Navy Bird Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Iain (32SIG) said: Out of interest I've just dug out the master I've been working on as a replacement for the one on the 1:32 kit (and to fix the trunking issue...) And - drum roll please - 8.5mm top, 8 (and a tiny bit) bottom - done by eye/approximation - hadn't checked against the real dimensions before as I hadn't been able to find notes. Close enough for government work methinks!! Iain You are THE MAN, Iain!!!! I think this is great confirmation that all these crazy numbers are on track. Amazing, really, when you figure in the uncertainty in the measurements, etc. Cheers, Bill (who has started doing some of the transfers, wingwalk stripes, etc.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Another favor to ask of my fellow Britmodellers: Can someone verify that the anti-glare panel on the top of the forward fuselage (i.e. in front of the canopy) of XN793 is correctly depicted on the box art of the newly re-released 1:48 Airfix kit? If so, it will make the painting it a bit easier! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Ogilvie Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 (edited) Does this help? From http://www.planepictures.net And - from Air Britain And one on airliners.net Curved at the front - I think Airfix artwork may have it as a straight line? All photos of all single-seat marks I have to hand show curved. Iain Edited February 2, 2012 by Iain (32SIG) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 Iain (32SIG) said: Does this help? Curved at the front - I think Airfix artwork may have it as a straight line? All photos of all single-seat marks I have to hand show curved. Iain Thanks, Iain. Airfix shows it as a straight line all the way to the front, but as you say it always seems to be curved in the photos. Just means some more interesting masking. Fun! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted February 2, 2012 Share Posted February 2, 2012 This looks fantastic. On the Alclad sealing thing - I've used klear / future brushed over Alclad many times with no detriment to the polished colours. You can then use the decal solvent of your choice (I use microscale products) with no effect on the Alclad surface. Tremendous work, despite the typically esoteric discussions that follow....! Al Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 2, 2012 Author Share Posted February 2, 2012 PHaTNesS said: This looks fantastic. On the Alclad sealing thing - I've used klear / future brushed over Alclad many times with no detriment to the polished colours. You can then use the decal solvent of your choice (I use microscale products) with no effect on the Alclad surface. Tremendous work, despite the typically esoteric discussions that follow....! Al Thanks, Al! That is very good information to know. I used Alclad Aqua Gloss Clear for the first time yesterday. You have to spray it at a high pressure, I used around 35 psi, and spray a few light-to-medium coats, not a heavy one. As the light coats build up, the finish looks very good, and does not detract from the metallic sheen at all. It did "shine up" the Dull Aluminum, however, but it still looks the part. I added some decals (wing walks, belly tank stripes) and found no concerns with using Micro-Set or Micro-Sol. The Aqua Gloss Clear is milky white in the bottle, but dries crystal clear. Plus, and I found this interesting, you do not shake or stir it prior to application. And, of course, no thinning is required, just shoot from the bottle. Very interesting stuff, indeed. I liked it using it a lot! Alclad says you can also use it as a primer prior to spraying the metal colors, and I'll give that a try later. It seems counter intuitive to me, as you wouldn't normally spray lacquer over a water-based primer. They also recommend it for use as a clear gloss over flat paints, just like we would use Future/Klear. You can also dip canopies in it (haven't tried that yet.) It's a lot more expensive than Future, but I don't mind supporting Tony and his Alclad operation. He's done a lot for the hobby! If you give Aqua Gloss Clear a try, the advice is to immediately clean your airbrush with water. Apparently if this stuff dries in your airbrush or color cup, it can be fun trying to remove it! Although I would think that some ammonia-based glass cleaner would loosen it, but then I'm not a chemist! Cheers, Bill PS. Still struggling with my decision about modifying the nose ring... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Hi mates, Time for another update. It's transfer time! My favorite part, especially when you have the full sheet of tiny 1:72 stencils to drive you bonkers! I took the plunge, and got two very nice decal sheets from Hannants, one with the markings for 92 Squadron, and the other with the generic stencils. Nice printing, you can actually read the stencils, and they're pretty small. The instructions for the stencils are great, even letting you know which ones were only used on the Lightnings in Germany, etc. Plus, I have some good reference pictures of the actual plane which will help with placement. Here what we're starting with: I won't bore you with all of the details of putting these on. I'll just show you what she looks like at the end! The decals reacted perfectly with Micro-Set and Micro-Sol. There is still a lot of work to do, but I think she's coming along fine. I've decided to do a panel line wash of dark grey, I tried my normal grey, but it didn't look any different. Have to go darker. I also need to paint the nose cone green, finish the cockpit, add the bang seat and horizontal stabilizers, etc. And there is still some PE to add, as well, brake lines and gear cover hinges, stuff like that. Fiddly stuff. Heading into the home stretch, only a month or two behind schedule. Oh, and over budget too. Just like a real defence program! Cheers, Bill PS. I'm trying to find a pilot to add, so I won't offend the purists. No luck so far, the only Lightning pilot I could find in my spares was from a P-38. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark M Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 mate this look fantastic, im glad mines finished your looks a lot better im in awe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nirvanagr Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 That's a GREAT model so far! Looking forward to see it finished! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Ogilvie Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Looking good Bill - home straight now!! Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MADMUSKY Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 looking good all that work is paying off,from your latest photos you would swear its the 1-48th cous from airfix, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Lovely stuff Bill, what a difference to what you get in the box!! Stunning little Frightning!! Keef Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 Gorgeous, great scheme on a great build Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted February 4, 2012 Share Posted February 4, 2012 (edited) Another favor to ask of my fellow Britmodellers:Can someone verify that the anti-glare panel on the top of the forward fuselage (i.e. in front of the canopy) of XN793 is correctly depicted on the box art of the newly re-released 1:48 Airfix kit? If so, it will make the painting it a bit easier! Cheers, Bill I very much doubt it Bill - I can't recall seeing anything other then "curved" and note that this doesn't follow the prominent panel line all the way to the nose ring,. now, regarding that - seeing as it was Moi that opened this can o' worms - and some great research there chaps! I rarely measure things to the nth degree - I tend to use the good ole Mk1 eyeball, not always successfully - it has to be said. I'd considered removing plastic at the rear of the ring, to retain the sharp front eges, but that poses further issues regarding width. Removing plastic at the front means you need to sharpen it up. Nothings ever straight forward eh? The other Bill Edited February 4, 2012 by Bill Clark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 4, 2012 Author Share Posted February 4, 2012 Bill Clark said: I very much doubt it Bill - I can't recall seeing anything other then "curved" and note that this doesn't follow the prominent panel line all the way to the nose ring,. now, regarding that - seeing as it was Moi that opened this can o' worms - and some great research there chaps! I rarely measure things to the nth degree - I tend to use the good ole Mk1 eyeball, not always successfully - it has to be said. I'd considered removing plastic at the rear of the ring, to retain the sharp front eges, but that poses further issues regarding width. Removing plastic at the front means you need to sharpen it up. Nothings ever straight forward eh? The other Bill Thanks, Bill. Iain sent some photos that show the anti-glare panel on XN793 was indeed curved. The Airfix box art (which would be much easier to mask!) is not correct. But, no problem, we'll just have to do a more fancy job with the masking. I'm pretty sure that I'm going to leave the nose ring as it is. I don't want to take the chance of cocking it up, not at this stage. It's only off about 0.25mm according to all of our measurements. I will keep this in mind for next time, though! It would most certainly be easier removing from the back of the ring (as you suggest) and thereby saving the clean edge at the front. But all this may be moot, if Academy really does release a 1:72 Lightning this year. On another thread it was stated that Academy made the tooling for the 1:48 Airfix kit, and if true then it seems they would simply scale that down to 1:72. And that would be sweet! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 That is looking cool big time! You do realise, don't you, that this thread has forced me to go and buy a load of 1/72 Lightning stuff to my stash! Martin von Easily Led Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeR Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Lovely job! It's looking very sharp indeed! Mike. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA72 Posted February 6, 2012 Share Posted February 6, 2012 Thanks, Bill. Iain sent some photos that show the anti-glare panel on XN793 was indeed curved. The Airfix box art (which would be much easier to mask!) is not correct. But, no problem, we'll just have to do a more fancy job with the masking.I'm pretty sure that I'm going to leave the nose ring as it is. I don't want to take the chance of cocking it up, not at this stage. It's only off about 0.25mm according to all of our measurements. I will keep this in mind for next time, though! It would most certainly be easier removing from the back of the ring (as you suggest) and thereby saving the clean edge at the front. But all this may be moot, if Academy really does release a 1:72 Lightning this year. On another thread it was stated that Academy made the tooling for the 1:48 Airfix kit, and if true then it seems they would simply scale that down to 1:72. And that would be sweet! Cheers, Bill I'd certainly leave it as it is now! Regarding the "Academy" kit - I'll believe that one when I see the plastic!!. Academy tooling Airfix's Lightning, eh? Hmmmm!! Airfix most certainly had this kit (and the Spitfire 22/4 Seafire 47) tooled in Korea - but by Academy? Even if this was so I wouldn't get too carried away, not after 15 years anyway!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 7, 2012 Author Share Posted February 7, 2012 martin hale said: That is looking cool big time! You do realise, don't you, that this thread has forced me to go and buy a load of 1/72 Lightning stuff to my stash! Martin von Easily Led And that is a good thing! My work now has a more noble purpose, and I can rest peacefully knowing that I have helped spread the Gospel of Teddy Petter to the sacred flock. Thanks Martin! Cheers, Bill (who has restocked his Lightning aftermarket stash in anticipation of completing an F.3 as a companion to the F.2A) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby Posted February 7, 2012 Share Posted February 7, 2012 Really nice job mate! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Hi mates, Sorry for being so late with an update, but I'm afraid I've been out of commission for the past week with a bit of pneumonia. No fun, believe me! I have made some progress, it's getting down to just the fiddly bits, etc. First up was to finish the air brakes. As you can see from this photo, the injection gates from the Trumpeter mould are huge - you must be very careful cleaning this up. Luckily, I have the Eduard PE to cover up the inside surface and add a little detail. At this time I also had a look at the main gear doors. Eduard has you remove the center hinge from the door, and replace with a teeny tiny folded-up PE piece. Which I did, because I am a slave to Mr. Ed. But really, what do you think - does this really add anything to the model? This is detailing for the sake of detailing. Well, check it off the list. I had a look at the in-flight refueling probe from Trumpeter, and it just jumps out at you that they've made yet another big goof. The spotlight molded onto the probe is moulded to the port side, rather than on the bottom as it should be. This would be very difficult to fix by itself, but since I have an extra probe (from the Matchbox kit) I think I can fix it. The Matchbox probe doesn't have the light at all, so I just need to move the light from one to the other. The receptacle on the end of the probe is better on the Trumpy part, so I'll transplant that as well. This should be fine. I decided to do a light panel wash with a medium grey so it doesn't look too stark against the natural metal finish. Here we are starting to apply: I also repainted the bottom edges of the ventral strakes. These are translucent in real life, and I thought I'd have a go at trying to duplicate that. As you may recall, I had originally painted them a light tan color. I decided to paint Gunze Clear Yellow over the top of the tan. The effect is not too bad in real life, but it didn't come through in the photo too well (looks far too yellow). Next up was to mask the canopy in preparation for painting. These were then painted black and set aside. While that was drying, I decided I might as well finish off the bang seat. Using the resin seat that came with the Aires cockpit set, I used the PE belts and handles from the Eduard pre-painted set. I think it came out well for 1:72 scale. Here are two shots posed with my euro buck for scale: So that's it for now. I have to paint the anti-glare panel onto the fuselage, and add all these little bits and we can call it done! Not too long now! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 It's looking great! I've a Trumpy F.3 and the old Hasegawa one and I was thinking I could use the best bits of both plus some scratching to come up with a better Lightening. Still, got loads of other projects to get through!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted February 13, 2012 Author Share Posted February 13, 2012 Nobby said: It's looking great! I've a Trumpy F.3 and the old Hasegawa one and I was thinking I could use the best bits of both plus some scratching to come up with a better Lightening. Still, got loads of other projects to get through!! Hi Nobby, Based on my little project here, kit-bashing is the only way to get an accurate Frightning from the Trumpy kit! After reading through a few of your WIPs, I have no doubt that you can do a fantastic job with your F.3! You are a scratchmeister! Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Lambess Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 wonderfull work ! and glad to hear youre feeling better ! youve inspired me to restart my Trumpy f6 and it would be great if the Mods could make your build a sticky even better could some magazine pay ya to have it reprinted? .....it would tide us over until the Academy kit becomes a reality heres hoping Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
periklis_sale Posted February 13, 2012 Share Posted February 13, 2012 Great work! :clap2: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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