Milo Black Posted June 22, 2010 Posted June 22, 2010 OK, I'm going to do two in this build - this one will be the 1931 Handley Page H.P. 45 Heracles, built from the old Airfix 1/144 kit. The kit claims to be an H.P. 42, but Heracles was in fact the shorter-range H.P. 45 - aside using a different variant of the Bristol Jupiter engine, I'm not aware of any notable external differences, so I'm going to call it an H.P. 45.
Milo Black Posted June 23, 2010 Author Posted June 23, 2010 Box and sprues Little bit of rigging to do on this one - I'm currently massacring a Gloster Gladiator to make my "schoolboy errors" on something I'm not fussed about
Milo Black Posted June 24, 2010 Author Posted June 24, 2010 (edited) I'm a bit concerned about the yellowing of the decals on this one - any good thoughts about how to recover these would be appreciated. Edited June 24, 2010 by Milo Black
richellis Posted June 24, 2010 Posted June 24, 2010 (edited) Try sticking them on a sunny window. ive not tried it, but I know others have Edited June 24, 2010 by richellis
Milo Black Posted June 24, 2010 Author Posted June 24, 2010 richellis said: Try sticking them on a sunny window. ive not tried it, but I know others have Thanks, Rich- yes, I'd heard about that method too. I'll give that a go and see what happens.
Antony Robertson Posted June 25, 2010 Posted June 25, 2010 That looks like its going to be a fun build, looking forward to the updates! Antony
Stebos Posted June 28, 2010 Posted June 28, 2010 Had been considering this as a possible build but my decals are just as bad. Good luck with the sun, it's worked with some decals I have but I never had any luck with the HP45 ones.
Hypnobear Posted June 28, 2010 Posted June 28, 2010 Milo Black said: Thanks, Rich- yes, I'd heard about that method too. I'll give that a go and see what happens. I would have thought if you put decals in the sun they would crack?
Milo Black Posted June 28, 2010 Author Posted June 28, 2010 Stebos said: Had been considering this as a possible build but my decals are just as bad.Good luck with the sun, it's worked with some decals I have but I never had any luck with the HP45 ones. I'll let you know how it goes - once I can find a sunny window-ledge which my good lady can guarantee not to spill water on (not as simple as you may think.....). Failing that, I may have to see if I can source some decal film and try to print some new ones to pass muster.... should be entertaining if nothing else. Fortunately, it's just simple black lettering, so should be reasonably straightforward (said he, with a confidence completely out of proportion to his chances of success....)
Artie Posted June 28, 2010 Posted June 28, 2010 When placing the decals against a sunny window, please be aware: Put them into a self sealing plastic bag. Otherwise, early morning mist can definitely ruin your decals (please, don't ask me why I do know that). Kind regards....
Milo Black Posted June 28, 2010 Author Posted June 28, 2010 Artie said: When placing the decals against a sunny window, please be aware: Put them into a self sealing plastic bag. Otherwise, early morning mist can definitely ruin your decals (please, don't ask me why I do know that). Kind regards.... Very good thought, Artie - I'll do that!
KLP Publishing Posted June 29, 2010 Posted June 29, 2010 The technique of exposing yellowed decals to UV radiation works pretty well. I've done it a few times myself. Sealing them in a zip-lock bag is must or they'll just absorb moisture and ruin. I'd leave them a few days if it's not overly sunny where you are. I live in Australia, and in mid-summer a single day has proven adequate in the past. It won't magically turn your decals into Microscale quality, but it should eliminate or substantially reduce the yellowing. Just check them daily for any signs that they're not coping well. Kev
Milo Black Posted July 4, 2010 Author Posted July 4, 2010 Little bit of work on this today: cleaning up parts, assembling some of the "no-brain" bits (both main wings and the tail), pre-painting around the windows, some small part painting and putting in the rigging holes.... actually, sounds like more than "a little bit" Nothing worth a photo yet though. Everything seems to be an OK fit, although flash abounds.... the window transparencies are not good - I may regret using them, but OTOH, this was a 1930s, low-altitude, non-pressurised aircraft, so the windows probably *weren't* that good... I'm considering it "authentic period detail" After some experimentation over the last few weeks, I'm going to use fine copper wire for the rigging - single strands on the tail and double strands (twisted together) for the rather more hefty wing rigging. There are control wires to the outer control elements (rudder trim?) on the tail, but the structure isn't sturdy enough to rig with wire, so I'll use stretched sprue for these. More meanderings - with photos - when I actually put some of these ideas into action!
Milo Black Posted July 4, 2010 Author Posted July 4, 2010 End of weekend report...... Main parts cleaned, engines and props painted, rigging holes in place. Tail mainly assembled, wing halves assembled and all inner surfaces painted on both (much easier to do this before rigging!). Fuselage windows are in, using the kit transparencies for all except the door window (which was horrible, so done with Clearfix). Arriving here..... I'll need to do something about the interior before closing up, as the main pilot window is quite big, and I don't just want a big expanse of grey plastic visible through it - probably just a case of adding a bulkhead and painting everything black, as I'm not up to scratchbuilding a 1/144-scale cockpit (that's the point at which it stops being fun, at least for me.....)
Milo Black Posted July 5, 2010 Author Posted July 5, 2010 CliffB said: MiloHow's the decal bleaching going? Cliff Had them on the windowsill yesterday - not brilliant, sun-wise Left them there today, and there seems to be a *slight* improvement... so I'll leave them there and we'll see if they come good/better.
Milo Black Posted July 7, 2010 Author Posted July 7, 2010 Wings now built: You can see the rigging wires in the second picture - these are in place but only attached at one end at the mo. These will be stretched tight before attaching the other ends, cleaning up and painting them. Fuselage halves are together and joins are being treated. Coming along... still waiting for some decent sun to work on the decals....
Milo Black Posted July 12, 2010 Author Posted July 12, 2010 This is starting to come together now. Wings nearly done.... This is from the days of "We need more power... add more engines!" Missing an exhaust, so made a new one from stretched sprue, treated with hot water to get the bend. Tail.... isn't it strange how close-up photos show all the general dodginess (well, they do on MY builds, anyway!) ... and with the wings dry-fitted for an "It looks like a plane" pic. I am definitely manging to stick to Rule One Of Modelling here - "Enjoy the build"... but I suspect I have broken rules two to seventy-three (inclusive)
CliffB Posted July 13, 2010 Posted July 13, 2010 You've just got to love these planes - such a contrast to your IL-86. Looking good, Milo. Cliff
Milo Black Posted July 13, 2010 Author Posted July 13, 2010 CliffB said: You've just got to love these planes - such a contrast to your IL-86. That was my thought, Cliff - things changed a bit over those 50 years The HP42 was a metal shell, but still had fabric-covered aerodynamic surfaces, wooden propellors, piston engines, "pilot-powered" controls and a cruising speed of 87 kt .... how times changed. ... but the pace of change seems to be slowing down. There are 30 years between the design of the IL-86 and the A380 - but, aside from internal improvements like better engines and Buck Rogers avionics (and, of course, size) - are the designs really *that* different? Will another 20 years of civil aviation result in the kind of night-and-day change that we saw between the 1920s and the 1970s? I'm thinking probably not.
Milo Black Posted July 20, 2010 Author Posted July 20, 2010 Moved forward with this last night - all the assembly is done now bar the tail-wheel, canopy and wheels, and things are mainly painted. The end is definitely in sight, but I'll be stalled on everything this week, as I have no modelling time now until Sunday. Hey ho....
Milo Black Posted July 27, 2010 Author Posted July 27, 2010 Done The decals bleached enough in the sun to get away with. You can still see a very faint carrier film opn some of them if you look closely - but I think this is as good as it's going to get. More in the gallery.
woody37 Posted July 28, 2010 Posted July 28, 2010 It's turned out really well, great gallery pictures, superb mate.
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