Karl's Polish Elk **FINISHED**

[carlos]

After a miserable 3rd GB failure in a row - in the paper GB (Lack of mojo, mainly), I'm hoping.... nay, 'determined'.... to kick off the new year with a successful completion.
So, I've chosen something unusual to get the juices flowing, and I'm going straight OOB to avoid getting bogged down with anything too time-consuming.
I'll be building (hopefully 'finishing') the PZL.37 Los (Elk), in 1/72, by ZTS
A very capable aircraft, even a few years ahead of it's time, just a shame there weren't that many available at a time when Poland needed it most.

I'll post pics of parts, decals, etc. before the start date.

[fredk]

After a miserable 3rd GB failure in a row - in the paper GB (Lack of mojo, mainly), I'm hoping.... nay, 'determined'.... to kick off the new year with a successful completion.

I know that feeling. I've not had too much success in my last few GBs. New Year, New Mojo and all that eh? Onwards and forwards.

I'll be building (hopefully 'finishing') the PZL.37 Los (Elk), in 1/72, by ZTS
A very capable aircraft, even a few years ahead of it's time, just a shame there weren't that many available at a time when Poland needed it most.

A rarity indeed. Looking forward to it coming together.

[TobyC]

It looks a bit like a Hampden

[carlos]

Obligatory boxart and sprue shots:

Boxart isn't exactly up to the standard of Roy Cross or Adam Tooby, but is at least a decent 'action' shot of the plane in flight. This is the scheme I'll be building.

Instructions are in Polish only, but the diagrams are very clear - I might type some of the history etc. into an online translator at some point, but I can't see any problems to the build arising because of language.


As you can see. there are parts for both the single and twin tail-fin variants. Parts are a fairly dark blue/grey plastic, not as soft as recent Airfix releases... not too brittle either, but I think I'm gonna have to be careful removing delicate pieces from the sprue. Panel lines are thin, but raised, so far I haven't decided whether I'm going to re-scribe - If I can find my roll of Dymo tape I might have a go at that while watching TV tonight.
There's some flash on many of the smaller parts, but nothing too drastic. Clear canopy parts are relatively thin, but that glazed nose is a tad 'cloudy' - I'm hoping a dip on 'Klear' will help. The window framing is nicely demarked though.

BTW - I haven't started construction - This is my first ZTS kit, and also my first 'Los', so when I got it home I couldn't resist a 'dry-fit' to get a handle on the size of the aircraft, and fit of ZTS parts (hence the separated sprues)


Decals are included for 4 aircraft - A single-fin (72.11), and a twin-fin (72.91) in Polish military markings - A Romanian aircraft - and a set of civil markings (shown on the back of the box) which were apparantly used at an airshow.
There are also a couple of rows of numbers '1234567890' which aren't shown on any of the paint diagrams, but are the same size and font as the serial numbers on the Polish military schemes - I'm guessing these can be used to depict different specific aircraft from the same squadron...??

It looks a bit like a Hampden

Yeah it does a bit doesn't it...
It's significantly smaller though - a good 10 or 11 feet shorter in length and span. The physical size is more along the lines of a Blenheim, though the wing chord is significantly wider. Thinking about it, the single fin version is a bit like a Beaufort.

Looking at the performance figures, it had excellent lifting capacity for it's size. It could carry 5,900lb of bombs internally, which is more than a Wellington or Hampden - A LOT more than a Do17, and more than the internal load of an He111 or a Ju88.
From what I've read, the fuselage also generated lift, and had a 'laminar flow' over it - though more by luck, than design apparantly.

I'm quite looking forward to having this sitting on my shelf.

[carlos]

Just to say... I haven't stalled, just been busy with other stuff.

At the workbench, this week I have been mostly scribing panel lines/sanding burr/gently rescribing/etc. - nearly there, and expecting to do some interior painting before the weekend's over.

[TobyC]

No need to rush. Plenty of time yet. Looking forward to seeing this.

[gnomemeansgnome]

Love this aircraft too. I think various Polish kit manufacturers have been passing the same toolings around for some time, as this kit and its optional single or twin fin options and the civilian demonstrator decals are identical to the 'Plastyk' kit that is on my flickr page. 'Pantera' was another company who produced them as well, and that is buried in my stash to be done some day as the civvy demonstrator.......Good luck and happy building! This is a nice little kit that builds up to a great looking kite.

[DavidWomby]

This is an intriguing aircraft. I'll look forward to seeing your build.

David

[PaulBradley]

I'm getting the popcorn out for this one! looking forward to seeing what you do with it.

[iggie]

Outcome awaited with interest!

[fredk]

Hi Karl, any up-dates to share with us?

[carlos]

Hi Karl, any up-dates to share with us?

Hi Fred
A little later than intended, but I've finally knuckled down to this and got cracking.

Doing a full rescribe slowed me down quite a bit, then when I got down to the interior and had a look at the smaller parts in the kit, I've found that most parts are going to need preparartion because of flash - and I've also had problems with upper and lower flying surfaces matching up.

Anyhow - this is the current state of play:
I've added a few internal bits and bobs from the spares box, plus a couple of bits made from plasticine - just to fill out what was a pretty empty interior - With that big glasshouse on the nose, and an open dorsal gun position, it's gonna be easy to see right through from the back - I'm not too worried about it being accurate, or even particularly tidy, I just wanted to 'busy' it up a bit.


Before I close it up, I'm gonna give it a Vallejo sepia wash to make it look grubby, and maybe add some muddy footprints along that decking.

Neither the wings, or tailplane were a good fit, the wings are gonna need some filler where the lower half meets the flaps and ailerons - and as for the tail......
The lower section is 'skewed' relative to the upper. If I matched the leading edges, there would be a HUGE gap at one side of the elevator - Match the back of the lower section to the elevator, and the leading edge would be mismatched by more than 3mm... at ONE SIDE ONLY...
Also the upper and lower faces of the main tailplane part, weren't aligned, it is as if one of the halves of the mold was mis-aligned - and the vast quantities of flash on the sprue that contained the tailplane seem to support this theory.
Anyhow - I went for a compromise, and mismatched the leading edge by just over 1mm on the port side, leaving a gap of about 2mm, tapering to less than 1mm which needs to be filled.

This pic shows the tailplane as seen from below, sanded to match, and rescribed.
It's not ideal, but probably the best I can do with it within a reasonable time-frame.


Looks like tonight I'm gonna be tidying up flash from u/c and engine parts.


edited to add:
The camera's flash really shows up that dust in the new panel lines - I think a scrub with a damp toothbrush may be in order.

[fredk]

I admire anyone who is dedicated enough to do a full re-scribe.
These Eastern European kits do not seem to be at all good at parts fitment. Or moulding of them.

[carlos]

Thanks Fred.

The 'skewed' molding I was talking about is causing more problems now that I've got round to cleaning up the smaller parts.
Most of the flash I thought I could see.... well now I'm looking far more closely, with my reading glasses on - a heck of a lot of it isn't flash at all, but is due to the two halves of the mold being misaligned.
Prop blades have ended up thinner than they should be, U/C struts are oval in cross-section, rather than circular, etc, etc...

If it weren't for the fact that I don't have a PZL 37 yet, and really want one.... this would already be in the bin...
If it weren't for the fact that I've already invested so much time and effort on a full rescribe.... this would already be in the bin...
If it weren't for the fact that I've had 3 GB DNFs in a row, and am determined not to make it 4.... this would already be in the bin...

So... I'm ploughing on - determined to finish - but not expecting he greatest of finished items.

Pics when I've finished cutting/filing/sanding the smaller parts into submission.

[DavidWomby]

Keep up the good work. It's such an unusual subject it'll be worth it.

David