Nick Millman Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 One thing Special Hobby seem to have got confused over is the feed to the guns. They only seem to have one feed tray but there was a tray on each side of each gun, one for the spent cartridge chute which egressed into a pannier in front of the magazines. They have included the spent cartridge chute but not the feed tray outboard of the guns. I'm guessing this wouldn't be seen on the finished model anyway but it explains to anyone puzzled by it why the "feed" doesn't line up with the magazine! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smuts Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 Nice work on the pit..I do keep on looking at this kit may well be on the to get list now! Andy. Nice work on the pit..I do keep on looking at this kit may well be on the to get list now! Andy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 (edited) Plodding on, we now come to the big one, fitting the wing to the fuselage, I spent a lot of time fettling for this one, one side fitted perfectly, the other side was a poor fit, rather than just banging on the CA and then spending days sanding I spent some time cutting and sanding to get abetter fit. This also let me get the correct dihedral, on the "duff" side the wing was way too low. This is how it turned out, the "good" side. The "duff" side Under the nose, just needed a fillet of plastic card and some CA The same for this joint Rather than have a step between the wing and fuselage I inserted some more plastic card fillets here. Cheers Dennis Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire Replaced Photobucket photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 (edited) These are the biggest sanding jobs that I have to do Another strange one to look out for is the tail planes, these have a definate "up" and "down" side, on the plans that I have seen and the kit instructions it is clear which is the "up" side but the locating tabs are the wrong way round, if you go by the tabs you will get it wrong. This is how the plans and kit instructions show them to be Now I'm going back to the sanding ! Cheers Dennis Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire Replaced Photobucket photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Good work with the slivers of card and even more luck with the sanding of the front wing root. My pet hate is sanding those areas on kits as they are invariably difficult to get at and awkward to sand shape-wise - surely there must be a better solution? Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Yes it can be annoying, if the wing root had been extended just a tad it would have been easier, but I suppose it saves me getting bored ! Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted December 18, 2011 Share Posted December 18, 2011 Looking good Dennis, I had to do the same (add spacers to widen the chord and sand off material on the mating surfaces) to the wing on the Special Hobby A5M4 Claude kit to get it to fit as well. Tailplanes on that kit were also a bit off as well. Looking forward to seeing more of your excellent work on this one, and will definately reference it when I build mine! Doug Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 18, 2011 Author Share Posted December 18, 2011 Hi Doug, thanks for the kind words, the SH Claude is sitting on my "imminent" shelf, so when I get to the paint stage on this one and I'm waiting between coats I will probably start that, so I can expect to use the same technique as I have used on this one. It is actually a toss up between the Claude and it's shelf mate the SH Buffalo as to which I start next, at the moment the Claude is just shading it as I will have do some more research on the Buffalo. Cheers Den Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 The filling and sanding went well, I did not lose too much detail, Now to re scribe the missing detail using my Bare Metal scriber and Dymo tape, I had to put some Tamiya tape over the engine as I kept damaging the oil cooler support struts. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted December 26, 2011 Author Share Posted December 26, 2011 (edited) And for the small hatches on the wing I used my Lion Roar scribing template, I use Tamiya tape to block over the bits I am not using (don't want to start scribing the wrong one) and to hold the template in place. And now to restore the panel lines on the nose area and tailplane. Cheers Dennis Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire Replaced Photobucket photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) After destroying several windscreens on the Hawk build I very carefully cleaned up the clear parts and drilled a hole in the windscreen for the telescopic gun sight, the parts were then dipped in Klear and put in the lettuce saver to dry in a dust free environment. And here they are after being left for a day to dry. And in all their glory, didn't break any parts this time. I think I might have to make this hole bigger as I want to leave the gunsight out until after the painting is finished. Cheers Dennis Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire r Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 2, 2012 Author Share Posted January 2, 2012 (edited) Well it's getting to the stage were I will have to decide on the paint scheme, after swopping E Mails with Nick Millman, it would seem that there are three possibilities and colour combinations and that it is very unlikely that we will ever know for sure which is correct, the choices are: a, The kit painting instructions with two colour upper surfaces and light grey/green undersides, the upper colours being painted locally. b. A three colour upper surface scheme with light grey/green undersides, again the upper colours being painted locally. c. Two colours being painted on the upper surfaces with the original grey green as the third component to a three colour upper scheme, with factory grey green undersides. Nick gave me some great information on the colours and which model paints to use for the 3 schemes below is the the paint chips that I have made out to help me decide. If I go for scheme a. I will use #21Midori Iro (Deep Green) and #31 Chakasshoku Tea Brown Colour For scheme b. I will go for #21, #27 Ao Midori Ido (Blue Green) and #31 For scheme c. It will be overall #1 Hairyokushoku finish, with two extra colours on the horizontal upper surfaces only, I will probably go for #21Midori Iro (Deep Green) and #31 Chakasshoku Tea Brown Colour For all three schemes the undersides are the same so I will have up to that point to make my mind up ! Cheers Den Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire Replaced Photobucket photos 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 4, 2012 Author Share Posted January 4, 2012 (edited) With the paint scheme nearly sorted it's time to continue with the build, the wheel halves were glued together the seams sanded and the tyre painted with Humbrol 67, the hub being finished with Polished aluminium, the undercarriage was then assembled, it went together well, I just had to drill the holes in the wheels a bit wider to get them to fit in the spats. Amazingly the assembled undercarriage fitted quite well to the wing, I was left with only a slight gap, this was filled with CA, and then sanded smooth, a slight gap remained but Mr Surfacer 1200 soon took care of that. Cheers Dennis Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire Replaced Photobucket photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr B Posted January 5, 2012 Share Posted January 5, 2012 Nice work ....and really tracking your build........ Kit does not look shake and bake.........quality.............and you are doing a fab job........... Got one ...and it is scheduled to see the light of day in 2012..........along with the Buffalo...........of similar scale/brand Rgds Mr b Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 5, 2012 Author Share Posted January 5, 2012 Nice work ....and really tracking your build........Kit does not look shake and bake.........quality.............and you are doing a fab job........... Got one ...and it is scheduled to see the light of day in 2012..........along with the Buffalo...........of similar scale/brand Rgds Mr b Thanks for that Mr B, the Nate's companion on the kit box artwork (Buffalo) is sitting on the shelf behind me as we speak, I plan to start it once the paint starts to go on the Nate. Cheersd Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 9, 2012 Author Share Posted January 9, 2012 (edited) I'm back, just doing the final bits and pieces before starting to paint, the coaming and the area under the "glasshouse" was painted with Humbrol 79 ready for the clear parts to be attached. The external fuel tanks were made ready to be attached, to give a more solid attachment point, I drilled a hole in the wing and the tank and added some fuse wire, for the forward attachment point I deepened the "groove" in the wing, then as I was worried about showing grey plastic under the tank I painted the bottom of the tank and the wing. Then it went pear shaped, I glued on the "glasshouse" and did a trial fit of the canopy. My first thought was to sand down the "glasshouse" section but it's not the height that's the problem, it's too wide, so a closed canopy is the order of the day, this (see below) has now been sanded smooth and repainted. Cheers Dennis Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire Replaced Photobucket photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADMUSKY Posted January 9, 2012 Share Posted January 9, 2012 Very good work,a lot of effort has gone into it,i cant wait to see it completed in its paint loads of weathering prospects,keep it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Very good work,a lot of effort has gone into it,i cant wait to see it completed in its paint loads of weathering prospects,keep it up Thanks for that, at the moment it's not too much fun but once the paint starts to go on I'll be a lot happier. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moofles Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Shame about the canopy, otherwise cracking looking project. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 My first thought was to sand down the "glasshouse" section but it's not the height that's the problem, it's too wide, so a closed canopy is the order of the day Shame Dennis, but how often have we all experienced that? Otherwise, still looking good Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 Shame about the canopy, otherwise cracking looking project. It's a pity but they had to keep the canopy closed on the ground to keep out the gekko's Cheers Dennis Shame Dennis, but how often have we all experienced that? Otherwise, still looking goodAndy One of the hazards of limited run kits but hopefully it will still look good. Cheers Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DougN Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) Great progress Dennis, I'll certainly be using your build as a reference when I build my Nate. Looking forward to more progress!! Doug Edited January 10, 2012 by DougN Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted January 10, 2012 Share Posted January 10, 2012 Dennis EXCELLENT updates and impressive work so far.. Keep it coming.. HOLMES Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 10, 2012 Author Share Posted January 10, 2012 (edited) Great progress Dennis, I'll certainly be using your build as a reference when I build my Nate. Looking forward to more progress!! Doug Thank you, I'm certainly looking forward to more progress ! but I'd wait until the end before using it as a reference for your build, it could turn into a shocker. Cheers Dennis DennisEXCELLENT updates and impressive work so far.. Keep it coming.. HOLMES And thank you kindly for that, it is nice to know that it's appreciated ! and the armour kit will be started soon. Cheers Dennis Edited January 10, 2012 by spitfire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted January 17, 2012 Author Share Posted January 17, 2012 (edited) I must admit that my initial enthusiasm for this kit is fading a tad, but the start of the painting process is cheering me up a bit, mind you the "dark side" is calling me. Time for some masking tape now that the clear parts are attached and have been blended in (thank you Mr Surfacer 1200). Then on with the paint, this was chosen using the old dodgy eyesight, Nick Millman very kindly sent me some digital paint chips for the underside colour #1 Hairyokushoku, so I duly made some paint chips from the paints that I had and WEM Colourcoats ACJ 12 under surface Grey Green came the closest of the 5 chips that I made out. Thinned 50:50 with Xtracolor thinners and airbrushed at 12-15 psi, it went on really nice, mind you it did show up the wing/fuselage joint a bit. So the Nate is now back on the shelf for a couple of days, so some reading up on British armour is called for, I've blown the dust off my British Armour reference books and will get stuck in Cheers Dennis Edited February 19, 2021 by spitfire Replaced Photobucket photos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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