[Soviet/Russian] Antonov An-14 -- Build Thread

[Awry_Chaos]

I'm going to try both UHU and ZIP Dry. See which one works best. I haven't been to Michael's in a while now, mainly because of the quarantine and all that. Right now I'm avoiding public places as much as I can. Thanks for the tip! I'll need some 1mm card stock when I start building my IJN Akagi aircraft carriers. I'm actually looking forward to working in a bigger scale.

 

[Awry_Chaos]

With the wing spar done, I'm focusing on the nose cone and forward fuselage of the aircraft. In these pics you can see that I am using an internal tab to assemble the nose cone. This is a techniques that was suggested by @Rhaven Blaack and @zathros. For more information on this building technique I suggest you visit this thread:

Buck Rogers (MK-I) Blaster (rebuild)

Hello again, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls (and all assorted creatures, human and not), As most of you know, when I moved back to the US, I was unable to bring my model collection with me, and now I must go through and rebuild everything. Granted, that seems quite sad and upsetting to...

www.zealot.com

 

[Awry_Chaos]

Here you can see the result of using the internal tab in the nose cone. In the other pictures, you can see how I have used an internal tab in one of the forward fuselage sections. So far, so good.

I will be gluing more internal tabs to these pieces as needed to establish the shapes I want and to eliminate the seams as best as possible.

One design flaw of this model is that it does not have internal formers for the fuselage which I think would help greatly with assembly and putting things together. In other model designs I have looked at internal formers seem to make things easier assembly-wise. The wing spar I previously assembled does act as an internal former for the wings, but also acts as an internal device to strengthen the wings.

 

[zathros]

Zip Dry is good for attaching thing like metal rods to paper, UHU is primarily for paper to paper, both aare non toxic. ZIP DRY is lignen free and will not yellow paper. I use it for attaching plastic windows to whatever I mad be using, usually windows I have formed from blister pack plastic.

 

[micahrogers]

Here you can see the result of using the internal tab in the nose cone. In the other pictures, you can see how I have used an internal tab in one of the forward fuselage sections. So far, so good.

I will be gluing more internal tabs to these pieces as needed to establish the shapes I want and to eliminate the seams as best as possible.

One design flaw of this model is that it does not have internal formers for the fuselage which I think would help greatly with assembly and putting things together. In other model designs I have looked at internal formers seem to make things easier assembly-wise. The wing spar I previously assembled does act as an internal former for the wings, but also acts as an internal device to strengthen the wings.

I have just started using this technique as well. Cutting off the provided tabs, and attaching them from the inside lets you make a much smoother surface. Very nice work so far.
My only problem with Zip-Dry, is keeping the bottle sealed. The bottle I had, and only used twice, went solid in the bottle after 2 months. Probably something I did wrong, and maybe "Z" csn give a suggestion on how to store it.

 

[Awry_Chaos]

Finishing up the nose cone.

 

[Awry_Chaos]

The finished nose cone. Now I can move on to the cockpit area of the aircraft and start working on the other spots such as the engines, the wings, and the tail section. Despite the flaws it's coming together well.

 

[zathros]

That nose cone came out so contoured. Geometrically, it is excellent. The graphics of this model aren't that great, it would really be worth taping off, and filling, sanding, and painting, to get the ultimate model, but that nose cone, which is the hardest part, is right on the money!! thumbsup

 

[Awry_Chaos]

That nose cone came out so contoured. Geometrically, it is excellent. The graphics of this model aren't that great, it would really be worth taping off, and filling, sanding, and painting, to get the ultimate model, but that nose cone, which is the hardest part, is right on the money!! thumbsup

Thanks for the wonderful compliment! This part taught me some much needed patience and perseverance. I struggled with it but by slowly working it into shape I got more or less what I wanted. I just had to take the time to make sure everything fit together but in the end it came together.

Again, Thank you for your kind words!

 

[zathros]

Patience, that's the key. Your craftsmanship shows.

 

[Awry_Chaos]

I'm needing help and advice on the next part of the cockpit.

I want to use clear plastic to make windows for the cockpit. The images below show where the cockpit windows are. I'm not sure exactly how to approach this challenge and wonder if anyone has any pointers or tips.

I will need to cut out the ''blue areas'' which represent the cockpit windows. When I do this, I will end up creating various structural weaknesses which will hamper the assembly of the model.

If I assemble the whole thing and then cut the ''blue areas'' out, I'm faced with a certain degree of difficult cutting which I'd like to avoid as much as possible.

So, how do I best approach this while lessening the quagmire of difficulty? What will my best approach be?

This is a link to the model creator's build pics:

Antonov An-14 Pchelka - Clod

Antonov An-14 Pchelka - Clod

phobby.com

Antonov An-14 Pchelka - Clod

phobby.com

Thank you in advance!

 

[zathros]

Use Blister pack, that's flat plastic from things that you purchase. ZIP DRY really holds these in place excellently, (by the way, the way you keep ZIP DRY from drying up is store push all the goop out of the nozzle back into the bottle, and use Saran Wrap, under the threaded dispenser (pointy tip) to seal the bottle and not let air get in)). I always use the residue in the cap as I finish up so that I don't waste any, and can reuse the dispenser. I tend to use ZIP DY with a small stick and group some and don't use the dispenser tip.

This blister pack is on everything, the thin Donut Box type plastic windows on the box stuff works really well, as it is very thin. You wash it with soap and water, rinsing thoroughly, and then glue, making sure you have cut the plastic pieces over size so that they will stick. The other method to hold them in place is to use cardboard strips over the excess plastic part, and a cardboard to strip connection, for a mechanical connection. When using ZIP DRY, or UHU glue for plastic to paper, put a lot on, then separate it and the second the strands start to for, that when you press it together, those strands are the matrix strands that hold everything together. Whatever glue you use will be a mechanical connection as the glue cannot penetrate the plastic. So in essence, you're making a glue frame to hold the piece in. You don't need a lot, just enough. Don't use Crazy Glue as the fufmes will cloud the plastic.

 

[Awry_Chaos]

Here's another update. I've started to build the plane's engines. These are more like structural supports and placeholders than scaled engines. The first one was fairly easy to cut out and assemble. For the propeller shaft I just sanded down a regular toothpick to make it fit. Later, the propeller will be attached to it.

 

[Awry_Chaos]

The basic parts for the second ''engine''. Here the pattern is cut out and scored for the final assembly. The ''propeller shaft'' represented here by a toothpick has been sanded down and is shown in comparison to a regular toothpick. It surprised me how hard the wood was (no pun intended, not *hard* in *that* way).

 

[Awry_Chaos]

Here I'm doing a basic test assembly before I start ''tabbing'' and glueing. Everything here is coming out nicely, so far so good!

 

[Awry_Chaos]

Here I'm using the @Rhaven Blaack method of internal tabbing which works pretty nicely. It's easier working with internal tabs and I'm finding you have more control over their placement and size. Even though these parts won't be visible (as they'll be concealed by the engine cowlings it still makes for a little better craftsmanship and a better model.

So far, taking my time and patience have been the key.

 

[Awry_Chaos]

The completed ''engines''. Since I'm going after the illusion of a real aircraft, these will work. There is just enough detail in the model to pull the illusion off. After all, the props will spin adding a certain ''coolness'' factor to the model.

Until next time...

 

[zathros]

Coming along nicely!

 

[Awry_Chaos]

Thank you, zathros!

 

[Rhaven Blaack]

This is really coming together nicely!