I am building the Revell (Hasegawa) Lockheed P-3C Orion kit. I will be decorating it in the colours of a VXN-8 NP-3D used in mapping the earths magnetic field. I am also using a bit of Eduard etch in the cockpit (not that much will be seen).
NP-3D BuNo158277 Airliners.net
I was lucky to see this aircraft up close in the late 80's. I was on a weekend 'duty crew' at 34SQN (RAAF) in Canberra when this aircraft arrived on a sunny Sunday afternoon 3 engines. It was followed by a few airport fire engines to our hardstand and shut down without further incident. The Orion's number 4 engine gear box decided to self destruct on it's leg into Canberra. It took a week for a replacement engine to arrive in the back of a USN C-130. I am sure the crew enjoyed their time off waiting for spares.
On to the build, I started with back filling all the pylon mounting holes in the wings since this aircraft has nothing mounted externally.
And assembling the wings
The engine nacelles were next, I assembled the 2 inboard units. There is a ventilation flap on the bottom of the forward lower cowl that is moulded open. Most pictures I see of Orions on the ground show this flap partially open or closed. I decided to remove the flap and close it up. Modified on the left.
Next the cockpit was painted and parts of an Eduard coloured etch set added. Not much will be seen when it is closed up so I did not use too much of it.
Cockpit installed and nose weight added
Fuselage buttoned up and wing and horizontal stabs test fitted. I found a some flash on most parts. This plastic came from a Revell boxing of the Hasegawa kit.
Not much to see here....move along
So now it is time to wait for the glue to set and add the obligatory putty on the seams.
It's nice to have the personal connection with the build too.
