Lucien Harpress Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Well, BABY flying boats, of course! Here's a little something I picked up just the other day to add to my collection of flying boats. It's a vacuform 1/72 FG 227, a neat little airplane with a bit of a story behind it. Now, to the uninitiated, the Bv 238 was a giant German flying boat built around 1943 (I believe). This thing was massive, the largest Axis aircraft of WWII, in fact. So big, the designers weren't sure how it would fly (or if it even would). Therefore, a scale model was built to help determine flight characterstics. The same process was used on the Short Stirling, among others. The resulting model was approxamately one quarter scale and named the FG 227. There was room for a single pilot in the front and a single observer in the rear, to balance out the center of gravity. But that's not the most interesting thing about this airplane. In transit from the factory to the testing grounds it was damaged by the French Resistance. The damage took two years to repair, and the FG 227 never got airborne until sometime around 1944. By then, the full sized Bv 238 prototype had been built and was flying for over a year. To put it bluntly, the FG 227 was a plane without a purpose. None whatsoever. At the end of the war it was broken up, and being built out of wood, wasn't even used for scrap. ... Okay, history lesson over. I've been tearing through kits lately, and needed to slow myself down. What better way to do THAT than to build a vacuform? This is an airplane I've been looking at for a while, and the second piece to my "German flying boat trio", aka, the Bv 222 (built), Bv 238 (waiting for Wings kit), and the FG 227, seen here. I so far have the fuselage halves cut out and sanded, but nothing else. This is a SIDE project to my Spruce Goose, so progress should (hopefully) be slow. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't stay tuned for updates! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Big Kev Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Wow, this should be fascinating. I've never heard of this aircraft before. And there's even a kit of it! ;) Kev Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Okay, this can now be called an OFFICIAL "in-progress" build thread, as actual progress has been made! What? Don't believe me? Well, then, check it out: So far rather enjoyable for a vac kit. Patience in cutting out the pieces is rewarded with no need for filler later on- something that's REALLY nice. Thankfully I was given blank cockpits, which is a bigger blessing than it sounds. I just needed to fill 'em up, which I did with a bit of help from my spares box. I think next I'll get the wings together and get them added to the fuselage, which will finish off the airframe. Then I can start on the detail pieces, like the two-stroke engines. Stay tuned for updates! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Man, you sure are drawn to the rather obscure planes, aren't you? Anyway, nice progress. The history on the real thing is also pretty interesting! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 To that regard, it's my kind of airplane. It's pretty obscure (anybody can build ANOTHER P-51, right?), the the story behind it is a lot cooler than all that well-known stuff anyway! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted July 31, 2007 Author Share Posted July 31, 2007 Okay, a bit of progress for y'all: The wings went on without any fuss. Additionally, I filled up the nose with some BBs to weight it down because, evetually, I'm going to scratchbuild the tricycle dolly the real thing sat on. You'll notice that, compared to my last pics, it's sitting a bit more level. Second, I have a question for all of you. The retractable wing floats are molded closed, but I don't know whether I want to cut them out and extend them. Whadday think- should I or shouldn't I? Thanks once again for lookin'! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
jimz66 Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Interesting build Lucian. I'll be keeping tabs on this one. Looks great so far. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Impatient Pete Posted July 31, 2007 Share Posted July 31, 2007 Nice looking project so far. I think that the foats in the deployed position would add some visual interest. What do they look like? Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted August 1, 2007 Author Share Posted August 1, 2007 Here's a link to the full size aircraft this was based off of (the Bv 238) and you can see the shape of the wing float. The FFG 227's float is identical, only smaller. CLICKY HERE, PLEASE! Unfortunately, the popular opinion is to keep them up. No existing photos show them down, and in fact, no photos show this bird in the water. So I'm not sure what I'm doing yet... Ah well. Engines next anyway. Stay tuned for updates! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Kingoalie Posted August 1, 2007 Share Posted August 1, 2007 I stumbled on this over on Modelversium.de: Click And then there is a resin kit from Anigrand: Click That page has some actual photos of the real thing! Anyways, I just thought I'd share. Keep up the build. I really like it and would love to start my BV-222. John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted August 6, 2007 Author Share Posted August 6, 2007 Alrighty, just a small update for y'all. I have three of the six engines installed, one of which is puttied. Because it's nighttime now, I should have an update up tomorrow. Just lettin' y'all know! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted August 6, 2007 Author Share Posted August 6, 2007 ...AAAAAAAAAND now the pics! The good news is that I can finish the basic airframe with all the parts given to me (sans props) whenever I want. The bad news is that I can't prime it and paint it until I putty it- and I have no putty left. Hopefully I'll get some soon. Maybe my LHS has some... I'll have to check. Ah, well. As you know, more updates as they become available. Thanks again for looking! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
erwin Posted August 8, 2007 Share Posted August 8, 2007 Nice one !! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted August 10, 2007 Author Share Posted August 10, 2007 Well, I'm happy to say that ALL of the major pieces given to me in this kit have been cut out, sanded, and assembled. All six motors are now on, and this FFG 227 finally looks the part of baby flying boat: Unfortunately, work cannot go forward until I get some more putty and fill in around all these nacelles. I'm also gonna have to scratchbuild six props with three blades each... that's 18 individual blades... eep. And I'll have to resin-cast spinners.... But I'm getting ahead of myself. First I have to piant. But first I have to putty. Which brings me to... right now. Sooooo.... whaddya think? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aggressor Supporter Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Interesting looking kit. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ChernayaAkula Posted August 11, 2007 Share Posted August 11, 2007 Lookin' real good! ;) With 18 blades and six spinners to cast, looks like it'll need a lot more work! Looking forward to seeing this one completed! Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Lucien Harpress Posted May 2, 2008 Author Share Posted May 2, 2008 Thought this build was dead, right? Well, it ain't. A few things came together to allow this update to happen, namely the arrival of some of the markings and warm weather to do a bit of painting. The paint REALLY helps this build, I think- it glossed over a few nasty spots, so now it looks pretty good. I'm still waiting for the codes in the mail. I may have to re-order them- they may have cancelled my order due to the fact they were on back-order and my credit card hasn't been charged for them yet.... I'll figure it out. After this (and the letter codes) I'll probably start on the wheeled trolley and begin my epic search for suitable props... As always, any comments are more than welcome. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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