The home of gnomemeansgnome

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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

Vintage kit of a PZL 23 Karas owned by a friend I built the PZL 11c for. Didn't do much, really. It was a little plain Jane so I painted the heat collector on the cowling, gave it nav lights on the spats and defensive armament from the Stranraer since it won't need them.


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And speaking of the bane of my existence, the Stran is on a jig I cobbled together. And once again the wing is pants, as the struts are so knackered from many failed attempts that the dihedral is not happening. This thing gets one more chance. After that I am thinking of either palming it off to Vacant or blowing it to smithereens. I have another in the stash, unbuilt, and no longer have any desire to either build it or own it.


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dollar19
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by dollar19 »

Nice job!!!
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iggie
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by iggie »

the Karas is a nice little build, and looks well tidy with your additions.....

As for the Stranraer, you're not exactly selling it are you? :shock: Imagine all those budding modellers out there, looking to Uncle gnomemeansgnome to show them the light in all things
Stranraer, only to have their hopes, dreams and aspirations dashed by reference to 'blowing it to peices' :shock:

Seriously though, I think we've all been there with one kit or another; I hope your final attempt ends well and all will be good going forward! :lol:
Best wishes

Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

Thanks Dollar 19. As for the Karas, I only brightened the corners a bit but not too much. Made a bit of tarmac to go with it and the P.11c next time I head round to my friend's place. Apparently one his accquaintances had to pick it up, dropped and damaged it. Facepalm time. As for my brutal assessment of this kit Iggie, I couldn't imagine anyone taking any of my fulminating about the Stran to heart. Besides if some youngster were to attempt this kit as their first they would be put off building models for life. My downfall was that I have never built a biplane this big and didn't have the Lego to lash up a jig during the first go so it's been a very steep learning curve for old gnomemeansnome, I tell ya. Nuff said let's see some action! Here is the Skeena Queen's current state of play. I have finally (I hope) wrestled those infernal struts into position:

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I need to recover my nerve and will let it set for a day or two and then get on the with the tedious but hopefully productive business of touching up the train wreck of mucked up paint and dodgy strut fits. After that a few pairs of electric guitar strings to begin the rigging, horrors! I might get this bad boy done by the weekend. Now, where have I heard that before?...........
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ShaunW
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by ShaunW »

That Karas is a nice characterful looking build GMG. The Stran looks like hard work. Very hard work. I build biplanes rarely and then only small ones. Good luck with finishing it because in those colours and markings it will look rather good IMHO.
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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

Thanks. My friend built the Karas years ago (manufacturer unknown; maybe Marek might know) and it needed a little gmg style lovin'. I returned it to him this morning, in fact. Still futzing around with the wing struts on the Stran as well and hopefully I can get on with the touch-ups and then the rigging soon. I am confident that if I keep at it I might have the beast done by some time next week. I have a large slab of black painted plywood that I think might make a suitable beaching ramp to photograph it too, as my usual tarmac dio is too small! After that, maybe a return to the PZL.37 is in order, though my Work Bench of Eternal Shame and Utter Horror is still stacked with other unfinished builds and restorations.
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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

Slow and steady......Having come round to the adage that a poor carpenter blames his tools, I have climbed off the ceiling and managed to plug away at getting that top wing on and added rigging from I don't know how many inches of .10 gauge electric guitar string. One day I may get round to the using lycra thread instead as I bet it is a lot more tolerant of being moved around. A dab or two of floor wax on the rigging joins should hopefully reinforce them. Anyways now that it is all on, one can see how the Stranraer got its sobriquets of, among others, the Seymour Seiner, Strainer or Whistling Birdcage. Just the radio antennas and the mooring rails (bowsprit?) and the airscrews to add, and then I can get it mounted temporarily on its beaching gear for some beauty shots......
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Marek
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by Marek »

Nice projects, I like the Stranaer a lot. and the jig!
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iggie
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by iggie »

Looking good GMG!
Best wishes

Jim
If you can walk away from a landing, it's a good landing. If you use the airplane the next day, it's an outstanding landing
"Never put off till tomorrow, what you can do the day after tomorrow"
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Stuart
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by Stuart »

It may have been a battle but I bet you'll be really proud of it when it's finished - It looks superb!
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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

Thanks, fellas. Yeah it's been a slice all right. All the rigging connections have been dabbed at with a bit of floor wax which I hope will strengthen them. With the heatwave we are experiencing here in Vancouver that shouldn't take long at all. Pretty stoked about getting it finished, I have to say. If I could see through all that rigging I might see a bit of light at the end of the tunnel, ha ha!
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Migrant
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by Migrant »

That's looking superb.
ShaunW
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by ShaunW »

Excellent job, GMG, that really does look good!
Doing - Tamiya 1/35th Universal Carrier.

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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

Just a mockup teaser here. The rest of the breakables are on, though really the whole thing is pretty darned breakable so I have been treating it like it is a holy relic. The props are not to my liking and I may redo them. Ideally my stash or spares would yield a nice pair of Hamilton Standard airscrews; one day, perhaps. In any event I still need to finish attaching the beaching gear with only vague instructions as to how the gear struts should go on the rest of the assemblies. We're nearly there.
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gnomemeansgnome
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Re: The home of gnomemeansgnome

Post by gnomemeansgnome »

I think I can call it pretty much DNF. See Aircraft Modelling for more pics........
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