The
Pulqui II (Pulqui is an Indian word for arrow) was designed in Argentina by German engineer Kurt Tank (the same designer who gave birth to the
Fw-190 among anothers famous planes) in the mid ´50s.
The
plane had good performance and characteristics, superior in some aspects
to the F-86 Sabre. Sadly, due to political and financial reasons, the
project was terminated and the Pulqui was never mass produced. Today, the
fifth prototype is on display at the “Museo Aeronautico Argentino”, in
Moron, Buenos Aires. An Interesting fact is that Argentina
was the 8th country in the world to develop a jet fighter.
It
is evident the similitude in concept and design between the Pulqui and planes
like the Mig 15, due in part to the fact that the same people who worked with
Tank in Germany were later “transferred” to the Soviet Union to work there.
In fact, the Pulqui and the Mig shared the same engine: the Rolls Royce Nene II.
This
is my first resin model; before I had only worked with some resin detail items.
The kit is manufactured in Argentina
by Ricardo Dacoba and is in 1/72 scale.
When
the postman delivered the box I eagerly opened it and immediately realized that
this project would require a HUGE amount of work. The kit parts are nicely
detailed, but all of them are marred by the presence of a great number of air
bubbles, some of them in hard to reach places. A few parts were also broken.
Click on
images below to see larger images
The
first thing to do was to give all the parts a bath in warm soapy water to
eliminate the mold release agent.
The
first building steps deal with the cockpit.
I added some extra detail
-using reference photos- with cooper wire and some P.E. parts; and with
careful painting, dry brushing and washes the office looked just great.
I added some extra detail
-using reference photos- with cooper wire and some P.E. parts; and with
careful painting, dry brushing and washes the office looked just great.
After
that I began to work with the main wheel bay, adding hydraulic lines using
cooper and steel wire in different thicknesses.
Then I applied some gloss
black in preparation for the Alclad II aluminium lacquer.
Then I applied some gloss
black in preparation for the Alclad II aluminium lacquer.
Once
finished, the cockpit and wheel bays were glued to the fuselage sides, and these
in turn were glued together. Some gaps were now evident, and I took care of them
with Tamiya putty and a lot of wet sanding.
Later
on I glued the wings and tail to the fuselage and repeated all the filling and
sanding process. I then masked the canopy using Bare Metal Foil and glued it
using Testors’ clear glue.
After
another clean-up the model was ready for painting. I used an Aztec airbrush and
white enamels. Once the paint dried I was able to spot some more air bubbles and
had to repeat the process of filling and sanding, having to recoat everything
again. Once the paint dried once more, I masked and painted the red areas
instead of using the kit supplied decals. Same goes for the antiglare panel.
I
airbrushed then a clear coat in preparations for the decals. I only used a few
of them: the two “bolts” on the
side of the fuselage, the “Pulqui II” on the tail, the national insignias
and “I.A. X-33 Instituto Aerotecnico”.
In
my sample the templates necessary to make the “fences” for the wings and
fuselage were missing. They were sent to me later via e-mail, so those and the
antenna were added after all painting was done.
I
further improved the kit landing gear units using styrene and cooper wire; and
also made the hydraulic jacks from partially-pealed, plastic-coated paper clips.
The
kit took many hours of hard work to become a nice replica, and even after that
it is far from perfect, but I’m very happy whit the results; and I finally
have a Pulqui in my display case.
I
want thank Claudio, my father, and dedicate my first ARC article to him,
for his help with this article, and above all things because he taught me,
many years ago to love all the things that can fly. Thanks!!!
Jeremias
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images below to see larger images
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