Chip's FROG Douglas Boston***Finished***

[Molly-new]

For my second build I am building FROG's version of the Douglas Boston:



The parts count is quite low, which is good as time is not on my side. To ease the build further I will be building it "in flight" using an "old-school" FROG stand.



First task is to clean up all the flash.....

[Martin R]

Looking forward to seeing how this goes together. It's anyone's bet as to whether you or Beany cross the finish line first!

regards,

Martin

[fredk]

It's anyone's bet as to whether you or Beany cross the finish line first!

There will be no racing, nor flying under bridges or beating up the control tower. I'll ground any airman that does any of these!

[Molly-new]

It's anyone's bet as to whether you or Beany cross the finish line first!

There will be no racing, nor flying under bridges or beating up the control tower. I'll ground any airman that does any of these!

It's anyone's bet .....

And no gambling I hope.

Slowly progressing along, I have painted the interior with my version of Green Zinc Chromate and then;



1, Attached the floor panels.
2, Started painting the props and engines.
3, Started painting the crewmen and seats.
4, Glued together the wing and tail flaps.
5, Glued together the undercarriage nacelles.

Next task is to tackle the short shot bit of engine cowling:



Moving along quite nicely at the moment.

[iggie]

An inspiring start!

Unlucky with the short shot nacelle

[fredk]

For the cowling; I'd make some plastic soup. Dissolve some sprue in model glue until its thick and creamy. Apply a small blob and let harden, then carve/sand to shape. As its melted/dissolved plastic it'll join to the cowling and there'll be no chance it'll fall out.
I keep a small bottle of it ready mixed for use on occasions such as this.

[Molly-new]

Thanks for the tip Fred, I read it too late for this build but I will definitely save it for future reference.

When I decided to build this in-flight for ease of build I did not compensate for the poor fit of the wheelbay doors when in the closed position. After much dry fitting, sanding, and head scratching I decided to fit a strip of thin plastic (old yogurt pot) into the bay first. This then gives something for the doors to attach to:



My technique for wings with moving flaps is to glue one end first and allow to dry fully:



The flap can then be put into position and the wing glued together.



Both the wings are now together, with the flaps in position and moveable. Once all the wheelbay doors were fitted they just needed a bit of sanding down and a smidge of filler to blend them all in. I also managed to get the short shot bit of engine cowling filled with a bit of filler, and very carefully sanded back.

[Molly-new]

Having been inspired by Martin's Boston build in the Riff-RAAF GB from 2011, I decided to add some bulkheads and detailing to the cockpit:



This meant that I would need an extra crew member and a new seat for the nose, and an IP scratch building:



Once all was in place I gave it all a quick coat of Green Zinc Chromate:





Probably not that accurate but better than nowt. The shelf behind the pilot seat will contain the life raft once scratched.

Whilst this was drying I decided to drill out the engine intakes (?) above the cowling:



I hope to get the main construction done next.

[fredk]

That is some nice detailing.
I'm terrible at making bulkheads, never seem to get them exactly the right size or shape.

[Molly-new]

Fuselage together:



And engine cowl fitted:



Just a smidge of filler needed in the joint.

[Martin R]

Chip,

That is a nice looking Boston!

regards,

Martin

[Molly-new]

Construction continues at a pace:



Once I worked out which way up the tail planes went I noticed a couple of ejection marks that needed dealing with:



I even remembered to paint the canopy framing in the Green Zinc Chromate colour before the top coat was applied:



As this is going to be "In-flight" I have knocked up some prop blurs:



Glad I spent so much time painting the props at the start.

[Martin R]

Great going, Chip.

Your efforts may just have convinced me that the FROG Boston is the best of the classics.

Like the dinghy in its stowage bay, too.

regards,

Martin

[DavidWomby]

This is looking really good. I love seeing in flight models and those propblurs look perfect.

David

[Molly-new]

Yesterday I managed to complete the construction and get it masked up ready for painting:



This was followed by a coat of primer and a coat of sky on the bottom.

Today I have managed to get the top colours on, and unmasked ready for the decals:




It needs some touching up on the bottom where the masking has lifted the paint, as per the norm.