'Steady as the Rock of Gibralter...' Handley-Page HP42W

[Steve-the-Duck]

This was almost a disaster

The self-adhesive stickers look fine, now they're on. I'm not showing the other side yet, as I've got to re-position them all.
What happened was: you're supposed to peel off the backing, put the letters in place, then peel off the front sheet to leave the letters behind. Which is great because on the sheet they're already correctly spaced
Only, most of the letters for the port side stayed on the backing. So I've had to carefully unpeel each one and then place them on the fuselage. Now I just have to re-align them to match the starboard side above
Couldn't exactly do that with wet transfers for sure

One thing about all the HP-42s, as seen in photos, is the registration letters are in a different place or at a different angle on every 'plane!

 

[rtfoe]

Steve, it's similar to the way precut stickers are attached to glass windows or doors and even sport SUV's. I have dine some of this while helping production crews out on a shoot.
Best to peel the backing horizontal wise halfway so you can tease the stubborn ones away from the backing. Place on the surface after positioning correctly then burnish from the center outwards then peel the front at a sharp angle as if rolling off as opposed to lifting off.
Funny they would use this method of decaling...just how thin are the characters?

Cheers,
Richard

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Richard, thanks for the advice, I'll try that
How thin? About sellotape thickness. They're going to be a bugger on the corrugated underside of the fuselage, but that's out of sight. The maker advise using 'instant glue' to get the smaller markings to conform. I think he means cyano. The test piece I've tried conforms with panel lines quite well but they're definitely 'to be viewed at a short distance'
Part of me wants to try using the large letters as masks for painting... But so far I'm happy

As to why he chose this method, I couldn't say. But you don't get many Japanese aftermarket decal makers

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

So, now onto the fuselage and passenger compartment. haven't decided yet which, and how many, of the doors to open, as I'll only have to make sets of stairs - of which there are plenty of pictures


I'm already sanding the edges of the passenger floor so there're no gaps when I close it up. That may take a while
There are clear sheets, and stick-on frames, for the main windows. In the photos of the real thing, the perspex, or whatever it is, sometimes looks a bit crinkly. It's also flush with the outside... Hmm... The windows come as large acetate sheets.

I've also been testing whether the decals are suitable to use as masks for the lettering on the wings - which they are, but I have to find the right shade of blue, among my many! Still in two minds, having mixed results
We'll see

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Well, here we are again - slow progress.
The two cabin interior pieces needed some careful sanding on the edges so the two fuselage halves will fit without any gaps. Due to the surface detail, any filling is going to be nigh on impossible.
One thing about 3D printed models, and a lot of CAD designed kits, is the VERY fine tolerances on part fit. So much so a coat of paint will put them out of fit. This I will have to consider next

Seats all fitted. I'm skirting disaster at every stage of this build. I was halfway through placing the seats in the rear compartment when I realised I was FITTING THEM THE WRONG WAY ROUND! D'Oh!
Fortunately the instant cyano wasn't so instant

So, this is the toilet compartment. Which has no windows... I will be painting it properly, and fitting mirrors, scented bottles... But no-one will ever know
But where does the water come from?

I won't be fixing these together until they go into the fuselage. Lots of detail work up coming

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

So, I'm getting a bit ahead of myself, but here's the main wing all together. There are four pieces, grey, to the center section, and the two big green bits are single printings

Still not decided finally about the codes. Paint or stickers..?

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Been taking a while but things are progressing
It's me that's slow

Upper wing built and painted - I used the stick-on markings as masks, and I think it's turned out fine


Main body is just simple silver, centre section is chrome for a more metallic look. The biggest problem so far is it's not until the silver is on can I see where joins or surface detail that needs attention shows up. Straight on, one wing is slightly warped, but that should correct with the spars


Engines undercoated and painted, whish also shows the surface to be smoothed a bit. They're one piece printings, and are pretty good in detail, especially from the back. I've considered drilling out behind the pipes, but that's a lot of work for all four engines, and the angle is difficult to not do more damage than it's worth

Engines pinned in place just to see how they look
Needs more work...

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

And for my next trick, the two cabin pieces


By now, I've finished the upholstery on the rear cabin.
Just some work to do on the cockpit and radio operator's compartment
There are two tiny windows in the roof of the toilets, BTW
Now, I'll probably havbe all the doors open, including the luggage compartment. Just need to get hold of some 1930's railway figures for 'decoration'

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Lower wings prior to painting

I intend to paint and mask the undersides, then fit all the struts, exhausts and extra details. The struts are laid out on a sheet, so I'll have to fit them individually to not lose correct placement
We're getting there

 

[yak face]

Brilliant progress steve , loving the laura ashley seat fabrics !! The wing looks great , nice work on the serials, cheers tony

 

[Neil Merryweather]

Wow what an undertaking!
I'm a big fan of 3D printing as you may know, and it's a great way of getting these under-represented planes made as kits

 

[adt70hk]

Steve,

Just had a catch-up. That really has come on very nicely since I last stopped by.

Keep up the good work.

Andrew

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Tony, Neil and Andrew, I thank yew
Going to be scraping / filling the engine collector rings next - trouble is, the photos make them look a lot worse than the MkI eyeball

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Brilliant progress steve , loving the laura ashley seat fabrics !! The wing looks great , nice work on the serials, cheers tony

I do have a colour photo of a preserved seat cover - birds of paradise and chrysanthemums! Think mine looks okay

 

[yak face]

I do have a colour photo of a preserved seat cover - birds of paradise and chrysanthemums! Think mine looks okay

I reckon you've cracked it , they look great

 

[The Smythe Meister]

Wow!
I've just had a very enjoyable read up on this Steve, and have to say it's a fascinating thread
This model is so well detailed,those seats in particular are very impressive!
Excellent stuff indeed mate
Andy

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Cheers Andy
The cabin seats are particularly 'fun', because one is a different shape to fit at the front of the fore cabin, not QUITE blocking the cre door. Had to check every single one for the right shape...

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Y'know, this build is a litany of things not quite going to plan
Here's the lower wings, marked up using the stickers as masks

So, idiot me used grey undercoat rather than black, d'oh! And the blue patches make the silver overcoat shiny. Still, it's on the underside of the wings so the shiny surrounds won't be so visible
More small details to add, then the struts will be added to the tops of these wings. The struts are on a card, laid out as to fit, so I can't pre-paint them. We'll see how THAT goes

But some things do go right

Here's the re-done engine, sanded, scraped, re-painted. Still not going to drill out behind the pipes tho'

 

[Tim Marlow]

Nice work Chris. She’s coming together now.

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

So, I have two weeks hols off work, intend to get really stuck in and, this is all I've done

Added some support frames to the rudder pedals, which are very obvious in the photo, as is what I take to be a compass indicator added to the control column
Just did a bit of highlighting of the dials, which are deep holes, on the radio and control panel

Having already painted the underside of the wings, with markings, I decided to add the struts, fill and clean them. then they can be painted and finished all in one piece, for when the fuselage is finished
The copper rod is an auxiliary outflow/exhaust, which appears on each of the engines in all the photos. No idea what it's for, or why they point up or down depending whether it's the upper or lower engines
Progressing