Mack AC Buldog Tanker - RPM 1/72nd scale + Arctic Decals

 

 

Here it the RPM’s Mack Bulldog in fuel truck guise, thanks to the beautiful set released by Arctic Decals

A very interesting build as it resembles in a small way an actual vehicle assembly of sorts, with detail minute parts everywhere, for the chassis, the cabin, the engine, the body, etc. Some of this detail will be obscured after final assembly, but for those of us that like a little challenge in the guise of kits with a large number of parts, this is a joy.

The assembly log is here:

https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2026/10/mac-ac-bulldog-airport-tanker-rpm-172nd.html

Needless to say, careful separation of the parts, cleaning, and study the instructions are a must. I pointed out in the building article to a couple of glitches you have to sort out. Study your kit, so you use the parts depicted in the Arctic Decals art, as there are alternate ones that are not used for this version.

Besides the minute size of the parts and their individual cleaning, the other challenge resides on the painting of those parts, as you have to really plan ahead and not be carried away only to discover that you can’t comfortably paint some parts because you have already glued them.

I made a couple of mistakes, discovered only of course at the end of the build, but I can live with them. One was not to make the flat side panel recommended by the Arctic Decals instructions (which I read after applying the decals, of course 😒) and I mishandled a couple of very small parts that I ended up not using, as cleaning their injection gate was beyond my eyesight. Fit in these very little kits becomes a little challenging. As mentioned on the building post, some modelers may feel this kit is over-engineered, and I would have appreciated a one-part basic chassis, to which detail is added, and not a multipart one that makes alignment tricky. I personally think that the parts’ separation for the driver’s cabin is not optimal, and a whole roof that is not inserted between the sides, but over them, would have been better.

Given all the detail that is obscured once the model is completely assembled, it seems that this kit would be a very good candidate for a repair or abandoned vehicle diorama (see the mention of the brakes system inside the drum on the building article, as an example).

Overall, this is a nice little kit from RPM (a Polish firm), fairly molded and well detailed. I only wish RPM would produce civil vehicles, so modelers do not need to adapt their kits.

ACE Models (another scale vehicle manufacturer from Ukraine with kits of similar characteristics) is  ahead in the game, having released a beautiful civil Ford truck -mentioned in the step-by-step building article.

 

 

Citroen 2CV - FPW Model - 3D-printed

Bought as an airplane diorama accessory, it came out pretty nice. It was the first car I owned, back beyond in the mist of time.

This 3D-printed "kit" comes in just a few parts. I added home-made lenses to the lights and the rolled back roof. 

The building sequence can be found here:

 https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2026/09/ciroen-2cv-fpw-model-3d-printed.html

I wish the manufacturers of this type of 3D-printe accessories would think more like a modeler, and provide interior and body as separate parts, even separate interior parts like seats and steering wheel, besides wheels and hubs, etc. in order to greatly facilitate painting. 

As I am also building a Sikorsky S.55 (but in Beatles' configuration) maybe I could build another...
 

Consolidated Fleetster - Dekno Models 1/72nd scale full 3D-printed kit

 

Dekno Models 

https://deknomodels.com/en/ 

is one of the kit manufacturers that experienced a fantastic and rapid evolution. Currently many of their kits are completely 3D-printed in great definition. Their line of products is wonderful, offering civil planes from the Golden Age and a line of accessories. I was so happy when the Consolidated arrived! Here are the contents, protected and well-packed:

The quality is very good:

Very nice internal and external detail:

The fit is excellent:

And now with their new transparencies:

A closer look:

The wings are printed hollowed to save weight and avoid distortions:

Even very small parts are perfectly printed:

Since I was at it, I also bought some of their accessories for my scratchbuilding projects:

Parts impeccably separated, an ease enough task due to the intelligent design of the cradles, but care is required:

After some light sanding the parts are washed and let to dry:

Some priming and a bit of base colors:

The Fleetster came in two civil types, 17 and 20 (the latter being a high wing parasol, similar to the Lockheed Air Express, in the same way that the 17 resembles a Vega) These in turn came in diverse sub-types, with changes in the window arrangement, door position, seating and power plant aimed to diverse functions (mail carrier, etc.).

 Some more color:

The seats are prepared. For what I read, some NYRBA fleetsters were modified with what is called "bench seats", two of them for three people each. Not being sure of which airframes had these or how were they disposed (one after the other, facing opposite to each other?) I didn't go for that. This was done apparently to allow some cargo, always needed in the South American routes:

Getting ready for final assembly:

The clear parts are bathed in acrylic, that helps level some remaining inkling of the printing process:

Long ago I made a batch of "lights", so I will be using those, but the kit's are perfectly ok if you use "metal" paint on one side:

As the tailwheel was fixed and faired (i.e. not being able to swing), other Fleetsters (but not the NYRBA ones) had some metal rack "handles" that allowed the crew to lift and swing the fuselage:

Windows are in after only the slightest adjustments. The clear parts come now 3D-printed, and some faint ridges can be seen under certain lights, so a little of clear acrylic is brushed over them inside and out:

With the interior almost complete (lacking only the control wheel) the time to close the fuselage is near. The exhausts are glued to the engine, good fit. The extensions will be added later on to facilitate assembly and painting. I would advise to sand a little the width of instrument panel, which seemed to hinder the closing on my sample, and be sure that the seat, control wheel and pedals rest in the middle but at the right angles, not precluding the other fuselage half to be added:

 Fuselage closed and ready to proceed:

The wing parts are epoxied together:

The wing is glued. The tail feathers are given metal pins to better secure them:

The canopy is adjusted to fit properly. The "pads" that rest against the fore section of the wing root had to be sanded a bit. If you have built a MPM or Special Hobby Vega, same configuration:

The landing gear legs are glued. The tailwheel will need a good sanding -in width and diameter- to fit the cavity where it goes:

Once the canopy is masked and glued, further priming and then painting will ensue. As the horizontal tail was the same color of the wing (apparently "coral", a hue close to International Orange) those surfaces will be added after painting to avoid complex masking:

The time-honored method of making masks. Apply tape, score with toothpick, carefully cut around with a new blade. There are so far no commercial masks for the Fleetster:

Primer on:

This is entirely mi mistake, a beginner's mistake actually:

The engine should go first in the painted cowl, then the exhausts should be glued. By the way, the engine is provided "whole" in case you want to display it without a cowl, but to fit it inside the cowl you will have to shave the top of the cylinders quite a bit.

 White as a base for the cream and coral color is airbrushed:

 

 

To be continued...