ICM Gladiator Mk.1 - 87 Sqn RAF 1937

[Azgaron]

Very nice progress! Looks great!

 

Håkan

 

[Iain]

A few days off from work - and a little bench time...

 

The oil tank I messed up a while back has been sorted - and attachment straps added.

 

This meant I could add the lower wings - which have fitted really well:

 

 

 

 

Back in a mo...

 

Iain

[Iain]

Whilst that was all drying I turned my attention to the engine - a bit of clean-up and the basic colours done. More detailed painting and weathering to follow:

 

 

Intake pipework dry fitted to the cylinders - very precise fit:

 

 

And the front section:

 

 

Also made a start on cowling assembly - again, the fit here is really good - just a few ejector pin marks to fill.

 

Tip: if you sand a little off the valve springs you'll be able to fit the engine inside the cowling after assembly - which eases painting hugely.

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for now - maybe some more progress over the weekend...

 

Iain

 

 

[Azgaron]

Very nice progress! Nice looking engine!

 

Håkan

 

[Iain]

A little more progress:

 

Final fitting out ready for primer - I need to drill the rigging holes and fit tailplane first - and going by other builds I'll add brass rod 'spars' for the tailplane.

 

 

 

I've removed the moulded in 'bumps' from the forward lower fuselage - ahead of the wing joint - as they were poorly shaped, and removing them allowed me to blend the wing underside with the fuselage more easily. The two fairings will be replaced from shaped rod prior to primer.

 

 

Tailplanes/elevators dry fitted together...

 

 

Top wing cleaned up - and ailerons fitted.

 

 

Misc parts clean-up.

 

 

Iain

 

 

 

[Iain]

And a little more on the engine/cowling - some neatening of paint needed on the engine.

 

Also need to add some ignition wires.

 

 

Prop being prepped.

 

 

First coat of metallics for the exhaust collector ring - this will be the base for some heat affected finishing.

 

 

Bit of dust - not a paint flaw. Finish is Xtreme Metal.

 

 

And engine dry fitted in cowling.

 

 

Hopefully a bit more progress this evening - really enjoying this kit!

 

Blue skies,

 

Iain

 

[DugyB]

Hey,  You wouldn’t mind speeding it up a bit please, I’ve been patiently waiting for you to leap frog over me so I can steel  a few of your tricks…. And maybe learn a thing or two along the way ….. 

[mozart]

1 hour ago, DugyB said:

Hey,  You wouldn’t mind speeding it up a bit please, I’ve been patiently waiting for you to leap frog over me so I can steel  a few of your tricks…. And maybe learn a thing or two along the way ….. 

Sounds like a very reasonable request to me Dugy! 

[DugyB]

2 minutes ago, mozart said:

Sounds like a very reasonable request to me Dugy! 

I concur 👍 

[Iain]

Guys - lovely that people are following along - but my builds are always glacial these days... 

 

I'm just thankful that I am *actually* making some progress on something - and am possibly in danger of actually possibly maybe sort of finishing something in a Group Build here! 

 

I did make some progress yesterday - but nothing worth photographing just yet.

 

Iain

[Azgaron]

Very nice progress Iain!

 

Håkan

 

[DugyB]

On 11/1/2024 at 4:55 PM, Iain said:

Whilst that was all drying I turned my attention to the engine - a bit of clean-up and the basic colours done. More detailed painting and weathering to follow:

 

 

Intake pipework dry fitted to the cylinders - very precise fit:

 

 

And the front section:

 

 

Also made a start on cowling assembly - again, the fit here is really good - just a few ejector pin marks to fill.

 

Tip: if you sand a little off the valve springs you'll be able to fit the engine inside the cowling after assembly - which eases painting hugely.

 

 

 

 

 

That's it for now - maybe some more progress over the weekend...

 

Iain

 

 

G’day there, nice cowling assembly, I noticed I used the same parts. And then when I test fitted it to the fuselage with the carburettor intake it didn’t fit. So I had to “snip” out the section . Not sure if was me or the instructions…. Looking spic though…. 

[Iain]

OK - so a little progress...

 

Holes for rigging added to fuselage and wings - and tailplane bonded in place.

 

I took note of other builds and replaced the front stubs from the tailplanes with a length of 1mm dia brass rod that passes through the fuselage. Rudder and elevators dry fitted at this stage.

 

 

 

Holes in wings for rigging - planning to use the RB Productions flat wires:

 

 

 

Some head scratching over the rigging between all of the struts - tried to drill out - which wasn't working - then had a eureka moment - flat wires - just cut a very narrow slot!

 

 

 

The madness of my method will, hopefully, be revealed in the not too distant future...

 

Iain

[Iain]

On 11/23/2024 at 5:24 AM, DugyB said:

G’day there, nice cowling assembly, I noticed I used the same parts. And then when I test fitted it to the fuselage with the carburettor intake it didn’t fit. So I had to “snip” out the section . Not sure if was me or the instructions…. Looking spic though…. 

 

The airframe I'm doing has the early cowling - with no obvious external carb intake?

 

Off to see if I can find some period images to confirm what could be seen in that area on the earlier airframes...

 

Iain

[Iain]

Tonight I have mostly been noticing two things:

• I haven't built a biplane for a long time
• I remembered why I hadn't built a biplane for a long time

Stay tuned for more adventures in getting strutted... 

 

Iain