Avia C.2B1
The inspiration.
The rear control panel installation is problematic, as it sits too high and too far forward.
I decided to reposition it down a bit and further back, to clear the resin piece (PUR 6) that spans the cockpit at this location.
Piece of styrene did the trick.
The control pedals in the rear cockpit sit way too high also. I did not fix this, but it's a consideration when building an open cockpit.
Interior was primed with Mr. Surfacer and then airbrushed with Testors Acryl RLM66. Enamel wash was followed by drybrushing with lighter grays.
Completed cockpit. The kit comes with a nice PE set that adds needed detail to the cockpit.
I did not use all PE parts supplied: I left the pedals as is, and did not add any detail to the cockpit walls (closed canopy will prevent seeing most of this anyway).
The part A18 representing the engine is not tall enough. I added a shaped styrene block to the bottom to ensure that the propeller shaft lines up correctly with the front fuselage section, part A17.
Undercarriage assembly was straightforward and per instructions.
Mr. Surface primer was followed with Testors Acryl RLM02, washed with dark enamel and drybrushed with whitened RLM02,
Assembling the fuselage and the wings. No issues here.
There is a gap between the fuselage and the horizontal stabilizer (nothing a bit of putty can't fix).
A propeller jig is needed to assemble the propeller. The propeller hub is resin (2 versions are supplied with the kit, as are 2 propeller blade styles).
The resin engine scoops supplied with the kit are too stiff to conform to the fuselage. I replaced them with shaped styrene.
There are a number of fiddly PE parts that are butt-joined to the wings. Small pins left on the PE parts, together with mating holes in the plastic, would have made for a much stronger joint.
..more fiddlies…
Cockpit is ready for the canopy. Conopy fit was very good. I dipped it in Future and glued it on using Krystal-Kleer.
Canopy masked using the Montex mask and Vallejo masking fluid. The Montex mask material is stiffer that the competition, and the rear section needed a bit of the masking fluid to close up.
Once I was happy with the prime coat (several cycles of PSR were needed), I airbrushed the panel lines with dilluted Testors Acryl Black.
All Clad 2 ALC 106 White Aluminum was airbrushed in thin coats to allow pre-shading to show through.
Gunze gloss coat from the can was applied the next day as base for the Mark I decals. They went on nicely and needed very short soak to come off the paper. I used the Micro Sol decal solution.
Testors Acryl black was airbrushed on the engine panels following required masking.
I used dilluted oil paint thinned with lighter fluid to highlight the panel lines and give some depth to the silver.
Here, the Raw Umber oil wash after application to the port wing.
Landing gear legs fit in a very shallow tubes, so gluing these is tricky, especially since proper positioning is required. I strongly recommned adding metal pins to strengthen the joint.
The space between the landing gear leg and the wheel well is too narrow for the wheel well cover: I sanded each cover until it slid into this space.
And here are the completed pics.
Splatter on the wheel covers and undercarriage is Testors Acryl Raw Umber, Red Earth, and Sand.
Comments
26 August 2017, 21:32
Alec KThanks for looking Lukasz. Lots of great projects on Scalemates lately😉 Looks like you have a bunch on the bench yourself 👍
27 August 2017, 12:26
Łukasz GlińskiIndeed Alec, indeed... 🙂 Trying to get rid of SR.53 currently 🙂 But somehow I'm unable to have less than 5 open projects😉
27 August 2017, 17:21
Lost_ErikWonderful interior build and presentation. That engine piece, A18, was a surprise to see.
28 August 2017, 01:54
Alec KWelcome aboard Christian 👍
@Lukasz: don't know how you manage it 🙂
@Lost_Erik: I think there will be some more surprises with this build 😄
28 August 2017, 03:03
Łukasz GlińskiNothing difficult Alec, kind of addiction, you know😉 It happens when you can't decide😉
28 August 2017, 12:16
Bart Goesaertlooks good so far. what is the bulge at the exterior of the cockpit?
28 August 2017, 15:54
Alec KThanks Bart. I believe the bulge under the cockpit on the starboard side is an optional gun camera for the gun-equipped variants.
29 August 2017, 00:13
David AndrsI have this in my stash, but in 1:48. Have not decided if I am going to do the Czech or Hungarian version. Nice to see something different 👍
9 September 2017, 14:09
Alec KThanks Dave. The Hungarian version has an interesting open rear cockpit, so that would for sure be something different. I added few more pics, getting this project wrapped up.
13 September 2017, 19:00
David AndrsWhy did you preshade? I thought for NMF one starts with gloss black first then the metalics.
14 September 2017, 12:17
Alec K@Dave: Agreed, that is the accepted practice. My issue with black undercoat is that it darkens the silver, which IMHO is opposite to what I am trying to do, i.e. keep the silver light on account of the scale effect (that said, white primer may be a better choice to achieve that end). In addition, I wanted to highlight the panel lines, not possible with black base.
15 September 2017, 11:19
Alec KThanks Christian.
Dave: It's almost done. The landing gear attachment needs some TLC but otherwise it's getting there.
16 September 2017, 12:09
Bart GoesaertThat's a nice one, thrown up mud is a nice detail. Did the black preshade work as planned?
28 September 2017, 04:10
Łukasz GlińskiGreat finish, last pic is a killer! I like the weathering, not too strong. Yeah, and that emblem (my favourite in CSAF)! 👍
It's from Pardubice, isn't it? 🙂
28 September 2017, 06:03
Alec KThanks very much mates, I appreciate the kind words. I am happy with the result 👍
Hi Bart - the preshading worked well IMHO. It's a subtle effect, but it adds dept to the finish, and some "aging", which was my goal.
Lukasz - I am glad you like my digital imaging dabble (I have fun doing those). The emblem is actually that of Ostrava, where the unit flying these C-2s was based (I think it still is). Pardubice has a half-horse in its coat of arms (I guess Czechs had some horse fetish way back... 😄)
29 September 2017, 01:40
Łukasz GlińskiInteresting. I always thought (since I saw the KP MiG-15 & UTI for the 1st time) that this was Pardubice unit emblem (btw. such a restored MiG-15 stands now at Hradec Kralowe airfield). Anyway thanks a lot for the explanation.
PS. I guess all the east-Yuropean nations got this fetish at some point in time😉
29 September 2017, 06:08
Alexander GrivonevThe way you managed to put a photo of your model (pic39) over the original picture (1) is simply brilliant, almost 1:1!
30 September 2017, 10:54
Danumurthi Mahendrayour work is always great pleasure to the eyes. beautiful photography too
30 September 2017, 20:58
Album info
I decided to tackle this project mainly to try out all-metal finish using All Clad lacquers. Special Hobby released the Arado Ar-96, of which C.2 is its Czech post-WWII reincarnation, in several versions. I am planning this as an OOB build: closed canopy, no additions, just a decal option from Mark I. decal set that comes with their Arado Ar-96 title.
This turned out to be a pleasurable build. Few surprises, keeping in mind that this is a short-run kit, and some experience is handy during construction. I discuss any specifics in the accompanying pictures.
