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Supermarine's best? [Now with added Seafire 47... & Seafang!]


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On 25/10/2017 at 7:47 PM, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

 It is by no means impossible that I will work on both manifestations of R J Mitchell's genius at the same time!

It's not entirely undesirable that you do that thing. 

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I think I am basically done here:

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I will take some proper RFI photos later in the week, but I think I have crossed out the whole snag list!

 

This Airfix kit is highly recommended, despite being over 20 years old - particularly if you address known deficiencies (which are far from deal breakers, IMHO) with some after-market resin, as I have, and if you get the more recent boxing (the plastic is the same, but the transfers are way better).  It fits beautifully, and though it has the Airfix deep panel lines, once painted they're fine.  I have deliberately not washed or emphasised them, because they're sufficiently deep not to need it - in the photo above seen from starboard forward you can see them clearly, so they don't need to be made to stick out; they certainly don't on the original.

 

Besides, as far as I know it's the only Seafire 46/47 in 1/48, so the only other option is to do some pretty significant kit-bashing; what's the point when this is available?

 

A truly beautiful aircraft, of course, and lots of fun to build.

 

RFI soon

 

Crisp

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She's looking beautiful, Crisp :clap: Looking forward to those RFI pics :Tasty:

 

I see your point about the trenchy panel lines - you don't want to overemphasize them; I would have probably (personal taste, no criticism intended) attempted a very light post-shading along said panel lines, but than I'm not sure it would have given the look you were after with this.

 

Anyway, mojo restored, I think; on top of that, a stunning rendition of "Supermarine's best". Hat's off, sir :worthy:

 

Ciao

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That rates a genuine awesome from me Crisp. blooming superb in fact. Those contra props look uber mean in that head on shot, you wouldn't want to walk into them while it was running by mistake , instant ground crew smoothie. :sick:

Steve.

Edited by stevehnz
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Excellent work Crisp. 

I do have a liking for FAA paint (although I do prefer ones with lots of Sky) so maybe ill visit "that" auction site and see what I can find...

And I see you've already started on the Shagbat as well, but wasn't there a rotor-head thingy to be done? (hint) :poke:

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Rather superb that!

 

Must fight the urge to tickle the stash monsters tummy to see if she can regurgitate one of these...

 

Christian, exiled to africa

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11 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

...the yellow 104s look very different between Port and Stbd - is that a trick of the light?

Yes, it’s the light; the 104s are the same.

 

Thanks for all the kind comments, everyone.  I’ve already explained enough about the pause on the Sea King, Big Dave; elbows in the ribs won’t make any difference!  All in good time.  

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18 minutes ago, heloman1 said:

Fantastic build and finish Crisp, I've enjoyed the ride and you may just have persuaded/convinced me not to sell my kit. Congratulations.

 

Colin

No, you definitely shouldn't sell it; the original transfers are looking a bit long in the tooth nowadays, and if you're worried about accuracy you might want a little aftermarket (like me - props & cowling), but on the whole it is an excellent kit; I really enjoyed building it, and will definitely be building another (as an FR47 this time).

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Holy thread-resurrection, Batman!

 

If you go back a couple of pages in this build, you will see a stray 1/48 Griffon.  It was not fitted to the FR46 (nor was it ever intended to be) - but it's time I came clean.  

 

I so enjoyed building the Airfix Seafire 46 that I promptly went out and bought another one, this time to be built as a Mk 47, complete with folded wings. And this time I have decided to detail it a tad; there are various after-market goodies available.

 

I have decided NOT to add resin gunbays, but I AM building in an Aires cockpit (probably an act of lunacy, since I know how little of the cockpit is actually visible once done), and a beautiful Aires Griffon - which was the one sneak previewed a few weeks ago.

 

While my Walrus is taking a couple of days off (the only down side of using oils in weathering is that it is sensible to wait at least 48 hours for it all to dry before you start handling things again), I have gone back to Seafires - specifically to this:

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The underside panel (with the distinctive Seafire 47 chin intake) is not glued in place, but everything else you see is glued.  Today I have been adding the pipes on this side of the engine: the Z-shaped one that runs from the coolant header tank overflow / pressure relief valve (guess who has been poring over drawings in Morgan & Shacklady!), ducks underneath the engine bearer and ends in a drain (i.e. a hole); and the big fat one that runs from the underside of the coolant header tank join (not visible in this shot), along the bottom of the engine bearer, ducks inside and ends up at bottom left heading through the firewall in the direction of the starboard radiator - it has a mirror image on the port side of the engine.

 

Aires provide some 0.9mm copper wire for these pipes, but I soon discarded that on the grounds that it is impossible to bend with any degree of accuracy / control - and these boys need some serious bending.  Instead I am using 0.9mm lead wire (what would we do without Plus Model, eh?).  The thinner pipe (Z-shaped one) is made of 0.4mm Albion Alloys nickel tube, which is stuff I use a lot.  You can also see 0.2mm nickel tube involved in ignition wires - but that was put in a few weeks ago.

 

In this second shot without the underside panel, you can see the join with the coolant tank (bottom right) and get a better idea of the fat pipe run (there is a resin connector joining two sections of pipe, fitted immediately beneath where the main engine bearer beam joins its smaller, thinner support cousin).  Anyone who has ever worked with Aires will not be surprised to learn that - though the detail is beautifully cast - the tolerances are minuscule; you have to sand things within an inch of their life.  I will show you what I've had to do to the fuselage in later posts, but here you can see how much of the engine and panel had to be sanded off to make it fit - and how the fat coolant pipe actually breaks at the front end of the engine.  Trust me; you won't be able to tell once it is finished.

 

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Anyway.  The Walrus is my main priority; this build will only advance slowly, during periods when the Walrus needs to dry etc.  But the FR46 will eventually have an FR47 stablemate (markings yet to be decided, but high EDSG/Sky demarkation line, wings folded, not Korea stripes (they were only worn for a couple of weeks, yet almost every Mk47 you see modelled has them).

 

More in due course.

 

Crisp

 

P.S. Added photo of the fuselage and wing cutting & sanding that has to be done to get this to fit - with countless dry fitting to check, check & check again.   Note how thin you have to make the fuselage wall by the little stub of wing root that remains (otherwise the engine bearers foul it), and note the big thick groove you have to file inside for the firewall to fit. You can't see how thin the fuselage walls are in the cockpit area here, but trust me they are - the whole fuselage is quite fragile at present, and will be until everything is glued together.  However, though it is a lot of work, it DOES fit if you keep at it - and I think it is going to look pretty decent.  

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It also gives me a better idea of how tightly everything was crammed in there; I tend to think of the engine finishing somewhere around the leading edge of the wing, but in fact the rear edge of the hole cut in the wing coincides with the firewall - i.e. the engine goes almost as far back as the landing gear.

Edited by Ex-FAAWAFU
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Fascinating stuff, Crisp :clap: Lovely details on that engine :worthy:

My next build is involving an Aires cockpit; should I start worrying? :frantic:

 

BTW, did you post an RFI for the mk46?

 

Ciao

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You don't seem to have restored any of your mojo ( which I assume means ...some sort of...motivation ???...didn't ask before as everybody else seemed perfectly happy with it and I felt a bid ignorant!!! At this time most might be having dinner thus my comment could go unnoticed!!!) to go back to your Sea King wonderful build!!!

Anyway we're all enjoying your diversion(S), thus there's no rush!!! You can go all the way back to Seafire 1 and nobody will complain!!!

Pop corn price may go up a bit for the increased demand, but that's no problem!!!;)

By the way...you said seafire 47?...Go for it!!!:yes:

Ciao 

Massimo

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