DBMK 1/32 Sea Fury FB.11

[spyrosjzmichos]

Lovely progress Kev!

The kit does have impressive details both inside and out!

[mozart]

Useful thoughts and explanations Kev. The kit looks really good. 

[geedubelyer]

The fit of the panels looks superb and in your photos the surface detailing appears beautifully resolved?

[Uncarina]

Thanks again Kev for showing the way and with a candid assessment throughout!

 

Cheers,  Tom

[LSP_Kevin]

11 hours ago, geedubelyer said:

The fit of the panels looks superb and in your photos the surface detailing appears beautifully resolved?

 

For the most part, it very much is. But in the photo below, you can see that the panel line for the upper fuselage cuts through the two scribed latch fasteners, indicated by the red arrows. By comparison, the one circled in red is what it should look like - at least in my mind

 

 

Interestingly, the one in the middle still has a line through it, which doesn't really make sense to me from a functional point of view.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Just a couple of quick notes before I forget. Firstly, Roy Sutherland tapped me on the shoulder and informed me that the seat padding is a post-war warbird feature, and not present on operational aircraft. It therefore should be removed if you're chasing complete accuracy. Secondly, the source of the 3D-printed engine I mentioned earlier is Chris Sargent, who also tapped me on the shoulder! (I'm just not sure if it will be offered directly by DBMK as an upgrade item, or by Chris as an aftermarket item - I'll endeavour to find out.)

 

Kev, who's off to put some ice on his shoulders.

[LSP_Kevin]

OK, time for another update! I decided I would in fact drill out the exhaust openings further, and I think they look substantially improved:

 

 

I also decided to pre-paint the panels immediately behind the exhausts, as it would simplify painting the area later - the exhausts themselves have already been painted in Model Master Burnt Metal. For the panels, I started with Tamiya AS-12:

 

 

And then masked the distinctive heat-resistant panel and sprayed it with Stainless Steel from SMS:

 

 

I think I probably should have gone with something darker, and with less of a gold tint but I think a bit of weathering and exhaust staining will sort it out.

 

I dosed the tail wheel bay with SMS Silver:

 

 

And then it was time to install the cockpit and the engine:

 

 

I'd previously given the engine a token paint job, which I'm not especially happy with, but you certainly won't be able to tell on the final model:

 

 

I found the engine quite fiddly to fit into its allocated slots on the inside of the fuselage, and I think it's because they're actually different sizes on each side, acting as keys to assist with orientation. I spent a bit of time rotating the engine until I felt it clicked into place properly, with lots of instances where it wouldn't. I got there in the end, but only later realised that I probably should have just looked more closely, and matched the grooves and slots appropriately.

 

With that done, I could then, finally, join the fuselage halves:

 

 

Superb fit, with just the clamp at the rear to make sure that the area where I amended the fit of the tail wheel bay is nice and secure. I'll be keen to see how well the upper fuselage piece fits after this, but based on what I've seen so far, I don't have any concerns.

 

The next phase of the build will likely be its most fiddly, as it involves adding what seems like endless plastic and photo-etch details to the main wheel bays. I've already pre-assembled the major components earlier, based on what I could figure out without the instructions, so hopefully I haven't snookered myself anywhere!

 

Kev

[Greif8]

Very nice progress Kev!  Drilling out exhausts almost always make them look better IMHO of course.  The fit does look very good and it appears like you are having a good time with the kit which is the most important thing after all.

 

Ernest

[alaninaustria]

Coming along very nicely!

Cheers

Alan

[scimitarf1]

Great job Kevin

 

The exhausts were slide moulded with dimples to centre modeller’s drills.

 

One of DBMK’s aims is to flatter modellers of all levels by making it easier for them to reach that next level with their build. This is an example of that.

Edited March 19 by scimitarf1

[LSP_Kevin]

16 minutes ago, scimitarf1 said:

Great job Kevin

 

The exhausts were slide moulded with dimples to centre modeller’s drills.

 

One of DBMK’s aims is to flatter modellers of all levels by making it easier for them to reach that next level with their build. This is an example of that.

 

I had suspected this was the case, and almost commented as much, but decided not to put words in your mouth! Thanks for clarifying - and yes, this is a very helpful feature, especially as my ability to find centre is about as accomplished as my ability to fart the national anthem. Might be worth mentioning it in the instructions, I reckon.

 

Kev

[RCPlym]

Very impressive looking kit.

Lovely surface detail 👍👍👍

 

Can't wait to see the finished article! 

[scimitarf1]

2 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

 

I had suspected this was the case, and almost commented as much, but decided not to put words in your mouth! Thanks for clarifying - and yes, this is a very helpful feature, especially as my ability to find centre is about as accomplished as my ability to fart the national anthem. Might be worth mentioning it in the instructions, I reckon.

 

Kev

Looking to add that to the instructions. The next one like that you will hit is around adding the rivets to the cowling panels with the join.
 

We couldn’t avoid the join crossing the panel - believe me we tried. As it is harder to reinstate rivets consistently than add them in the first place we left them off the panel overall but added a couple at the top and bottom of the panel to provide alignment for the modeller to make it easier to add them.

[alaninaustria]

3 hours ago, scimitarf1 said:

Great job Kevin

 

The exhausts were slide moulded with dimples to centre modeller’s drills.

 

One of DBMK’s aims is to flatter modellers of all levels by making it easier for them to reach that next level with their build. This is an example of that.

Very nice engineering and overall approach to making the kit such a gem! 

Thank you mate

Cheers

Alan

[Ali62]

On 3/18/2026 at 12:00 AM, LSP_Kevin said:

Just a couple of quick notes before I forget. Firstly, Roy Sutherland tapped me on the shoulder and informed me that the seat padding is a post-war warbird feature, and not present on operational aircraft. It therefore should be removed if you're chasing complete accuracy. Secondly, the source of the 3D-printed engine I mentioned earlier is Chris Sargent, who also tapped me on the shoulder! (I'm just not sure if it will be offered directly by DBMK as an upgrade item, or by Chris as an aftermarket item - I'll endeavour to find out.)

 

Kev, who's off to put some ice on his shoulders.

Hi Kev

the engine set will be available from myself through Aerocraft Models, will get it up on my website in the next few days. There will be a 3d printed seat and a 3d printed spinner, both as one little set as well. I shall make a wider announcement when they appear. Chris, Will and I have sorted out the deal, and I have got all items printing really well.