Nick_Karatzides

CHAPTER V - Main model building & detailing Following the simple assembly instructions, I placed each polyester item on place using two-component cyanoacrylate glue for best results. The model parts are molded in such way that no putty is needed to fill any gaps - just cut the polyester from part’s tree and glue it on spot. Checking the parts carefully, I found that the the items dimensions (including thickness) was extremely accurate on scale. As you can see, by checking the following pictures, some polyester parts of the model is so thin, you can actually see in through them. That specific feature makes the model very realistic and accurate on scale, but special attention is needed while handling the polyester parts, as it is quite possible to break. The driver’s hatch release handle, have been detailed according the diagrams found into FDCV’s TM - Technical Manual. I glued it in "CLOSED" position. As soon as all the details, hatch covers, handles, fuel canisters etc were fit & glued on FDCV, I spray a primer light layer over the model to prepare for painting process and highlight any deficiencies that had escaped my attention so far. I used ordinary gauze cloth, taken from the first aid kit, cut it to shape and place it on FDCV upper surface, to simulate the camouflage net. Water based white glue for wood, which becomes transparent when it dries, is just the right for the job. So, I opened a 500 grams canister bought for 2€ only, pick a small quantity, add just few drops of water with a syringe into a small metal container to make the right mixture and finally I formed the gauze net with a wet brush, into the desired shape. Because the mixture is enriched with water based glue, the gauze net becomes hard when the water dries.

CHAPTER IV - Dalton brothers in chains Goscinny & Morris who both created the “The Judge” story (based on real Judge Phantly Roy Bean, Jr life) into Lucky Luke comic, claim that bicycles & Dalton brothers, should work only in chains. While building this scale model, I found that AFVs, also use chains - yeah, I am an aircraft scale modeller. I have to admit that when I opened the model package and saw the tracks, I was disappointed - wrongly as it proved later! Yes, although the excess of polyester to be removed (normal and expected for such a polyester hand made kit). Being an AFV scale modelling rookie, I was afraid that I might accidentally break the track teeth in my attempt to remove excess polyester material or might damage the detail of the tracks. Nevertheless, the two single-piece polyester tracks cleaning, proved very easy. Using new No 11 blade on my knife, I tried pure and decisive cuts on track, along the teeth profile perimeter. Just to be sure that I wouldn’t accidentally remove “something” that would have seemed odd, I took the technical manual in hand and studied the chain close-up detailed diagrams, in order to understand how it is on real FDCV - after all, I have almost zero experience on AFVs. Using an old toothbrush, I carefully removed the excess casting polyester, previously cut with the blade. I found, that although the track teeth look very fragile, ultimately proved quite durable. Finally, I cleaned by removing small amounts of polyester, using a paper nail file which could easily enter between track teeth. The polyester used by the White Tower Models for casting, is a material which acquires hardness after several months or even years. The specificity of polyester, not only should not discourage the modellers, but use the material’s natural properties, to his advantage. Let us note that when the polyester parts sunk in hot water, even though they have produced some years ago, they get flexible for a few minutes. This time period is enough to connect the hard or marginal contact parts. As mentioned before, same technique with hot water used to buckle the two half FDCV hull shells, because I did not want to take chances and push the polyester pieces one against the other, risking a possible crack. In the following pictures, you can observe the single-piece polyester track elasticity and tolerances that can be purchased for a few minutes with proper preparation. With the FDCV scale model hull closed and the track chains cleaned by the polyester excess, I tried water sanding to ensure that connecting lines would disappear. The track chains were also slightly sanded on selected points, to get all the track teeth on the exact same level. When I was satisfied, I spray a primer light layer to prepare for painting and to highlight any deficiencies that had escaped my attention. As shown in the photo above, I use two different primer products for preparation of scale models before painting, depending on each case. The first is the Hycote acrylic primer. Available in 2-3 different colours, shades of grey (for general use paint) and black (primer before painting with metallic paints Alclad II) and textures in matte or glossy. The price cost aprox 7 euros in local Greek market and spray canister contains 400 ml. IMHO, the Hycote primer’s main advantage, is that the chemical composition is such that it leaves the feeling that can be applied on model without covering details. It is very fine, it dries within minutes, but it’s rare to find. The second is the Humbrol acrylic primer. If I am not mistaken, it is available in 2-3 different colours, shades of grey (for general use paint) and black (primer before painting with metallic paints Alclad II). The price is aprox 6 euros in local Greek market and spray and the canister contains 150 ml. While using, I noticed that the Humbrol primer is sprayed under higher pressure propellant, and this effect was observed in different spray canisters. When dry, leaves a sense of rough surface on the model, perhaps a bit more than I prefer, but I guess it’s perfect when applying primer on AFVs to be given a sense of cast metal. Humbrol primer is a good choice for general purpose primer, but I would prefer Hycote for fine results, without any spray paint grains. Finally, regarding the price / quantity matter, the Hycote primer costs 7 euros in local Greek market for a 400 ml canister (1.75 euro per 100 ml), while the Humbrol product costs 6 euros in local Greek market for a 150 ml canister (4 euro per 100 ml). For only 12 euros, I bought a new SkyTronic minitool product which operates from 0V to 12V voltage and contains 60 different parts including drills from 0.4mm to 1.5mm diameter, cutting discs, abrasive brushes, etc. According to the manual, it spins up to 16 000 rpm and is compatible with various calibers shaft head. The only modification I did, was to remove the factory cable and install spiral cable (which I find more practical) that I connected with the 0-12V voltage dimmer adapter on my workbench. I cut the track wheels from the polyester tree and sand each one of them, by using the high speed spinning minitool. As soon as all the track wheels were trimmed as required, they were placed on exact position.

CHAPTER III - Chassis building & structure supporting As long I decide to build the kit straight from the box, without interior details and keeping all hatches closed, I placed a styrene plastic sheet to keep driver's hatch isolated. The reason will be explained later. The HPX, is one of the most durable adhesive tape that can be found on the local market. It is vinyl reinforced multi-purpose pressure sensitive tape with a soft and flexible shell and pressure sensitive adhesive. It is generally silver or black in color but many other colors have recently become available. With a standard width of 50mm (approx 2 inches) & 0.30mm thickness, water resistant & withstand temperature ranges from Fahrenheit -40° to Fahrenheit 203° is ideal for special purposes. It is constructed from a rubber-based adhesive to help the tape resist water and a fabric backing to add strength. Keep in mind that US Military issued this hard duty adhesive tape to their personnel who keep it in their pack and use it in numerous cases, such as repairing scratches, temporarily taping holes on aircrafts or helicopters fuselage, ammo canisters sealing, repairing military equipment (including firearms) quickly etc. Click HERE for aircraft repair with adhesive tape example. In military circles, this variant is known as "gun-tape", typically olive-green, and also known for its resistance to oils and greases. It is also called "Riggers Tape", "Hurricane Tape", or "100-mph tape" - a name that comes from the use of a specific variety of duct tape that was supposed to hold up to 100 mph winds. Another version attributes this to the fact that soldiers often refer to something that exceeds expectations as "High Speed". The HEX tape is commercially sold as high-strength adhesive tape for sealing tire tubes aquifers. Before trying to connect FDCV’s main chassis, I stretched tape inside the two halves. As it is known, polyester loses its elasticity and becomes harder, several months or years after casting and vibrations could cause cracking. The polyester made models do not have the durability of plastic because the different chemical composition and molecular bonds of each material. Over time, polyester behaves like glass, although it has toughness, but any hard vibration could cause crack or even worse shattering. Placing HPX durable adhesive tape inside, would hold the spread of a possible crack in the future, provide the opportunity to fix and save the scale model. In all other cases, the polyester fragments would be lost. Placing HPX durable adhesive tape inside, is the first of few precautionary measures taken for the integrity of the material. The next and most important precautionary measure, will be described into following paragraphs. To be honest, I thought that when the time comes to connect the chassis two halves, I would face plenty of problems. Let’s not forget that this specific kit is made of polyester resin, rather than an injection molded Japanese plastic with excellent quality and factory mass production of tens of thousands of kits. This is actually a handmade kit, molded in silicon. After carefully cleaned from the polyester casting excess in contact points between the chassis two halves, I tried repeatedly to contact each other to be sure that I will not face any unpleasant surprises after applying super glue. To make the job easier, the chassis two halves dipped in hot water for 1-2 minutes to obtain polyester flexibility (which lasted for the few critical minutes) and to assist my effort to buckle one part into the other. That’s why the adhesive tape used and described previously, was the HPX product with high temperature & water resistance - if I would try a simple cheap tape, it would just come off as soon as the polyester kit parts immersed into hot water. Same elasticity effect on polyester could be achieved using a hair dryer and guiding hot air on selected spots. When the two halves buckled together, I dropped cyanoacrylate glue on all four corners and later secured the construction stability by applying two components super glue, across the chassis two halves contact line, using a wooden toothpick. I am not used to fill gaps with simple modelling putty, since I prefer a two-component epoxy or polyester putty. As mentioned into previous paragraphs, I mostly prefer to use epoxy putty (or polyester filler with fiberglass grains for special purposes) instead of normal scale modeling putty, to close gaps or build new items. Just because this is a polyester kit and the material does not get affected and does not get damaged by the nitrocellulose lacquer thinner, I thought nice idea to follow something different. I tried spreading Humbrol simple modelling putty on the gap, and applied generous amounts of nitrocellulose lacquer thinner on Humbrol putty, to get it soften, turn it into semi-liquid form and smoothly spread it across the chassis two halves contact line. Finally, only few drops of nitrocellulose lacquer thinner on small amount of Humbrol modelling putty, was enough to create a liquid solution to spread with brush across the chassis two halves contact line. As noted before, polyester loses its elasticity over time and the slightest shock, bang or hard vibration during model transporting may cause a crack. To reduce the danger of such an unfortunate situation and as a part of precautionary measures to strengthen the structure of the polyester model, I decided it would be nice to fill the internal model with the material that should be: Solid and able to occupy all the available volume inside the model, supporting internally the walls of the polyester model, As light as possible to avoid model’s total weight increasing that could strain the wheel polyester arms, Hard, but not completely rigid, that can absorb vibrations & shocks and able to transmit vibrations soflty, throughout model’s mass and not on a single point. This material is called polyurethane foam. It is a unique industrial material which has excellent physical, mechanical and environmental properties and is mainly used as insulation material. It offers high abrasion resistance, tensile stress, impact resistance etc. The fact that the polyurethane foam material can be easily cut, sawed, sanded, drilled etc and is compatible with most types of scale modelling glue & any type of primer or enamel / acrylic paint with no problem at all, makes it a good choice for many scale modelling applications, as for example in diorama building. I got one polyurethane foam spray canister with the trigger & tube to inject the material, from my local hardware store. Because cleaning the plastic injecting tube would be quite difficult when the polyurethane foam begins to be polymerized after contact with air, I cut the plastic pipe and replaced it with a straw which I threw out after each use. Before channelling the polyurethane foam inside scale model, a preparation should be applied to achieve best possible results and to avoid any unpleasant surprises. I chose as the point from which will channel the polyurethane foam, the only opened hatch - the crew commander’s hatch. This is why I closed driver’s hatch, not to let polyurethane foam escape from there. Masking tape 50mm width, applied to cover the upper surface of the FDCV and protect it from possible polyurethane foam overflow. Injecting polyurethane foam needs full attention and should not exaggerate the filling quantity because it takes time that can reach up to 2 hours from the application of the material to swell and solidify. According to the instructions on the spray canister, the best results are achieved when sprayed successive small amounts of foam and wait to swell and partially occupy all the available volume inside the model. Considering that the expanding polyurethane can multiply the original foam volume up to 4 times, it would be very appropriate to inject small quantities, allow time to swell and since we are confident that it has solidified and will not change over its volume, to continue the process with successive small amounts of foam. To conclude the process, I began to inject small amounts of polyurethane foam, first in the more distant spots, such as the front left or front right under the engine’s compartment etc. After the 2-3 small doses of injectable foam placed in appropriate locations, I wait enough time (over 6 hours) to swell smooth polyurethane and cover the internal volume without endangering the vessel to deform or break (worst scenario) from inside out, under high pressure on walls. Then, I added 1-2 more doses of polyurethane foam to the rear part, being careful to inject small amounts and let the material to expand slowly or escape if necessary, from the crew commander’s hatch. As you can see into following picture, it seems I was lucky, because while material expanding, the polyurethane foam managed to find a way out and despite a little leaking from the driver's hatch. Although, the contact with air was quick and material became solid before escaping to the outside, covering the panel lines and kit details. After 3-4 small doses of polyurethane foam, with several hours stall time between injections, the material properly inflated and occupied all the available volume of the scale model’s interior. Because of wrong calculations during last injection, polyurethane foam escaped from the nearest (and only) way out - the crew commander’s hatch. Fortunately, this was the last dose and the excess was removed quickly with a spatula, while having established such a case, the protective coating of the outer surface with masking tape, proved thoughtful choice. After the last dose of polyurethane foam hardened, the excess material overflow from the driver's and crew commander’s hatches were removed carefully, using No 11 blade on modeling knife. With the method described in the previous paragraphs, I achieved to: Fill the interior of the FDCV scale model with foam that can absorb vibrations and distribute throughout the mass of polyester, Apply a hard duty adhesive tape across the inner surface, to hold united the shattered parts of polyester if ever broken. The above protection measures, are not necessary (and possibly not recommended) for use on 99% of commercial kits marketed. The polyester material specificity however and the possible danger to break after few months or years, after losing its elasticity and becoming harder and inflexible (and therefore fragile), enforce these protecting measures to ensure better luck VS possible shock hits & hard vibrations during scale model transport.

CHAPTER II - Do you feel lucky? Since I had the official technical & maintenance manual of the real FDCV - Fire Direction Center Vehicle in hands, I thought that it would be a good idea to open panels, hatches, doors etc and try to scratchbuild full interior, showing the crew working benches, the "Pythagoras" FPU - Fire Control Unit computers, the driver's compartment, both front & left side APU - Auxiliary Power Unit hatches, the engine & batteries compartments etc. Obviously, the idea to open hatches and scratchbuild full interior was a huge mistake. Unfortunately, because of my enthusiasm, I had already begun to rip the towing cable which of course was perfectly imprinted, but my modeling knife had an irresistible desire to cut-cut-cut!. In fact, I had already built from scratch a towing new cable, using telephone wire. Yeah, I admit, that I regret my previous choice as soon as the blade started to cut and remove the polyester. I had already crossed the "red thin line" that demarcates the controlled risk - I was playing with fire! I felt like gambling on Blackjack and asking the dealer to hit cards, while I already had a “21” in my hand! At this exact moment, I recovered and remember my childhood hero San Francisco Police Department Inspector "Dirty" Harry Callahan asking (click HERE): "...considering that this is a polyester resin rare to find model that does not forgive mistakes and requires special attention, you got to ask yourself: 'do I feel lucky?'..." Do you feel lucky? Well, do ya? If this was an aircraft or helicopter scale model, hell yeah, I would 100% try to scratch. But just because I am an AFV rookie and considering that polyester resin does not forgive mistakes and this FDCV - Fire Direction Center Vehicle scale model is quite difficult to find & buy again if something goes wrong, I chose something with low risk, such as “straight from the box” building. Maybe some of you might expecting a project from scratch with full interior and opened hatches, but it should be postponed for another time - perhaps after 30 years, when I am planning to build an AFV scale model again. ...thanks to Uncle Harry, I stopped cutting before ruining this beautiful polyester scale model.

Few small holes were spotted on the polyester resin kit, obviously due to bubbles created during the casting process. Fortunately, these small spots were observed only on the inside part of the polyester resin kit and these holes were not big enough to reach the outer side. However, because I didn’t want to risk any future unpleasant surprises, I thought as a nice idea to fill the area with epoxy filler. Keep in mind, that few months or years after casting, the polyester resin becomes fully polymerized and gets so hardened, that it’s easy to break like a glass. The possibility that the slightest vibration during scale model’s transport could create a crack starting from the point inside the bubble and leading to the outer surface of the model, is always present. These small holes were filled with epoxy cream. I prefer to use epoxy putty (or polyester filler with fiberglass grains for special purposes) instead of normal scale modeling putty, to close gaps or build new items, because: It becomes solid rock within only few minutes or seconds, It does not shrink and does not crack after months or years, It can be poured to any shape that you want but you need to work fast because as soon as you mix it with catalyst cream approx 5%, you have limited time before becoming solid rock, Additional layers of epoxy or polyester filler can also build up, It can be sawed, sanded, drilled etc and is compatible with any type of scale modelling glue & any type of primer or enamel / acrylic paint with no problem at all, It can be purchased at any good crafts store into 250ml, 500ml, 1lt (comes with a tube of catalyst hardener) or bigger canisters and if you can't find it, fear not and try your local decent hardware store and finally... It is cheaper than dirt - estimated prices are £3 to £10 depending the canister size, the quality, if contains fiberglass grains for maximum strength etc. Keep in mind that the chemical reaction after mixing the filler with the catalyst hardener, produces some heat that possibly effect on thin plastic parts, so test it first before try it on your scale model. I don’t think that the produced heat is more than Fahrenheit 110°, but better watch out.

CHAPTER I - Polyester resin preparation & cleaning Since I had to accept that this stupid bet I lost, could compare like Hell become frozen, I should keep my promise before El Diablo himself got aware and switch on the heaters again. I really hate it. I even tried to avoid it by all means, I used every possible and impossible excuse, but the answer was “NO”! In short, I’m in deep sh!t and I have to complete building process. Pacta sunt servanda… While I was inspecting the resin pieces, I noticed some marks on the surface of polyester, which looked like raised stains as defects in the casting mold. Fortunately my scale modeling mentors trained me well and I was prepared for such situations. Obviously, these marks were the remains of the liquid chemical used in the preparation of polyester resin and it's not unusual in such kits. Keeping in mind that the polyester resin chemical composition is such that can be cleaned by nitrocellulose lacquer thinner, without harming the structure, I decided to use nitrocellulose lacquer thinner to clean up locally. The nitrocellulose lacquer thinner cleaning method described below and shown in the following pictures, should never be applied on plastic injection molded kits, because the results would be disastrous and your model will become like a chewed gum. My good friend Demitris “Jagdpanther” Pravinos, who is a WWII German armoured vehicles specialist and dedicated scale modeller, sent me few hundreds cups (actually spray canister caps) he found and looked ideal to use them for mixing colours, modelling putty etc. Few drops of nitrocellulose lacquer thinner were just enough. Using a cotton swab, I spread the nitrocellulose lacquer thinner on target stain, rubbed and the chemical were magically dissolved, leaving completely intact the surface of polyester resin and the kit detail. The result can be noticed into following pictures. Same technique was applied to other parts of the kit where chemical residues observed treatment of polyester resin. Keep in mind that use of preventive measures, such as in disposable surgical gloves from latex, masks with similar filters to protect against possible fumes, etc. is always recommended during handling epoxy resins materials or resin powder contact. These nasty materials are not too very friendly to our health. Taking care of our health is a serious factor that should not be left to chance, not to challenge the lungs or the finger skin! I personally recommend to wear a coverall suit to protect your clothes and keep polyester or epoxy resin dust ‘n’ chips away. Some people might say “too much”, but nobody wants to convey polyester or epoxy resin dust ‘n’ chips and other dangerous carcinogenic filings found on our modelling bench in the family’s living room and into the arms of loved ones.

Unable to resist the temptation to compare the small details of the White Tower Models polyester resin kit with the Italeri’s M-109 kit. In the first picture the White Tower Models polyester resin kit (light green colored), and the second picture is the 1990ies era Italeri's M-109 kit (dark green colored). In similar way, I placed side by side and compare the tracking wheels. In the following picture, the left wheel (light green colored) is the White Tower Models polyester resin kit, and the right wheel (dark green colored) is from the Italeri’s M-109 kit. The following pieces are very fragile, so I carefully placed them on foam and stored them, till using on kit. The use of polyester resin, makes the kit suitable for advanced modelers - not for rookies. Considering that I have zero experience on tracked AFV / IFV / SPG scale models, the chances to complete successfully this project are… less than few! For this reason, I keep the right tool next to me and if something goes wrong, or polyester resin give me hard time, I decided to test the fast-moving hammer impact effects, onto polyester resin made scale model.

The polyester resin pieces were carefully placed into sealed transparent bags. Careful inspection followed to spot any possible defects, cracks, gaps, etc. As expected, everything was normal.

The 1/35 scale FDCV kit I got directly from White Tower Models company, was carefully packaged. The assembly instructions contained in the kit is actually a simple B&W printed A3 size sheet, folded to form a 4 page guide describes the building stages and also providing some B&W pictures of the real FDCV as well.

1/35 scale FDCV - Fire Direction Center Vehicle Hellenic Army polyester resin model by White Tower Models As a result of a stupid bet I lost, I had to build and present a tracked AFV / SPG scale model or sing the "Panzerlied" in public. Considering that it’s more possible to watch Hell becoming frozen than me building a tracked AFV / IFV / SPG scale model, I had to accept that this stupid bet I lost, could be the beginning of my new era. I thought that building a modern AFV, would be more appropriate for me, because the WWII steel had never been my speciality. To be more accurate, I could barely spot the difference between a Tiger and a King Tiger - only if the King Tiger got the royal crown on turret. Otherwise, it’s all same to me. As an AFV scale modeling rookie, I (wrongly) thought that just because it happened to met few M-109s and the FDCV (in which I received the basic training provided for Hellenic Army Artillery young officers) during my days as a Hellenic Army’s School of Artillery cadet, I could easily build the model in scale. In the following picture, me as a Hellenic Army’s School of Artillery cadet, back in the mid 90ies. My brother in arms was really ugly and I had to fill pixels on his face. I studied the Hellenic Army’s FDCV 500 pages technical manual which is the best reference I could get before start the project. The FDCV received by the Hellenic Army under special order to cover the Artillery demands. The FDCV differs (apart from the obvious operational role) a number of external details from the basic M-992 FAASV - Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle version, used by NATO militaries as a 155mm projectile carrier. The FDCV - Fire Direction Center Vehicle is a modified M-992A2 FAASV - Field Artillery Ammunition Supply Vehicle which has been reconfigured into a POC - Platoon Operations Center. The FDCV - Fire Direction Center Vehicle / FAOCV - Field Artillery Operations Center Vehicle is the command & control partner for M-109 series howitzers. Based on the M-109 family of vehicles, FDCV/FAOCV provides low-cost, survivable command & control for artillery operations. It is a highly mobile, maintainable and survivable platform that can set up in minutes. A flexible design includes up to four computer workstations, or it can be configured for manual operations. It supports multiple radio and computer systems and can be equipped with an optional antenna mast that greatly aids in command and control missions. The system provides the command element with the same mobility as the M-109A6 Paladin. If required, bolt-on armour can be added to protect the specialist personnel and equipment carried. The FDCV/FAOCV shares a common chassis, automotive controls and drive train with the M-109 family, greatly enhancing maintainability, and it is 80% common to the M-992 FAASV - Field Artillery Ammunition Support Vehicle, increasing battlefield survivability. This vehicle was highly rated during Task Force XXI, where it maintained a 99.3% operational readiness rate. The FDCV was been tested at the US Army School of Artillery at Fort Sill to prove the feasibility and function of the concept under field and NBC conditions. Two FDCVs replaced two of the six M-1068 SICPS belonging to the EXFOR artillery battalion (4-42 FA) in the TF XXI. The following equipment was carried in the prototype FDCV: Mast system with OE254 antenna which is 11.28 m high when elevated, Mast elevation control box & mast elevation control power unit, Packet digital radio, 4 x RT-524/VRC receiver/transmitter radios printer, 9 stations of liquid cooling vest connect points, Tactical graphics terminal & tactical display, ANS 2000 land navigation system display, ANS 2000 land navigation system heading reference unit, M-13A1 filtered air system for NBC ventilated face pieces, M-43 NBC detector, M-42 alarm and M-49 NBC collective protective system, APU - Auxiliary Power unit, 36000 BTU cooling/heating air-conditioner v Ventilation filter/blower, PDP-1134 HEL computer & plotter, CRT terminal, digitizer, liquid cooling vest control box, M-10 protective entrance, battery boxes & batteries; liquid cooling vest chilling unit, 4 extra personnel seats & additional stowage compartments etc. A system is a standard reconfigured FAASV and a pair of "Pythagoras" lightweight computer units and associated equipment. "Pythagoras" is a microprocessor based artillery computer consisting of the main FPU - Fire Control Unit and six remote GDT - Gun Display Terminals. The system performs fire control at battery level and features easy and interactive operation, multiple preprogrammed menus and on-line transmission of firing data. Further development of "Pythagoras" includes full backwards system compatibility, single board computer architecture, multiple calipers and I/O serial communication port. One of the LCUs is loaded with BCS - Battery Computer System and the other is loaded with AFATDS - Advanced Field Artillery Technical Data System software. One of the stations is outfitted with a V2 Applique Computer and its associated situation awareness software. The FDO - Fire Direction Officer has a separate work station which will consist of a desk-like surface, storage for documentation, manuals, ancillary equipment, a map board, and a 21" flat panel display to a monitor either of the LCUs or the V2 applique computer. The work station has one VRC-89 SINCGARS - Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System with all associated hardware. The radio is modified to include the TF XXI SINCGARS SIP/INC - System Improvement Program capabilities and internet controller. The FDCV also has one VRC-90 and VRC-92 SINCGARS SIP/INC radios. Since I had already brought myself into 1/35 “troubles”, I got the FDCV scale model directly from White Tower Models company, based in Thessaloniki, Greece. Mr. Christos Simitsis, who is the White Tower Models founder, produced some polyester resin scale model kits such as…1/35 scale Mistral A/A missile launching base, 1/35 scale FDCV - Fire Direction Center Vehicle, 1/35 scale Mercedes Benz 240GD G-wagen 4x4 vehicle, 1/35 scale conversion kits for Leopard 1 A4/GR1/A5/V, 1/35 scale Leonidas I & II IFV - Infantry Fighting Vehicle, ...and other scale products since early 1990ies. Today, almost 20 years after first public release of the 1/35 scale FDCV model, the White Tower Models continues to product very few kits & sell selectively mostly to friends. Mr. Christos Simitsis, named his White Tower Models company after the White Tower, which is the trade mark monument and museum, located on the waterfront of the city of Thessaloniki, Greece. Some pictures of mediaeval White Tower monument, as seen behind a statue of King Philip II, father of Alexander the Great - the most famous Greek ever.

WIP thread can be found by clicking HERE. Regards, Nick

WIP thread can be found by clicking HERE. For those who are interested to check more info & pics, feel free to have a look on our Anyuta 3D printed scale models products catalog. Wife as website operator & sales cordinator is always ready to answer customer questions regarding 3D printed scale model kit & diorama accessories products. Thank you all for following this thread and I hope you enjoyed reading this article. I’ll meet you soon, on my next WIP - possibly a 3D printed.one. Regards, Nick

Rick, Ι 'm trying to figure out, but "...its all Greek to me..."

Yes, now I can understand what you mean. Well, let me tell you how I did get involved with this "3D printing" situation: FIRST STEPS: Since I started building scale models at the age of 7, I always loved to build from zero. Scratchbuilding was so fascinating for me. The last hmmm... many years, I scratch only - OK, maybe not exclusively scratchbuilding, but pretty much. When I first learned about 3D printing technology few years ago, I immediatelly realized that this "tool" was about to become a great change for scale modeling, but never had the right oportunity to start exploring the story behind it. I started my quest on 3D printing world few months before, by studing user's manuals, tutorials & books found through the net or my local book store. I tried my first 3D designing attempts, using the basic CAD software and within a short time evolved, I became better and better every day. Now, I 'm able to operate more sophisticated e-tools & professional CAD software and I can design almost anything. If I was able to do it (with no special CAD studies), anybody can do it! If I managed to learn how to 3D design, improve, reconstruct & print my own models, in only few months period, anybody can also do it - possibly much better than me. SOFTWARE: Someone asked me which CAD software I use. Well, I'm not using one specific software only. Sometimes, creating a CAD file, requires cooperation of several programs. If you start using simple software you can usually buy cheap or even get for free, shortly you will surely become able to use more complicated software & create almost anything you like. For me, the AutoCAD is the Mother of all. HOW SMALL: Another question may arise is about the minimum size of the objects can be produced with nowdays 3D printers. For example, could this new technology be usefull for 1/48, 1/72 or smaller scale model builders? Well, as far as I know (I m not professional on 3D printing) and I hope I'm not wrong, the smallest size a comercial 3D printer can produce, is about 7/10 of a milimeter. So, if you like for example to build a part in 1/72 scale, calculate how thick / wide / long it is in reality, devide it by 72 and if result is more than 7/10 of a milimeter, I believe that yes, it could be 3D printed. Next step, is to create it virtualy as a CAD file. CAD FILES: You may wonder, where CAD files can be found, in order to use for printing. As you undertsand, when someone start his "career" as an amateur CAD designer, he may experiment with other people's CAD files, first. There are thousand of CAD files that can be found on internet for free or you can also buy from professional designers. The bad news are that CAD files are not neccessery 3D printable! I've seen some excellent CAD models that really took my breath away, but unfortunately, the vast majority of them were NOT 3D printable! Just because a talented CAD designer has managed to create a wonderfuli life alike CAD file for use in 3D animation, or a computer graphics based game or else, it doesn't actually means that this specific file can be 3D printed and be generated into a real life object! I will not go into technical details that may be tedious and boring, but this is precisely the greatest difficulty for a designer who creates a file to later become printable under scale. To build from scratch a CAD file that can be later printed as an actual object, with accurate on scale volumetric proportions, is not rocket engineer ofcourse, but its not a piece of cake also. COPYRIGHT: As you understand, any CAD file is copyright of its own designer. If a designer accepts to provide files for free, go ahead. That, in simple words means that if you need any (printable or not printable) CAD file from other designer, you 'll have to ask his kind permission to use it OR buy it! In case that the original CAD designer accept to provide you free OR sell a CAD file, that means that you can ONLY use it for your own purposes only - NOT earn money from selling it. After all, its result of someone's hard work, isn't it? RESOLUTION: The thing is - as previously wrote - that the nowdays 3D printers are not perfect yet and may leave traces that look like finely ridged surface. Its a result from the resolution of the nozzle laying down the plastic, especially when no acrylic based polymers or V-cured acrylic plastics are used. These special matterials can print fine details, give a smooth & slightly shiny result, but for the moment, cost more. A direct analogy would be LASER printing VS offset litho! The early LASER printers did 300 dots per inch and you could see the ridges if you looked closely, but nowadays you would be very hard put to see jagged edges, even with a magnifying glass. I'm sure that in a few years - much earlier than we all think - the 3D products quality will be excellent and perfect mouldings will happen. FUTURE: We are in front of a new era for scale modeling. Anyone can have access to this CAD designing & 3D printing tool. But as you know, each tool may become "useful" or "useless", "necessary" or "nonessential", depending on the hand that operates it. What really concerns me, is not so much the introduction of 3D printers as a usefull application into scale modeling, but the possibility that some of the things we take for granted, might never be the same again. For example, it is very likely that the model kits you buy from your local hobby shop, will not continue exist in their present form any more. Have you ever thought, that future shopping will not include visiting your local hobby shop to pick your favorite model kit from the shelves? Have you ever thought, that it is likely to buy the 3D file online and later print it on our home 3D printer, wearing your 3D printed slippers & drinking your coffe into a 3D printed mug same time? Freaky huh? CONCLUSION: I don't really know if "...today, the prowess died..." as Spartan king Agesilaus said or if "...today, the scratch building died...". Maybe we could say that "...today, the scratch building was re-born...". Actually, scratch building might never disappear as long as there is someone out there, who prefers to get his fingernails dirty with paint & glue, than hitting a keyboard. And he 'll keep doing that even if the machine product will be much more detailed, perfectly accurate on scale & built within few minutes instead of weeks, months or even years. You know why? For the f... joy of creation! For the satisfaction to proudly say "...I built this unique piece...". So, WTF we modelers actually need...? Need an engine for your model? Print it! Need more? Print more! Need all kit parts? Print all! Sky is the limit...

CHAPTER XII - Epilogue Final details were added and I tried some close-up pictures. Although initially I plan to represent a brand new bright ‘n’ shiny Bölkow Bö-102 Helitrainer, I changed my mind during the building process and finally decide to present as found in an abandoned small airfield in Vlotho, where the Helitrainer used to rest for decades till found and finally donated to the Hubschraubermuseum helicopter museum in Bückeburg, Germany. The museum workshop team, managed to restore it and display it as on of these experimental helicopter training devices. That is why I preferred to add much wear, dust and stains from oil and scorched medals at several points and some rust as example in the exhaust. I tried black paper background (instead of white) & different light conditions. CHAPTER XIII - Aknowledgments I would like to express my special thanks to: All fellow scale modelers, who have expressed their ideas through this forum and suggested solutions to technical issues encountered during this WIP. Mr. George Papadimitriou, owner of Hobby Gallery hobby shop and exclusive distributor for LifeColor & AK Interactive products in Greece, for his kind support and providing all the goodies I asked for - from A to Z. My sweetheart wife, who actively participated in the project as an indispensable assistant, offering me relaxing neck massage while working on my bench. Finally, for those who are interested to check more info & pics, feel free to have a look on our Anyuta 3D printed scale models products catalog. Wife as website operator & sales cordinator is always ready to answer customer questions regarding 3D printed scale model kit & diorama accessories products. Thank you all for following this thread and I hope you enjoyed reading this article. I’ll meet you soon, on my next WIP - possibly a 3D printed.one. Regards, Nick

CHAPTER XI - Instructor’s bicycle type seat construction I almost forgot to build the instructor’s bicycle type seat in which he sits, next to the student pilot. Using plasticine, I made an image cast of how I would like seat’s surface to look like. I only had to push the material gently with fingers and got the desired shape - in fact, the process took less than 5 seconds. Using a small amount of Milliput putty, I made a small ball, dust it with talcum powder and pressed it against the working bench with a roller until it becomes as thin as could get. The use of talcum powder is necessary to avoid Milliput sticking on roller or fingers and get easier to handle without tearing to pieces. When the Milliput was pretty thin, I lifted it and place it on the plasticine image cast I made earlier, to let it follow the shape and curves of the seat. Using an old wet brush, I let few drops of water on the Milliput sheet, to make it softer and easier to follow the seat shape and left it overnight to get harden. Of course, the same technique can be also used to build blankets, truck covers, etc. I left the Milliput overnight to get polymerized. As soon as it was got harden, I removed the plasticine image cast and cut the seat, as shown into the following pictures. Using airbrush, basic blue colour and shades of sand & rusty brown tones sprayed at low pressure to represent the weathering and dusting on the seat and the lower part of the landing pad with supporting base. After a satisfactory weathering result, the scale model was sprayed with mat enamel coat and left 24 hours to dry.

CHAPTER X - Clear canopy installation on bubble cabin The Bö-102’s cabin and one-piece glass bubble canopy, offers wide visibility for the student pilot. The absence of side doors is a benefit in a hot climate and also provides better vocal communication with trainer who sits nest to student pilot. Of course, canopy modifications can be done, as seen Bö-102s with total absence of glass canopy. As written and described into previous “CHAPTER” I, the basic shape of the thin-skinned, right-to-scale bubble typed canopy, was made by vacuum forming 1mm clear polycarbonate sheet, on a solid rock one-piece image cast made of modeling clay and additional layers of epoxy putty & polyester filler with fiberglass grains. To do so, the clear sheet were pined on a wooden frame, preheated into electric oven and as soon as I noticed that it started drooping down, I vacuum formed it. The clear sheet nicely formed around the canopy cast following the curves & details as planed. Using an X-acto knife, I removed the formed canopy bubble from the transparent sheet and start adding details, such as canopy's frame. The clear canopy frame was made by 1mm masking tape. Few drops of CA super glue applied on the right spots with great caution. Remember that CA super glue does fog the transparent parts and this canopy would not be an exception - that's why I placed some very tiny drops of it, just on few spots to secure the installation. After placing the clear canopy on cabin and adding few tiny drops of CA super glue just on few spots to secure the installation, small amounts of Squadron MMD green putty filled tiny gaps. Later, the green putty overages sanded lightly and the cabin prepared for airbrushing. The cabin was painted using the Life Color UA025 Light Gull Grey FS36440 acrylic paint and later the lower part was dusted by airbrushing a very light layer of Life Color LC37 Matt Burnt Umber FS3004 acrylic paint.

CHAPTER IX - Attempting the final assembly As soon as the individual scale model’s parts were already painted & weathered, I had to conclude the most difficult part. To assembly everything in one piece, without damaging the construction, the paint, the weather effect and of course ,my patience. That’s why I had to constantly monitor and try dry fit tests for each part during each step of this project, to ensure that I will not face any nasty surprises. The landing pad & the wheeled supporting base construction, would be the first to be placed on the tarmac display base. Everything secured in place with hidden pins encased in plaster & glued with CA super glue.

CHAPTER VIII - Tarmac & grass display base construction I found nice idea to place the Bö-102 Helitrainer on a display base, simulating a concrete ground area. The idea was to establish the picture of an abandoned small airfield in Vlotho, where the Helitrainer used to rest for decades till found and finally donated to the Hubschraubermuseum helicopter museum in Bückeburg, Germany. The museum workshop team, managed to restore it and display it as on of these experimental helicopter training devices. From my local store, I bought a 20x30cm polished wooden picture frame. I add some grams of plaster powder and few drops of water with a syringe into a soft rubber cup to make the right mixture. Materials like plaster, start as a dry powder that is mixed with water to form a paste which liberates heat and then hardens. Unlike mortar and cement, plaster remains quite soft after drying and this characteristic make plaster suitable for the job. Keep in mind that adding salt into wet plaster mixture, reduce the plaster's hardening time and adding vinegar into wet plaster mixture, extend the plaster's hardening time. When the first layer of thinned plaster applied on the picture frame, a glass were pushed against the plaster to form a flat basic strong cast. The basic idea, is to produce a totally flat cast and later add some detail or apply extra stuff where is needed. I left it few hours to get harden in order to be sure that the cast wouldn't break when I would try to cut it into desired shape. Meanwhile, I took the soft rubber cup which I used to make the plaster mixture, squized it to break the last hardened plaster left inside, so it would be easier for me to clean it afterwards and prepare it for any future mix. That's the reason this soft rubber cup were used for. As soon as the plaster cast got harden, cut into shape and the concrete plaques were lined with a scriber, I used my airbrush to paint it. After the polished wooden frame was covered with masking tape, three different acrylic paint layers were applied on the plaster surface. First, mat black colour covered the area and then a light grey applied with airbrush, spraying in almost zero degrees angle, to let the darker areas between the concrete plaques remain naturally dark. The corner was paint with earth tones and as soon as the acrylic colours dried, I tried some drybrushing on selected spots using sand tones. As for he grass & plants, I used different colors of static grass from my local hobby shop, empty them into a plastic box and make a mixture. Water based white glue for wood, which becomes transparent when it dries, is just the right for the job. So, I opened a 500gr canister bought for €2 only, pick a small quantity, add just few drops of water with a syringe into a small metal container to make the right mixture and finally I applied on the desired areas to be filled with grass & plants, using a wet brush. Because the mixture is enriched with water based glue, it is easy to correct possible mistakes. As soon as the result was OK, I sprayed over with Humbrol enamel mat coat, to seal the paint and grass, so far. I left it overnight and as soon as the enamel mat coat dried, I add very few light & dust effects with chalk dust and pigments.

CHAPTER VII - Applying paint, wash & weather effects Model parts were washed with liquid soap and warm water to disappear leaving oil traces, fingertips etc and then sprayed with Humbrol light grey primer. Usually, there are two available options for a scale modeler, to apply paint on a model: Paint the individual parts first and assemble the scale model later and Assemble the scale model parts first and paint the overall built model later. While building this Bölkow Bö-102 Helitrainer scale model project, the first option seemed as more appropriate and would make my job easy. Unfortunately, I had to follow the second option – and that was not the only bad news. Building first and painting later, would be more difficult and would take much longer, but the reason I chose first to assemble most of parts and paint later, is because most of the Bölkow Bö-102 Helitrainer scale model’s airframe consists of a tail boom structure, in which contained the Hirth 3-cylinder / 2-stroke 40hp ILO L3X375 piston engine, the transmission components, the cable wiring etc that could not be masked without causing any damage. It could be very difficult – maybe impossible - to airbrush for example the tail boom and manage to leave the interior details remain unaffected by the painting same time. Here comes the bad news: Tail boom structure would be painted by using fine brush and lot of patience to avoid leaving any brushing marks that would be clearly visible on such a big scale as the 1/18 is. After preparing the engine’s basic elements, connecting electric cables and oil or fuel lines, I airbrushed the engine block with Life Color LC24 Matt Aluminium FS37178 acrylic paint as a base coat and apply darker enamel mixtures using the Humbrol #27001, #27002, #27003 metal cote paint and finally add some Mr Metal Color #212 Iron on the engine and let about 24hrs to dry before trying dark brown and black washes. As I personally believe that following simple techniques and sometimes unconventional methods, result in superior effects, I usually do not use enamel or acrylic paint to wash, because I feel risky when applying the paint mixture and let it run. I prefer an easier technique that can be undone if the results are poor - that makes it the perfect technique. I use hard chalk pastels to wash (NOT oil pastels). The hard chalk pastels, looks like a teacher would use on the blackboard in school. Do not use the soft oil pastels that artist use to draw on paper. The hard chalk pastels are easy to find in a variety of colours into your local art store or maybe Wal-Mart if in US or ASDA if in UK. To do the wash, I use an blade, a small metal or plastic container, an old toothbrush, dish washing soap and a bit of water. Begin by scraping some chalk powder from the side of the chalk pastel stick, carefully put this chalk powder into the small container and add a tiny amount of water and stir. It is important to add a tiny amount of water in order to make the mixture look like mud - not like soup! For this reason, I use a syringe to add just few drops on the hard chalk pastel powder and I stir using the old brush. Because the chalk powder doesn't mix well with the water, a drop of dish washing soap is needed to break the surface tension of the water and also acts as a “glue” to help the chalk powder stick to the model. Once the chalk is fully dissolved into the water/soap mixture it is time to “paint” this mixture onto the model's engine. “Painting” the mixture is simple - just apply it anywhere it is needed to darken recessed detail. The mixture can be applied carelessly, because any mistakes can be completely removed and redone. Once the chalk wash dried, I rubbed off the high spots with a slightly damp dry (not wet) Q-Tip cotton swab (Kleenex papers can be also used) and I wiped the dark colour from the areas should be light & shinny. The high spots were cleaned to the bare metal finish and the low spots were left black. I did the chalk wash on the engine in under 30 minutes which makes it a very quick and effective technique. Some of the wash mixture is re-applied and the wash being wiped completely out of the narrow points. If you follow this method, it is adviced to not rinse out the wash container till you are finished this job. You will probably be touching up certain spots a few times, so it helps if you're not mixing up a new chalk mixture each time because you kept cleaning out your container of the chalk wash mixture. As soon as I paint the electric cables, the oil or fuel lines etc, I repeated the wash process with lighter colours where needed. Using micro cotton batons found into cosmetic shop for less than 1£, I applied some brown chalk pastel powder on the engine's chrome exhaust, to make it look overheated. I repeated the weathering process until it satisfied me and finally I sprayed a Humbrol clear coat to seal the chalk powder on the engine. Dark brownish pigments & chalk powder shades, dissolved in water and spread in selected engine block spots gave a better look. When satisfied with the result, I began the tail boom painting process. To do so, I used the Life Color UA140 Yellow RLM 04 FS33538 colour which is actually the colour found into the official Bölkow’s technical order manual. Paint applied over 2-3 very diluted (almost pure water) thin layers, one after another, using a fine brush, keeping in mind that leaving paint marks should be avoided.

CHAPTER VI - Main rotor blade & transmission components construction The rotor blade is made of styrene sheet softened in boiling water to stretch 'n' turn in a way to look realistic. I also tried soft and careful sanding on the blade's leading edge to be shaped as realistic as it should be. The transmission shaft components and minor details also made of styrene, sprue and metal wire bond together with CA super glue. Everything was sprayed with Humbrol light grey primer when ready to paint.

Each fuel tank, is placed on metal plate / receiver base and secured in place by hoops and tensioners, as seen into the following picture. In order to reproduce, these metal plate / receiver bases, I tried vacuum forming. Because I was planning to use smaller wooden frame to secure the styrene (the pieces to be vacuum formed are small and there is no need to spend big styrene sheet), I had to close the outer holes on the hardboard high-density fibreboard plate. To do so, I cut a plastic bag in shape and covered as required the desired area. The twin fuel tanks, wedged halfway into plasticine and placed on the vacuum former plate to form the fuel tanks receivers. I pinned a styrene plastic sheet on the wooden frame, insert it into the preheated electric oven as described before and as soon as I noticed that the plastic got warm enough and started drooping down, I removed it from the oven and thrown the sheet on the vacuum former plate, while the vacuum cleaner was already plugged & switched on. This procedure may take some practice and sometimes a mould tips over or the plastic won’t form properly over the mould (folding around edges). This is also the part where I should warn you that you can burn your fingers - I highly recommend Nomex Aramid flame resistant MilSpec gloves, which I personally use for the job. I buy large plastic styrene 50x30cm sheets for €0.5 to €1.5 each (depending width), not the more expensive styrene by Evergreen. When an attempt fails, I usually throw the sheet back in the oven and start again. Once you have the machine, you can make all kinds of things. You can make a lot of aircraft wings, airframe, panels etc out of a sheet like that. You can make the master moulds from balsa wood, epoxy, polyester etc and the parts you make depend on how accurate the master moulds are. The moulds must be as accurate and detailed as necessary to achieve the results you are after. The plastic nicely formed around the fuel tanks moulds and here is how it looks like. Using a new #11 stainless steel surgical blade, I removed the formed pieces from the styrene sheet. The yellow stuff appears in the picture, is plasticine surplus - the plasticine used to secure the twin epoxy tanks on the vacuum former plate and caged into vacuum formed plastic sheet. Later, these two receiver bases will be sanded as required and some details such as securing hoops and tensioners to keep the twin fuel tanks in place will be added. Some additional details were added to the fuel tank canisters. The left side fuel tank, was placed on the receiver base and strapped with hoops & tensioners to keep in place, while the right side fuel tank is to be placed on the ground, with the filler cap opened, simulating maintenance procedure.

CHAPTER V - Fuel tank canisters construction Once sprayed with the Humbrol acrylic grey primer the model’s constructed pieces so far, I thought it would be a good idea to use the spray cap in a productive way to construct two identical fuel tank canisters. The reason I chose to use this, is that the cup is made of a quite flexible polyamide material and the Miliput standard epoxy putty could hardly stack onto it. Using styrene, I split the cap cylinder’s inner area into 4 quadrants. The space of two of these quadrants, would be used as molds, filled with Miliput standard epoxy putty. To ensure that the epoxy putty would be easily removed after the polymerization, a generous coat of baby oil was applied on the contact surfaces. Johnson's baby oil or similar, is well know to anybody who have children in house. If you are not a father yet, ask your sweet girlfriend - all girlfriends have a tiny baby oil bottle in their cosmetics drawer, especially the beautiful and those who pay particular attention to their beauty & appearance. If you don't have a girlfriend, close this web page at once, shut down your PC/laptop and get your feet out of house to meet one! Scale modeling is nice & productive hobby, but feeling a beautiful female next to you, is much better. Thin layers of vaseline based mixtures can be also used instead of baby oil to apply with a soft brush as a segregative material between the styrene side walls and epoxy putty. For those who feel like pioneers and might want to go one step further, you can also use aviation oil. Aluminum foil was placed underneath to avoid spilling the cut surface and to prevent the epoxy material to stick to the green cutting surface. When the cap cylinder, was filled with epoxy putty and had enough time to polymerize and get solid rock, it was slightly pressed and the epoxy cast removed easily. That’s the reason why it would be nice for the cylinder to be made of flexible polyamide material. With this simple and easy way, two identical pieces with the exact same curvature and volumetric dimensions, were built in just a few minutes. These twin epoxy parts, can be now used as a base to shape into the Bö-102 fuel tanks. Having measured the desired dimensions, the two identical epoxy blocks were cut the same length. Few epoxy overcast remains that were left, were also removed during cutting process. Remember that epoxy materials are dangerous when breath or shallow and could result skin, eyes or lungs severe problems or even cancer when used for long period with no precaution measures. Always keep in mind, that a powerful vacuum system to suck away the epoxy dust should be used all time to keep the workbench area clean while sanding or milling epoxy or resin materials. Using an issued breathing mask and a pair of surgery latex gloves to prevent dust contact with lungs and fingers while sanding or milling epoxy, is also an important matter that you should seriously take care of! My recommendation is to also wear an overall working suit (as I do) to keep your clothes dust free while sanding epoxy. Some people might find it too much, but I wouldn't like to bring epoxy dust & grains from my workbench into living room and my beloved. …if you are still reading the WIP article so far, you are a proud father already or you have a beautiful girlfriend to spend your money faster than you earn it. The twin epoxy blocks got trimmed and sanded gradually to shape into the desired form and look realistic Helitrainer fuel tanks into scale. Later, few thin layers of liquid scale modelling filler applied over the epoxy to smooth out small imperfections and be seen as a comprehensive outcome.

CHAPTER IV - Landing pad & supporting base construction Having obtained a number of information data & pictures about the structure and functioning details of the Bölkow Bö-102 Helitrainer, I have concluded, that this training aid could be found in various versions. In most photographs, a solid land-fixed construction is visible, consisting of a system based on 4 sliding legs, stretched around, ensuring secure support. Nevertheless, both diagrams & photographs show that this was not the only version, as there were some Bö-102s which were based on inflatable rubber pads to float on water or wheeled bases which enabled transport of the device in different places, even into a hangar. Careful observation of the individual photographs and archive material showed that there are too many differences between these Bö-102s. Therefore, taking under account that only 18 were produced, I do not think too much to assume that each one of them was completely different from each other. For my 1/18 scale project, I chose to recreate the wheeled version, which seemed to me as more interesting than others. As you can see in the following pictures, the landing pad & supporting base was built by styrene plastic, sprue, metal wire and glued with CA super glue and Humbrol liquid polysterine glue. When it looked OK to me, it was sprayed over with Humbrol acrylic primer to spot any mistakes and be ready for final paint. Each part was fit tested to ensure that anything can be combined together as one piece.

CHAPTER III - Tail boom frame & engine construction Following the 1/18 scale printed diagrams and using just a sharp #11 blade and superglue, it took about 2 hours to build the basic tail boom frame. The tiny gaps between the connections, were filled with a combination of Squadron MMD white & green putty, applied with an old brush. In order to make the putty liquid and let it spread naturally and fill the tiny gaps, I mixed it with lacquer thinner. As I wrote before, because the lacquer thinner is volatile, the liquid putty mixture took about 45 minutes to get fully dry and be safe to sand - carefully of course. Squadron MMD putty and lacquer thinner mixed into metal (glass is also OK) plate, because the most plastic materials cannot stand it and melt. Because the Hirth 3-cylinder / 2-stroke 40hp ILO L3X375 piston engine is attached just behind the cabin, placed under the two fuel tank canisters, is clearly visible. Unfortunately, although I tried to avoid it because I am a lazy guy, the engine had to be built from scratch - keep in mind that engine building is my personal scale modelling nightmare. For this reason, I prayed to God to kindly send me a sign or even an ready built engine to fit in my 1/18 scale project. I was expecting for a miracle to happen, but waited in vain. That might means that God has a sense of humor and wanted to see me to spend inconvenience. So, after waiting some more time the miracle to happen and after I finally realized that it was impossible to rain free 1/18 scale engines on my bench, I decided to build one from scratch, using styrene, epoxy putty and a number of absolutely unidentified parts found into my spare box. After completing my attempt, placing the engine into place and airbrushing acrylic primer paint to look unified, I was happily surprised that the result did actually look like a Hirth ILO L3X375 piston engine! As soon as the joints between the tail boom parts were securely glued with combination of CA super glue and Humbrol liquid polysterine glue and later filled with Squadron MMD green putty on tiny gaps, it was carefully sanded with sand paper and nail files, found at the local supermarket and bought for less than 1 euro per 10 files. The following toll attached to my miniplex to reach difficult spots and areas, that sand paper and nail files could not safely operate. It was about time to sit back and take a break! I asked wife to prepare a nice cold café frappé for me. I had time for a close inspection on the model so far, while she was preparing this refreshment for me. For all you who do no clearly understand what is the café frappé, please let me explain that it is a foam-covered iced coffee drink made from spray-dried instant coffee. It is very popular in Greece especially during summer, but has now spread on to other countries. In French, when describing a drink, the word frappé means shaken and / or chilled; however, in popular Greek culture, the word “frappé” is predominantly taken to refer to the shaking associated with the preparation of a café frappé. For more infos, click HERE or visit a Greek island during this summer and relax on the beach enjoying a café frappé to feel the Greek way difference. You might think that I throw away the plastic straw after drinking the coffee? Hell no! Just wash with water and I had the basic material to build the exhaust tube, right on scale. The tail rotor blade was build by styrene & sprue, airbrushed and dry fitted into place to give me an idea if it looks right. At last the battery pack was built of epoxy and some cables and flexible air intake hoses added too. Control cables and wiring made of 0.20mm fishing line. Tail boom fins are made of forded copper and styrene. The fuel tank canisters and the fuel lines will later described. Everything covered with a light grey acrylic and placed into box to wait the final painting.