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Airfix Seaprite Some bite your backside


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Found this is the stash and  decided to move it up the to do list so here it is

It is said that this is one of the best kits that Airfix made and looking at it I can see where they are coming from.  I have yet to decide the markings but I am inclined to do one of the 2 original trials aircraft for the RNZN seeing as my daughter lives in that far away country. 

 

As you can see the box features the kit made up and the inside is cramed full of sprues.

 

ks1.jpg

 

Lots of pieces

 

ks2.jpg

 

Unfortunately the model as lots of sink marks as well as injector pin marks but then again that is what Mr Surfacer is made for.  I wonder how I got along without this marvellous product before.  This is the radar screen that hangs down from the roof and as you can see there is an awful sink mark but it will be filled and you wont know the difference. 

 

ks3.jpg

So onto the building I don't normally take long to build a model and I cant see this being any different

 

ks4.jpg

 

Rodders

 

 

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Rivets, do I sand them off or reduce them or do nothing?

 

The actual aircraft does have a lot of rivets and so does the Lynx which looks not right when you build the Hobbyboss model so I am in a bit of a 2 and 8 as to what to do.

My gut goes with leave it but when you sand joints then you do lose some of the rivets along the way.  .  What do you reckon chaps/chapesses

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I would sand them down until they are just present, so as to give a hint of what they are. After all if they were scaled up seventy two times the rivets would be 2 cm + high! This way the rivets will not be too prominent, but also the airframe will not be bald, (which I agree does not look right also) and retain that hint of the un-aerodynamic nature of most infernal egg-beaters.

Edited by wyverns4
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Problem with sanding rivets to almost nothing is that they can end up looking like little plates!

I would either leave them and and apply thick paint, or sand them smooth.

I only saw these once (Polish Navy), but I don't remember them being particularly 'rivety'!

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Cabin coming together I have decided that hopefully by the time I have primer and a couple of coats of paint and a varnish they may not be too prominent.

I know that decals for seatblts are not everyones cup of tea but they are fine for my style of modelling.

 

ks10.jpg

 

The top VDU is in place the orange is an airbrush test on the primed cabin wall to see how it would turn out it will be hidden when its closed up..

I assume that the area under the VDU would be some sort of desk and that is why I have placed a decal to represent the writing area.

ks11.jpg

 

Rodders

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What Wyvern4 said about decals, I normally reduce mine with an overall buffing with some fine wet & dry so there is a representation of them, & as you say, its not so obvious where you've cleaned up filler. I'm looking forward to this, I've seen a lot of the RNZAFs S2Gs but not the trials ones, this will be something new for me.

Steve.

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8 hours ago, stevehnz said:

What Wyvern4 said about decals, I normally reduce mine with an overall buffing with some fine wet & dry so there is a representation of them, & as you say, its not so obvious where you've cleaned up filler. I'm looking forward to this, I've seen a lot of the RNZAFs S2Gs but not the trials ones, this will be something new for me.

Steve.

Hi Steve the problem I have is the G version does not have the launchers on the side but I don't know about the early ones hopefully the decals when they come will show me. 

 

Rodders

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That's something I'll need to address when I do mine, I've a resin conversion I got from Poland via Facebook to do a G, it will still need modding for the swivelly thing in the nose which the Polish Gs don't appear to have had. Sorry I can't help with info for the F, I'd be googling for anything to tell you. :( I,'m guessing you've seen this page. http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/seasprite.html

Steve.

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Great little kit Roddre, re the rivets, I know what you mean re the real thing being all rivets but in 72nd scale they would hardly be noticable. As above sand 'em until just visible. Pity Aifirx didn't doa re-release with better/alternative decals.

 

I started makinga G model from a second kit I had, sat on the shelf of doom... I'll find a pic of two if anyone is interested.

 

Colin

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On 12/10/2016 at 8:16 AM, stevehnz said:

That's something I'll need to address when I do mine, I've a resin conversion I got from Poland via Facebook to do a G, it will still need modding for the swivelly thing in the nose which the Polish Gs don't appear to have had. Sorry I can't help with info for the F, I'd be googling for anything to tell you. :( I,'m guessing you've seen this page. http://www.kiwiaircraftimages.com/seasprite.html

Steve.

I didnt see this one but it has the info that I need  A few updates

Instrument panel painted ready for putting in the fuselage side

ks20.jpg

As you can see I use coffee sticks and the little self advisive pads to hold the IP to make it easier to paint

Here it is in the side of the a/c (yes I bite my nails)

ks21.jpg

 

Uisng the link Stevehnz supplied I see that it didnt have the tube launchers on the side so they had to come out

First put in some plasticard to fill the gurt hole

ks22.jpg

 

Then using MR surfacer500 fill in the gaps and prime

ks23.jpg

 

Decals have arrieved (image from ebay) I'm doing the top one.

s-l1600.jpg

More to follow

 

Rodders

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Nice one, I always liked the Seasprite. It's one of those aircraft that just look right somehow; the old Matchbox quarter scale was always one of my favourite kits. Also, it's nice to see the Palitoy boxing; as I'm officially the only person in the world who preferred that era of box cover to the Roy Cross efforts I'm pleased to see it getting an airing. I'll get my coat....

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5 hours ago, goggsy said:

 Also, it's nice to see the Palitoy boxing; as I'm officially the only person in the world who preferred that era of box cover to the Roy Cross efforts I'm pleased to see it getting an airing. I'll get my coat....

Blasphemy! All I can say to that is....................:dalek:

 

Martian

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As a 12 year old it was comforting to see that the manufacturers effort to build their own kits wasn't much better than mine. Plus, the Roy Cross artwork always reminded me of a better version of the sort of drawings I did when I was seven; it's like he thought "right, I've just done a lovely picture of a Sunderland or whatever, what this picture really needs is some more explosions". I bet he used to make machine gun noises while he was painting.

 

Anyway, enough thread jacking. As I said before, good effort with the kit, like what you've done.

Edited by goggsy
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13 hours ago, goggsy said:

Nice one, I always liked the Seasprite. It's one of those aircraft that just look right somehow; the old Matchbox quarter scale was always one of my favourite kits. Also, it's nice to see the Palitoy boxing; as I'm officially the only person in the world who preferred that era of box cover to the Roy Cross efforts I'm pleased to see it getting an airing. I'll get my coat....

I'm probably confused here, but Roy Huxley did the Matchbox artwork - which I way, way much preferred to the Roy Cross artwork.

 

Good to see you like the Matchbox Seasprite, often though about it but never committed to it.

Edited by 71chally
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Hi Rodders,

 

I have a Seasprite story to go with your build, if you don't mind.  Around 30 years ago I lived and worked on a facility off the east coast of Florida.  It had one of those clip together metal helo pads.  One evening the local doctor showed up and told me he had a fisherman in his clinic that had been in an altercation with another fisherman over some seafood, conchs, if I remember.  This man had been stabbed and was bleeding profusely.  He needed hospital treatment and could I call and arrange for a helicopter. I made the call and raced off to the clinic in our pickup and collected the injured man.  Back at the pad, and waiting for the chopper I saw lights off in the distance, more than on our UH-1N logistics helo, which I had been expecting.  As the lights got closer, I noticed the sound of this bird was quite a bit different, not the whump, whump of the UH-1N but a louder, raspy whirring sound.  When it reached the pad it hovered for a moment and then set down on the pad.  It was, as you have no doubt guessed, a Seasprite.

I had seen them off in the distance before but had never been this close.  Well, a crewman jumped out and the fisherman was loaded on and belted in and the Kaman lifted off and was gone in a hurry, lights blazing away like something out of Close Encounters.  I have liked the Seasprite ever since and I even built one back then in 1/72 but can't remember the make. Maybe, like yours, it was an Airfix.  Anyway, your build brought the rather bizarre events of that evening all back to me.  I'll be following along.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

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