Hot Rod Spitfire - FR.XIV (Laminar Flow Design Conversion)

[John1]

Amazon delivered my VIII right on time, so I decided to try to actually make some progress since I had today off.   Still can't dive deep into the cockpit assembly, waiting for the LFD upgrade set to arrive.   That said, the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step so I decided to start this build with the seat.    I went with Barracuda's very nice resin offering.  Just much better details and it also includes the leather back pad Which the Tamiya seat doesn't have.  Only extra work I did was to drill out the tubular socket lower seat mounting base.    I then decided to take a shot the very imposing Airscale Sutton Harness.    It's a fair amount of work but I do believe it looks much better than any PE set.   Kudo's to the person who said it makes life easier to keep the buckles on the PE fret, then thread the paper harness through the opening, glue it and then cut the part off.  Big time saver.   

 

First off, here's the real thing.   The seat itself is made from a phenolic resin, designed to save weight and conserve steel.   Note also the black leather back cushion.   Many of these seats seem to have strips of leather along the edges, the one here has sheet metal guards.   I went for the leather look.   

 

   

 

I used ModelMaster rust with a wash of Tamiya smoke for my seat.    The metal parts are Tamiya IJN Grey Green, which is a nice match for the ubiquitous Interior Green the RAF used on the real thing. 

 

 

 

That's all I've got for an update so far, thanks for looking in! 

[Phil88]

Nice work. I like what LFD make. He told me than he will make resin model for the revell in the futur.

[John1]

Next up, the camera windows.    The FR.XIV was modified at RAF depots with optically flat windows on either side of the aft fuselage for taking oblique photos at low level.  

 

 

This entails a bit of cutting.   I'm normally not a big fan of hacking up a perfectly good kit but LFD provides clear instructions and templates to make it as easy as possible.   Note that the template even has a notch in the back end so you will have the correct orientation of the 3-D printed camera window fairing. 

 

Next drill a few dozen holes, being sure to snap off a drill bit and leave a nice scratch down the side of your fuselage while you are at it. 

 

Then, carefully cut out the opening and use circular files to get it into it's final shape.   Note that my circle sucks.    Not a problem lads, when you mount the really nicely printed window fairing, you can't even see my rough work!   Gotta work smarter not harder!   

 

Note that the fairing isn't perfectly aligned, it's just press fit in place.  For the camera window, you need to cut an 8mm disc from clear acetate.   I'm not sure how well that would hold up being fitted at this stage and being masked during painting, so I'm just leaving the fairings loosely in place, once the painting is done, I'll pop them out, glue the windows in and them glue them onto the fuselage. 

 

 

Lastly, the FR also had an extra access hatch on the port fuselage.   Using the supplied template, I etched this out using a pointed panel line engraver.  I also filled in the existing rivets and added more in the correct pattern   Still need to add the hinge using a bit of very small dia plastic rod.     LFD suggests you cut out the opening and they provide the actual hatch cover but I'm not confident that I can make the cut precise enough to line up perfectly with the hatch.    Still have a lot of cleanup to do on this section but so far, I'm pretty content with how it turned out.    LFD also provides the camera and mount.   I'll add a few details to this and install it when I glue the fuselage haves together.    

 

That's it for this weekend's work, thanks for checking in! 

 

 

 

[scott_t]

Looking great John !!!! Have the same set-up with kit and LFD conversion set !!! 

[John1]

One thing I find noteworthy - I know the Spitfire is a small aircraft but it really becomes apparent when you handle the fuselage parts and compare them to American fighters of the time period.   It’s downright dainty!    

[Uncarina]

Nice work all around John! You did a nice job with the starboard access hatch as well. This is for WAY down the road but if you use Mathieu’s masks for National markings (I hope you do-they’re excellent) note that the roundels have a specific orientation due to the tapered curves of the wing and fuselage.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Shoggz]

Good stuff John! 

[Tolga ULGUR]

[Dpgsbody55]

On 11/18/2024 at 11:10 AM, Uncarina said:

Nice work all around John! You did a nice job with the starboard access hatch as well. This is for WAY down the road but if you use Mathieu’s masks for National markings (I hope you do-they’re excellent) note that the roundels have a specific orientation due to the tapered curves of the wing and fuselage.

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

 

And the 109 was smaller still.  Imagine the take off and landing in that with a thirty five litre engine up front, swinging a paddle blade prop on the later ones.  Yikes!!!

 

___________________________________________

 

Enjoying this build a lot. You're really selling me on these LFD conversions.

 

 

Cheers,

Michael

[John1]

Making some progress on the cockpit.   I opted to use Barracuda's update sets, they include the right side cockpit wall which Tamiya doesn't full replicate as well as multiple smaller bits of resin and a bunch of decals.   I've used their cockpit decals on my F4U-1D and P-51D builds, these decals really add to the realism of the cockpit.   Lastly, since the XIV cockpit has some differences from the earlier version Spits, I opted for the Laminar Flow cockpit update set as well.   It's pricey but it's truly a work of art.   It's engineered so that if you are so inclined (I wasn't), you can have the throttle levers moveable.    Here's the LFD set:

 

Thoughtfully, he provides duplicates of all the small knobs and levers.

 

Here's my progress so far.

 

 

 

 

 

In my obsession with all the aftermarket bits, I realized I wasn't following the instructions.    I glued each side wall the fuselage halves.   Didn't note that you are supposed to build up the cockpit floor and sidewalls and then trap them inside the fuselage when you glue the halves together.   Hopefully not a major issue, fingers crossed here. 

 

Thanks for stopping by! 

 

 

[Biggles87]

Wow! The cockpit detail looks amazing.

Did you have any breakages removing the small parts?

 

John

[John1]

4 hours ago, Biggles87 said:

Wow! The cockpit detail looks amazing.

Did you have any breakages removing the small parts?

 

John

Yeah, I broke a few pieces, it was on me, I rushed into cutting off some of the parts.  Best to spend a few minutes carefully looking at the layout before you start cutting.    I also use my wife’s cuticle scissors, they are invaluable for this type of work (shhhhh, don’t tell her!).  

[Shoggz]

That detail looks great.

[scott_t]

looking great John !!! lots of delicate pieces !!!

[John1]

Thanks guys!   Next up is the instrument panel. I thought about going with Quinta but to be honest, their later stuff just doesn't have the quality I'm looking for.    Thought about other options as well but in the end, opted to go with the kit IP.  It's nicely molded and typical of the newest Tamiya 32nd kits, they provide a clear backing piece with decals for the gauges.   I made one change - using the thick clear backing part, you tend to get a "tunnel effect" for the gauge faces since they are pretty deep into the panel.   What I've done with Tamiya kits is to sand down the back of the IP a bit to thin it down and then cut out and glue in some thin clear plastic packing material.   I then glue the gauges to the back of the clear sheeting.   This eliminates the tunnel effect, and I find that this material is a bit shinier than clear polystyrene plastic.    All in all, I'm pleased with the results.    Only other tweaks I did was to use the 3-D printed copper tubing from the LFD set and apply the remainder of the Barracuda placards.    After that, a bit of weathering and the IP is good to go.  

 

 

That's it for now, have a good night!