ProfSparks

Hi All Snuck into the Lab while no-one was looking Thanks, good catch ! Must admit to being more interested in the pretty pictures than the words. (And thanks to Microsoft for Spell Check.) Anyhoo, only way to get these circling thoughts out of my head was to get on and do it. Marked up the ends of the brace bits so they were identifiable once cut and cut them Ever had what Douglas Adams would call an Ely? Regardless, I brazenly channeled Mr W. Heath Robinson into a jig for holding the wings steady while I glued the strut assembly into the lower surface of the upper wing (other soups are available) All nice and square Then flipped it all over, and glued the cut out spacer parts into the upper surface of the lower wing. That's how it rests tonight. Best outcome is the struts are easily removable from the lower wing. However, chances are I've glued everything solid, and will have to smash it apart to get them separated again. Comments and suggestions for a better way to do all this welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Sorry for the hiatus, real life etc. Been thinking about the wing struts and general rigging. This is what Airfix have, where the struts are joined upper and lower I'm hoping to detach the lower piece between the struts and blend it into the wing, glue the struts into the upper wing in one piece and see how it goes. But first have to rig the cross wires as I doubt I'll be able to get in there once the struts are in position. Got ten 0.2mm drills from China, £2.40 including postage! And rigged with that 0.074mm fishing line They're not perpendicular to the wings, so some fettling will be needed That's it for now, roll on January! Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Flying visit to The Lab! Had a quick go at cleaning up the parts prior to painting. Those old Airfix fellas like belt AND braces on their sprue gates But never mind, I took the plunge and started glueing the interior in, with a dry fit of the minimalist IP. That corner will have to come off to allow the MG to poke through the cowling. Wait, scratch build two guns now ? Hey ho, onward with the fuselage coming together. A slight fly in the otherwise cloudy ointment is the access for fitting the glazing to those carefully hacked out Bomb Aimer's windows. I thought I might be able to fit them down from inside the pilot's area, but looking at it closed up I think not now. So the area where the lower wing attaches was cut open Should be alright now. That being sorted, the IP got a wash of matt Black 33 with the instruments picked out in satin Coal Black 85, as there are no decals Is it just me, or has it the look of a Deadly Spider about it... ? Regardless, I've started joining the two halves together where they touch, and will be working along it in due course. Thso. Back to the subject of paint and markings finish. Excellent insight, thanks Black Knight, no roundels on the bottom then (but why would day fighters have a black under-surfaces?) Also, the Taranto Raid Swordfish are depicted in various schemes, with a letter on the fuselage https://www.gov.uk/government/news/navy-commemorates-70th-anniversary-of-battle-of-taranto And without http://worldwartwodaily.filminspector.com/2016/11/november-12-1940-molotov-takes-berlin.html (A shot down Swordfish being recovered, about a third of the way down) Is the jury still out. Anyhoo, evidence notwithstanding, I'm going for the A04053 scheme. But probably the letter not on the fuselage, but possibly smaller on the tail fin? And possibly narrow Red/White/Blue stripes on there too? This Gift Set seems to be a gift for someone you don't like. Comments, suggestions, and a better idea welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Just another quickie. Reading through the many varied accounts of this aircraft (initiated by stevehnz and Black Knight, thanks guys ), there seems to be a consensus that at least some of the aircraft was painted black. However, there is enough indication on both sides of the "Underside vs All over" black as to make neither finish definitive . One thing is for sure though, this aint it! (Apart from this showing a Mk.I, whereas the actual kit parts are Mk.II ) Anyhoo, I'm going to plump for the "Just the underside repaint" camp (as there's a shed load of greys to use with this multi boxing), and it looks more interesting than all over plain black. Here's a convenient scheme, looks like it's from A04053 ( the bottom right corner), but the actual kit doesn't support this assumption? Quiz time again... Where would this differ from the potential 825 Squadron repaint? I'm thinking mostly about the waistline, the roundel type and position, the code letters size and location, and the tail flash? Is this as close as I'd hoped or should I look elsewhere? But enough pontification. The internals turned out ok with a lick of paint, they'll be straightened out and tidied up once installed I'll raise the pilot seat too. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Squeezing a time window in here Thanks Steve, so I can do it either way and no-one will ever know The cockpit has received some extra struttage And looks slightly less fictional. Ok, so I went and cut the windows out too They are right on the front of the cockpit floor, so the offending corners were removed It should look ok in there, as it'll be dark, and small, and hidden behind a wing brace Where the control cables emerge from the rear of the fuselage also received some attention. with the small bulges being cut from a cotton bud stalk I'll blend them in a bit so they don't look so angular, but no time this time Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hey up! This might shed some light on the shape (from BM's own walkaround section) Swordfish Mk.I W5856, of the Royal Navy Historic Flight, pics thanks to Mark Mills. However, from the same thread comes Fairey Swordfish II HS618 at the Fleet Air Arm Museum. Pics thanks to Mish. What to do? Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Hi Tony, let me know if you need any resistors, I've about a gazillion of them. All ISO centres from 1/4W to 10W, and just about anything else you'd need to fix a radio or "Music Centre" from the mid-80's. Hi Martian, I'm planning to replace that bulkhead eventually, honest. Those curiously shaped windows, I've seen them on some walkarounds, but not all? Would they be on this MkI for torpedo runs? Airfix make no indication of them on the kit But there again, they omitted the entire arrestor hook Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Those of a nervous disposition should probably look away now, things got a little... agricultural... Starting from here My plan was to replace the pilot's headrest and skin the rear interior to cover the gaps. There again, might as well take the centre bulkhead out and replace it However, looks like Eugene is a little low, and so is the rear interior deck (couture headgear for demonstration purposes only) This is where it gets iffy. I cut a piece of plastic card to get a better idea of the level it looked like it should be Encouraged, I roughly marked it out Drilled a couple of guide holes And got an approximation of what I was after Most of the rest of the kit interior was removed, and those ubiquitous resistors were pressed into service again to provide a hint of internal bracing Guide holes sunk into the original floor And the bent wire CA'd in It sort of looks ok-ish from a distance, and I'm hoping I can live with it at least until I can get a coat of paint on it all and see how it turns out I'm hoping not much of it will be seen once it's buttoned up. Sorry if I've put anyone off their tea. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Thanks Ced, that's the plan I got the hook placement from! Got a couple of resistor leads as the hook 'arms' And split a cotton bud shaft for the hooky bit on the end So hopefully it'll all come together under a coat of paint To be a reasonable whatsit. Going to bone up on cockpits (that doesn't sound right?), back soonish after work. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Hmm, yeah, don't quite know what it's doing an impression of! Thanks Tony, those little engines are beautiful! I'll keep the page bookmarked for later, depends on how the rest of it turns out. Also those Lewis are a kit in themselves, again bookmarked. You wrote a book on them? Bugger. No pressure then. There's a scheme indicated, but as it shows a MkII (and the Pup scheme was quite a way off too), I may tap you for images and whatnot when it comes to covering up the filler. Bear in mind it will be sprayed with the included lumpy snots... Thanks Martian, I'm beginning to see it's not going to be as straight forward as the Pup. However, I'm going to tackle it with the same cavalier approach that saw me through my previous builds, ie a naive belief that nothing I do will have any lasting repercussions. Akin to a kid with a pile of scrap paper and a box of old crayons. Here I sit with my tongue out, trying to colour between the lines, keeps me quiet on a rainy afternoon. It might go on the fridge door for a couple of weeks, but if not, then there's another another scrap of paper, another cheap old mould multi boxing, and another rainy afternoon. Anyhoo, on with the wrangling The internals are sparse, and will need some attention as they're quite exposed But they can wait. First, that missing hook. Going by photos and some online plans, it looks like it would make sense for it to attach at a strong point on the fuselage, so a guide was marked out. The end falls right on the locating lug for the halves. Just as well it's coming off, as the fit isn't that inspiring. Taped over, holes were drilled at the extremes And the channel cut out with a junior hacksaw blade I figure I can cover over the back inside the fuselage and it should give me enough recess depth to fit the gubbins. It's not a prominent part when it's on its wheels, but should give an impression of the real thing. A bit like that engine! Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Moving right along, next out of the box is the 1982 interpretation of the MkI Fairy Swordfish, A02071. This aircraft subject was flown by Lieutenant Commander Eugene Esmonde In February 1942, in an operation known as "The Channel Dash". I'm going to be making a couple of assumptions along the way, and would appreciate input from those who know better before I get too far ahead. His plane was a MkI and didn't have any radar trickery, or metal covering the lower wing outers to mount rockets (so I needn't worry about those ejector pin marks on the carriers)? Wait, is that meant to be a Lewis...? That one piece engine and cowling combo is very frugal for the part count, as is the interior Eduard has a PE set for the new one, but I'm guessing it still needs the interior detail in there to start with? https://www.eduard.com/store/Aircraft-and-helicopters/1-72/Swordfish-S-A-1-72-1.html?lang=1 And can't see any mention of an arrestor hook anywhere... Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All This is the first kit from the Airfix 1/72 "100 years Of Naval Aviation Collection" A50105. Flown by Squadron Commander Edwin Harris Dunning, this Sopwith Pup was the first aircraft to be landed on a moving ship on 2nd August 1917. It's built mostly straight from the box, but with a tripod mounted Lewis firing through a slot in the upper wing, rigging with fishing line, and some detailing to the cockpit and landing gear. Sprayed with the included acrylics, except the wood that was brush painted over with some old gloss clear orange I had. WIP here http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235023949-airfix-100-years-of-naval-aviation-collection/& Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All On the home straight now! Tail feathers on and rigged Crossed cables (for lifting?) There are some loops of what look like rope hanging from the lower wing and fuselage, these were made from short lengths of thread and stuck on with CA gel. I couldn't get the glue any smaller, and it still looks huge this close up Anyhoo, got the Lewis in! That looks huge too, but will have to do in lieu of a decent scale item. But there again, it was my first scratch build, and so it deserves standing out Finally, the last three parts And suddenly it's as good as finished! Just a bit of tidying up to do, then I'll get it across to RFI. Thanks for all your help and support, a most enjoyable little project, even though it seems like I've spent 100 years building it! Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve ps RFI here http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235026194-airfix-172-sopwith-pup-100-years-1/

Hi All Thanks Ian, more of that later... So, having set the legs akimbo, time to put on it's boots not too lop sided either! out with some string That's a bit of luck, seems to be almost central. Now to the part I must admit I've been dreading for some time You will notice that's a different tripod, it's the third. First one was all going well, but was just a little too long on one leg. You know when you've a chair that wobbles, and you cut off a tiny bit from one of the legs, but it still wobbles a bit, so you cut off a tiny bit from one of the other legs, and the process repeats until you've turned it into a foot stool? I couldn't fit the Lewis to the foot stool. The second was the right shape and length and everything, but slipped down inside the cockpit. It rattled for a bit while I tried to get it out, but has since been silent. I hope it's happy in there. So here we are, Jaws music playing in my head, steely eyed like a Western gunfighter, and in it slots It was so nice as a practice, that I left it there and dropped the tiniest bead of CA on the front of the front leg. I painted it black so it looks like a mounting foot (through the slot in the upper wing, just like painting your hall from through the letterbox), and I hope that'll be enough to keep it located. I'm keeping the Lewis off until the last moment, as I know I'll just smash it off later. I must be half way by now, only the engine and tail section to install and rig. No pressure. Comments and suggestions welcome Cheers Steve

Hi All Just passing through, but managed to bend a couple of bits of wire into a tripod shape for the Lewis I've left the front leg long to cut back once I can get the angle. On first fitting, it looks like my home grown gun may be a tad large, so may be on the search for a replacement. While that is solidifying, I had a go at the landing gear. I first tried to assemble it all and attach it as one, but it was having none of it, so I used the lower cross brace thingie to get the spacing and just glued them in individually. I'll let that settle and come back to it all a little while later. It's all getting a little delicate in there, and that's only the half of it! How do you guys hold these things and not keep snapping things off?? Comments, suggestions and slender fingers welcome. Cheers Steve