The EDSG Files # 2: Fairey Barracuda 1/72

[TheBaron]

23 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

I followed Ced's advice last year and bought some W & N Matt varnish. Not so cheap or easy to find here, but worth the search. Nice and Matt, user friendly, does what it says on the jar

Now that I've successfully 'borrowed' Mrs B's pot of the Galeria stuff, I'm going to give it an outing TT. Thanks for bolstering my confidence about the stuff. 

22 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Funny how we all have different experiences with stuff, isn't it? I just couldn't get Galeria to airbrush properly whatever I did with it!

Or not.... Just out of curiosity Keith, were you airbrushing the stuff over a layer of Klear. I'm going to have some of that on for decalling, washes etc. so alert to the possibility of a reaction that may (or may not) occur between the two.

20 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Wowza! Mo looks the business. Such thumb. 

this build gets better and better. 

'Thank you young man.'  There. That was my Bryan Clough impression...

20 hours ago, limeypilot said:

Don't post them....TonyT's Mrs might see and then you're really in it!

 

20 hours ago, perdu said:

I reckon he'll be cutting a fine figure in them

 

Go on Ced mate

 

Publish and damn the lot of 'em

Bloody paparazzi. It's entrapment Ced. Have no truck with it!

 

A little progress to report this evening after work. Interior green on the various remaining interior surfaces and fold parts:

Once that went on this suddenly starting looking nearer to completion than I anticipated:

I've left the negative space in the fuselage that the triangular torsion fairing folds into the same colour as the surrounding fuselage markings, as from various reference photos I'm not at all convinced that region should also be interior green, as I've seen done on some models. Here - you haven't seen this region in some time:

I couldn't resist sticking the engine in there earlier and it looked the absolute business (he said with disgraceful immodesty):

But you'll just have to wait a wee while longer to see that sublime conjunction later on. I did notice that unsightly gap at the bottom of the firewall that I'd cheerfully forgotten about -  that's been filled and I'll give it a lick of green tomorrow before the Klear goes on.

 

Sweet dreams:

Tony

 

[The Spadgent]

Ooh you tease! 

[Martian]

Stuff the Barra, we want to se more of Maureen!

 

Martian

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, TheBaron said:

 Just out of curiosity Keith, were you airbrushing the stuff over a layer of Klear. I'm going to have some of that on for decalling, washes etc. so alert to the possibility of a reaction that may (or may not) occur between the two.

 

I would have been Tony - had I been able to get the stuff to exit the airbrush in a controlled manner! I tried thinning it with tap water - really soft here so always good for thinning acrylics. Didn't work. Neither did distilled water, IPA, or IPA cut with distilled water. Messed about with the amount I thinned it, air pressures, even tried two different airbrushes, it just wouldn't spray properly it spattered, or it ran, or it dried before it hit the paint mule, or it just wouldn't spray at all!.

 

Having said that, I've been using Klear for donkey's years now, & no varnish, not even the Alclad ones I use now, which I think are cellulose based, has reacted with t, so I wouldn't think it would. I hope that wasn't famous last words...!!

 

Keith

[perdu]

Nice

 

Very nice

 

 

 

and unusually for me I'm not talking sex in fields/baths/withdrawing rooms (Oi!) Cadbuthingy adverts

 

I tried cutting smaller than 10mm circles with my Scale Modelling template and a swivel knife, it has promise and I could consider using it

 

Worth a go?

[TheBaron]

On 17/02/2017 at 9:22 PM, The Spadgent said:

Ooh you tease! 

Like yer new avatar Johnny. You've caught 'the madness' perfectly!

On 17/02/2017 at 9:53 PM, Martian Hale said:

Stuff the Barra, we want to se more of Maureen!

Thank-you Martian. I believe I now have the title for the RFI.

On 17/02/2017 at 9:57 PM, keefr22 said:

Having said that, I've been using Klear for donkey's years now, & no varnish, not even the Alclad ones I use now, which I think are cellulose based, has reacted with t, so I wouldn't think it would.

Thanks for the fruits of your labours Keith. It might be prudent I I do a test spray of Galeria I reckon before comitting the Barra to it, though Klear does appear to be pretty stable stuff chemically in combination.

On 17/02/2017 at 10:58 PM, perdu said:

and unusually for me I'm not talking sex in fields/baths/withdrawing rooms (Oi!) Cadbuthingy adverts

 

I tried cutting smaller than 10mm circles with my Scale Modelling template and a swivel knife, it has promise and I could consider using it

 

Worth a go?

You do make me laugh Bill.

 

A swivel knife? I'd never even heard of such a thing until reading your entry - where do you find such gems? I have this evening despatched an order to Hong Kong for one of their swivilliest. It seems to me that would be an immaculate tool for cutting the contours of camouflage masks as well - I'm most greatful for the tip Professor Perdu!

 

Today has been 'bitty'. 'Itty-bitty' in fact. Our youngest is doing a Saturday course at the local university - one of those great schemes for schoolchildren that lets them try out being journalists or robot-designers for a couple of months. Myself and Mrs. B got some rare pottering-around-town time in whilst the lad was in his class and then took him for a slap-up Turkish kebab lunch afterwards, during which I consumed three whole pickled chili peppers, mine plus both of theirs. The duvet shall tremble to the sound of artillery this evening methinks. 

 

On returning home I fell asleep, largely due to the ongoing effects of 'flu-like symptoms that seem to be currently trying to find a weakness in my immune system via a rotating cast of symptoms, so it hasn't been until this evening that I got round to attending to matters plastic. rather stupidly I hadn't taken stock of all the small parts still on the sprue, so my optimistic predictions of Klear going on this weekend are currently on hold whilst I sort out this little lot:

Respectively: bits to lock the folded-back wings to the tailplane (whatever they're called), yagi arrays and radar mounts, bomb cradle, undercarriage legs, prop blades and hub, arrestor hook and tailwheel, exhausts.

 

During the course of cleaning the flash and runner marks off of this bunch, one half of the bomb cradle and the arrestor hook promptly pinged into regions unknown. Ballcock and Frown! Being slightly feverish and muzzy-headed I'm not frankly that focussed tonight, however I knew I'd just wake up feeling bad in the morning about such egregiousness so took a deep breath and:

gussy-up the missing half of the bomb cradle from card. Also a chance to try out my new Archimedes drill. When it was first delivered I was a little perturbed at just how big it was, but I have to say it is easily controlled, very precise and quick to get the hole done. The, they're not gaskets, what are they called? Collet, that's it. The collets go down to the small sizes of drill bits used by pin vices as well. Five minutes later:

After sticking those in place, on to the deck-grabber. My initial plan to shape and bend some plastic strip in boiling water predictably foundered on the strip steadfastly wishing to remain a strip and not a curve, so I resorted to one of my favourite hacks, flattening and bending wire instead, in this case 5 amp fuse wire squeezed in a pair of flat-head pliers and then bent around a pin:

Attached to the arrestor arms, they actually look better than the kit part IMHO (and that was none too shabby in the first place as I was intending to use it quite happily OOB:

And that my darlings is about as much the Baronial cranium is capable of this February evening. I believe a hot whisky, hot water bottle and the continiung delights of Neo-Romantic Landscapes: An Aesthetic Approach to the Films of Powell and Pressburger may see me off to sleep. Not as high-brow a book as you might imagine btw, but thoughtful look at how we have imagined ourselves in our landscape in Britain. If you've ever seen Powell and Pressburger's A Canterbury Tale (set in 1944 just before D-Day) you'll know what I mean:

Finally, I can also officially confirm that I hang around the cosmetics counter in shops more than the average male perhaps might. I picked these up in town today:

If I can attach some Micromesh discs to those sponges they may make a small and supple polishing tool.

I hope you're all having a good evening.

Tony

 

Addenda. I think I've cleared up the mystery of why the kit has both a three and four-bladed prop option. On p.42 of McCandless' tome on the Barra there is a photo of one with three blades, noting that this is due to it being fitted with a Merlin 30, rather than 32. I've checked available reference photos for aircraft on the Tirpitz raids and they seem from what I see to be four blade/Merlin 32 versions, so I'm going with that. I checked also about presence of underwing bomb racks and these seem largely absent, so I'm leaving those off also.

 

[keefr22]

15 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

It might be prudent I I do a test spray of Galeria I reckon before comitting the Barra to it, though Klear does appear to be pretty stable stuff chemically in combination.

 

 

I think that would be a very good idea. I don't want to be in line for the blame if it ruins that lovely 'Cuda...!!  

 

And little t would just like to say that he fully agrees with me that your scratchbuilt arrestor hook is superb! 

Enjoy your hot toddy & book

 

Night

 

Keith

 

PS, I'd completely forgotten I've got a swivelly knife thingie - I'll have to see if I can find it & give it a go as Bill suggests

 

 

[The Spadgent]

3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Like yer new avatar Johnny. You've caught 'the madness' perfectly!

 

Damn it! That's my serious face. 

 

lovely bits and bobs you've got there Kid. Amazing how many there are some times. 

 

Johnny Shiraz.

Edited February 19, 2017 by The Spadgent

[fatalbert]

1 hour ago, TheBaron said:

Like yer new avatar Johnny. You've caught 'the madness' perfectly!

Thank-you Martian. I believe I now have the title for the RFI.

Thanks for the fruits of your labours Keith. It might be prudent I I do a test spray of Galeria I reckon before comitting the Barra to it, though Klear does appear to be pretty stable stuff chemically in combination.

You do make me laugh Bill.

 

A swivel knife? I'd never even heard of such a thing until reading your entry - where do you find such gems? I have this evening despatched an order to Hong Kong for one of their swivilliest. It seems to me that would be an immaculate tool for cutting the contours of camouflage masks as well - I'm most greatful for the tip Professor Perdu!

 

Today has been 'bitty'. 'Itty-bitty' in fact. Our youngest is doing a Saturday course at the local university - one of those great schemes for schoolchildren that lets them try out being journalists or robot-designers for a couple of months. Myself and Mrs. B got some rare pottering-around-town time in whilst the lad was in his class and then took him for a slap-up Turkish kebab lunch afterwards, during which I consumed three whole pickled chili peppers, mine plus both of theirs. The duvet shall tremble to the sound of artillery this evening methinks. 

 

On returning home I fell asleep, largely due to the ongoing effects of 'flu-like symptoms that seem to be currently trying to find a weakness in my immune system via a rotating cast of symptoms, so it hasn't been until this evening that I got round to attending to matters plastic. rather stupidly I hadn't taken stock of all the small parts still on the sprue, so my optimistic predictions of Klear going on this weekend are currently on hold whilst I sort out this little lot:

Respectively: bits to lock the folded-back wings to the tailplane (whatever they're called), yagi arrays and radar mounts, bomb cradle, undercarriage legs, prop blades and hub, arrestor hook and tailwheel, exhausts.

 

During the course of cleaning the flash and runner marks off of this bunch, one half of the bomb cradle and the arrestor hook promptly pinged into regions unknown. Ballcock and Frown! Being slightly feverish and muzzy-headed I'm not frankly that focussed tonight, however I knew I'd just wake up feeling bad in the morning about such egregiousness so took a deep breath and:

gussy-up the missing half of the bomb cradle from card. Also a chance to try out my new Archimedes drill. When it was first delivered I was a little perturbed at just how big it was, but I have to say it is easily controlled, very precise and quick to get the hole done. The, they're not gaskets, what are they called? Collet, that's it. The collets go down to the small sizes of drill bits used by pin vices as well. Five minutes later:

After sticking those in place, on to the deck-grabber. My initial plan to shape and bend some plastic strip in boiling water predictably foundered on the strip steadfastly wishing to remain a strip and not a curve, so I resorted to one of my favourite hacks, flattening and bending wire instead, in this case 5 amp fuse wire squeezed in a pair of flat-head pliers and then bent around a pin:

Attached to the arrestor arms, they actually look better than the kit part IMHO (and that was none too shabby in the first place as I was intending to use it quite happily OOB:

And that my darlings is about as much the Baronial cranium is capable of this February evening. I believe a hot whisky, hot water bottle and the continiung delights of Neo-Romantic Landscapes: An Aesthetic Approach to the Films of Powell and Pressburger may see me off to sleep. Not as high-brow a book as you might imagine btw, but thoughtful look at how we have imagined ourselves in our landscape in Britain. If you've ever seen Powell and Pressburger's A Canterbury Tale (set in 1944 just before D-Day) you'll know what I mean:

Finally, I can also officially confirm that I hang around the cosmetics counter in shops more than the average male perhaps might. I picked these up in town today:

If I can attach some Micromesh discs to those sponges they may make a small and supple polishing tool.

I hope you're all having a good evening.

Tony

 

Addenda. I think I've cleared up the mystery of why the kit has both a three and four-bladed prop option. On p.42 of McCandless' tome on the Barra there is a photo of one with three blades, noting that this is due to it being fitted with a Merlin 30, rather than 32. I've checked available reference photos for aircraft on the Tirpitz raids and they seem from what I see to be four blade/Merlin 32 versions, so I'm going with that. I checked also about presence of underwing bomb racks and these seem largely absent, so I'm leaving those off also.

 

Thanks for sharing that.Am a great fan of powel and Pressburger films,a Canterbury tail being my favourite.

[Procopius]

I've only seen The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (which I didn't much care for) and A Matter of Life and Death, which I loved. 

[CedB]

Great work Tony - that hook? Ooooh, tasty!

I have a swivelly knife thing that I think is great and readily available 'locally' - catchily called a 'Gyro-cut'. Not sure if that's what you've ordered but works for me.

Looking forward to the next episode...

[AdrianMF]

Looks like an aeroplane! It's always surprising how it suddenly jumps out at you. I always write a list near the end so I don't forget things (and I get the satisfaction of crossing things off). Of course you always end up having to add extra things just when you think you are done.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[TheBaron]

11 hours ago, keefr22 said:

 

I think that would be a very good idea. I don't want to be in line for the blame if it ruins that lovely 'Cuda...!!  

 

And little t would just like to say that he fully agrees with me that your scratchbuilt arrestor hook is superb! 

Enjoy your hot toddy & book

 

Night

 

Keith

 

PS, I'd completely forgotten I've got a swivelly knife thingie - I'll have to see if I can find it & give it a go as Bill suggests

 

 

Thanks Keith and little T. I'd have only obsessed over that hook if I hadn't sorted it out there and then. The early night seems to have helped keep the coldy-flu thing (what it is) to a low leve - just enough to make me feel sorry for myself but not enough to incapacitate.

 

Have a good swivel! You could cut T's treats into amusing shapes for him...

 

[TheBaron]

11 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Damn it! That's my serious face. 

 

lovely bits and bobs you've got there Kid. Amazing how many there are some times. 

 

Johnny Shiraz.

A thousand apologies kiddo. I meant of course that your new avatar captures 'the solemness' perfectly.

 

As to all the bits, you're dead right about the seemingly endless variety of items. What's not to like about this hobby, aside from the financial strain....

 

Hope you had a good Shirazzle.

[TheBaron]

9 hours ago, fatalbert said:

Thanks for sharing that.Am a great fan of powel and Pressburger films,a Canterbury tail being my favourite.

My pleasure @fatalbert. It's a favourite comfort of mine also.

9 hours ago, Procopius said:

I've only seen The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (which I didn't much care for) and A Matter of Life and Death, which I loved. 

You might enjoy A Canterbury Tale PC, given that it's about an American falling under the spell of England.

9 hours ago, CedB said:

Great work Tony - that hook? Ooooh, tasty!

I have a swivelly knife thing that I think is great and readily available 'locally' - catchily called a 'Gyro-cut'. Not sure if that's what you've ordered but works for me.

Looking forward to the next episode...

If my cheapie version doesn't answer to the task Ced I'm going for your suggestion. Thanks, it looks most able a tool.

6 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looks like an aeroplane! It's always surprising how it suddenly jumps out at you. I always write a list near the end so I don't forget things (and I get the satisfaction of crossing things off). Of course you always end up having to add extra things just when you think you are done.

As soon as that interior green went on it felt like a corner turned in to the home strait. Now I just need to make sure that next time I write a list at the beginning with item 1 as 'write a list at the end'...

[71chally]

That is looking seriously good now Tony.

 

Talking of swively knives, I use to have a really nice precision compass for tech drawing course, that you could angle (to make parallel) the legs and fit a knife blade in one of the legs - that was a handy tool.

[TheBaron]

3 hours ago, 71chally said:

That is looking seriously good now Tony.

 

Talking of swively knives, I use to have a really nice precision compass for tech drawing course, that you could angle (to make parallel) the legs and fit a knife blade in one of the legs - that was a handy tool.

Cheers James. Why is it the things that we used to have are the ones that would prove most useful today? I used to have a set of nautical navigation instruments for marking up charts and distances picked up at a jumble sale (in Surbiton of all places) in the early eighties for just pence. And have I any idea what happened to it? Have I heck...

 

I was not entirely happy with the bomb cradle SH supplied in this kit, and with reason - theirs is wrong. This hearty matelot  gives the lie to such perfidy:

^{(My apologies btw to the original poster of this - I can't recall the provenance of this excellent image but am happy to be credit if you get in touch)}

The for'ard part of the bomb cradle as you can see is essentially a boxy girder-like affair, not like the perforated dual arch supplied in the kit. Natch I had to whip the one off I'd done yesterday and replace it with this made from plastic strip:

I'll mount that towards the end, along with all the other bits that will get snapped off if it goes on yet. Another fiddly job - adding the Yagi arrays to the mounting posts for the radar. SH have this really nicely moulded and although fiddly, the underside of the aerials have sufficient detail to let you get the them angled outward to the corrtect degree:

A motley bunch of bits all ready for paint: 

This morning simply turned into an epic 5-colour and one lacquer painting session with a very small footprint. First up, Sky onto the remaining underside elements - fences, cradle etc:

Thence to the pointy bits for the upperworks in DSG and EDSG:

These vary in colour due to their respective positions in relation to the camouflage patterning. I'd nearly forgotten these - the exhausts, with a very small amount of  ALC-123 manifold colouration for effect:

The propellor blades are done now as well:

That's it for those parts. They're all drying now in one of my periodic 'homage to the Yeovilton Barra restoration' displays:

Turning to other matters, top marks to SH for adding a registration point for the support that sticks up from the top of the wing to support the trailing edge flaps when they are folded back over it. You can see it in the top left hand corner of that largest of those access panels in this shot:

Drilled out and with some brass tube inserted to indicate the position:

I'm most pleased with that Archimedes drill I'd posted a picture of previously. The increase in control after just using a pin vice is phenomenal.  Finally today, another job removed from the list was the release cord for the dinghy at the rear of the cockpit. Even a superficial trawl through photos available online will show you  a range of approaches are evident:

1. A smooth graceful curve back and down to beneath the tailplane.

2. Ghastly rococo dog-legs with multiple patches.

3. None at all.

In many photos also there is a ^{ROYAL NAVY} legend applied over the top of the release cable thus, hence my reasons for adding it pre-decalling:

In the case of my interpretation, I elected for the smoothly simple curved version:

The strip is simply a piece of Slater's microstrip scraped down to paper-thickness with a scalpel and some painted Tamiya tape to serve for the tie-down points.

So theres you has it today. Not a stroke of varnish in sight as I'd hoped, but a lot of smaller jobs now out of the way and done to my satisfaction. I've also given the whole bird a gentle micromeshing to finish off. The next  task today is get get myself outside of some bacon rolls and to indulge in some quaffage of gin.

 

I hope you guys too are able to enjoy some of the baser and more satisfying elements of existence for the rest of the day.

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

[TonyTiger66]

It's coming on a treat Tony, the end is definitely nigh now !

 

I had always wondered what that white stripe was on the rear fuselage of Barracudas, now I know! How do they get the black lettering over the top of the cable? I'm probably being very stooopid, but I can't work out how the letters would always line up .

 

One quick thing; on my device (fnar), the photographs from your previous post (the one that included the link to the Youtoob Canterbury Tales), have vanished. No longer there  .

 

Might be my device (iPhone) but I just thought I'd mention it. I haven't seen your hook yet! 

 

Best regards

TonyT

[Martian]

26 minutes ago, TonyTiger66 said:

One quick thing; on my device (fnar), the photographs from your previous post (the one that included the link to the Youtoob Canterbury Tales), have vanished. No longer there  .

 

Same here!

 

Martian the Confused

[CedB]

Nice work on the dingy release and other fiddly bits Tony, nice touches.

Enjoy the Gin!

[TheBaron]

1 hour ago, TonyTiger66 said:

I had always wondered what that white stripe was on the rear fuselage of Barracudas, now I know! How do they get the black lettering over the top of the cable? I'm probably being very stooopid, but I can't work out how the letters would always line up .

 

Very neatly apparently

As far as I can discern Tony the actual cable is quite a thin one. The broader white stripe is a flat marker line.

1 hour ago, TonyTiger66 said:

One quick thing; on my device (fnar), the photographs from your previous post (the one that included the link to the Youtoob Canterbury Tales), have vanished. No longer there  .

 

Might be my device (iPhone) but I just thought I'd mention it. I haven't seen your hook yet! 

 

1 hour ago, Martian Hale said:

Same here!

I deleted the wrong duplicate shots in Flickr earlier. Those pics should be up again now. Thanks for the nudge lads.

39 minutes ago, CedB said:

Nice work on the dingy release and other fiddly bits Tony, nice touches.

Enjoy the Gin!

Thanks Ced. How I think I look drinking a Martini:

How I probably look:

[TonyTiger66]

That's a great close up of the cable Tony  , now it completely makes sense, thanks for posting it .

 

Enjoy the old Martini. I'm always amazed at the many ways it can be drunk. I found this quote regarding Hemingway's preferred mix:

 

"Hemingway favored a Martini dubbed the “Montgomery” – 15 parts gin to 1 part vermouth. Apparently 15:1 is said to be the ratio Field Marshal Bernard Montgomery preferred when going into battle."

 

Crikey ! 

Worth a try  ?

 

 

All the best

TonyT

[Beard]

Regarding martinis, Churchill's recipe: show the vermouth to the gin.

[keefr22]

1 hour ago, TonyTiger66 said:

That's a great close up of the cable Tony  , now it completely makes sense, thanks for posting it .

 

Ditto, we were wondering exactly the same! 

 

K & t 

[AdrianMF]

What a lot of extra parts - I've had kits with fewer pieces than that. Nice cable run too, although I've always wondered what happens if you ditch with the starboard side uppermost...

 

You could always have a bacontini* - it's very good for low carb diets and leaves you a hand spare for painting Maureen!

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

(* it is a Real Thing)