Daniel460

Thanks Martin! I sure didn't have my thinking cap on when I made that comment! 

Today marks the 8th anniversary of the official launch of KLP Publishing, and to celebrate, we’ve just launched a week-long, 25%-off, 8th anniversary sale! Just use the coupon code 8YEARS at checkout to receive 25% off the value of your cart (excludes the new Fokker D.VII book). Sale ends midnight, 7 April 2025, AEDT.
 

 
That coupon code again:
8YEARS We now have 38 titles in the catalogue, so get on over to our webstore and grab yourself a bargain!
 
Kev

great choice - that's one of the ones to be featured in the box
 
One thing to note, I have been corresponding with Andy Long who is literally 'Mr Defiant' - author of a new book coming by Pen & Sword and has had input from 95 families of Defiant aircrew - he told me 'the main box option of L7021 should have had underwing roundels as there was an Air Ministry Order to add them to aircraft in service from 11th August 1940 and from 18th August for those on the production line'
 
I will be adding them to the decals, but noticed they are not in the profile there
 
Peter

Today's update
There was a little damage to the tip of the rudder. I fixed it and the rudder was installed.
 




 
Should we start to paint?
 






 

Today's update
Wingtip transparent parts are not ready yet. I decided to make it using thick acetate sheet. That's why, I do not use the interior detail part of the kit.
 

More wonderful work Tolga
 
Just wanted to note some great finds this build has led to where improvements have been made - just shows the value of a test build by an accomplished modeller - even if it is in the public domain and you see warts'n'all
 
* Clash between compass and control stick - fixed
* Missing throttle parts in Cockpit box - added
* Missing rear retractable antenna - added
* Canopy changes to adapt from 3D frames to Injection Moulded parts
* Radiator fairing gaps - better supported & vastly reduced
* Fuselage join gaps - as above
* Elevator clash with fuselage fairing - checked & ok in production
 
Still struggling with the wing / fuselage join but will persevere to improve 
 
I just want to say a public thank you to Tolga for taking this on and giving great & fast feedback
 
TTFN
Peter
 

Some progress
 
Mother, do you think the wings need really to be glued?
Mother did it need to be so easy ?  
 








 

On the other hand, I started preparing the parts of the famous turret. I am not commenting. It will be enough to look at the pictures.
 








 
 
Ohh what's that? Two flash hiders have broken off and are thrown into space.
Ohh Yoko
Ohh Nooo!!
 

 

Wing roots are Ok. Aren't they?
 

Some progress
 

Dammit....
 
This is so frustrating - in rhino they are pixel perfect, no gaps and one shape is subtracted from another so they are literally within microns of each other...  come to print them though and having tried all sorts of orientation and even now the inner wings are printed with a continuous 'skin' I break off before curing to preserve the shapes, we are still getting these gaps..
 
I am really not sure what I can do, but it is not good enough..
 
 
You are too kind and forgiving Max :), unfortunately this is anything but a first fit, I have about 20 sets of wing to fuselage joints and they are all like this to one degree or another..
 
I would go back to the drawing board, but I have worn it out...

Very nice Build! Great detail work! 
 
Dan

that looks great Tolga
 
We have transparencies - for this particular model anyway...
 
.not too good at vacforming but got away with this one I think - I hope Tolga thinks so
 

 

 
I sprayed the insides green before assembly so hopefully they work out - in the post tomorrow
 
keep up the amazing work Tolga - I am so thrilled to see 'my' kit get built
 
TTFN
Peter

Today's progress; Instrument panel.
I used some decal dials from my spare box.
 

It’s most certainly not a deal breaker Peter, simply because the people who will buy the Defiant will, in all likelihood be experienced modellers who will have the necessary degree of skill and knowledge to be able to master the kit in all its intricacies. 

Exactly that! I am over the moon with how this is going
 
Tolga is doing a superb job and I am getting some great feedback, like that control stick / compass clash - easily fixed
 
I was trying to think of an analogy about how you watch a child you have nurtured grow into an adult and do something incredible, which is kind of how I feel watching Tolga work his magic on my baby
 
In other news, the Injection Moulding company have advised they can do the transparencies - with one observation - they say I need to split the turret dome into three parts as the machines do not like sheer vertical faces - this is where they said it needs splitting..
 

 
It's a pain and will make assembly harder so I will have to think about making it foolproof with tabs or a jig or something - what do you think? Dealbreaker?
 
Keep at it Tolga - every day is a revelation I love watching
 
TTFN
Peter

Cockpit area fuselage halves went together. 
They come together very easily and comfortably. There are gaps in the joint line at the bottom, but these can be easily fixed with epoxy.
 




 
And test fitting of the nose and rear fuselage parts. 
 
 






 
 
 

Some progress on the cockpit parts
 











 

Here is a new Project
Many of you know that Peter (from Airscale) is working on a new project: This is exciting 1/32 Boulton Paul Defiant Mk.1
Peter sent me a draft (pre production) copy of this kit for a test build.
First of all, I would like to thank Peter for sending me this excellent project.
I am not used to this kind of draft projects, but I will try to do a test build as much as I can and give Peter feedbacks.
Peter stated that since this is pre-production, it may not be perfect and the final production will be printed with more precise layer height.
First step; here are the parts 
 

After 21 years, a few failures, some fits and starts, and a lot of frustration, I finally got my pilot’s license back in currency!  I started flying in high school, got my PPL a month after graduation, then got my instrument rating in May of 2000.  I flew quite a bit over next few years while I earned my A&P at a local university.  Then, with aviation in a long term post-9/11 slump and job prospects nil, I decided to switch careers and move into IT.  Flying slowed down until, finally, I took my last flight in September, 2003 while acting as a safety pilot for a friend of mine.

I’d always wanted to get back into it, but time and money never really lined up.  Then, last fall, I started to get the serious itch again so I called a couple local flight schools.  My first flight in 20 years went really well as a I flew with an instructor in a Cessna 172M.  I was shocked at how well my maneuvers and landings went - all credit to the untold thousands of hours spent in flight simulators over the years.  The catch? The owner of that plane had decided not to continue using his aircraft for training, so that option was off the table after 1 flight.
 
Then, I tried another school at the same airport.  The aircraft were falling apart and the A&P was super blasé about it.  As the airplane stood there actively leaking fuel, hydraulic fluid, and persistently popping fuses in the landing light circuit, he scoffed and said, “aw, yer fine, get out there and go flying.” I declined and, discouraged by the maintenance culture there, gave up again.  Someone is going to get hurt there and I didn’t want to be around when they did.

Fast forward to this summer, when a low cost flying club opened up at the airport between where I work and live - the peak of convenience.  So, after meeting the proprietors, I signed up.  On Thursday last week, after a lot of ground school, some maneuvers, and a half dozen takeoffs and landings in a Cherokee 140, my instructor signed off on my return to the sky.
 
So, for the first time in 21 years, I am legally allowed to fly an airplane by myself!  What this really is, is a license to get back up there and learn again.  I want to spend the next few weeks practicing and getting my feet back under me before I consider taking anyone with me.  After that, I want to earn my commercial license then my flight instructor ratings.  I love to teach and mentor, so I think it would be a great way to keep active in the industry.  

The full support of my amazing wife has been instrumental in this pursuit, but I also have to give some credit to @Daywalker.  His thread about building his Zenith got me looking into building an airplane, which started a spiral that ignited the spark to find a local flying club and really get things moving again.  So, thanks for that!
 
Anyway, this is about the only online community that I participate in, so I wanted to share the news with the friends I’ve made here over the years.  This is pretty exciting stuff for me.  Modeling may slow down for me for a bit, at least until the Midwest winters roll in, but it’s worth it, I think.  
 
 
 

Always thinking ahead to the next build as the present one nears its end, coming to the top of the list is Pacific Coast Models Hawker Tempest V supplemented by a few bits from CMK:
 

 
The wheels, tailwheel and main u/c legs are essentials because the PCM ones are rather basic.  I've been doing some preliminary reading up about the kit so that I know what to expect, there's Dennis' very useful thread of course, and a few observations from Cees and Jereon when the kit first came out:


 

 
Following Hurricane P3158 and Typhoon MN570, the Tempest will be finished as the one flown by W/Cdr R E P Brooker in which he lost his life on 16 April 45, namely NV641.  He was Wing Commander (Flying) of 122 Wing and on that fateful day was flying with 80 Squadron on a Wing operation over Wittenberge on the Elbe.  The precise circumstances of his death are unclear, strangely he wasn't wearing his dog tags that day so if his body had been found it wouldn't have been possible to identify him, and his wing man, Sgt W  V Turner, was also lost.  They were apparently bounced by Fw 190s.
 
A couple of Tempest pics from the Wing:
 





 
and some extracts from a book, little more than a brochure in reality, that I found online about 122 Wing:
 

 






I had great hopes of this book:
 

 
but it is one of the most disappointing accounts that I have ever read written by a pilot.  Sheddan spends more time recounting all the wild parties, scrapes, scraps and ill-disciplined times that he (allegedly) spent rather than actual flying.  I should have been forewarned when in the Forward his previous CO wrote "How he's managed to do this (ie write the book) I don't know, for I'm sure he never kept a diary and his yarns have the freshness of good memory..."  Yarns is a good word....I've skipped much of it.  Shame.
 
Extracts from the Tempest website:
 








 
Looking forward to building it in due course, but I also feel a Hawker Fury biplane nudging me.
 
Having criticised “Tempest Pilot” above, I read on a couple of pages to find this:
 

 
That’s some interesting information that I haven’t seen anywhere else, so James Sheddan is forgiven…..slightly. 
 
*Brooker’s nephew, Malcolm Sutherland, confirmed that although christened “Richard”, he was universally known as “Peter”. 
 
 

 
 

So a little more digging reveals some more detail about Brooker's last flight.  He accompanied 80 Squadron (part of 122 Wing) on an armed recce as shown in the ORB:
 

 
....though his name isn't in the list of pilots, just in the flight detail.  The Summary states:
 

 
To put these places into context:
 

 
The operation commenced at 17.45 from Volkel in the Netherlands and was headed for the Pritzwalk/Neuruppin area north west of Berlin.  Whatever incident happened, presumably a sudden attack by the Luftwaffe, took place around Wittenberge.  Post-war this area came under Soviet occupation so any searches by the Missing Research and Enquiry Service teams would have been severely limited if not impossible.  Hence the reason for Brooker's name being listed on the Runnymede Memorial:
 

 
 

Excellent work on the nose gear Brian! 
 
Dan

Great detail paint work Brian. 
 
 Dan

I'm sure it will be a stunner when you are done Brian! 
 
I'm not really sure I like the response from HpH, that's a pretty darn expensive kit, you would think he would offer a fix for the issues. Not real good advertisement. I'm not one for spending the big bucks on a kit but the ME-410 and that TA-154 have been calling my name......but this has put a damper on it. 
 
Dan