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Matchbox Tiger Moth RAAF Air Ambulance


LSP_Kevin

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I've walked this one around the block a few times in my head with regard to how I was going to tackle the rigging, as it's not something I've done since I was a kid. Back then, I used stretched sprue on 1/72 scale builds, but times have obviously changed quite dramatically since those days. What I've decided to do is take a leaf out of Eric's book and use a modified version of the approach he used to rig his Tiger Moth. I'll be using the same Gaspatch metal turnbuckles that he did, but rather than use heat to embed them into the plastic, I'm just going to bend and glue the tangs in place after painting, just as Eric did with some of his. I think they look quite convincing like this, and it seems a good compromise solution to me. I also realised that the only rigging material I have is from Uschi, which is far too thin for scale, so I've ordered some EZ-Line and some Prym elastic thread, both of which will take some time to get to me.

 

This means that I'll be doing most of the rigging once the painting is complete, so I can start on the paint job as my next step. I'll be creating my own masks using the decals in the Uncle Les conversion as a template.

 

Throwing forward a bit, I'm contemplating a small base for this build, depicting a grassy field. I had a passing thought about including a standing pilot or crew figure to add life to the presentation, but I'm not actually aware of any RAAF figures in 1/32 scale. Do you guys know of any?

 

Kev

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9 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

I've walked this one around the block a few times in my head with regard to how I was going to tackle the rigging, as it's not something I've done since I was a kid. Back then, I used stretched sprue on 1/72 scale builds, but times have obviously changed quite dramatically since those days. What I've decided to do is take a leaf out of Eric's book and use a modified version of the approach he used to rig his Tiger Moth. I'll be using the same Gaspatch metal turnbuckles that he did, but rather than use heat to embed them into the plastic, I'm just going to bend and glue the tangs in place after painting, just as Eric did with some of his. I think they look quite convincing like this, and it seems a good compromise solution to me. I also realised that the only rigging material I have is from Uschi, which is far too thin for scale, so I've ordered some EZ-Line and some Prym elastic thread, both of which will take some time to get to me.

 

This means that I'll be doing most of the rigging once the painting is complete, so I can start on the paint job as my next step. I'll be creating my own masks using the decals in the Uncle Les conversion as a template.

 

Throwing forward a bit, I'm contemplating a small base for this build, depicting a grassy field. I had a passing thought about including a standing pilot or crew figure to add life to the presentation, but I'm not actually aware of any RAAF figures in 1/32 scale. Do you guys know of any?

 

Kev

It’s never a good move to rush into things Kev, so giving lots of time for consideration is wise.  Good luck with those Gaspatch turnbuckles, I’d love to use them but I don’t have the skill level either to seat them accurately nor attach the line......I also remember that they snap easily when bending though annealing might help. 
 

It’s the norm in my experience to complete as much of the painting as possible before rigging to avoid spray on the lines.  Looking forward to the results, sorry can’t help with RAAF figure recommendations.  

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18 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

I've walked this one around the block a few times in my head with regard to how I was going to tackle the rigging, as it's not something I've done since I was a kid. Back then, I used stretched sprue on 1/72 scale builds, but times have obviously changed quite dramatically since those days. What I've decided to do is take a leaf out of Eric's book and use a modified version of the approach he used to rig his Tiger Moth. I'll be using the same Gaspatch metal turnbuckles that he did, but rather than use heat to embed them into the plastic, I'm just going to bend and glue the tangs in place after painting, just as Eric did with some of his. I think they look quite convincing like this, and it seems a good compromise solution to me. I also realised that the only rigging material I have is from Uschi, which is far too thin for scale, so I've ordered some EZ-Line and some Prym elastic thread, both of which will take some time to get to me.

 

This means that I'll be doing most of the rigging once the painting is complete, so I can start on the paint job as my next step. I'll be creating my own masks using the decals in the Uncle Les conversion as a template.

 

Throwing forward a bit, I'm contemplating a small base for this build, depicting a grassy field. I had a passing thought about including a standing pilot or crew figure to add life to the presentation, but I'm not actually aware of any RAAF figures in 1/32 scale. Do you guys know of any?

 

Kev

Kev- Looks like Mastercasters has a 1/32 Australian standing pilot in tropical gear in resin, #MST32031. Looks like a nicely sculpted figure......

 

THOR    :ph34r:

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2 hours ago, bdthoresen said:

Kev- Looks like Mastercasters has a 1/32 Australian standing pilot in tropical gear in resin, #MST32031. Looks like a nicely sculpted figure......

 

THOR    :ph34r:

 

Thanks, Thor. I won't be using that one.

 

Kev

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Nice!

 

Having just read through the whole thread, this is shaping up very well!

I also like your solution to the flange on the fairing earlier on, wish I'd done that on the doppler fairing on my A-6. I did that with Mr.Surfare, but it kind of crumbled when I tried to add screws/rivets. Making a plastic flange first and the bulge/fairing on top is much smarter :)

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Unfortunately I didn't quite get the time I had planned with the Tiger Moth today, but I did get as far as installing the landing gear:

 

FFgceK.jpg

 

TskDWZ.jpg

 

I think from here I'm probably good to get a coat of primer on the poor old girl so I can start the paint job.

 

Kev

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