Finally getting started on this build. Should move along rather quickly as I have already built one of these before. Could not resist these markings!! They are just too cool. Not a lot done this evening, but it's a start. More to follow soon. "Q"
Box Art-

Holes plotted and drilled along the top of the fuselage and rear bulk head installed


Interior roof and IP painted...

Looking forward to seeing this build Matt.
All the best.
tim

Work continues with the Pilatus. I worked on the seats today during the brief amount of time I had. Luckily in this variant they only required me build a total of four, but that was enough. Drawing on my past build, I used the same technique in assembling the spindly seat frames. I glued the front of the frame to the floor first and let it set up sufficiently. I then added the two sides and again, allowed them to set up. I then added the seat back and finally added a piece of .020 rod as the kit parts are too fragile to be used, and cleaning them up would have been a waste of effort. The final touch was to touch a small amount of Mr. Surfacer 1000 over all the joints to blend them in with the rest of the framework. This will clean up easily with some Tamiya Super Thin Cement and a few passes of the brush. I left the seam lines on the frame work as clean up prior to install would have been pointless and extremely difficult due to the size of the parts. Once everything sets up good and firm, clean up will be considerably easier.
I added some belts for the pilots/co-pilots seats using tin foil. It cuts easily and has no memory when bent. It stays where you put it. Once the interior is finished being painted, hopefully tonight, everything will get closed up. Thanks for watching, more to follow soon. "Q"

Q its great to see you get to this. Roden will be notified. Model On!

No problem. Didn't want to wait too awful long...I've had it awhile now. More to follow soon. I got the cockpit painted this evening. Will post pics tomorrow. "Q"
ps. DC-6 to follow shortly...

Moving right along....I was able to get the interior painted and installed since last night. The fuselage is currently drying as I type. I'll begin work on the wings and other assorted areas in the mean time. Thanks for following along. "Q"

And here we go again....I got the fuselage sealed up and everything lines up pretty well. I'll have a coupe areas to dress, but overall it's ok. The nose....well, the nose gave me some fit issues. The details on the bottom will have to be removed and replace as they are split right down the middle. No biggee. But, noe of the panel lines match up so the will have to be filled and rescribed. The molding on the chin scoop is soft at best and will have to be carefully built up. I ran into the same problem with my prior build. Hopefully this one will turn out as well as the first one did. More to follow soon. "Q"

Taking a slight break from the Pilatus for a few days. Had to do some putty work which is drying and I'm getting ready for the IPMS National's in Omaha next week. Will pick it back up once I return. Thanks for following along... "Q"

After way too long away from my bench I have finally gotten a chance to sit down and do some more on the Pilatus. To say I've had to use "a bit" of putty is an understatement, but things are alright. Once this dries/cures, I'll be able to move right along. I used the down time to clean up other parts and or assemblies. More to follow soon. "Q"

And still more progress....not much, but we are getting there. I got the seams cleaned up, the detail replaced on the lower nose and the wings attached. I was debating whether to add them after painting and decaling, but decided otherwise. So far everything is fitting well. I test fit the cockpit windscreen and there is a very small gap where it meets at the top with the wing/fuselage. This shouldn't be any big deal to fix as I had the same issue on the other one I built. The wings are nice and straight and the support struts from the bottom of the fuselage to the wings fit perfectly. Going to let everything dry overnight before getting her into the paint booth. As you can see in the pics, she's masked and ready for her coat of filling primer and then hopefully some nice gloss white. More to follow soon. Thanks, "Q"

Another small update. The wings have dried nice and sturdy so I was able to get some primer added to the Pilatus. It definitely shows some areas that need addressed. The bottom came out very well with no need to fix anything. The top on the other hand...not so much. I have some more filling and block sanding to do to bring this area up to speed as well as the area directly in front of the canopy. Seems my sink marks didn't want to fill...not a big deal. More to follow...Thanks, "Q"

She wears paint! I was able to get the gloss white shot this morning before school. I opted to use a large can of Krylon Gloss White and it worked well. I applied 3 list mist coats with 5 minutes in between coats then followed with another 3 wet coats to get the gloss I was looking for. No runs, drips or errors..
Will let this set for a day or so to cure then will get the decals started....lots of decals, lots of color. Thanks, "Q"

Decaling has started....and it is going to be a slow, arduous process. The decals are brittle and tear easily. I started with the large red portion on the top of the fuselage. It tore on me immediately so I slowed way down. Fitting it correctly was no easy chore as it wanted to stick immediately wherever is touched. I got it on, but it still isn't 100%. However, I can live with it and fix what is "off" with carefully applied painting. I can see where this is going to take a lot of post dry poking and prodding along with copious amounts of decal solvent. I am using Solvaset and it is taking repeated coats to get the decals to even start to conform. I might resort to the boiling hot water and towel/wash cloth treatment if things don't improve. As you can see, there is lots to do yet. Everything that isn't white is a decal. There are only 4 on the model at this point; the fuselage top, angled piece at the base the tail, small green section on rear of fuselage and the tail...which will require slicing and more setting solution. yay... I should be able to match my paint where needed, I know I got enough on hand to.....More to follow soon.
Thanks, "Q"

Aren't those Roden decals fun?

Yep. Just like a root canal... Think I'm going to try a hair dryer first and see how that works. Have done that in the past with good results. "Q"

The boiling water trick worked wonders for my AN-12.

Boiling water trick - Been there done that on a Roden 1:48 Fokker D.VII - fully covered using the Roden 5 colour lozenege decals.

I found that my hair dryer technique works well with these stubborn things. I tried it out on the elevators and was really happy with how things came out. I laid them in place, worked them to where they needed to be, removed any excess water with a Q-tip, then hit it with the hair dryer set on low. I could actually see the decal begin settling into the nooks and crannies. While it was still softened I applied my Solvaset and things went well from there. I noticed that Roden thoughtfully provided some extra strips of decal material on the sheet for touch ups. Now I shouldn't have to match any paint Going to let this set for awhile so I don't screw anything up. More to follow soon.
Thanks, "Q"
ps. I also used it to fix some of the problem areas I encountered at the beginning.

And more decal fun....yay! I added the buzzard's nose to the front of the plane and a few of the decals around the pilots door etc. The hairdryer is working like a charm. I also added the decal for the split doors on the port side of the plane. These didn't line up too well, but I can tighten things up once they are dried. They are going to posed open as it is, so it won't be too apparent that they are off a bit. Everything else is moving right along. Currently waiting for the flaps and ailerons to dry/cure so I can add them to the wings and install the decals on them too. Should have added them from the start..not sure why I didn't. The spiral on the spinner does not fit well at all. I tried several different ways to get it to wrap around the spinner more than once, and it wasn't having any of it. I finally got it on and it looks alright. The decal placement guide has it wrapping around the spinner 2 maybe 3 times...Oh well, can't win them all. More to follow soon. Thanks, "Q"

Things are progressing well with the decals on this beast. I have all the large areas covered and drying as I type this. I decided that rather than deal with the large wing decals as a single piece to cut them into two parts. I cut the green and blue into their own decals. This made it considerably easier to get them in place. Once in place a couple minutes with the hair dryer and a Q-tip and the decals snuggled down well into the panel lines and various recesses. I just finished the upper wings. Once the decals have dried a bit, I'll make my cuts where they cross the ailerons and flaps. Shouldn't be long before she is complete. More to follow soon. Thanks, "Q"

How! Figure placing some lozenge is childs play compared to this. Great work Matthew

Those decals so completely change the character of this aircraft! It's going to be spectacular when it's done.

Okay, lets try this again...for some reason my reply went into a black hole...
Thanks for the kudos all. Trying to get the rest of the fiddly bits tackled today along with the remaining decals. Rather than have to deal with using the spare decal pieces Roden included, I managed to find a suitable paint for touch ups. Chevy engine red is an almost exact match for this. The small square bottle of "Green" from Testors worked well for the green portions. I plan on gloss coating the entire plane which will help tie everything t together. Just a few more small decals to do and then I can add all the fiddly bits. More to follow soon..."Q"

Whew! I have finally got all the remaining decals in place. All that remains is some minor touch up painting and the install of the various fiddly bits. The canopy is drying as I type. I'll mask and paint the framing for it tomorrow after school. The landing gear was a bit finicky but I got it on and it looks much better setting on her tires now. The prop is merely sitting in it's hole. I still need to add the stripes to the ends of the blades yet. Easy work. Not much more to finish her....thanks for watching...
"Q"

With the exception of the prop stripes, the Pilatus is done.. and there was much rejoicing...yaaay. Nice to have this one complete and off the bench. She won't win any awards, but does looks nice next to her Army counterpart. Thanks for following along with the build and sorry for all the delays. Stephen, I'll get this put together for submission asap. Thanks, "Q"