ericg Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 (edited) I got this kit for a super-low price and just had to have it. I wasn't particularly interested in `civil' stuff but thinking ahead to what I may enter in shows this year, I thought that I might spread the love a bit and hopefully enter the civil categories. Not sure how it will be classified by the scrutineers but I will clarify further.Anyway, as usual when i build a model it really grows on me. This is no exception and I am finding the lines of the aircraft rather pleasing, and love the muscular yet sleek look of this one. Now I have had this one on the back burner for a few weeks, and have been picking it up in between the Hunter T7 and Pfalz WIP's. I have had a hard time tracking down much reference material for it and am only aware of the one other build on this site which from what I could gather was a struggle due to poor fit issues with the kit. It is for that reason that I had a good look at this one before I committed to by it just so I wasn't buying someone elses problem.This is a limited run kit (150 of them were made) and one has to approach this with the fact that it is hand made and will inevetably require more work than a traditional snap together. So without further ado, here is the WIP.I started with the cockpit. There isnt much happening in here, but with a bit of care and a good wash, things can start to look a little busy (seat yet to be fitted) Edited February 7, 2013 by ericg Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Eric Talk about rare and icaptivating Looking forward to following the build with great interest. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 I joined the fuselage halves and was quite surprised by the lack of filler required to ensure the smooth joint. Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Eric For a limited production kit, the fit is amazing. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 Very nice work Eric. Sure will make for an unusual subject on any competition table. I take it that it's a resin kit, not low-pressure injection-moulded? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Hi Kev, it is all resin and a little white metal with some elements of photo etch. Anyway, time to chuck the wings on. This is probably the area that requires the most work as the fit is very agricultural. I devised a suitably farm like solution to give me a bit of peace of mind when it came to the strength of the joints, as there were a few shims required to fill in the large gaps. and I wasnt sure which surfaces were meeting up with other surfaces inside the fuselage. I drilled a few holes into the resin once I had superglued the wings in place: To get the right depth I toyed with the idea of making up a depth gauge or a piece of tape around the drill bit so that I didnt drill through the bottom of the wing and create more work for myself having to fill in the resulting holes. I thought of a better way and that was to drill until I noticed a small change in colour of the surface where the drill was about to break through. You can just see the small white dot here: A few holes: A few brass rods: Smooth and alot stronger. My new `can I hang my hat on it?' test, whereby, if I can hang my hat on it, it passes the strength test: Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 5, 2013 Share Posted January 5, 2013 So the brass tube is inserted into the tab that fits into the cutout on the lower wing, yeah? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 5, 2013 Author Share Posted January 5, 2013 Not really mate, it goes from the top wing to the bottom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 I primed the beast so that I could get an idea of where I needed to straighten things up a bit, and there where lots! I have sort of evolved my technique of fault detection to incorporate a `code' in it such that a cross is something to be filled, a circle is something to be sanded off and a line is a scratch or file mark. I made pins up for all of the flight control surfaces, just to give me some peace of mind when I move this model around. Here is the wing mounted radiators. A real pain to fit, as the wings have the shape of the radiator in resin (which are not exactly straight) and the Photo etch grilles are dead straight. Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Eric Terrific progress as you work you way through the resin assembly process. Enjoying the build process and picking up a lot of great ideas but I'm not sure how the brass rods add strength to the wing joint if they aren't inserted into the fuselage tab as well. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Here is the WIP of the beaching trolley. Using my newly acquired skills that I gained doing woodgrain on the Pfalz DIIIa I painted this a dark shade of Tamiya acrylics and then applied oil paints to simulate the woodgrain effect. I still have lots to go but thought I would try a couple of parts to see if I would be happy with it. Here are the floats. I went to the LHS with Whitey the other day and got a can of Tamiya fine surface primer and can of Mr surfacer 1000 spray to compare the two. I will be using the Mr Surfacer product as both a primer and a final coat, as I am quite happy with the way that the white has come out. The model needs a few coats of primer and lots of sanding to get the surface free of blemishes and pin holes. I tested the Mr surfacer on the top float by polishing it with a polishing bit in the dremel an it came out really nice. Here is where I am at with the model at the present time. Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 Peter, the brass rods go through the top of the wing to almost the bottom of the wing. If you have a close look at the second picture of the pics where I have drilled the brass rods through the resin, there is a small white dot in the centre of the pic, this is part of the bottom of the fuselage where I have almost broken through the resin with the drill bit. The brass rods have added considerable strength to the model as they are passing through two different parts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Eric Thank you for the explanation ... makes perfect sense now. Gorgeous wood wood on the dolly and you're right on the money, how skills transfer from kit to kit. The Supermarine S4 looks awesome up on its floats and beaching dolly. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 8, 2013 Author Share Posted January 8, 2013 The completed radiator units... 9 beers and 3 hours of messing around and they are done. Will be interesting to see how they look under a coat of primer. Whitey and radial 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 8, 2013 Share Posted January 8, 2013 Eric They look great. of course the secret was the 9 beers to calm the nerves and steady the hands Looking real good Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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