mozart

That’s good to know (Simon I think?). Any pictures of your progress?

I have to agree Dennis, it is such a good kit and a real pleasure to build but Revell have been rather short-sighted in the options that they have given the modeller. Thank goodness for Tim! Cheers Rich, lots of fun is being had! It’s basically Flory’s Dark Dirt Paul, but I think the MRP paints provide just the right surface “texture” to achieve the desired effect. I’ve also used “neat” yellow ochre oil paint, the alkyd variety, in very small amounts in random places then worked it thoroughly with a stiff brush. Warmwell airfield is no more, the site has for several decades been used for gravel extraction, so the soil is very light and sandy in colour, hence my choice of yellow ochre. Thanks John, that’s the aim! It’s marvellous, and fun, to play with photo editing post-build to try to re-create long ago scenes. Two consecutive Hurricane builds nearly finished Andy, both completely different experiences but equally satisfying. I’m looking forward to getting properly stuck into K5083 shortly, though my Tiffie is a bit tardy and deserves some TLC too!

Thoughtful and precise work Paul, and your careful evaluation of progress so far will be very valuable to those of us yet to start our Spitfires. Looking forward to the next instalment.

Phascinating photos! I wonder how much sound proofing there was in the cabin, pretty noisy right behind the engine I imagine.

Fascinating watching all this develop Denis, I admire your pioneering spirit!

Bombed up! Tim aka wunwinglow's excellent 250lb bombs nestle in their cradles: And the props are on of course. Now, that lighter patch on the gun port covers. There is no gun in the position where the bomb carriers are fitted, which is a strong point on the wing. So some of the pictures show a light (or sometimes dark) patch at that place.... Deffo finished tomorrow!

I got all the first 5 right.....but not many more!

Yes that's certainly an option Mike, but it's easier and more controllable to make the backdrop then place the model in front, there will be aircrew to include too.

Here's a Warmwell dispersal, I've photoshopped out the Hurricane: I might try printing this as a backdrop and pose mine in front of it....we'll see!

Thanks Dennis. I’ve been trying to work out how I can do a dio in a sand-bagged dispersal but it’s escaped me so far.

Not far to go now....tomorrow?

Hunters are in my experience rather challenging kits to build but you’re making a good job of it Sean. (Memo to self: must do the final buts on Echelon build).

With luck, up on her legs today: The Revell wheels are “ok” but the CMK ones are so much better, wish I’d used them on my PCM Hurricane. On the other hand, the Revell undercarriage and covers are so well designed and simple to use compared to the multi-part PCM ones. Nearly there now; nav lights, landing light covers and bombs then “fini”!

And you have touched on a very important point there Chris….making inaccurate assumptions! We know that the vast majority of Tiger Moths had the slats so we assume that it’s a deHavilland feature. But, nothing, absolutely nothing, replaces a good reference photograph and careful scrutiny thereof.

Totally blown away, mind boggling work Thomas!

Thanks Mike, and yes, resin casting a dog kennel is underway! I did a little test also yesterday with scribing an engine panel using the Oramask guide, then putting a piece of BMF over it to check the effect….also the “new” fasteners: It’s going to be ok I think. This beautiful Fury nose is what I’m trying to achieve:

It is in Manchester…..so they tell me!

Take more water with it Bob! Delighted to hear that you’re back in production; I received the Jaguar engine for my Gamecock to Grebe conversion yesterday from Simon at Silver Wings, so an order will be winging its way to you shortly.

As I’ve said many times before, research is as important an element of any model that I build as actually making the model itself, so accuracy is paramount. Having said that, any model has to be a compromise to some degree so there’s always some latitude: “it’s as right as I can make it”. What I’m NOT….is a rivet-counter.

To the modelling machine that is Tolga…….have a wonderful day today in sunny Turkey!

Another beautiful Hawker classic is gradually emerging; it’s akin to Michelangelo chipping away at a block of marble to gradually reveal the figure hidden within…..only in reverse!

At this point in the development Hawker were going with known quantities, ie two fuselage mounted Vickers machine guns accompanied speculatively with two Brownings in the wings. Later, Specification F.5/34 called for an interceptor fighter featuring a battery of six or eight forward firing guns but the feasibility of such a heavy armament had not been seriously considered!

Added to which, I'm rubbish at scribing! A bit like decals, anything which gets me out of having to do it is worth a punt. Thanks Mike....coming up shortly an exploration into resin casting! Brian Fawcett hasn't been well recently and I'm not sure about the availability of the "dog kennel" (his wife won't let him go near the workshop!), so I'm going to see how I get on casting a copy of my one and only existing dog kennel....strictly not ethical I know but "needs must!" Yep, too much time spent today with the chainsaw out in the garden....all work and no play! But as you'll see below Guy I've not been too idle: So, first off.....experiments with foil cutting using the Silhouette machine. Critical is the blade depth and force in order not to rip the thin layer of foil nor cut through the backing paper. I have some spare sheets of black chrome ordered by mistake some years ago....here's the machine in "action": using these settings (for those who may be interested): and the result: All of which bodes well for the actual foil. I have applied some of it to an old Revell Hurricane, useful lessons a) with removing the foil carefully to avoid tears (and tears) at Dzus locations and b) with what size punch (No. 13) to re-instate those very fasteners. I plan to use a chrome pen after foiling to cover them. So that's all quite positive I hope. Talking of which, a fellow Hurricane fan on Britmodeller (Tomas from Stockholm) contacted me offering me a spare copy of a Hurricane book, which I gladly accepted: He posted it on TUESDAY in Stockholm and unbelievably it arrived today (Thursday)....that's better than UK First Class mail! A few excellent and not previously seen pics in there of K5083: What colour is that fuel tank going to be....previous questions! Useful detail of the radiator, rarely seen this clearly, and....the original engine: All grist to my mill. Tomorrow, hopefully, more modelling time than today.

I think you need to read Tim’s recent post in Mike’s build thread:

Getting there Mike, soon be over the line and in the cabinet!