gregv

Fabulous build, looking great so far! You might want to have a look at the oleo length on the landing gear; iirc they are fully extended (so they fit properly when retracted) so might look a bit tall with the the aircraft sitting on them. I noticed it in drawings, not sure how noticeable it will be in the flesh. Err plastic. Greg V.

Great, thanks for the info! Will definitely look into those plug-ins; the solid inspector sounds especially useful. Good info on facet size too. And yes agreed, I’m very used to modeling in larger than “full size” for smaller objects, SU doesn’t seem to like working small scale. Thanks again, this has given me long overdue impetus to re-evaluate & update my current SU “tool kit”. Almost forgot, does the “mirror” plug-in/tool allow more versatility than plain old “flip along red/green/blue axis? thanks! GV

Wow, awesome project! Long been a fan of the Privateer. Can’t wait to see how this progresses. I’ve often contemplated designing my own conversion parts in 3D and having them printed, but SketchUp is the only 3D design software I’m decently familiar with. I’ve got enough hours in SU to know that spherical and especially compound curve surfaces are sometimes troublesome, and the shapes you’re making look great! What’s your secret? Are you using a plug-in of some type? What sort of facet count are you using for your circles? Are you designing full-size i.e. 1:1 actual aircraft size or at 1/32? Sorry for all the questions! But if SU can be used to make decent curved aircraft shapes then I’m going to stop wasting my free time on World of Tanks and start designing up parts! cheers GV

hello all finally calling this one done, build thread here: http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=43574 starting point, 30 some-odd year old almost finished kit that had languished into decrepitude: thanks for looking greg v.

ok, calling this done! More pics to be posted in Ready for Inspection. thanks for all the support! cheers greg v.

More on the two-seat Buchon; they made X2, wings seem to be standard Me-109 (no wing guns, no fences), tall tail, twin cockpits. This one (no longer extant): And this one now under restoration in the UK after years in hiding in Big Springs TX: Ugh: Note: pics from various internet sources, lmk if anyone is offended and I'll take them down. I've been compiling reference for quite some time, I think I have enough to figure out the twin cockpits; there's a nice spread on the UK resto in a recent Aeroplane magazine (or was it FlyPast?), which helps as well. Now that the last remaining one is out of hiding I suspect reference material will be easier to come by. Some teasers: Anyways a very ambitious project (for me), and at the rate I've been building it would be done around 2048; I might not make it that far... thanks again for the kind words and continued support cheers gv

As an aside, started having some mates over for "model night" every odd Friday evening.... pretty cool to have 5 guys sitting around actually building. Good to have an empty basement suite to do it in too. The Armagnac helps btw.

Seams filled & tweaked & primed: Starting to look finished! Definitely need to get going on the case! Was looking at suitable grass roll products at the LHS, their offerings seemed a bit under scale; thought I'd seen some nice grass made in Poland somewhere online but can't recall exactly where. Thoughts?

hi guys! sorry for the long delay, was working on an old crappy 1:1 scale "house kitchen reno kit"; nothing fit very well, it was expensive, but it turned out ok after much soul-destroying toil....must have been a Pocher kit? Anyways, started again on the Spit, would like to get it finished before starting on it's twin, the 1/24 Airfix Hurricane I bought on a similar family vacay 4 years later... more on that in the future. I've also got a 1/24 HA-1112-M4L conversion based on the Trumpy late G-6 kind of lined up, including a 3D scanned (from the Grey Matter kit) and scaled up nose conversion that I had 3D printed at work. Kinda crazy but I've been fascinated with the two-seat Buchon since seeing a picture in an old Arco monograph on the '109 when I was like 4 years old. The twin cockpits fill me with dread though. So Radu's excellent harness installed (pretty sure I got a few details wrong but it's in), canopies glued on:

hello all anyone know of a source for halfway decent line drawings for the Buchon? Looking predominantly for a side profile of the fuselage. thanks! greg v.

hi guys again thanks for all the info. Mark those book links are much appreciated, cheers. I emailed Floyd and he has six of the 1/32 conversions left; well make that five, I'm getting one... thanks again! greg v.

hi again all thanks for the wealth of info; I didn't realize so much was different, although I had a feeling it wasn't as simple as it might appear at first glance.... "A lot" does indeed seem to sum it up! The WW 1/32 conversion is beautiful, it's going on my wish list.... I recently grabbed a copy of MMP Books "Mezek a Turbina", which of course got me thinking crazy thoughts. thanks again! greg v.

hi all so looking at the Avia S-199, and wondering if the nose is basically the same shape as a '109G, albeit with detail changes (intake on the opposite side, no chin oil cooler after the first bunch of examples, rocker cover bulges similar to G-10/K series, forward edge of nose rounded over for smaller spinner); or is it an entirely different nose that just happens to look vaguely the same? Curious as to how much work it would take to convert a 109G without having to get an aftermarket kit, or say to do it in 1/24. Any info most appreciated! cheers greg v.

Thanks for all the encouragement and kind words guys, helps keep the momentum going I've got to say! I'm lucky that my bro and I live nearby to eachother, and frequently work on the same shows together, so yes I've been keeping him up to date; he 'll even make suitable airplane noises while holding it, after a few beers that is... I keep bugging him to get going on making a case for it; I was thinking a simple wood base covered in model railroad grass might be nice? cheers greg v.

Small update, cowlings are finally painted. Took a while, they seemed to reject any form of paint until I shot them with Mr. Surfacer 1500 spray, beautiful stuff. I think I ended up painting them about six times. In contrast the green went on in about 5 minutes without a hitch... Oddly, the custom dark earth mix I'd used earlier on the rear horizontal plus for general touch-ups didn't seem to match the area where the cowls went; I got it close but not perfect, it looks worse in the photos than it is in the flesh: Once I blend them in a bit more and add some exhaust stains I think they should be fine. Couldn't help popping the canopy on plus the rudder just to have a look, it is starting to look like a complete aircraft now: The Radu Brinzan harness is almost together (smallest thing I have ever assembled before, very challenging but also very rewarding) and once that's in place I can affix the transparenices and wrap it up. thanks for looking greg v.

I realized afterwards that the gear legs were likely molded at their maximum extension so they'd be the correct length when retracted, and to be honest I could have angled them forward a teeny bit more, but overall I'm quite pleased that this model is back on it's feet for likely the first time in 30-odd years.... Took a while but some nice photoetch came in from NZ so I could finish up the cowlings: They are now primed and being fine-tuned before a coat of camo to match the rest. After the cowlings are done it's adding the harness, fairing the windscreen back into place and attaching a few odds & ends, then it's done! thanks for looking cheers greg v.

hello all small update. Yup, still working on the same kit.... although I can see the finish line in the distance! Added the tail wheel, suitable aluminum rod insert to beef everything up first: cleaned up the original tires: bent & trimmed the main gear legs and added some material back to the top of the one remaining original cover: took a break from that and dipped the transparencies in Klear/Future/Pledge whatever you want to call it (my first time, cool stuff!) then glued the main gear into place:

Ha! No update, although I have finished the fitting work on the cowlings including the magnets used to keep them in place. It was quite a tedious job I must say. I've been trying to get back at this to finish it off, but time as always seems to be in short supply. Doesn't help that I'm binging on Breaking Bad on Netflix.... cheers gv

hi again Sparzanza! I found the same porblem with the lower support "horseshoe" item as well, and I came to the conclusion that it is shown mounted both backwards and in the wrong place in relation to the engine bearers in the instructions. It fits much better "backwards", and some dry-fitting will show where it wants to sit on the frames so that it actually all fits in place. I ended up gluing it where it wanted to go.... here's a shot of where mine ended up, if it helps at all: Looking good! greg v.

looking good Sparzanza! nice seeing these old Airfix super kits being built-up, imho they're great kits. Just a word of caution, on my example I had some issues with the engine alignment affecting the fit of the cowls, you may want to do some trial fitting before actually gluing the engine in place. Some of this was due to how the supercharger assembly was glued to the engine proper (pretty sure I glued it on crooked), however I also used the cowls from an MPC issue on an Airfix airframe, so who knows that may have also contributed to the issue. The cowl fit was not good though, but after a lot of fitting and trimming and shimming they fit great now, so they can be made to work. look forward to seeing this one progress! cheers greg v.

thanks Dr. Dave should have mentioned I'll be building it "curbside", so I'm not concerned about any details in the engine compartment. Or did you mean no internals as seen through the main intake? cheers greg v.

howdy all looking for a tropical intake (the big ugly one, not the Aboukir) for an upcoming 1/24 Airfix Spitfire project, and depsite some searching on the internet I can't seem to find out whether the 1/24 Airfix Vb comes with one or not; I'm thinking it doesn't? The Trumpeter offering does include it I'm quite sure though. Anybody know if there's an aftermarket intake available? Any info (and leads) appreciated thanks! greg v.

hello all apologies for the long delay, I have been picking away at the Spitfire, but what with being off work for two months and some good weather I find it hard to be inside. Was at my mom's the other day and went through the old family photo albums, found this gem; pardon the rough quality, it's just an iPhone snap of the photo: Ahh, atmospheric memories.... love the lamp. Part 7: Been picking away at the engine bay, decided to swap in the formers as entire units from the donor kit: Spent some careful hours trimming and shimming, they turned out well I think. Then it was onto the cowlings, which while they fit much better than the first time around, still didn't fit great. Starting on the port side I massaged the plastic by hand until it fit the contours well enough, then had to extend the aft end a bit plus adjust the opening for the exhausts: My brother suggested using small brass screws to hold the cowlings on, that way they would be snug to the airframe but still removable to view the engine; I went one better and sourced some very small rare earth magnets, one goes in the cowling and one in the matching spot in the formers, two per side panel: This way the cowling sits in place, gets sucked up tight to the fuse, and doesn't pop off when you handle the model; wish I'd thought of this beforehand, I would have done the same with the prop shaft.... Strbr'd side done as well, took 1/5 the time of the port side: Just need to get the top cowl done, then I can tidy up & paint all the cowlings and finally move onto the rest of the airframe. Have to say I'm shocked by how much time the engine & cowlings has taken, but almost through! cheers & thanks for looking! greg v.

hello all been contemplating doing a Hurricane as Hawker's own G-AFKX, and I have a question regarding the civil reg. markings. The photos I've been able to find do not show the wings at an angle that would show any lettering, so not sure if it had wing markings or not. I've looked at several decal sheets that feature this livery and none have any wing markings. Does anyone have any info on what the regulations were for civil reg's back then? Was it a certain size at a certain placement on the fuselage for instance? Optional or mandatory on the wings? Here's a link to an ancient thread I started on the Key Publishing forums that has a few pics: http://forum.keypublishing.co.uk/showthread.php?t=74537 Any info appreciated! cheers greg v.

thanks for the kind words and encouragement! Yup, I think my bro did a pretty fine job, especially for the day; I remember at the time wondering how he managed to feather the camo colours together without using an airbrush. He's 5 years my senior, so he was always way ahead of me on the curve, and I learned all my tricks from him back in the day. Still holds true now that I think about it. I also like his work with my dad's Rapidograph Staedtler pens that he "borrowed" when he wasn't looking, as well as the tasty work on the wing roots. He's an illustrator these days, no surprise. Talented guy. At any rate I couldn't let this model languish, and I'm getting a huge kick out of breathing glue & paint fumes and blowing dust off my shirt. Been too long! And this way I'm not getting bogged down with an over-ambitious project. As an added bonus, it's pretty big so I can actually see what I'm doing! cheers greg v.