Northrop Gamma, Polar Star NR-12269 (1935)

Łukasz Gliński
Oh, the gallery's here!

bughunter
The next project?!? In the time I need to think about a detail, Bernhard is doing a COMPLETE kit, including additional and corrected details!

Tom
Wunderbar Bernhard! Hab meine als "Sky Chief" in der Vitrine, ist aber schon letztes Jahrtausend gebaut. Deine wird natürlich besser, ich freu mich drauf!!

Bernhard Schrock
Moin Thomas. Nix da: Fotos her bitte bitte. Ist ein Schmankerl wie ich dich kenne🙂

Slavo Hazucha
Ok, so this is the correct thread for progress comments for this project... 🙂

Lovely progress & composite engine build & I'm happy to see you up-cycling used electronics - I added a few components from an old cell-phone to my Su-34, mostly lenses, it was some good fun!

Looking forward what detail hotspots you will find on this build! 👍

Bernhard Schrock
Welcome Slavo. Indeed it's a lot of electronics parts which we can use.

On the wing top side they are several oval reinforcement sheets. The shape is the problem here: how to represent this in 1:72, because the shape masking and airbrushing with Surfacer 500 is impossible. The thinnest plastic is 0,13 mm thick and three times too thick. What to do? I secured the entire surface left and right of the oval panel with Tesa (0,07 mm.). And sanded the sheet down to 0,07 mm. It's still actually too thick but I'm happy with the result.

bughunter
Bernhard, do you know that beauty? Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin ..ne (Small Stuff 72115, 1:72)
Well, this seems to evolve again into a great show 👍

Bernhard Schrock
Hab schon mal von der Firma gehört aber nichts in der Hand gehalten. Sieht gigantisch aus, zumindest in dem 3D Preview. Hast du etwas davon mal live gesehen? Bisher habe ich den 1830 von Aires verwendet. Wäre interessant zu vergleichen.

bughunter
DAS ist Small Stuff! That is really the best resin and the best engineered kits I ever had! All the rotary engines of my WWI biplanes are from Small Stuff, around 15 until now (ok, there is one exception: the Siemens-Schuckert was from Eduard, but can't beat the others). Luckily 9 types are already available in 1/48. In 1/72 I have only one used until now, in my Fokker D.VIII Strip down. Eugeny (the guy behind this company from Israel) is doing a fantastic job, I never had a single bubble in the parts.
I'm sure the R-1830 will be great as well!

Hanno Kleinecke
Great,solution on improving the aileron fillet ! A hell of a riveting and scribing job !

Zsolt Czegle
Klasse Arbeit bisher! 👍

Slavo Hazucha
Almost a pity you have to paint all these veritable proofs of scratch-modeling and creative competence... But then, it will look great once you do that... 🙂 👍

Łukasz Gliński
That's why we all take some many WIP pics, so nobody can say after painting: "Yeah, yeah, it must have been like that on the sprues already" 😛

Alec K
Fantastic work as always. I can only drool....

Slavo Hazucha
Give Bernhard a flat plastic wing & 2 fuselage halves and he hands you back this...😉

Stefan Schacht
very nice so far, I take a seat.

Bernhard Schrock
Northrop Gamma is a one of very early airplanes constructed completely of aluminum. The fuselage has a very interesting structure, a bit different compared with the later structures such the DC-3. The fuselage is constructed of small aluminum overlapping strips, riveted to the longitudinal stringers.
The kit is a typical 70s kit and offers fine raised panel lines. Very early I decided to create a new surface. Because I hate engraving recessed panel lines (which are wrong anyway in case of Gamma), I started doing it right from the start: masked and airbrushed Mr. Surface 500. This is also much easier and yields better results.

Hanno Kleinecke
Like a classic wooden boat with overlapping ( „klinker" ) planking. Clever solution !

Alec K
I like your paneling technique using Mr.Surfacer and masks. Very effective, and rather underutilized by modelers IMO. Very inspirational as always 👍

Slavo Hazucha
OK, so you are basically replicating the "klinker" build technique of a Norse ship on a plane... in 1:72... scratch... 😮 👍 I am watching anxiously from a safe distance... 😉

Bernhard Schrock
Thank you Hanno and Slavo.
This task was easier than expected and no "Hexenwerk"🙂. I needed only two days for the complete fuselage minus two rows on the underside and the large wingroot fairings. I shot both last pics with diagonal light from above ("Streiflicht", highlight). It looks exactly as hoped and expected. I think each edge is about 0,05 mm and exactly correct for this scale.

Łukasz Gliński
For Streiflicht Uncle Google says "highlight"😉
"Two days only" makes me consider myself utterly impatient 😄

Bernhard Schrock
Thanks Łukasz. Two days: I meant not two complete days but ON TWO DAYS, about 3-4 hours🙂

Hanno Kleinecke
Wow, that looks phantastic !

Burkhard D
Watching an learning... 🙂

Bernhard Schrock
Thank you Hanno and Burkhard. Paneling is now completed. As next: glass parts.

Hanno Kleinecke
Dem Ingeniör ist nix zu schwör....... Hut ab 👍

Łukasz Gliński
@Hanno ROTFL, didn't know that slogan 😄

Slavo Hazucha
Are you going to use Mr.Surfacer or some other method on the clear parts too to simulate the metal frame? This build just provokes questions like this...😉

Hanno Kleinecke
@ Łukazs : Unfortunately not to my credit. Motto of Disney's Gyro Gearloose (Daniel Düsentrieb) in German translation by Erika Fuchs. Couldn't be more appropriate than in Berhard's case, don't you think ?

Andy Ball
this is incredible at this scale! I like your tip in slide 31 too!!

Łukasz Gliński
@Hanno: Not sure he's an Ingeniör or a master of them😉

Bernhard Schrock
THX Mates🙂
Slavo: just printed out the template and cutted & folded the two trepezoid glas parts. They are damn small!! I will be happy if i manage to mask them...

Bernhard Schrock
Glas parts: not really good yet but a good start. The rails are 0,3 x 0,3 mm and still too thick🙁. So tomorrow I will rework this.

Dave Flitton
Looking awesome as ever!

Andy Ball
Christ! How do you make 0.3 x 0.3mm any thinner?, electron microscopy?....

Hanno Kleinecke
I was just about to complain about the rails....... 🙂 congrats for the clear parts ! Excellent !

Slavo Hazucha
On any other model I´d say going for the rails at all is an extra mile already, but here, with the remaining finesse of (99% your own scratch-made) details I tend to agree... maybe go for thin wire instead of sheet? (wire and oil-paint are my 2 standard final-level heroes I summon to solve each and every problem...😉 )

Bernhard Schrock
Andy: to be honest I have a couple of pet ants. They are building the really small stuff for me.🙂
swr.de/swr2/wissen/b..ry/s6giqj/index.html

Daniel Klink
Fantastic progress ... wow
You bring this old veteran Kit to a new Level...👍

Bernhard Schrock
Today I tried out a new technology for making windows. I'm very happy with the result.

bughunter
Very clever, Herr Ingeniör! 👍

Łukasz Gliński
WTF is Tesatape Herr Ingeniör?😉 Is it the transparent one? And what do you use to glue the transparency to the fuselage?

Slavo Hazucha
It took me a while to really understand what, how & why, but I think I got it!!! I'll probably better never go to 72-scale, it does not seem healthy...😉 😄

The whole thing is so fine-tuned, detailed and micro-riveted I'd really be affraid to spray color on it to cover something up... 👍

Bernhard Schrock
Moin moin Mates (Jungs🙂). Thx for nice comments.
Lukasz: this is the transparent one (taśma klejąca, biurowa Tesa), see last pic.
Slavo: hast Recht. Es wird nicht einfach sein, die Strukturen zu erhalten bzw. sie nicht mit Farbe zuzukleistern. Zum Glück habe ich noch genug vom Sealer (Tastors, für Metalizer), den ich mit der Metalizer Pigmentpampe der eigentlichen Metalizern mische und so eine gut deckende und blitzartig trocknende „Alu Farbe" erhalte, die nicht zukleistert und sich auch noch polieren und schleifen lässt. Durch den Sealer hat die Mischung auch nich eine gewisse Füllkraft (Riefen!!). So muss ich nicht mühselig die Oberfläche vor dem Lackieren polieren.

Bernhard Schrock
Tesa tape windows - update: yesterday I noticed that both windows have a "lens" effect (because the inner two Tesa tape layers are obviously to "strong" for the sole outer Tesa tape layer). I solved the problem with replacing the inner Tesa with thin bend plastic (aprox. 0,28 mm thick).

Łukasz Gliński
Aren't you afraid the tape will get yellow sooner than the other transparencies?

Bernhard Schrock
The first time I tried this technique about 19 years ago (Ford Trimitor) and I cannot notice any yellow effect (just checked in the vitrine)🙂.
modellversium.de/gal..imotor-monogram.html

Bernhard Schrock
Dull aluminum in place. Tried a more one new technique: added about 5-10% Mr. Surfacer 500 to my favorite Aluminum mix (33% Testors alu Metalizer, 33% Testors Sealer and 33% Mr. Metall Alminute). All sanding scratches are filled but all rivets remains visible.😉

Łukasz Gliński
I find it very interesting, did you seal with some anti-UV stuff or is it just like that? 🙂
BTW. This Ford is either 1/77 or 1/78😉

Hanno Kleinecke
Beautiful skis, now this bird is ready for the snow in may.....🙂
What is the solid looking attachement block for the legs made of, ome solid piece, filed into shape, or planked construction ?

LucLuke B
I built this model OOB in the late nineties in the days where internet was just starting and there weren't many references online.
I'm really enjoying looking at this lovely plane coming together superbly. Thanks also for all the tips you make available. I'm learning a lot from these now that I'm back to modelling after a 20-year break. It's very clean and you make it look easy.

Bernhard Schrock
Thank you Hanno and LucLuke. The attachment blocks are made of solid 4x2,5 mm rod. War kein Hexenwerk🙂

Slavo Hazucha
So no composite glass-fiber laminated snowboards this time? 🙂 I guess most people would be happy to just put them together, some could have added little pin-holes as riveting, but here we see "positive" plastic rivets to hold leg & ski together... 👍

Also the windows have turned out seriously nice and realistic... Even the blackness you see through corresponds 100% with the museum title pic!😉😉

Hanno Kleinecke
Very convincing looking woodeffect !

Bernhard Schrock
Thanks Hanno. The technology is called "paint shmiering & verwishing"🙂.
Base coat of middle brown at first and a mix of dark green matt and brown at last. Works preferably with a old and ruptured brush🙂

bughunter
I'm trapped in an infinite loop, I have to say it again: What a clean build! 👍

Bernhard Schrock
There are very good news: despite their age the decals worked very well. For extra safety I brushed a thin coat MS decal film before applying.
I'm also in a loop: Thank you bughunter🙂

bughunter
Damn! Decals? Looks like painted!

Slavo Hazucha
Looks exquisite, served on all those micro-rivets..! 👍

Juergen Klinglhuber
Bughunter du sagst es - damn, schaut die Kennzeichung gut aus !

Alec K
Beautiful detailing and execution 👍

Bernhard Schrock
There are good news again: I managed to apply all decals without damage🙂 The long elements I divided for better handling.

Wim van der Luijt
fantastic project! I tried to google the last ingredient of your metal mix and get some sort of polishing compound.....that's not right is it? [img1]

Bernhard Schrock
Wim, it's not exactly🙂
C218 Aluminium, Mr. Color Metallic, Lacquer, 10ml
Try this.

Wim van der Luijt
Much better, thanks

Bernhard Pethe
Ja, solche Teile baut nur der Bernhard. Ein Modell, das man aufgrund der Details, immer wieder betrachten muss. 👍

Hanno Kleinecke
Like Bernhard said: Absolutely unique ! This degree of detailing on shortrun quality in this tiny scale is simply incomparable
Chapeau !

bughunter
What, already done? That is an absolute beautiful model 👍 Fantastic work, mate!

Andy Ball
gotta be at the artisan pinnacle of 72nd modelling!

Łukasz Gliński
Looks better than the one in DC😉

Neuling
A beauty with impressive finish.

Bernd Korte
Wirklich schön!

Daniel Klink
Magnificient result with rather not state of the art kit...
The step by step How-To "Picture Book" with explanation added in the pics lets one take part with the pogress and learn a lot.
Thanks Benhard 👍

Tom
Hallo Bernhard! Sehr schön! Sind doch alte Microscale, die halten ewig! 🙂

LucLuke B
I enjoyed following that and am sad it's already finished, I liked the waiting for the next episode. Lovely delicate work, you're a wizard.

Zsolt Czegle
Gratuliere Bernhard! Es ist wirklich sehr schön geworden! 👍

Dave Flitton
Very Nice!! Impressive build!

Oliver Zwiener
Klasse Ding - einmal mehr !

Wim van der Luijt
another masterpiece, enjoyed this build very much, thank you!

Stefan Schacht
Impressive model and allways helpfull discription of the building progress 👍

Slavo Hazucha
The North pole has been conquered - and it's a no small feat!😉

I really have no idea what more (in the human-eye visible range) could be added here... a very cool plane presented with every bit of Inginöring competence! 👍

Andy Ball
@Slavo: I hope the South Pole has been conquered too ????

Alec K
Inspirational master building, again. Thank you for sharing 👍

Bernhard Schrock
Thanks for watching the South Pole expedition. I now have another expedition across the Pacific planned. 🙂

Dick
Very nice build, my compliments!

Imagine trying to land that plane on a white snowy landscape with those little ski's..

Amenofys
Very nice and clean.

Boris B
Amazing build of a kit I like (and built OOB a while back, when starting modelling again). Such a lovely airplane ! But your build is outstanding.
Can you tell me what material you used for the cockpit canopy, and how you glued it so cleanly ? It is a weak part of the WB kit and a needed improvement if you want to show any of the interior.

Guy Rump
Very nice! 👍

Villiers de Vos
A highly unusual subject. Very nice work.

Bernhard Schrock
Hi Mates. Thank you for you praise / second wave of nice comments. 🙂
Boris: I used 0,28 mm thick PVC / clear material. Please see picture 34 as template.