dylan the rabbit

Here's what you're up against.. Old thread copied from Britmodeller. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/17954-spitfire-mkiii/page-2?hl=spitfire Depressing thing about this kit is it was built for a chap I know. I understand it was in pieces within the year due to clumsy handling..

Lots of filler and sanding I'm afraid.. mine took a lot of work. It's one of the worst bits of the kit.

Builds up into a nice kit that one, but mine fought me all the way.. I seem to remember getting the dihedral correct was a real arse.

The thread from the dead... 6 years. Not bad eh? What with work and family commitments, moving house and a whole bunch of other stuff, I stopped the modelling. I have a little time now, and am focusing on one kit at a time. This time, it's the Hurricane. It's interesting taking an old kit out from mothballs to carry on the unfinished build. I'm sitting here scratching my head wondering why I never included certain parts before zipping it up, what combination of colours did I use to replicate that exact joyless modelling Nazi shade of green, why I bought the white metal undercarriage legs for the Trumpy 1/24th kit "hoping" they would fit, and how exactly I'm going to finish this kit ten years after taking the wrapping off the box.. I spent yesterday evening with the old bird reacquainting myself with what I'd done before, cleaned her up a bit, and then re did the cowling and other access panel points. They're not as good as the ones I did first, but I can't for the life of me figure out how I did them. These ones will do.. A bit of brass tubing end, cut, filed down a little and put in a pin vise to make a hole and leave a central part. Not accurate I know, but it'll do for me. Next, it'll need a good sand down to clean up the rough edges before priming. Oh, and the radiator needs working on before that happens. Cheers, Nick

Cheers guys. I probably did misunderstand, but correct me if I'm wrong, cowling and panel fasteners are not flush rivets? I have this effect so far from the template and needle in a vise.. Ok, but not great. I think the idea of the brass tubing could be a winner though, and Perry, I'll PM you about that. Nick

Thanks Thierry. That's similar to the setup I'm already using (a Hasegawa template set and sewing needle held in a pin vise). The only problem with that setup is the needle bends as I go around the circle, and thus I can't make a precise enough scribe. I may therefore need to look at an alternative to the needle..

In one of the discussions I had on Britmodeller many moons ago, someone mentioned a tool that was really useful to replicate the circular access bolts (for want of the technical term) on the cowlings of Spitfires and Hurricanes. I'm redoing the ones on my 1/24th Hurricane now, and I'm using a circular template set, scribing a circle, and then using a pin to score a hole in the centre. They look ok, but not great. The tool was made by MDC or Waldron? Not sure. Can anyone enlighten me? Cheers, Nick

Considering the talent on this site, very kind words chaps.

Built for a friend, using the Revell 1/32nd kit, this has taken over a year to finish. There's a build thread here if you're interested.. http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.ph...amp;hl=spitfire Great kit, needs rescribing, and in the hands of a great modeller (not me I hasten to add), builds up into a really nice kit. It's OOB except for an MDC Sutton harness, a scratchbuilt harness stay and oxygen hose. The fit was a bit of an issue around the roots, but nothing that sheer bloody force didn't sort out. Painted with Xtracolour, Revell and Citadel, given a Klear coat, Promodellers wash and then a flat coat. Given minimal weathering at the "client's" request. I really like her, and will be sorry to see her go. And yes, I know I have the squadron codes the wrong way round. I just prefer them that way, but mainly, I got the positioning wrong! Enjoy, and please do critique it. Cheers, Nick

Ok. I lifted the decal off with tape, but still need to find the kit with the replacement in.. In the meantime, I gave the rest of the kit a panel wash, and added the exhausts and undercarraige. It sits 3mm higher on the port side, so I may have to take that out (why did I use superglue?) and trim it off. Or maybe not. Have just painted the gunsight, and once that's dry, it'll go in, and the windshield will go on. More to follow. Cheers, Nick (Oh, the move's not happening as we made a decision the in-laws wouldn't work. We re-negociated something with the landlord, which will hopefully still happen, so for the moment, we stay put).

Cheers guys. I'll replace the decal. I've got a spare somewhere in the boxes I packed for the move that's now not happening! Shouldn't take too long to find it..

Cheers Kev. It bugs me to look at though, so I think I'll sand the ridge down (have to go through a coat of Future, then the decal then the ridge line) and touch it up with paint. It's for a comissioned build, so I can't let it go out as is. Cheers, Nick

Cheers guys. With decals and a coat of Klear. Very, very annoyed about the ridge through the port roundel (too much spray against the masking tape) which I only really noticed after the roundel was on. The snuggling down effect of Klear makes it much worse, and I ain't taking it off and re-doing it. Oh well. The guy I'm making it for is a pisshead so he won't notice. Cheers, Nick

Yeah, me too! Thanks mate.

Cheers Kev. Sitting in a house full of boxes as we speak! Moving some stuff to the in-laws this weekend, then the packers come in and pack up/ship to the UK what we want to keep. Following that, I do a huge house clearance sale for all the stuff we don't want, and then settle into the outlaws. Hates moving we does!

Just checked this project out for the first time. Insane! (But brilliant..) Nick

Long time no see chaps! Here's the latest. Next step, gloss coating the undersides (Revell matt sky) before decaling, and then the decals! All the best, Nick

Oh God, tell me about it! Work in Dubai has gone down the pan due to the recession. I'm a freelance photographer and my wife freelances as a writer, and it's been very tough. We're in the middle of the summer, and there's very little work, so we decided to leave and go back to the UK. We're moving out of our house at the beginning of September, and most of our stuff will then get shipped home. We'll then move in with her parents here, until at least January, when we can send the dogs home (they started their at home rabies quarantine and can thus avoid UK quarantine), and then maybe stay on a few months more to try and stash as much money as we can before we finally leave Dubai in April. We then move into my folks place in the UK to get settled and look for a house, so I have no idea when I'll get to do any plastic tickling after the boxes go off in a month. A very long winded answer, to a very long winded move! Nick

My my, what a long time it's been since I've done anything on this, or posted! The clock's ticking now, and I have a month to finish this before we move house and relocate back to the UK, so expect to see a flurry of activity now to finish this, and then nothing for a year! The dark earth has gone on, and the prop has been sprayed black. I'll be masking it off this week, and then on with the green. Looking at it again, it seems patchy in places and there are some parts that need going over again (I was using a very thinned out mix to enable me to spray in the 35 plus degree heat we have here). The canopies are masked and ready for the interior green then dark green, and then once that's done, the rest should fall into place quite quickly (at least that's the plan). Cheers, Nick

Hey Radu, I just found this thread, and what more can I say though than, wow! It's true what you say about the Airfix 1/24th wheel well bay. It's a pile of crap. I've just ploughed through your thread to find images of the wheel bay so I can fix mine accordingly. I bought some metal undercarriage legs (for the Trumpeter kit) and although they look great, they won't fit, so I'm going to have to get a hot scalpel out for a minor bit of surgery to accomodate them. Great thread though. All the best, Nick

Thanks Dave. I did actually buy a set of the replacement legs, and would prefer to use them, if I can get them to fit.

Dave, How did you fit the metal, made for Trumpeter legs on the Airfix? It seems the attachment points are all different. Cheers, Nick

Well, I thought after almost 6 months hibernation, I'd better try to get back into the plastic tickling.. The reason for being away? A mixture of a lot of work, busy family life, no time for modelling and a general apathy. In addition, I developed an interest in renovating my childhood Action Men, and that took over as a little hobby for the last 4-5 months. Anyhow, back to the Hurricane! The stencils for the spray masks arrived from Nenad a few weeks ago, and I thought I should crack on with it. I'm thinking of replacing the Airfix landing gear with something a little stronger. This is designed for the Trumpeter kit, but I'm wondering if anyone has used it on an Airfix, and with what result? http://www.a2zeemodels.co.uk/hurricane-lan...gear-1549-p.asp If it's a no go, what else is out there in white metal? Cheers, Nick

I am standing corrected sahib! My Hurri's got fat wings. No two ways about it. Buils OOB 'fraid, and I bain't cracking them open now! Thanks for the tips though. Just checked the diehdral and they (the front ones!) seem fine (not flat or saggy!) Never got your PM about the Spit prop, but they've now been filled in. I'll go over the areas affected by the sand paper and make some indented rivets with a pin. Better than nothing I guess. Cheers Dave, Nick

Sanding, filling, sanding, filling.... Cowling fit's a howler. Needs, you guessed it, sanding. Got the rear wings on, and have dropped the elevators. Just waiting for the glue goop in the join to dry so I can, well, sand them.. Isn't the quality of that bath fantastic though? Malabar's finest plumbers! Thanks landlord! Oh, and here's where I've been working the last couple of evenings. The other two kits have been sanded too.. Anyone got any bright ideas as to how to recreate the little Airfix rivets I had to sand off?!! Nick