Hi everyone

Gilles at FRROM has very kindly sent a sample of his newly released 1:32 I.A.R.-80A kit - and I had such a blast building the Eduard Fw 190 in the Forum ahead of writing a Review, I'm going to do things the same way again.



The kit features a number of changes over FRROM's original I.A.R.-81C (reviewed HERE), the most obvious being a shorter fuselage and wings. Doug Nelson tackled a Feature Build of the original version superbly for us, so I hope I can do similar justice to the new kit.

It will come as no surprise to anyone familiar with the "IAR" that my primary reference will be Radu Brinzan's definitive modeller's study of the aircraft (reviewed HERE).

The kit is produced by Special Hobby and falls into that no-man's land between traditional "short-run " and "mainstream" kits. I guess you'd call it "cutting edge limited run" - a far cry from the very challenging builds we took for granted not too many years ago, but still likely to keep you on your toes at times. In other words, as some might say, "a proper model".

And, sure enough, while shooting sprue-photos for the review to come, I noticed a fair bit of mould release agent on the wings, so the first task was to give all the sprues a thorough wash in detergent. Always good practice, even on the most "mainstream" of mainstream kits - so it did no harm to have a reminder why it's worth spending a few extra minutes on preparation.

So, with the sprues drying and a few days booked off work next week for the Christmas break, I'm all set for my next victim - sorry, project!

All the best

Rowan

Looking forward to following this build Rowan, best of luck!

Hi Damian

Cheers for looking in.

I've made a start on the cockpit:



It's all fitting together well so far and should form a nicely busy "cat's cradle" when it's complete. The only small hitch I encountered was that a couple of the struts on the gunsight mount were damaged (the parts are in a very exposed place on the sprue), so I quickly stretched some sprue and replaced them.

I'll spray some basic colours next before moving on.

More soon.

All the best

Rowan

Hi again

I held off painting until I tackled the sidewalls. The starboard side is straight from the box, but I couldn't resist adding an oxygen pipe from the bottle to the outlet on the port side. I beefed up the outlet a bit too.





All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
I can't remember the last time you built a 1/32 scale kit, so that alone peaked my interest. I've already pulled up my rocking chair and I'll be along for the full ride.

Nice touch with that line for the Oxygen bottle. Those brackets look might nice.

Joel

Cheers Joel

Yes, it's been a little - and I want make sure I see this one through to the end, so nudge me if I seem to be slacking! The brackets aren't actually shown in the drawings in Radu's book, but I reasoned that it would need something to keep the full-sized pipe in place, so I think they're justifiable "gizmology" (as Shep Paine might have said).

With the first coat of paint drying on the cockpit parts, I couldn't resist skipping ahead a few stages in the instructions and starting to tinker with the engine.



The parts are crisply moulded and have some very nice detail, but when I first tried to join the front and rear halves of the cylinder banks they wouldn't fit at all.



Here are the culprits - ejector pin marks. They'e quick to deal with, so all should be fine...



Except it still wasn't. The joints are so tight, there was no scope to adjust the fit and parts kept popping apart. The answer is to run a sharp blade around the inside of each locating socket to ease it a little. The final result dry-fits neatly.



There are obviously still the seams to take care of on the cylinders but it's starting to look like an engine and promises to be quite impressive once all the push rods, wiring and exhausts are added. Strictly speaking , the crankcase cover is too pointed (shots of the original in Radu Brinzan's book show it was blunter and more bulbous), but it will all be hidden by the cylindrical fairing behind the spinner so I'm quite happy to leave well alone.

I hope to get a bit more done tomorrow and a fresh update posted.

All the best

Rowan

The kit has some pretty nice detail to the parts . Looking forward on how this one turns out .



Terri

An old favourite of mine, that aircraft is a real looker and the camo makes it even better! Every now and then I'm a bit sorry that I stubbornly stick to the smaller scales, this is one such occasion. Another is the SH Tempest that I was VERY CLOSE to buying last spring but that is a whole different story!

I'm on for the ride, that engine looks fantastic!



Magnus

Cheers Terri and Magnus

@ Magnus - You should treat yourself to one if it's a favourite subject for you. I always think changing scales every so often is useful in making me see things differently (right now at the opposite extreme from this, I've got a little 1:144 kit brewing ).

You can always tell yourself it doesn't count, because it's not what you really do.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Have no fear that I'll keep you on the intended course to completion.

Nice start solving those pesky fit issues on the engine. and what a engine it is. The detail is amazing. Looking forward to seeing you work your magic on it.

Joel

Cheers Joel

I've already missed my target of posting another update! But, in my defence, I have been working on a few overdue reviews. All being well I should have the next couple of days off work, so I hope to crack on a bit.

All the best

Rowan

Rowan,
Ok, you get a pass this time.
Joel

Hi again Joel

I'll post a mini-update before starting work today.

A perfect tool for getting between things like the cylinders here and sanding around curved surfaces while avoiding causing flat spots is a Flexifile, and the beauty of the tool is that you can cut the sanding tape to any width you need (within reason, obviously):





All the best

Rowan

Rowan:
Now that's impressive for sure. On this side of the pond I'd struggle and get little flat spots for sure.

Joel

Cool topic in my favorite scale Rowan. And your build is starting off nicely. I have never thought to cut the sanding tapes for my flexi-file to do special purpose sanding jobs. Thank you for posting that tip!

Ernest

Hi again

Anyone who knows me will vouch that I'm not exactly the tidiest and most organised person on earth - and that extends to modelling as well as everyday life. But doing the engine parts has convinced even me that I need to keep things sorted out properly, or else it'll all end in tears.

Cleaning up the intake pipes was fine - they're easy to keep track of and tell apart:



But when it came to the 28 individual pushrods in 4 different sizes, even I realised my usual haphazard approach was just asking for trouble. Luckily, I remembered I had some neat little clear-topped pots that I got 20 or so years ago (and have never used until now! ):



Now there's just the fiddly task of finishing cleaning all the little beggars up. I did the bulk of the work while the parts were still on the sprues, leaving just the attachment points to take care of.

All the best

Rowan

I do the same thing as well Rowan , if I don't that's when parts go missing ending in me making a new one .



Terri

Rowan,
You had those little pots for 20 plus years and never used them till now. That's remarkable, but to actually remember where you put them 20 plus years ago is even more remarkable.

Joel

Shorts at the ready?

This reminds me that I have the 81C, which I must build soon. Not this year though as it's the year for WW1 stuff as the 100th anniversary of the ending of the first World war looms. However I do want to build one of these. I do wish that I had this earlier version because of the 2 tone camo, I look forward to seeing that.

My main reason for wanting to build this aircraft though is for the markings. I really do relish the idea of painting them

Following your build mate. I won't eat my shorts if you do complete it, they are still at the ready if you do ever finish that Halifax!

Hi Mal

With both you and Joel giving me a nudge when needed, I should definitely see this one through - plus, I'm building for Gilles and I won't let him down.

You've got a little while to decide, but I think you'd better start choosing whether you want to serve up your knickers with chips or salad!

@ Joel - I'm certainly not recommending this as a way to work, but ironically, considering I'm SO untidy, I usually have a good idea where things are in the heap I call a workshop. The trouble starts when I tidy things up - it takes me ages to find anything until I've managed to recreate my usual mess!

On a serious note, one of my New Year's resolutions is to try to be a bit better organised, because it's looking likely to become my new norm to have a couple of review builds on the go at once. For that to work effectively, I'll need to be able to switch between workbenches with minimum hassle, so that probably means finally learning to put tools and paints etc. back where they live after I've used them!

Oh - and by way of today's update - I finished cleaning up the push-rods this evening. Tomorrow's job will be planning how to add the ignition harness. I'll be going with Joel's lead from his Hellcat for a dull bronze-ish colour, rather than my usual copper.

All the best

Rowan

Better organised! I wish. I did convert my modelling bench to a standing one and I am a little better organised tool wise but I am still trying to build too many models in one go Well not in one go but I started the WNW Sopwith Pup, and I'm in the process of creating checker masks for my Airfix 1/48 Gloster Meteor. They are proving more troublesome than I thought that they would! I have now also started the new Revell 1/32 P-51, having created masks for LOU IV several years ago and now updating them with new info received from Roy Sutherland.

Anyway my real reason for posting now is to see if I can stop you slacking as you haven't posted for a few days!

Hi Mal and Joel

Fear not - after a few days away, I'll be back at the workbench this afternoon.

All the best

Rowan

Been playing a little hookie myself, but also will be back at the bench by tomorrow the latest.

Joel

Hi Joel

I'm looking to get a bit more done tomorrow too, because I should have the afternoon off work. I've got the basic engine colours on, and had another tinker with the cockpit - but it's hopefully not too much of a case of shirking (or else forgivable, at least), because I did work on reviews and played guitar in a recording session.

All the best

Rowan