John Masters Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 It's Easter here in Greece and tonight and tomorrow I'll be with friends, witnessing the festivities, eating kokoretsi, grilling lamb, etc...so I'll take a couple of days off before I start on my next build, the Airfix 1/72nd scale Bolton-Paul Defiant. It'll be OOB except for the guns and probably seat belts. I'll be building the Mk.I from No. 264 Sq. out of Martlesham Heath, Suffolk, July 1940. I've never built one of these so that'll be fun. I have some nice masks for the canopy which'll make my life a little bit easier, I hope! Lots of glass on this one... --John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted April 7, 2018 Share Posted April 7, 2018 Good choice John, and ... can you say ... have a happy Easter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 7, 2018 Author Share Posted April 7, 2018 Καλό Πάσχα! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SoftScience Posted April 8, 2018 Share Posted April 8, 2018 Word to the wise: The clear part frames on this kit are terrible. Masks should be useful on the canopy (dont forget to mask off the narrow windows right at the bend of the canopy walls and roof. Airfix doesn't really have a gap in the framing there, but its easy to add. The turret framing is even worse. It took me a long time to paint the thing, masking and spraying one frame at a time, but since then, I've seen some people achieve respectable results with a black permanent marker. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 8, 2018 Author Share Posted April 8, 2018 Thanks for the tip SoftScience! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 And I'm off... I have primed the trees...At first (and second) glance I am impressed by the quality of the moulds and the level of surface detail. Panel lines are sharp and precise. Picked out the paints I will use...I am missing a Dark Earth Brown. It is here on the island at a courier. I had it sent from the LMS in Athens... And I have assembled the first sections of the cockpit. I'll add the seat belts when the paint is dry this afternoon. --John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 Seatbelts are on, painted, etc...cockpit is in the port half of the fuselage. A quick test proved a nice tight fit almost all around except for a .5 cm section just in front of the cockpit...hmmm...maybe I'll shave some of the firewall down to see if that is the issue. It won't be seen anyway and if I can avoid putty and the risk of ruining a panel line or two, I'll do it. Otherwise, so far, so good... Mind the gap! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Wow this is going together quick as well! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 I am modelling quite slowly...I cannot help it if Airfix is making a good job of competing with Eduard on the moulding quality. Really, the kit is falling together, much like the Hurricane. These new moulds are really great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 That's good progress there John, another quick build (compare my snail's pace) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 10, 2018 Author Share Posted April 10, 2018 I think the explanation is that I build in a component fashion. While some pieces are glueing/drying I skip ahead to other instruction grids and assemble those. Within a couple of days most of the kit is ready to assemble and the 4-5 big parts make up an aircraft ready for painting. I have seen other modellers do this. It's also the philosophy behind modern car manufacturing...body, motor, drivetrain, electrical linkages, interior, paint, wheels, etc... To be honest, it's easier with WW2 era or jet era monoplanes. This pesky yet lovable biplanes require a different kind of workflow! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Knight_Flyer Posted April 10, 2018 Share Posted April 10, 2018 Coming along nicely. Just a couple of things to watch out for in case they prove to be a problem. Fit of the lower wing section - you may have to sand down the top of the wheel well part and also the canopy, cockpit bulkhead might need sanding down on the top. If both parts fit during a dry run without modifying then great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Thanks KF. Everything fit during a preliminary dry run, but I'll do it again and watch out for your pitfalls. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Some work from last night before bed... Fuselage, wings, air intakes, gun turret interior..check! Today's labours will consist mostly of this... I chip away... --John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Here's a question...the kit offers two sets of exhaust systems. Which set should I use, does it matter and why? --John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Hello John, is one set of exhausts round and the other "fishtail"? (Broader / flatter in the vertical). This discussion might help .. ... according to that, round exhausts up to (about) 1941, then fishtails for the rest of the war, after which Defiants would have been out of service. p.s. Does this photo help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul_B Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 (edited) I have a few Defiant references and, for the Mk 1, the photographs show round exhausts on all day fighters, and fishtail exhausts for the majority of night fighters. My understanding is that the change in exhaust was to reduce exhaust glare for night operations however I haven't yet found that comment again in my Defiant references (Wiki states 'The first versions of the ejector exhausts featured round outlets, while subsequent versions of the system used "fishtail" style outlets which marginally increased thrust and reduced exhaust glare for night flying.' under Rolls-Royce Merlin). Looking on the Airfix website I think that if you refer to the decal and camouflage pages in the instructions then the two different exhausts are shown. If you are going to model 264 Sq. using the supplied decals as a day fighter then it is the round exhausts. I have the 1:48 Airfix Defiant which I will start shortly, once the workbench is clear. Edited April 11, 2018 by Paul_B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Thanks to both of you... Paul--the decal pages show both having fishtail exhausts. I have a feeling this is just a template image, so accuracy aside from decals positioning is not important. The idea of night/day having different exhausts makes sense. And thanks Robert...all the discussion about thrust also makes sense. Pre-1941, round--post 1941 fishtail. I'll stick wth the round exhausts since my Mk.I is both a day fighter and pre-1941. I'll cover both bases. Plus, it looks different than all the rest of the RR setups on the shelf! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 What's this? There seem to be two of them, one up front, and this one in the rear. The instructions are confusing... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 Those are the radio aerial masts. The rear one retracted straight up into the fuselage on landing. In-flight, it extended outwards. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Thanks. So, wheels-down, only the front one should be extended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 A dry fitting of both closed canopies proved successful. They are tight and smooth around the edges so no fit issues there. However, If I were to choose an open canopy then I would have to sand down the bulkhead. The question is...the 2 closed canopies. One slopes down towards the rear, the other does not. Why? Which would be appropriate? Are we talking pre-1941 for the full canopy and post-41 the sloping roof? I assume it is for better turret positioning. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boman Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 8 minutes ago, John D.C. Masters said: The question is...the 2 closed canopies. One slopes down towards the rear, the other does not. Why? Which would be appropriate? Are we talking pre-1941 for the full canopy and post-41 the sloping roof? I assume it is for better turret positioning. The one slopping downward is to allow the turret to move more freely 360o 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted April 11, 2018 Share Posted April 11, 2018 13 minutes ago, John D.C. Masters said: The question is...the 2 closed canopies. One slopes down towards the rear, the other does not. Why? Which would be appropriate? Are we talking pre-1941 for the full canopy and post-41 the sloping roof? I assume it is for better turret positioning. The slop is a plywood former used for aerodynamic reasons (cleaner airflow). It dropped down to allow the guns to turn through the 12 o'clock (straight ahead) position, rising as the guns cleared the pilot's canopy. AFIR, it was mechanically linked to the gun turret so was automatic (check this). If your guns are pointing to the rear, then use the raised canopy. p.s. Boman's reply arrived as I was typing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 11, 2018 Author Share Posted April 11, 2018 Aha! Fascinating. The downward position does look nice, but I'll have the guns facing off of one of the sides, so upwards it is. Thanks again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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