Making the PE23 Eagle accurate. "Modifications"

[RS1]

Finally got tired of the rear cage and bells tilted up on my PE #1117 .

Using a #11 blade , I scored around the perimeter of the pod bottom , and was able to pop the bottom plate with no damage .
Then on to the huge glob of epoxy covering the screws holding the cage to the pod .The dremel came in handy here . I finally got the walkway to break free of the pod end when I noticed the bottom of the walkway had a large gap and attempted to tap it shut . Wrong !! . Bottom plate cracked and broke off a large piece .

I was able to get the cage bottom apart and replaced the part from a RU kit . Glued it all back together . Looks much better straight .

Using a cutoff wheel , I removed the angled thrusters on the landing pods and will drill them for the aluminum replacements . Just a little paint work and the aluminum added , she should look pretty good .

 

[Howard]

I've had a PE Lab Eagle sitting around for a few months now.
I was surprised by the colour when I removed the polystyrene lid, and knew as all of you do, that this would need addressing.
So, today I decided to see what the model's base colour is.
I flipped the model over onto its spine (it's a Comet 'twisted spine' £135 including postage jobby) and dipped a cotton bud in T-Cut. I worked th T-Cut over and over into the paint and the grey revealed a creamy white.
So I've been T-Cutting today, with cotton buds and an old handkerchief.
Okay, the finish still leaves a lot to be desired, but once the T-Cut is washed off, I'll have a good surface for a repaint.
The funny thing is, the decals remained intact!


The paint job as it is.



The partially cleaned up opposite side.



Partially cleaned up shoulder pod.



The underside of the CM. Note the decals remain, but those annoying panel lines have vanished.




I'll probably work on this very slowly, as I'm about to begin another project this weekend. It will provide me with an interesting distraction.

 

[modelmaker001]

I have got one of these to revamp, have you decided what colour you are going to use to respray it:think:

 

[DARKVIEW]

does anyone know of a paint that matches the base white its sprayed with. l so want to remove them damn awful lines on the CM that look like joins, wonder if there is a paint match:think: l asked 1612 but they replied saying they didnt know

 

[Conrad Turner]

Howard, which T-cut are you using? I ask because the metallic version is somewhat less abrasive and therefore might avoid the situation on the lab pod top where it looks like you went through to the primer.

Mind you, all credit to you for trying this and a wonderful job you have made of it! That CM looks almost factory fresh!

 

[Howard]

modelmaker001, I'll probably use Halfords Matt Acrylic primer.
Recently I've had favourable results using this on a smaller scale model.
Following a considerable dusting of charcoal powder, this was again T-Cut to reduce the matt and provide a satin effect I was after.
I've used a similar technique before, with Tamiya Matt colours, but instead of using T-Cut, a lint free cloth and a little water knocks back the tiny raised particles to provide a satin finish.
If I get around to picking up a new compressor in the near future, I'll probably go with the Tamiya.

Weaponsmith, I'm using the standard red container T-Cut.

I may not paint this at all, depending on how it looks when I've finished. At the moment the top coat is remaining between the panels and raised details, providing a fairly suitable weathering effect.

 

[RS1]

Finally got tired of the rear cage and bells tilted up on my PE #1117 .

Using a #11 blade , I scored around the perimeter of the pod bottom , and was able to pop the bottom plate with no damage .
Then on to the huge glob of epoxy covering the screws holding the cage to the pod .The dremel came in handy here . I finally got the walkway to break free of the pod end when I noticed the bottom of the walkway had a large gap and attempted to tap it shut . Wrong !! . Bottom plate cracked and broke off a large piece .

I was able to get the cage bottom apart and replaced the part from a RU kit . Glued it all back together . Looks much better straight .

Using a cutoff wheel , I removed the angled thrusters on the landing pods and will drill them for the aluminum replacements . Just a little paint work and the aluminum added , she should look pretty good .

Well after a month , I finally got it all back together , touched up the paintwork and added the aluminum pieces I wanted to it .

Here is a quick pic :

 

[williamtaylor1969]

Chris,
I can't believe I've only just found these pics of your PE Eagle!



Outstanding! Alot of work has gone into the detailing as I can relate to every decal and coloured panel that the pictures show!

VERY IMPRESSED.

Engine bells finish the job an absolute treat. :dance:

:clap:

Respect due.

Jon

Yes, I agree with Jon, it is a VERY impressive model, Chris! Good work!

 

[29390]

In the words of Roy Walker, [IRISH ACCENT] "It's good, but it's not right".[\IRISH ACCENT]

 

[Bishop]

I'm still happily in the process of painting mine Ford Diamond white and then doing the weathering with pencil (grey and lead) which can be adjusted with an eraser if needed. I gave up trying to save the original paint when trying to remove that silly joint line on the CM. Looking at these great shots I must get some aluminium bits for it when finish. The bells look great. What jumps out still is how high these sit on their feet. I'm so glad I got brave and cut a whole lot off each... looks so much better.

 

[healvis]

I've had a PE Lab Eagle sitting around for a few months now.
I was surprised by the colour when I removed the polystyrene lid, and knew as all of you do, that this would need addressing.
So, today I decided to see what the model's base colour is.
I flipped the model over onto its spine (it's a Comet 'twisted spine' £135 including postage jobby) and dipped a cotton bud in T-Cut. I worked th T-Cut over and over into the paint and the grey revealed a creamy white.
So I've been T-Cutting today, with cotton buds and an old handkerchief.
Okay, the finish still leaves a lot to be desired, but once the T-Cut is washed off, I'll have a good surface for a repaint.
The funny thing is, the decals remained intact!

I tried the T-Cut but it did not remove the pencil lines. I think what must have happened on your eagle Howard is that the pencil lines were put on after the clearcoat was applied.

 

[Puffy_Shirt]

I recently got a "blemished" 23 inch Lab Eagle for a very reasonable price. It is an impressive (and very heavy model) and I'm glad to have it. Unfortunately, the lab Eagle is known to have a warped spine due to the oversized lab pod and mine certainly does have that flaw.
Does anyone know how to get the shoulder pods off or are the glued into place?

 

[29390]

Check this out.

http://www.eagletransporter.com/forum/showthread.php?t=4998

 

[Puffy_Shirt]

Thanks, dude! That's some great information on upgrading.

BTW, Rob at Fab Gear said I could pass the word about more of these Eagles he has for sale. I got my lab Eagle (without the box and with the bent spine of course) for a price I could not refuse! All I need is some time at the workbench and I have a fine 23" replica!

 

[ALPHA ONE]

Don't like the thrusters on the shoulder pods what's with the weird angles on these and CM also looks a bit odd?