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Airfix 1/48th Walrus


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Saw the new Airfix Walrus in the window of the Faversham Hobby Shop on Saturday but unfortunately he was closed! Was seriously tempted. Was intending to get some Alclad too! Missed out on a few quid there! Still looks a great kit and seems to go together well! Following with interest! 

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11 hours ago, Threadbear said:

Saw the new Airfix Walrus in the window of the Faversham Hobby Shop on Saturday but unfortunately he was closed! Was seriously tempted. Was intending to get some Alclad too! Missed out on a few quid there! Still looks a great kit and seems to go together well! Following with interest! 

Hi Threadbear, thank you, your welcome. 

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10 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Nice progress. The interior looks stunning.B)

 

John

Many thanks Johnny. Not much progress as I was decorating over the weekend. That and a trip to Bovington model show. 

Back to work Wednesday, so production can be resumed. ;)  

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Does anyone on this forum have details of the Walrus's tailplane construction, was it wood or metal? I ask because I've noticed the subtle scalloping to the rear face of the tailplane which is an effect usually restricted to the trailing edges of WW1 era aircarft wings which had a wire supporting the fabric. Has anyone got photographic evidence of Walrus in service showing the elevator hinge line as built? I feel that the effect may be evident on the museum airframe Airfix inspected / lidared and that it is actually a sign of aging structure as its something I've not seen on other aircraft be they wood or metal structure. I'm happy that a few strokes of a sanding block will restore the straight edge I feel should be present, but I'd like to know if its my gut or Airfix's research which is correct before putting silicon carbide to plastic.

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Hello Aeronut, I'm sorry, I couldn't answer that one. Hopefully someone else will be able to give you the information your after. 

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9 hours ago, Aeronut said:

Does anyone on this forum have details of the Walrus's tailplane construction, was it wood or metal? I ask because I've noticed the subtle scalloping to the rear face of the tailplane which is an effect usually restricted to the trailing edges of WW1 era aircarft wings which had a wire supporting the fabric. Has anyone got photographic evidence of Walrus in service showing the elevator hinge line as built? I feel that the effect may be evident on the museum airframe Airfix inspected / lidared and that it is actually a sign of aging structure as its something I've not seen on other aircraft be they wood or metal structure. I'm happy that a few strokes of a sanding block will restore the straight edge I feel should be present, but I'd like to know if its my gut or Airfix's research which is correct before putting silicon carbide to plastic.

Hi Aeronut,

 

I am slightly confused. Do you mean the fixed empennage, or the movable elevator, or both?

 

Both elements were constructed of plywood with metal fixtures and fittings and covered with doped fabric.

 

Looking in Kightly, J & Wallsgrove, R., 2004, Supermarine Walrus and Stranraer, Yellow Series No. 6113, Mushroom Model Magazine Specal, Stratus, Poland, ISBN 83-917178-9-5, on P. 59 there is a picture of the starboard empennage of A2-4 that has been covered in a clear film to allow inspection and illustration of the internal frame work. A thin metal frame/wire is shown. P. 57 has 2 images, one looking along the trailing edge of the elevator, the second from a lower 4 O'clock position and neither show anything other than a straight trailing edge of the elevator.

 

Looking through the photographs in that tome and Hall, A.W. and Sturtivant, R. ?, Warpaint Series No. 39, Supermarine Walrus, Warpaint Books Ltd., Luton, ISBN ?, there are no clear indications to a 'wavy' trailing edge. However, there are many images showing the ripple effect of taunt fabric over the ribs, etc. that form the skeleton of the airframe here.

 

HTH!

 

Christian, exiled to africa with blanky, (A.K.A. my library!)

Edited by wyverns4
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Its the rear vertical face of the fixed empennage that attracted my attention and why I wanted to know about the material of its construction. Airfix have given this rear face that slight scallop you get with fabric over ribs, its just that of all the aircraft I've ever had dealings with (both wood and metal) I've never seen fabric covered ribs on the rear face of a empennage before. I have though seen distortion caused by the tension of the fabric on the underlying structure in museum aircraft (there are some wonderful examples of warped trailing edges out there). It could be that it is a method of construction unique to Supermarine , and as my personal experience of Supermarine seaplanes is nil it could be just my 'Engineer's mind-set' asking, Why? It looks like I might have to take the 40 minute drive down the A303 at the weekend and take a close look at Yeovilton's Walrus. 

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Ah, gotcha! Thanks for the info!

 

Having another look through the two tomes mentioned above there are not many images that show this particular area in any clarity. In, Kightly & Wallsgrove, 2004, on P. 17, there is a picture, taken from the starboard quadrant looking back at the airframe that shows nicely defined ridge-and-furrow, (archaeological description!), across the empennage. The image is cut just before the hinge line, unfortunately...

 

The limited area visible in the transparent covered section on P. 59, shows the structural element at the hinge line to be as wide, if not a little thicker, as the ribs making up the empennage. The section in front of the aerodynamic balance on the elevator resembles a rib and appears to be of equal thickness to those present in the empennage.

 

Those ribs, (1 & 1/2), visible in the image appear to have slightly less depth than the hinge line sections, but if so, not by much. As the fabric cover would be doped, it is difficult to see how the ridge and furrows would show. Unless the fabric was old/well used and starting to loosen, thus sagging...

 

Christian, exiled to africa

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Hello gentlemen, 

 

just a quick update. 

 

My backorder from Hannants is on the way (see photo below). This will be the only extras I will be adding to the model, apart from the rigging.

 

I might even be able to make a start on the painting in the week should the opportunity arise. In the meantime, I will carry on gluing the sub assemblies together, and post a couple of photos of them tomorrow. 

 

 gdjB1ZK.jpg

 

FE849.pdf

Thats it for now. Thanks for looking, Joe 

 

 

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20 hours ago, jrlx said:

The seat belts will enhance the interior detail, Joe. Good choice!

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

Hello Jaime, thank you. They should arrive in a day or so.

 

I've glued the ailerons, and the folding portion of the trailing edge to the lower wings. If the wings are going to be folded, different trailing edge parts are provided with the kit. 

 

bQUcLJT.jpg

 

ZjH4OJ0.jpg

There are are seven main parts to the engine nacelle. When assembled, this is mounted on the fuselage at a 3 degree angle.

 

XOMnDFD.jpg

Airfix have highlighted this in the instructions in case the modeller thinks it's an error. 

I belive this was to counter the yaw created by the prop wash over the rudder.

 

qLUxRSp.jpg

The engine nacelle. 

With the nacelle mounting struts in place, and the oil cooler hole at the forward end, I think it looks like some kind of space dog. 

 

lpgAfyK.jpg

Good boy, die for your country. 

 

I might dry fit the fuselage and wings together over the weekend, to get some idea of how big the final model will look. 

 

Thanks for looking, Joe.

 

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Yes, the space dog is cute :)

 

The quality of the moulding shows in every part and your precise work is doing the kit justice.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

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On 13/10/2017 at 7:34 PM, Nigel Heath said:

Like the space dog.

Thank you Nigel. 

 

20 hours ago, jrlx said:

Yes, the space dog is cute :)

 

The quality of the moulding shows in every part and your precise work is doing the kit justice.

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

Hi Jaime, thank you. It's going together nicely.

 

2 hours ago, CedB said:

Space dog, arf arf!

Nice work Joe, as always :)

Thanks Ced. Glad you enjoyed your flight. 

 

I've taped together the major parts to see what I can work out of sequence, and get an idea of the size of the completed model.

The wingspan is over 11 inches (showing my age now using inches). 

 

qAbhEGC.jpg

The space dog can be seen supporting the upper wing. 

 

m9YKJ4t.jpg

The fit is better than the tape makes it appear.

 

xoU7AEU.jpg

I think the internal detail should be seen nicely on the finished model.

 

I still intend to glue as many parts as possible before I start the painting. I will begin by spraying all the components with a primer before applying the top coat. 

Thanks for looking, Joe. 

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11 minutes ago, czechnavy said:

This is going to be my one purchase at Scale Model World!!

 

There is a walk-around of the RAAF Point Cook Walrus in the latest edition of the IPMS Magazine as well.

Thanks for the tip. I'm planning to make the yellow Australian Walrus. 

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21 hours ago, Fatboydim said:

 

 

I've taped together the major parts to see what I can work out of sequence, and get an idea of the size of the completed model.

The wingspan is over 11 inches (showing my age now using inches). 

 

As the real aeroplane was built in proper feet n inches your use of them for the model is entirely appropriate: none of that namby-pamby foreign decimal stuff here, thank you!

 

Apart from that it looks like you're doing very well with this kit, but I've got to resist starting on mine 'til I've shifted some of the EEC Pile of Doom mountain that I've accrued over too long.

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On 15/10/2017 at 3:35 PM, jrlx said:

The dry fit model looks really nice, Joe! I'm sure it'll look impressive once finished :)

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

Hello Jaime, I'm slowly getting there. Once I get the painting out the way, I can start to put it together. That will be a while yet though. 

 

Cheers, Joe. 

 

23 hours ago, stever219 said:

As the real aeroplane was built in proper feet n inches your use of them for the model is entirely appropriate: none of that namby-pamby foreign decimal stuff here, thank you!

 

Apart from that it looks like you're doing very well with this kit, but I've got to resist starting on mine 'til I've shifted some of the EEC Pile of Doom mountain that I've accrued over too long.

Thank you stever219. 

You may you have a Doom mountain, I have my Fleet of Shame. It's a collection of ship kits, all unmade.

This includes, 3 1/350 aircraft carriers, a couple of 1/72 submarines, one of each of the large Italeri MTB's (I can't even remember the scale at the moment). Plus lots of other ships that I've forgotten about. I did make the Tamiya I-400 submarine, but also bought the clear version, which remains in the box. 

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7 hours ago, Fatboydim said:

This includes, 3 1/350 aircraft carriers

These should be quite impressive once built! Could you provide Scalemate links of them? I have a soft spot for ships, because I built several as a kid :)

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

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On 16/10/2017 at 7:24 PM, zebra said:

Looking good Joe. I couldn't resist dry-fitting mine, looks great doesn't it!

Hello Z, it certainly does. 

 

On 17/10/2017 at 12:34 AM, jrlx said:

These should be quite impressive once built! Could you provide Scalemate links of them? I have a soft spot for ships, because I built several as a kid :)

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

Hello Jaime, I used to line up all the aircraft on the flight deck when I was a kid with my model carriers. Airfix Victorious was my favourite.

 Are the links below what you wanted? 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/114967-tamiya-78007-uss-enterprise-aircraft-carrier

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/149924-trumpeter-05602-uss-essex-cv-9

 

https://www.scalemates.com/kits/104538-trumpeter-05607-uss-saratoga-cv-3-1936-1940

 

I've painted some of the main assemblies. I used Tamiya XF-3 yellow. 

 

kyXgCst.jpg

 

QfAX2Bu.jpg

 

j5mAk1X.jpg

 

I will give the paint a few days to harden, then I'll polish it with micro-mesh. This way, I find when I apply a wash, the areas that have not been touched with the micro-mesh (around raised detail), will stain more, and hopefully highlight the detail. I want to see how the detail stands out after weathering.

 

When I do glue the fuselage sections together, I will have to touch up the joints, and weather those areas again.

Well, that's plan, I'll have to wait and see if it works out. I've not started painting the interior yet, as I can make more progress this way

with the time I have at the moment. 

 

Thanks for looking, Joe. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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