Zenrat's Flying Circus

zenrat · January 02, 2026, 04:10:06 AM

A slight porky in the post above.
I did get some plastic for xmas. Mrs z bought me some toy insects and dinosaurs and crocodiles as she thought I could use them "on your models".
Which I can. I have long been thinking about a dio featuring a rag tag convoy of military vehicles confronting some dinosaurs in a narrow rocky pass. Sort of a Professor Challenger/Lost World type thing.
I had already been collecting material and have a big fat explorer type (thanks Brian), a smattering of allied deserty figures, Assorted deserty heads for same, and an Ankylosaurus.
I've also built a couple of armoured cars.
Mrs z's prodding got me thinking about what else I needed and resulted in the purchase of a couple of trucks and a dig through the stash.

Rick Lowe · January 02, 2026, 02:28:00 PM

Nice when the Mrs shares and encourages (or at least, resignedly tolerates) one's obsessions... A Keeper.

kerick · January 02, 2026, 09:02:14 PM

Quote from: Rick Lowe on January 02, 2026, 02:28:00 PMNice when the Mrs shares and encourages (or at least, resignedly tolerates) one's obsessions... A Keeper.

Definitely a keeper!
A little update to journey to the center of the earth?

zenrat · January 03, 2026, 02:46:07 AM

Given i'm thinking about including two armoured cars, a 15 cwt truck, a radio truck, and a Bedford QL it's going to be quite a long diorama.
And for the future. I need to build the rest of the vehicles first.

In the meantime, today I painted a second colour onto the 1/144 Tu-134.

TU-134 WIP 03-01-2026 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

DogfighterZen · January 04, 2026, 03:48:33 AM

Sleek looking thing!

zenrat · January 04, 2026, 04:24:34 AM

It is isn't it. Much better looking than a widebody.
I spent most of today masking off the wings and tails and engines and then painting them with alclad.
Doing so revealed my masking of the demarkation between the white and the grey is asymmetric. Oh well, you can't see both sides at the same time... $:-\$

PR19_Kit · January 04, 2026, 04:48:01 AM

Some airliners were painted difference schemes on both sides, so it's got provenance.

The most famous being Concorde G-BOAD which had a BA scheme on one side and a Singapore Airlines scheme on the other. There was also a splendid 747 with a KLM scheme one side and a VIASA scheme on the other, a very handy idea if you screw up the decalling sometimes.

zenrat · January 04, 2026, 04:59:17 AM

I've also made a start on the Airfix Vanguard (which will be whiffed). This Zvezda Tupolev is a much nicer kit.

PR19_Kit · January 04, 2026, 05:26:27 AM

Quote from: zenrat on January 04, 2026, 04:59:17 AMI've also made a start on the Airfix Vanguard (which will be whiffed). This Zvezda Tupolev is a much nicer kit.

It's about 100 years newer of course.

DogfighterZen · January 04, 2026, 08:46:05 AM

Quote from: zenrat on January 04, 2026, 04:24:34 AMIt is isn't it. Much better looking than a widebody.
I spent most of today masking off the wings and tails and engines and then painting them with alclad.
Doing so revealed my masking of the demarkation between the white and the grey is asymmetric. Oh well, you can't see both sides at the same time... $:-\$

Yep, i think most airliners are a bit boring but some do stand out from the crowd, especially the earlier designs. The ones with the engines on the aft fuselage sides like this one are my favorite types and probably the ones i'd be more interested in if i wanted to build one.
I hate it when that happens after all the work masking and painting, it's disappointing... but like you said, one can only see one side at a time so, if there's no spot where it's clearly visible, i'd say it's nothing to worry about.

PR19_Kit · January 04, 2026, 10:23:11 AM

I'm with you there, my fave airliner is the DC9 in all its umpteen variants, and I've built a lot of them already, even a few that McDonnel-Douglas didn't get around to doing.

DogfighterZen · January 04, 2026, 10:18:29 PM

That Black Bunny airliner is a thing of beauty...

PR19_Kit · January 05, 2026, 01:07:47 AM

Thanks for that, I went aboard the real thing when it was at Heathrow in the 70s.

The crew were nice too.....................

zenrat · January 05, 2026, 03:05:47 AM

Quote from: DogfighterZen on January 04, 2026, 08:46:05 AM
Quote from: zenrat on January 04, 2026, 04:24:34 AMIt is isn't it. Much better looking than a widebody.
I spent most of today masking off the wings and tails and engines and then painting them with alclad.
Doing so revealed my masking of the demarkation between the white and the grey is asymmetric. Oh well, you can't see both sides at the same time... $:-\$

Yep, i think most airliners are a bit boring but some do stand out from the crowd, especially the earlier designs. The ones with the engines on the aft fuselage sides like this one are my favorite types and probably the ones i'd be more interested in if i wanted to build one.
I hate it when that happens after all the work masking and painting, it's disappointing... but like you said, one can only see one side at a time so, if there's no spot where it's clearly visible, i'd say it's nothing to worry about.

Looking at it today, the transfers may hide the differences. 🤞🏼

It's now cleared so if i get time i'll start putting them on tomorrow.

Tu-134 WIP 05-01-2026 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr

zenrat · January 06, 2026, 01:55:41 AM

Definitely learning things with this Tu-134.
This morning I attempted to put on the main transfers on the fuselage sides. I have bought an aftermarket set by BSModelle depicting a Tu-134 in the colours of YAMAL - a Russian regional airline.
The passenger windows and fuselage cheatlines are combined in long transfers running almost the full length in one piece. BSModelle's transfer material is thin and strong but, as I discovered, it stretches very easilly and stays stretched.
I should have cut it up and put it on in pieces as I wrecked the piece I tried to put on in one go.
OK, so you live and learn. Plan B. Use the transfers Zvezda supply. This is an Aeroflot scheme which is not unattractive. Zvezda make the fuselage window/cheatline transfers in three pieces and their material didn't stretch when I put it on and move it about. I did one side...

Tu-134 WIP 06-01-2026 by Fred Maillardet, on Flickr
...but as you can see there is a new issue. No windows. The YAMAL set had darkened windows so I PSRed those on the model (my preferred option as it avoids masking). The Aeroflot set is meant to be placed over physical windows so as you can see I have a row of white circles.
My first thought was to print up a load of black circles on clear transfer paper. But then I discovered that a website in Germany would sell me a set already made specifically for this kit.
And not only that, they have detail like curtains, reflections, shadows, and faces looking out. And they include the cockpit and nose glazing.
So I ordered some.
Just have to wait for them to arrive now...