OTDAEABT Contest - Maly Modelarz Westland Lysander Mk II

[dansls1]

Now THAT is an ugly plane - I love it!

(Just to be clear, I'm talking about the tandom wing version, not your build which looks very nice).

[Leif Ohlsson]

There are more support pieces in the wing support than I thought! I'm tempted to rethink the whole structure now.

Your framework photo certainly was MOST helpful to understand both the wing mount structure and other major structural elements. I understand your temptation. But if you have glued the members visible in your photos, perhaps you could just add a few members. If you decide not to, I think it will be just fine anyway. After all, you don't see that much of the framework when it is hidden under the very detailed canopy. Just an impression of some heavy stuff beneath creates a good enough scale effect. - L.

[cjwalas]

Been a busy week and I haven't had any time to work on the Lizzie till now. I decided to try to replicate the wing support frame.

Unfortunately, I used the MM guide, which has the frame too thin. But I think it'll be passable under the wing and canopy!

I also got the wheels on. Pretty good fit! The misaligned coloring on the spinner was driving me crazy, so I painted it.

Wasn't sure what color to paint the frame, so I just went with gray like the rest of the cockpit. I'm not sure how the "new" structure will work with the wings, but hey, I've gotten it this far so I'm sure it'll work out!
Chris

[member_3]

Hmmm...I may have to create a special award for this one. Looking mighty fine and I'm sure you'll work it all out.

[cjwalas]

Special award?? Hot Dog! And I thought I was in line for super-extra bonus demerits for this one!:D
I did get the canopy done;

It went together well. The only problem is that it doesn't fit!!Note the space around it, particularly at the front and side.Just couldn't
seem to get that paper to stretch!:o I'll be doing some touch-ups on this one when it's finished.
I've definitely painted myself in a corner on this one. I made the center top section of the canopy as a separate piece for easy construction of the wing mount;

But I've got a job ahead of me as the wing support frame doesn't even come close to lining up with the canopy access holes. Not sure what I'm going to do yet. I think I'll build the wings before I worry about it. It may wind up being the old "heap-o-glue" solution!
As if this Lysander wasn't frustrating enough, I put an order in with Krys and in a moment of weakness (or pure stupidity!) I ordered the Super Model Lysander!!


I only have one other SM kit and it's quite detailed. This one sure isn't!

It's printed on cardboard, is much less detailed, and I'm spotting problems already! Note the interesting letter markings! While it's stated scale is 1:33, it's noticably smaller than the MM?
I hope I have time to do the wings tomorrow. I'm getting anxious to see this one done. Maybe there'll be time to squeeze one more MM in before the deadline!!
Chris

[Don Boose]

Chris --

I'm afraid you will have to move the holes or build a new access panel. Nonetheless, the airplane looks fantastic! You've done a splendid job on it and far surpassed the material you were provided with.

I'm not sure what possessed you to get another Lysander before this one was mission complete, but I'm always happy to sit back and watch you work your magic.

Don

[Gharbad]

That thing is a glass house!

[member_3]

There are no stone-throwing bonus points!

[Leif Ohlsson]

I think the canopy looks great, particularly in 1/33, and I admire your work very much. As for the misaligned access holes for the wing spars, I agree with Don & yourself that building the wing first is very wise. Then you'll be able to decide which way to go.

In the end I think it will turn out more than alright. Underneath the canopy, any misalignment will be hard to spot. Or, if you go the other way, any new access holes and/or repairing those you already made, will be hidden under the wing root.

So I think you should be very contented indeed! - L.

[cjwalas]

Well, I done what I done when I done it.
I constructed the wings so that they were connect and reinforced by a single set of bamboo skewers as opposed to doing separate wings to be glued in individually. This meant I had to do some ugly hacking and chopping in the support frame, but I think the whole thing is stronger for this approach;

It's a bit of a mess in there, but certainly less noticable when the rest of the canopy is on;

After that it wasn't all that much to finish it, so I finished it!

Sorry for the quality of the photos: it's a bad day for taking photos here.
The external wing supports are once again an entirely different shade of green than the rest of the kit and they also seemed a bit short, but not by much.


The additional extra internal framing doesn't show all that much. But it was fun doing it anyway.

All in all, I'd say this was one of the best MM kits I've built. But the printing is bad and really bugs me the more I look at it. I have seen this same kit printed correctly, so it was just the luck of the draw for me on this one. Grrrrr.

The bulkhead and some of the formers all seemed to be a little large. They all needed sanding and I should have sanded a couple of them a bit more.
I would add a word of warning; While I accept full blame for the misalignment in the fuelage, I have seen other builds with exactly the same problem in exactly the same spot so I think there may be something to watch for in the kit on this point.
Also, while I obviously deviated from the plan on the wing support, the two main pieces were aligned according to the instructions and did not line up with the canopy holes.
The kit has a number of problems to be sure, not the least is being a version of the plane that doesn't include the stub wings (personal preference here). Having said that, I now have a model of a plane that I've always had a soft spot for, and the model doesn't look all that bad from a distance. And I learned a heck of a lot more about the prototype than I knew previously! I don't think I ever would have gotten this one finished if it weren't for Leif and the rest of you guys. Thanks for all your help and support!
Chris