Here's a first look at Kitty Hawk's new-tool kit of the Super Etendard. The kit is surprisingly complex for what is quite a compact model.

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If you have comments or questions please post them here.

Thanks!

Hi there

I'm making a start on this beastie today. As I noted in the review, Kitty Hawk have made an effort to keep ejector pins off the front faces of parts, but that still means there are a number of their almost trademark whoppers to tackle on the reverse sides. These are in the jet tailpipe and actually stop it fitting together:



An odd place for a locating pin? This is slap bang in the middle of the wheel well opening:



Most shots I've seen of parked Super Etendards have the inner doors closed (although the instructions show them open), in which case the locator will be hidden. If you do want to pose the doors open to display more of the wells, you'll need to remove it.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

I'm keen to get on to assembling the multi-part fuselage, so I'm not going to go overboard on the interior. To save time, I sprayed the cockpit parts with the same Alclad black primer I used for the wheel wells prior to a quick coat of Alclad Aluminium on the latter:



I'm impressed by how quickly the primer dries, despite being gloss enamel. It's ready to spray and the consistency is much thinner than I'd normally mix paint - so much so, that if you spill a drop, it stains more like a wash - but it soon builds up the required depth.

The next stage will be a quick bit of weathering first thing in the morning and then I'll plough on with the engine. Again, I'll keep that simple because it will be total hidden once installed, but I'll paint it up a bit so you can see what you get.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

I got a bit distracted by trying to work on three models at once (a little time on each means not a lot to show for my efforts on any of them! But at least they're progressing. )

I did start to have a play with some Alclad on the engine, though:



I used a basic coat of Aluminium and Airframe Aluminium (slightly darker), and then used some Gun Metal and Jet Exhaust to give a bit of "heat treatment" to the jet pipe.

I'll work on the engine accessories tomorrow - but, as I say, it'll all be hidden, so I won't go overboard.

Well, I say hidden, but one reason for the number of fuselage parts is that the tail section is clearly designed to be removable - although the instructions don't indicate that. (They also forgot to show the matching part to fit in the main section.)



To be honest, I probably won't bother with the removable section. All the engine detail's up front where you can't see it, and you'd need to add a lot of internal structure and fittings for the fuselage interior to be very believable.

A sneak preview of things to come... messing about with the cockpit, I can't avoid the growing suspicion that the ejector seat is quite undersized.

More soon.

All the best

Rowan

I wonder how this would compare beside the FM Super Mystere, given that it sort of evolved from it...

Hi Jessie

I never got the FM Super Mystère (I do have a few of their other efforts still leering at me from the Stash...). I'd love to see a new tool kit of it - I've always thought it was a stunner since I built the Airfix 1:72 kit when I was in my early teens (I know - we used stone tools in those days, it was so long ago! ).

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

A quick update. I gave the wheel wells a quick bit of oil weathering (probably overdone, but it adds plenty of depth):


Once fitted, our old friend, the locating pin makes a reappearance. Remember what I suggested about removing it if you want the inner doors open? Don't!. The wells are shaped around it, so you'll have a gap to fill if you do:



More soon.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

As promised, a shot of the engine before it disappears:



For a kit engine, it's not too shabby at all - but a quick check with online references shows you'd have to do a lot of extra detailing if you wanted to display it in a servicing diorama or such like. But the basic are definitely there to play with.

As I indicated, painting anything beyond the tail pipe is really a wasted effort, because it'll all be hidden once the engine's installed.

Talking of which... a slight problem could be that the fuselage mounts may not be completely moulded. On the sample kit, the starboard mould was short shot.



Fortunately, between the port mount and the front support, the engine slotted in stably, but if you're unlucky you may need to fudge mounts.



With engine and wheel and speed-brake bays in place, I can start to get to grips with the multi-section fuselage tomorrow.

And, go back to last night's thought... with a bit of tinkering on the cockpit while other parts dried - the impression of undue "petiteness" hasn't gone away...

More tomorrow.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

More fun. The seam at the rear of the fuselage is pretty tidy, but the front needs a bit of support in the sample kit:





If you do intend to have the rear fuselage removable, the fit actually looks pretty encouraging at this stage:



All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Another interesting new release from Kitty Hawk. I'm actually just as impressed, if even so at your progress on the build.

Your NMG in wells with weathering, does indeed look rather good.

Just as a side note, are you still making progress on the T-33A? Really looking forward to seeing it through completion.
Joel

Cheers Joel

It's moving ahead in fits and starts. I did a bit more work on the fuselage this afternoon, battling ejector pins as I went.




Yep, I've got the T-33 well underway again - starting to look quite aeroplane-shaped.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Just what I wanted to hear.
Joel