Spad

Hi Could somebody point me at a decent paint match for the Air UK blue as used on the Herald? I have the Eastern Express example (which looks lovely, though ready to be corrected!! 😁) Thanks in advance ATB Rick

I am not 100% but pretty certain that Oxford Blue and Roundel Blue are not the same - Oxford is much deeper (darker?) Open to be corrected!

That is so nice! Congrats - love it!

Thanks for the kind comments Ryedale Wolf! I did get logo and dial decals but the looked pretty grim - I will put them on as it does look kind of naked without at least the tank badges. The wheel/tyre is airbrushed Alclad Chrome and the tyres are brush painted white and a home-brew tyre black - no masking. How are you getting on with sticking it together? Mine is in a weird plastic - felt kind of soapy and took ages for the cement to melt it and get a good bond. Especially the fork to lower yoke joint - took several re-applications of various liquid poly before it took! ATB Rick

Nice build Galgo - great finish but a shame the kit has this apparent shortcoming. And well done Aeronut22 - well spotted! 👍

Well, I managed it - here it is at Sculthorpe last Sunday.......sorry about the picture quality, not my shot Screenshot 2023-02-05 Sculthorpe Heritage Centre by Rick Smith, on Flickr Here's a slightly better shot with my phone - proper pixwill be in RFI later Finished article by Rick Smith, on Flickr Spad signing off Over and out Rick

Thanks James - so do I tbh! 😄

Thanks Corsairfoxfouruncle! You betcha James (81-er!) This one is being finished in time for the Sculthorpe show on the 5th!

I have. I learned it from a car modeller mate of mine. Examples are this Hasegawa Toyota Corolla WRC car - the only paint is the white and the decals were like cardboard - literally! Even the green around the rear bumper was decal! Also this WestPac 737 with Colorado Springs sponsorship - the markings all over the rear fuselage and fin are all decals which were stiff and felt thick but ended up giving in and conforming to the surface detail beautifully I also had great success with the legendary dayglo decals in the Airfix Jet Provost - if you look close you can see it went down into the panel lines and even around the tip tank filler caps IMG_7604 by Rick Smith, on Flickr IMG_7605 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Give it a go - just keep it on a low heat and watch the decal - as soon as it shows a change (maybe wrinkling etc) take the heat away and add decal sols ATB - and sincere apologies for the thread hi-jack. Rick

Well, I am going to have to admit defeat on this one as well. The issues I mention in the T.7 build took most of my attention over the last couple of weeks. This one also got stalled by me being stupidly flumoxxed by the seemingly endless range of camo schemes worn by the Meteor F.8 - no 2 seemed the same! I managed to get the fin masked and a coat of Dark Sea Grey Xtracolor onto it.T The question of camo pattern then ran straight into my OCD which effectively stopped me progressing while I chased around in circles trying to decide! Being unable to locate any period pics of the genuine aircraft I eventually (late!) decided to replicate the scheme on the preserved example at City of Norwich Museum reasoning that the museum must have had some references on which to base their spray job. I am not sure but it looks as if that aircraft may have had a respray! I think I'm seeing 2 camo patterns on it in different pics.... Oh well, I have now settled on the kit camo scheme as at least that is consistent across the 3-views. I did manage to get the gunsight/windscreen sorted out and fitted plus masking onto the canopy - you ca see most of this in this pic. IMG_0238 by Rick Smith, on Flickr You can see I also got some HSS on the underwing tanks and elevators; the latter will be installed slightly drooped as they seem to appear in that state in most pics. Sad to report that's as far as I got with this one - bit of an over-reach on my part doing 2. Note to self, be realistic and be on time for the start! As with the T.7, I will still continue to post progress either here (if it stays open to do so) or in a WIP thread. So until next time, it's been fun, has driven a form of discipline in my building and has been good to see other's builds and to learn much about the Meatbox Thanks to the hosts! Bye for now ATB Rick

All the very best Bob for you and your wife (and horse). Like Bill (Navy Bird) I have also been through chemo (for lymphoma) and, it's no fun at all, I feel for her. But if the prognosis is good then it suddenly becomes a whole load more bearable and worth it in the end! See you on the next build! ATB Rick

Despite all of the messing about with the TT stripes, I did manage to get the windscreen sorted by using the kit part. I added a piece of .010x .030 Evergreen strip to replicate the DV quarterlight in the left side panel after first dipping the part in Klear to try to protect it from glue fogging. Partially successful - we'll see when the masking comes off. I also managed to get some coats of Xtracolor High Speed Silver onto the topside but this, dear friends, is where I ran out of time for this GB. I came to this GB a bit late, hot off the back of a couple of car builds that I finished in about 5 weeks total, in time for for the SIG display at SMW so thinking this might be a new "me". I have to admit to biting off a bit too much with this and an F.8 - the (not so?) latent OCD got the better of me in the end! 😄 Anyway, this is where I got to by the deadline: IMG_0225 by Rick Smith, on Flickr I will continue to show progress as long as this thread is allowed to be added to and the finished article will eventually appear in the RFI section. Until then, I would like to thank DENNIS, JOCKNEY, & Marklo for hosting this GB - much fun, many things learned about Meteors and some really excellent builds on here - well done all! Until next time (when I might be a little less ambitious!) Thanks for watching ATB Rick

So near and yet so far. Sadly, I am not going to be able to make the deadline peeps.....🤨 A combination of life pressures (boo!) and painting issues have conspired against me. It started when I noticed an error in the paint pan on the Xtradecal sheet which positions the foremost black stripe too far forward. It would have you place the stripe so it bisects the nose gear bay - in itself not a huge issue but the trouble is that would mean black sections on the rear nose gear doors which, in reality, doesn't happen according to any pics that I can find of Leuchars T,7s. Call me pedantic but the stripe had to move rearwards. I then noticed that it was narrower than the others by about 3mm (1/8") so I masked yet again and widened the band. While at it, I added the yellow box under the wings for the serials and a box for the roundels which I noticed while studying pics for the stripes. Most of this is visible in this Air Britain pic of a very dilapidated WA725. https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/view/1738035 And this is the result of all of this masking and re-masking shenanigans! Compare with the pic a couple of posts above - I'm sure you will see the difference.. IMG_0233 by Rick Smith, on Flickr What a complete fustercluck! Oh well, onwards and upwards.

Stunning work and superb attention to detail. I really like the way you add the list of materials used - inspirational! ATB Rick

Haha! Looks like you had the class all sewn up - you didn't by chance build the silver medal winner.....!??! 😉 😄 Both very worthy winners!

Nice work indeed! Love the detail in the pilot's posture. Regarding the decal stiffness, have you tried using a hair dryer on them? It tends to soften the decal and changes the way it responds to softener. ATB Rick

I can honestly say that must be the best looking Bulldog I have laid eyes on, in any scale. Very well deserved wins, so pleased you persevered and brought it here for us. ATB Rick

That is quite lovely, Great job! Looking forward to this year's model(s) 😉 Is that a dayglo orange? If so may I ask what paint you used? ATB Rick

Lovely result and looked pretty much like a drama-free build! 👍 Thanks for sharing this - one thing this GB has taught me is how little the basic design of the Meteor really changed all the way from this prototype right through to the final night fighters. Shows how good (and adaptable) the initial concept was, I guess..

Well, I'm still plugging away with this one. I took Corsair's suggestion and added a thin coat of Xtracolour Golden Yellow over the original coat of Trainer Yellow. After a couple of frantic hours masking I got some Nato Black stripes on and here is the result. I sprayed the Golden yellow with the ventral tank in place - you can see here the difference in the colour shade quite starkly demonstrated with the tank removed. IMG_0223 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Quite happy with the colour itself (thx Corsairfoxfouruncle) so next painting step is to mask off and get the HSS topsides on. Before that I need to get the windscreen on - I like to paint the fixed portions attached to the model as they are, after all is said and done, a part of the aircraft structure. I also need to mask off a bit of the black area to re-apply a section of yellow to create an oblong to go around the underwing serials - silly me for got to do this earlier - just shows, rushing doesn't really pay off! Hopefully more to show tomorrow. Night all! ATB Rick

Thanks James! Since that last pic I have come along in leaps and bounds (well, by my standards anyway!) As you can see, I have the deep breather intakes on and because they are so much bigger and details can be seen inside, there is an engine in the nacelle. I had to get it painted and fitted at this stage as I wanted the cover on the starboard side. Port side and the port gun cover will be off so the engine this side can be left a little longer. I also took the tip/suggestion from Retired Bob and used the spare starboard tailplane from the T.7 build to avoid the much discussed short-shot trailing edge on the port side. To do this the square panel was filled and 4 small access panels scribed to replicate the original topsides. Started to get some yellow onto the fin but I think it needs a further coat yet. I have also removed the little fairing under the rear fuselage (no TT capability on the CO's aircraft!) and filled and rescribed the odd depression under the cockpit section. Needn't have worried too much as most of it is covered by the ventral tank - oh well! IMG_0205 by Rick Smith, on Flickr That's largely it for the moment - more paint next! Maybe I'm going to make it!?! ATB Rick

It looks terrific and such a quick build - very sharp. Seeing alongside the Airfix F.8s it makes me wonder if the T.7 undercarriage was researched from a retired aircraft where the oleos have settled over time? e.g. this one? https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7877904

Wow! Amazing progress - what? 3 days, 4? And great detail in the cockpit as well. Watching closely as I have the same kit - it looks good but your progress is giving me additional hope!

Well, that was a busy night - got loads done! Yeah right! This is what the last 10 days have yielded by way of progress. Both ends of the fuselage resin parts added. A fair amount of sanding, filling with superglue and talc, more sanding and some rescribing. Makes it sound really bad, right? Not at all tbh - it's a great conversion set, fits well and panel lines match to the donor kit. Not a 'shake n bake' by any means but where's the fun in that eh!? Added the narrow intakes as befits the T.7 and went with the larger tab ailerons. Following comments I read elsewhere in this GB, I filled the panel lines on the intakes as they do seem to be pretty smooth on the real thing. As it is a TT configured aircraft I left the little fairing in place under the rear fuselage. This seems to be a housing for an electrical connector, associated in some way with the TT function. Got some colour on as well - my old faithful tin of Precision Fluoro Orange came to the fore as ever. I love this stuff and have a number of tins, all dating from the mid 80s IMG_0208 by Rick Smith, on Flickr Masking orange and adding yellow is next I think - just as long as I can find peace with the shade of yellow to use! Night all! Rick

Thanks for that Aerotechi. That looks like a scheme as used on Canberras (100sqn and Llanbedr for example) so maybe too recent? Thanks Don - that seems pretty unequivocal to me and good point about the fading in service Much to muse on!