My first contact with Aeroscale was via PolarBear and the Suez campaign . I had grand plans but ended up finishing only a T-6.

Two other models were started: a Mach2 HUP-2 helicopter and this Hasegawa Avenger. I really thougt the Avenger would be finished in time but after all kinds of misfortunes the project came to a halt last new years eve. Since I am doing a Hellcat in blue the half-finished Avenger might reap some benefits from that project! A short summary for those who have mercifully forgotten the whole tragic story:

October 2006:
A nice interior using Eduard pre-painted photo etch:


Turret masked and painted:


Almost there:


Canopy masked using pre-cut Eduard masks (highly recommended in this case!):


Suez stripes using Hasegawa decals to "save time":


This was where something went terribly wrong: After the usual application of Micro Sol, those huge wing decals wrinkled themselves into oblivion. I tried "repairing" by sanding and partially re-painting but when I removed the tape, some more decal bits and pieces went with it. After this the Avenger was pushed into the darkest corner of the "did-not-finish"-cupboard and remained there for two months...

December 2006:

I have sanded down the stripes (and spilled the water used for my wet-n-dry paper over the rest of the decals but that is a different story) and done what I should have done from the start: painted them...




And this is what it looked like almost exactly one year ago. I still haven't attached the under-sized roundels (remember that flooding accident?) from an Xtradecal-sheet to the wings. The correct ones were all used up in other projects so I went for second best...



A few days later the model went back into that dark corner of the cupboard and I started a Tomcat instead. It was taken out occasionally but always quickly returned... Until today.

Some sanding to remove those offending roundels and some filling to remove a couple of sink marks, then this one should be up on the track again!





It is a pity not to finish this one since

a) lots of time and worries have already been spent on it
b) it was an expensive model
c) all the small parts are already painted and ready to be mounted
d) it is a cool looking piece of machinery that will look good besides the Hellcat!

I'll keep you posted!



Magnus

Hi Magnus!

Get that Turkey done now, You hear!

It´s a nice model, and that scheme is very nice!

I want to see the Avenger done, you are on the final stretch now.

Do you know why It was called "the Turkey"; Biggest bird in the yard!

A nick-name the F-14 Tomcat got some years later!

You gotta love those aircrafts from the Grumman Ironworks!

God Fortsättning!

Stefan E

Come on, Magnus, let us see it finished!

The result so far is very good despite all your terrible problems. Just remember the joy and satisfaction will be that much bigger when you see it finished

Looking forward to see more

Wow, Magnus! Way cool! You've got to finish it! One day, we will have to line it up beside the Frech Suez Avenger built by TedMamere (99,6%) and myself (0,4%). It was the Mach2 kit, so I guess the work was just as tough (for Jean-Luc, that is! ). Here's an in progress pic of it (for those of us with bad memory). I will take a picture of the finished one as soon as my camera is back in shape!



Cheers, and a happy 2008!

Magnus, looks awesome - and great inspiration for me - I have a couple (or maybe even three...) of the AM 1/48 turkeys in the stash, and have been thinking about doing one as a Suez bird (love those stripes) - it's just finding decent refs that is hard...Keep at it and good luck, cheers Brad

really good looking. have some french post world war machines in stach. mayby time to get cracking! so nice those yellow and black stripes.

Sorry for being unpolite and not answering promptly when so many of you have shown interest in the build! I blame the new year and the after-effects of celebrating it with vigour and enthusiasm.

Stefan: Thanks for the encouragement. Together with Hellcat and Tomcat, that will make three Grummans in the collection. And regarding "the Turkey": Yes, it is huge. A Spitfire or a Bf-109 look really tiny in comparison.

Jesper: I have heard a lot about the joy and satisfaction of finishing models but I haven't experienced it first-hand very often ! I promise to finish it!

Björn: I remember that Mach2 kit. You offered it to me if Jean-Luc hadn't been up to the task. I have a fuselage conversion from High Planes in the stash, combining it with a Hasegawa Avenger must be a much easier way to make one of these. On the other hand, I am not sure that it would help me beat Jean-Luc, he obviously made a very good job.

Brad: I will have a look around and see what I can find when it comes to references. Mine are rather thin as well but Aeroplane Monthly or WingMasters might turn up with something useful.

James Last: I know you have at least a Hellcat since you got a set of decals for that one from me about a year ago! I am doing a Hellcat as well (click the Hellcat banner below) using the set of decals I kept. Even if I was tempted to do a French Avenger, this will be a RN one!

Finally, a very small update showing my nowadays standard wingtip lights made from a piece of clear styrene and glued/faired in using super glue. You can also see how much of the paintjob I had to ruin to get rid of the decals and the sink marks...





Magnus