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Showing results for tags 'self flagellation'.
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Over the holidays, I was tidying my stash, and discovered a Merlin 1/72 Fulmar purchased in 1991, for £6.95. A product of the early garage-industry limited run injection process, it is molded in a waxy white plastic, with semi-opaque parts that represent the canopies. All surrounded by so much flash that carving the parts to shape is the first thing required, after sawing the parts from the huge sprues. There are decals, but the less said, the better. A good three-view is provided, and it is absolutely necessary if one is to believe this could represent a Fulmar. Easy to understand why it was never started, once the Pegasus version, and then the Vista/Airfix/Smer/Revell appeared. Obviously, this should be one for the bin, but I am possessed occasionally by excited delerium, and in this state of mind I decided to see if anything resembling a model aircraft could be produced. The two fuselage halves do not exactly line up, and the solid wings have a slight bend. The canopies would be useless, except that they are so thick, that inside their form can be discerned something of the original shape. The wings, after hot water treatment and much sanding, were straightened. The fuselage halves were roughly aligned, mating surfaces sanded flat, then glued together. The canopies were sanded extensively to fit their apertures, and lightly glued in place. They were then sanded to match the airframe contours, removed from the model and polished to give a semblance of clarity. Turning to the wings, having decided to try to represent a folded wing Fulmar, each wing was cut into three pieces. The stub wings were pinned with brass rod, and glued in place, as were the horizontal tail and vertical pieces. And that is where we are today. Next up, some scratch built cockpit invention/detail and paint, then re-attachment of the canopies. More to come.........
