OT's Little Bee *** Finished ***

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Old_Tonto
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OT's Little Bee *** Finished ***

Post by Old_Tonto »

My first subject for this Group Build will be a real East German classic. The VEB Plasticart Antonov An-14 Pchelka (Little Bee) in 1/72 scale.
This is a vintage kit of Deutsche Demokratische Republik origin and I will be building it as an East German Air Force machine.

Here are the box & contents:

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I have seen these kits going for silly money on the bay but in my opinion model kits only exist to be built and if this GB upsets any model collectors then that's a bonus. :lol:
Having never come across one of these built before I can't tell you how it will fit together but I can see by looking at it that VEB were at the cutting edge of communist plastics technology. :roll:
The decals look useless but I have spares that will do the job. Hopefully it should end up looking something like this:

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Can't wait to get started. 8-)
2023 - A:0 B:0 C:0
Current Projects:
East German Air Force (1956-90)
South African Air Force (1958-93)
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JohnRatzenberger
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

That's actually a nifty looking little airplane and it will be most interesting to watch you build the kit.
Good choice !
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Stuart
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by Stuart »

That looks to be an enjoyable build OT - sort of like a Russian Skyvan.
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by iggie »

It reminds me a little of one of the flying craft in the Terminator series....I have no idea what they were called! Nice looking little kit though :)
Best wishes

Jim
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by Old_Tonto »

So far so good. Fit is much better than anticipated. :-D

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This kit has a strange combination of white, black & clear plastic which means I will have to mask the windows inside and out.
The instructions indicate that I need to add weight but neglects to mention how much. :???:
More to follow.
2023 - A:0 B:0 C:0
Current Projects:
East German Air Force (1956-90)
South African Air Force (1958-93)
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lancfan
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by lancfan »

What a wonderful little kit, I want one !

David.
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by Gregers »

I'm watching this one with interest. I have one in the stash.

All the best.

Greg
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by splash »

lancfan wrote:What a wonderful little kit, I want one !

David.
My thoughts exactly
My work bench is starting to look like Portsmouth Naval Dockyard.
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by VickersVandal »

What a cool little bus.
Clear seat parts? That's an odd one....
Must.....build....ALL the Sopwith Camels!...

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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by Migrant »

splash wrote:
lancfan wrote:What a wonderful little kit, I want one !

David.
My thoughts exactly
And mine. Very cool and unique subject, looking forward to this one.
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by Old_Tonto »

Thanks for the kind words guys but don't get too excited, still plenty of time to balls things up. :lol:

Having said that the interior fit is excellent. As I could not find any photo references of the military version interior I opted for bland colours.
Grey\blue walls and khaki drab seats as there are no bright colours in the DDR. :-D

So this is where I am up to:

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More leg room that Ryan Air. :ha: Enough detail to look OK if I choose to have the rear door open (I may need to add the rear steps to keep her from tail sitting). There is a rear bulkhead to add so that will reduce the view anyway.The decals looked very thick so I was not hopeful of much success but the IP decal worked out fine. I won't be using any other of the kit decals so if someone wants them shout out. I must remember to add seat belts to the cockpit.

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So now all I have to do is work out where to put the weight up front. In the nose and under the cockpit me thinks. I just hope the flimsy looking U\C can cope. :???:

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Maybe I should have opted for the Air cushion version. I kid you not:

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I will leave this build for now as I need to plan my Blitzbau build for tomorrow.
2023 - A:0 B:0 C:0
Current Projects:
East German Air Force (1956-90)
South African Air Force (1958-93)
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by DavidWomby »

This is such a cool looking plane and cool looking kit. Some of the old VEB stuff is horrible but this one looks really nice.

The air cushion one is fascinating. I'll have to go look on the web for more info. on that one!

David
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by iggie »

Starting to look the part now, and a good one at that!

A hover plane....that's a novel idea, thank god those idiots on Top Gear never thought of it!
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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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by JohnRatzenberger »

Air cushion version ... odd ...
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Old_Tonto
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Re: OT's Little Bee

Post by Old_Tonto »

jRatz wrote:Air cushion version ... odd ...
It may well happen yet if the U\C can't take all the weight I've put in the front.

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Hopefully I'll get the fuselage closed up tonight.
2023 - A:0 B:0 C:0
Current Projects:
East German Air Force (1956-90)
South African Air Force (1958-93)
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