A-Model 1:72 Diamond DA42

This is a very small model!  

The engines and propellers were a real struggle. The shaft was too short and too thick. I made a scratch shaft with 1 mm brass rod but it didn’t work well and ended up gluing the props on. 

Tiny propellers. 

The injection quality is poor. The small parts have too many sprue stubs of too large a size. There is a lot of clean up to do and the risk of dropping tiny pieces and losing them is significant. 

I am having to be quite inventive in building this kit. The stabilator really didn’t fit properly on top of the fin. I had to file the top of the fin to get a straight line to glue to but there was nothing to hold it in place so I had to put the part on and weight the model upside down to hold it in place. The morning will reveal whether this method was successful.  

Making some progress. Gear fitted. Will now have to mask it for painting but couldn’t leave it too long otherwise too much paint to glue it. Four coats of primer, filled and sanded four times! It looks like a DA42 now though. It will now sit and cure for a week which is why I wanted to fit the gear. I have ordered some white gloss lacquer for the top coat. 

I hope the canopy is OK under the masking. The gear is not well moulded but it should be acceptableonce really dry in a week’s time.  

The steps in the kit were very poor and didn’t glue on properly. I drilled little holes and superglued new ones made from 0.5mm brass rod.

I also think the cooling fins or whatever they are on the engine cowlings look too big and not right but not much I can do about them.  

Well, after the discussion with colleagues on here, I established that I had fitted the cowling fins incorrectly on top of the nacelles instead of from the inside. What an idiot!
I managed to loosen them with Tamiya Extra Thin and pop them off. I will now cut them out and glue them in correctly from above. More sanding and filling ☹️ 

Well it looks a bit more like an aeroplane now. The main paintwork has not come out too badly after much fllling and sanding. It is painted with Tamiya LP-2 gloss lacquer. Unfortunately the canopy has suffered under the masking and is going to be difficult to restore. Starting details now. The props need to be painted with a matt black and silver tips.
I now need to design and print custom decals. 

Designing decals for 1:72 was entertaining but I managed it in the end. These were designed in Inkscape. The Diamond logo and the CTC crest were imported from photographs. The decals were then exported to a PDF and printed on Experts-Choice decal paper with a Canon pixma printer. I am pretty happy with them as this was my first attempt. 

All done with decals applied. The decal paper is good but you need to be delicate with it. After printing spray two coats of Microscaled Liquid Decal Film to waterproof them but you only need a few seconds in water and don't over handle them because the ink will still fall off. The decals are also thin and easily fold up, particularly the long lines. Best to apply them and then let them dry before applying fixative. Be very sparing with Micro Sol and don't use Micro Set.
I am very unhappy with the glazing but there is not a lot I can do about it. The canopy forms part of the top of the model so I would have to cut it out with a saw to replace.