Small Wonder Models
@smallwondermark.bsky.social
Model maker and lover of all things miniature. Avid watcher of anime and it shows in my work! Pursuing a post-carbon life & very anti-fascist in outlook. (I only post hobby-related stuff.)
Various engine components from the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 flowing through the spray booth yesterday.
December 1, 2025 at 9:59 AM
Various engine components from the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 flowing through the spray booth yesterday.
A big session in the spray booth with so many components to the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Either blue for the engines or the A-14 Grey for almost everything inside the interior.
November 25, 2025 at 1:59 PM
A big session in the spray booth with so many components to the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Either blue for the engines or the A-14 Grey for almost everything inside the interior.
This weekend we finally broke out the airbrush to start painting the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 starting with black primer for the interiors. Items destined for a metallic finish got a coat of Humbrol Gloss Black.
November 23, 2025 at 9:59 AM
This weekend we finally broke out the airbrush to start painting the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 starting with black primer for the interiors. Items destined for a metallic finish got a coat of Humbrol Gloss Black.
Lines and lines of components from my build of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 all mounted onto cocktail sticks with blobs of PVA glue. Nice to finally move on into the painting phase, even if it is just the interiors.
November 18, 2025 at 4:48 PM
Lines and lines of components from my build of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 all mounted onto cocktail sticks with blobs of PVA glue. Nice to finally move on into the painting phase, even if it is just the interiors.
Completed assembly of the second engine mount in the Armory resin engine pods for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Extremely tricky. You just get to a point where you have to glue it together and hope for the best as it is impossible to dry fit the whole thing. Too much warpage of the resin.
November 16, 2025 at 10:48 AM
Completed assembly of the second engine mount in the Armory resin engine pods for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Extremely tricky. You just get to a point where you have to glue it together and hope for the best as it is impossible to dry fit the whole thing. Too much warpage of the resin.
After what seemed like hours of butchery I finally shoehorned in the Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 engine mounts onto the resin firewall supplied by the Armory engine pod kit. I have no real idea if the engines are going to end up in the correct position vertically or horizontally as this is a bastardisation
November 15, 2025 at 10:54 AM
After what seemed like hours of butchery I finally shoehorned in the Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 engine mounts onto the resin firewall supplied by the Armory engine pod kit. I have no real idea if the engines are going to end up in the correct position vertically or horizontally as this is a bastardisation
Applying the photoetch inner straps to the engine cowling on the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. These are from the Eduard set. This took a surprisingly long time!
November 13, 2025 at 3:37 PM
Applying the photoetch inner straps to the engine cowling on the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. These are from the Eduard set. This took a surprisingly long time!
After a week's work carefully sanding down the Armory resin engine cowls I got them to be thin enough to fit around the engines. These for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. I sanded the undetailed insides by rubbing over a 25mm dia rod covered in sand paper stuck down with double-sided tape.
November 13, 2025 at 2:17 PM
After a week's work carefully sanding down the Armory resin engine cowls I got them to be thin enough to fit around the engines. These for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. I sanded the undetailed insides by rubbing over a 25mm dia rod covered in sand paper stuck down with double-sided tape.
The resin engine covers for the Armory engine pod set for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 are way too thick so I am thinning them down. On the right: the before/on the left: the after. Difficult and it is too easy to over-thin as I have already done.
November 9, 2025 at 3:23 PM
The resin engine covers for the Armory engine pod set for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 are way too thick so I am thinning them down. On the right: the before/on the left: the after. Difficult and it is too easy to over-thin as I have already done.
Applying the Eduard photoetch rocker covers to the cylinder heads on the Xuntong engines for their 1/48th scale Tupolev Tu-2. I filed the originals down a long way but my dry fitting suggests the finished engines will not fit inside the Armory covers. They are way too thick for the scale.
November 6, 2025 at 3:13 PM
Applying the Eduard photoetch rocker covers to the cylinder heads on the Xuntong engines for their 1/48th scale Tupolev Tu-2. I filed the originals down a long way but my dry fitting suggests the finished engines will not fit inside the Armory covers. They are way too thick for the scale.
Xuntong were ambitious with these detailed engines on their 1/48th scale Tupolev Tu-2 but poor fit really lets it all down. You need to be experienced and extremely patient to get these together. Even so I find it tiring!
November 2, 2025 at 3:24 PM
Xuntong were ambitious with these detailed engines on their 1/48th scale Tupolev Tu-2 but poor fit really lets it all down. You need to be experienced and extremely patient to get these together. Even so I find it tiring!
Slowly crawling along through the engine-build on the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Lots of parts. Very fiddly. Poor fit. I find that some of the Eduard photoetch & Quickboost resin is not suitable for this version of the kit. Frustrating. Some tough calls here on subassembly breakdown.
November 1, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Slowly crawling along through the engine-build on the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Lots of parts. Very fiddly. Poor fit. I find that some of the Eduard photoetch & Quickboost resin is not suitable for this version of the kit. Frustrating. Some tough calls here on subassembly breakdown.
Armory neglected to include the engine mount holes in their resin undercarriage pod bulkhead. So I took the kit bulkhead and carefully cut it to be used as a template then drilled the holes. This for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2.
October 29, 2025 at 5:00 PM
Armory neglected to include the engine mount holes in their resin undercarriage pod bulkhead. So I took the kit bulkhead and carefully cut it to be used as a template then drilled the holes. This for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2.
The Armory resin engine pods have these elongated oil cooler with dust filter that is wrong for the version of the Tupolev Tu-2 that I am building. It's too long so I am truncating it and using the rear of the kit part as a replacement.
October 23, 2025 at 2:16 PM
The Armory resin engine pods have these elongated oil cooler with dust filter that is wrong for the version of the Tupolev Tu-2 that I am building. It's too long so I am truncating it and using the rear of the kit part as a replacement.
Finished the wiring and pipework on the Armory resin engine pods for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Glad that is out of the way. Turning my attention now to the engine compartment.
October 23, 2025 at 2:13 PM
Finished the wiring and pipework on the Armory resin engine pods for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Glad that is out of the way. Turning my attention now to the engine compartment.
Slow progress but I am getting there with the Armory resin engine pod and undercarriage set for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. I have started the wiring using lead wire.
October 19, 2025 at 3:18 PM
Slow progress but I am getting there with the Armory resin engine pod and undercarriage set for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. I have started the wiring using lead wire.
Distracted by a never-ending series of household DIY tasks the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 has languished on the bench for a few weeks. Today I snatched a little time to assemble one of the undercarriage legs to the rear of the Armory resin engine bulkhead.
October 5, 2025 at 3:04 PM
Distracted by a never-ending series of household DIY tasks the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 has languished on the bench for a few weeks. Today I snatched a little time to assemble one of the undercarriage legs to the rear of the Armory resin engine bulkhead.
Working on the Armory engine pod set for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Certainly one for the experienced modeller. Instructions are difficult to follow and there is some parts warpage to overcome.
September 26, 2025 at 4:28 PM
Working on the Armory engine pod set for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. Certainly one for the experienced modeller. Instructions are difficult to follow and there is some parts warpage to overcome.
After a two week break (due to a heating system refit at home) I am back at the bench working on the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. I am fitting the Armory resin engine pods. Nicely detailed resin but fiddly, confusing & warped.
September 23, 2025 at 4:14 PM
After a two week break (due to a heating system refit at home) I am back at the bench working on the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. I am fitting the Armory resin engine pods. Nicely detailed resin but fiddly, confusing & warped.
After some deliberation I decided to first assemble the Xuntong 1/48th scale Tupolev Tu-2 wings with Eduard photoetch set for the wing flaps. This before building up the Armory engine pods. It is too complicated (and I don't have the bench space) to build up everything simultaneously. A compromise.
September 3, 2025 at 3:40 PM
After some deliberation I decided to first assemble the Xuntong 1/48th scale Tupolev Tu-2 wings with Eduard photoetch set for the wing flaps. This before building up the Armory engine pods. It is too complicated (and I don't have the bench space) to build up everything simultaneously. A compromise.
After a relatively quick & easy assembly of the kit tail to the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 I moved on to sort out the wings. I have the Armory resin engine nacelle set to be fitted with both the Eduard sets for flaps & nacelles. A glutton for punishment. Complicated!
September 2, 2025 at 4:12 PM
After a relatively quick & easy assembly of the kit tail to the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 I moved on to sort out the wings. I have the Armory resin engine nacelle set to be fitted with both the Eduard sets for flaps & nacelles. A glutton for punishment. Complicated!
Finally moved on from the fuselage interior (of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2) to assemble the tail. As you can see this requires a lot of pressure with ten clothes pegs required. The kit lacks a little finesse when it comes to fit. It doesn't bode well.
September 2, 2025 at 12:12 PM
Finally moved on from the fuselage interior (of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2) to assemble the tail. As you can see this requires a lot of pressure with ten clothes pegs required. The kit lacks a little finesse when it comes to fit. It doesn't bode well.
I had wanted to move on to build the wings of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 but found a lot of small unfinished jobs inside the fuselage. Added the gunsight, radios and windows. Was going to use the Quickboost windows but they are 3x thicker than the kit ones and wouldn't even fit!
August 31, 2025 at 11:31 AM
I had wanted to move on to build the wings of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 but found a lot of small unfinished jobs inside the fuselage. Added the gunsight, radios and windows. Was going to use the Quickboost windows but they are 3x thicker than the kit ones and wouldn't even fit!
Finished the interior photoetch for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 so I can finally move on. I can start on the undercarriage and engines.
August 29, 2025 at 3:39 PM
Finished the interior photoetch for the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2 so I can finally move on. I can start on the undercarriage and engines.
Not a lot to show for two hours of work. Wrangling with the microscopic Eduard photoetch for the interior of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. It is so fragile that it will probably blow away if I point an airbrush at it. If it survives that long.
August 27, 2025 at 1:27 PM
Not a lot to show for two hours of work. Wrangling with the microscopic Eduard photoetch for the interior of the 1/48th scale Xuntong Tupolev Tu-2. It is so fragile that it will probably blow away if I point an airbrush at it. If it survives that long.