Clear the Bench! It's Kotare Spitfire time.

[Troy Molitor]

I can see the conundrum with the rivet detail,  Gazz.  Can you apply a tiny bit of Cyanoacrylate glue to the end of the gap closest to the aft canopy area while the spine piece is under pressure?  Perhaps it will hold it in place and then go back and do what mc65 mentioned above after the piece is secured in place?  Fingers crossed either way for you.  This is really and interesting build going on here.  Thanks for showing us mortals the way forward.  I can't wait to get my hands on this kit.    

[Uncarina]

On 3/19/2023 at 1:42 AM, Gazzas said:

Thank you.  Honestly, I'm undecided.  I rarely do in-box schemes because everyone else does the in-box schemes.  All I know is I prefer a ROTOL propeller with white/night.  I'm hoping a fellow Aussie will come up with some decals of an Aussie pilot that will fit the rest of my description.  Otherwise, I may end up doing Dirty Dick, or this one:

Gary, Happy Birthday!

 

I’m taking notes, and thank you for showing us the Way.

 

From the Kotare website: “Mid production Mk.Ia in the N3### & P9### serial number range (completed between September 1939 and April 1940), saw the introduction of an improved lever-operated “dual position” cockpit door catch, reflector gun sight, tapered aerial post, voltage regulator positioned behind the pilot’s headrest and a constant speed DeHavilland propeller. Selected aircraft received a constant speed Rotol RX5/1 propeller and the temporary installation of the TR.1133 VHF radio, which did not require an external aerial wire.”

 

This means if you pick an aircraft with an N3xxx or P9xxx serial number you should be able to build out of the box.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited March 22, 2023 by Uncarina

[Gazzas]

14 hours ago, Uncarina said:

Gary, Happy Birthday!

 

I’m taking notes, and thank you for showing us the Way.

 

From the Kotare website: “Mid production Mk.Ia in the N3### & P9### serial number range (completed between September 1939 and April 1940), saw the introduction of an improved lever-operated “dual position” cockpit door catch, reflector gun sight, tapered aerial post, voltage regulator positioned behind the pilot’s headrest and a constant speed DeHavilland propeller. Selected aircraft received a constant speed Rotol RX5/1 propeller and the temporary installation of the TR.1133 VHF radio, which did not require an external aerial wire.”

 

This means if you pick an aircraft with an N3xxx or P9xxx serial number you should be able to build out of the box.

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

Tom,

    Thank you for the information.  I haven't settled on a particular bird, yet.  So, I think I'm going to prepare both propellers and spinners to prepare for either eventuality.  I'm still looking for the right picture.

[MikeMaben]

Hey Gary, just another idea if you have a clamp big enough, use some water soluable glue, apply the clamp

then wipe away the squeeze out (no damage danger). Maybe tape instead of a clamp.

Looking good.

[Greif8]

A belated Happy Birthday from me Gary!  Thank you for taking the time to show some of the nice engineering that went into the kit.  The cockpit looks great, you did a very nice job painting and assembling it.  I don't have any suggestions to answer your questions but Paolo's recommendation sounds like it should work quite well.

 

Ernest 

[Iain]

Some really good engineering in this kit - thanks for being a build trailblazer, a lot more informative than just an in-box review...

 

I was holding off ordering, but that may have changed. 

 

Iain

[Gazzas]

Well, what started as interesting surface detail coupled with an innovative way of dealing with the dorsal seam has put me into a bit of a conundrum.  

Here is a diagram to illustrate the way the parts are made and fit.  It is not to scale.

You can see that the fuselage halves are beveled down to a flat area on the interior of the fuselage. while E7, the Dorsal spine has flat mating surfaces.  I took some photos to illustrate the parts, but the bevel isn't very easy to see.  I have used white arrows to help make the bevel easier to find.

 

On the first attempt I followed some advice about using CA to tack an area down, then glue the rest with Tamiya Extra Thin Quick Setting.  I followed through, and used a bit of PPP to fill the seam.   ...I tested it with a little gray paint to see what it would look like painted.

 

I wasn't happy with the result.  Sure, it looks like a panel line.  But it's the only one there.  If the rest of the fuselage had panel lines, it would fit in.  But now it sticks out like a sore thumb.  

 

So, I ripped it off.

 

And after a day of thinking, I decided to deal with the beveled area and see if I can get a better fit.  I used some Evergreen strip to fill the bevel and give a completely flat surface in hopes of a better fit.

And then I reattached the dorsal spine E7.  And filled the seam with PPP and removed the excess.  And then painting it gray.

 

 

It doesn't look any different. 

 

So, now I have to decide whether to leave it as it is...   or come up with another way.  There is no other way to fill that seam that I can think of that won't involve ruining the rivets.  The only other solution coming to mind at this very moment is to strip the rivets off, fill the seam and then contemplate:  

 

a.  No rivets, no panel lines.

b.  replacing the rivets with HGW surface rivets which are much smaller.

c.  Inscribing panel lines and adding HGW rivets.

 

Any ideas?   How would you handle it?

[Uncarina]

I will dig out my copy of the Wingleader Mk.I issue today to see if I can find good reference photos to perhaps answer your question. EDIT: I am seeing seam lines with a row of rivets just above on the actual aircraft.

 

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited March 24, 2023 by Uncarina

[Gazzas]

26 minutes ago, Uncarina said:

I will dig out my copy of the Wingleader Mk.I issue today to see if I can find good reference photos to perhaps answer your question. EDIT: I am seeing seam lines with a row of rivets just above on the actual aircraft.

 

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

Tom,

     That is a very enlightening photo.  Thank you!  Now we know where they modeled the kit from.

[Iain]

I *think* I'd probably leave it - maybe a small tidy of the joint towards the cockpit end - I think it'll probably look fine under paint...

 

As modellers I think we can all be quite good at overthinking things at times.

 

Iain

[Uncarina]

55 minutes ago, Gazzas said:

 

Tom,

     That is a very enlightening photo.  Thank you!  Now we know where they modeled the kit from.

My pleasure! Just glad to contribute to your awesome build. Two more from Wingleader: 

 

 

 

If anything I’d scribe a vertical line along the third row of rivets on that top piece in case Kotare missed it.

 

Cheers,  Tom

Edited March 24, 2023 by Uncarina

[Gazzas]

1 hour ago, Iain said:

I *think* I'd probably leave it - maybe a small tidy of the joint towards the cockpit end - I think it'll probably look fine under paint...

 

As modellers I think we can all be quite good at overthinking things at times.

 

Iain

 

51 minutes ago, Uncarina said:

My pleasure! Just glad to contribute to your awesome build. Two more from Wingleader: 

 

 

 

If anything I’d scribe a vertical line along the third row of rivets on that top piece in case Kotare missed it.

 

Cheers,  Tom

 

Thanks guys for the help.  Greatly appreciated. 

Tom, not sure about scribing those lines.  None are scribed on the actual part.  Just the rivets.  That's pretty much how they treated the entire aft fuselage.  Questionable to me...  But I really, really hate scribing.  And that's mainly because I mess up so much and it takes me so long to fix all of my tiny mistakes where the tool has deviated from the desired path.

[Uncarina]

Ha! I should have known. Kotare did include this vertical seam.

 

Cheers,  Tom

[Gazzas]

OK...     some enquiring minds minds wanted to know how the Malcolm hood fit in the open position.

The answer is...   like a dream.  Just dry fitted here...

The windscreen seems to want pressing down to fit perfectly.  I got a little paint on the joint, so I'll remove that before I begin sanding.

 

and the engine covers and armored fuel tank cover...  all sweet.

 

And finally...   a solid clear reflector sight.  with no seam running down the middle.  More thoughtful workmanship by Kotare. 

I painted a thin layer of clear green around the outside of the glass reticle to give some depth.  But my crappy photography kind of nullified the effect.

 

[Uncarina]

Your build is making it very difficult for me to refrain from starting mine!

 

Cheers,  Tom