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Airfix 100 Years Of Naval Aviation Collection


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Hi All

 

Uh-Oh, here we go again...

 

bb76da19-22ce-4749-b5bf-963c4ea16400.JPG

 

So, this one has five kits (two biplanes, a glossy one, a helicopter, and a jet), and LOADS of paint to play with!

 

477860d2-67e3-4fa2-b375-acdf6848de01.JPG

 

For those with a morbid curiosity, they are :-

 

 11 Silver

 15 Midnight Blue

 24 Trainer Yellow

 27 Sea Grey

 29 Dark Earth

 31 Slate Grey

 33 Matt Black

 90 Beige Green

103 Cream

116 US Dark Green

123 Extra Dark Sea Grey

130 White

155 Olive Drab

156 Dark Camoflage Grey

163 Dark Green

164 Dark Sea Grey

165 Medium Sea Grey

171 Antique Bronze

 

No swaps, not even a Grey!

 

However, this time I intend to spend a little more time and effort on the actual construction, and not just on messing around with the airbrush.

 

To whit, onward.

 

#1 Sopwith Pup

 

This is the simplest of the collection, and is a well documented build. The main points of alteration I'm going to attempt are
 

Removal of the control horns from the pertinent wing surfaces

Adding cockpit detail

Creating the ducting under the lower engine cowling

Opening the void between the tail skid and the tailplane

Mounting the machine gun on a tripod firing through an aperture in the upper wing

Landing gear

Rigging...

 

I'm sure there are more, but these will be enough to start with.

 

Engine ducting marked and cut

5b41d131-6333-41c7-87c2-656cd492399a.JPG

 

d1728634-600a-4b79-a38a-17bce98c4a09.JPG

 

This will be filled when the halves are joined (and the postman comes with plastic card)

 

Tail opened up

2729cc4b-1b43-440d-aa0f-340155da2317.JPG

 

56eb3427-b580-4ca9-8731-63d8efec9193.JPG

 

And the cockpit detail...

96b1a9c7-778f-4935-b640-024e71f4d0d7.JPG

 

Hmm.

 

Seat locating holes filled, and parts cut for floor and internal framing with a coat of that 103

c403724b-436d-46ad-b85a-b91353ab2af5.JPG

 

And with a thinned coat of Burnt Umber ready for clear orange

a3f7f06e-5b2e-484c-966d-d74d74e901e6.JPG

 

I'd forgotten how nimble that enamel paint was, the slightest touch of the brush and it's away into every nook and cranny :(.

 

Hopefully I'll be able to correct that blob and generally tidy up when it's dried.

 

I know the wings have a "starving cow" look about them, but sanding them down (or any of the other exaggerated surface detail) can wait for another level of competence.

 

 

Anyhoo, going to take my time, and hopefully do a bit more modelling with these.

 

 

Comments, suggestions and general guidance welcome :dunce:

 

 

Cheers

Steve

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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This looks like a fun project. I'm in! My advice would be to ditch those awful Humbrol acrylics. They are little more than coloured snot, they spray like it as well!

 

Martian

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Nice choice Steve. This is sure to be a pleasurable marathon to watch. :thumbsup2:

 

I'd third the Martian's colourful turn of phrase regarding Humbrol's mucus-in-a-pot however...

 

Tony

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Nice choice of subject however that Pup looks awfully small to me, not sure my fat fingers and poor eyesight could manage that. Looking forward to watching these builds

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Ditto

 

Pretty well describes it really

 

Looks a fun project

 

Airfix crapppinnnapot paints suck

 

Whenever I've tried to use them they've been known to suck all creativity out of the room

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Looking good so far.

Not wanting to start an argument, but I've had some success with the free paints. I found a couple of drops of washing up liquid, and a couple of drops of tap water made them brush pretty well.

Only problem I found, was wiping the brush on the edge of the pot made the paint go rather grainy the next time I used it. Apart from that, they're ok. Obviously not up to the standard of better paints, but ideal for the target audience, ie someone starting out.

 

Keep up the good work.

 

Matt

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Hi All

 

Welcome gents, but please don't be offended when I side with Matt on this one :huh:!

 

I did flirt briefly with washing-up liquid in the mix, and it made a huge difference to the finish when using the hairy stick, haven't tried it airbrushed. Just have to watch out for the bubbles...

 

I'm as yet uncertain of my modelling abilities, and would rather hang fire on the decent paints until I think I can produce something worthy of putting them on (odd how English has suddenly become my second language?)

 

I've specifically targetted job lots of old kits on a well known internet auction site (some of them include those little plastic paint snots - thanks Martin!), but as none of them have cost me much, and I'm working through them as a step by step re-introduction back into this therapeutic hobby, if they don't make the grade, then nothing lost and no harm done.

 

If my eyes, fingers and patience can sustain, then a longer term investment in a decent airbrush and associated media will be sought. Your suggestions will be canvassed at great length :poke:.

 

Hope this hasn't put you off offering further (non paint related) advice

 

Comments and suggestions welcome as always

 

 

 

Cheers

Steve

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I will echo Martian here, this is your hobby and we will all be happy to offer advice as you go along

 

We will also not mind at all if you take our comments with a pinch of snuff

 

Go on and enjoy it

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If it's hairy brush action, then Humbrol acrylics can be fine; Humbrol 90 worked well for me until I shifted to an airbrush, except when I tried to use it during a cold snap, which seemed to cause it to grain quite noticeably. As an airbrush newbie, I use VMA as it works well out of the bottle and reduces the number of variables that I can stuff up. So if the Humbrol works for you, that's what matters most.

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Nearly missed this Steve - another Prof collection, I'm in! :popcorn: 

Judging by the results you achieved with the Humbrol paints on your VC set (pictures now sadly lost thanks to PB) and Sharkmouths I'm reserving any comments on the paints!

I see you're also venturing away from OOB - I can't wait to see how you get on, great work so far :) 

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Hi All

 

Thanks for the :thumbsup2: on my dodgy life choices re:-paint! I shall try to avoid giving you reason to say "told you so".

 

Anyhoo, while waiting for the burnt umber to dry, I had a go at the top wing.

 

After making sure it was the correct wing, I marked, drilled and filed the hole for the machine gun.

 

1004b1e6-faa3-43af-b551-f217a4e92f5d.JPG

 

9d7432ad-ac82-4832-8fb2-052425a68ce7.JPG

 

42048152-d337-4bd8-8a6e-59b6a214b677.JPG

 

Bit of a question about his machine gun, which one?

 

In this the well known photo of Dunning landing on HMS Furious

Dunning_Landing-on_Furious_In_Pup.jpg

 

is his gun a Vickers G.O. .303-inch, No. 1, Mk. I?

kgun3.jpg

 

Or, as in this photo

Beardmore%20built%20Sopwith%20Pup%209901

 

would it have been a Lewis?

20060143-001.jpg

 

This is what's in the kit, so either way it needs 'adjusting' (read 'remaking')

8bd86c45-766a-4c82-a530-5bc28f3dedbd.JPG

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

 

Cheers

Steve

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20 hours ago, ProfSparks said:

Your suggestions will be canvassed at great length :poke:.

 

Comments and suggestions welcome as always

 

 

 

Cheers

Steve

Oh dear boy, you'll get them whether you want them or not :D.

 

crack on and enjoy yourself!

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The gun provided in the kit is the air-cooled version of the Vickers belt-fed MG (not the K / GO which was a pan/magazine type like the Lewis, but not developed till the thirties).  It does look like Dunning's aircraft has a Lewis, which I hadn't spotted before.

cheers

Will

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4 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

I suspect that John at Aeroclub will be able to sort you out with a Lewis gun.

 

Martian

 

I've had a look across at the Aeroclub forum, and John seems to be AWOL?

 

Is there a secret entrance?

 

In the mean time, I'll see if I can fashion a dummy that can be used for perspective, then replaced.

 

A couple of lengths of rod and some thick card next to Edwin

681be452-55a2-46d9-857e-1b17c0382cd8.JPG

 

and next to the kit part

 

29967244-18a5-47c2-a69b-22b1469bf2cf.JPG

 

it looks a bit over scale, but it's at the edge of what I can see/manipulate at the moment.

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

 

Cheers

Steve

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John Adams hasn't run the Aeroclub website for several years now, not since his business partner and good friend died suddenly.

John is well into retirement now but he comes along occasionally.  He's only selling what he has in stock. He's not making or casting anything anymore.

AFAIK he has no WW1 m/gs. I know as I asked for some a couple of years back

Your best bet is to get a few Roden or Toko kits as they have loads of spares in them. One might supply a spare Lewis

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Hi All

 

Not much done today.

 

Got some clear orange on the wood bits

a78deb17-778c-434c-aa95-2965f7ce8b7f.JPG

(I made sure that errant burnt umber blob isn't noticeable when the halves are together :whistle:)

 

and the start of a handle on the Lewis

7b388294-8bc3-418a-a9e2-8d92fdf8dc5b.JPG

 

I must admit to beginning a modelling crush on those of you who regularly produce scratch built parts. At any scale. You know who you are.

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

 

Cheers

Steve

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Hi All

 

Got those cockpit sides on.

 

def3fa7f-edeb-459f-8c36-075cf0c594b3.JPG

 

That oil paint sure takes a long time to dry! Even with a coat of orange and another one of Pledge to try to seal it in, it still felt slightly greasy.

 

Very fiddly getting the wires to stick to it, and not to the pin I was using to drop contact adhesive.

 

Can't see that much of it once the sides are closed up

 

591d1853-38ef-40e6-9bec-2cafa4faa1f9.JPG

 

a3d213f1-3b5c-4f11-98ac-85419bf49f43.JPG

 

but that's probably due to inept photography.

 

 

Anyhoo, completed the Lewis

 

cce6259f-5de1-4038-a171-c55aa53c66c7.JPG

 

d8282aa7-9600-48c4-90da-5ec57054cb6b.JPG

 

Not quite, but close enough, and should be ok with a coat of paint, from a distance, poking out through the top wing

 

18c25229-f425-401e-b495-ea7f134f8d9d.JPG

 

My First Scratch Build! :hobbyhorse:

 

 

 

Comments and suggestions welcome

 

Cheers

Steve

 

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Great stuff Steve - good work on the Lewis; it may be your first scratch build but I'm sure it won't be your last!

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1 hour ago, ProfSparks said:

My First Scratch Build! :hobbyhorse:

Crampons

 

Two ropes

 

Double belays all along

 

Be careful

 

It's a slippery slope

 

YOU KNOW how we know don't you?   :nodding:

 

 

 

 

 

And well done that is a very nice Lewis

 

 

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