Colin W Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) Hi Chaps, Well I have never managed 2 in a GB before but here I am going for number 3. I'm not sure if I'll finish as I'm on holiday for the start of July and I'm away for work 1 week as well so only really 2 weeks to get this done. Its been to the top of the pile a few times and gone under again but with 3 weeks left its about the only 1 I'm likely to get done before the deadline. This has been in my stash for many years as I thought it was the twin engined one when I bought it and was probably a bit disapointed when it arrived. The other ARBA kit I has was the Gloster Whittle which I built back in 2006 and was a great kit for its time. Special Hobby brought the Whittle out soon after so this will prompt some mainstream guys to produce it. The box, also seen with a picture on the lid. I built the Airfix Bedford MWD last week while deciding whether to start this or a Meteor. Fills the box or would do if it was a smaller box! 6 pieces of resin, 11 bits of pewter and 2 canopies. How hard can it be................! Will make a start this week end. Colin W Edited January 6, 2018 by Colin W Picture restoration 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted June 4, 2017 Share Posted June 4, 2017 This is great Colin A really unusual aircraft and what a fascinating concept. I'm trying to imagine an alternative history in which such aircraft populated the decks of late WWII aircraft carriers. There aren't many parts in the kit, but as we all know, that doesn't necessarily mean it will be easy! Good luck for an enjoyable build; looking forward to seeing this incredible shape take form ! All the best TonyT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 4, 2017 Author Share Posted June 4, 2017 (edited) Cheers Tony The canard bomber from the cover of Tony Butlers 'Secret Projects' book was doing the rounds on the internet last week. What might have been? Maybe if Bleriot had followed the Wright brothers, Cody and the Bristol Box kite by putting the elevators in front then this would be the norm! Well it didn't take too long to get things underway. The instructions were 'sparse' but the gist was OK. I spent the morning tidying up the resin and twice nearly cut this scoop off. The patchy resin convincing me it was uncured and the scoop had inadvertently stuck in the wrong place. Then, just as I was about to cut I realised the hole under the scoop was aligned with it and its actually correct. Near Miss! Well that out of the way I joined up the front fuselage with the engine using epoxy. Once dry I added the main wings and then set the cannard wings to be parallel. The tails were supposed to be a butt joint but I drilled 1mm brass rod into the wing and tail to help with alignment and provide some strength to the join. I also cleaned up the pewter parts which were not too bad actually. Lovely seat and instrument pannel and a cracking throttle quadrant. It made me wonder about all the kits which provide impossible to see rudder pedals but give no throttle. These guys got it the right way round. Well a coat of filler here and there to tidy the joins and fill the odd air bubble ready for an overnight drying. I love getting the major assembly done before painting the cockpit. Cheers Colin Edited January 6, 2018 by Colin W Picture restoration 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 7, 2017 Author Share Posted June 7, 2017 (edited) I painted the interior with Int green mix and the instrument panel black. Seat belts were from tape as usual. The cockpit went together very well and I was soon absorbed into the the vacform canopy. ARBA provide a spare which is always useful but not necessary in this case. The material is probably some of the thickest canopy material I have come across and it took quite a bit of cutting out. Fit was quite good and the material was very clear after a dunk in Future. I did use a bit of filler around the front of the canopy and at the rear where it was slightly proud of the front wing. I was so absorbed I forgot to take a picture until after the canopy was on and masked. Shame as it was quite nice. Anyway here it is with the green sprayed on. Once the green was dry I gave it a couple of coats of grey Mr Surfacer with a light sand in between to cover over the base colours and give a flat start point. The undersides were then sprayed with white ready for the yellow. Meanwhile I have painted the wheels and prop. Should not take too long but I just realised I have to make my own decals. Another job! Colin Edited January 6, 2018 by Colin W Picture restoration 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 9, 2017 Author Share Posted June 9, 2017 (edited) Well ripping through this. At least 14 years in the stash and open box to final paint in a week. I should have made it before. Apparently a Libuella is Latin for dragonfly. The dragonfly always has the tandem wing with the rear wing wider than the fore wing. Libelluloidea is a family of dragonflies. I painted the undersides yellow over the white, masked them and painted the brown and then copied the camo pattern from the instructions masked the brown and painted the green. The pictures are about twice real size so I can see a bit of touching up is needed. Decals to print now. I'll leave it for a few days to degas and get the wheels on. Colin Edited January 6, 2018 by Colin W Picture restoration 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 A fascinating subject and the dragonfly name seems very apt. Cliff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 10, 2017 Author Share Posted June 10, 2017 Yes I thought Libellula was an odd name but once translated its an ideal name for this plane. I have just printed the decals and the serial number is U0235. This is very unusual for a military serial and is not a Makers number or civilian one either. Does anyone know where this might have come from? Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Wiki don't mention the serial https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles_M.35_Libellula The M39B used the serial SR392. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 It looks great Colin. A really nice kit by the look of it. I like how you say it's been 15 years in the stash and just over a week to paint ! If only they were all like that. Good stuff TonyT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dermo245 Posted June 10, 2017 Share Posted June 10, 2017 Terrific work, looking great. Such an unusual concept, like something by Bert Rutan. Cheers, Dermot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted June 11, 2017 Share Posted June 11, 2017 Very nice. Such an odd looking machine! Needs a Handley-Page Manx to go with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 (edited) A Handley Page Manx! How about an M52? Actually this is another ARBA kit I built about 10 years ago. Another stunning Miles creation destroyed by government bungling! Sorry no pics of this with the Libellula as I left it in the UK. Colin Edited January 6, 2018 by Colin W Pics added 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted June 11, 2017 Author Share Posted June 11, 2017 (edited) Well I said it would be a quick build and here we are after 8 days. Quick even for me! Moving on from the last pictures I painted the main camouflage and popped the main landing gear on. Decals were nice and easy, Main roundels were from a 1/72 microscale sheet of excessive years but still perfect. The P was from the same Fantasy Print shop sheet as the P on the 510 above. Serials were home printed. All floated on with a layer of Future. A coat of Microscale satin to blend it all together and leave a sheen. I find the matt too flat in 1/48 so prefer the satin. Cockpit unmasked and the prop fitted. Thanks for the likes and the comments above. Cheers Colin Edited January 6, 2018 by Colin W Picture restoration 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted June 15, 2017 Share Posted June 15, 2017 Very nice, and just 8 days - wow! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whirly Posted June 23, 2017 Share Posted June 23, 2017 On 10/6/2017 at 9:55 AM, Colin W said: I have just printed the decals and the serial number is U0235. This is very unusual for a military serial and is not a Makers number or civilian one either. Does anyone know where this might have come from? Quoting from Wikipedia: "test serials are used to externally identify aircraft flown within the United Kingdom without a full Certificate of Airworthiness. They can be used for testing experimental and prototype aircraft or modifications, pre-delivery flights for foreign customers and are sometimes referred to as "B" class markings". Excellent model by the way and finished in record time too! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted June 24, 2017 Share Posted June 24, 2017 Superb ! A great model. I keep looking at it and thinking: "Did this really exist in real life?". Yes, it did. A really nice model made in record time and a great addition to the Gallery. Thank you for a great contribution to the Group Build . Best regards TonyT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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