(Photo above from Wikipedia)
The world of aviation presents us with a great variety of
designs, spread out through time as the field evolved and also of course further
diversifying according to function. I guess that each modeler has its
predilections and favorites, but some designs seem to attract more consensus, like
in the case of the De Havilland D.H.88 Comet, the Northrop Gamma or the Caudron
C.561. But there are those stranger ones that have some staunch following (me
included) not because they are beautiful in the common sense of the word, but one
would say oddly beautiful. I will submit the Farman Jabiru as an extreme
example. In general, it is easier for a racer or a jet design to be admired,
but no so much for a cargo plane. And yet there are exceptions. The Shorts
Skyvan is one. Stocky, stumpy, boxy, and yet somehow harmonious -besides widely
successful- with many still flying and being modeled thanks to an
outdated and close to obsolete Airfix kit from 1975 (there are other releases
in 1/144 by other manufacturers -Welsh Models and Eastern Express-). To present
a contrast in order to clarify my point regarding airplane aesthetics (and
bearing in mind that beauty is to a point subjective), I acquired after this
Skyvan what I would like to be my next project, a spawn called Bristol 170
Freighter MK31 by Fly Models. It is almost as ungainly and uncouth as the
Armstrong Whitworth Atalanta, also (inexplicably given how many beautiful
planes that country created) British creations. But back to the Skyvan, I had
the “riveting” pleasure of building one OOB two decades ago (2005):
https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/2017/07/airfix-shorts-skyvan.html
Seemingly not having suffered enough with outdated kits I decided to build yet another Skyvan when I saw by chance online an
aftermarket set -issued more than 10 years ago by IPMS Austria- of photoetched
parts plus masks and pre-cut windows. Friend and fellow modeler C. Psarras (a
Greek Werewolf that transforms when hearing the word “master”) helped me contact the source and Rainer Selisko very kindly and patiently guided me
thorough the process of acquiring it. I believe the masks are now OOP, but they
may still have the other components. Still, bear in mind that the tariffs of
president stupid prevent the shipment from going through the Austrian mail. My deepest thank also go to friend, fellow modeller and Evil Genius S. Schulz of Volkania who took care of an important part of this process. So, now we can
perhaps build a better and more detailed model. Furthermore, the Internet nowadays
provides a cornucopia of images, so many different schemes, and such beautiful ones!
I decanted for a
Finish Skyvan used as a flying laboratory by the Aalto University, and the
decal set is being created by Arctic Decals (also from Finland).
My choice of subject is driven by respect for Science in general and my love for the Environment (the plane conducted environmental studies and is used for gathering data for other scientific fields), two words that in this new sad Dark Ages we live now here in the US are looked at with suspicion, when not with blatant scorn.
We all take potshots at the arch-known fondness for rivets
of old Airfix (and very justly so), but in this case the real plane had plenty
of those visible, prominently showing especially under certain light angles. But
even if they are a bit overscale (but not nearly as much as in earlier Airfix
creations) just a light sanding is needed, or for the very brave (surely not me) a
deep sanding, re-scribing and riveting again with a proper tool.
This plane, registered OH-SBA, is used as stated as a flying
laboratory, thus modified for the function.
Most prominent changes (as you partially have to convert the Skyvan into the passenger variant, a Skyliner) are:
- - a little thimble nose radome
- - a suit of antennas
- - a higher window count (two additional windows
added aft of the current ones and one in the middle, but one of kit’s windows coinciding
with the -to be added- left cabin door needs deletion)
- - two cabin doors one on each side of the
fuselage that open in different ways (down on the left fuselage side and to the
front on the other)
- - a modification of the back loading ramp whose opening is now reduced and only a small section of the hatch hinges upward now
- ---- a different interior configuration
- - and diverse onboard instruments and external probes
that vary depending on the experiment being carried
- - The props in the kit want to
rotate the wrong way, this needs to be corrected
So, it’s essential to gather photos (that fortunately abound
on the Net).
Opening the box brought back memories of struggle and
suffering, ill fit, sink holes, stubborn flash, sanding "exercise", warped
parts, thick and distorting transparencies and tail-sitting. That is: old
Airfix. And yet I suppose you and me should be grateful for their existence.
The Skyvan is not really among their worst kits (it was released in 1974
according to Scalemates), but recently I built (again too, I don’t learn) their
Fairey Rotodyne, which is a truly despicable and utterly inaccurate kit that
they insist on re-issuing without bothering to correct even its most flagrant
faults (not even the instructions) for the sake of nostalgia (nostalgia for $$ seemingly).
All that said, the kit I have now seems newer and has fewer sink holes and less flash than the previous one.
There is a pleasure in taking an old or so-so kit and making
it into something better, honing those skills, problem-solving, humming (and
bitching) along as we recall those golden days of our youth at the Shaolin
Modeling Monastery.
This kit has vast representation online, you can see scores
of it built, no doubt a preferred design amongst modelers. Some of the builds are
outstanding and little master jewels showing what can be done with some time and skill.
As the Skyvan had through time different powerplants and adds-on (like radomes) and it's such a popular kit, I am surprised that no aftermarket company came up with resin engines, props (four and five blades), spinners and the like.
The box contents. Airfix is famous for their "Maraca Box", with the sprues -and plenty of loose parts- rattling around, scratching the decal sheet and transparencies. Eventually Airfix discovered the plastic sleeve for their newer kits:
Scratchy-scratchy. Thanks Airfix!
Remember when you started to build these kits, and you couldn't find certain parts because they had become loose and hid inside the box's tabs?:
Absolutely useless side windows:
Scalemates gives the release date as 1974. Part says 1975:
This window that comes flashed over needs opening:
Arrow points to the window that needs opening and X to the window that needs deletion. Scraggly pencil lines describe the additional windows needed and the doors this plane has:
Fortunately KV Models produces a mask set (recommended), and in paper, not the dreaded vinyl!:
The cabin doors and the new windows are opened. Doors will be fabricated from styrene sheet and posed open, so no rivets would be visible. I am mulling over opening the cockpit doors too, or at least one of them, but that will weaken the structure perhaps too much. Food for thought:
I went for one cockpit door open on the right fuselage side, as I have a photo of its inner side:
I had forgotten how many parts this kit had, 150!
Now on the task of cleaning up each individual part of sprue attachments, flash, mold lines and deal with ejector pin marks and sink holes. On this will later depend the fit and appearance, so don't skip it:
A few hours later all parts are cleaned up:
Did Airfix invent the "window decal puncher"? Discuss and share conclusions with your fellow modelers. These punchers were introduced becasude Airfix used to included the blue strips for the Olympic livery:
Airfix did a clever thing not drilling the holes through, so you can use only those who you need:
The exhausts are made of two halves, never good for a tube shape because of the seams:
Aluminium tubes are cut to shape to replace them, also to avoid the painting conundrum that trapping the part inside the engine fairing presents. They will be painted apart and inserted in due time. This painting issue is also seen with the prop and its retainer in this kit. Not smart.
But if you are using the kit's exhausts, reduce the wall thickness from inside for a more realistic appearance and to smooth the seam:
The way the metal ones will go in (dry run):
Airfix pioneering new physics and mathematics, as in "how to fit six windows in five holes". Corrections in red are mine:
The flap and aileron hinges had lightening holes, these are drilled:
As I remember with the first Skyvan I built a frustrating struggle to get all the fuselage sections (sides, top and bottom) to agree to come together, I now "massaged" the fuselage sides to true them (they were out of wack a bit) and the roof whose curvature did not match at all that of the fuselage side top. Now they get along better.
Notice that the aft section with the "shelves" wasn't glued, nor their locating holes drilled from bellow the deck, as this plane had a different arrangement:
This part was nowhere to be found in the instructions...
Because it belonged to a base no more included (older inst. sheet below):
That's not the only thing you may find in the old instructions, there is a also a correct depiction of the places the side windows should go (see below), unlike the blooper shown somewhere above in the new instructions. Hey, Airfix, you should improve with time:
Airfix presents separated a nose cone and a bulkhead, which is a good. I found a few photos online of the nose hinged upwards, I would love to display it opened if I can, but since many other details need to be taken care of, we'll see:
Wing halves united. No problems if you did your cleanup:
A wood plug is carved to vacuform the radome. The sink holes on the LG stubs are given a dab of filler. For those wanting a nose, keep wanting, as the only manufacturer that produced it doesn't have it anymore:
https://www.blackbirdmodels.co.uk/short-skyvan-nose-72-2912-p.asp:
Doors are fabricated. The one with the steps needed eight parts, and still three more are needed to attach it:
Speaking of the good times spend at the Shaolin Modeling Monastery, here is a photo of Master Thong:
New Pitot:
New antenna:
The sink holes filled, axles added:
The modification of the ramp (no longer a cargo ramp) as seen on this plane. The configuration is that of the Skyliner, the passenger version: Short SC.7 Skyliner 3A-100). This arrangement has a full bulkhead aft the last seats, which will replace the kit's "shelves" part:
Here is a clip of this plane taking off from the Net:
Other incarnations of this plane -with other regs- had a four-blade prop.
The flanges over the doors to keep dripping water away are added from stretched sprue:
Part 7 (deck) is glued on top of part 56 (fus bottom) and hinged part 79 is also glued, as I have to add the aft bulkhead over that hinge line. As explained, the kit's aft shelf is replaced by a full bulkhead. This needs notches to clear the ceiling runners. Beware that the notches at the front of the ceiling part (77) are not depicted in the instructions (but the area clear of the runners to allow for the top of part 10 is) so don't glue it all the way around:
Dry run of the interior and one side. The ceiling is glued to the fuselage top, again "massaging" the top to follow the curvatures of the side, which it didn't at all. This hopefully will mean less coercing of all the parts during fuselage assembly:
Notice the differences between Airfix's rendition and this plane's fuselage top. Some I will leave alone, but the beacon needs deleting and fabricating a new one. The two parallel antennas need to be added as well:
The new beacon stand is made and added. The bumpy on the mold has to be removed:
Once removed a hole is drilled for the little antenna seen now in photos on that place:
As for the beacon itself I will be using one from a Cutting Edge set:
I decided I would open that nose. The "firewall" part is being given some detail. The nose hinges upwards but at a shallow angle, so it just needs a bit of busyness. The engine airscoops are hollowed to later put a drop of black wash adding depth:
The engines are glued to the wings:
After all that cleaning up and sanding and manipulating, better to carefully wash all those parts and let them dry (taking care not to lose any of the smallish parts):
You can't restore flatness to the heavily sunk transparencies. If you do the usual thing, sand them with progressively finer grits, in order to eliminate the sink hole you end up with a thickness that doesn't even reach half the way out (i.e. you will get a sunken window). Not to mention that I am opening the doors and those unsightly backing overhangs would be too visible. So, to cut, sand to size and install new windows it is:
I inadvertently removed a hinging pin from one side of this part. A hole is drilled and stretched sprue is glued, to be cut later to size:
Replicating some of the equipment seen in photos inside the aft opening:
Weight is added at the provided location between the cockpit floor and fuselage bottom, leaving enough room for the fuselage guides that insert there in the sides for alignment:
For all the little mishaps I already pointed out, Airfix still sometimes surprises me also in a good way. In the Skyvan the control wheels are mirrored, the "button" pointing outside on both. Airfix faithfully replicated it. I was adding a little support located at the top of the columns in this particular plane, when one of them twanged seemingly to the Great Beyond. I looked everywhere, as you do, to no avail. Sighing, I dutifully replicated that column, only to find the original attached to hair on my leg (sorry, a bit gross). Then I lost the replicated part. Then I found that one too. I suspect an alien intelligence is toying with me:
The Skyvan had minuscule nav lights on the wingtips plus one at the end of one rudder, and a landing light at the nose wheel fork:
Clear sprue is stretched and colored with sharpies:
Some base colors are applied:
See if you can spot the issue. I did when doing the masking for the grey color:
The prop in real life rotates counter-clockwise looking at the plane from the front. So I masked the blades "leading edge" that way...problem is, the props in the kit want to rotate the other way! After completing painting, I will have to separate each blade and change its angle as I insert them in the spinner with a different axle. The blades at rest in the real plane do have a "flat" angle at the tips, but the kit's blades are not so, they are angled up "the wrong way".
While waiting for the bits in the mail, completing some details:
To be continued...
