Recently a friend from a Polish modelling forum wanted to sell me some kits he wasn’t going to build and as a bonus he threw in a kit I have never seen before:
So I started to build it and then @SprueOne suggested I do a WIP - and here we are.
There is a video on youtube:
in which the lady claims the plastic of that kit is not glueable. Now I have foud out it’s not really the case - it’s just that the parts just don’t really fit. So if you just apply liquid glue and try to stick two parts together they are not going to stay there just like that. You have to do some sanding to improve the fit and then come up with some creative clamping to hold them together until the glue sets for real.
The method I used a lot was to drill small holes and wire the parts together temporarily - then cut and remove the wire and putty the holes.
The kit is now 50 years old! I got it partly started - the head was assembled (3 parts), the back was assembled (two parts) and I also got two belly parts (about 6 or 7 parts each - with legs and fangs). And those subassemblies just didn’t want to fit together. So I started doing my tricks and here’s where I am now:
Originally the kit had the tree branch and the mouse - I didn’t get these. I already got a real branch from my local forrest to use as a base and I’m skipping the mouse
Now my plan is to rework the fangs around the branch and to re-create the surface details along the seam lines.
Pawel, You are right. That looks like a tough kit to build which a first time kit builder would have some trouble with. Thanks for creating a Blog. I’ll be watching.
Hello! @MR_TOM_SCHRY , @SprueOne - Thanks a lot for your comments! I’m glad you like my tinkering!
Since the last time I glued the head on and I cut off the talons and repositioned them. I had to use a lot of molten sprue to fill the seam lines and the spaces where the talons were cut. The talons will take several days to dry throughly:
I have also used a “small ball” router bit to clean up the dried seam lines and I have to say that it worked really well in my opinion. That “feather” detail on this model works similar to the “Narbung” (Geman term) - the pattern on car interior plastic parts that imitate leather. The purpose of “Narbung” is to hide the imperfections and sem lines of the plastic parts - and those feathers here have the potentioal to do the same if I play my cards right.
So here are the belly seam lines after the cleanup:
And I have also collected a branch from my local forest and cut it up a little to make a base for my owl. Here’s a mock up where I test the fit of the talons and everything:
So the glueing is over now - the most work will probably be filling and sanding and it might take some time before I can start painting.
Hello! @SprueOne - thanks a lot, I’m hoping for the best! @missileman2000 - yeah? What sums are we talking about here? Can I feel luxurious building this? Like I wrote, I got it partly started and not quite complete… And I don’t believe in kits as investments, I’d rather build them, so here we go.
So the talons are still drying, I’ll sand them a little soon and I’ll probably try to put on some primer, then I’ll post the photos.
This kit is really turning out great Pawel! I hope that some manufacturers get more ideas for future releases like this. Your build makes me want to dig out my Pyro Ring-Necked Pheasant kit out of my stash.
