A Flight of Fanciful Fairey Fireflies: FR.1 & TT.4

[NAVY870]

Though the Sea Fury really is the coolest aircraft ever flown!

So you've not worked on one?

I would describe the tribulations of such a task but the site has a swear filter and thus I am prevented.

[Navy Bird]

Great banter, mates! Unfortunately I'll be (mostly) out of touch for the next seven days while I'm in the woods playing boy scout. Feel free to carry on without me, I'll catch up when I get back! If I'm lucky there may be an outside chance of an Internet connection here or there, but I wouldn't bet on it.

As far as the Phantom vs. Jaguar debate, I'm afraid I won't touch that one with the proverbial ten-metre pole! I will only say, as a modeller of course, that the Phantom has a much larger variety of marking schemes to choose from. What that means I'm not entirely sure of.   

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Ex-FAAWAFU - Ah, the Sea Fury. That may have to be next in line when I finish these Fireflies and the Sea Venom (in 870 markings I might add) that is scheduled next.

[Learstang]

Good idea on the Sea Fury, Bill - that will look a natural next to the Fireflies. Now back to the Sumo wrestler and the ballerina, General, when you referred to swoopy lines and dainty nips I presume you were referring to the Sumo wrestler, correct?

Regards,

Jason

[Gene K]

I did FAC work with the Jags and they were hands down the best we ever worked with, closely followed by the GR.3 lads and well,......the A-10 pilots came in a very long way behind and I don`t just mean speed wise!

Ouch .... What was the big "complaint" about the A-10s?

Gene K

(Former Warthog Driver)

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

So you've not worked on one? I would describe the tribulations of such a task but the site has a swear filter and thus I am prevented.

I said "ever flown", mate, not "ever maintained"! I imagine many, if not most, aircraft from that era were a bitch to look after. The Scimitar, in particular, was notorious; I can't remember the exact figures, but it was certainly several dozen hours of maintenance for each hour airborne.

That's why I became a pilot!

[general melchett]

Good point Crisp..hence the old adage..'we fly em and (then) you fix em'. A good friend of mine now sadly deceased flew Javelins way back when oil was still a living thing and after applying the handbrake would jump out, refusing to look the liney in the eye and say..I broke it again', then walked off smartly before he had time to hear the colourful reply which was usually delivered to the poor nav half way down the ladder !

Re the scimitar I think you could well be right,

'the type set a maintenance record of 1000 maintenance hours per flying hour'.....

[NAVY870]

I said "ever flown", mate, not "ever maintained"! I imagine many, if not most, aircraft from that era were a bitch to look after. The Scimitar, in particular, was notorious; I can't remember the exact figures, but it was certainly several dozen hours of maintenance for each hour airborne.

That's why I became a pilot!

By all account the Fury wasn't over fond of pilots either, they didn't tend to tolerate any sloppy handling or such.

Fireflies were quite nice to maintain (still are)

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Any piston engined aircraft with that much power anywhere near a deck is going to be a handful - even the Firefly had a vicious torque stall that caught out quite a few inexperienced pilots who were trying to open up and go round again.

It is no coincidence that the aircraft of the pre-jet era that were considered nice to land on a deck were those at the more (how can I put this kindly?) sedate end of the performance spectrum; the Swordfish and the Barracuda, for instance, were excellent deck landing machines (the latter slightly surprising, but its handling problems manifested themselves in other areas of the flight envelope). Whereas the Seafire (narrow track undercarriage and a tendency to nose over), Firefly (aforementioned torque stall) and Sea Fury (big nose not easy to see over, plus torque issues) were not.

Some, of course, were sluggish AND horrid to deck land. The Firebrand, for instance; pull the nose up on that and the entire ship must have disappeared.

[crobinsonh]

Great banter, mates! Unfortunately I'll be (mostly) out of touch for the next seven days while I'm in the woods playing boy scout. Feel free to carry on without me, I'll catch up when I get back! If I'm lucky there may be an outside chance of an Internet connection here or there, but I wouldn't bet on it.

As far as the Phantom vs. Jaguar debate, I'm afraid I won't touch that one with the proverbial ten-metre pole! I will only say, as a modeller of course, that the Phantom has a much larger variety of marking schemes to choose from. What that means I'm not entirely sure of.

Cheers,

Bill

PS. Ex-FAAWAFU - Ah, the Sea Fury. That may have to be next in line when I finish these Fireflies and the Sea Venom (in 870 markings I might add) that is scheduled next.

Bill, you need to get the Aki Sea Fury in your build list (if you do not have it already). It is an absolute beauty and is the only model I have seen that nails the Sea Fury even down to the vertical slab sides that Fisher got wrong (still love that model as well having bought two and built and finished one). Have a great break and look forward to seeing more progress on your return.

[Navy Bird]

I know what you're thinking - is this guy ever going to build these kits or what? I hear you - after a week at the cabin it's taken more than a week to unpack and get everything back in order. Plus, wifey decided this would be a great time to clean and organize the garage. Arghhh...

 

Anyway, I have managed to move the projects ever so slightly forward. Next up - the instrument panels. These are designed with the typical short run method of placing an acetate film behind a photoetched panel. Here are the main components, with the film pieces on the bottom row:

 

 

The dial faces on the film are clear, while the rest is black. It's really important to paint the back of the film white, so that the dials will be visible. Assembly is simple - I use a white glue to attach the film to the photoetch, which in this case has been painted black and then the raised portions are dry brushed. The difficult part, at my age anyway, is to get the film aligned with the holes in the PE! (I use a magnifying glass for this, and still have trouble seeing the small dials.)

 

Here are the finished panels, FR.1 on the left and TT.4 on the right:

 

 

Detail painting of the FR.1 resin cockpit pieces came next. As shown earlier, I used my custom mix of Gunze paints to represent the Cockpit Grey-Green, along with black and dark grey for some of the controls. I used a black wash to highlight the details.

 

Assembling the cockpit was another story. As is common with short run kits, there is no way to know exactly how the parts fit together. No alignment pegs, etc. The drawings in the instruction booklet aren't a big help, but they at least show you the basic plan. You are on your own to test fit many different combinations until you find something that you think will work.

 

I think I figured it out. At least it works with my test fitting. Here is the FR.1:

 

 

I left out the control column, as it is always the last part I add. Kind of a ceremonial tradition at Navy Birdland.

 

 

 

I'm not sure what to do with that "HUD" sitting on top of the instrument panel. I think Quickboost has some British gun sights that might be more appropriate. Also, Special Hobby seems to have left a nice big hole at the bottom of the instrument panel for the compass, but didn't provide the compass. How unusual for that to happen. I'll have to figure out something there, too.

 

If you're tired of looking at these magnified photos of 1:72 model parts, and you have a 96 dpi monitor, then this next photo should show the cockpit at actual size (about 60 mm long):

 

 

Now, remember back in the early stages of this build I mentioned that the cockpit floor was twisted? I tried the boiling water trick and managed to flatten it back out but in the process I think I warped it in a different direction. Somehow, the rear cockpit is offset from the front AND the floor is warped slightly in the vertical direction - the only way this baby is going to line up with the fuselage cockpit openings is if I bend it somehow, and then hope the super glue holds. I've got a better idea!

 

There is no need for the fore and aft cockpits to be connected. I'm going to get my razor saw and remove the section of floor between them. This will leave me with two modules, one for the pilot and one for the radar guy. Then each module is free to align to the fuselage independent of the other.

 

In the meantime, here is the cockpit for the TT.4:

 

 

Yikes! The glue didn't hold! Or I forgot to assemble it - yeah, that's more likely. I hate black cockpits, by the way. Here is what I did with this one - the overall colour is Tamiya NATO Black. Highlights are in Extra Dark Sea Grey (this is an FAA bird, eh?), controls are grey and silver, and I've applied a black wash. What's that, a black wash on a black cockpit? Well, sort of. NATO Black is really a very dark grey, and the black wash actually shows up nicely and increases the contrast with the details. Some folks use a medium grey wash on top of black, but to me that just looks odd.

 

At the end of the day, none of this will matter much since the canopies can only be built closed - the interior will be difficult to see. Unless I figure out a way to open those canopies...

 

That's it for now. Godspeed, Justin!

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Thanks for the advice on the Aki kit of the Sea Fury, Colin. I had heard of this kit, but never looked into it in any great detail. Now that I've read some reviews all I can say is WOW! That's a beauty - now all I have to do is find one! Oh, and keep the receipt away from the missus.

 

PPS. I almost forgot - I ordered the Firefly book by Paul Bradley and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I wonder if Paul can sign it for me over the Internet...

[Sten Ekedahl]

Bill, I have found clear gloss varnish the best "glue" to attach the clear film to the back of the etched IP.

[Navy Bird]

On 8/27/2015 at 22:27, Sten Ekedahl said:

Bill, I have found clear gloss varnish the best "glue" to attach the clear film to the back of the etched IP.

 

Thanks, Stan. Do you use Future (Klear, etc.), enamel, or lacquer varnish?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Learstang]

Great work on the cockpits, Bill! I've just picked up a SH Firefly T.1/2. Odd fellow that I am, I actually like Special Hobby kits and don't mind their quirks and/or inaccuracies (as long as they can be fixed). I've even started the prep work on the plastic parts of my T.1/2. So far, with dry-fitting the plastic parts seem to fit pretty well. I shall continue watching your build with great interest. Good to see you've picked up Paul's book - excellent book and I just need to see where I can get me some Ethiopian decals as I'd love to do that bird.

Regards,

Jason

Edited August 28, 2015 by Learstang

[Sten Ekedahl]

Thanks, Stan. Do you use Future (Klear, etc.), enamel, or lacquer varnish?

Cheers,

Bill

Ordinary Humbrol clear gloss enamel type varnish.

[Martian]

Nice looking cockpits Bill. You have got me champing at the bit to start my 1/48 U8. Mind you, I would settle for a decent session at the bench on anything at the moment. Still, hopefully the new medication will help once it has settled down.

I can sympathise with the cleaning and re-organising bit; its certainly never a good thing at Hale Towers when Gill gets the bit between her teeth, I can never find anything afterwards.

Martin

[PlaStix]

Hi Bill. Hope you are keeping well. Good to see some more progress and that it's up to your usual high standard.

Hope you have a great weekend.

Kind regards,

Stix

[Ascoteer]

You're all concentrating on completely the wrong reasons.

F4: Navy jet reluctantly (initially) embraced by the USAF (until they realised how good it was).

Jaguar: not Navy jet (assuming you disregard the Jaguar M).

So the fact that the F4 was cooler is blatantly obvious. Simples.

Navy aircraft cooler than Air Force aircraft.

Hmmmmm.

Personally I like my airfield to stay where I left it and not go blundering off on the fanciful whim of some bloody Fish Head!

Bill, those cockpits are looking really good.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Navy aircraft cooler than Air Force aircraft.

Personally I like my airfield to stay where I left it and not go blundering off on the fanciful whim of some bloody Fish Head!

Bill, those cockpits are looking really good.

Surely you wouldn't expect me to think anything else?

Personally, I like my airfields to be able to go where they are needed, hide, fight back, and generally do something other than sit there waiting to be bombed. (You're right about Fish'eads and blundering off, though)

And the cockpits are indeed excellent.

Call it a draw?

[Ed Russell]

This is looking good. Having been up close to that one a few pages back I appreciate what a nice aeroplane it is.

Having done a couple of Airfix and a SH I can appreciate what a good job you are doing.

[Ascoteer]

You're right about Fish'eads and blundering off, though.

Call it a draw?

Aye, a long time ago I had a long chat with Ian 'Soapy' Watson (he of landing the SHAR on the Spanish container ship 'Alraigo'. The tale scared me so much thatI'm not sure I could have been a Naval Aviator!

OK, a Draw's a Draw!

Edited August 28, 2015 by Ascoteer

[moaning dolphin]

Personally, I like my airfields to be able to go where they are needed,

and also to where they are not needed but somewhere that is nice and tropical with friendly natives

[Navy Bird]

On 8/27/2015 at 22:47, Learstang said:

<snip> Odd fellow that I am, I actually like Special Hobby kits and don't mind their quirks and/or inaccuracies (as long as they can be fixed).

<snip> Good to see you've picked up Paul's book - excellent book and I just need to see where I can get me some Ethiopian decals as I'd love to do that bird.

 

Thanks, Jason. You can sign me up for the Special Hobby Odd Fellow Appreciation Society. Where else can you find some of these subjects? They do a nice job on the resin and PE too, although you sometimes need to "adjust" those parts to make them fit. I'm still waiting for Paul's book to arrive. The US Postal Service tracking number tells me that it left Des Moines, Iowa on August 20 - that was 8 days ago. Should have been long ago. I'm afraid that it may have been lost in the USPS Triangle...

 

On 8/27/2015 at 23:07, Sten Ekedahl said:

Ordinary Humbrol clear gloss enamel type varnish.

 

Super! I'll give that a try next time.

 

On 8/28/2015 at 03:51, martin hale said:

Nice looking cockpits Bill. You have got me champing at the bit to start my 1/48 U8. Mind you, I would settle for a decent session at the bench on anything at the moment. Still, hopefully the new medication will help once it has settled down.

 

Thanks Martin. Please take care of yourself and I hope you're doing better soon!   

 

On 8/28/2015 at 07:38, Ascoteer said:

Navy aircraft cooler than Air Force aircraft.

 

Well, of course. That's why I picked this silly nickname.   

 

On 8/28/2015 at 07:54, Ed Russell said:

This is looking good. Having been up close to that one a few pages back I appreciate what a nice aeroplane it is.

Having done a couple of Airfix and a SH I can appreciate what a good job you are doing.

 

Ah, someone who has built this kit before! What wonderful adventures can I expect in the future?

 

On 8/28/2015 at 11:02, moaning dolphin said:

and also to where they are not needed but somewhere that is nice and tropical with friendly natives

 

Rumour has it that when Columbus landed in the New World, his first comment when the female natives met him on the beach was "Will you get a look at those ****!"

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Martian]

Navy aircraft cooler than Air Force aircraft.

Hmmmmm..

You are quite right, they are, especially RN ones, so no need to doubt yourself!

Martin

[NAVY870]

Navy aircraft cooler than Air Force aircraft.

You say that like its a bad thing!

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

and also to where they are not needed but somewhere that is nice and tropical with friendly natives

Let me think; you are 25, and a newly-minted Service pilot with wings on your sleeve / chest (delete, depending on which colour blue. You have a choice:

2 years in Ark Royal, which will involve lots of flying in marginal weather in the middle of nowhere in the North Atlantic... but also trips to Australia, the Caribbean, Med & Eastern U.S.

Or 2 years in, say Marham, which would involve lots of flying in marginal weather over the North Sea... but also Saturday afternoon trips to Fakenham & King's Lynn.

It's a toughie, isn't it?