PZL W-3A Sokół (D-HSNA, Polizei Sachsen) completed
On the control sticks there are a lot of red knobs. You can try to plop on red paint or paint the knobs BEFORE you install them on the sticks.
Step 1: thin discs of 0,4 mm round rod prepaired with Tamiya tape for painting.
Step 1: thin discs of 0,4 mm round rod prepaired with Tamiya tape for painting.
Step 2: dabbing of the knobs with red paint.
Step 3: take up the knobs with sharp scalpel.
Step 4: place the knobs with CA on the sticks.
Step 5: enjoy the red knob result with a glass of red wine 🙂
Edges of both openings thinned down.
The engine housing is a true puzzle. For such an complex structure the fit is very ok. In the middle I used a piece of square rod as spreader.
A bit too massive kit parts replaced (cockpit illumination light and engine levers)
Grips/steps and the openings in the fuselage are a bit too thick (0,7 mm). I calculated the thickness with max. 2,5 cm and intend to replace them from 0,45 mm wire.
Upper console completed.
New research results: not the complete cockpit is painted black. On original pictures is well visible that the rear wall is light grey and not black.
Fuselage prepainted in window area for better & cleaner installation off the windows without masking.
Etched “legs” for the seats replaced with U-shaped piece of 0,4 mm wire for better strength.
For better & cleaner installation & better alignment I used 0,25 mm wire.
Gradually the collection of parts looks like a helicopter.🙂
Dry fit of windscreen parts, not yet glued.
They are several configurations for the cockpit step. The Polizei - version is a bit different in comparison with the etched parts so I made them from wire. 4 Installation points for the search light added.
Mount for the searchlight made of soldered wire (0,38 mm). For comparison the kit part: too small, too weak and flat instead round.
This time I spent almost 1,5 hours to manage the left step. Because it’s very tricky to soldering I will made the diagonal struts from plastic.
Finally, I chose wire instead of tubing and a slightly different „division“ in comparison with the other side. It worked better.
Courtesy Felix Troschier (thx!!)
New research results: the center of the stabilizer kit part should be fixed (part of the fuselage). The notch for the tail damper is too short. Will be widened.
The kit offers simplified pitch control. The actual arms for fixing the pitch links are missing. In reality, on the existing kit-arms are attach the centrifugal force weights.
Red: (fixed) part of the boom. Green: part of the tail rotor, moveable. Consist electrical connection for deicing of the blades (“Schleifkontakte -Ring”). The cable coming from fuselage is well visible.
Courtesy Airplane-pictures.net
Mounting for the moveable hoisting arm. Position and shape of the side-formation lights corrected (round not teardrop)
Although I always take thinner material then I find out in my research I end up with is too thick. 🙁
Yesterday I airbrushed for the second time green (top side). This time I learned from my own error during airbrushing the lower side. I used first the semi mat green 131 as well covering base without dust enclosure problems and finished with the right green tone (H3, a very thin layer was necessary. Today I removed the Tamiya tape I’m very happy with the result. 🙂🙂;)
Yesterday I decided to use red decals for the rim of the door openings (instead of airbrushing). This was the correct decision. 🙂
Tail rotor completed. Nothing looks better as imitation of metal leading edge as…. metal.
The last painting hurdle is taken: the narrow green stripe is in place. I decided to use painted decal instead of airbrushing and this decision was right. 🙂
Decals in place. Masks of any windows removed.
The last big hurdle of the project is taken: all masks removed. After cleaning of all edges (about 1 hour) I’m very satisfied with the result!
As usual I used short pieces of wire (0,25 mm) to attaching of the doors instead of glue.
Ready for installing. Bare metal foil and two pieces fine black cable.
Finally on own legs…🙂
The more the thing looks like Sokół, the harder it becomes to instal
more details.
more details.
The best way to imitate a mirror in 1:48 is... Mirror foil.
Before last detail on the fuselage: the wipers. I made them of plastic because the etched parts are only 2D.
Before painting and installing the small spring of the underside.
In the original the steps are covered with a antiskid mat. Yesterday I tried to use my self made decal based mat and I foundered sadly: Agamas decal softener did not only soften the decals but also the green paint🙁. Fortunately I tried this only on one side so I could today try another technique. I mixed dark gray paint with micro baloons and painted the steps with this mixture. The result is stunning. 🙂
Another side finished after second airbrushing-session in green 🙂
Last detailing task before rotor: the search light. (Thx FT for detail-picture-support)
Main rotor: the part - breakdown is not optimal. Because of that I separated the blade-cuff halves from the rotorhead and completed the blades first. Installation of the blades as usual with wire. I left only the pitch link arms and glued them to the blades. The pitch links themselves I will make of wire.
Instead of one common long shaft I used two separate shafts (1,3 mm tube) for lower and upper components. In connection with a third “hidden” connection-shaft (0,85 mm) it’s possible to manage the rotor detachable.
Today I managed the last airbrushing session: dark grey (“black”) rubber areas as deicing system
and metal for the rotorhead. Less than 195 m to run🙂🙂
and metal for the rotorhead. Less than 195 m to run🙂🙂
Comments
98 27 February 2023, 16:50
bughunterBrave to name one's company "answer" - is it quality wise the answer or the question?
27 February 2023, 19:23
Tom SpiegelbergDa setze ich mich gleich dazu 🙂 Muss erstmal ein paar Chips holen..
3 March 2023, 20:22
Alec KTaking a seat for this one. And I wholeheartedly approve the beverage choice 👍 🙂 🙂
7 March 2023, 11:03
Spanjaardfantastisc cockpit. i love the technique for the red knobs, simple and fantastic result. i will remember that!
26 March 2023, 08:54
Bernhard SchrockMost modern helicopters have a very complex cell/fuselage. The W-3A Sokol is no exception. The whole fuselage consists of almost two dozen parts, which basically fit very well but require a very precise work and clean preparation. This could be the reason why there are so few completed models of this kit in the net. I took a lot of time to fit the front two glass elements.
2 February, 18:37
Alec KAh, yes. Is what you wrote code for "I am about ready to throw this thing out the window..."? 😄 😄 😄 Seriously though, looks really good 👍
3 February, 14:39
Bernhard SchrockAlec: I had to smile a little when I read your comment. 🙂. It is true: sometimes the information content between the rows is greater than in the rows themselves. But it wasn't like this: It worked imo without problems to puzzle all parts together. I took a lot of time and glued everything together bit by bit.
5 February, 19:53
bughunterThe soldered step look good 👍 Is this wire or thin tubing? In tubes you can use Albion Connecto crosses to connect parts (depends of course on the diameter).
SCM Search: Albion Alloys connec*
7 February, 19:32
Bernhard SchrockThanks for praise and for the tip. I used 0.4 mm wire. However, I will use for the other side 0,4 mm tubing and 0,2 mm wire ad connection: it was very tricky to finish because finished soldering joints have detached again (Mechanical and heat-related🙁)
8 February, 06:35
Tom SpiegelbergDie wird gut! Der Heckrotor gefällt mir sehr gut! Werden wir sie in Lingen sehen?
12 February, 18:53
Bernhard SchrockThank you Jennifer and bughunter! Puzzling plastic pieces together is indeed one of my favorite jobs in model making.🙂🙂🙂
Tom: vielen Dank! Glücklicherweise findet man im Netz eine Menge Originalfotos in guter Auflösung. Und auch viele Helfer, welche noch besser aufgelöste Aufnahmen von Bekannten beschaffen (danke FT🙂.
Lingen: schwer zu sagen, hab heute angefangen zu lackieren. Das Schema ist sehr komplex und obwohl der Flieger nach nichts aussieht, wimmelt es an der ganzen Zelle von kleinen Teilen. Hab zum Beispiel vom Scheinwerfer fünf großartige Fotos: du willst gar nicht wissen wie viele Teile an so einen „blöden Scheinwerfer" dran sind….
12 February, 19:10
Bernhard SchrockToday I made the first attempt with fire orange. I know from experience that pure RAL3024 makes a model looks like a toy. Because of that I mixed Humbrols Authentic RAL3024 (6 parts) with 10 parts semi matt orange red (H142). BTW: I suppose that the tin with RAL3024 is at least 40 years old…
15 February, 18:11
Bernhard SchrockYesterday I airbrushed for the second time green (top side). This time I learned from my own mistake during airbrushing the lower side. This time I used first the semi mat green 131 as well covering base without dust enclosure problems and finished with the right green tone (H3, a very thin layer was necessary). Today I removed the Tamiya tape I'm very happy with the result. 🙂🙂;)
20 February, 20:08
Bernhard SchrockThank you for the painting/decaling praise 🙂.
Now thelast painting hurdle is taken: the narrow green stripe is in place. Here as well I decided to use painted decal instead of airbrushing and this decision was right. 🙂
24 February, 05:48
Bernhard SchrockThe last big hurdle of the project is taken: all masks removed. After cleaning of edges (about 1 hour) I'm very satisfied with the result!
1 March, 18:10
Tom SpiegelbergWow! Die Lackierung sieht gut aus! Ist ein wahrer Abklebeakt, aber es hat sich gelohnt.
1 March, 20:21
Bernhard SchrockIn the original the steps are covered with a antiskid mat. Yesterday I tried to use my self made decal based mat and I foundered sadly: Agamas decal softener did not only soften the decals but also the green paint🙁. Fortunately I tried this only on one side so I could today try another technique on the other side. I mixed dark gray paint with micro baloons and painted the steps with this mixture. The result is stunning. 🙂
10 March, 16:20
Ludvík KružíkVery nice! I admire your precision and the care you take with the details. 👍
I can attest that the kit is good, but requires more precision work in detailing and testing the parts before assembly. The biggest problem with my kit was that I was building the SAR version, but the kit for that version does not include any air ambulance equipment. I had no choice but to build it all from scratch from the photos.
I have the same experience with AGAMA decal softener. The stronger HYPERSOL variant reacts with some types of inks and dissolves them. It can also wrinkle some decals irreversibly. This has happened to me with decals from old kits (especially Revell). It probably has to do with the type of varnish used. I have not encountered this reaction with decals from current kits. But it's always good to test the reaction to paint and decals on a small sample. This will prevent possible damage to the model. 😉
10 March, 18:00
Bernhard SchrockLudvíku, děkuji za milá slova a pochvalu.🙂🙂
Your comment „reassures" me to hear you've had the same experience. Maybe I used too much of the fluid🙁
I know your model: you done this very difficult paint scheme very well. It was probably very time consuming to mask the model, especially for red. You interior looks very well too.
In my opinion, the photos (unfortunately often blurred) do not live up to the model. Do you have the opportunity to do it again?
13 March, 18:37
Hanno KleineckeThat searchlight just looks insane ! The usual masterclass level of your superdetailing skills once again leaves me speechless…… Ultimate top level work 👍
13 March, 21:30
Ludvík KružíkBernhard, you're right. Some of the pictures of my Sokol aren't the best. I was using a high aperture lens and didn't realize that at low aperture number and shooting close up, this lens has a very shallow depth of field. This caused the spot I was focusing on to be clearly visible and anything closer or further away from the lens to be blurry.
I plan to take new photographs. But I haven't gotten around to it yet.
13 March, 23:15
Tom SpiegelbergNa, bis Lingen könnte es noch was werden, auch wenn sie noch nicht fertig ist. Das sieht fantastisch aus! Antirutschbelag mache ich mit dem Surfacer von Gunze. Ich stippel den auf die Oberfläche.
16 March, 11:09
Bernhard SchrockMoin Tom. Danke! 🙂.
Den Tipp mit dem Gunze-Kleister probiere ich beim nächsten mal aus. Hört sich sehr brauchbar an.
Hab's bei Berthold gesehen dass Ihr wieder dabei seid. PB und JG auch dabei?
Ich fürchte dass mir paar Tage fehlen. Der Rotor und insbesondere Blätter haben eine recht komplexe Farbgebung: weiß!!!
17 March, 13:47
Tom SpiegelbergDas Endergebnis sieht ausgezeichnet aus! Einfach toll geworden! Dann werde ich die spätestens nächstes Jahr in Lingen sehen.
27 March, 19:37
Bernhard SchrockThank you for you comments and praise. I'm glad that you like my last helicopter. 🙂 I will will show the Mmdel on EME 2025 in Lingen.
1 April, 11:36
bughunterI hope this will not be your last helicopter, because these are always masterpieces 👍 It was a pleasure to see your models and meet the builder at the EME. See you next year!
2 April, 21:36
