scrufts Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 Having finally sorted out my airbrush woes and established "dad's private space" i.e. shed I've bought a few airfix kits to play with. During our holiday we went to the Shuttleworth Collection at Biggleswade and having seen the DH88 comet in the flesh, I bought the airfix kit. Oh dear me thinks as it is one of the shortest instruction leaflets I've encountered with simply "heads" in the cockpit and that's it. Having looked over the kit, the canopy seems more suited to a mustang as it has no score lines whatsoever. therein lies the question -do I simply mask off with tape and paint or do I need to score with a scalpel before I paint? Canopies are my nemesis and I spend ages trying to get them right! Has anyone done this kit recently and how did you do your canopy? ta muchly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RJP Posted September 4, 2014 Share Posted September 4, 2014 An old method that works well. Paint a section of decal paper with the same paint you use for the model. When it's dry you can cut it into strips and apply as the framing without masking. Naturally you'll need a surface that will accept the decal strips so a good polishing and a coat of Future in advance will help things adhere. I have also used cellotape in the same way. Attach a strip to a flat sheet of glass. Paint it, let it dry and cut into strips. Apply. The strips can be cut easily with a straight edge and a sharp blade. Apply them overlong and they can be trimmed for length once in place on the model. The decal method works better for me as the tape tends to dry out over time and then it falls off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZKIWI Posted September 6, 2014 Share Posted September 6, 2014 The moulds for this kit date back to about 1957 , the use of Future does improve the clarity . Check your references as I am fairly sure a number of the canopy frames are internal and therefore not the external colour and I cannot figure out if there are the same framelines on each side ? I am also building this kit and would be interested in opinions about the interior colour for the cockpit . From what I can see in photos on the Net G-ACSS appears to be mainly black now , but is this a colour created during restoration ? Would more wood have been evident when it in the 1930's ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrufts Posted September 7, 2014 Author Share Posted September 7, 2014 Kicking myself now as I could have had a look when I was at Shuttleworth ! I'm sure if you emailed them they would help out. (www.shuttleworth.org is the website) Having just had a look their news is that their own comet "grosvenor house" (red one) is back in the skies again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NZKIWI Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 Another point to look at with the Airfix kit is the rudder , the rudder on the real aircraft does not appear to extend below the elevators , unlike Airfix , Frog appear to have this correct though the nose transparency for the landing light is too big , while Airfix simply does not have one at all . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 Hi scrufts, I've just bought this kit and you are right, the canopy is woeful. I think I might try smash molding a new one tbh. I've cut out the cockpit area and added a smidge of detail plus I'm planning on using two spare Chipmunk jockeys to pad the opening out a bit (and disguise the lack of anything inside). In addition to the canopy, there are a few shape issues that I've found too. The spine of the fuselage behind the canopy is quite sharp but appears softer on the full sized aeroplane. Also, the crease line along the fuselage flanks forward of the canopy appears to follow an almost straight line whereas the real one slopes down in a graceful arc. Not deal breakers but worth thinking about perhaps? Cheers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scrufts Posted September 18, 2014 Author Share Posted September 18, 2014 I've now built the kit -my oh my what a handful. First of all I decided to "scalp" the pilots as the heads look soooo unrealistic and will paint the cockpit area matt black. The wings and the engines all had large gaps in them after fixing and the starboad tailwing was so wonky that I had to cut the tab, do a bit of sanding on the fuselage and attach via superglue. I used filler on the wings and the engine "pods" -no sanded down and have got to 1000 grade, nice and smooth. The plan of action is to get some primer on, have another gloss inspection and if all looks good then I'll go for a spray of Brunswick green and see how she fares..... It is the worst airfix kit I have built to date but having seen the real thing with such smooth lines I'm determined to finish the bl**dy thing! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Lol! Reading your account of the build had me laughing scrufts as I'm in the middle of building one and feel your pain. Have you finished her? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Been there, done that and have one in the stash! As has been pointed out, it is from 1957, but the graceful deHavilland lines shine through, (well mostly!). One of the joys I had with this model was that all that was really needed was to smooth out all the panel lines for a great result. I too decapitated the pilots heads and painted the resulting shelf black. My next one will be a bit more detailed... How about some photos? & congratulations on establishing some private space, long may it last! Christian the Married and exiled to africa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted October 16, 2014 Share Posted October 16, 2014 Sever the 'heads,' do a cursory scratch cockpit, rub her smooth all over (the model I mean), polish, prime, rub, spray and admire. That would be my plan of action, however most of my best laid plans end up as custard. Good luck Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted September 24, 2015 Share Posted September 24, 2015 or just sit back and wait tiill Airfix bring out a new DH88 in 1/72 and 1/48. It would make sense to do both as so much time money and effort would be done in the R + D. While Airfix is about it they could do the same for the Supermarine S6B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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