discussion Letov s16 in 1/72 KP models

[yak face]

After seeing steves ( @Steve-the-Duck ) amazing scratchbuilt Avro Aldershot , it reminded me of this aircraft . A fairly obscure subject but one that I always liked the look of , so I bit the bullet and got one . Its the ancient KP models kit , quite reasonable for a 1982 tooling . Its got a bit of flash and mould seams to clean up but nothing major . I started with the cockpit , the neatly done instrument panels (which were wooden on the aircraft ) came up nice with a careful paint and the rest of the pit is ok too. I just have to put on some suitable belts then I can get the fuselage together .

 

[flyjoe180]

A nice looking kit Tony. Looks to have some nice surface detail. Great start on the cockpit.

 

[yak face]

A nice looking kit Tony. Looks to have some nice surface detail. Great start on the cockpit.

Cheers joe its an interesting aircraft . Large for a single engine ( bigger wingspan than a swordfish at 50 ft)

 

[Jim R]

A plane I've never heard of. Love the box art - old fashioned but certainly eye-catching.
You're off to a good start.

 

[Nicko]

Nice obscure choice Tony. Following along...

Nick

 

[yak face]

A good crack at this today has seen the assembly really motor on . I glued the fuselage and wings yesterday so today I was able to sort the seams and start getting some of the struts and stuff on . The eight exhaust stubs were just moulded on pips so they were drilled out and some brass tubing fitted. As I’m doing the in service bomber version ( as opposed to the flying school trainer option ) there are twelve little bomb pylons to fit under the wings , and while I was under there I fitted the undercarriage struts too. Its now had a blast of Hycote primer , as well as the top wing , radiator and propeller . Next up is a quick scan to see if the primer has highlighted any areas that need remedial work then its about ready for paint .

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

A first for me to inspire someone else to a build! My ego is suitably boosted!

This beast has very long, narrow wings...

A very good start on the interior, nice wood effect. Me, I use 1 mm Tamiya tape for seatbelts in almost all my builds, saving the Italian stuff. Just needs a tiny dash of dark brown for shading with a spot of brass colour for the the buckles.

Older KP kits get a lot, IMHO, of unfair criticism. What kit of that age doesn't need a bit of clean-up? And if the parts fit, all the better. I mean, I've built 'modern' AModel kits, which are a bloody nightmare!

 

[yak face]

A first for me to inspire someone else to a build! My ego is suitably boosted!

This beast has very long, narrow wings...

A very good start on the interior, nice wood effect. Me, I use 1 mm Tamiya tape for seatbelts in almost all my builds, saving the Italian stuff. Just needs a tiny dash of dark brown for shading with a spot of brass colour for the the buckles.

Older KP kits get a lot, IMHO, of unfair criticism. What kit of that age doesn't need a bit of clean-up? And if the parts fit, all the better. I mean, I've built 'modern' AModel kits, which are a bloody nightmare!

Ive done quite a few Amodel beasts too steve , this is like Tamiya compared to some of them ! One of the worst and a kit that almost beat me was the Yak 28p intercepter . I had to put it back in the box halfway through and come back to it when I had regained some resolve and finish it off ! Another was the Kamov ka15 helicopter , the rotor head assembly was just about all replaced with bits of rod and strut as the kit parts were absolute pants .

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

AModel. Would it kill them to have locating pins and mounting holes. Ooh, look, lots of mounting points on this KP! Yay

Coming together very nicely

 

[yak face]

Undersides now painted . I used Vallejo metal color dull aluminium but it came out far from dull with a very shiny finish- which would have looked great if I was doing a polished natural metal aircraft but this is silver painted doped linen bird . After this dried ( not more than ten minutes in this weather !) I gave it another coat but this time with white aluminium which doesnt look quite as bright . Once this is masked up ive got to figure out what to use for the khaki top , online reference is very scarce and no colour pictures or original aircraft survive . I suppose that means it cant be wrong whatever I decide !

 

[yak face]

Top colour on , i used AK forest green as its quite a brownish green , which looks ok to my eye .

 

[Steve-the-Duck]

Undersides now painted . I used Vallejo metal color dull aluminium but it came out far from dull with a very shiny finish- which would have looked great if I was doing a polished natural metal aircraft but this is silver painted doped linen bird . After this dried ( not more than ten minutes in this weather !) I gave it another coat but this time with white aluminium which doesnt look quite as bright . Once this is masked up ive got to figure out what to use for the khaki top , online reference is very scarce and no colour pictures or original aircraft survive . I suppose that means it cant be wrong whatever I decide ! View attachment 1291226

Invariably, I just use rattle-can Humbrol silver for my RAF silver wings, and the pair of CR.20s were Humbrol aluminium, which does look quite dull

 

[Jim R]

You've made good progress.it does indeed have long, narrow wings. Metallic paints often come out differently to what you expect. Looking very nice under paint.

 

[flyjoe180]

Those colours look pretty good from here Tony, nice work

 

[yak face]

A coat of klear sealed the paint and gave a nice smooth surface for the decals . I thought the decals might be a bit tricky as they are obviously quite old but they behaved perfectly - good colour density and quick to release from the paper . All 10 are now on ( yes, a relief from tiny stencils ) next up is a sealing coat then time to get the top wing on and think about what im going to rig it with ( it had quite thick rods for bracing ,a bit like the swordfish )