Chip's High Flying Wallace***Finished***

[Molly-new]

I intend to build the NOVO kits Westland PV6 Wallace. It was converted from the original PV6 prototype to take part in the 1933 Houston Everest Expedition. Powered by a supercharged Bristol Pegasus IS3 engine, and with the rear cockpit fully enclosed and fitted with heating and oxygen equipment, it made aviation history on 3rd April 1933 by flying over Mount Everest, the highest point on earth.

The box art is quite inspiring:



The parts less so:



Instructions are quite basic:



The decals appear to be shot so I will have to reproduce these:



Looking forward to this as it is my first bi-plane build.

[bobblelink]

looking forward to this with interest, as I have one in the stash; not a lot of info about it online, but a very interesting aircraft.

[VickersVandal]

This should be good

I'd be getting a coat of liquid decal film onto those decals in a hurry!

[JohnRatzenberger]

The box art is quite inspiring:

I'd be a lot more inspired if my plane were flying nice and level, not nose down in the mountains as if the engine were loosing power or something

[Molly-new]

I will not be using the decals as they appear to be well past their best. The Letter's can be reprinted easily enough, and the roundels will be painted on prior to the main silver colour going on.

[Molly-new]

the roundels will be painted on prior to the main silver colour going on.

Decals will now be used for the roundels and fin flashes, courtesy of David (lancfan). Thanks again, much appreciated.

[Molly-new]

My first task is tackling a couple of injector pin marks and sink holes :



With filler applied I decided to have a go at painting the interior and propeller in wood effect. I started off by applying Revell 88 Ochre Brown as a base colour, followed by a coat of Burnt Sienna oil paint which was wiped off to leave a thin coating. I then applied Burnt Umber oil paint dots on to it, and dragged them out with a flat brush to hopefully produce a grain effect:



I need to leave it for a couple of days for the oil paints to dry, and can then post up a close up picture to see how it has come out. I have also painted up the engine and crew figures.

[AndrewR]

That wood effect has turned out nicely

[Molly-new]

That wood effect has turned out nicely

Quite pleased with how it came out myself. I know most of it will not be seen, but it is something that I have been meaning to try out for a while.



The crew figures have also been painted, and the fuselage now put together with the rear crew member in place. I will leave the pilot till after painting.



I have sanded down the filler on the wings, and also removed the raised detail that represented the ribs on the underside as it did not look natural. These will be replaced during the painting process.

[Softscience]

The wood grain effect is very nice. I wonder how well the wings will align.

[Molly-new]

I wonder how well the wings will align.

I cannot foresee any problems with the line up for the struts. I have decided on the preferred method to do the rigging, and having identified the locations for the holes I promptly managed to break my drill bit on the first hole. I decided to risk going one size larger, and managed to break that one as well.

This will now be on hold till I can get to the LMS for some new microdrill bits.

[JamesPerrin]

Coming together nicely. Novo decals were no good when new and I've always had to replace them. Annoying as the original Frog ones were good and I used originals without problems.

[Chuck Finley]

That wood effect has turned out nicely

Quite pleased with how it came out myself. I know most of it will not be seen, but it is something that I have been meaning to try out for a while.



The crew figures have also been painted, and the fuselage now put together with the rear crew member in place. I will leave the pilot till after painting.



I have sanded down the filler on the wings, and also removed the raised detail that represented the ribs on the underside as it did not look natural. These will be replaced during the painting process.

Looking good.

[lancfan]

coming along nicely, the fit of your kit seems OK which means that the mould hasn't suffered too much since Frog made it, shame about the sink marks but they were easily dealt with. I like your wood effect, must try that method sometime.


David.

[Softscience]

how large of a bit do you use for 72nd scale rigging?