Starfighter Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 I think I already said this in your Tigercat thread - your builds are just fascinating and utterly frustrating at the same time. At least, I can use some of your talent for my own benefit by using your lovely PE parts and decals on my Prowler and Viking! Can't wait to see more progress! airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 yey the kit arrived!! a big box... and something I wasn't expecting - a complete Spitfire - it is a one piece beautifully moulded form complete with very fine surface detail. Other bits in the box include 3 smaller boxes of resin components, two vacformed canopies, a CD of pics of the completed model, a mask set for roundels etc, some 2 component resin glue and some HpH leaflets.. ..the surface detail is very, very good - in terms of scale - I checked the Seafire FR47 span and it was 36' 11" which is 11,252mm - so in 1/18 it scales to 625mm - the kit span is 630mm so good enough for me. I need a few more datapoints to know exactly what dimensions to scale the PE to.. lovely surface.. ..so what is in the smaller boxes.. the first has the elevators, tyres, prop blades and radiator scoops.. ..again, nice surface detail - shame it will all be covered in lithoplate ..the next box has the rudder, wheelbays, spinner & gear doors.. ..and the final box the cockpit parts and exhaust stubs.. ..couldn't resist a comparison...all this will be rebuilt.. ..so, we are litterally 'off to the races' - the race at Tinnerman in 1949 to be exact.. I have no idea yet how to deal with the one-piece fuselage - I expect I will just cut away a large section of it around the cockpit - I did think about sectioning the whole thing into two halves, and cutting the wings off, but actually that all seems a bit drastic when all I want to do is get access to the 'pit... ..thoughts on an approach would be most welcome as I expect it is obvious to all exept me TTFNPeter DirkE, Derek B, Alburymodeler and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Looks impressive, Peter! You made me ask HPH for a kit as well - I just suspect I won't be able to afford it! Looks like you have to cut the fuselage around the cockpit area indeed... maybe you could ask HPH how they assembvle their models? Seems that all of their 'Museum' models are moulded the same way, so there must be a common method... airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunwinglow Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Don't cut the fuselage. Buy this instead.... http://www.amazon.co.uk/Ships-In-Bottles-Step-By-Step-Guide-Venerable-Nautical/dp/0943665000 Tim Thomas Lund and airscale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hans Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Cutting out the part of the wing that sits below the cockpit should make access to and working on the pit easier I think. airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 This should be fun to watch...right before I blind myself. Looking forward to your usual magic. Cheers One who can't make rivets airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 '..thoughts on an approach ' Is this hollow or solid? Thank you. Sincerely, Mark airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shawn M Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 wow, this is a step beyond...fabulous work airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 Looks impressive, Peter! You made me ask HPH for a kit as well - I just suspect I won't be able to afford it! Looks like you have to cut the fuselage around the cockpit area indeed... maybe you could ask HPH how they assembvle their models? Seems that all of their 'Museum' models are moulded the same way, so there must be a common method... haha - sorry about that - which one are you going for? I asked about assembly and Ondrej said cut the nose off but I think I will go my own way... This should be fun to watch...right before I blind myself. Looking forward to your usual magic. Cheers One who can't make rivets you will be able to make rivets - the etch template for you and Rainer went to PPD today so should be back in a week or so '..thoughts on an approach ' Is this hollow or solid? Thank you. Sincerely, Mark Hi Mark - it's hollow - but the wall thickness is about 2mm so needs a lot taking out I cut out an aperture to see what was inside! ..getting to know it a bit better - the under wing shape looks perfectly captured.. all the more reason to try and retain as much structural integrity as possible.. I am just getting the Cooke Mk XIV plans scaled up and then I can check and change as required - the nose under the chin definately needs work as the FR47 had a chin airscoop under the spinner, whereas the XIV had a seperate scoop (like the old vokes filter on a MkV) further back.. I might just chop a big section out of the fuselage for access? thoughts? TTFN Peter Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Great work Peter. I would have to agree, I would definitely chop a section out of the fuse/pit area as you have shown.............with the complex/compound curves of the underside area you would need to hack out to get the pit in, I think it would definitely be harder to repair/replace that area accurately without loosing a lot of detail and curves. airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 'I might just chop a big section out of the fuselage for access?' Come now, Peter. You built and installed a Tigercat cockpit in a space similar to this. I should think a second time would be an old hat! The kit does supply a cockpit. What do the instructions say? There must be something in them to indicate some direction. Sincerely, Mark airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wunwinglow Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Watch it cutting glass fibre. Breathing mask, eye protection, and do it outdoors if you can..... airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted March 29, 2016 Author Share Posted March 29, 2016 'I might just chop a big section out of the fuselage for access?' Come now, Peter. You built and installed a Tigercat cockpit in a space similar to this. I should think a second time would be an old hat! The kit does supply a cockpit. What do the instructions say? There must be something in them to indicate some direction. Sincerely, Mark ha - thats the point, I don't want to do anymore keyhole surgery - I want it nice and open so I can just get on and build it rather than plan 10 steps ahead about how to fit things and in what sequence oh, and as for instructions - thats simple - there aren't any..... these are meant to be built in-house by HpH for museums etc so it is make it up as you go along time.. (I am used to that thankfully...) Watch it cutting glass fibre. Breathing mask, eye protection, and do it outdoors if you can..... that is a good shout Tim - even chopping the cockpit bit out took a grinding wheel as a disc saw just wouldn't do it so it is horrible and very tough stuff. I will treat it with the respect it deserves... thanks folks Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cees Broere Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 Peter, such a daunting problem. Does HPH give any clues on the disc? You can also take the Airfix route by cutting out the cockpit sidewalls from the longerons up and removing the fuel tank cover. That should give you plenty of space to work with. Keep the bottom intact but make sure you keep the structural integrity of the model. Good luck. Cees airscale 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted March 29, 2016 Share Posted March 29, 2016 (edited) Hi Peter, My first thought was to follow panel lines and cut away a large area but then it occured to me that you are going to skin this bird so using existing panel lines would n't matter as much. This is going to be a superb build. I feel it in my water. Do you think you could finish it by the end of April? If so, perhaps you'd consider joining the Edgar Brooks tribute group build.... No? No, probably not. But this will indeed be a fitting reminder of Edgar's favourite aircraft and will honour his memory by it's very existence. Loving the work you've accomplished so far. The comparison between your scratch built (can we use the term "scratch built" with something this remarkale I wonder?) joystick and the kit part shows the difference beautifully. I suspect HPH may be commisioning you to build there museum pieces in the future. Cheers P.s, maybe you could intersperse the fabrication if these Spitfire parts with an occasional Tigercat component. Before you know it that one would be complete..... Edited March 29, 2016 by geedubelyer David66 and airscale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now