I know what you mean, but I think this one may be trickier than the norm.....I'm going to have a crack at the MB/Revell Walrus soon, I think that it will be a much easier build than this.....Mind you Matchbox always were very good at biplanes!  :wink:

All the best

Well, strangely enough, I didn't finish it over the weekend.

Most of the struts are now repaired, but they're not necessarily what you might call straight...

The tail is on, but again, not exactly level - the holes on either side were at completely different levels, and why is the front one so big?

I shall soldier on, but I don't love this build any more

_________________
Adrian

Portfolio

Inspired by Andy completing his build, I thought I'd press on with mine.  All it needed was the rigging done on the tailplane, decals put on the engines, which would then be attached to the wings, final decalling, varnishing.  Should be able to finish that off by tomorrow.

The rigging of the tailplane requires putting the thread through some pre-drilled holes.  Except for the fact that the holes are pre-drilled in different places on each half of the fuselage, so when it's together they don't line up...

No problem - just need to drill them out again.  Did one okay, but the other is very close to the horizontal tail surfaces, and I've knocked one of them off with the drill.

Yet again, the Rapide is very close to taking a test flight off the balcony of my first floor flat.

_________________
Adrian

Portfolio

I shall finish this one soon if it kills me.

Tailplane is back on, and rigged, engines have had decals applied and been attached (awful fit).

<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-5x42hZiO_9k/TnZbi_ZEc1I/AAAAAAAAKVg/cm1HPsu1W8c/s288/Photo%25252020080430%252520190518%2525202272x1704%252520DiMAGE_Z3.JPG">
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-O2I8dDw65iA/TnZbmgq0zcI/AAAAAAAAKVk/ZlswoXNhiXU/s288/Photo%25252020080430%252520190542%2525202272x1704%252520DiMAGE_Z3.JPG">

_________________
Adrian

Portfolio

Courage, lad! (It looks really good!)

_________________
“Build what YOU want, the way YOU want to, and above all, have fun.”
- Al Superczynski (1947 - 2007)

My portfolio

Bravo Ade.....That's the spirit!  :D

Looks a hell of a lot neater than mine.....I was not going to let it defeat me, regardless how many bits broke!  :wink:

All the best

The rigging looks really effective  8-)

_________________
and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
Airfix Club 500287
IPMS 10983
My Portfolio & Workbench

Ayup Adrian...

Well done mate ! Top job.

I've had one last push, and at last the horrid thing is finished.

True to form, the decals were a pain.  They're out of register, two of them broke up when I soaked them in water, and they've reacted slightly to Micro Sol by going wrinkly.  I don't care any more - I'm just happy I don't have to do any more to it.

<img src="https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-9Z0DCQdsWvA/TnZbtU7TUfI/AAAAAAAAKVo/C8oxTE2Dgjc/s288/Photo%25252020080511%252520174049%2525202272x1704%252520DiMAGE_Z3.JPG">
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-NZSV8Qh-yxg/TnZbyPJ_52I/AAAAAAAAKVs/a_IZh17OhGM/s288/Photo%25252020080511%252520174109%2525202272x1704%252520DiMAGE_Z3.JPG">
<img src="https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-F_ZEfn2nmfI/TnZb5JHalUI/AAAAAAAAKVw/BXMpMK_jHPA/s288/Photo%25252020080511%252520174125%2525202272x1704%252520DiMAGE_Z3.JPG">
<img src="https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-Lf1EAoyfPY8/TnZb9BF703I/AAAAAAAAKV0/aHTkZe5lhFA/s288/Photo%25252020080511%252520174134%2525202272x1704%252520DiMAGE_Z3.JPG">


To recap:
- the cabin went together fairly nicely
- the fuselage halves were warped, which led to problems later on with pre-drilled holes not lining up
- the wings are decidedly bendy, giving is a slight S-shape when viewed from the front
- the wing spars were mostly too big, and were very fragile, leading to several breaking during assembly
- the fit of the engines to the wings was poor.

The only thing that didn't really give me any problems was the rigging, which ironically was what I was most worried about before I started.  The 'rig-as-you-go' approach seemed to work quite well, even if it did mean having plates of spaghetti dangling around whilst putting various bits together.

I'm not sure if this is the worst kit I've ever built - it's either this or the Airfix 1/72 Sea Cobra.  I'm now going to consign it to a high shelf, at least until I need the space for something else, at which point I shall disassemble it with a lump hammer.

_________________
Adrian

Portfolio

That looks real neat, nice job

_________________
Owen
"Isn't it enough to see that a garden is beautiful without having to believe that there are fairies at the bottom of it too?" - Douglas Adams

Airfix Modelling SIG Member
Beyond the Box SIG Member

Still looks pretty  8-)

_________________
and was Jerusalem, builded here
The new No. 2
Airfix Club 500287
IPMS 10983
My Portfolio & Workbench

End result looks good ..... another battle won !   (just pretend the camera lens gives the anhedral effect)  Having looked at those parts through your pics I reckon you have done well.    :thumb:

.

_________________
Pax Britannica
                    IMPORTANT
Chaps and chapesses:
Get those symptoms checked NOW Look silly a dozen times, that next time might be the  important one.

Excellent result mate!  8-)

All the best