Pan Am "Dixie Clipper"

1
March 6, 2023
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March 6, 2023
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March 6, 2023
The decal sheet shows some mold and water damage. I cleaned away some paper that had stuck to one of the big wing decals with isopropyl alcohol. Then I treated them all with a few coats of decal film. Fingers crossed!
4
March 6, 2023
Aside from one slightly warped wing, the fit has been excellent with only minor sanding required.
5
March 6, 2023
The black primer probably wasn't necessary. It's there to provide opacity, since you won't be able to see through the windows.
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March 6, 2023
This is my best guess on the color of the cowling interiors. I went with a dark zinc chromate, which seemed reasonable for 1930s Boeing.
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March 6, 2023
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March 6, 2023
Proof this is the Airfix mold.
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March 6, 2023
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March 6, 2023
Tiny silver props and engines!
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March 8, 2023
Trying to protect those raised surface details as I sand.
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March 8, 2023
Little molding defect.
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March 8, 2023
This fit was a little less well aligned than I’d originally thought.
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March 10, 2023
There’s a slight asymmetry in the mold that the stabilizers really accentuate here.
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March 10, 2023
Trying to fix it with a little sprue goo.
16
March 10, 2023
Seam looks good. A loss of detail is inevitable, but hopefully it won’t detract too much. I tried to limit it to a tiny little strip.
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March 10, 2023
Great fit!
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March 10, 2023
Looks like the tail leans a little to the right! Oh well. What can you do?
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March 10, 2023
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March 10, 2023
But this calls for a little attention.
21
March 18, 2023
After sanding, painted some thinned Tamiya putty that I’ll clean up with isopropyl alcohol once it’s dried.
22
March 18, 2023
Some light sanding was necessary.
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March 18, 2023
Undersides of the wing roots looking OK after cleanup.
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March 18, 2023
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March 18, 2023
And under the tail.
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March 18, 2023
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March 18, 2023
I think the leading edges look good but primer reveals all
28
March 18, 2023
I think I have the shape I want after sanding and putty.
29
March 20, 2023
A little more putty and sanding, and I think I have the shape I want.
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March 20, 2023
Getting closer.
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March 20, 2023
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March 20, 2023
Painted on some thinned putty to fill a tiny but noticeable gap. Open to suggestions on how to handle the gap on the upper side of these winglets.
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March 23, 2023
I may regret it, but I thought I’d try and make the kit stand into something a little more elegant.
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March 23, 2023
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March 23, 2023
Boeing knows how to design a good looking airplane.
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March 23, 2023
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March 23, 2023
Masking tiny windows.
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March 25, 2023
I don’t have great luck with the blue stuff, but I’ll try it again here.
39
March 25, 2023
Wasn’t happy with the state of the navigator’s dome.
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March 25, 2023
Better but there’s only so much one can do.
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March 25, 2023
Underside looks good.
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March 25, 2023
Some work to do here.
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March 25, 2023
This seam wasn’t quite as smooth as I’d hoped. And there’s also a molding defect I somehow missed.
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March 25, 2023
A bit of filler needed on these wing roots.
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March 25, 2023
My reconstruction worked out pretty well, but it needs a little gentle reshaping.
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March 25, 2023
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March 25, 2023
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March 25, 2023
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March 25, 2023
I’m satisfied.
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March 26, 2023
51
March 26, 2023
Black basing, pre shading, whatever you want to call it, I’m going for it. Since it’s painted silver and not a natural metal finish, hopefully this gives it some depth.
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March 26, 2023
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March 27, 2023
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March 28, 2023
Can’t be too careful! 😉
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March 31, 2023
Gently post-shaded to bring a little visual interest. I think it turned out pretty well.
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March 31, 2023
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March 31, 2023
A little bleed on this side unfortunately, but I can live with it.
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March 31, 2023
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March 31, 2023
60
March 31, 2023
Top side gloss coated
61
April 2, 2023
20 year old decals down! I’m still holding my breath!
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April 2, 2023
Disappointing
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April 3, 2023
64
April 3, 2023
65
April 3, 2023
66
April 6, 2023
More sanding. And then I’ll prime again.
67
April 6, 2023
Interesting that the tip of the left wing has panel lines where the right wing has none. Is this an error in the original mold, or were they just too faint to see? I think I'll go in with some black to make the right side symmetrical.
68
April 9, 2023
Update
69
April 9, 2023
These printed very nicely. Hopefully I will have better luck this time.
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April 9, 2023
Sealed
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April 11, 2023
I traced the big wing decals to create a mask.
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April 11, 2023
That's some fancy masking, huh?
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April 11, 2023
The printed decals will be slightly translucent, so the idea is to have a white backing so the color is a little truer. There’s a little overspray where the air pressure lifted the mask, mostly at the wingtips. I’ll soften those edges with a little aluminum paint.
74
April 12, 2023
Not pleased with my work here. I had some paint and/or airbrush trouble. Hopefully the decals will hide the worst of it.
75
April 12, 2023
Also I think this primer has gone bad. I’ll need to sand (again) and prime once more.
76
April 14, 2023
The masking was probably overkill, but I don’t always trust myself to put the paint where I want it.
77
April 14, 2023
78
April 14, 2023
Paint is better than decals. Is there anything more satisfying than removing the masking?
79
April 15, 2023
Pri
80
April 15, 2023
Decals were a bust again. 2 coats. I’ll do a little post shading. I’ve lost some nice detail, but fortunately I have letters and numbers I can use.
81
April 15, 2023
Post-shaded
82
April 16, 2023
Going for it…
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April 16, 2023
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April 16, 2023
85
April 16, 2023
Follow your dreams, kids.
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April 16, 2023
Thought this was a nice Pan Am blue.
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April 20, 2023
First coat of gloss.
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April 20, 2023
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April 20, 2023
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April 20, 2023
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April 22, 2023
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April 22, 2023
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April 22, 2023
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April 22, 2023
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April 22, 2023
This is the only one that wasn't a part of the original kit.
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April 22, 2023
Decals done!
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
You can really see the twist in the molding in this one.
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023
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April 23, 2023

Comments

58 6 March 2023, 04:20

Michael Kohl
Oh, that looks vintage. Let´s see, what you make out of it. 🙂

6 March 2023, 19:43

Spanjaard
i am curious about this.

9 March 2023, 22:15

Alex K
Watching with pleasure...

10 March 2023, 00:13

Ogre-Trombone
Thank you for indulging me. I hope I won't disappoint.

10 March 2023, 02:37

Alberto
Nice work! The tool is only 56 years old 🙂

18 March 2023, 05:41

A.J. Madison
Good work. And good luck. I got so frustrated with the outer vertical stabs, that I filled the ejector holes, sanded the crap out of one of them, then using the un-abused stab as a guide, to re-scribe all of the panel lines and the trim tabs. Then sanded the other stab, and then used the restored lines from the first stab as a scribing guide. Not suggesting others follow my method, but I was in a git-er-done mood.

18 March 2023, 05:52

Treehugger
I find that gently slicing off the sprue goo with a sharp blade is much faster than trying to sand it all off, if having used too much sprue goo. Also, when trying to sand down a bump, there's a risk of sanding past the bump and into the bottom plastic around the bump.

I like using sprue good especially when I want to drill a hole in the plastic, because drilling into a mix of plastic and putty is usually a bad idea, as they aren't equally hard/solid.

18 March 2023, 06:55

Robert Podkoński
Joining the party. Good work so far!

18 March 2023, 07:38

Ben M
Definitely watching!

18 March 2023, 20:24

Treehugger
I can recommend Vallejo putty for smoothing out the seamlines, best applied with a small brush, maybe mixed with a little water drop, but too thin and there's little/no filling power. One can also add on lots of primer but if the gap it too large that won't work.

25 March 2023, 05:27

Carlo
Watching with interest.

25 March 2023, 15:03

Guy Rump
Looking good, following. 👍

26 March 2023, 08:01

Marko
That looks really good, I'm excited.👍

28 March 2023, 05:02

Michael Kohl
Coming along nicely

28 March 2023, 10:31

Ogre-Trombone
I just couldn't get those decals to behave. Everything I did only made things worse, so in the end I decided it was best just to start over. Fortunately I scanned a copy of the decals and will be able to print replacements. This also allows me to mask and paint the black anti glare area and leading edges, which I probably should have done to begin with.

3 April 2023, 02:38

Villiers de Vos
Nice progress.

3 April 2023, 04:38

A.J. Madison
Many years ago, I saw a decal application tip suggested using dilute white glue, aka Elmers. In my case very large decals were going on a flat finish model, The tip is: make a dilute solution of white glue and water. Couple of drops of glue, puddle of water. Apply the solution TO the model. Soak decal till it releases from the paper. Submerge the decal into the puddle on the model. Use cotton swabs to remove the excess water from the decal's surface, but avoid sucking the water out from under the decal with the swab. As you dry the surface of the decal, position the decal as desired. AND, if the decal shifts, or you place the decal incorrectly, and you discover this days later, you can still get the decal to release from the model by application of more water, a damp tissue left ontop of the decal works. Reapply as before. Clear coat the model with the desired type of finish, gloss, flat, semi. I've never had the white glue yellow, even after two decades after finishing the model. I have had aftermarket decals yellow, but not the white glue. This technique works great on models with substantial surface detail. I don't use decal softener, the white glue sucks the decal right down into the recess.

5 April 2023, 02:05

Michael Kohl
@A.J.Madison: never heard of that before. Will surely try it. Thanks for sharing.

5 April 2023, 14:52

Alex K
Thumbs up for persevering - and good luck with the new decals!

10 April 2023, 00:08

Michael Kohl
Nice progress. Beautiful pre- and postshading brings this big bird to life.
Time to change the teaser of you album to one of your WIP pics. 😉
Why didn't you paint the orange area straight away after you masked everything so nicely?

11 April 2023, 06:39

Skyhiker
Thanks for the old school info on applying decals. Sometimes these technics are better than the newer solutions and almost always cheaper.

11 April 2023, 06:46

Ogre-Trombone
@Michael Kohl, it was dinner time!

11 April 2023, 13:54

Afonso Braga
Now that's a classic 😃

11 April 2023, 14:53

Michael Kohl
@Ogre-Trombone: well, that explains - and excuses - everything, of course. 🙂

11 April 2023, 16:21

Bozo
I'm agree with michael Kohl.
For the color orange, look here: Bréguet deux ponts F-RSIN 1/144 completed | Album by bozo
orange mister color C059 on white base.

12 April 2023, 07:06

Ogre-Trombone
Good tip. Thanks, @Bozo Bozo. I happen to have a jar of the stuff on my shelf.

12 April 2023, 14:44

Bruce Huxtable
Learning lots from your endeavours, and am looking forward to the final un-veiling.

15 April 2023, 19:40

Ogre-Trombone
Thanks! I'm learning a lot as I go, @Bruce Huxtable.

15 April 2023, 23:52

Spanjaard
crazy work with that masking, but the orange and black lines is looking awesome. better than any decal

16 April 2023, 23:05

Michael Kohl
Yeah, now it looks the part. Very nice.

17 April 2023, 06:40

Ogre-Trombone
I started weathering but soon realized I didn't have the heart for it. I feel like this old bird deserves to be as bright and shiny as the day she was born.

Thank you all for following along with me!

23 April 2023, 00:39