general melchett Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Hi all, I was sent one of these little beauties a while back to build for Airfix Model World and must say it was a real pleasure. I've built a lot of resin models now and must say that the mouldings here are probably the best resin I've come across with the representation of the fabric control surfaces sublime and attention to detail superb. The separately moulded engines and one piece wings made construction a breeze. Humbrol 3 Gloss Brunswick Green enamel was used to replicate that lovely scheme..... Brief history of G-ACSR The third Comet built, G-ACSR had been paid for by racing driver Bernard Rubin and was flown by Owen Cathcart-Jones and Ken Waller. They had to make a second unscheduled stop at Baghdad after they found that they had had a serious oil leak. They were forced to delay for repairs after which they caught up with the Mollisons at Karachi. They were the fourth aircraft to reach Melbourne in a time of 108h 13 min 45s. Cathcart-Jones and Waller promptly collected a film reel of the Australian stages of the race and set off to carry it back to Britain. Their return time of 13½ days set a new record. Following this G-ACSR was renamed Reine Astrid and flew the Christmas mail from Brussels to Leopoldville in the Belgian Congo in 1934. It was then sold to the French government as F-ANPY and set a Croydon to Le-bourget record of 52 minutes on 5 July 1935 subsequently making several Paris to Casablanca and Paris to Algiers high-speed proving flights. Sadly she was destroyed in a hangar fire at Istres in 1940. The only part of the build that required a bit of close attention was shoehorning all that lovely PE and resin cockpit detail into the super narrow fuselage. I decided to go for G-ACSR in her green scheme as everybody and their aunt seems to go for Grosvenor House and I think gloss dark green suits the style of this sleek racing machine ,(shades of early Aston Martins in their BRG). The only things I added were the counterbalances on the tail planes and fin as these were missing from the kit. Definitely recommend it to anyone interested in the subject...and who couldn't love those sexy lines ! Cheers all and thanks for looking... Melchie.... 32 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimHead23 Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Now that is beautiful! Thanks for sharing. Regards Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdonnell Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Hello,General !! In your customary style,here's another beautifully built and finished scale model of a legendary type.This 'Comet Racer is exquisite and I love the green colour as a change from the black or red versions. All the very best,Paul. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 What an amazing type of plane, what an amazing model!! Pure elegance! Like it very much! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo1112 Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Beautiful Comet !!! A real jewel !!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 It's okay, I guess, I mean if you like beautifully-done models and excellent photography. Me, I like piccies of misshapen lumps of plastic taken with a shaky hand and a bad phone camera. At least that's something I can reproduce. Regards, Jason 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Beautiful model of a beautiful aircraft Melchie, nice work Cheers, Stew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted June 29, 2016 Author Share Posted June 29, 2016 Thanks everyone, appreciated as ever, Paul, I must admit to preferring the green to the red and black though they were all a bit special. I'm quite tempted to have a go at the RAF marked machine at some point... Jason, good lord man, what would Marshal Zhukov say..... get yerself a Brownie box, (or in your case a Zenit-E), a pack of decent candles and a tripod thingy and away you go, come on man, get a (camera) grip...... Thanks Stew, appreciated... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
russ c Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Really nice Comet there, beautiful finish ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Very nice indeed! I think now time for this early Aston Martin in BRG... Could be in larger scale, best in 1:1 Cheers J-W 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rik Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Great job! Very ArtDeco aircraft. Now all we need is for Airfix to wake up and produce a new DH88 model in 1:72.....and 1:48. In the meantime at least we can go and admire the real thing at the Shuttleworth museum. By the way what happed to the DH88 they were restoring in USA (?) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted June 29, 2016 Share Posted June 29, 2016 Absolutely gorgeous Andy, a real little looked that one! Spiffing job as usual! Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 As I understand it, General, the good Marshal is quite upset with me. Looks like its back to the punishment battalion for me. Re my camera, it's actually quite nice - a Nikon D3300 DSLR with both an 18-55 and a macro lens. Set me back quite a bit. Unfortunately with me it's a bit like giving a chimpanzee brushes and paint used by Rembrandt - the equipment may be top-notch but there's bound to be some operator error. Still, at least now I can do some half-way decent close-up shots (look at my ISU-152 thread, for example). Now I just need to start making some models worthy of those close-ups. As Always, I Remain Your Most Faithful Servant, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Meatbox8 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 A thing of beauty. An exquisite finish and great photography. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Thanks for the comments chaps, glad you approve of it. Like many here I really go for the Art Deco design period, (plenty of old pieces lying around the house, the Memsahib being among the most prized examples), I think these streamlined aircraft, including the gorgeous seaplane racers along with the cars and locomotives of the time personified it to machined perfection. In the meantime at least we can go and admire the real thing at the Shuttleworth museum. By the way what happed to the DH88 they were restoring in USA (?) Very true and there's also this.... http://www.cometracer.co.uk/restoration/ This really would be something to see particularly if they could get her back into the air alongside Grosvenor House, what a photo shoot that would make ! Jason, you only have yourself to blame in this instance what with the Stolichnaya Elit sponsored tractor pulling incident and your appalling behavior at the post event bash involving the Belarus MTZ-820 and a pair of Russian Mole-Rats . I'd be most surprised if you're allowed back into the Shturmovik Tail Wheel Appreciation Society building ever again ! Funnily enough I used a Nikon D3200 and Nikkor 40mm Micro lens for these images and find them a really useful combo for this kind of photography, (this and the 60mm are super crisp lenses). I find the 18/55mm kit lens makes a good door stop and quite excellent paper weight... look at my ISU-152 thread, for example) I just did....and left my mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 That really is a thing of beauty Andy and I remember drooling over the article when I was reading it in the June issue (nice manicure by the way - I guess Darling has been kept busy keeping the Generals mitts in tip-top condition). Keep up the good work, cos your really starting to get the hang of this modelling malarkey. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Thanks John...Darling certainly is good with his hands......his manicures are something to behold, it's quite amazing what can be done with a sheet of medium Wet'n'Dry, a pint of neat acetone and a vigorous rubbing down from an obliging adjutant.....stings a bit but leaves no permanent marks....... Glad you liked the article, plenty more on the way... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattheCat Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Nothing short of a perfect finish can do this elegant racer justice. And you did it! A thing of beauty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted June 30, 2016 Author Share Posted June 30, 2016 Thanks Pat, an awful lot of Micro Mesh cloth and an Edge Shiner polisher was harmed during the finishing of this model. To be fair the Humbrol enamel sprayed on beautifully with a 60/40 mix of paint to thinners. The large over wing white letter decals were the thing I was most worried about as they had a large carrier film and were ultra thin. I chose to carefully cut them out using a fresh scalpel blade before gingerly applying them with a wide sable brush to avoid the dreaded wrinkling. Once on and gently dabbed down over the panel lines a light brush of Micro-Sol did the rest of the job..luckily they were opaque and didn't show any of the green through which considering how thin the decals were was quite amazing...well done to SBS Models. I'm definitely looking forward to building more of their stuff in the future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 an Edge Shiner polisher What be one of them then, Andy? Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mcdonnell Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 It's okay, I guess, I mean if you like beautifully-done models and excellent photography. Me, I like piccies of misshapen lumps of plastic taken with a shaky hand and a bad phone camera. At least that's something I can reproduce. Regards, Jason Hello,Jason - You'll love my builds then! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F4u Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Hi General, What a lovely model of a beautiful aircraft and you did it in British Racing Green to ! As Paul said nice to see it in this colour very rarely seen, and I like the look of the RAF marked machine but then all the Comets are nice. Great photography as well. Guy 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomoshenko Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Beautiful. Glad it's a nice kit to build that goes together well. I have one of these in the stash too (bought in the first 5 mins of arriving at Telford), although in an all silver Australian scheme. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 (edited) Oh dear, not that tractor pull incident again! I never should have mixed the tractor anti-freeze with the Stoli, although it did give it a nice sweet flavour. I suppose I'll never live that one down. And those Russian mole rats... Actually I wonder how Nadya and Natasha are doing. Regarding the society, I thought I was the only member of the Shturmovik Tail Wheel Appreciation Society, now that Mr. Putin has let his membership lapse. Too busy with world events, I believe he said. I just think he didn't want to pay the dues. Bestest, Jason Edited June 30, 2016 by Learstang 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted June 30, 2016 Share Posted June 30, 2016 Lovely build Andy, great to see one in the green scheme. Love the smoothness you've achieved on the paint job. That silver scheme looks a bit tasty too, so if you do have a go, make sure you post it up here 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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