Kitty Hawk 1/32 T-6 Harvard NZ1065
May 6, 2019 23:07:22 GMT 12
Dave Homewood, campbellbox, and 4 more like this
Post by Strike70 on May 6, 2019 23:07:22 GMT 12
Hi everyone.
Thought I'd share my latest subject to leave the modelling desk and onto the display shelve, albeit someone else's
The subject is that of ex RNZAF and Red Checkers T-6 Harvard Mk.III NZ1065 (now ZK-ENF) which is based at Ardmore airfield as part of the NZ Warbirds Association collection. For the build I used Kitty Hawks 1/32 T-6 Texan kit and made many modifications to replicate that aircraft as it is today. Decals were a combination of Ventura Publications and the kit decals. There's no better reference than the real thing and fortunately I'm in a very lucky position to be able to have captured all of the reference pictures a modeller could possible want.
Starting off with the cockpit and sub frames, this is where most of the modifications took place. The instrument panels were cut up and modified to cater for the extra radios installed in the front office followed by drilling out some of the instrument dials on the rear panel. A side shelve was constructed which features a fire extinguisher bottle and emergency axe (both scratch built). Construction then began on the side locker bulkheads and sidewalls which was made from plastic sheet.
From this point, construction was relatively straight forward however the fit around the engine fire wall is a bit to be desired and required a liberal applicaton of superglue and accelerator to stop it from forcing apart. The most puzzling part if that Kitty Hawk supply the oil tank and heat exchangar yet it's all closed up between the cockpit and engine firewalls and not seperate access panels to have it opened up so it's a pointless exercise to include them. The fuselage and wings fit together nicely then details such as access panel mods were scratch built.
Attention then turned to the canopy. The Kitty Hawk kit is based on the T-6 Texan therefore it has the frameless style canopy seen on American based aircraft therefore these require modification to suit any of the Harvards based at Ardmore. Unfortunately Alley Cat based in the UK are no longer in business and they had produced a replacement canopy set however this is no longer available. I produced the extra framing simply by some very careful masking and spray painting. I'm very satisfied with the results.
Moving onto the painting, following a coat of Tamiya Extra Fine White Primer, the main light grey colour was applied which was made from a 50/50 mix of Model Master (Acrylic) 4777 Light Grey and White. A full masking job then took place to ensure the solid demarcation lines were perfect. Tamiya Acrylic X-7 Red was then applied to the wings and tail. The red and white checkerboard around the engine cowl was originally going to be applied simply with decals from a Ventura decal sheet however this was not going to work as the curves were slightly off and the shade of red did not match that of the wings and tail. Some judicious marking out and masking took place to spray paint the checkerboard instead. After a couple of applications of gloss coat (using Johnsons Klear, no longer available), decals were applied using data placards and general markings from the kit and Ventura sheets V3280 and V3281.
Following about 3 coats of gloss coat to obtain a good shine, slight oil staining was applied underneath and final construction was completed. A base was constructed from a picture frame with replica grass applied with a custom made Harvard 65 patch made by Slick Promotions based in Takanini and a Red Checkers patch order from the Air Force museum at Wigram.. An engraved plate made by General Engravers based in Hamilton completed the base. The completed model has been officially presented to its new owner but is on temporary on display at The Model Room hobby store in Papakura.
Thought I'd share my latest subject to leave the modelling desk and onto the display shelve, albeit someone else's
The subject is that of ex RNZAF and Red Checkers T-6 Harvard Mk.III NZ1065 (now ZK-ENF) which is based at Ardmore airfield as part of the NZ Warbirds Association collection. For the build I used Kitty Hawks 1/32 T-6 Texan kit and made many modifications to replicate that aircraft as it is today. Decals were a combination of Ventura Publications and the kit decals. There's no better reference than the real thing and fortunately I'm in a very lucky position to be able to have captured all of the reference pictures a modeller could possible want.
Starting off with the cockpit and sub frames, this is where most of the modifications took place. The instrument panels were cut up and modified to cater for the extra radios installed in the front office followed by drilling out some of the instrument dials on the rear panel. A side shelve was constructed which features a fire extinguisher bottle and emergency axe (both scratch built). Construction then began on the side locker bulkheads and sidewalls which was made from plastic sheet.
From this point, construction was relatively straight forward however the fit around the engine fire wall is a bit to be desired and required a liberal applicaton of superglue and accelerator to stop it from forcing apart. The most puzzling part if that Kitty Hawk supply the oil tank and heat exchangar yet it's all closed up between the cockpit and engine firewalls and not seperate access panels to have it opened up so it's a pointless exercise to include them. The fuselage and wings fit together nicely then details such as access panel mods were scratch built.
Attention then turned to the canopy. The Kitty Hawk kit is based on the T-6 Texan therefore it has the frameless style canopy seen on American based aircraft therefore these require modification to suit any of the Harvards based at Ardmore. Unfortunately Alley Cat based in the UK are no longer in business and they had produced a replacement canopy set however this is no longer available. I produced the extra framing simply by some very careful masking and spray painting. I'm very satisfied with the results.
Moving onto the painting, following a coat of Tamiya Extra Fine White Primer, the main light grey colour was applied which was made from a 50/50 mix of Model Master (Acrylic) 4777 Light Grey and White. A full masking job then took place to ensure the solid demarcation lines were perfect. Tamiya Acrylic X-7 Red was then applied to the wings and tail. The red and white checkerboard around the engine cowl was originally going to be applied simply with decals from a Ventura decal sheet however this was not going to work as the curves were slightly off and the shade of red did not match that of the wings and tail. Some judicious marking out and masking took place to spray paint the checkerboard instead. After a couple of applications of gloss coat (using Johnsons Klear, no longer available), decals were applied using data placards and general markings from the kit and Ventura sheets V3280 and V3281.
Following about 3 coats of gloss coat to obtain a good shine, slight oil staining was applied underneath and final construction was completed. A base was constructed from a picture frame with replica grass applied with a custom made Harvard 65 patch made by Slick Promotions based in Takanini and a Red Checkers patch order from the Air Force museum at Wigram.. An engraved plate made by General Engravers based in Hamilton completed the base. The completed model has been officially presented to its new owner but is on temporary on display at The Model Room hobby store in Papakura.
