Expanding the horizon

I’ve spoken before about my initiative to move a bit outside my comfort zone and complete some models that have never featured in my building programme before. The D-520 and MC-202 were early examples of that, and they are being followed by the MS-406, Fiat CR-25, MC-200, and MC-205.

But why not go all the way with this concept? You’ll have noticed that I have a real love for Weird Aviation History, all those odd concepts and prototypes that never really had a chance for production here in the real world. But they are all over the place as 1:72 models. Unfortunately, a number of them are in resin, which requires superglue. I really can’t stand using the stuff. It never seems to want to bond, has no sheer strength, and will fog any transparency it comes into contact with. As with most of us, superglue is best at sticking my fingers together and not much else.

But it is an inevitable fact of life, at least until 3D printing progresses to the point where plastic kits are possible to print out at home. At present, even those are mostly resin. So I am just going to have to man up and confront my modelling inadequacies, or lose out on an entire sub-genre of aircraft types that I really like.

Thus, I’ve decided to introduce a few resin kits to the construction queue. Most of them are kits that have been started, but were diverted to the Shelf of Shame at some point. The first ones I am looking seriously at are the Planet Northrop N1M (part of the flying wing series), the Republic XF-103 (part of the complete Century Series), a Latecoere 298 (which, while a plastic Azur kit, does have a vac canopy), a Kora P-47 two-seater (part of my vast collection of completed Thunderbolts), and a Planet Dornier Merkur (another interwar Lufthansa type). Some of these may have problems and return to the Shelf of Shame, but I intend on giving them the old college try first.

Speaking of first, the initial step has been to dip all these vac canopies in Future (in its guise as Pledge Acrylic Floor Care) to provide a vapor barrier when the time comes to attach them with superglue. I don’t think I’ve ever done this to a canopy before; usually I just mask them, use the cyanoacrylate, and hope for the best. With predictable results. Still, hope springs eternal, and we’ll see how it all proceeds. If you hear some foul language echoing out of the Great Northwest some winter’s evening, now at least you’ll know why.