Roden 1/32 Cessna O-2 the man meets the model.

[ericg]

I have been doing some work on the rather poorly defined bottom of the fuselage. This area will need some work if you wish to better depict the fact that this is a retractable undercarriage aircraft as Roden have done a terrible job of both the main and nose gear doors.

The nose gear doors were very shallow and in some areas non existant.

Before:

 

I shaped some thin aluminium strip in the shape of one half of the gear doors to use a template to re-scribe one door, then turned it over to to scribe the other side. I ran my JLC razor saw down the middle.

After:



The rear section of the fuselage requires the most work with the gear doors not even depicted at all.

Before:



After. I also carved out he small vent facing aft. I also added brake lines and scratchbuilt the small flipper doors that cover the gap in the fuselage once the legs are up and out of the way.

[DesTROYer]

Cool.

[ericg]

I finally have this model in Primer.



This has enabled me to uncover numerous flaws, due to the rough nature of the kit surface, some workmanship issues and the terrible fit of the side windows which will require a fair bit of effort to fix! As per usual, I highlight where fixes are required with a lead pencil.

[url=https://ericgalliers.smugmug.com/Cessna-Ok2/i-CtBL5vx/A][/url

[ericg]

Onto the painting stage. I prefer the black base method for light coloured aircraft as it allows some depth and variation to the paintwork. It is one part of the process and gives the model a blank canvas upon which to work weathering processes on. As this particular aircraft was fairly new when it was in service, I will be keeping it fairly clean.

I used MRP black fine surface primer to give the model an all over black finish. This was sanded smooth with a fine grain sanding sponge.



I then heavily mottled MR Paint Sky grey over the entire surface




This was followed by light layers of paint to fade out the effect (and yes I am aware of the fingerprint!!)



I stopped just before the final coat and highlighted the corners of the gear doors with white, which will just show through once finished.



The final coat of grey. The black base effect is barely visible, and the lighting for the photo doesn't do it justice.




The same effect was used on the white upper surface of the wing.



Tamiya Nato Black was then used to paint the anti glare panel. I used a lightened shade of the base colour to highlight the corners of certain areas of each panel



A highly thinned mix of the base colour was then applied over the top to blend the highlights.

[enfield38]

Nice Eric!

[ericg]

Thanks Rod.

I always wanted to try and get some Aussie markings on this model and set about creating some with my Mask cutter. I had a nice clear image of Snoopy holding a HVAR whilst riding a Kangaroo and I manipulated the image in the studio software to give me two small masks. This took a little bit of work as the mask cutter is approaching its limitations going so small. Snoopy and roo combined are 6mm tall.



The bare nose



I applied the inside of the mask to check for fit and alignment. In the portrait photo of David standing in front of his O-2, the top of Snoopys head just overlaps the black anti glare panel.



Red first



I then removed the mask and sat Snoopy on the roo and sprayed him white



Worked out great!



I then made up masks for the prop warning arrows (the AOA decals are great but up the more I use the mask cutter the better)



I also made the tail number.



The tails of some Aussie flown O-2’s had a small stencil sprayed on them in the form of Snoopy standing on a roo, different in shape and style to the ones on the nose. I had a clear photo of these although from an oblique angle. Using the draw curve shape icon, I was able to direct the software to place points at strategic locations around the logo which then gave me the ability to edit each point. Each point has two small squares next to it which are able to be clicked and dragged to change the radius and length of the curve that passes through each point. This enabled me to refine the shape closer to the photo as presented on the screen ( rather than trying to trace it free hand). Once I was happy with the shape, I then stretched the shape along its horizontal axis and enlarged it lengthwise to correct it from its oblique state.



The completed tail. The small Snoopy logo has worked out great.



Whilst I was in the mood for masking, I thought I would use the machine to solve a problem Roden have moulded each HVAR integral with the front of its launcher, making them very hard to hand paint. I designed a small mask to make it much easier to spray.



A screenshot of the masks that I made up for this model, not including the window masks that I made. If anyone ever tells me that the machine is too expensive I always ask them how many thousands of dollars of models they have stashed away that will never be built. For the price of two Wingnut Wings kits, you can have something that will be more useful to you each time you build a kit, in ways that you won’t even have thought about!



Looking the part. I will defy non-conventional wisdom and give the model a clear coat before applying the stencils soon.

[bell209]

Looking fantastic, Eric!

[ericg]

I finished the O-2 last week, just in time to take it to Canberra for the local Scale model comp there. Still have to do the base and until then, here are some `just finished' pics. Thanks to all for following along.

[bell209]

Looks fabulous!

[biscuit]

fantastic work as always, I am in awe of your skills