Zvezda 1/72 Ant-5

[Guest]

Started this a while back and thought I would post to give me some motive for getting on with it. There are options to make three variants the Ant-5, the I-4 and the I-4Z. However I am going for the all silver Ant-5 with no decals as after trying the decal for the instrument panel I think I would have great trouble getting the rather stiff things to settle in the corrugations. It's quite a simple kit with only two sprues. So far the fit has been quite good. As you can see it looks a bit chunky around the trailing edges and the locating holes are rather large, still they will allow a bit of latitude when fitting the bits.

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[Ian M]

What a curious looking aircraft.

Regarding the decals have you considered a decal softener, such as Micro sol. Its liquid that softens the decal and allows it to conform to an uneven surface, and lets face it that surface is uneven!!!

I am quite looking forward to seeing this done as I have never seen one before.

Ian M

[Guest]

Ian I see you are in Denmark, lovely country I have spent many happy days over at Aalborg and Lokken when I was much younger.

I have done a little more, made a start on painting the cylinder heads and have given the fuselage and wing a spray coat of silver, I'm not sure whether to give the non corrugated parts a little polish to give a bit of contrast. If so what would I polish it with. Would toothpase do? The rather large holes to locate the cylinder heads show up well as do the other locating holes it's a pity there are no locating stubs on the parts to fit in them.

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[Ian M]

Hi Bari. Not a bad place to live, just a bit expensive. I live just outside Copenhagen on Sealand or the Devils Island as they call it in Jutland.

Regarding the polishing of the silver paint. A lot depends on what paint you have used. In some cases, toothpaste could do the trick. In others it will either have little effect, or it will just remove the paint!!!

Humbrol do some metal colours that can be buffed with a soft cloth and they work very well. Bit late now but you know for next time. :-)

Could I ask you where Belper is? I've never heard of it!

Ian M

[Guest]

Thanks for the infomation. As you say it's a bit late now . The paint was an automotive one, Nissan silver to be precise. I've tried the toothpaste but can see no difference. Belper is in the central part of the country just north of Derby.

[Ian M]

Ah Derby I know! Been there a few years ago, My wife's uncle lived there.

Not an expert on Auto paints, we have a few pro-sprayers on here, maybe one of them can come with a few tips.

Ian M

[Guest]

Still plodding on, front cabane struts where a tad short ang gave the wing a decided negative angle of attack so had to relocate them a touch higher. I had just managed to get it assembled when the phone went and the resulting nervous jump scattered the bits all over the carpet, Now its just a few holes to fill and blend before the undercarriage is attempted. as can be seen the mouldings are a bit thick especially the trailing edges but I didn't want to thin them as the corrugations would be lost and I'm not good enough to redo them.

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[Guest]

Just about finished, still a couple of holes to fill in and touch up. It looks better from a couple of feet away. The plastic of the kit was very soft and only needed a sniff of glue to start deforming and melting, still It was a bit different and the spray can silver did a better job than I could have done with a brush.

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[yak face]

Hi bari, ive been watching this one with interest, youve made a cracking job of it! It makes a refreshing change to see something a bit obscure, and ive been thinking about getting one of the early russian fighters for a while,this has made me want one even more! Doesnt look like a bad kit apart from, as you said, the trailing edges being a bit thick but theres nothing you could do without losing the corrugations. It doesnt detract from a super build though, top work ,looking forward to seeing it in the decals. cheers tony

[Guest]

Thanks or the comments. The Ant-5 was the prototype and as such didn't have any markings , but as its looking a bit plain I have stuck a few stars on it, mainly so I can try out Micro Sol on an irregular surface. I will post a couple of pictures when its dried.

[Guest]

Here we are. The photo o the wing is after one application of Micro sol, Further applications didn''t seem to make any difference.

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