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  #1  
Old 01-11-2024, 12:49 AM
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ReynoldsSlumber ReynoldsSlumber is offline
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ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft

McDonnell Douglas US Navy F/A-18C (or A?) Blue Angels #6: Scissors & Planes Bundle 4, 80# tag/130 gsm paper
North American USAAF B-25J "Lady Luck": Scissors & Planes/Rata's Recolors, 65# cover/176 gsm paper
American Eagle ATR 72: downscale of the Murph's Models 1/56 plan, 65# cover/176 gsm paper

For a couple of friends who recently had a kid, I wanted to give them a gift that they could put up in the kid's room that would have personal significance for them, so I made a mobile. The B-25 Mitchell and F/A-18 Hornet relate to each of the parents' experiences respectively. The ATR 72 represents hopes for the future that the kid will live in, both in terms of sustainable aviation, given that a company called Universal Hydrogen recently converted an ATR 72 to fuel cell power on one engine as a test prototype, as well as in terms of a more peaceful world because it's a civilian airliner. (Not that this model includes the re-shaped starboard engine nacelle nor the Universal Hydrogen livery—that could be a neat design project, if someone wants to tackle it!)

A comparison of some of the specifications of the prototypes:
F/A-18C: 51,900 lb MTOW, 1250 mi range, 660 mph cruise, 22,000 lb thrust dry
B-25J: 35,000 lb MTOW, 1350 mi range, 230 mph cruise, 3400 hp, 16.6' dia. 3-bladed props
ATR 72: 50,700 lb MTOW, 950 mi range, 320 mph cruise, 5000 hp, 12.9' dia. 6-bladed props

Details on the three builds follow in posts below.
Attached Thumbnails
ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-b-25j-fa-18c-1.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-b-25j-fa-18c-2.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-b-25j-fa-18c-mobile-1.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-b-25j-fa-18c-mobile-2.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-b-25j-fa-18c-mobile-3.jpg  


Last edited by ReynoldsSlumber; 01-11-2024 at 11:05 PM.
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  #2  
Old 01-11-2024, 01:29 AM
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ReynoldsSlumber ReynoldsSlumber is offline
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US Navy F/A-18C Blue Angels #6 — Scissors & Planes Bundle 4

The Scissors & Planes plan is a neat little representation of the legacy Hornet, and it's nice that the bundle comes with the option to make all six aircraft from the formation plus the #7 two-seater. Have to say, the rather organic contours of the fuselage center section are tricky to fashion out of the patterns provided, since it's a single piece with no bulkheads or other formers. Also, the shapes that make up the air intakes, especially the air splitter details, are only roughly representative. To be sure, more accuracy there may be a lot to ask of a 1/100 model. If I do a bigger one as a glider conversion, I might try a different plan. Also, while gluing on the wings with their the leading edge extensions, I thought it was looking messy enough that I'd have to re-do the model, but when the glue dried clear it wasn't so bad.

For the canopy I used 24# bond/90 gsm vellum (tracing paper). One thing to watch out for when attaching a vellum canopy to the fuselage is that any excess glue along the edge can cause some inkjet printed color from the adjoining paper to seep into the vellum.

The photos showing the plane's belly are indeed upside down. Trying out this orientation to see if it's more natural to look at, as if the plane is stuck to the ceiling...
Attached Thumbnails
ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-fa-18-1.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-fa-18-2.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-fa-18-3.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-fa-18-4.jpg   ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-fa-18-5.jpg  

ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-fa-18-11.jpg  
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Old 01-11-2024, 02:08 AM
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ReynoldsSlumber ReynoldsSlumber is offline
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USAAF B-25J "Lady Luck" — Scissors & Planes/Rata's Recolors

On this one I cut the (many) windows out of their frames, brushed Elmer's Glue-All over the frames, and stuck printed vellum on top. This way the window frames are opaque, and there's an unbroken and smooth external surface rather than raised window frames. Gluing alignment is relatively straightforward, since you can see through the vellum while positioning it.

For the vellum printing beforehand, I used the image background removal tool in Keynote to delete the black window areas. It left a border, especially in the corners. In future builds when I'm paying more attention to detail, I'll have to manually make shapes to cut those window regions out, or else use an actual image editor. Also the 24# bond/90 gsm vellum was kind of chunky for this size of application, so thinner material would've been better. That said, vellum is much more prone to rippling due to moisture, like when you're gluing it, than regular paper is. In any case, the end result gives a nice "greenhouse" effect with the light coming through.

ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-11.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-12.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-13.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-14.jpg

Alternatively it might work to do the windows the other way around, using thin opaque paper for the window frames over top of the vellum. It would be pretty delicate to cut and glue, though it would get rid of the visual and physical step where the vellum ends and the regular paper becomes the skin again.

I used brad nails down the center of the prop shafts, and the "spinning" props are thin acetate cut with a circle cutter.

It's a nice plan for 1/100, with the gun turret and blisters as well as the (optional) engine cylinders. The fuselage ended up a little warped, but the wings came out pretty symmetric. One lesson that I'm sure many folks here have already learned is that, depending upon one's tastes, it's more important visually to get the main features built cleanly than it is to represent details.

ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-1.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-2.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-3.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-b-25-4.jpg
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Old 01-11-2024, 02:24 AM
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ReynoldsSlumber ReynoldsSlumber is offline
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American Eagle ATR 72 — Murph's Models

This is the first time I've tried building a model with glue strips plus some former bulkheads in the fuselage. Very satisfying to have the parts slip together snugly, and the oval fuselage shape is well-represented, including in the cockpit area. The fuselage did end up slightly twisted, good to note as practice for future models. The way the wings join to the fuselage is also nice and snug. The landing gear fairing took a little wrestling, this being a downscale, but it got there.
ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-11.jpg

For the passenger windows on this one, I cut the windows out the solid paper and glued vellum on the inside. The cockpit is just vellum with printed frames, no solid paper frames; it came out OK. I've gotta remember to cut the extra nose cone paper out from inside the cockpit next time, since it's really visible where it's close to the windows. Otherwise the effect of light coming through again adds depth to the subject.
ATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-3.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-5.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-6.jpgATR 72, B-25J, F/A-18C: "This is your life" in 1/100 aircraft-atr-72-4.jpg
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Old 01-11-2024, 08:16 AM
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gomidefilho gomidefilho is offline
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Very interesting builds, clean process of build. I like.
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Old 01-11-2024, 05:02 PM
Siwi Siwi is offline
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Really good. The ATR kit looks well designed and very clean. Remarkable that all three aircraft are similar lengths; a modern fighter is as long as a medium bomber from the last century and will lift more than the airliner. Exploring the use of vellum more here. It's a good option for representing windows without needing to build a visible interior.
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Old 01-11-2024, 10:44 PM
YOAVHOZMI YOAVHOZMI is offline
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beautiful models

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