Valom BN-2A Islander 1:48 - Page 4 of 4

Final Assembly

The tailplane fitted into its slot without any problem as did the wing, both requiring a small amount of filler. I used Vallejo’s Plastic Putty as it is easily moulded with a wet finger.

The undercarriage fairings were next and are glued straight on to marked areas on the rear engine nacelles. On reflection it might have been a good idea to strengthen their attachments with some metal rod but they seem to be staying put after a week or two.

It remained to fit the various aerials and the static discharge wicks. The blade aerials were a bit chunky so I made new ones in a aerofoil shape from Plasticard.

Finishing

I opted for the Loganair scheme and used the Montex mask to cover the transparencies and pieces of Tamiya tape to cover the wing lights before a coat of Halfords White primer was applied. As ever, there were a few small areas which demanded some attention before applying a sprayed coat of Gunze H11 White as decreed in the instructions. This, however, turned out to be rather matt which I felt was not appropriate for an Islander. The model therefore was subjected to a coat of Halfords Appliance White which resulted in the required gloss finish.

The underside of the fuselage was masked off and sprayed Gunze H326 Oxford Blue. The last painting job was to mask the wings, fin and tailplane in order to paint the de-icing boots matt black. The Montex masks were added to the main and nose wheel tyres and sprayed matt black with Aluminium for the wheels. The propellers, the remaining aerials and the static discharge wicks were finally added.

The decals were thin but sufficiently robust to withstand handling and, given the gloss finish, went on without any problems. For decal application I use Mr.Mark Setter and Mr. Mark Softer for the more difficult surfaces. A final sprayed coat of Gunze H30 Clear Gloss Lacquer was applied to seal the decals.

And that was it.

Conclusions

An interesting kit of a fascinating subject. Good quality mouldings and the fit of parts was good. A few confusing issues as to which Islander or Defender the kit represents which could have been avoided with a better set of instructions.

After finishing the model I discovered that the kit is also available in Israeli military and Belgian Police colours yet still labelled as BN-2A Islanders!

Here’s my summary…
Michael R.