CedB Posted September 25, 2017 Share Posted September 25, 2017 Good luck from me too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted October 8, 2017 Author Share Posted October 8, 2017 8 Oct. I've not had much time at the bench in the last couple of weeks as domestic and other necessary chores have taken preference, in what time I did have I have concentrated on the gunsight and mount. After removing the square lens and cleaning up the sight I attempted to fashion a lens mount with palsticard which was not very successful, then I remembered that I still had some Contrail tube somewhere, so I took a piece of the largest diameter I have, slit it and stretched it over a suitable sized piece of sprue then soaked it in some very hot water. I used Tamiya green cap to cement the opened tube to the top of the gunsight body and left it overnight to set fully, then I slowly filed down the tube until I reached the desired shape. My intention was to use some clear acetate for the lens as suggested by Giorgio but while I was looking for a suitable piece I came across the film part from an Eduard Spitfire cockpit set which included the lens so I attached that with Gator Grip. I had to remove the sliding canopy again for the next job of extending the instrument coaming backwards with some Plasticard attached from below, then I added more card which had been carved (approximately) into the shape of the gunsight mount above that and fitted the sight. The only other thing I managed to achieve during this period was to replace the rivets on the fuel tank deflection armour. I had originally made far too many, close inspection of photos of the area shows that there only appeared to have been about a dozen on the bottom and rear edges and none(!) on the forward edge. Since these photos I have temporarily re-attached the sliding canopy and fixed the windscreen but not the armoured panel because I made a cutout in the fuel tank armour to allow the front of the original windscreen to fit ( as can be seen in some photos ) but as the new windscreen armour sits higher I will have to fill in the recess! Two steps forward one step back, as usual. I hope to get the windscreen sorted this afternoon and then continue spraying weather permitting, it's cold and wet here today. That's it for now, thanks for watching and any comments/suggestions welcome Cheers John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 1 hour ago, Biggles87 said: Two steps forward one step back, as usual As long as it's not the other way round, it still qualifies as progress That gunsight is looking darned good I'm not sure I totally understood the lens building procedure, though. You don't happen to have taken in-progress pic of the procedure, do you? TIA Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted October 8, 2017 Share Posted October 8, 2017 Nice sight John, great stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted October 9, 2017 Author Share Posted October 9, 2017 Thanks guys. Sorry I didn't take any in-progress photos of the gunsight G, I'll try to explain it better in the next update. I'm finding it a little tricky blending the new windscreen armour into the curve of the upper fuselage at the moment, I do wish I hadn't broken the original windscreen it was probably the best part of the original Hasegwa Mk V kit. The camouflage painting stage seems to be getting further and further away! Cheers John 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted October 15, 2017 Author Share Posted October 15, 2017 (edited) Sun 15 Oct. Hi all, just in case you think that I've abandoned this in favour of MH434, I still havn't achieved a satisfactory fit of the windscreen armour/ upper fuselage. I'm on my third attempt now and have decided to try joining the two windscreen parts, put a spacer below the armour panel, and try to blend it all in. Here's hoping Cheers John. Edited October 15, 2017 by Biggles87 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 Fingers crossed, then Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted October 15, 2017 Share Posted October 15, 2017 ... and mine 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted October 16, 2017 Author Share Posted October 16, 2017 Thanks guys, I'm pretty sure I've got it now. Yesterday I painted the bits that will be visible from outside and I hope to get them fixed this morning so that I can start rubbing down etc this afternoon. You can uncross your fingers now Cheers John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted October 21, 2017 Author Share Posted October 21, 2017 Ready for spraying again, guess what the weather has turned cold and damp again. Aaaaargh!!! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted October 22, 2017 Share Posted October 22, 2017 Rats. Here's hoping for some better weather, soon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted October 27, 2017 Author Share Posted October 27, 2017 27 Oct. I finally managed to spray a coat of Xtracolour RAF Dark Earth yesterday during some warm weather and here's a picture to prove it. As the paint was thinned with white spirit again it will be probably be 48hours before I can start masking for the Dark Green but I'm quite pleased with the result. Cheers John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 Looks like a very smooth job, John Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted October 27, 2017 Share Posted October 27, 2017 Seconded! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted November 6, 2017 Author Share Posted November 6, 2017 06 Nov. I finally managed to finish the masking (which always takes twice as long as one would expect) and sprayed on the RAF dark green on Saturday. I just could not resist removing some of the masking on Sunday and am generally quite pleased with the result, especially the demarcation above the starboard tailplane root which I usually have trouble with, oops sorry it's not visible in the photos. There are a couple of areas that need attention notably the radio hatch where I have not only managed to remove some of the dark earth but also some of the 'famous' raised rivets, hopefully this area will be covered by the fuselage roundel and I should get away with just replacing the lost rivets. You can also see from the photo below that the windscreen armour panel also needs some attention, I obviously missed it when I had the filler out, the curse of macro photography strikes again! There is a small amount of overspray on the port wing root where I failed to push the masking down sufficiently into the curved area , and I haven't yet unmasked the starboard wing as I forgot to empty the water trap in the compressor line and splattered a few drops of water on the green area where the wing roundel will be placed leaving a rough texture to the finish. I don't know if the roundel will actually lie flat over the area or wether I will have to remove the paint completely and respray, I am using Xtracolour paint and don't know if it is possible to rub them down successfully, perhaps someone out there will know but meanwhile I think I might put a spare roundel there to see if it settles flat and covers the imperfection. You have probably spotted my deliberate mistake, I forgot to mask and attach the elevators before spraying ( I had left them in another box ) and so they still need to have the green areas painted which I will probably do by brush unless I have to respray the outer wing. That's it for now, feel free to comment John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Hello John ! Pretty and neat painting, See that the masking tape stikes on your Spit too !! And now, start to feel thirsty about early Spitfires !! Damn it I'm crazy ! No must get on with my lates one ! Can't wait to see your finished ! Congratulations ! sincerely. Corsaircorp Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted November 6, 2017 Author Share Posted November 6, 2017 Thanks CC I used Friskette film for the masking, it's low-tack and usually very good, but there are always exceptions. Cheers John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Very nice John - good to see her with the paint on and I'm sure you'll have the small issues sorted in a trice 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 Great work so far 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted November 6, 2017 Author Share Posted November 6, 2017 Thanks guys, I don't know about a trice Ced, you should know my build speed by now. The next decision I have to make is wether to use decals or paint for the walkway lines. Cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted November 6, 2017 Share Posted November 6, 2017 a) My vote goes for painted walkway lines b ) Very nice to see camo on her, John Ciao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 I think you are right Giorgio, painting will be better in this scale.If I pull off any more paint when removing the masking I can always blame you for persuading me to do it. I think I probably lost the paint/rivets on the radio hatch because I hadn't primed it before painting, and I'm going to leave it anothe 24hours to make sure it's really cured before doing anything. Cheers John 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christer A Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 I like the added rivets! They add a lifelike quality to the rear fuselage. I've not had any problems with tape lifting of the paint since starting to use primer of good quality (Ultimate Primer!) Maybe something to consider for the future? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted November 7, 2017 Author Share Posted November 7, 2017 .Thanks Christer, Glad you like the rivets, I am pleased with the way they look. They are not 1/32 scale but HO designed for train modellers and are probably slightly over scale, but I think that on other 1/32 Spitfires they are too small or not there at all. I had primed everything except the radio hatch before painting, but that was made from Plasticard and added after everything else. Cheers John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted November 7, 2017 Share Posted November 7, 2017 4 hours ago, Biggles87 said: .If I pull off any more paint when removing the masking I can always blame you for persuading me to do it. Sure, go ahead I'll add one more thing, if I may: whenever I have to mask and paint over an existing color layer, I always airbrush a protective Future coat first. Not too much, as I don't need it to be super-glossy, just to protect the paintwork. HTH Ciao Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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