Suit Details
FALKE Pkf-85 Specifications
Chassis Number:5001
Crew:1
Weight:4.8 tons
Length:5.75 meters
Width:4.30 meters
Height:1.70 meters
Engine:Agh.120 TRM
Speed:820 kph
Range:2320 km
Radio:FuG43
Sight:TZF5b/f
Armament:1 x 2.3 cm 4-barrel Mk54 Gatling Cannon
Armor:30 tungsten Super Ceramic Armour
Suit Build
The Falke has always been one of my must have kits for Ma.K. Unfortunately there was never a plastic kit released and the only option was the excellent resin kit produced by Futch. However, this was expensive and generally not something I would go for. Earlier this year it was announced that there would be a change to the way Ma.K kits are licensed and that production of the Futch Falke would stop. I decided to take the plunge and get one before it disappeared. What we didn't know was that just around the corner was an annoucement by Hasagawa that they would start to produce plastic kits and first on their list is the Falke.
So although I have probably paid well over the odds for the resin version, compared to the likely cost of the plastic one, I do have an excellent kit which may well be more accurate and certainly is closest to the original Kow version.
26th May 2008-Parts
So here are the numerous parts:
8th June 2008-Parts
Time for a little update.
One thing that I must mention is that when I went through the parts I came across a problem. The stablisers were both handed the same way, so it would be impossible to use one of the left and one on the right. I contacted Futch about this and he sent a replacement pretty much instantly. And he was good enought to include a complete engine and another gattling gun as well. So I have some extras either for other builds or to add into the diorama setting. So kudos to Futch all round.
I've been mainly working around the cockpit area so far. One thing that became apparent to me was that the cockpit area opens up into the fuselage and this is apparent when you look into the cockpit. So I installed some firewalls to section it off. The little piece of square material is just to hid the point where it meets the base, as I will not be able to fill this in once the two halves are glued together because the seat needs to be in place at this point.
I have installed the couple of detail pieces that come with the kit but also added a few more of my own invention. The cables go some boltdowns (some more to be added to the spring, but I think I'm going to add a second spring as well) and are glued into place. I discovered that wire works just as well and is much easier to direct.
Unfortunately all that work isn't going to show much when it is full assembled:
I think I am going to add a first aid bag as well but will probably glue that in at a later date.
Also had a little play adding the plumbing to the engine. Lead solder works much easier than the supplied wire (which is very stiff) but it is a little thick. I'm not entirely happy with this and will be reworking. By the way this is the replacement engine, which is in a different resin and a very slightly different design. So I suspect it is from the first run of the kit.
The cog is from something I took apart years ago and thought might be worth keeping.
This engine will be on a crane or stand so I will need to also detail up the rear of it as well, which is currently plain.
8th July 2008-The Scene
Not getting much progress with this, or at least not as much as I would like.
I've been trying to get the scene in which the Falke will sit sorted in my own head and I really needed to see it to work out what was needed.
So I have cut a piece of 8mm MDF to the size which I think I will need. I don't want the Falke to appear squished in so have allowed plenty of space around it for bits and pieces. But this has resulted in a sheet which is about 14 by 20 inches in size, so quite large. I wanted 2 walls and for it to look like an aircraft hanger. So I got some corrugated plastic from Slaters Plastikard. I think it is the 4mm one. As hangers are made of a patchwork of sheets (not a single big piece) I cut the sheet into sections and then overlapped each part. The pencil marks you can see are my annotations as I cut the parts up. I would like to put rivets along each of the joints but using Wave parts isn't an option, so will need to come up with a more cost effective way of doing that.
While overlapping the smaller sheets gives it some extra rigidity it's still a bit floppy. I was toying with the idea of having H or I beams to form a superstructure anyway, and looks like this will be the way forwards. Also been suggested (thanks Budgie) that it could be a wooden structure, so will need to decide which way to go. But in order to provide the rigidity I will have uprights on 3 sides, leaving the short edge open and one long edge with just the uprights and no wall. Hope you can follow that?
To populate the scene I copied Tak's Polar Bear build and bought a 1:24 Fujimi garage kit from ebay (12 pounds delivered from Hong Kong) and a lot of the stuff in that will end up in the scene. I also have some resin bits and pieces (some of which were painted up for previous builds) that I've thrown in for the moment. I'll make a lot more shelving I think as well.
The suits are there as an idea at the moment. Not sure those specific ones will stay in, but hopefully it gives a feel of a workshop.
Not sure on staff at the moment. Generally I try and avoid figures but it might look a bit empty without someone in there.
