It's time......Nichimo 1/20 Aero Subaru

[Cap'n Wannabe]

The Marui 1/36 kit has....well, not defeated me, but frustrated me enough for the moment. But I have a bee in my bonnet about getting one built, so it's up to the next scale. I have two of these kits - one that's been started (by somebody else, I hasten to add..) and one that's near enough mint in the box, and I'll be tackling the latter. The reason for this is that I want to do it from start to finish, and it'll need a few mods along the way.
The aircraft I'm modelling is VH-FJA. It's the last of the pre-production prototypes, and owned by a gent who keeps it at Riddel airfield, about 40 minutes drive from me. I was privileged the other weekend to go and see it, as well as another flying example, VH-FJY, and another in pieces, VH-FJX.
The differences between the pre-production and the production aircraft (and the mods I'll need to make) are as follows:

Fixed-pitch prop - I'll be looking at casting one from my Cessna 172 kit. Not sure about changing the spinner yet..
Lack of forward undercarriage fairings - these will simply be removed from the underside of the wings, and any holes filled in.
Narrower undercarriage fairings - not quite sure how I'll tackle these yet..
Different control yokes - the ones in the kit are kind of an open "u" shape, whereas on the aircraft they're closed. Not sure how to tackle these either, but I'll think of something..(I hope)
Different throttle setup - I'll need to check this out on the real aircraft again (unless I managed to take a photo last time), but I've got a feeling it's similar to a Cessna
Different elevator mass balance - on the pre-production aircraft, the mass balance extends to about half-way along the stabiliser whereas on the production aircraft it's full span.
Decals - gonna have to make and print my own....well, get my own printed!

I've got a feeling there may be a few more, but these are the main ones.

I'll also need to look again at the interior, specifically the seats and harnesses. The seats of the real deal have covers over them, and the harnesses appear to be 4-point.....nothing like what's in the kit!

Wish me luck, gents....I'm gonna need it!

[tor lives]

Sounds like a very cool project, (and the first entry for next year's Civil category ).
A nice big 1:20 kit will offer lots of potential for detailing, and have real visual presence on the competition table. Bring it on!!!
TOR

[Ansett A330]

Theme Music for your build :

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-c8X52Qg4o

Good (or better) Luck (in 1:20 than in 1:36) !

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Well I tidied my bench up a bit sooner than I thought, dragged the kit out of the stash (although I still have to find somewhere to put it..) and slooooowly fondled the contents while mopping up puddles of drool....
Then I decided where I was going to start. It was always going to be the engine - that thing is a kit in itself, with individual cooling fins and such, and two different ways to build it depending on whether or not you're going to use the electric motor. I'm not going to....not on this build. Maybe my next one....but maybe not.
So I've removed all the engine parts from the box, save for the heater hoses. They're simply a tightly coiled spring and I don't want to risk losing them.

The first thing I noticed was how well the kit was packed. Everything was either colour coded, labelled, or that bloody obvious that you knew what it was.





Now the thing is, the cooling fins are metal, and shiny metal at that. The only engine that I know of with shiny metal cooling fins is the Jabiru engine - they use CNC machining to get their cylinder heads rather than casting. Anybody who knows casting will tell you that the finished product generally has rough surface (unless it's been highly polished). So I've got two things to do. Firstly, I've got to visit Riddel airfield again to photograph the engine in VH-FJA, then I have to reproduce the colours and surface texture in 1/20 scale. I've seen cylinder heads that are natural finish and painted, clean and filthy. So until I've seen *the* engine up close and personal, I can't start putting the heads together. My guess is that it'll be filthy, though!

[Cap'n Wannabe]

So....the first tentative steps are taken. Glued the crankcase together with the prop shaft captured inside. And I managed to get glue on the bloody crankshaft...

[Adam the Akrodude]

How cool is this!

You do realise you will have major bragging rights over Capt Eric! I can see it now - you parading like the prize peacock at Expo 2018 chanting "1/32 is for kids!" within ear shot of Eric!

Shit is gonna get real at Expo 2018!

[Cap'n Wannabe]

Depending how this one goes, I might have two of 'em for Expo next year...

[tor lives]

I might have two of 'em for Expo next year...

Ahhhh the pure optimism and energetic enthusiasm of the "week following Model Expo" after-glow.....happens to us all
TOR

[Ansett A330]

Ahhhh the pure optimism and energetic enthusiasm of the "week following Model Expo" after-glow.....happens to us all
TOR

Ah is that the way it goes! In that case put me down for a scratchbuilt 1:32 Belfast ... No make that 1:24 so I can put an Airfix 1:24 Typhoon inside as the cargo.

[Cap'n Wannabe]

So in between doing other stuff tonight, I've finished the main part of the crankcase. I must say the parts fit ok, but not great. Not having any locating guides is a tad painful as well. Still, I reckon it looks ok. Apart from a touch of sanding at the seams, it's ready to paint.....once I figure out the colour. I've seen them dark(ish) grey, and I've seen them raw aluminium. Off to Riddel to take some photos of the real deal on Tuesday, hopefully!




7 parts down, 343 to go