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Aerotech 1/32 Speed Spitfire


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Why do I always think of these things after the fact? :doh:

 

Kev

 

It's called learning Kev! :D

 

You are doing a fine job so far :goodjob:

 

Question: Are the tailplanes handed or differ in detail on the upper and lower surfaces? If not, would they look any different if the were swapped from one side to the other?

 

Derek

Edited by Derek B
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Question: Are the tailplanes handed or differ in detail on the upper and lower surfaces? If not, would they look any different if the were swapped from one side to the other?

 

Yeah Derek, they're handed. Each unit is keyed into its slot with a curved lip on the upper surface that extends further inboard than the lower surface. They can't be swapped around unfortunately. I'm just not sure where those angles are being introduced, as to the naked eye everything (tabs, slots) looks perpendicular.

 

Kev

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Not an update as such this one, though I have managed to get the tail planes largely sorted out. Just in the fill/sand cycle now, plus starting to apply some Mr Surfacer 500 to the some of the surface trenches. This post though is about the main wheels, which we haven't really looked at up until now. Just to recap, they consist of a pair of rubber/vinyl tyres, into which are inserted their respective resin hubs. There are two main issues however (what is it with me and Spitfire wheels?). The first and most serious is that they simply do not fit each other. The hub is too small for the tyre:

 

haH9EG.jpg

 

The angle doesn't show it, but the same amount of daylight visible at the sides is visible at the top. Personally I think that problem is not solvable with these parts. Hub detail is quite serviceable though, which is a bit of a shame.

 

The other issue is a perennial one for this type of tyre, and some of you may have read Jamie Haggo's recent blog update wondering why we all hate them. This is why:

 

YjUk6S.jpg

 

I've scraped, cut and sanded that moulded-in seam and it just ain't goin' nowhere. In fact the more I sanded the more noticeable it became. And the rubber just gets out of the way of any blade applied to it.

 

So, the kit wheels are a write-off! Luckily I mistakenly bought those Barracuda 5-spoke Spitfire wheels a few weeks back, eh?

 

Kev

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Looking good. Should be ready for Eagles Day :)

 

Thanks Brad. Should be well done by then. I still haven't heard a peep from John at Marsh Models about the missing exhaust stack though, so I may have to resort to duplicating the remaining one in resin myself.

 

Kev

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maybe you could soak the rubber tyre in thinner for a few minutes, and then mount it to the wheel....... The thinner will shrink the rubber down a notch or two. Learned this when I soaked the rubber gaskets in one of my airbrushes- Never got it back into the airbrush!

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maybe you could soak the rubber tyre in thinner for a few minutes, and then mount it to the wheel....... The thinner will shrink the rubber down a notch or two. Learned this when I soaked the rubber gaskets in one of my airbrushes- Never got it back into the airbrush!

 

I might try that just to see if it would work, but there's no way I'm going to use these tyres with those seams on them!

 

Kev

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A quick update folks. I've got the tail planes on and the first two rounds of fill/sand completed:

 

rxI71U.jpg

 

I've also run some Mr Surfacer 500 through the panel lines in order to tone them down a bit. The application looks a little patchy in places, but I'll give the entire airframe a primer coat before deciding whether they need more work.

 

I have a quick question though: what colour should the interior of the radiators be?

 

Kev

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Not an update as such this one, though I have managed to get the tail planes largely sorted out. Just in the fill/sand cycle now, plus starting to apply some Mr Surfacer 500 to the some of the surface trenches. This post though is about the main wheels, which we haven't really looked at up until now. Just to recap, they consist of a pair of rubber/vinyl tyres, into which are inserted their respective resin hubs. There are two main issues however (what is it with me and Spitfire wheels?). The first and most serious is that they simply do not fit each other. The hub is too small for the tyre:

 

...

 

The angle doesn't show it, but the same amount of daylight visible at the sides is visible at the top. Personally I think that problem is not solvable with these parts. Hub detail is quite serviceable though, which is a bit of a shame.

 

The other issue is a perennial one for this type of tyre, and some of you may have read Jamie Haggo's recent blog update wondering why we all hate them. This is why:

 

...

 

I've scraped, cut and sanded that moulded-in seam and it just ain't goin' nowhere. In fact the more I sanded the more noticeable it became. And the rubber just gets out of the way of any blade applied to it.

 

So, the kit wheels are a write-off! Luckily I mistakenly bought those Barracuda 5-spoke Spitfire wheels a few weeks back, eh?

 

Kev

 

Why don't you try to put the wheels in the freezer (-30° C) before trying to cut/scrape the mold lines ? Cooling down (to - 55° C admittedly) rubber allows us to do some machining and engraving with a high-speed CNC cutter .

 

Hubert

Edited by MostlyRacers
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Why don't you try to put the wheels in the freezer (-30° C) before trying to cut/scrape the mold lines ? Cooling down (to - 55° C admittedly) rubber allows us to do some machining and engraving with a high-speed CNC cutter .

 

Hubert

 

Interesting idea Hubert! I'll have to throw a thermometer in our freezer and see how low it goes.

 

Kev

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Thanks Maru. It looks from the photos in those links you posted that they're generally the same colour as the undersurface. Sounds a better bet to me than interior green.

 

In the meantime I set about assembling the cockpit door. If you remember, I was uncertain about the fact that the kit provides no resin part for this, and the instructions are a bit ambiguous on that score. So I decided to assemble the PE parts as if they were intended to be the final product, and the result indicates that this is probably the case:

 

eA6z0o.jpg

 

Apologies for the poor photo. The door, internal frame and locking handle are three separate PE parts. I curved the door and frame by rolling them separately under a thick hobby knife handle on my cutting mat. A test fit into the opening on the fuselage confirms in my mind that no resin part is required:

 

v8iDAB.jpg

 

It also confirms that the door is really intended to be posed in the open position, as the fit here is not as tight as you'd otherwise want. But it isn't bad!

 

My next job is to get some primer on the airframe, but I also need to build up the PE flaps. Again, it appears that this is not an exercise in adding PE detail to resin base parts, but rather building the complete flaps entirely from photo-etched parts. And a lot of them! Wish me luck...

 

Kev

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A quick update folks. I've got the tail planes on and the first two rounds of fill/sand completed:

 

rxI71U.jpg

 

I've also run some Mr Surfacer 500 through the panel lines in order to tone them down a bit. The application looks a little patchy in places, but I'll give the entire airframe a primer coat before deciding whether they need more work.

 

I have a quick question though: what colour should the interior of the radiators be?

 

Kev

Kev

 

Was the wing modified on the real plane? cause the shape in this one pic does not look like a Spitty elliptical wing shape?

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Was the wing modified on the real plane?

 

Yep, very much so Ron. Wing tips were changed and all panels and hatches puttied and smoothed over. Also, the starboard underwing radiator was enlarged.

 

Kev

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