Iain

Additional thoughts...
 
I've seen a few negative comments out there on the interweb - it's a short-run kit and, to be fair, anyone building this type of kit will probably have the skills/confidence to make some alterations to the kit if  they feel they're warranted.
 
If it had been a resin kit - at more than twice the price - I suspect there would have been less hyperbole - but because it's an injection-moulded kit it's 'too expensive/not accurate enough'. 
 
I'd also point out that many mainstream kits from the big names have their fair share of things that can be improved.
 
This is a limited edition kit - from a very small team - I suspect that it'll be the only injection-moulded Vampire we'll see in 1:32.
 
It deserves supporting IMHO.
 
I really don't want this thread to put people off - hopefully it'll give some ideas for possible modifications others may want to incorporate in their builds, or not.
 
If not - you'll still have a nice looking Vampire IMHO.
 
For me fettling a kit what modelling is about - and I quite enjoy it! 
 
Iain
 
 
 
 

And just come across this review by Gary Wickham on the IPMS New South Wales website - it's of the ICM 1:48th kit - but the notes and detail photos are really useful!
 
http://magazine.ipmsnsw.com/36-3/b26k-icm/review.htm
 
Iain
 
 
 
 

Sounds like it's time to start up an assembly line, the squadrons are waiting for their aircraft.

Order placed - to go with all my other as yet un-built Kotare spits...  🫣
 
Iain

Order placed - to go with all my other as yet un-built Kotare spits...  🫣
 
Iain

Well, what I do know, is that every Brit here will be obligated to purchase every Mark (Marque?) that Kotare provides. As a Yank, I want one. PRU blue, with guns. If Kotare spranged a P-51B, I could see getting a few.

Happy Birthday Martin!
 
Iain

Thank you, glad to be here.

..another milestone, the IM fuselage blank is complete for assessment by the mouldmakers..
 
..there are many new rules of design I am not sure I have met yet, but this after weeks of work is at least the start..
 
clearly the cockpit needs cutting out and many other structural bits need doing, but the area there needed to be thin for all the cockpit structure..plus all the surface detail needs doing of course..
 

 

 
..we will see, I will probably have to completely redesign it 
 
Peter

Hi all,
Just a few things to show.
The wood effect has been applied to the tail booms and struts.
Tamiya Dark Yellow (XF60) base coat with brushed Windsor&Newton Griffin Alkyd oil paint (Burnt Umber).
The upper surfaces of the wings, tailplane and elevators have been painted.
As have the two fin/rudders.
These will have Aviattic Weave Effect Linen decal (ATT32044) applied later in the build.
 
Now to repeat the masking and painting on the underside surfaces !!
 
Mike
 

 

Glad to hear!

Hi Ray - yes, the first 100 are long gone and the second batch of 50 nearly so I am very happy I have proven the experiment, got my money back and can invest in my next kit

Thanks Andy - I think you'll enjoy building it...  🙂
 
BTW - there is absolutely no surface prep under that grey-green - just a little work with a file to clean up print support attachment points. The print resolution really is that good!
 
Iain

Continuing the 'dry fit' theme - it would be rude to not slot the tailplane in place - that's how good the fit is! I've also reshaped the cross section of the rear fuselage a little so it's a bit flatter on the upper quarters on either side of the opening for the turret fairing:
 

 
And try out the wings, rudder, rear decking and cockpit canopy - again - all dry fitted!
 

 
Note that I've also modded the 'ears' on either side of the cowling part - they are now recessed, rather than proud of the surface:
 

 
Really looking forward to getting the cockpit interior all painted up and assembled - it's going to look quite something...
 
Iain

Apologies for delay - but a little more progress.
 
Base Interior Grey/Green - in this case MRP.
 
Detail painting and weathering to follow - but the base coat shows up the superb detail...
 

 
Dry assembled:
 

 

 

 
With a tiny bit of trimming in places, the fit to the fuselage halves is superb!
 

 
Main panel back and boxes sprayed black - and dry fitted:
 

 
And the two halves closed up - again - just a dry fit at this stage.
 
I've also softened the transition from the base of the canopy to the fuselage sides with a little Milliput - need to add some detail back.
 

 

 
Absolutely loving this kit - the detail and fit of parts is fantastic - and hugely rewarding to work with.
 
Iain

Quick update - I'll try and do some more over the weekend, but I have a list of non-modelling jobs I need to catch up on.
 
This is a test fit into the centre fuselage sections - again, no glue has been used at all on any of the parts so far...
 
Into starboard side:
 

 

 
And it's straight in! There will be some finessing needed to get everything 'home' - as you'll see further down this post.
 

 
Can't quite get the two halves together - some fettling will be needed to get everything together snugly - but that's not unexpected at this stage, and shoulkd be straightforward.
 

 
Blue skies,
 
Iain

Slight Plan B, rather than digging out the paint pots, I needed to free the pilot's set from the box of ABS-like parts - which actually meant release all the parts from that box...
 
So, here they are - cut from their supports - but still needing some fine fettling with blade and file:
 

 
Seat and control column:
 

 

 
Tailwheel:
 

 
Throttle quadrant:
 

 
Undercarriage legs:
 

 

 
And those Brownings:
 

 

 

 
Another thrilling installment of 'Defiant, a tale in daily parts' coming to a screen near you sometime soon!
 
Have fun.
 
Iain
 

BTW - in an effort to better show the detail of this kit I've started posting larger images - 1500 px wide.
 
Indulge me, I now have a really fast fibre connection - so uploading images from out here in the sticks isn't the *very* slow faff it used to be!  😎
 
But, if anyone is finding them slow to load please let me know and I'll see if I can reduce the file sizes...
 
Iain

So, I had a bit of quiet time earlier and dug out my references, which caused me to dig out the fuselage parts...
 
Well, I couldn't resist dry fitting them together!
 
Note - none of the joint surfaces have been cleaned up here - this is as the parts come in the kit, with the print supports removed before shipping:
 

 

 
Given I haven't prepped the joint surfaces yet - I'm pretty amazed at how well the fuselage components go together - great engineering!
 
Oh, and those undercarriage bays:
 

 
Now those that know me, or have followed my previous build threads, will know that I usually find things to improve (and that includes Tamiya et al) - as I'm sure most of us do...
 
So I have seen a few things I want to improve, first being the curved 'intakes' on the side of the cowlings - these are printed as raised above the surface - but they should actually be set into the surface - i.e. the same curved shape, but recessed rather than proud. Shouldn't take much work to fix that.
 

 
Other areas I want to re-shape slightly are the flats on either side of the cockpit section (see top photo) - my eyes tell me this should actually have a slight curve in cross-section - and a softer blend with the cross-sectional curve below. Some filler primer and some sanding should improve that.
 
Also, the rear fuselage upper sides may be a little 'bulged' on either side of the rear edge of the deck opening when viewed from an upper 45 deg angle - again, a little judicious sanding should improve this - if, indeed, I've judged it correctly...
 
Please note: the kit looks great - I'm just planning some tweaks based upon Mk.1 eyeball (as I always do) - and I'm still thinking through/evaluating whether I will actually make any tweaks.
 
Oh - and look at that print quality - see any print lines?
 

 
Couldn't resist digging out an old (and very dusty) Revell Spit IIa, that's currently sat waiting its Kotare replacement, as a size comparison:
 

 
And with the 1:48 Airfix kit, build a few years back by my son Cameron, when he was about 11!
 

 
Now, where did I put my pot of cockpit grey-green?
 
Iain

A little more progress:
 

 
Carefully snipping supports at their base - sometimes it's easier to work from the ends of the supports nearest the part - but I always leave some material between the support and the part itself.
 
Peter has done a super job with the supports - they are nice and fine and removing them is straightforward - just a little patience and care required.
 

 
Notice how thin the instrument panel parts are!
 
Once each part in turn is removed I trim back as close to the part as I dare with the side cutters.
 

 

 
And here we are - the contents of 'Box B' in all their finely detailed glory!
 
And, yes, I did manage to break something - the bungee chord on the radio set (on the other side not shown in the photo) - should be a simple fix.
 

 
Next stage is to do a final finesse on these parts with some files and a sharp blade, and start painting!
 
Andy Long, who's a bit of a Defiant guru and has helped with the kit, has confirmed grey green for the 'pit.
 
Back soon(ish)...
 
Iain
 
 

As I suspect many purchasers of this kit, and other subjects now that the technology is spreading, will be new to dealing wiith 3D Printed parts, I'll try and walk you through some of the things to bear in mind, compared to normal injection-moulded kits.
 
I think the Airscale Defient will encourage more modellers to dip a toe into the world of 3D Printed parts.
 
Hopefully I'm not teaching you all to suck eggs - that's really not my intention - but if you're new to working with 3D Printed parts there may be some of the techniques that I use that might be helpful.
 
Firstly - standard printed resin parts a brittle - can be fragile - and sometimes it's easy to mistake some of the detail for print supports and, consequently, remove something from the printed part accidentally!
 
Secondly - standard printed resin parts a brittle - can be fragile - if you drop them on a hard surface they might shatter.
 
Thirdly - standard printed resin parts a brittle - can be fragile - but don't get overly concerned by this - forewarned is forearmed.
 
Just take your time and work methodically. If anything breaks you can, hopefully, prevent it pinging off into the ether, and just re-bond with a suitable cyanoacrylate glue.
 
So, with the above in mind - here's something I do: I use the side cutters mentioned above and have a small plastic container underneath the print 'block' and try to capture any supports removed (some *will* ping off to nowhere - you won't stop that) - those support pieces just might include bits of model components that have either snapped off, or been cut off, accidentally...
 
I then have a second tub to put all the separated kit parts in, ready for final prep:
 

 
Iain

Well, I've started 'tripping out' on LSD...
 
That's Large Scale Defiant by the way - not something hallucinogenic - this Defiant is most definitely real! 🤣
 
First step - remove some delicate components from 'BOX B'.
 
The 'safety curtain removed using a set of sharp, fine nosed, Tamiya side cutters - snip at the base of each pillar and it should snap right across. Be very careful to avoid damaging any of the contents!
 

 
And we can now get to individual components...
 

 

 

 
Back in a mo...
 
Iain

Continuing the 'dry fit' theme - it would be rude to not slot the tailplane in place - that's how good the fit is! I've also reshaped the cross section of the rear fuselage a little so it's a bit flatter on the upper quarters on either side of the opening for the turret fairing:
 

 
And try out the wings, rudder, rear decking and cockpit canopy - again - all dry fitted!
 

 
Note that I've also modded the 'ears' on either side of the cowling part - they are now recessed, rather than proud of the surface:
 

 
Really looking forward to getting the cockpit interior all painted up and assembled - it's going to look quite something...
 
Iain

Apologies for delay - but a little more progress.
 
Base Interior Grey/Green - in this case MRP.
 
Detail painting and weathering to follow - but the base coat shows up the superb detail...
 

 
Dry assembled:
 

 

 

 
With a tiny bit of trimming in places, the fit to the fuselage halves is superb!
 

 
Main panel back and boxes sprayed black - and dry fitted:
 

 
And the two halves closed up - again - just a dry fit at this stage.
 
I've also softened the transition from the base of the canopy to the fuselage sides with a little Milliput - need to add some detail back.
 

 

 
Absolutely loving this kit - the detail and fit of parts is fantastic - and hugely rewarding to work with.
 
Iain

Thanks Andy - I think you'll enjoy building it...  🙂
 
BTW - there is absolutely no surface prep under that grey-green - just a little work with a file to clean up print support attachment points. The print resolution really is that good!
 
Iain