Lockheed U-2R/TR-1A Dragon Lady Project
Comments
88 10 December 2016, 12:10
Łukasz GlińskiMe 2. The fuselage and wings look like made of soap, not styrene😉
25 November 2017, 21:43
David ThorTaking a seat. Looks like a pretty difficult kit. Good job so far!
26 November 2017, 08:23
Cuajete AuthorMany thanks for your kind comments, mates. Welcome.
Łukasz, this plastic is much worse than modeling with a bar of soap.
David, this is a very difficult kit. Plastic quality is very hard to hand. At the beginning I cut a finger trying to work one of the pieces. Fit are very poor and so far I have had to use a lot of putty. But despite all this, I hope the work is finally worth it.
Unfortunately all my attention is now on finishing the Dornier Do-24, but as soon as I finish it, I will continue get to work with this U-2 😉
28 November 2017, 21:10
Oliver ZwienerTake a seat for this very difficult project, made this 5 years ago : modellversium.de/gal..-1a-dragon-lady.html
5 March 2022, 09:49
Alec KOh man… Charlie knocked this one off the unmentionable shelf. Now you HAVE to finish it 😉
5 March 2022, 12:41
Cuajete AuthorWow... that pressure! Many thanks for your feedbacks, my friends.
This is the most hard kit that I have seen. It's so hard I cut my finger on the blade trying to clean the blemishes from the horrible pieces. Plastic is hard and difficult to manipulate. I do not recommend it for beginner modelers or those with little patience.
Alec, unfortunately, my current activity has kept me away from modeling since the lockdown ended, but I hope to return to this project as soon as I have some time for this. Thanks! 🙂
Oliver, you did a great job. I think I started my U2 in 2013, but it's been sleeping on the shelf of doom for a long time. I will take your project as a reference when I return to mine, although I have not decided yet if I will finally make the R version or the TR version. Thank you very much!
1 5 March 2022, 19:23
Oliver ZwienerThank you for your feedback and glad you like my TR-1A. You have already solved the most difficult tasks, so have courage and continue to the end 😉
5 March 2022, 21:56
SpanjaardVery interesting. Nice to see crap quality kit becoming a beautiful model
5 March 2022, 22:32
NeilIndeed! Looking great mate! 👍 Some sterling work been going on here to get it looking this sharp. I'm also tackling a vintage 70s U2 kit currently...
Italeri | No. 808 | 1:48 | Lockheed U-2C | Album by djferrisbueller (1:48)
So following 👀 your build with great interest 👍
6 March 2022, 00:01
Thomas KolbOMG, you will need some serious shelf space for is one! I can indeed see that it is made of some kind of hard plastic, not the usual softish styrene. I can imagine that it is also a bit brittle? But I am sure it will look beautiiful once you are done with it!
6 March 2022, 09:04
Cuajete AuthorMany thanks Oliver, Spanjaard, Neil, Villiers, Thomas, Julian and Daniel for your nice and encouraging words. Very much appreciated, my friends!
@Neil, your U2 looking so good. I'm sure that you will do a great job when you finnish it 👍
@Thomas, the plastic is rock hard, but not brittle. You can see the comments about it in the new photos that I still had saved and that I have updated to complement this album. It has quite a wingspan, but I have much larger 1/72 planes than this 😄
I have uploaded more photos with comments to show a complete progress of everything I have done from the beginning until now.
13 March 2022, 18:48
Cuajete AuthorMany thanks, Guy 🙂
There is still work to be done, but as Oliver says I have already solved the most difficult tasks... or so I hope 😄
14 March 2022, 19:58
Patryk S.And I thought I have a challenge with the P-36 and the XP-77! Much respect for following through with this build!
19 March 2022, 19:22
Cuajete AuthorThanks again, Patryk.
Your P-36 and XP-77 also deserve all my respect. I'm sure your models will look gorgeous and that your effort will be worth it 👍
20 March 2022, 10:10
Dean HarpsterHard to find a U-2 in 1/72! Best of luck! I'm sure it will be a great addition to your collection.
23 September 2022, 04:56
Cuajete AuthorHi Dean, many thanks for your comment. Sure to will make a difference to my collection. I bought this one more than 12 years ago, being able to choose between this one and the one from Special Hobby. But I chose the High Planes one because it was cheaper, although I didn't know that it is much harder than the other one. Now it's too late to try to get a SH at a good price.
23 September 2022, 12:01
Bernd GrünModeling the hard way. I admire you for your patience and willingness to make this great effort. I'm afraid the bird would have ended up in the garbage for me. Congratulations!!! 👍👌👍
31 October 2022, 09:14
Cuajete AuthorThank you so much for your nice and warm comments, Bernd. Very much appreciated 🙂
1 November 2022, 19:46
Harald BesoldThe TR version of the U-2 is a great plane. You got a lot out of this model with a lot of work. Now comes the nice part. Have fun with the model of an extraordinary and interesting airplane. At the end you will be rewarded with a rare and awesome model.
4 March 2023, 14:45
Cuajete AuthorHarald, thank you very much for your motivating words. I haven't decided yet whether to make the version with Span or without Span. In any case it will go in flight position, because this kit is quite a challenge if you also have to do the bays of the landing gear including the fight with the terrible fit.
Thank you very much once again for your likes, mates!
4 March 2023, 19:31
Cuajete Author@Hello SilverWings.
There's no further progress so far. I've had all my projects on hold for a few years, but I hope this is the year I pick them all up again and finish some of them, including this one.
Many thanks for your interest! 🙂
And thanks for your likes, mates! 👍
3 24 January, 18:46
Andrés Fernández LucenaJust seen this, that's a lot of work already put in that kit, it would be a pity not to finish it!
That pilot looks GREAT and so does the cockpit. I've used those astronauts too in an SR-71, had problems fitting these too due to them being a bit too large.
I have a spare resin nose for an U-2S from the MPM kit that I did not use... check the MPM kit instructions to see it. If you want it, just let me know and it's yours.
1 26 January, 11:07
Cuajete AuthorHi Andrés. Thank you so much for your coment and overture. I really appreciate it. I've sent you a private message.
It's true that those astronauts have trouble fitting into the cabin. Furthermore, the material they're made of doesn't make things any easier, and they seem a bit oversized.
I hope to resume the project in the coming months, if all goes well. In any case, it will be finished someday 🙂
@Mayor Oak, thanks for watching and your like 👍
7 February, 18:57
SilverWingsI just got my hands on 3 fuselages of the same kit. Unfortunately the rest of the parts are missing completely so I'll either have to scratch build them entirely or partially using parts from hobby boss most likely (not really sure yet how that would work).
So i'm eagerly waiting for progress just to get some inspiration and maybe to get an idea about dimensions and shapes as pictures on the internet do not feature any measurement references and are usually taken from top or bottom only.
15 February, 19:55
Cuajete Author@SilverWings, thanks for watching. Do you only have the fuselages? I don't know how this kit will work with the Hobby Boss one either. The wings might have different dimensions, but that's something you'll have to look into.
This kit is very hard. It's the hardest I've seen so far. I hope you have good luck with it. I'd love to see it 🙂
The last photo might be a reference shot of my hand. But when I get back to the project, I'll take a picture with one of my other models next to it so you can get a better idea.
15 February, 20:09
Bas TonnMan, this is a masterclass of old-kit-building, scratchbuilding and gapfilling all in one !! Keep up the good work !! Looks great.
12 April, 10:19
Cuajete Author@Bas Tonn, many thanks for watching and your feedback. Much appreciated, mate.
This is the hardest kit I've ever had my hands on, but I won't give up. I hope to be able to resume it soon.
1 12 April, 17:51
