dennismcc Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 That looks great, I think I am a little scared of the Tamiya kits, they look so good, I'm afraid that I won't do them justice. Cheers Dennis dmthamade 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 I felt the same Den, I've only just started of course so plenty of time for ****-ups but the fit of parts is so precise and the plastic is beautiful to work with, very "crisp". I'm following the instructions VERY closely, which I don't usually do and leaving all the parts on the sprues until I need them. You, for sure, will enjoy a Tamiya Spit and very successfully without doubt. Max geedubelyer, dmthamade and monthebiff 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) It's an absolutely filthy day outside today so a great excuse to get on with the Merlin, though it's slow progress as usual. I've used a piece of 1.6mm plastic rod for the main fuel line feeder then drilled 0.3mm holes for the individual lines, these are lead wire. I've used lead sheet strips for brackets. I'm going to use some gold wire thread (bottom left) for the flexible length of hose which comes out of the top of the starboard magneto to the aft of the main fuel line, it's great stuff because you can bend it to shape and it holds that shape. I've drilled out the holes for the spark plugs, I'm going to see if I can strip the outer plastic sheath off the orange wire to locate into the cylinder block, leave a short length of sheathing in place to represent the plug, then strip the next length off for the plug lead. We'll see if it works! Max Edited March 9, 2016 by mozart MikeC and geedubelyer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 (edited) The orange wire was overscale so I'm using 0.4mm wire and stripping off just the "ignition lead" end. This shows the position, as far as I can determine it, of the "loom" for want of a better word for the group of ignition leads running to the magneto, but to make life easier in the long run I had to cut off one lump of electrical equipment that I had already glued in place: This shows the correct port-side loom connecting with the magneto, just have to go and drill six 0.3mm holes in the 1mm rod now! Max Edited March 9, 2016 by mozart MikeC and geedubelyer 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dmthamade Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Man, you don't waste time!! Great that you're doing a step-by-step on the wiring and plumbing. The engine subassembly was such a treat to build but the wiring and plumbing was intimidating. Will follow along. Don geedubelyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BloorwestSiR Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Looks great Max! I might have to try this and detail an engine sometime. Carl geedubelyer 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 Man, you don't waste time!! Great that you're doing a step-by-step on the wiring and plumbing. The engine subassembly was such a treat to build but the wiring and plumbing was intimidating. Will follow along. Don Thanks Don, but bear in mind this is just my interpretation of how things are, but I guess, I hope, for our purposes it's going to be accurate enough! Looks great Max! I might have to try this and detail an engine sometime. Carl I'm a bit of a sucker for detailing engines Carl, especially radials. I think it can make a huge difference to the authentic appearance of a build. The port side is plumbed in, looks a bit untidy at the moment but once the CA is firmly set I hope to be able to neaten things up! Max geedubelyer and Shaka HI 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 That looks excellent! There's no issue painting the engine fully assembled? Handling/detailing/assembling painted parts looks to be a royal pain, but I figured painting it would be difficult with a component with so many crack/crevices? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted March 9, 2016 Author Share Posted March 9, 2016 That looks excellent! There's no issue painting the engine fully assembled? Handling/detailing/assembling painted parts looks to be a royal pain, but I figured painting it would be difficult with a component with so many crack/crevices? That's a good point Shaka and one that I had considered beforehand, I'm letting Julian's build be my guide on this matter since I'm aiming for his finish - primarily black - so I think it will be ok, especially airbrushing. Detail work of course will be with a fine brush. Max Shaka HI 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Lovely work, Max! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shoggz Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Superb detailing Max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted March 9, 2016 Share Posted March 9, 2016 Great start to the build Max, your Merlin is looking superb. Regards. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaka HI Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Thanks Max. I look at my engine and given the parts count, I'm surprised how simple it looks. If there's any regret, I should've detailed it a bit just to add some "busyness". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted March 10, 2016 Share Posted March 10, 2016 Your engine is beginning to look superb Max and I really appreciate the step-by-step. Seeing what you do is helping me discern where everything goes when I look at reference photos. Great stuff. Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 With the detailed, comprehensive and acclaimed Tamiya Spitfire IX kit I thought I wouldn't need to discipline myself not to buy any AM, but not so! Just had to buy Barracuda's sublime detail bits for the cockpit! I'm such a sucker for extras... Talking of extras, I think I've done as much pipework on the Merlin 66 as needed to make it look busier: It's been primed, I'm looking forward to the painting and weathering stage next. Max Shaka HI, MikeC, monthebiff and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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