Clunkmeister

I got it from eBay, literally 18 seconds after they became available. Polish Post doesn’t ship anywhere overseas, so for me, eBay was fast and easy without having to sort out UPS with IBG. Hannants carries them, BTW, and Sprue Bros lists them but has no stock.

Don’t fall in the water in Australia. The creatures in there will kill you just by looking at you. Probably your whole family at home, too.

Ugh! I’ll never unsee that. Where’s the acid wash for the eyes.

Get a Louisville Slugger or a 2x2. Clint Eastwood in Pale Rider once said “There’s nothing like a good piece of hickory.”

The key is, STUDY THE DRAWINGS, just like any kit, know what you have and where it goes. So far, but here are markings where stuff should be, which is good. One thing about the cockpit details. Much of it should be hidden completely from view if you close the gun access doors on the side of the fuselage. But if you leave them open, all will be visible, just like peeling the side panels off a T-6 Texan. It’s all there, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

Folks, looking at these pictures, you can see the passion for the subject that the designers had. If the details were too clunky in plastic, they chose PE, and I can honestly say without a shadow of a doubt, they used PE where it’s actually needed. Not just PE for PE’s sake. I’m liking this more and more. Matter of fact, I’m seriously enjoying myself. If the rest of the kit goes together this nicely, I’ll be truly stoked.

A sample of what lays ahead. But I expect no problems. Stuff fits that nicely

The cowl is in two pieces, which is exactly how Silver Wings should have made it. But the biggest issue with that one is the exhaust pipes into the collector ring, and that the cowl sort of floats free, attached just to the collector ring. Fun.

Ignoring the above comment, ahem, IF you love tiny bits of PE, you’ll love this kit. But, seriously, it all fits and fits perfectly.

Some light flash on some parts but nothing serious.

Some have asked me how the fit appears to be on this kit, so I thought I’d take a quick opportunity to show you. This is simple friction fit with tape to keep the sides together. many question? If the rest of the kit is as good as this appears to be, IBG will sell me at least a half dozen more. Y’all notice how we see group builds of massed I-16s at shows? This could be the next step up from that pleasant little build.

Crikey! Awesome work!

Jeff, Sluggo said it best. M<atter of fact, I may have done just that. Decanted some automotive primer in a cup and sprayed it on through my airbrush

Jeff, I treated my Lanc 3d parts as I treat any resin. I cleaned them, prepped the surfaces with sandpaper and Mr. Surfacer, then used normal painting techniques. I haven't had an issue at all.

I won't post a pic because it'll sabotage a WIP thread, but remember the USA explored a very similar concept with the cute little Sperry Messenger, a similar sized airplane with a three cylinder radial.. The US Army had an idea they could use a lightweight disposable aircraft as a substitute for a mounted courier or "messenger". The designer, if I recall the article I read, to demonstarte his new aircraft, actually landed it on the steps of the US Capitol building, and then, after showing it off, took off again.. It was a tad bit more successful, and also sold on the civilian market as a pocket sized personal aircraft. I think the designer disappeared over the Channel in one while on an air race?? Lukgraph makes a model of the Messenger, BTW.

Exactly Hubert. I left the valve covers alone. Thwy'll be invisible with the cowl on. The sprue attachment points on the gearbox are insanely huge. They look like they belong there. I actually looked on the instructions to see if they were supposed to be there. K

It’s getting some paint this weekend. Pics up then

Yep, that’s the idea,Rob.

I’d say it’s a pretty decent representation of a Mercury 9 cylinder radial. As long as the plug wires don’t go flipping off into never never land, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Some detail painting mañana.

First things first. I sure hope you like fiddly, because it starts from the first moment of the build. The instructions are like most others, you start with the engine. The engine halves have ejection towers similar to Kitty Hawk, and just like KH, as super easy to clip off No biggie, right? Right. But then it gets interesting. The kit gives you PE plug wires. They’re flat PE, and I do sort of think they should be round, but no worries, this is OOB, so on they go. Each one needs to be bent in two spots, and when done, they fit perfectly. But Oh Heavin’ Stephen Who’s Done for the Evenin’, these are some seriously fiddly. Somehow, the the Grace of God and my fat gut, I only almost lost two. My ample belly served as a convenient backdrop.

So for me, there hasn’t been a more anticipated 1/32 kit since the HK Lancaster came on the scene through assistance by a few esteemed members of LSM. In my eyes, the P.11 series of fighters by PZL epitomize the fighting spirit of the Polish people during the opening salvos of WW2. The P.11 should have gotten mauled by the new generation of German fighters, but these plucky little fighters gave back better than they received, knocking down over 110 Germans, for a loss of about 100 P.11s. Not bad for an outdated, outclassed, out gunned fighter from an earlier generation. This build will be a quick build review of the P.11 as presented in the standard kit by IBG. All it’s good points, and any pitfalls I encounter, up to and including total build FUBARs will be presented. If I build a winner, so be it. If I build myself into a corner so it is a candidate for the bin, so be it, it’ll progress as speedily and naturally as possible. Understand that during these trying world health times, the pace may speed up, slow down, or end altogether if the unthinkable happens and I reach my ‘best before’ date. So, on with the build.

The d calls look decent, and they’re done by Techmod, whist hard to understand since like IBG, are a Polish Company. Techmod is known for decent decals on par with Cartograph, so expect decent performance here. First impression looks good, and individual instrument decals are provided.

So I hope you like PE, because there’s lots of it, and it looks very nice

Harv, I think what Hubert was saying was that he found abcesses in the plastic where the gates attached to the part after he cut the gates. he needed to fill those.

Hubert, very interesting. I haven’t had a chance check closely yet the various parts, but I will tonight when I work on the front cage. I haven’t been this excited about a new kit since the HK Lancaster arrived