Arado 234 Nachtigall on Speed

[DocRob]

Phew, this Nachtigall build is demanding, but satisfying too, it's a great kit. I did many little things in preparation for assembling. First I glazed the clear parts with a Future dip, which enhanced the clarity, then I drilled holes into the side of the fuselage for the round windows on the side of the operators compartment. I drilled little by little, that the clear parts don't fall through and they will be inserted from the outside, to get a flush surface.
Next was some PE bending in preparation for the cockpit assembly. The instrument panels got their instruments removed for the later to add Yahu instruments. The backside of the IP got the instrument cases glued on and got a 0,4 mm hole each, to add lead wire later. For the PE levers, I made tiny slots with a scalpel to make gluing them easier.
Then I decided not to follow the order of the manual and start with the cockpit. I want to be sure everything around the cockpit and glazing aligns correctly, therefore its wheel wells and operaters place first, to close the fuselage and add the cockpit afterwards.

Prepared PE

You have to love the detail of the resin parts and they seem to fit well

Some cockpit consoles prepared for painting

 

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Nice progress there Rob. She'll need some nose weight to keep her from being a tail sitter. When I did mine, I left the resin cockpit bulkhead loose and added the the nose weight behind it into the joined fuselage. I can't remember how many pennies I used though. 

Carl

[DocRob]

Thanks Karl, that is one of the reasons I want to button the Nachtigall up before inserting the cockpit. With wings and fuselage done, I can measure the needed nose weight.

Cheers Rob 

[JeroenPeters]

Wow!!! Seriously loving this!!!! A challenging kit but very doable. Following this... great work.

[DocRob]

Thanks Jeroen, I hope it will stay doable , such a sleek airframe, but so many details, I love it.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Lots of work, but only one bad pic to show. I did most of the interior painting and after some minor assemblies, I will add the instruments and some placards. I'm not decided, if the IP will be Bakelite brown or plain RLM 66, I've seen both and tend to the second option. The wheel wells (blurry background) will get some more detailing too. The resin parts of the kit are super crisp and well detailed, where the plastic is a little crude and soft detail wise.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

The preparation of the cockpit, operator cabin and wheel wells take their time. You can work on these areas for days without getting nearer to the finish line, but It's fun detailing them and demanding too. There are so many details to work on, a good plan of working on these is necessary.

The cockpit (only loosely fit) got some painted details, placards and HGW seat belts, phew. It still lacks the pedals and dials, which will be added later.

Operator cabin lacks the seat, because I have to finish the seat belts first, but other ways ready to pluck in. 

The wheel wells will get a wash applied to enhance the details.

 

Cheers Rob

[Wumm]

I have a German word for you Rob, especially this area of the Oxygen regulator..

Wonderschön!

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, Wumm said:

I have a German word for you Rob, especially this area of the Oxygen regulator..

Thanks Wumm, the area is still missing two instruments and a little fine tuning. The area, where the red dots are is the most overpainted trouble zone in the whole build. It always looks good till the pre last knob and then something happens. I have to rework it a bit.
The oxygen regulator is actually a decal meant to be used on the outside of the fuselage, for the oxygen supply, but it looks like the 'real' thing in my Kagero renderings and how I deal with the outside vent, I will see, when time comes. By the way, it's Wunderschön, but thanks a ton .

Cheers Rob

[Wumm]

Bitte Entschuldigen Sie...

This is what comes from relying on memory, instead of using a translator or Dictionary!

Steve

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, Wumm said:

Bitte Entschuldigen Sie...

This is what comes from relying on memory, instead of using a translator or Dictionary!

No worries, I have no idea how my strange self schooled English sounds to your ear, but I have the idea of a crackling vinyl .
Living in Spain, I notice every single day how difficult it is to speak a different language and my Spanish isn't even fluent.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Slow progress, more time to think .
Do you guys, who have built the Arado reinforced the wheel struts? On the pic you can see how Fly thinks, it should be done. The 2mm plastic knob glued into a resin hole. Not very convincing, the Arado is no lightweight. 
I'd like to add the wheel struts after painting the plane at best and think I will use one or two 1mm brass rods glued into the struts and matching slide fit brass tube in the wheel well, glued with epoxy. The two rod variant will make the alignment easier of course.
I would be interested, how you would tackle this, better, how you solved it yourself.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Poco a poco (step by step) like we say in Spain, I finish preparations for closing the fuselage.
I decided to reinforce the wheel strut- wheel well joint. I drilled two 1mm holes into the wheel strut and glued in some brass rod. The holes in the resin wheel well were widened and I glued in two pre cut brass tubes with an inner diameter of 1,1 mm with two component epoxy and let everything dry correctly orientated.
I start to like the idea of having slide fit wheel struts and will consider this for other builds as well. It makes transport, painting and weathering so much easier and you are able to assume the necessary nose weight early in the build.

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

As much as I hate to wiggle these HGW belts together, as much do I like the result, but why a two seater ? After installing the belts, they get a thin red brown wash, to pop the stitches and some matte varnish for the otherwise too shiny metal parts.
It took the actual heat wave, to get me into my cave and finalize the second seat for the operator and I am close now to close the fuselage. 

That is how the reinforced wheel struts worked out. Here they are half slid in and the fit is tight. I may not even glue them in later, because it is nice to get the struts removeable for transport or painting.

 

Cheers Rob

[KevinM]

Nice weathering on the belts and a great idea on the gear Kevin

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, KevinM said:

Nice weathering on the belts and a great idea on the gear Kevin

Thanks Kevin, I like that idea too, when there is enough space and the kit construction is flimsy. By the way, welcome to our relaxed place for Large Scale Modelling and other stuff.

Cheers Rob

[BlrwestSiR]

Really great progress Rob. I think I reinforced the main gear on my build but the traditional way of just using a metal rod. The nose gear on mine was partly scratched as the kit one didn't look like the one in the Kagero book. 

[DocRob]

13 hours ago, BlrwestSiR said:

The nose gear on mine was partly scratched as the kit one didn't look like the one in the Kagero book.

Thanks for the warning, I will inspect the nose gear closely.

Cheers Rob

[GazzaS]

I really like the look of things right now!

[DocRob]

1 hour ago, GazzaS said:

I really like the look of things right now!

That sentence, beside your Avatar, makes me think about the quality of my build .

Cheers Rob

[DocRob]

Every step with the Arado is tempting, but in a funny way it's a rewarding kit. You have to check everything thrice and then recheck, definitely not shake and bake.
As nice as the resin parts are, some of the plastic parts are lousy, specially around the front wheel struts.

There is no given connection between the cylinder and the right frame part.

As a solution I inserted a 0,5 mm brass rod here and another 1mm rod for the wheel suspension.

This is, how it will be build into the wheel well (not glued yet). On the pic above, there are two PE frame parts, which supposed to connect the anchor points for a little bit more rigidity. I decided to leave them off, because the whole construction is a little too wide and I haven't found any traces of these frame parts in my Kagero book.

I glued the tub for the gun pod into place, as an alignment aid for the (not glued yet) wheel wells.

This seemed to be the best way, because alignment is crucial here, the lower part of the resin wheel well has to snuggle around the organic shaped tub, which resembles a part of the inner wheel well. bad positioning would cause a gap here.

BTW: I had always problems to pick up tiny PE parts with a tweezer from my hard plastic tile, I use for PE, sometimes feeding the carpet monster while doing so.
with that foam material in the picture it is much easier to get a grip on the tiny parts with a pointed tweezer, simple but I never thought off before. 

Cheers Rob

 

[GazzaS]

Nice idea with the foam. Rob. 

[DocRob]

I'm preparing for closing the fuselage soon. You have to think ahead and plan your steps, because there are only some markers, which indicate positioning and there is lots of dry fitting.
First I glued in the wheel wells, adjusting them , that they don't interfere with the inside of the cannon pod mount and have the wheel struts symmetrical. Next I glued in the operator seat area and the bulkhead with his technical equipment, using two component epoxy again. After that has dried over night and after testing if the fuselage closes up, today I glued in the front cockpit and aligned everything and checked again, if the glasshouse will fit correctly. I feel, this is the phase of the build, where errors are really critical.
To be able to close the fuselage at least with tape, with most of the innards glued in, gives me the possibility to evaluate the needed nose weight. After adding this, the fuselage will be closed permanently.

Cheers Rob

[Bomber_County]

Stunning, you’re a brave man than I...........

[DocRob]

Thanks Phil, but you do not need to be especially brave for this build. Planning ahead and taking the necessary time is the key to get the Arado done. The build is challenging, but also very rewarding. I've seen a lot worse, where I didn't expect it. The Arado to me is a very good kit to prepare yourself to full resin kits or builds with a lot of scratch building involved. Speaking of resin, it is so masterful casted, it's fun to work with and being specially made for this kit by Fly, makes the fit exceptional.

Cheers Rob