Well I finally got around to doing something about my Lysander. You may have seen my online build but it stalled when I turned into the final landing pattern.

Everything had been going quite well and I had given it a matt coat.




I then removed the masking on the clear parts and got this



I don't know what happened and I was not a happy teddy bear.

The only solution was to clean up the parts, re-mask and re-paint. I have 2 more of these kits, another Gavia and an Eduard re-boxing, which is the one to get if you want one of these. I decided that I would use the Eduard canopy masks, to save a bit of time:

Although I don't use mask sets, and I wasn't having a great time with this one, I persevered. I figured that it would save me time in the long run, but one of the masks lifted and, unknow to me, caused me to knock the part onto the floor, where I promptly trod on it. The part was the top canopy and it split down the middle Doh!!
The model then languished for several months, taunting me every time I saw it (every day). I figured that all I had to do was to substitute the part from one of the other kits, but that would leave me one short. The answer was obvious, use one of the parts as a master to mould another top canopy. Now this had real appeal as the top canopy is moulded as one and, even if cut, cannot, realistically, be posed open. The Eduard kit has nice resin and etch detail and I was going to use parts from my other Gavia kit, which is the SOE version, to build a detailed kit on a base as an SOE operated aircraft. It would be nice to pose the cockpit fully open, as it would on this one, particularly as I scratch built the seat. Of course I saw all sorts of problems, so didn't just get on with it, then my new found ferver to get kits finished arrived and I was determind to finish it. I have a sheet of acatate, so I rigged up an old canopy on a stand (dowel into blue tack, in the canopy and drilled a hole in a medium sized plastic lid, to support the dowel. I heated the acatate over the cooker hob (gas) and crashed it over the canopy. 3 goes and I was ready to takle the actual Lysander canopy. I figured that I would just mould the front, sliding part, which I did, first go I used Tamiya tape to outline the correct dimensions, while holding the moulding over the original, then cut out with a sharp blade. I cut the replaced piece from the original and I still need to mask of the moulding, for the canopy framing.




I reckon that I might just be able to fabricate a complete set of in scale conopy parts for my SOE build, watch this space.
I'm quite confident that I can now finish this in time for Septembers MOM
Mal

Oh bugger!

:-) :-) :-) :-)

Don't worry about it Nige.

Ross

I second that :-) .
Now that does look nice Mal. You will definitely get my vote with that unusual and very good looking build ( please finish it ).
Shame about the canopy, but it looks like you have redeemed yourself. You tread on that then cut a great hole in the Spit, whats next for the chop in the wacky world of Mal (apart from my head from its shoulders :-)) .
Was it flown by the Czech's, as its got a Czech flag beside the British roundal ?
Andy

Can't you tell who the target builders are, it's Polish I haven't got anything with Polish markings on and my uncle was Polish and in the RAF during the war. I fancied the P-O-L-I-S-H markings because of that. At the moment that is all I know about my uncle, I'm hoping to have his flight log book one day


When you put it like that it does seem a bit bad dunnit :-)
Mal

Nice one Mal.
I spotted it was Polish straight away,but declined to comment until youd had chance to put the target builder straight :-)
Its been a long time coming but it looks as though youre finally going to get this finished. I think its been in limbo as long as Ive been on the site
Very odd what happened to the canopy paint when you unmasked it.
Looking forward to seeing this in all its glory!
Nige

Ohhh Polish, thats what i meant, must have been a typo when i wrote Czech :-) .


Your not making any friends throwing accusations like that around you know :-) . I'll tell Vinnie of you, and will get him to fill the stand up with more SDKFCDEF ( halftrack thingies ) at Telford :-) .
Andy