Tonys Korpak 1/72 polikarpov po2 L

[Allen Dewire]

Playing ketchup Tony and see you still have a love for the off-the-wall Easty Beasty kits!!! Never heard of this one and it looks like Rosie the Riveter had a bad day on the nose of it!!! Great fix on the canopy and I hope the rest of the build goes smoothly for you too Sir. I'll try keep up now...

Prost
Allen

[yak face]

Been adding a few more details to the airframe . The kits tailplane struts were unusable ( as are most of the small parts ) so they were replaced with brass rod . This was also used for the two bumpers under the wingtips , bent to shape. Ive glued on the main undercarriage legs and axle ready for the skis . While I had the brass rods out i made the hinges for the access panels on the nose by rolling an old scalpel blade over the rod to simulate the hinge knuckles. Also receiving some attention was the engine . Pushrods have been added from brass rod and the rocker covers were added with pva canopy glue .

[colin m]

Five cylinders, is that it ? Were the Russians short of pistons or something ?

[yak face]

Five cylinders, is that it ? Were the Russians short of pistons or something ?

One of the germans nicknames for the po2 was the Nahmaschine - sewing machine . A 5 cylinder radial must sound a bit rattly then ! While we’re on the subject of the engine , ive been looking at the exhausts . Three of the four kit exhausts are shapeless ,flash ridden and flat looking , so in other words unusable . The problem is what can I replace them with as they aren't straight . Brass tube is too difficult to bend to shape without creasing and plastic is too difficult to heat and bend accurately. I decided to use some solder , which is easily bent and soft enough to be drilled . The top two cylinders share the same pipe for which I used the kit piece , suitably cleaned up and a flattened ,drilled end added with the solder. Next is the addition of the bracket that holds the two lower exhaust pipes.

[tr1ckey66]

Hi Tony
Superb improvements going on here! I think that, with the way this is going, no one’s going to believe you started out with that kit!!!
Panel line scribing, engine detailing, getting rid of those massive rivets all contribute to a much finer model. And the solder idea for the exhaust is genius. I must remember that!

Paul

[papa 695]

Great work going on Tony, loving the improvements.

[yak face]

Exhausts now on , the y shaped bracket connected to the bottom two pipes has been removed as it was too big , i’ll make a replacement for this . Some more tiny parts have been scratched as the kit parts were fubar , the attachment points for the rudder and elevator cables . The skis have now been put on ( including the tiny tail skid one) the attachments being made from wire bent to shape because —- yes you guessed it , the kit parts were useless!
One other thing ive added is the tiny control rods for the ailerons , using toothbrush bristles .

[yak face]

Engine now done ready for painting. The lower exhausts supporting bracket and sleeves was made with some 15 amp fuse wire and tamiya tape . Once its painted the cowling ring can go on and the whole assembly will be left to be fitted last off

[Neil Merryweather]

Wow Tony that engine is a work of art!

[Steve-the-Duck]

Is that a big on/off switch on the side behind the cowling?

[scottie3158]

Tony,
Some really great additions.

[tr1ckey66]

I have to keep reminding myself that this is 1/72!
Great detail work Tony :thumb2:

Paul

[yak face]

Is that a big on/off switch on the side behind the cowling?

Looks like it chris doesn't it , its the attachment for the rudder cables , cheers tony

[yak face]

Looks like it chris doesn't it , its the attachment for the rudder cables , cheers tony

Now you mention it its a bit big isnt it , I was trying to replicate the kit part but it was an unrecognisable blob ! After looking at some reference photos I think I’ll make it a bit smaller

[yak face]

Primed this yesterday - halfords rattle csn - so today I got the first coat of colour on . The instructions say signal red , so ive just used a generic scarlet red . There are virtually no photos of this aircraft ( actually I havent found ANY !) and what there are of similar aircraft are always in black and white . So the upshot is whatever shade of red i choose is ok !