Academy 1/72 KC-97G - 8-22-13 update/scratch work

[406 Silverado]

Academy 1/72 KC-97G

As well as stepping outside my comfort zone and building a ship, I have decided to do a plane. A friend and fellow MSC admin handed me this kit last year at a show and it sat in the shed until now. After seeing some superbly weathered aircraft from Jamie Haggis I thought why not give it a shot.

The Academy kit is not a bad kit and the scale is deceiving when you have built single engine 1/72 fighters. I thought the model would be big but boy was I shocked when I finally opened the box for the first time. The kit has engraved panel lines which is a treat since the last time I built a plane they all had raised panel lines.

The first thing to do was to find some ref images on the internet of this plane. A search of the fantastic ref site Prime Portal turned up some walk a rounds of a few of these planes, and all not in maintained condition, which is what I needed. This one aircraft gave me some inspiration and an idea of what I wanted to do with this model.

www.primeportal.net/hangar/isaac_gershman/kc-97/


After a bit of research it was obvious that Academy hadn't gotten all the detailing right, especially the panel lines and missing crew access hatches. These all had to be scribed, which I have never done before. The results are not perfect but acceptable for me.

Missing screw and rivets were added around all the windows and several panels. More will be added on the engine nacelles later when I get to those. The wings look about right so now scribing needed there.

I also added some fuel filler ports and the APO air intake and exhaust.

[AndyArgent]

That sure is different Rob.I had the good fortune of seeing some of Jamie Haggo,s work last year at the nationals in the competition and no wonder he picked up a Gold and Silver.
Interested to see what you do with this.

[TRM]

Nice seeing this ocme to the surface!!! Looking great already Boss!!

[406 Silverado]

Andy thanks mate, and yes he does some fantastic work, and inspirational too.

T, bro it had to surface sometime...lol

[Leon]

WOW Rob,off to a good start on this.WHAT DON'T YOU BUILD!!!!!

[406 Silverado]

Thanks Leon, and yes I can build anything.....question is can I finish or paint it...lolololol

just got done scribing some access hatches on the wings, seems Academy forgot those. Gonna take measurements and make some card stock templates for the wheel wells.

[406 Silverado]

ah, forgot a quick update...

Don't want this to be too clean and intact a plane, and cut down on the wingspan...I did some chopping.

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I just KNEW you wouldn't resist the urge to chop it down to size,somewhat!!!

[406 Silverado]

LOLOL yep, couldn't resist CB. All time consuming stuff right now, making templates and test fitting, then cutting thin sheet styrene. The wheel well things are not too my liking so the extra work in detailing that area is well worth the work. Been jumping around on this kit and not really following the instructions.

[bbd468]

Hey Rob,

Man, you seem to have bitten off quite a few different kits and very cool ones at that. Just make sure you chew several times and finish your plate before ya leave tha bench!   Sweet ole Bird right there Boss.

[wbill76]

Definitely a lot of canvas there to play with Rob, looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

[406 Silverado]

Aug 20, 2013 19:50:21 GMT -5 wbill76 said:

Definitely a lot of canvas there to play with Rob, looking forward to seeing what you do with this one.

That is just the problem Bill, too much canvas..lol. I have to draw the line as far as the detailing right now. I don't want to get too carried away. It's taken me about 5 hours to make templates for the well sides, front/rear and top. Then had to make each part twice, for each wing wheel well. It's the test fit/triming that is time consuming, and the curved surfaces don't make that any easier. But they are done and ready to be glued. Now I have to study the ref pics and see just how much I will squeeze into that small space.

[Deleted]

Aug 20, 2013 18:03:41 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

LOLOL yep, couldn't resist CB. All time consuming stuff right now, making templates and test fitting, then cutting thin sheet styrene. The wheel well things are not too my liking so the extra work in detailing that area is well worth the work. Been jumping around on this kit and not really following the instructions.

Hey,Boss!.....it's got to the stage now on my builds,that I NEVER follow destructions...I look to see how many sub assemblies I can throw together,before painting?? (I'll show what I mean,in due course!!! )

[406 Silverado]

Looking forward to it CB..lol. I do the same with most builds. I think the last plane I build and finished was a 1/72 italeri bf109, not much for sub-ass there..lol

[406 Silverado]

To show you what I am working on and have been talking about, here is a ref piccie.

FOR DISCUSSION ONLY

[Deleted]

A wingything from the Boss!   And a KC97 too, this should be good. I'll be tagging along here for sure 

[thug626]

Good morning Rob,
Definitely count me in for this one!
Dave

[tonylee]

I took a couple hops on the 97 and talk about loud it was so loud you couldn't even scream at someone next to you and have them hear you.
The best part is you never landed with the same number of engines running that you took off with.

Tony lee

[Leon]

Nice chopperizing boss,Looking forward to seeing your scratch work.

[406 Silverado]

Tony, I can imagine the noise. I know the C130 was loud so this one was no quieter.

jackwagon, lololol...chop chop and more room to work, only drawback is that you then need to scratch build...fun.

Leon, soon mate.

I spent a few hours gluing the liners in the wells, then started the ribbing/framing. Like I said before, it's slow going as I have to measure,cut then trim...them make two of each. I still haven't decided how much I will add.I guess until I run out of room.

[406 Silverado]

oh the the chopped wing...

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Aug 21, 2013 16:42:38 GMT -5 406 Silverado said:

Tony, I can imagine the noise. I know the C130 was loud so this one was no quieter..

I remember transiting from BAOR to BATUS,back in the day....took nearly 2 days!!!!!(Nice heads they have on the Hercy birds,eh? )

[406 Silverado]

Well a few hours spent scratch building the wheel wells. Also a couple of pics of the scribe lob on the wings. I made a jig using .30 styrene to make the job easier.





Now for the fun part, the wheel wells, or whatever you call them. Still a ton more to add in this area but the main lining is in place and i will start to add more od the framing/ribbing and plumbing.





More tedious work ahead but I am sure it will pay off in the end.

[thug626]

Oh, the "tedious work" will most certainly pay off in the end. A very nice and, much improved wheel bay.
Dave

[venom1]

Wow Boss, awesome to see you building a wingy! I'm excited to see what this will become! You are awesome at whatever you build so I have no doubt that this lil' lady will be another cracker!!

Lookin' forward to the next part.....

Cheers,

Sam

[Deleted]

Anyone would think you've done one of these before Boss, scratching the missing bits like a pro 

[TRM]

Super scratch stuff there Boss!! Wheel wells look awesome! I like the template to!! This is going to look great all painted up!!!

[406 Silverado]

LOL cheers fellas and thanks for the kind words. It feels good to get back to some scratch building again...keep up the 'scratch-mod' name eh. With such a small area and a lot that goes in there it is all in the planning. Not only what goes where but in the order in which to add the parts. Busy next couple days so maybe more time on this during the weekend.

[wbill76]

Nice little trick with the scribing template, keeps everything nice and level and lets you do multiples in a flash, what's not to like?

[thug626]

Scratchmod scratching tools! Perfect-a-mundo! Keep it coming.

Dave