Wal's Bench..the elephant in the room

[VH-WAL]

So, here's the thing, I recently finished 2 1/48 Citations both with home grown decal design and production, a couple of weeks ago I pulled out an Airfix HS125, then the Matchbox kit to see what I had to do to achieve a Qantas or Department of Civil Aviation example.. the answer was Airfix albeit with modification. As I had the Matchbox one out now I thought what the hell I'll do that one too and found out what mods were required to do a 700 series (Garrett Fans), so here is where they are now with the umpteenth application of filler.





I am undecided on what the 700 is going to be.. it may well end up being DCA's second HS125 VH-JFT
Both of these models need lot of work, I messed about with the Airfix engine pods to make it look a bit more like the real thing, reduced the size of the underbelly fairing and other bits and pieces. Both require modified windscreen framing as the kits look nothing like the real ones..rounded corners on the panes are going to be a "pain".
Now the elephant in the room you ask? well the elephant is what drove me to start 4 business jets in the last couple of months (thinking they were going to be easy builds HAH!)



The elephant is this 1/72 AMT EC-135, it has been in the stash for years and it is one I dearly want on my shelf as I provided ATC services as a RAAFie and a civvie to this airframe several times over a couple of decades. I wanted her in takeoff configuration so I cut out the flaps, put the slats / slots in, made up the wing fairing flaps and cut out the krueger flaps on the leading edge..absolute bloody madness.. the kit is a complete pig without these modifications and each hurdle drove me to start an easier kit or two! Work continues slowly on pachyderm and I am getting close to doing its final prime then paint before I start putting the engines and flaps on (the pylon to wing joints are rubbish and will require much filling but I figure painting the bottom of the wing at least first is the way to go. It is 8 weeks before we leave for the UK, I want it finished by then. The Airfix HS125 has to be done by expo. No rush on the Matchbox but it would be nice to finish that too. Then there is the SM82 to SM75PD conversion half done in the box, be nice to finish that too but I need to vacuform a new windscreen / canopy. The heat is on.

[hrtpaul]

Waaaaaaay better than I could do. You've got your work cutout for ya mate but they all look great so far

[Adam the Akrodude]

Very groovy Wally! Those EC-135's have often visited Melbourne as well haven't they? I think I remember seeing one of what I think was a NASA bird here at Tulla - providing satellite up/down link comm's - doing something spookie! My brother once worked for Valet Parking at Tulla and I remember him telling me about these spooky looking aeroplanes when they visited.

Anyone able to provide details on what these birds were doing in Australia on occasion?

[VH-WAL]

Hi Adam,

Mid 70s they were supporting Apollo missions space to ground data and radio comm links.
The "test pattern" target board painted on the side was a telescope focusing board where a telescope equipped EC-135 would fly a parallel course 100 nautical miles away to align its cameras in preparation to film re-entries. The callsign was "Aria" and a number (Advanced Range Instrumentation Aircraft.) In the 90's they usedan "AGAR" callsign i dont recall what that was short for I presumethey were supporting shuttle missions but it could have been anything else.

[Adam the Akrodude]

It was during the 90's when they were sometimes seen at Tulla, so guessing Shuttle support missions. The EC's must have ranged down in the Southern Ocean, or perhaps out in the southern Tasman Sea for continuous up/downlink coverage I'm guessing - for orbits where Pine Gap and any stations say in Hawaii and out in the Indian Ocean were just over the horizon. Remember reading that some of the military satellites do polar orbits. Just speculating of course. Wonder where they went

[VH-WAL]

Spurred on by the desire to get this done before I leave for the UK in 8 weeks I bit the bullet and did some stuff I had been putting off.. fitting those ill fitting donks brought out much colourful language I must say, I have to fill the and fair the joints and repair the paint around them, mucho fun to be had there. The plan from day one after pulling down it's dusty box was in flight and on a stand but I wanted more.

I have this image burned into my brain of this heavily laden jet dragging it's arse off the end of Runway 02 at Perth Airport on a hot summers day in an unbelievable cacophony of noise laying a tremendous black water / meth takeoff smokescreen behind it. I wanted to capture some of that that so this is the stage I came up with.




The model (very much incomplete) is posed over a stand base decorated with the runway end (anyone see my obvious error?) The flaps have been cut out some slats put in and when the flaps go back in they will be at a Flaps 20 take off setting. The noise and smoke I can't simulate, but that pose, yeah man that is the way it was...awesome

[Adam the Akrodude]

Looking very groovy Wally! The obvious error - is that yellow taxiway line curved the wrong way - towards the end of the runway, which could make it a tad hard for big aeroplanes to line up?

There's just something so goofy about this aeroplane that makes it just so cool!

[VH-WAL]

hiya Adam

no the taxy guidance line is right you see back in those days the threshold of runway 20 (21 now) abutted Runway 11/29 (now taxiway "W") the two runways made a "T" shape.. the error is that the take off was off runway 02 so the threshold it is overflying should be "20"

[VH-WAL]

This will be finished soon, the plastic gods willing... I have hated this build from start to finish, horrible kit, my chronic ineptness and my great aptitude for making the difficult bloody near impossible. I cant get the main gear doors to fit in the space provided so I will have to cut replacements out of thin plasticard and bend them in the space between the main leg and the bogeys, working on the stand for now.

so I have to fill the window holes with crystal clear, cut out some painted decal paper to simulate the cockpit eyebrow windows, I couldn't get the kit transparency / cabin roof to make a good representation of these) and do the windscreen frames with white decal paper, future top coat , weathering, satin to flat finish on top of it all




with this beastie I want to replicate a worn and faded painted silver finish (I have picture of this bird taken in the 70s when I was at Pearce) what I have done so far is:
1. Rattle can Tamiya "Silver leaf"
2. Used the EricG technique of polishing variations to that base finish
3. Random overspray of this with a mixture of Tamiya semigloss black and silver

I am happy with the effect after dirtying up with weathering I think it it will achieve something of the look I am trying to replicate.

[hrtpaul]

Looks sensational to me Wally. Great work mate