with Geoff Coughlin
Now for some fun!
Now, I don’t know about you, but I really like picking one of the older kits and (usually) having built it decades ago, trying to build it again, this time with a lot more experience under my belt? How about you? If the thought frightens you, rest assured, you’ll learn a lot by taking one on. What’s the worst that can happen? You mess it up and learn more for your next build – well not a big problem really as the kit is unlikely to have cost you very much in the first place and mistakes rarely mean that’s the end of your build (well some, anyway!).
(Photo: the current ‘Vintage Classic’ boxing of the Airfix 1:72 de Havilland Heron Mk.2 in 2020)
At the time of writing, a couple of builds come to mind that I’ve done here in SMN that involved quite a bit of detailing – the Airfix Bristol Superfreighter, 1:72
… and now this, the Airfix de Havilland Heron Mk.II, 1:72
The Heron kit doesn’t come with any cabin interior at all, perhaps not surprising given the age of the kit! The kit does, however, have large rectangular windows and the clear parts are quite clear, so this combination isn’t too good as you can see into the cabin.
Looking at the reference photos I have, the window cabin seats are really visible…
So I thought, wouldn’t it be fun to have a crack at adding the cabin seats. Initially, I thought that I would use plasticard for this job and of course you can, but I didn’t have anything suitable in stock.
While rooting around I found this bag of mixed balsa wood sections and strip and the penny dropped – why not use that? Balsa sticks well with cyano and so that’s the way I went and what really surprised me was just how quick and easy it is to do and so I want to share the steps with you too – hope you find it interesting and useful?
The great thing is that whatever your interest in modelling, I bet you can make really good use of these balsa sections to add all manner of details and extras for your project :)
David Baker says
Alan Hall would be proud of you! And lovely to see multiple materials blending age-old techniques with existing kits – albeit of a certain vintage. Such a rush these days to PE and resin that the merging of wood and plastic harks back to a more creative age. Such a lot of modelling these days is “assembling” from multiple bags and boxes of garage-market buy-ins rather than being ingeniously creative and it was lovely to see that. Fantastic!
Geoff Coughlin says
Excellent David – glad you like it really enjoying these builds in among the new kits etc in SMN.
More of the balsa approach in my Revell 1:32 F4U-1A Corsair build. Good luck!
GC
Derek Bradshaw says
Simple but effective Geoff, well done!
During the late 60’s to mid-70’s, balsa was pretty much the main (or only) material readily available for such work, so was very much a ‘necessity’ for such detail work until the advent of readily available plastic card and epoxy putty (I also used to aero model during this period, so working with balsa was easy for me).
In fact, balsa is still a fantastic material to use as core substrate for major conversions and scratch building (particularly in the larger scales).
Derek B
Geoff Coughlin says
Thanks Derek and I completely agree with what you say – easy to overlook these great materials in today’s modelling world… Best wishes, GC