I
received this kit last Christmas from my Aunt Joan (thanks Joaner!) and
started on it right away (just now posting it but finished it March). The
Italeri/Testors U-2 kits are the only kits of this famous plane in 1/48th
and are great kits but full of inaccuracies.
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I wanted
to add some detail to my kit in the form of Cutting Edge cockpit and
scrachtbuilt parts, but also I could live with most of the faults of the kit and
I strove to find a happy middle ground rather than going nuts trying to fix
everything. Some of you may have seen David Aungst's recent U-2S, what a beauty!
http://hsfeatures.com/features04/u2sdwa_3.htm
I always enjoy his work. I used David's previous articles on the U-2 as a guide
for my project, he has all the info you need on the real plane and this kit. It
took David over three and a half years to build his and it shows, but I was
going to keep mine a bit more simple.
The Cutting
Edge cockpit was a work of art as always (I think they make the best stuff-
better than Black Box) and all I needed to do was paint it and add a MV lens for
the drift sight. I also added some details to the canopy with the CE fan, strut
and plastic card mirrors. I decided to re-scribe the fuselage and add some rivet
detail with a needle in a pin vise, but did not re-scribe the wings which I left
with raised panel lines. I added some plastic card, scoops, and re-scribed some
panels on the intakes to correct them, instead of buying the CE set to replace
them (which looks very nice).
I of course
covered up the interior with intake covers. I did some some more rivet details
on the super pods and added some cooling scoops and drilled out the rear but
that was all (according to David's research the pods are undersized but I was OK
with that). I did tackle some of the air brake detail that David did but I
mostly used the kit parts (he rebuilt everything) and after a black paint job
your eyes focus on the wiring anyways.
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One of the
issues with the kit parts for the "Senor Span" is the shape of
the antennas (they are used for sigint on the real plane) that make
up the antennae farm on the underside of the aircraft (to learn more read
David's article). |
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I chose to use the
kit parts and bent them and reshaped them using sand paper, to come closer to
the real thing, again not perfect but better than what I started with. The one
issue that I left alone was the gear bays, I know that they are way too shallow,
but I painted them up and forgot about it (CE makes a nice set to correct
this).
I did do
some work to the gear struts and got them closer to the real thing, but
again not perfect. I also added some detail to the pogo wheels but kept
them in the same spot as the kit calls for (which is slightly too far
inboard). I extended the exhaust pipe inside using some plastic tubing to
show more depth (similar to the CE part) and dry brushed some gold on the
kit exhaust cone to get the correct color. |
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That leads me
to one of the most important parts of this project, the painting. U-2s might
look all black at first but on closer inspection you will find various shades of
black and faded panels from both the sun and weather. I am still learning to
master the subtleties of this kind of a paint job and this was a good learning
experience for me. I started with an overall coat of Testors flat black, this is
a big kit so it took a while to cover everything.
After drying I then
mixed up a slightly lighter shade using a few drops of white and sprayed the
upper surfaces. I also masked off a panel line that is just behind the wing (I
believe this is where the fuselage separates to gain access to the engine) and
sprayed a lighter shade along the border there too as I had several photos
showing this.
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I then came back and highlighted the panel lines with the original darker
black, giving a reverse effect. After I gloss coated, decaled (very few
decals in the kit) and then flat coated I used some thinned silver paint
and Grey sludge (from chalk pastels) to highlight panel lines and
rivets (again a reverse of normal weathering). Overall I was very happy
with results and I think it looks very close to the real thing.
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Although this kit
has it's flaws, it builds easily and looks like a U-2 in the end and I would
recommend it to anyone. After all it really is the only game in town and you
have to give Italeri/Testors props for not only making the kits but
updating them over the years and covering all the versions of the U-2. Happy
building!
Everett
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