Piper Cherokee 140 N1872T

1
July 31, 2023
What I’m trying to make…
2
July 31, 2023
Not looking forward to doing the stripes.
3
August 19, 2023
Here’s what the cockpit should look like.
4
August 19, 2023
Instrument panel.
5
August 19, 2023
How to mimic velour…?
6
August 13, 2023
The kit is a serious tail-sitter and I don’t want to use the stand, so I’m adding weights wherever they’ll fit. This will be under the cockpit floor.

*Spoiler alert - don’t do this (see photo #35).*
7
October 7, 2024
Lots of weight under the engine cover. I’ll paint it black but not making a big effort to smooth it out. Given the stripes on the engine cover, I’m not sure if I’ll bother leaving it accessible or just glue it shut.
8
October 7, 2024
Another view.
9
October 7, 2024
Also added weight behind the firewall, since it won’t be visible.
10
October 12, 2024
Weight added to the engine compartment.
11
August 13, 2023
The front seat backs will be visible. They should be flat.
12
August 13, 2023
Adding some weight and then putty to fill them out.
13
October 7, 2024
14
October 7, 2024
15
October 7, 2024
Back of all the seats. The rear seats aren’t smooth but won’t be visible.
16
October 7, 2024
17
August 13, 2023
This flash on the right fuselage blocks the instrument panel and needs to be removed.
18
August 13, 2023
It’s in a really awkward place to remove.
19
September 12, 2023
Visible sink marks on the tail landing gear.
20
September 12, 2023
The sprue joins on the tail landing gear are awful. They’re gonna need a lot of sanding once assembled…
21
September 12, 2023
Also, why do these have the same part number? They’re literally mirror images of each other.
22
October 7, 2024
After a lot of putty and sanding, the outsides look much better.
23
October 7, 2024
The insides didn’t need as much work, thankfully. Sorry about the photo quality.
24
September 12, 2023
Another terrible sprue join. Those teeth will be fun to recreate.
25
September 12, 2023
At least the figures look pretty good from the front, aside from some flash.
26
September 12, 2023
The back is a different story. It looks like the molds weren’t lined up properly - a lot of cleanup will be needed. It’s the same story for most of the smaller aircraft parts. At least the wings and fuselage don’t have this problem.
27
September 12, 2023
This shows how off the molds were.
28
September 12, 2023
Another view showing how offset the molds were. There shouldn’t be a seam in her hair.
29
September 12, 2023
And what the hell happened to the mechanic’s head???
30
October 4, 2024
Why are these curved lines in front of the propeller blades here??
31
October 4, 2024
I messed up gluing the wings together. I don’t think this will be easy to fix…
32
October 4, 2024
Another view after I tried to clean out the glue and putty. Hopefully it’ll smooth out….
33
October 7, 2024
Fingers crossed.
34
October 7, 2024
More work needed, but it’s definitely an improvement.
35
October 7, 2024
I finally started gluing the windows in place, using Revell Contacta Clear for the first time. Unfortunately, I sanded the right front window a bit too much. Now trying to use Testors clear cement to fill the gaps without messing up the windows.
36
October 10, 2024
Putting weight here (photo #6) turned out to be a terrible idea. It made the cockpit sit too high and not fit properly, so I couldn’t glue the fuselage together.
37
October 10, 2024
Also, line up the cockpit with the back of the guides (green) rather than the front (red).
38
October 10, 2024
If you line up with the front of the guide, the interior will be wider than the plane’s exterior and the fuselage won’t close.
39
October 10, 2024
The two pen lines show how much of a difference this makes.
40
October 10, 2024
Do not do this!
41
October 10, 2024
Do it this way instead.
42
October 20, 2024
Instrument panel now in place.
43
October 20, 2024
Test fitting to see how things look before gluing the fuselage sides together. The seam line down the middle will be a nightmare to fix. The wall behind the rear seats is the only easily accessible area but it’s basically hidden behind the rear seats. The flat cargo area that runs to the rear of the cabin will be much more visible - and way more difficult to work on.
44
October 20, 2024
The ceiling may be a little easier to work on, but I’m not sure how much you’ll actually be able to see in the end.
45
October 20, 2024
Gluing the two sides together. (Tabs or locator pins would’ve been nice.) Hopefully the exterior seams won’t need too much cleanup…
46
October 27, 2024
The painting guide for the figures isn’t too helpful, but they’re clearly in 1970s clothes so time to have some fun with ugly clothing colors! I’m not painting floral patterns though.
47
October 27, 2024
Once you clean them up, the figures actually have some pretty impressive detail (even if their faces look like Garak from Star Trek: Deep Space 9). Attaching the arms requires a lot of putty though. For the passengers, you’ll want to paint the bodies and arms before gluing them together because their poses and accessories leave very little room for a brush.
48
October 27, 2024
Rear view. There’s actually less space between the female’s arms and her body than the male’s - if you don’t modify the kit’s pose, one arm will be less than 2 mm from her torso.
49
October 27, 2024
The pilot figure probably needs the most filler if you want it to look like he’s holding the yoke.
50
October 27, 2024
The scale also looks wrong. For comparison, the figure on the right is one of the civilian pilot from the Academy/Hasegawa Hughes 500/MH-6 (which scales to about 6 feet tall).
51
October 27, 2024
52
October 31, 2024
It’s not perfect, but it does look like the pilot’s hands are close to the yoke at least.
53
October 27, 2024
Started painting the male passenger, who will be wearing a powder blue suit.
54
October 27, 2024
My handiwork also makes it look like his brain is coming out the back of his head. Whoops.
55
October 27, 2024
The mechanic prior to his head surgery. He came with a gigantic flash forehead, although I did make it worse by attempting to add the rest of a head behind it.
56
October 27, 2024
57
October 27, 2024
Mr. Conehead is now Mr. Flat top. He’ll be wearing a baseball cap, so it should be ok.
58
October 27, 2024
His right arm also sits directly in front of his face, which looks weird and will make painting very difficult. More filler needed.

Maverick212
There are three things I can't stress enough to anyone that wants to build this kit. First, dry fitting is essential! The kit's engineering doesn't seem problematic at first, but it will be a huge challenge. In fact, I actually wish I had built it up quickly using Elmer's or other water soluble glue before I cleaned up or painted any parts, so I could understand how everything would fit together. Only after I understood how everything fits together would I then drop it in water to dissolve the glue and then clean up/paint parts and start building it properly. Second, some parts will need a LOT of work to clean up properly, and it won't be easy either. There's flash, molds that weren't lined up properly, warped body parts, sink marks, thick clear parts, and horrible sprue joins. Lastly (and related to dry fitting), it is incredibly difficult to use the kit's pilot because you have to glue his arms into place long before you'll know whether they actually line up with the controls - you basically have to glue the fuselage together in order to find out whether arms and yoke line up.

Also beware that the kit's engineering makes very difficult to address the seam lines in the cockpit ceiling and the back wall.

10 October, 20:44