Stevepd

Hi Steve,
 
Hopefully we're sorted with the printed struts - but I'd use the stainles steel over carbon fibre here as the ends will need to be bent to locate in the holes - and they should be more than strong enough if needed.
 
But, crossing fingers for the performance of the printed ones...
 
Iain

Wow! Congratulations ! 

Today i was just rifling thru some misc bins at our local club meeting. One of the guys is a vendor and brings out a few tables for the monthly meeting. Guess what i found in a bin with mostly 1/48 and 1/72 stuff in it…

i committed to an Animal themed group build awhile back but hadn’t gotten the kit in the queue yet. Well now I have to. It’s FROG camo time now that I have this piece of unobtainium!

A couple more added to the pile(s).
 
This has been on my wants list for years now. Found it at a real right price so decided to go for it. Still shrink wrapped.
 

 
This is just a splendid kit, and I got it for an excellent price. While I already had the kit, I figured I could use this for another version, or at least lots of spare parts. Box is a bit battered, but kit itself is in excellent shape.
 

I managed to win a 1/32 Fisher T7 Hunter conversion last night. Only 2 bidders and I won it.

I managed to win a 1/32 Fisher T7 Hunter conversion last night. Only 2 bidders and I won it.

I managed to win a 1/32 Fisher T7 Hunter conversion last night. Only 2 bidders and I won it.

I managed to win a 1/32 Fisher T7 Hunter conversion last night. Only 2 bidders and I won it.

Tim/Iain,
 
absolutely top notch accolades to you both. I’ve been loosely following this thread and this morning dived in again to see it painted up, and it does make you smile. Regarding the rod, have you considered carbon rods. I purchased and used some for my Puma build, needing strength and watching the weight. I fell into the “got to have it” modellers frame of mind, so may be not viable for Tim, but just a thought.
 
Steve.

Tim/Iain,
 
absolutely top notch accolades to you both. I’ve been loosely following this thread and this morning dived in again to see it painted up, and it does make you smile. Regarding the rod, have you considered carbon rods. I purchased and used some for my Puma build, needing strength and watching the weight. I fell into the “got to have it” modellers frame of mind, so may be not viable for Tim, but just a thought.
 
Steve.

The size of my stash continues to rocket upwards:
 

 
Kev

Some photos with all the decals/stencils done.
 
The decals are excellent - beautifully thin and opaque, with no hint of silvering - anywhere...
 

 

 
The decals for the under-wing serials where cut and trimmed between the 'X' and the 'E' on each, to remove a section of clear film where the strut mounts are located on the wing underside - makes things soooo much easier!
 

 
No setting solutions were harmed in the application of decals - so a firm 10/10!
 
So - item the next - and I couldn't resist removing the wing/cockpit struts from their supports and trial fitting to the fuselage:
 

 
And then, well, I just had to see what she looked like with the wing balanced in place:
 

 

 
This model makes me smile! 
 
Oh - and these are just a smidge over-exposed - I could have tweaked, but too late now. The grey is just a fraction darker on the model!
 
Final finish won't be this shiny - will cover that later.
 
Meanwhile - I have a plan - possibly a cunning one - to improve on the look of the kit supplied metal wing struts.
 
These are supplied as aluminium tube for strength and are probably the only compromise in the whole kit. and one that prevented the cost escalating.
 
I have some 1mm diameter stainless steel rod on order. If strong enough when cut to length, then I'll have a go at forming an airfoil shape around them with 5 thou styrene sheet - but news on that when I have it...
 
"All Out!"
 
Iain

Oooh - thanks Mike - will have a watch tomorrow!
 
In latest news Tim has been experimenting with 3D printed wing struts - and initial results are very encouraging.
 
Being relatively long and thin, these are pushing the envelope with current resins - but with a little shortening of the CAD master it looks like they may work perfectly - *providing* the wing is very firmly attached to the fuselage first.
 
Photos below are a test fit on the airframe I'm building:
 

 

 

 

 
Next job is to sort the dayglo strips for the outer wing leading edges...
 
Have fun!
 
Iain

I happened across this recently, and thought it would complement this excellent thread: it's a film of no 617 VGS, RAF Manston, during the silver/dayglo era.  Although the film is not the best quality, for reasons explained at the start, I'm sure that those of us who have "been there, done that" can use a healthy dose of nostalgia to fill in the blanks, and I expect a fair number of us can still run through the checks as they're doing them.  "Spoilers fully open and in line!"  Enjoy ...
 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rXvk3OQOUpo
 
 

Thanks guys!
 
I've decided to take the plunge and start painting the engine.  Here is the last look at the engine with its primer coat.

 
 
The initial base color is black.  I used a mixture of Tamiya Black and Flat Black to give a satin sheen.  I like the smoothness of a gloss but find the glare distracting when trying to paint details.

 
 
A monochrome black finish doesn't have enough tonal depth so I wanted to lighten the black with something... I chose brown.  A mix of black and brown was sprayed over the engine, leaving just enough black to establish some contrast.



 
 
With the base color established, I started dry brushing using a lighter brown, trying work as deep as I can reach, all the way to the outside of the engine. Obvious brush marks are touched-up using the base colors.



 
 
First step is done... next I will introduce a few other colors into the mix.

Thanks guys!
 
The horizontal stabilizers have been glued into place.  I'll be addressing the gaps with Milliput and Mr Surfacer.



 
 
Making sure the stabs are on straight.

 
 
Weathering applied to the drop tanks.  Kind of a lazy approach I've been tinkering with lately.  Splattering watered down pastel wash onto a flat finish.  Creates little stains that can be wiped off to modulate the effect.  You can build layers of this stuff in different colors to achieve some tonal depth to the stains.  The clear pylons have not been glued on yet so I can still work on the weathering if I feel like it.

 
 
The engine bulkhead has been similarly weathered.

 
 
I'm ready to glue the bulkhead into place.  I need a strong attachment but I also some time to finesse the positioning so this JB Kwik Weld is a good choice.  It starts hardening about five minutes after mixing.

 
 
The bulkhead has been glued into place. There are some gaps around the circumference that I'm going to have to tidy up but before I do that, I'll verify that the engine/nose assembly fits without interference. Hopefully, the dry-ftting has avoided the need for any awkward trimming.

 

Thank you!  The nose fit to the fuselage is not perfect but I've gotten to a point where I think it will be acceptable with some work.  I don't mind gaps as much as steps and there still seems to be a small step issue, which I hope I can correct when it comes to that point.
 
 
 
Yeah, there is something about primer-coated resin assemblies that looks really good.  Similar to unpainted brass phototech assemblies like the flaps. 
 
 
 
I tend to temporarily stall out ahead of uncertain steps.  It took me a good while to wire and paint the wheel wells.  Now, the same hesitation with the engine.  But there are other things I need to do before the engine gets attached to the fuselage so I have some valid excuses for now!
 
 
 
Thank you Peter!  I can't even post comments on your build.  It's hard to say anything when the jaw is resting on the floor. 
 
 
 
Thanks Matt! I was encouraged by how things were improving as parts were getting glued together.  I've had the opposite happen and that's really no fun!
 
 
 
Thank you for that leeway!  I'll get to it but just not yet!
 
 
 
Thanks Rockie!
 
Slowly finishing the clean up work on the wing roots...



 
 
The tail stabilizers aren't a perfect fit so I'll probably want to glue them in and do the necessary putty work at the joints before I go any further on the engine.

 
 
The underwing drop tanks have been painted. Yes, one is darker than the other! This was intentional!

 
 
The funky clear drop tank pylons have been painted and decaled. Extreme care needs to be taken when handling these parts as they are very delicate and prone to cracking/snapping.

 
 
Drop tank mounted on the pylon... the edge reflection through the clear part is not good.

 
 
So I brush painted the contact surfaces black. I still need to weather the drop tanks.

 
 
And finally... I've painted the engine bulkhead but have yet weathered it.

 
 

Once the Spitfire is out of the way I think that this will the next project while I am on a PCM roll.

 
Cheers
 
Den

I’m currently building the Trumpeter A-6A.
 
I cannot decide if I should do the wings folded or not, but the main question I have is, would folded wings allow the flaps to be dropped and left like that after folding?
 
Cheers

So with a long Bank Holiday weekend there was opportunity to progress and the incentive to finish this build is getting too much to ignore!
Not because I'm running out of mojo for his one (though it's been tested at times!) but I have many others that need some plastic love.
First up was a gloss coat courtesy of Tamiya X-22 which required a couple of coats to get a consistent shine and then on to the decals.
Needless to say there are no specific decals for this bird in 1/32 and I don't have the skills (or hardware) to create my own.
The scheme I'm doing eventually required 3 sets to get this scheme covered and even then there is not a lot of solid intel on what/where all the markings are!
 

 
All the Microscale markings went down fine though I had to do some fishing to find an AAR receptacle stencil that was close enough to the Revell scribings. A couple broke up as they were so old but I managed to rescue most.

 
I think some of the Microscale stencils are a little large but they are at least legible. Some of the positioning was contradicted by other sources so where I could I used Jake Melampy's and DACOs F-15 books to confirm but even still there is a bit of artistic license.

 
Next step is to seal them all with a gloss coat then tone down some of the black stencils which look a little stark and then add some weathering.
Definitely one small step but a giant leap in progress!

Much like LSP Kevin, I use thin stretched sprue or rod glued on with Tamiya extra thin and then soaked with more extra thin. Before it dries, to get the weld seam effect I use a wooden cocktail stick with just the very tip cut off, pushed into the sprue all along the seam. I have used this quite effectively on 1/35 Churchill tanks.

Probably not kosher to blow my own horn but I made THESE specifically for aircraft weld seams. 

Thanks for the comments guys!  I don't think this is a bad kit at all.  Yes, some issues but they are very workable and I wouldn't have as many of them if I hadn't gone the exposed engine route.
 
Cleanup work on the bottom joint is being wrapped up with a final application of Mr Surfacer 1000 and re-scribing of the panel lines.  I used a micro razor saw upon Kevin's recommendation and it worked much better than a scribing tool.  Thanks Kevin... great tip!


 
 
The landing gear covers have been chipped and weathered.  



 
 
I'm really curious about the forward rake of the landing gear legs and wanted to check it right away and I'm using the bottom edge of the main gear covers as a reference.  So the landing gear legs have been glued to the covers.

 
 
Reference photos of the Tempest show the bottom edge of the landing gear covers to be roughly parallel to the row of exhaust pipes and not parallel to the ground.





 
I've dry-fit the landing gear legs and have also positioned the retraction actuators since they help define the geometry of the legs in relation to the wheel wells.  Assuming that the nose is in the correct position, I think we're ok on the forward rake of the landing gear so I can set that worry aside for now.



 
 
I've found that the engine/nose assembly fit much better without the rear bulkhead in place.  This is best fit I've been able to achieve so far.



 
 
Based on this latest finding, I've decided to attach the bulkhead to the fuselage first and then slide the engine and nose assembly into place after the engine has been painted.  I've removed the rear lip on the engine block to allow it to slide under the bulkhead.

 
 
Before applying any paint to the engine, I've masked the exhaust pipe attachment points with Micromask.

 
 
First step of the engine painting process is to spray Mr Primer Surfacer over the engine.  It will be a good check to see if there are any excess glue blobs and will also serve to prime the metal wiring.  There are some tiny holes in some of the resin parts but I'm not sure they are worth filling since this engine is going to painted in very dark colors anyway.







 

I have used lead wire, glue it down and then use small chisel to make the weld. Cheers.

There is another method to replicate the very thin weld seams you can find on modern tanks: use masking tape and dissolved putty or surfacer. Put the tape on each side of the future weld. Then spray surfacer or brush dissolved putty. Remove the tapes and clean the edges with a fine sanding sponge. Done!