heloman1 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Looks like a good kit glitches aside. Airfix wise recently, I've built the Vampire and Gnat and had no issues with either. Best kit of recent times for my is the 48th Lynx. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I don't think the Airfix moulds are made in China anymore. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viscount806x Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I wouldn't be surprised if they investigated a deal with a European producer closer to home. Please God not Heller again though..... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sloegin57 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Please God not Heller again though..... I feel your pain !! Dennis Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 (edited) More grist for the mill: I shall attach mine with white glue, so I can replace it when I ask Airfix for a replacement..... OK, so the goal last night was to get the fuselage completed. First, I had to attach the various sub-assemblies in place. The intakes and intake trunking were already I place, but I had to add the camera windows. These were not a good fit as the fuselage moulding is thicker than the window piece. The answer was to dremel back the window rebates even further: The cockpit and front wheel well are supposed to be glued together prior to attachment, but it all seemed very awkward when I dry-fit them, so I decided to leave them apart. Even so, the fit is not very positive and it took a bit of fiddling before I got them satisfactorily in place. Don't forget to add noseweight - Airfix recommends 2 grams; I added three small, squashed fishing weights in and around the front nose bay. The jet pipe, on the other hand, is a very positive fit. Here's an interior view before closure: Closing up the fuselage wasn't as easy as the previous dry-fitting had indicated - I think the cockpit tub is slightly off-kilter and fouled the fit. A little manouevring did get things straightened out enough for clamps to close up everything. Even so, the fit along the top fuselage seam is not clever and needed a bit of work to get it sorted. It'll still need a bit of filler, I think. The fuselage dried up overnight, so job one this morning was getting the wings on. Once again, initial dry-fit indicated no problems, but the addition of all the sub-assemblies complicated things and there was a nasty gap on the port forward wing root area: Some fettling and fiddling revealed that the intake trunking is the culprit, so some sanding ensued. When this didn't cure the problem, I went for a more drastic trimming with a scalpel - mistake!! That'll teach ne to take a bit more care with sharp, new scalpel blades - I suppose I ought to be grateful that it wasn't my finger.... Still, with the wing on, the hole doesn't show at all, and the gap has disappeared. Moral - sand down the outside of the intake trunking in that area BEFORE attaching to the fuselage, to help prevent this issue. So the wing has now been attached and it under clamps. Fit is otherwise excellent, aside from a little gap at the rear: Edited November 28, 2014 by Paul Bradley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 I don't think the Airfix moulds are made in China anymore. Hi Dave, India so I've heard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted November 28, 2014 Share Posted November 28, 2014 Hi Dave, India so I've heard. Yep, that's what i was told as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 28, 2014 Author Share Posted November 28, 2014 That's what it says on the box - Made in India. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 That's what it says on the box - Made in India. Yep, they are injected in India, but there seems to be a perception that Airfix get the tools made in China, then produced in India. From what I understand, they haven't done that for some years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 Just a quick update. Did some minor seam clean-up on Friday afternoon with Mr. Surfacer 1000; fit was pretty good overall. I sprayed on a coat of PRU Blue on the undersides last night. This morning, I masked off the undersides, then put down a coat of Dark Sea Grey. Once dry and set for a while, I masked off the DSG and sprayed a coat of Dk. Green. Some minor touch-ups to be done, but not looking too bad: The surface detail is pretty good - perhaps not quite up with the very best in the business, but they are getting there. I think I'll dark wash some of the grilles and so forth, then use a dark grey/brown wash on the other lines. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 It's looking good but boy are you having to work for it! I'll be giving this one a miss I think, it looks too much like hard work for my limited assembly skills and patience. Duncan B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Jones Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 No real need to Dremel out the nose to fit the camera windows on a Swift, they were recessed on the actual aircraft , with a sliding shutter that covered them. http://www.philsaeronauticalstuff.com/supermarineswift/swift_01.jpg Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT'71 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 This does appear to be needing as much work as a vacuform I built 20 odd years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PLC1966 Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Looks fine to me. A decent, honest review, highlighting things to look for, however, there is little a half decent modeller need steer away from what I can see. I am looking forward to getting one in the New Year. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamS Posted November 29, 2014 Share Posted November 29, 2014 Please God not Heller again though.....Oh I dunno - I'm sure we all remember that absolute masterpiece of model engineering and accuracy that was the 1/72 Concorde........ Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 (edited) It isn't a fall-together kit by any means, but it isn't that bad! Sorry if I'm giving that impression, but I'm just trying to highlight some of the issues with construction that I am finding. Like many of the new Airfix kits, there are tight tolerances in the fit of the parts, and that can have a knock-on effect. Once the skilled modellers on this site get their hands on this kit, they really show its true potential, I'm sure. Until then, you'll have to put up with my efforts.... Edited November 29, 2014 by Paul Bradley 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 29, 2014 Author Share Posted November 29, 2014 No real need to Dremel out the nose to fit the camera windows on a Swift, they were recessed on the actual aircraft , with a sliding shutter that covered them. http://www.philsaeronauticalstuff.com/supermarineswift/swift_01.jpg Andrew Cheers for that. I'm not sure the recess is as much as it would have appeared had I not worked on it, though. Airfix does give the option for solid covers, BTW - I decided to go with the clear ones, as that's what you associate with a PR a/c. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 Moving on.... Fit of the tailplanes is a little slack - I needed a little putty to fair them in, then scribed the seam back in - the Swift had pivoting tailplanes. Take care with the main undercarriage legs - the fit is a little loose. They should have a slight forward rake and if you get them in place properly, they will do that. With the front leg, I needed to sand back the ends of the 'pivot' to get it to slot into place. The bottom of the leg is split and the wheel is separate. Hubs on all the wheels are fairly detailed but nothing special. Watch the main inner doors - the way they fit is shown in the instructions and is a little counter-intuitive. I think there's something not quite right about the nose. I say this because the nose gear cover, in the open position, should fit nicely along the underside of the nose with just a slight gap at the front only. Airfix's doesn't. No matter how I dry-fit it, there was a substantial gap at one end. I tried to compromise by having a smaller gap at the front and at the back. While I hesitate to pass a firm judgement based solely on photos, I think the upslope of the underside of the nose is off a little - a little 'bulged' perhaps. I'm sure Swift experts can chime in here. With the undercarriage on, and paintwork touched up, I added a coat of Future ready for decals tomorrow. The end is in sight. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 The cut out for the nose wheel bay at the front looks wrong to me. Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 (edited) With the nose gear door, I think there are two things going on that have resulted in a non-prototypical look. First the thickness of the kit door is overscale. Second, and as illustrated by the picture at the link (http://plane-crazy.k-hosting.co.uk/Aircraft/Jets/Swift/Swift-FR5-WK281.jpg), on the real aircraft the door hinges move the door substantially beyond the edge of the wheel well, which the kit hinges don't do. Airfix provide a second door without hinges for use to depict the undercarriage retracted. If you position that door where it appears in the photo, the result looks much better. Edited November 30, 2014 by VMA131Marine 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Van Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 This does appear to be needing as much work as a vacuform I built 20 odd years ago. So on the Airfix Swift you have to cut all the parts from a sheet of plastic-create a cockpit tub and wheel wells etc etc? A bit of hyperbole, I think... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 I think you could be right, Marine - I think I'll try to use that second door and scratch some new hinges, see how that looks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
STRAT'71 Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 So on the Airfix Swift you have to cut all the parts from a sheet of plastic-create a cockpit tub and wheel wells etc etc? A bit of hyperbole, I think... As my first vacuform was a Victor, the Swift was a piece of cake. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viscount806x Posted November 30, 2014 Share Posted November 30, 2014 Interesting topic this one Paul and thanks for giving us a blow-by-blow account of the points associated with it. I was wondering how this kit, regarding it's perceived shape accuracy and ease of build, compared with some of the other short run Swift models which have appeared. I'm thinking of such as Rareplanes, CMR and Xtrakit or even Pegasus. Assuming you have any experience of them of course. Nige B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted November 30, 2014 Author Share Posted November 30, 2014 I can offer no insight into previous FR.5 kits - the only Swift kit I've built in the past is the Hawk/Testors kit............................ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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