PZL P.11c - Polish Fighter - IBG - 1/32

[DocRob]

Hola friends of distinguished modelling, 
I started a new build recently, as I somehow like aircrafts, which were constructed in the pre war era, an era representing important changes in plane design. There is the transition to the single wing, full metal construction or the retractable undercarriage, to name only a few.
I chose the fine IBG kit along some AM, like a Yahu dashboard, brass barrels and Venturi horn, resin wheels and some pre colored PE seatbelts.
I will not bore you with an in depth building report, because there are some and I think, it's a fine kit from what I saw until now, with just some difficulties, I will point out.

Another reason, why I choose the PZL is, I want to experiment with the paintjob. The idea is to brush paint the whole plane with oil colors, which I hope will give the snort brown / light blue grey scheme a little live with accentuation. The plane is ideal for such a task, as it's a monoplane, where all the surfaces seem to be in reach with a brush and there is no complicated camo, as the fuselage is completely covered in this ugly brown color.
The cooling ring in front of the cowling will be no exception, as I plan to use metal waxes to depict the weathered copper.

So far for the plans .

I started the construction with the engine and cockpit parts which are added with a relatively high amount of supplied PE, which you have to use, because there is no plastic substitute included. Attachment points are sometimes very small and together with the mediocre manual, the placement and alignment of the parts is not that easy. The painting instructions also leave a lot to be desired, as they show for example with only one color printed picture, how the complete cockpit is colored, not very clear. I was expecting a somewhat faster build, but you have to go step by step here.

I like to paint small sub assemblies or single parts for detailing prior to assemble the whole thing. This will not work in case of the fragile cockpit framing and I have to paint larger sub assemblies, than I feel comfortable with. 

This is where I am in the moment. All PE is kit supplied, the only extra work I did was to drill the front center frame with a 0,5 mm bit for more realism.

Cheers Rob

[KevinM]

I will be interested Rob in this painting technique you are going after and this metal waxes? when you get to that point(wax) please expand.

[Peterpools]

Rob

Brilliant choice for your next project and as usual, you're off to a flying start. brush painting with oils - sounds quite the challenge and I'm sure we will all learn from your progress.

Keep 'e, comin

Peter

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, KevinM said:

I will be interested Rob in this painting technique you are going after and this metal waxes? when you get to that point(wax) please expand.

 

46 minutes ago, Peterpools said:

Brilliant choice for your next project and as usual, you're off to a flying start. brush painting with oils - sounds quite the challenge and I'm sure we will all learn from your progress

Thank you gentlemen, painting will be an experiment with unsure outcome, but I used oil colors on different occasions for wood painting weathering and figure painting and liked the way to work with them a lot, lets see...

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

I'm already in my seat - front and center and enjoying your build thread.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[Kaireckstadt]

Interesting kit and nice start.

Seldom seen here. Will follow this with great interest Rob! Place reserved for me? 🍿

[GazzaS]

Rob, nice start to what looks like a delicate assembly.  I'll be looking forward to seeing how your paint scheme goes.  Especially metal waxes...  want to know all about them.

[DocRob]

15 hours ago, Kaireckstadt said:

Interesting kit and nice start.

Seldom seen here. Will follow this with great interest Rob! Place reserved for me? 🍿

 

13 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Rob, nice start to what looks like a delicate assembly.  I'll be looking forward to seeing how your paint scheme goes.  Especially metal waxes...  want to know all about them.

Thank you Kai and Gaz, there will be first paint soon, but only the engine and cockpit. For these I will use an airbrush, brush painting the delicate cockpit framing could lead to knocking parts off.

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

Rob, what’s IBG like, never built any of their kits?……a good start with the pit, is the PE part of the kit……….looking forward to this…….

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, Bomber_County said:

Rob, what’s IBG like, never built any of their kits?……a good start with the pit, is the PE part of the kit……….looking forward to this…….

It's my first kit from IBG, but generally I heard good things about their kits. The plastic is very soft, but good to work with and until now I had no fit issues, flash or bad ejector pins are not present with the PZL. 
The detail of the plastic is great, fine riveting, the corrugated surfaces of the wings look just phenomenal. The kit is complete and doesn't necessarily need AM. There are even PE seat belts included.
Little downsides until now were very small connector tabs to glue together the cockpit framing and therefore a bit fiddly to assemble, but nothing really bad. The manual is not very good, especially when it comes to painting of the engine or cockpit area. 

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

You're off to a great start there Rob. Nice to see an uncommon subject being built. 

 

Carl

[harv]

Oh, I like. Will be following.....harv 

[DocRob]

On 9/26/2021 at 2:33 PM, BlrwestSiR said:

You're off to a great start there Rob. Nice to see an uncommon subject being built. 

 

On 9/26/2021 at 5:22 PM, harv said:

Oh, I like. Will be following.....harv 

Thank you Señhores, I somehow start to like interwar designs, there is elegance and clumsiness combined in one airframe, which tells a story about what was possible engineering wise and where old school approaches still had to be made.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

I had not much time over the last days, but I think, I'm closing in on the painting stage. The cockpit with all the framing and attachments is done. Fit of the plastic and PE was good, but location points are often very tiny and the whole construction is a bit fragile, at least, while putting it together. Painting will not be too easy, as I like to paint subassemblies, where I can reach all hidden corners, but this was not possible with the PZL.
On the other hand, the detailing is extremely good, resembling the structure of the real plane without noticeable simplification (ZM do you hear me ).
I was eager to reach the painting stage fast with this build, but now, seeing all the detail, I will take my time and enjoy building and painting.

Cheers Rob

[Peterpools]

Rob

Terrific progress and your work is immaculate and with perfect precision. Can't wait to see the PZL with the interior paint on coming to life.

Keep 'em comin

Peter

[GazzaS]

Nice framework and PE, Rob! 

[DocRob]

9 hours ago, Peterpools said:

Terrific progress and your work is immaculate and with perfect precision. Can't wait to see the PZL with the interior paint on coming to life.

 

3 hours ago, GazzaS said:

Nice framework and PE, Rob! 

Thank you Gentlemen, it feels like two thirds of the manual are about engine and cockpit and later there are only some other thingies to be added, today there will be first paint.

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

Looking really neat Rob, last day of furlough and the weather is foul, so may join you at the bench……..

[DocRob]

28 minutes ago, Bomber_County said:

Looking really neat Rob, last day of furlough and the weather is foul, so may join you at the bench……..

Thanks Phil, I was at the bench as well today, due to stormy weather, combined with a dash of volcano ash and primed all the innards of the PZL. Maybe I start with aluminum color later.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Time for the metals , one of my favorite parts in modelling. Replicating materials is great fun, be it wood, canvas, skin or cloth, but metals are the best.
Fortunately the PZL is a full metal construction and the interior shows it. 
The cockpit framing and insides of the fuselage were sprayed duraluminum and then partially darkened with dark aluminum and in case of the cockpit matte aluminum.
The PE levers in the pit were treated with a tiny drop of white glue, applied with a toothpick, to represent the grip balls. 
The exhaust collector ring was painted with multiple uneven layers of first gun metal, then copper, then jet exhaust, then black smoke and last the smoke, with a hint of metallic blue mixed in.
This will only be the base for a nice and worn finish, which I plan to achieve with metal waxes and pigments
All used colors were from the phenomenal AK Xtreme Metal range.

Cheers Rob

[Kaireckstadt]

Looks really awesome so far Rob! 

[DocRob]

Thank you Kai, I love to work with metal colors and this kit is so inviting in this aspect and generally is very detailed out of the box, a pleasure build .

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

The cockpit is almost done with painting, maybe some more pigments to apply. I added the Yahu dashboard and radio panel, which do look great, but especially the radio would have benefited from painting the plastic, to maintain the knobs.
The seat belts are printed PE from Eduard and the main harness will be added later with the headrest. The headrest and leather bag in the pit, where painted with oils for effect.
Cockpit floor and some other parts were treated with a brown panel wash.
The compass on top of the IP and the side instruments on the cockpit framing got Airscale decals applied, because there were no decals in the kit.

The engine block was sprayed dark aluminum and received to layers of black panel wash. Next I painted the spark plugs white and bent and glued the nine provided PE ignition harnesses in place and painted them Nato black. 
I sometimes ranted about the IBG manual, but there is also some shine. All PE parts are separately shown in 1/1 scale with pointing out the exact angles to bend, a great idea. 

Cheers Rob

[belugawhaleman]

Great build so far Rob. I'm enjoying this build of this unique aircraft.

[DocRob]

Quite a productive day today, I started to close the fuselage after finishing the engine and engine struts and glued first the cockpit framing and then the engine in one fuselage half.
The engine is fixed on only four tiny attachment points, I hope that will hold up. 
Closing the fuselage, I started to glue only the underside and let it cure and then I close the tiny gap on the upper side with a bit of force applied with rubber bands.

Cheers Rob