Mitch K Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 (edited) Since I couldn't decide whether to build the RAF Sudan Gladiator in LT3 scheme or the Royal Hellenic Air Force version, I decided to do both in parallel. I rushed out and bought a second Airfix Glad, and made a start. I drilled all the rigging holes at the start (except the ones on the cowling, which are right on the seams and will have to go in later. Airfix provide some witness marks to help with the task, but oddly not for all of the rigging lines shown on the plans. Go figure! The cockpit is quite nice, and to be honest since virtually nothing is going to be visible once it's buttoned up, probably good enough. I added seat adjustment and flap control levers at the sides of the seat, throttle/mixture controls and switch box to the cockpit walls and straps to the seat itself. Oddly, Airfix seem to have got the shape of the hole in the seat back wrong: theirs is round when it ought to be teardrop-shaped. I reshaped it with files and knives, but the straps cover it so you may feel you're not bothered. Otherwise a bit of wash and drybrush is all you need! The machineguns are very unremarkable, but frankly they're all but invisible, so I limited myself to reaming out the barrels and representing the breech with black ink. A couple of ommissions are the crash bar/pad above the instrument panel (stretched sprue will provide) and a gunsight. The latter is missing from the Hurricane too, which seems a bit of a pattern, but since Airfix made a decent fist of a Revi sight in the Bf 109, it seems odd. I'll scratch one up and add it when I button up the fuselage Edited December 11, 2014 by Mitch K 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
philtn Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Looking forward to more pictures Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 The fuselages went together without incident, and with the lower wings and tail surfaces, they're starting to look like Gladiators. The struts fit well, and their location is positive. Airfix have been reasonably canny, and have aligned the seams with panels that would open up on the real thing, which is an approach I wonder people don't use more. The trailing egdes are reasonably sharp, unlike the Hurricane. This shot shows how little you can see in the cockpit, even without the canopy in place. I'll dibble a little filler in next - and it is a little, while moving on to the engine etc. These are flying together! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 After a bit of filler and sanding, I added the engines. I toyed with the idea of adding ignition wires and other gubbins, but decided against it. The engines aren't too bad, but there's rather a lot of mould seams, and they aren't the easiest things to clean up. I sprayed them with aluminium paint, then handpainted the crankcases, pushrod covers and the like, and followed it with a grimy wash. I'm minded to repeat the wash, then give the silver a bit of a drybrush. Here's the crash bars and gunsights. All stretched sprue, with a bit of clear plastic from a pill packet for the reflector unit. And finally, here's a bleeding annoyance: look at the fit of the windscreens! This is the last place I want to start mucking about with filler and wet and dry! Grrr! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Well, take a look at this and then look at your models again: (from BM walkaround) I can't see them well enough from your photo to judge, and I'm not sure whether I'm ambitious enough to go get my example (not yet started) and see for myself! But I thought it might help- and there are some lovely, inspiring, and possibly useful photos in that walkaround, in case you hadn't already been there. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 gingerbob, you can see daylight under the windscreen through a gap that the pilot could cram his fist into! The canopies fit well, and once snugged down sit nicely against the fuselage, but there's about a 20-30 thou gap between the bottom of the windscreen framing and the cowling, on both of mine. You could get it to fit by raising the cowling, but that just transfers the gap to the cowling and puts that join out of alignment with all the other panels. I'll cram it with filler, but it's not an optimal place to be sanding stuff up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 (edited) Don't even think of using conventional filler and sanding down. If you are doing the aeroplanes with canopies closed, i.e. everything one piece, then you could get away with gluing down the sliding section, and then just touching in the gap around the bottom of the windscreen with a little fillet of PVA applied with a cocktail stick cut to a flat 'screwdriver' type end. Two or three applications will do it. Or if you want a more engineering-led approach just shim the relevant fuselage surfaces with little lengths of micro strip. I think your underlying problem is that the lower rear edges of part A3 needed nipping in a bit when glued to the rest of the fuselage. On both kits, looking at the penultimate pic in your post above, it looks as if it has 'relaxed' a bit upon being removed from the mould and has gone wider, and therefore shallower, than it should have been. Squeezing the rear in a bit would have raised the mating surface for the windscreen frame a touch. Edited October 19, 2014 by Work In Progress 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 I didn`t have any problems with mine in that dept. As Work In Progress said the lower edges could come in a bit. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 What I'm going to do is use two-pack epoxy putty, as I use for sculpting on miniatures. I can apply a bead and smooth it like glass with a silicone rubber sculpting tool. It's green so it'll look like the cockpit interior! I think your underlying problem is that the lower rear edges of part A3 needed nipping in a bit when glued to the rest of the fuselage. On both kits, looking at the penultimate pic in your post above, it looks as if it has 'relaxed' a bit upon being removed from the mould and has gone wider, and therefore shallower, than it should have been. Squeezing the rear in a bit would have raised the mating surface for the windscreen frame a touch. I see what you mean, but if those come out wider, then they're wider than the bottom of the middle (what would be the sliding part of the canopy) would be too narrow for the coaming. I'm left with the feeling that it's a problem you can shift to a number of places, but still be left with a problem somewhere! There's bits and pieces like this on the Bf-109E and the Hurricane - you get to chose where the problem you end up with is, but you don't get to not have a problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 The canopy looks like a spurious mould. You know the type when we have a problem with one bit and someone else doesn't encounter any problems etc. etc. I'm of the PVA fill and shape method. I trimmed a bit too much off my Stuka today and filled with PVA in stages then trim excess with scalpel. I had to do this on the Airfix Blenheim in a couple of places. My Gladiator was fine though. IMO all moulds should be crafted by Elves on the third full moon of the year after the crow flies east at sunset. That way everything will fit perfectly. It's true, the Hexworthy pixie said so. Keep going though I'm sure you'll do a better fist of it than mine, abandoned at rigging point for now. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 The greenstuff is now packed into place. It was an easy enough job, because if it isn't perfect, you just dig it out and start again. The downside is the long drying time: you get about an hour of working time out of a mix, but it's still soft (will take a stray fingerprint!) after about six hours. The cowlings went on quite well. I was dreading this, I have to say, but a bit of patience, some cyanoacrylate and a couple of lengths of tape and it went OK. I'm going to need a touch of filler, but I was expecting to use a bucket of filler, so I'm quite chuffed! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 They look nice, may have to get one of these too. Great work All the bestChris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted October 19, 2014 Share Posted October 19, 2014 Just had another thought on this. I have something by Citadel called Liquid Green stuff. You may have heard of it or indeed used it If not then its a fairly thick liquid and I use it to fill fine gaps. I apply with a cocktail stick enough to fill and stand proud of the gap. Allow to dry then rub with very fine W&D then micromesh. Sometimes I finish off with Mr Surfacer 1200 or 1500 (smells funky) whichever number it is before rubbing down. Just another option if needs be 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 19, 2014 Author Share Posted October 19, 2014 Just had another thought on this. I have something by Citadel called Liquid Green stuff. You may have heard of it or indeed used it If not then its a fairly thick liquid and I use it to fill fine gaps. I apply with a cocktail stick enough to fill and stand proud of the gap. Allow to dry then rub with very fine W&D then micromesh. Sometimes I finish off with Mr Surfacer 1200 or 1500 (smells funky) whichever number it is before rubbing down. Just another option if needs be Darby, I've never tried Liquid Green Stuff, but I've heard of it. It gets a "Marmite reception" on the miniature/wargaming boards! For thin gaps I can sand I use ordinary model filler thined with solvent. The smaller the gap, the more thinner I use. It works, but it's not a quantitative process Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Hi Mitch, I was only able to check back today, and it piqued my curiosity, so out came one of my kits. I've just done a test fit of the closed canopy without the bullet-proof glass windscreen (everything held in place) and it actually fit very well indeed. I was thinking along the same lines as "WiP", that your "front tops" might have splayed out a bit- it wouldn't take much! I'm not trying to blame it on sloppy assembly, or anything as incendiary as that, mind. But you're also right that this could easily become a problem that you chase from one fit to another, IF something is allowed to go slightly "not quite right". So, for those who haven't yet done this stage on your Gladiators, do some careful test fitting and think well ahead! The position of the "front top" piece IS critical to getting a good canopy (clear bits) fit, at least if you're doing it with the hood closed. Glad you were able to get it fixed without too much trouble, and to move ahead in general. As for me, this little bit of fiddling with parts shows me that much of the building of this kit will have to happen under my magnifying desk lamp, but I half knew that already. I've got a number of Roden (and even the old one) Glads in 48th, and (cue choir of angels) I even managed to secure a Silver Wings 1/32 one- mine happens to be a Sea Glad, but I wasn't about to be choosy! I fell from "attracted" to totally in love when I got to see the Shuttleworth Gladiator cavorting about the sky one fine May day... bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 20, 2014 Author Share Posted October 20, 2014 Cheers Bob. It probably could have gone awry in the assembly, but I think I've got it back in hand now. I've got the cowlings filled and rough sanded, and I've started on the rigging wires. I'll post some piccies tomorrow, but oh cor blimey! I'd got on OK fitting single aerial wires on Bf109's, and managed the rigging on the Fury, so I thought I would be good to go. There's more wires on one wing than the Fury has on both and the cowling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 One other thing I meant to say: in the process of playing with the pieces I noticed the dreaded Airfix "flow lines (?) on clear part". It probably won't be a problem for me, because they give you choices and I only saw a problem on one, just mentioning it as something else to look out for. bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 One other thing I meant to say: in the process of playing with the pieces I noticed the dreaded Airfix "flow lines (?) on clear part". It probably won't be a problem for me, because they give you choices and I only saw a problem on one, just mentioning it as something else to look out for. bob Interesting. Mine are both fine. It goes to show that there are variations from box to box, and one person's problem might not affect someone else. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 Here they are with the canopies done with greenstuff, the cowlings installed, puttied and sanded and the rigging wires in place. The white stuff is artists' gesso: it shrinks down, covers minor imperfections and sands very easily to a finish like glass. The eagle-eyed among you will spot that I've snapped a cabane strut off: seems to be a habit for me with biplane builds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Well, they're like pitots and blade antennas and the like, only reaching out further to make it easier for you! bob 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Looks as though you solved the canopy fit problem nicely. I swear by Mr Disolved Putty for this type of problem - apply with a paint brush amd if you're careful it won't even need sanding! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 That rigging reminds me of many a fishing exped 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 That rigging reminds me of many a fishing exped Darby, it's 1lb BS Bayer Perlon fishing line, so yeah, that's exactly what it looks like! I ran out and need to get some more - I'll have to swing by a tackle shop, as nothing in my fishing bag is anything like thin enough. Still at a few quid for a 100m spool it ought to build a lot of Gladiators! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darby Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Step away from the tackle shop. What's the betting you come out with more than you intended. I remember back in the early '80s when I had 12oz BS. Now that was fine. I didn't dare use it for anything other than silver bashing on the float. Don't know if that BS is still available anymore. Wouldn't like to hook a tench on it but imagine the rigging you could have. Would be ideal for 1/72 WWI and tiggies I suppose. I have some fine EZ line at present and ended up with more stuck to my fingers and tweezers than at the rigging points. May have to revert to the stretched sprue option next time. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mitch K Posted October 23, 2014 Author Share Posted October 23, 2014 Darby, it's all right, they had some line of the right gauge on the cheap. Plus it's the sort of shop that caters to people who fish for hybrid carp in small ponds, so has very little to tempt an inveterate river angler and sea trout enthusiast Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now