Vintage Builds – Monogram Classic Lockheed Constellation
I don't have any vintage kits built, at least none that I want to take pictures of as they were built decades ago. But I am working on a classic Monogram kit from 1956. It's a Lockheed Super G Constellation in box scale. It was a gift from my son for Christmas and I was intrigued enough to start on it right away.
Typical of its era, the model has overdone external detail and very few parts. I am going to bring it closer to current standards. These first photos show what I am working with, and how I am filling in trenches and sanding away detail. I am also attempting to improve some of the molded in detail, either by replacing it or simply by rescribing with thinner lines.
More to come, but to give you an idea where I am going with this, it will be mounted on a small diorama at an old style airport hardstand (chain link fence, rollaway boarding stairs, and a tow tractor), with engines being started , just prior to taxiing away.
Nice choice. Good luck! Can't wait to see her when completed.
An amazing choice, Carl! Looking forward to this very interesting build!
Welcome aboard!
Thanks Spiros and Gary. Here's a few more photos of the scribing and detailing in progress. The cutout in the wing is so I can better reproduce the vents on the upper surface. I am not sure what these are for, but when completed, they should look more like the reference photo I have.
As for the clear parts, they were in pretty bad shape and I've elected to fill them in and paint them with a light blue in the style of desktop display models. I'm using black CA glue for all my filling which allows me to rescribe with better chance of success.
3 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Very impressive start of this vintage kit, Carl @clipper
Not an easy challenge but definitely worth it.
Welcome to this great community.
After seeing the Conny in real, I was really impressed by its elegant shapes, even the interior was amazing.
Working in this small of a scale presents challenges to my older body. First there is the matter of being able to properly see what I am working on. Secondly, trying to hold small parts still enough to work on. Thirdly, getting decent photos. Some of these photos are very pixelated and make the surface appear far rougher than it looks in real life.But they also portray the difficulties in working at this size.
The cowlings on this plane are a focal point and I want to dress them up some. So I am adding exhaust piping and cowl flaps. Additionally I am opening up the intakes as best I can.
5 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Nice work so far on a classic kit!
Thanks John and Rob.
So the next step is getting the exhausts and wings installed. The fit of the wing was poor and required filling and shaping of the plastic. I also added a small amount of milliput putty which when cured, will allow me to complete the wing seam clean up.
I've also started on the trailing edge wing vents. I still don't know what these are used for, but I suspect they are used to aid in air flow over the radial engines. I had started on these by cutting out the wing and thing the trailing edge on the upper wing. Now I am adding three vertical supports (four vents) per wing. These will be shaped to match the wing when the glue cures.
Because of the small area, I elected to do two of the verticals first and will do the third one after shaping the first two. All the other scribing has been done except restoring that damaged on the bottom where I had to fill in the wing to fuselage seam.
I have to say that all this detail restoration can get pretty tedious and I will definitely be doing something more modern and easier for my next build.
3 attached images. Click to enlarge.
Well, my first attempt at the wing vents was unsatisfactory because of the step at the aft end of the vent ramp where I plugged the trailing edge. They looked okay from a distance, but up close they were not cutting it.
IN the first photo I've just installed the plug at the trailing edge but had not trimmed it yet. After trimming it I tried filling in the step with some filler but could not get in there well enough to sand it down and it ended up looking even worse.
So I cut all of that out and cleaned up the opening. For the second attempt I took a .015 thick piece of styrene sheet and bent a slight angle on the aft end to fit in the area needing the plug.. The remainder was fed into the opening of the vents. This left a ramp that I was looking for. Then I glued in the verticals again. This time, they would end up with a gap at the trailing edge because of the change in angle of the ramp.
You can kind of see the gap on the verticals at the trailing edge in the second photo. The fourth photo shows the gap much better. Once the glue had cured, I slowly trimmed away the verticals until only a small angled sliver remained. Because of the gap mentioned earlier, the slivers ended short of the trailing edge, which is what I was after.
These were then carefully sanded to the final height. All that remains is to fill the small gaps. I think they turned out much better the second time and I will remember this lesson for the future should I have to do something similar.
I made a mistake in that I thought these articles were like build threads and would re-appear as they were added to. I found out otherwise, so from this point forward all entries will be added to the build thread in Work In Progress - Aircraft group
https://imodeler.com/groups/work-in-progress-aircraft/forum/topic/monogram-classic-lockheed-constellation-box-scale/
I saw this very kit for sale last week at a hobby show and had it in my hands but decided not to go for it. I’m following your build to see if I made a mistake or avoided a potential headache. Your’s is looking terrific, Carl. It does look like a lot of extra work is required to make it right.
Eric (@eb801), Thanks for compliment. It all depends upon what size you want to build it. The Heller kit is pretty big in 1/72. This kit is just a bit bigger than a 1/48 fighter like the P-51. It will take some work if you want to get rid of the rivets and improve the panel lines. The windows also leave a lot to be desired (I am simulating mine). I enjoy taking older kits like this and making them better, but I have to space this type of project out with easier builds.
This Connie is looking very nice, @clipper . The extra work you’re doing is really impressive, especially considering the smallish size of that kit… not teeny but still small.