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Airfix/Magna Bristol Freighter Mk 31


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My freighter continues at a snails pace, the one from NZ will be back, restored and on display before I finish at this rate!

Anyway nose is on and took a lot of filler to blend in, still not perfect but nearly there. Would help if the Airfix fuselage and Magna nose were the same profile. Tail also in place and filled.

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Wings also on with fairly clean joints.

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Need to start looking at nacelles next, the Magna ones are not correct and will need to be altered.

More soon if I stop fiddling with the Botha as well!

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2 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

The nose has blended in nicely, and the wing fit looks good too. I like the Botha in the background too!

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thanks Adrian, thought about a WIP for the Botha still might before it progresses much further.

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  • 1 month later...

Spent too long contemplating the engines which should look like this, but without the lump at the bottomIMG_24211_zpseosacajt.jpg

 

Unfortunately the Magna nacelle looks nothing like it and the Airfix one is too small and doesn't allow the exhaust stubs to stick out.

IMG_24191_zpsztml2bz2.jpg

 

So the solution is to bin the Magna ones, wrap the Airfix ones to beef them up and replace the rear ring with some thin plastic card to create a recess for the exhausts.

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Then add the exhausts which in most Freighter photos spew vast amounts of gung.

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I've since been undercoating to see how much more filling is needed but in my view they have the right amount of presence.

More soon but then this has arrived ready for the Seaplane Group Build...less than £20 inc postage! Must resist the temptation to start now!

IMG_24371_zpsd7h8avi2.jpg

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Nice job on the cowlings BB, they're looking very good :)

Hide the Felixstowe somewhere - I'll look forward to the build later in the year.

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2 hours ago, CedB said:

Nice job on the cowlings BB, they're looking very good :)

Hide the Felixstowe somewhere - I'll look forward to the build later in the year.

Thanks Ced, won't start the Felixstowe yet and may do a vacform Blackburn Iris for the seaplane GB anyway. Apparently the NZ Freighter has the wings off ready for shipping to the UK!

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  • 2 weeks later...

work continues with the cockpit glazing cut out only to find it's too small so a blocking strip needed to be stuck behind it.IMG_25491_zpslkzhh0et.jpg

 

After a bit of fiddling, rubbing down, edges painted black etc the canopy has been glued on, use Bostik clear these days seems to work quite well.

Also starting to look at making decals, the 'Bristol' on the tail is a rough draft using an AutoCAD trace of a logo downloaded from the internet and then the trace coloured in, the actual colour will be more royal blue. Not sure yet how to do the blue window stripe and the yellow edging pin stripe. Any suggestions from people used to doing civilian aircraft?

IMG_25531_zpstl09qq5s.jpg 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I have a part built one from years ago, going to get this conversion as the front nose doors are missing and a cowling.. Was only looking at this the other day through Google but I didn't realise it was a current build! I never bothered to check, just assumed it was an old thread. Good to see it's very much alive and kicking.

 

 

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3 hours ago, Silver Fox said:

Lovely work I especially like the solution to the exhaust issue. I really like the aircraft itself, my wife and I had afternoon tea in one turned into a café in NZ.

Thanks Silver Fox, I hope to go inside one myself one day soon when the NZ one arrives at the new Bristol Aero Museum in Filton!

 

3 hours ago, CedB said:

Looking very smart BB, she's coming along really well :) 

Thanks Ced, what are you working on now? Am I missing a WIP?

 

3 hours ago, Radleigh said:

I have a part built one from years ago, going to get this conversion as the front nose doors are missing and a cowling.. Was only looking at this the other day through Google but I didn't realise it was a current build! I never bothered to check, just assumed it was an old thread. Good to see it's very much alive and kicking.

 

 

Hi RB there was a Magna conversion on eBay recently, may have gone now. With my rate of progress it is easy to get the idea this was an abandoned project, but on the home straight now!

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Lots of wrapping and masking plus blue Halfords spray can produces...

IMG_26581_zpsjc8uhncv.jpg

 

...lots of blue paper but when peeled of the blue line worked quite well with minimum bleed.

IMG_26601_zpsl9mglmju.jpg

 

Decided to add the thin gold line top and bottom using printed decal strip, not finished yet but seems to work ok..

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Not all my homemade decals are a success, need to redo these but have ran out of paper. Any thoughts on why the ink has done that?

IMG_26891_zpstu67tpxu.jpg

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Very nice stripe BB :)

Pity about the decal printing. Is it an InkJet you're using? Which way did the paper go through? Looks light 'right to left' in your picture?

I'm not an expert but, if it's an inkjet, I would suggest putting it through its 'clean cartridge nozzle' cycle to see if that's the problem. No idea how it mixes blue but the red looks a bit iffy too - or is that reflection? Otherwise it might be the cartridges...

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37 minutes ago, CedB said:

Very nice stripe BB :)

Pity about the decal printing. Is it an InkJet you're using? Which way did the paper go through? Looks light 'right to left' in your picture?

I'm not an expert but, if it's an inkjet, I would suggest putting it through its 'clean cartridge nozzle' cycle to see if that's the problem. No idea how it mixes blue but the red looks a bit iffy too - or is that reflection? Otherwise it might be the cartridges...

Hi Ced, no its a Laser printer, but I think you may be right about cleaning . The yellow worked well so why shouldn't red and blue? The red is iffy, sadly it's not reflection. Ordered more paper from MrDecal on ebay. The other thing about these decal papers is they have no ability to stick once dry, they need varnish on them quick otherwise the next time you pick the model up the decals are stuck to your fingers or lost on the floor!

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Oh heck that sounds painful! Try rocking the toner cartridges too when you clean the roller (every little helps?) i hope that's not messy...

The comment about the decals not sticking is worrying. I bought some paper from these guys and they seem fine but I've only used it for small areas. Not sure who put me onto them and it may well be the same stuff.

Let's hope it's not the paper... do the designs print OK on plain paper?

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In the past I have given the decals a couple of coats of Microscale Liquid Decal Film over the top of them and that seems to have worked fine. The rest of the model is looking pretty cool though.

 

Martian

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  • 4 weeks later...

Nearly there, thank goodness. I'm sure we all get to a point with some models that you just want it finished so you can move on, for me this is one. Not sure why, maybe because its not turned out as well as expected, problems with decals etc I now have new found respect for anyone doing pristine airliners with crisp pinstripes, looking forward to going back to camouflage and gunk to hide all the flaws.

Still needs some weathering and exhaust stains, lots of exhaust stain! Freighter nacelles were always filthy.

See you in RFI soon.

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IMG_2834_zpsnhq1pfxb.jpg

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I think you are being over hard on yourself.  think it looks great. Incidentally, if you did not want to go overboard on the weathering, you don't have to. As a teenager, a friend of mine was employed to clean the wings of freighters based at Hurn as a weekend job. So at least an effort was made to keep those aircraft clean.

 

Martian

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