I seem to remember
building a very small model of the "Atlantique" many years ago and I
was suitably impressed with it, so when Revell announced the same thing in
1/72nd scale I just had to get one and on opening the box I was very
impressed with what I saw. The mouldings were all in white plastic, very usefull
as 50% of the aircraft is white, they are crisp and as expected today there is
no flash anywhere. there are ten frames and a clear sprue with the canopies on
which are crystal clear, unfortunately the main canopy comes in two halves due
to moulding limitations, but this is not too much of a problem as it extends way
past the "glass" area making it easy to eliminate the fuselage and
"roof" join leaving only a centre post, two windows deep, to
clean up, I applied my liquid cement with care and even that problem was non existent.
There is a 20 page
instruction booklet which you should READ FIRST and take in as the giant decal
sheet provides markings for 3 different airforces German, French and Dutch and a
number of choices have to be made during construction so be warned. I found a
number of parts left over when finished and I believe some of these are for the
Italian version but do your own research on this.
Any Problems? well not really but
be prepared for a big job as there are heaps of tiny tiny parts to add on ie.
tiny intakes on the engine nacelles which are themselves made up from four
separate cowlings much as the real one is (see pic).
Some of the detail provided has to be seen to be believed, the weapons bay has
lots of tiny add ons to make workman like and the cockpit comes fully fitted so
take care with your painting as most of it can be seen.
My construction notes
First thing was to photocopy the paint list sheet and hang it up in front of me.
You need the decal sheet right from step two although it isn't mentioned until
page 17 step 75
Step 4
some holes need clearing for the German version so don't miss it.
Step 5
nose weight is required here, some 70 gms in all, I loaded 40 gms in
the radome and another 30 gms in the space between the cockpit and weapons
bay bulkheads.
Step 14 don't cement the radome to the plate (part 39)
yet, see reason above, add it as a final item to save masking while
spraying.
Step 18 you can completely assemble the nose section
and leave it to harden before clipping it to the rear fuselage where there
is only a small join to clean up.
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Step 21/22 there were some ejector pin marks on the tail plane halves and these needed sanding off
before the halves would fit properly.
Step 28 when the plane is on the ground the forward pair of main gear doors (parts 105/106) are
normally closed so you may wish to adjust parts 63/64 by removing the front linkages if you want this to be depicted.
Step 32
the nacelle side panels are a simple butt join so when together and the front plate (part 80/81) is engaged, slip an elastic band around to tighten the joint and to exert equal pressure all the way round to avoid distortion. leave the props till last thing you do, as they are quite fragile.
The remainder of the construction
is all straight forward with only choices of parts to decide upon, I added my
arials using Lycra elastic thread attached with CA glue. I think you might just
enjoy this one if you are into this type aircraft, it makes an excellent model.
Ted
Drop by Ted's Website to
see more of his models. Ted
Taylor's Modelworks
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