LTD models IAR 80 A in 1/48

[Jim R]

That cockpit is a huge improvement over what the kit offered. The engine additions are definitely worth while.
As Neil said "silk nursery".

[Neil Merryweather]

As Neil said "silk nursery".

Um, I'm pretty sure I said 'Silk Pursery', Jim R :tears-of-joy:

[Jim R]

I will blame either ....
autocorrect, clumsy typing, senility - or a combination of all three :smiling3:

[yak face]

Well progress has been slowly trickling on , not much time on my hands lately so little chance to get on the forum, much less to post updates . Nevertheless heres where its at . The main airframe is together - as with all limited run kits , much test fitting and fettling was required , but eventually it came together without needing more than a swipe of acrylic putty here and there. After priming ( Halfords grey ) the pesky yellow areas needed doing first so they were given an undercoat of white then the yellow. These were masked off and the underside painted sky blue .
The colours on Romanian aircraft were sourced from Britain early in the war but later changed to German colours , this particular aircraft having the RAF dark earth / dark green uppers with a sky blue underside . The sky blue isnt the standard RAF sky but a lighter , much bluer colour . The actual colour ( fs 35550 ) is available in vallejo model air but the local stockists dont carry the full range so I got vallejo Game color glacier blue . In my eyes this matches fine . Next up is the dark earth .

[yak face]

Colour now on and unmasked , couple of tiny touch ups but pretty pleased with the result. The rudder was sprayed yellow when I did the wingtips ,cowling and fuselage band . This will now be getting a blue and red stripe added, instead of using the kit supplied decal . Ive also been cleaning up the undercarriage and improving it a bit . The wheels just sat between two nibs on the fork and were just not secure enough so after sanding the forks smooth holes were drilled in them to allow me to fit a brass axle after drilling the wheels . Another thing I forgot to mention is the canopy- I bit the bullet and decided to have a go at seperating the windscreen . Its not the easiest job cutting out a vac form canopy anyway but cutting off the windscreen is even more tricky due to the thinness of the plastic but I managed it and its now superglued in place .

[vizenz]

This will be a wonderfully colorful machine.

[yak face]

Rudder now painted so next is a coat of Klear then I can get the decals on and fit the engine and cowling.

[yak face]

This has now got the decals on , bit of a trial as they were very fragile , most of the crosses splintering and having to be carefully joined back together. Eventually though they all went on , the only problem now was the yellow I had sprayed under the wings , round the fuselage and on the tail and cowling was too pale . Seeing it next to the decals really highlighted the difference .
Obviously this would have bugged me to death so the only option was to overspray the yellow bits with a more orange yellow . This was successful but a stray bit of masking tape pulled off some of the port underwing cross. I should be able to touch it up though.

[Waspie]

Nice paint work on the rudder and wing ends, nice and sharp. A nice looking aircraft Tony.

[tr1ckey66]

Great work as ever Tony.
It’s a shame about the decal because the paint scheme was going so well. I’m sure you’ll sort it.
I think I get one of those ‘oh no!’ Incidents in every build. I kind of expect them now! There will always be something along the journey that does not go to plan. Just bite the bullet and get on with it.

Have you a spare cross or will you touch in with paint?

ATB
Paul

[Jim R]

That is looking pretty impressive. Great colourful paint job and decals.

[Steven000]

Nice work Tony, yellow is always a pain but looks like you fixed it well :thumb2:

[yak face]

Have you a spare cross or will you touch in with paint?

I’m going to paint it by hand paul , the thin blue and white lines will be a test but masking to get a straight line is a no no so its going to have to be done freehand , cheers tony

[Mickc1440]

Lovely work Tony

[tr1ckey66]

the thin blue and white lines will be a test but masking to get a straight line is a no no

I guess that risks pulling more of the decal up.
I've been racking my brain to recall any Romanian crosses that I can give you that would be suitable. I don't think I have any in 1/48. I did spot these on a Google search:

https://www.fantasyprintshop.co.uk/product/rb-d-48-008-romanian-cross-960mm/

Either way, I'm sure that you'll sort the marking issue. :thumb2:
ATB
Paul