SAAB/ASJA SK-14

Gordon Sørensen
There is a grand total of 14 parts in the kit. And it has the detail you would expect from a kit that has 14 parts... The instructions (what little there is) have you scratchbuild a lot of the interior, as well as some exterior parts..
Instead, I made a resin cast copy of the tailwheel, antenna, sidewall, floor and seats from the Academy T-6G. I also cast a copy of the engine and airscoop from the AZUR NAA-57..

Matthew A
This looks intresting. From what I have heard Beechnut Models are accurate in shape but need a lot of work

Erik De Smet
I once had this kit too and it ended in the waste bin, once the AZUR kits came out ...

Gordon Sørensen
Got the resin interior installed. Still have to do the rear bulkhead and shelf, but that will be done in plasticard.
Either through bravado or over-estimation of my abilities, I razor-sawed the cowling off.
Figured there was no way I was going to be able to mount the interior and the engine, and close the fuselage up...
Added a 0.5mm spacer to give the cowling a little more visual impact. That, and to give me a little more room for the replacement resin engine. Still had to trim the heck out of it to get it to fit though.

Matthew A
Good idea removing the cowling to make work easier

Gordon Sørensen
The fuselage came together OK. The rear of the cockpit on one fuselage side was short-shot, so built that up with a bit of putty. A lot of sanding required to get ride of a step in the fuselage seem. That removed some of the detail so I re-scribed the panel lines with a razor saw.
Split the elevators from the horizontal stabilizers. Like most short-run kits, they are a butt-joint. The profile difference between the stab and fuselage mount is huge. Not sure if I should use card-stock to build it up or just Putty it....
Checked the wings, and the profile doesn't even come close to matching the mount on the fuselage...

Gordon Sørensen
Painted the engine. Scratchbuilt front and rear instrument panels. Quite happy with how they turned out.

Gordon Sørensen
The instrument panels are not quite accurate, but better than what was included in the kit (nothing).
Detailed the propelller. I think it looks a lot better. Need to repaint the propeller hub a different silver though....

Gordon Sørensen
Mounted the wings. They are a different thickness than the wing roots, so a lot of putty and sanding is in my future....

Gordon Sørensen
Putty, Sand, Repeat...

Dave Flitton
Nice work! You are braver than I am!

Łukasz Gliński
Watching 🙂

Gordon Sørensen
Looking at reference photos, a lot of the Swedish machines didn't have the fully-enclosed main gear. I am going to use the struts and wheels from an old Heller kit. I need to modify the kit gear to only use the upper portion of the spats.
There wasn't a tailwheel included with the kit, so using the Heller donor for this as well.
Cast my own forward antenna and airscoop.
Made a pitot tube out of 0.5mm styrene rod.
The vacu-form canopy was very brittle and I broke it before I could even attempt to mount it. Going to use one from the Heller kit. Not quite the right shape at the rear section, and not enough panels, but hopefully a little Plastic Putty and some creative masking will hide all that.

Charlie Spitfire
following

Gordon Sørensen
Got the canopy faired in with Perfect Plastic Putty. Need to thin the right wing - you can definately tell this is a short-run kit. If I don't thin the wing, the plane will absolutely tilt when I put the gear on.
Painted the re-placement Heller gear and wheels. Just need to razor-Saw the old gear fairings in half and mount to the bottom of the wing.

Gordon Sørensen
Used 1/2 round styrene for the wing attachment fairings.
Painted the wings and horizontal stabilizers with AMMO by Mig Light Rust for the orange.

Gordon Sørensen
Need to do some paint touch-ups, then a panel line wash and decallling.

Moreno Baruffini
I miss this! Very very interesting! 👌🏻 Really a nice work!

Thomas Kolb
What a difficult project, but it is coming along nicely!

Robert Podkoński
I am impressed with your dedication and perseverance. Fantastic work so far!

Guy Rump
Looking good Gordon. 👍

Gordon Sørensen
Finished the paint. On to the decalling…
I do have a sheet of white numerals, but having a little difficulty locating numerals in the Swedish font. There are a couple listed in the database, but none available for purchase…

Lochsa River
an orange winged beauty!

....did you find the casting was worth the effort?

Gordon Sørensen
Casting your own parts can be an exercise in frustration. Not sure any of the cockpit detail will be seen, but… good practice to get better!

Was at the IPMS USA Nationals last weekend. Looking through the vendors room, I found a set of Flying Colours Swedish White Numerals! For $1!

The end is in sight!

Gordon Sørensen
Had a couple of the decals shatter on contact with water. For the remaining decals, I brushed down a couple coats of Micro-Sol Decalmaker.

Sprayed Testors Semi-Gloss, and had a reaction between the gloss and the Humbrol orange on the wings. Stripped that off and repainted.

Finished. Not the best, but did get to try a few new model-building techniques and ideas. Results are Far from good, but good from far!

If you ever get the chance or build a Beechnut kit… DON'T!

Robert Podkoński
Hats off, Gordon! I admire your perseverance on this kit...

Guy Rump
Despite the issues experienced Gordon, you've completed a nice model. I find that decals can be a real issue at times, you're definitely not on your own there! 👍

Łukasz Gliński
Respect mate 👍

Moreno Baruffini
Super respect! 👌🏻 According to me, you obtained a very good result!