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Airfix 1/48 Walrus


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I have started the new Walrus and done some initial construction and test fitting. As I only sprayed the interior green today I am letting it dry overnight then will do some of the detail painting and weathering inside tomorrow. This is going to be wings folded, hatches closed up and no rigging while the second one I will start later on will be wings extended, hatches open and rigged.

 

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Edited by Harvs73
Deleting link to ongoing build log.
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Dave,

Looking good! I just received mine from Hannants and very happy with what I see in the box.

Plan on doing next after the Stuka so I will be watching to see how she goes together.

 

All the Best!

Don

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The engine pod and struts is a good idea but a pain to get right if you don't fit the internal part correctly prior to adding the three external components.

 

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A bit of work on the internals was carried out with a bit more work to be done on painting the tables etc.

 

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These little pegs on the bottom of the wings are what holds the lower wings to the fuselage when they are folded so make sure it is solidly joined to the upper wing unit.

 

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I just put the top of the fuselage on the aircraft, whoever designed the joint needs a clip over the back of the head. I doubt any normal modeller would be able to fit the roof without destroying a large amount of fine detail in the area.

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11 minutes ago, Harvs73 said:

I just put the top of the fuselage on the aircraft, whoever designed the joint needs a clip over the back of the head. I doubt any normal modeller would be able to fit the roof without destroying a large amount of fine detail in the area.

I agree you have to be very careful not to lose detail when cleaning up the join. Did yours fit badly? Mine was a pretty good fit, but not perfect. It took a little work - but not really a lot - to clean up. 

 

Yours is looking good. Which colour scheme are you going for?

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On 08/10/2017 at 22:26, Harvs73 said:

The engine pod and struts is a good idea but a pain to get right if you don't fit the internal part correctly prior to adding the three external components.

 

 

 

 

Sorry it's a bit late for your first one but how about attaching the engine support struts to the fuselage top (and/or upper centre section) with PVA (or blu-tack?) whilst you build up the nacelle?  Hopefully that should ease any alignment issues.  If not I'll get back under my rock while you jump on it.

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Stever219, the problem I believe is the actual internal component as it is made with a casting seam around the middle of it which needs to be sanded correctly to make sure it fits properly and aligns well, something I didin't do to well it seems.

 

I have put the sides and roof on now and filled in the seams (probably my error) around the joints. I think I need to spend more time getting the joints right as the keel was slightly off centre somehow.

 

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1 hour ago, Harvs73 said:

Stever219, the problem I believe is the actual internal component as it is made with a casting seam around the middle of it which needs to be sanded correctly to make sure it fits properly and aligns well, something I didin't do to well it seems.

 

Sorry Harvs, I'd not spotted the seam, but thank you for your warning for when mine does eventually emerge.

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Looking good Harvs.

 

I found the same issue with the nacelle on mine. I didn't do a perfect job of removing it and ended up using a little filler.

 

i think getting the internal bits to fit perfectly is key to getting the fuselage together. Someone else on here has commented that the frame the pilots seat attaches to sat slightly high - this would cause problems with the fit of the roof. the kit seems to be well engineered but with tight tolerances - as with a few other new Airfix kits. In my build I was conscious that this might be the case so made sure that when I put the floor and those frames in they were attached very firmly. It seemed to pay off as I didn't have much trouble with the fit of the roof or fuselage sides. In fact my build has gone remarkably quickly (by my standards) - all the major subassemblies built in a week and now have some painting done.

 

My overall view of this kit is it's very nice and goes together well with care, but it's a little complex so I wouldn't recommend it to an inexperienced modeller.

Edited by zebra
Hit submit too soon!
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Looks a fantastic kit David nice work on the interior,  I remember building the matchbox one years ago. I may have to find room for one of these.

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Zebra, I would have to agree about making sure it all fits. I found the seat problem and trimmed the lugs a little and it went in much better (and lower).

 

I think the biggest complexity with the kit will be adding the tighing if you use thread. Previously on my 1/48 SMER Swordfish I didn't glue the wing halves together until after painting and rigging, not sure that would work well here.

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I've glued my wings together already so too late for anything else! I've not rigged a biplane before (probably 30 years since I built a biplane), I'm actually looking forward to the challenge. Not sure what that says about me.

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11 hours ago, Harvs73 said:

I think the biggest complexity with the kit will be adding the tighing if you use thread.

I use nylon fishing line which can be shrunk taught by passing the tip of a soldering iron close to (but not touching) it.

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RAAF Sky Blue undersides painted on with a few minor corrections to be done today. The wing landing light does not fit to well so I think on the next one it will be cut in half and each half fitted and the gap in the middle filled. The tail unit is getting put together but is not yet glued on as I want to be able to access it to paint it correctly and easily. The wings are not glued on eiher as it makes it much easier to paint the camouflage scheme.

 

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Edited by Harvs73
Fat fingered typing
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  • 2 weeks later...

Camouflage scheme on using Pollyscale acrylics and I have started to varnish over the top of the paint in preparation for the decals. I think I might just stick to enamels in the future as I have had no luck with acrylics. The paint ends up too thick or too thin and doesn't spray properly.

 

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Edited by Harvs73
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I have managed to get the time and energy to put on the decals for the RAAF aircraft, thankfully not as many as the other options. The markings went on ok considering my previous experience with Airfix decals have not been that positive.

 

file.php?id=16298

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The matt varnish is now on the model after a little bit of a panel wash using thinned black paint. I also drilled holes to rig it which I will probably regret at a later stage. Once all is dry and it is rigged I will add all the small detils that I left off so they wouldn't get broken.

 

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