BloorwestSiR Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 (edited) Unfortunately I don't have any pics of this because I got carried away with my first attempt to resolve the issue. My first solution was I would use the Tamiya cockpit floor to replace the warped MC one. I figured I was building one of my Tamiya kits with a pilot and in flight so it wouldn't be that noticeable that it was missing the floor. It was then that the shrinkage became apparent, because although the MC parts fit on the Tamiya floor, doing so meant they wouldn't reach one another. At the same time, I decided to cut off the upper section to try and get the scale thickness more appropriate. That failed completely. The simple reason is the cockpit is too small then to fit the fuselage. Edited January 18, 2013 by BloorwestSiR Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 So, solution 2 was I decided to just use as much of the Tamiya cockpit instead. I added some strip styrene to the outside of the frames and bulkheads to make it fit the 22 fuselage: Here's a couple shots of a quick test fit: I'll see about trying to match some of the details from the MC set on these bits. Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Lastly, I put the basic engine together and drilled out the exhausts. I am definitely not working in any sort of order here. Hope that doesn't bite me in the butt later Carl Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Looks like you've reached a workable solution with the cockpit mate. I'm beginning to suspect I might be better off taking this approach at the outset on the next one. Does the bottom clear the floor of the wing centre section OK? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted January 18, 2013 Author Share Posted January 18, 2013 Hi Kevin, The floor does clear the centre section but you can't use the front and middle bulkheads that go on the wings. The Seafire conversion negates the front one and the middle one would interfere with the cockpit. This is true of the MC cockpit too. I have an Aires set for the Tamiya IX coming (to replace what I've used here) but if it arrives before I close things up, I may see how it fits for others looking to build a 22. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Great work (and solutions) Carl Unfortunately, shrinkage of resin components that are designed to fit a kit is an inevetable fact of life (there is a small veriable percentage of shrinkage in all RTV rubber and resin, which is very difficult to 'assess' in terms of how much bigger the pattern parts need to be whilst still fitting the kit correctly...it is something of a 'black art' still!). Where possible, the pattern maker will allow for this when making the master patterns (I try to where possible), but parts that have to be a very precise fit (as in this case) do not always allow this opportunity, and it is often impossible to enlarge a detailed part once the pattern making process has been completed. Would I personally have tackled this cockpit detail set differently if I were to have mastered it? That is difficult for me to say and may be a moot point as there may actually be very few options to choose from in terms of approach to this issue; although having said that, I do have an idea for a different approach to the issue which is untried at present, but which I may try in one of my future Spitfire conversions? The only time that this is not an issue (or at least, slightly less critical) is when a full resin kit has been designed and produced (as the shrinkage ratio is evened out somewhat) or the resin part for the kit is an external add-on, when the shrinkage will not really be that noticeable. It is unfortunate that you have ecounted this to the degree that you have and have therefore felt it necessary to find a different route to completing your cockpit; however, you have done a great job of recovering the situation. Regards Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kagemusha Posted January 18, 2013 Share Posted January 18, 2013 Nice going Carl, great shame about the cockpit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Got quite a bit done over the last two weeks. I have the fuselage together now. I also attached the wing fillets to the fuselage after seeing the trouble they gave Kevin. A view from below: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 I also drilled out the three camera ports. To do this, I used the following tools: The small drill set is from Gunze and the nasty looking thing is a body post reamer for R/C car bodies made by Hudy. They make some great tools if you ever need precise hex (Allen) keys or screwdrivers but they're not cheap. I've found trying to use a large drill bit difficult with these larger openings and that's where the reamer comes in. I first drill a small hole in the location required. I then use a larger bit toget the hole a reasonable size: Finally, using the reamer I slowly make the hole bigger until I reach the diameter required: The nice thing about the reamer is it cuts the hole prefectly round and you have lots of control over how large you need it to be. Here is the finished camera port and access panel: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 I got the wings together and the upper panels in place but forgot to take some pics so I will post those tomorrow. But, since I had to wait for things to dry, I broke out a new kit. Probably shouldn't have but I couldn't resist for some reason. Here's a sneak peak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Brilliant work Carl! You've absolutely the right thing joining the fillets to the fuselage rather than the wings. You may end up having to wrangle the wing root joints now, but that should be a simpler proposition that the one I faced! Colin at Freightdog has agreed to hold one of his last Seafire conversion sets for me until I can afford to pay for it, so with another Matchbox kit in the stash, I'll be looking to emulate what you're doing here. Do you feel that the cockpit set is worth it at the end of the day? Looking forward to your Hawk build too! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Hi Kevin, That's great to hear you were able to get one of the conversion sets. Surprisingly, for such an involved conversion, it's been going well for me. As for the cockpit, there is quite a bit of detail to it that they added/changed to it specific to the Spitfire 22 that it does look different. The biggest changes made are to the control stick and the IP. I will using both of those in my build. The biggest issue besides the shrinkage (which I guess could be worked around) is the quality control. They need a fair bit of clean up and the floor was so thin that there was no real way to straighten it out. Also, they don't include decals for the instruments so you'll need to get some from Airscale. Out of curiousity, I tried the Aires cockpit for the Tamiya Mk IX kit and it's a bit small too so wouldn't work. The Hawk is practically throwing itself together so is a nice diversion. I've started a thread for it in the AOOB GB. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 I made some more progress on this build. As some of you may have noticed in my Hawk build in the AOOB GB, I have the wings together now. The asembly went together well but because there are no spars, the two wing halves and centre section are a bit on the flexy side. There's enough of a lap joint on bith sides that the strength seems to be there, just no structural regidity. Here's a shot of the wing assembly dry fitted to the fuselage: The port wing root where the fit is nice and tight: The starboard side where there is a bit of a gap but not too bad altogether: I have to give credit to Kevin's build as far as pointing me in this direction for the assembly of this bit of the kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted February 14, 2013 Author Share Posted February 14, 2013 I then decided to double check the fit of the cockpit assembly with the wings in place to see if there would be any interference and there isn't any with the spars not installed. I used some Airscale RAF instrument decals which was a first for me. I received them directly from Airscale and got them quite quickly. I forgot to take any pics so will do so the next time I'm at my work bench. Carl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 14, 2013 Share Posted February 14, 2013 Looking good mate! The approach you took in assembling the wings to the fuselage is definitely easier and more successful than the approach I took. Glad my build was of help to at least one person! I was trying to minimise any issues at the wing roots, but clearly there aren't any major ones anyway. I should have the Freightdog conversion set myself in the next couple of weeks, with any luck. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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