotta work though

mom was the gun at the navigator's window as well as at the top turret....they do love their moms I need a magnifying glass to read all the decals

I'm sure a little stick and tissue would produce a decent looking nose section...but you are correct that it would be quite large to match the scale of the jeep nice looking model combo!