Jakko’s 1:48 Tamiya Brewster B-339 Buffalo

[Guest]

I’ve been meaning to build this one for a while, so I intend to actually start and finish it for this group build

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Tamiya’s Brewster Buffalo in 1:48 scale. It is a somewhat older kit but certainly looks acceptable, as you would expect from Tamiya:

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Here’s the paperwork that comes with the kit:

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I have no idea why the decal sheet is in two parts, especially because the main sheet includes white backgrounds for the decals on the small sheet. The canopy masks are only printed outlines you have to cut for yourself, not pre-cut masks like some aftermarket companies sell.

In addition, I invested in two upgrade sets:

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A resin cockpit interior and a resin engine. I’m now wondering what else is available for it, though. I might just go and look for an etched set or something …

The plane will be finished in ML-KNIL colours and markings, though I’m still debating whether to go for the “default” orange triangles or the red-white-blue flags that were adopted in 1942.

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
Looks a nice kit. As you say Tamiya quality and fit hopefully. Why are there two canopies? Looking at the canopy you're gonna be thankful for the masks even if they are not precut.
Jim

[Guest]

One of the canopies is for the old-style gunsight (the tube that sticks through the windscreen), the other is for aircraft with a reflector sight. I think I’ll take advantage of this to cut up both so I can have the canopy open.

[Steve Jones]

Great to see you taking part in the GB. I know nothing of planes so I will leave it up to the experts to follow along

[Fernando N]

Nice one Jakko, one word on the ml-knil version in the kit though, check other sources for colour and pattern info.
Built it some time ago and following Tamiya's colour callouts gives an odd top scheme, should be Oudblad and Jongblad Gunze C12 & C302 are one option.

[Guest]

I had already worked that out long before even buying this kit, but thanks for the heads-up Opinions differ on whether they would have been in proper KNIL colours or in American equivalents; based on reading some of the discussions on other forums and sites, I’m leaning to the former, so that’s the colours I’ll be going for. That’s to say, clearly shades of green and not the brown OD and khaki like Tamiya recommends.

[Guest]

Since I’ve got that cockpit detail set, I began there. These are the Tamiya parts for the fuselage sides:

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The cockpit set provides new interior sides, so I cut, carved and scraped away the moulded-on detail:

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I’ve attached the side panels and a few of the detail parts, but not all yet:

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There is a lot more to fit, but the instructions for that cockpit set are not great. They have what at first sight seem to be good illustrations, but the parts aren’t numbered on the casting blocks, the locations shown for the parts are vague, and it turns out some of them are shown in the wrong places — according to photos of a real Buffalo cockpit, anyway. For example, you’re directed to glue the throttle to the upper front of the side wall, when the photo clearly shows it to fit on the forward side of the console. That console is moulded too thin and very hard to remove and install, so I’m actually hoping the glue will hold until tomorrow so I can reinforce it with some more

I’ve also spotted in those same photos that the cockpit detail set doesn’t include any parts for the lower cockpit, which would be very visible through an open cockpit hatch, so some scratchbuilding will be in order.

[Guest]

More bits in place:

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I removed the side console again and put it further forward in its original location. It doesn’t sit quite right there either, and my conclusion is that the part is too long, so either the throttle is in the right position but the rear end is almost against the seat support or the rear is in the right place and the throttle is too far forward. I eventually went for the latter. The handwheel is not in the resin set so I used the Tamiya part, with the holes opened up and a handle added from plastic rod. The hole spacing is wrong, though: they should be set as if there are five holes, with the handle in place of the fifth (but on the rim).

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
The detail on the cockpit resin is nice but certainly presenting you with a puzzle. I don't know why some after market stuff, resin and PE, has such poor instructions.
Jim

[Guest]

Like I said, the instructions for this set are both good and poor at the same time. They have quite well-drawn illustrations, but locations are poor or sometimes just plain wrong. Wait, let me show you:

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Just for fun I included some rulers. The sheet is just over A6 (postcard) size, probably because paper is expensive … :thinking:

The set also suffers from another problem, namely trying to replicate the real thing too closely. Look at the way the pedals attach, for example: with brackets that sit behind the instrument panel. These come in left and right because they have tiny rivets on one side — never mind these will be entirely out of sight on the finished model, not just the rivets but the brackets themselves as well. The console with the throttle is moulded hollow for no reason at all, except I suppose that it was on the real thing too. All well and nice, but it means it’s also very fragile.

Rather than use the kit-supplied pedal brackets, which I couldn’t get to stick (always a problem with resin parts with a very small contact area), I used a much more pragmatic solution that the set’s designer would have done well to consider too:

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A corner of the kit’s sprue, sawn to size so that it glues against the back of the lower portion of the instrument panel and the top of the fuel tank. You can’t see this when the fuselage and wings are together, so problem solved. Here are some shots of how things fit together, and one that more or less shows what you’ll be able to see on the finished model:

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I also turned my attention to the wings. Since the kit has a combination of raised and recessed panel lines, I scribed all the raised ones with a cheap Trumpeter plastic scriber.

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I haven’t done those on the fuselage yet, as the cockpit work gets in the way of that — I should really have done this before adding the cockpit, of course. I’m also not sure how to scribe lines on a part as curved as the fuselage. Tips would be appreciated

[rtfoe]

Jakko, where is part 16 and 17 that supports the pedals to the back of the dash? Is it given or you need to scratch it...

I've always liked the Buffalo.

Cheers,
Richard

[Guest]

Those are the bits I was talking about, that have rivet detail that won’t ever be seen I’ve simply left them out because there’s no way anyone is ever going to look under the dashboard when the fuselage halves are glued together and the canopy is on.

[SimonT]

Morning Jakko - always thought this stumpy little thing looked like a caricature of a proper plane
Remember seeing a photo many years ago of a downed plane in the jungle, decaying with plants all over - had grand ideas of making a dio but of course as with so many ideas it fell by the wayside. Doubt I would have been able to pull it off any way.

Scribing - you can get etched scribing templates or use an artists Erasing shield

Of course they won't work too well on really curved surfaces

A few layers of narrow tape can work as they can be laid down to follow the curve - build up a few layers so there is an edge to guide the scribing tool

You could also try making a metal template from a drinks can or similar - cut a large radius arc so that as it wraps around the curve it follows it. May take a bit of experimentation with paper and/or tape to get the curve right though

[Guest]

always thought this stumpy little thing looked like a caricature of a proper plane

That’s probably part of why I’ve always liked the looks of it Another reason is that the first model I ever made myself, age 7 or 8 I suppose, was the Matchbox 1:72 scale kit of it.

Remember seeing a photo many years ago of a downed plane in the jungle, decaying with plants all over - had grand ideas of making a dio but of course as with so many ideas it fell by the wayside. Doubt I would have been able to pull it off any way.

A downed plane I can do, but the kind you describe I think I’d also fail at making it look right. This one will be built complete, though, in the guise I think B-3110 would have been in just before its last mission.

A few layers of narrow tape can work as they can be laid down to follow the curve - build up a few layers so there is an edge to guide the scribing tool

That’s what I was thinking of doing, yes. Luckily it doesn’t need much pressure to scribe these lines, so I’ll try the tape way first, I think. If it fails, the drinks can is probably next — thanks for the suggestion, I hadn’t thought of that.

[Jim R]

Hi Jakko
I read somewhere that rescribing on a curved surface could be done using that Dymo embossing tape. The plastic stuff you use to make labels with. THIS shows it.
Jim