Howlindawg Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 Hi All, This will be my first WIP and just my second build after circa 30 years of a layoff from kit building. After such a long break I reckoned I'd be pretty much be starting from scratch again so picked up a few of Revells' old Bi-Plane kits as practice pieces before getting stuck into some of the nicer or more complex kits that are on my wish list. I also reckoned that I could do with some inspiration and guidance along the way which led me to lurking here before eventually joining the forum and getting involved. My first attempt was an Airfix Vampire which I ended up painting twice and still not being happy with the end result but it was an enjoyable experience and I learned a lot. It ended up like this... Vampire T11 B by Martin Fay, on Flickr Vampire T11 by Martin Fay, on Flickr I've got a pretty thick skin so constructive criticism and advice along the way is both welcome and appreciated. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 19, 2016 Share Posted July 19, 2016 I know the feeling about picking up skills after a long layoff Martin. My feeling is that as long as you're dissatisfied with a build, you're still hungry to learn, and that's a good thing that helps to push you up to the next level. Look forwards to seeing your Stringbag! Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 19, 2016 Author Share Posted July 19, 2016 So I'll be building this Swordfish as a Mk III and very much out of the box. After painting the wee 1:72 pilots for the vampire I knew I needed a better way to support the figure than painting them on the sprue so ended up with half a paperclip stuck into a wine cork, I then heated the paperclip with a soldering iron and popped the figures on. This looks a tad undignified but resulted in a secure handle to hold the figures with but it was still easy to remove the figures afterwards. I didn't try any dry brushing or washes on the figures this time around. next time perhaps. Swordfish - Bertie and Biggles by Martin Fay, on Flickr I painted the interior of the fuselage before assembly but didn't go beyond that. With the closed in Mk III cockpit you can't see much in there anyway. The fuselage joined up really well but there were a few sink marks on the underside that required a little Humbrol putty. I tried some Citadel liquid green stuff (courtesy of my brother) on the very fine join lines around the cockpit which worked well in this instance. Swordfish Fuselage by Martin Fay, on Flickr The tail and lower wings needed very little work to tidy up and were fitted next but I couldn't get the wings to sit at the right angle without a gap on the upper surface at the joint with the fuselage. I tried the liquid green stuff here again but the slightly larger gap seems to have defeated it so I'll need some more putty here to do the job properly before paint. Swordfish - Wings by Martin Fay, on Flickr Swordfish - Wing by Martin Fay, on Flickr After reading up on various rigged bi-plane builds I decided to try something a little different and drilled a 0.5mm hole at each end of each of the wing struts before fitting. My plan is to thread EZ line through the holes and rig the wings before fitting the top wing. I'm sure I'm not the first to try this but I didn't see any other examples of it being done in builds online. There's probably a very good reason for that. Swordfish Struts by Martin Fay, on Flickr So that's where it stands for the moment and this is probably where it all starts to get interesting (or go pear shaped) I suspect.Apologies if that's all a bit basic and pic heavy for a first post - progress is likely to be a bit more steady in future updates. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Careful with rigging like that before adding the top wing, you could bend the struts inwards.....and with those strut attachments it will be almost impossible to fill and hide the joins! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 Hi Ian, Which joins do you mean? Martin it will be almost impossible to fill and hide the joins! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I think you are being a bit hard on yourself. You seem to be doing fine for a 30 year layoff and, more to the point, you say you are enjoying yourself which is by far the most important thing. Martin 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 Looking good so far! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grey Beema Posted July 20, 2016 Share Posted July 20, 2016 I did this model a couple of years back. I would, as said above, fix the top wing on before rigging it stops distortion if your rigging is a bit tight. Remember to paint the aircraft before attaching the top wing or rigging, this is much easier at the stage you're at now. Make sure you have drilled the anchoring holes before you fix the wing though. Remember to also rig the rudder and elevator cables. Put short posts through the elevators and rudder to fix them to (take a look at photos to see where) and the cables run back through the fuselage behind the roundel through angled holes.. But remember enjoy it, and if you need help shout.... Hope this helps 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 20, 2016 Author Share Posted July 20, 2016 Thanks to all that dropped by to offer advice and encouragement, much appreciated. Tonight a filled a few last spots with putty to get ready for paint and contented myself with making a start on painting some of the smaller parts. While that lot was drying I decided to have a trial run at the rigging with EZ-Line. Heeding the offered advice I temporarily taped the top wing into position to add some support to the struts. The EZ-Line is really easy to work with. I was able to thread a single piece zig-zagging through the struts in a continuous loop then just gently pull the ends to take up the slack. The EZ-Line is so fine and stretchy (700% allegedly) that this seems to place no appreciable strain on the struts. Rigging by Martin Fay, on Flickr If I were to do it again I think I'd go with a slightly smaller hole even closer to the end of the struts but the concept seems sound. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 Brilliant work. Such a lovely plane and you seem to be doing it proud. And as Martin said, if you're having fun you're doing it right. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
825 Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 I wouldn't worry about the rigging line holes, they will soon disappear or become insignificant after a coat or two of paint. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted July 21, 2016 Share Posted July 21, 2016 The joints I referred to are the joins of the top of the struts to the upper wing. That rigging should look pretty good when it's all done! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 22, 2016 Author Share Posted July 22, 2016 Such a lovely plane It would appear that I agree with you. Although I think a little more practice is in order before I undertake these beauties. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 22, 2016 Author Share Posted July 22, 2016 Filled and sanded - time for some painting I think. Revell-Swordfish-Filler by Martin Fay, on Flickr 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Looks great, 30 years off or no! I did the same as you to a Gladiator build before adding the top wing - EZ line was so stretchy that it was fine and didn't pull anything out of alignment. It's always a pain to work out when to paint biplanes anyway. Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azureglo Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 A fine build of a fine plane: I recently built a site that celebrated some of its finest pilots in probably one of the bravest actions of the last war. Suffice it say I have a few in the stash to be getting on with. I'll be following yours with interest A 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 It would appear that I agree with you. Although I think a little more practice is in order before I undertake these beauties. You're missing the MDC kit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 I recently built a site that celebrated some of its finest pilots in probably one of the bravest actions of the last war. That's an interesting read, thanks for sharing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 23, 2016 Author Share Posted July 23, 2016 You're missing the MDC kit Is it any good? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Is it any good? I've seen some pretty complimentary reviews of it - it's 1/48 and a mixed media kit, so the White metal Pegasus on it just looks gorgeous. The cockpit detailing etc was enough to have me hooked. I missed a winning bid on one last week by a quid and could kick myself!Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob85 Posted July 23, 2016 Share Posted July 23, 2016 Looks like you have a good few to be getting on with! Nice work on the rigging, not something I have tried before, I should really.... Looking forward to where you take this one. Rob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 So, I had planned to paint this in the usual sky underside & camo scheme but in a last minute change of heart decided to run with the mostly white Thorney Island livery of 838 squadron. Getting sufficient coverage with multiple thin coats of Humbrol matt white enamel is proving to be slow going. I find myself compensating for a lack of skill and practice with copious amounts of research and patience. I've seen some pretty complimentary reviews of it - it's 1/48 and a mixed media kit, so the White metal Pegasus on it just looks gorgeous. The cockpit detailing etc was enough to have me hooked. I missed a winning bid on one last week by a quid and could kick myself!Tony Thanks Tony, I'll check it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 My word that is a lot of swordfish you have there. I can highly recommend the Tamiya, as it was my first build on BM. An absoulute dream to build, your progress is wonderful. Bravo sir. John. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howlindawg Posted July 24, 2016 Author Share Posted July 24, 2016 Thanks John. Made some good progress over the weekend. The Radome and undercarriage are fitted and the lower surfaces have had 4 or 5 thin coats of white. In between coats I painted up all the remaining small parts for the Pegasus and RP-3 rockets. Revell-Swordfish---paint1 by Martin Fay, on Flickr The only real issue I've had with this kit was the rear facing machine gun which was broken and warped on the sprue.I decided to take care of that today so first of all I carefully cleaned up the parts and reattached the barrel. This still left me with an ideal weapon for shooting around corners. So I decided to heat it gently over a flame and tease it back straight when softened. (you know where this is going, right?) Well, this didn't idea didn't work out to well as I was treated to an almost instantly blackened and shriveled blob of plastic. I had to laugh. I had some .35mm rod which I bought to make up the antenna (not included in the Revell kit) so I used a small piece to replace the barrel. It looks more like a Lewis than a Vickers now (25mm scaled up) but it'll have to do.​Edit: it looks worse in the photos than I originally thought. I may have another go with some stretched sprue. botched by Martin Fay, on Flickr See - I've learned something new (Don't play with fire!) again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Spadgent Posted July 24, 2016 Share Posted July 24, 2016 Good progress sir. Apparently hot water helps with the bending of parts. just sayin' 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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