Another Vixen joins the pack

[Pappy]

I was going to wait but the plastic looked really nice and I caved!

Cockpit is nice for an OOB jobbie

Seats are a little bare though. I think I will either have to do something to busy these up or get some resin replacements.

The tub fits really well, as does most of the kit so far. Just as well the cockpit was stock, you can hardly see anything once it is installed!

cheers,

Pappy

Edited December 30, 2010 by Pappy

[Ingo Degenhardt]

Nice work! Especially I like your drybrushing results.

I think I will try to do it the same way with mine and may be only replacing the seats.

Ingo

[worm]

Hope mine turns out as good as yours, super work.

[goon]

Excellent work on the cockpit, and very effective dry-brushing.

[jimbuna]

This is obviously a very nice kit for details and fitting....looking forward to see it progress.

[Pappy]

G'day people,

Thanks very much for all the encouraging feedback. The cockpit was a real pleasure to paint. Although the details are a little simplified, the detail that is there looks 'busy' and is just begging for a wash and drybrush, and Airfix have made the job easy on that score.

I came across some even better cockpit reference pics so I have tweaked the office a little.

I have added the three little levers below the throttle quadrant as well as the u/c handle and what appears to be an emergency stores jettison button on the left of the pilot's instrument panel.

There is a whole lot more that could be added but since my kit will have a crew installed and it will be depicted in-flight with the canopies shut, I am just adding the bare minimum details.

I have decided not to buy resin seats and instead have a crack at the seats myself. Since the tops of the seats is the main part that will be visible, I restricted my efforts to these areas. I have added the drogue gun and trip rods to the left side and the barostat time release unit (BTRU) to the right.

The parachute pack was drilled out and cleaned up and belts added using lead foil. Lumbar cushions were made using plastic card.

The top of the seats had their drogue chute packs added using some chocolate foil and scissor shackles and drogue withdrawal lines were added on top of that. I will add the seat height adjustment levers later. I don't think that the aftermarket guys are going to worry about me but I am satisfied with the results from a cost /benefit point of view

A final dry fit to ensure all will still fit.

The engine compressor and turbine faces have also been painted.

The inlet compressors need a small slightly curved pipe added to them. I nearly missed this detail until I started looking at my reference pics. The pipe exits to the right on both inlets (ie it is not a mirror image), and although these will be buried deep inside the inlet trunking I decided to add them all the same. Here is my attempt at the pipe.

reeet, it's off to the paint shop!

cheers,

Pappy

[Daniel]

Some amazing work so far, keep posting pictures!

Dan

[crookedmouth]

Nice work on yhose seats. I'm building this kit myself and simply added a few straps.

[Pappy]

Some amazing work so far, keep posting pictures!

Dan

G'day Daniel,

I don't know about amazing but thanks!

I have finished painting the seats. They will be passable under the glass but I think they could stand being replaced with some nice resin items.

cheers and happy festivus

Pappy

[Icarus]

Fine work on those seats. I was going to get resin replacements, but you've inspired me to do a bit of scratching instead

[jimbuna]

Looking better and better.

[Mike]

Lovely job on the painting pappy

[M4rk]

Impressive work, great job

[Pappy]

Nice work on yhose seats. I'm building this kit myself and simply added a few straps.

Thanks, I didn't do a whole lot more, just a few bits and pieces

Fine work on those seats. I was going to get resin replacements, but you've inspired me to do a bit of scratching instead

The way I figure it, have a go, if the results are good, you have just saved youself some dough. If you make a complete hash, well, buy the resin seats that you intended to, either way you lose nothing by having a go and you may surprise yourself.

Looking better and better.

Thanks again!

Lovely job on the painting pappy

Thanks very much Mike, I'm enjoying this a lot.

Impressive work, great job

Impressive kit, it makes me look good

Thanks for all the encouragement gentlemen,

see ya next year!

Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day people,

It's day three and I have been working on the figs.

The figs don't sit well on the seats unmodified, as they sit too far forward. I solved that by filing a curve into the back to match the curve of the seat padding. The next problem was to get the hand actually touching the controls. It's funny that the aircrew seem to be in a pose that suggests everything but flying, oxy masks not attached to the face, hands hovering everywhere etc. Anyhow, with some judicious filing and a little re-arranging of the arms, a more realistic pose can be achieved.

\

The radar operator wasn't too hard, I just filed a flat spot on the back of the arm to change the angle at which the arms attach. I also added an index finger using some stretched sprue to the left hand so that the little fella can actually push some buttons!

The driver was a little more involved. The right arm was attached after dry fitting and determining the angle that will allow the hand to hold the joystick. In order for the left arm to reach the throttle however involved a little more work. The left arm is bent. I cut The arm apart at the elbow and drilled/pinned the two together with fuse wire, The arm is a little too short to reach as is, so a small section of sprue was spliced into the shoulder area. The attachment angle was determined and all was filled in and smoothed with some Tamiya putty.

I need some info reference Royal Navy aircrew uniforms and equipment. The instructions state the overalls are (Humnbrol) 96, which is a blue-grey colour. Is this correct? I assume the bonedomes are gloss white but what colour were the boots (black or brown) and gloves (white?) Also I assume some sort of LPY (Mae West) or other flotation gear was worn, what colour was this? Finally, if immersion suits were worn, would they be worn under of over the overalls, and if over, what colour were these?

cheers,

Pappy

Edited January 1, 2011 by Pappy

[Duncan B]

Great build so far, I'm taking notes for when I start mine.

[Pappy]

Great build so far, I'm taking notes for when I start mine.

Good because there will be a test afterwards

Glad to help Duncan,

cheers,

Pappy

[Pappy]

G'day people,

I have been working on the intake duct today. The duct is split in half horizontally which means there is a seam to clean up. Sanding the seam was not a very enjoyable job but necessary unless you intend to install intake blanks. The method I employed was to brush on coats of Mr Surfacer 500, let it dry, sand and repeat. After several coats, an acceptable result has been achieved.

In between coats of Mr Surfacer, I was painting the crew figures. I don't think these figures are as good as Hasegawa's. The helmets look a funny shape, too bulbous and with weird blobs on The back. The goggles are undersized and not well defined. I did my best to make them look good,

I added a couple of drops of Araldite (5 min epoxy) to build up the goggles as the moulded on detail in very poor

They still need some touch ups,

cheers,

Pappy

[David H]

Hi Pappy,

Having to do cleanup work on intakes really sucks. Literally and figuratively.

We're supposed to get the Sea Vixen here Stateside about the middle of next week. Am watching these ongoing builds with interest, but peer pressure is tempting me to start a Lancaster. Personally, i'd prefer to do a Vixen.

Cheers,

d-bot

[Duncan B]

Someone posted a picture of the intake trunks of the Sea Vixen at Duxford a few days ago and it showed that there was a visible panel line running horizontally inside the intake where the join is on the model so maybe a slight join line isn't a problem?

P.S. there is also an air bleed off slot inside the intake that some other people have mistakenly filled in.

Edited January 2, 2011 by Duncan B

[Pappy]

Someone posted a picture of the intake trunks of the Sea Vixen at Duxford a few days ago and it showed that there was a visible panel line running horizontally inside the intake where the join is on the model so maybe a slight join line isn't a problem?

P.S. there is also an air bleed off slot inside the intake that some other people have mistakenly filled in.

I haven't filled any slots in but I don't recall seeing one either

I have painted the inlet vanes (Extra Dark Sea Grey (EDSG) and the whole inlet assembly has been glued to the lower fuselage half

I have also glued the cockpit tub assembly to the upper fuselage half. Test fitting showed that the pilot's seat fouled with the rear edge of the pilot's cockpit, so my tip is to install the pilot's seat into the tub but don't glue it in, but instead tilt it forward. The instrument panel is a tight fit at the front and pushes the rear edge of the cockpit back, which is why it fouls as the tub is offered up to the fuselage. Once the tub is fully mated with the fuselage, a drop of liquid glue along the back of the seat guide rails and it will pop into place. The radar operator was installed prior to fitting the tab and there were no issues, though do check that the top of the seat will not touch the hatch, even if you intend to leave it open as it could cause problems come masking time.

The radar operator's window was attached after first painting the framing black then EDSG. You can see the little fella in there if you squint, hard...

Speaking of the radar operator's hatch, what a pain. The glass on my example was scratched, or had flow marks or something, despite being packed in a separate plastic bag. It did not sit evenly in its frame and took some fiddling to get right. I sanded out the blemishes and polished it back to clear.

I am thinking of painting it black, as this was a common practice amongst some units.

The booms are together as is the elevator. There are a couple of scribed lines in the middle of the booms.

These lines travel radially from the bottom to the top of the inboard side, but stop at the 12 o'clock position. Should they meet a panel line at 90 degrees here or instead travel around to the other (outboard) side?

The elevator has a 'D' shaped blanking plate that lives in a recess on the right side (part 91C), however the recess on my example was the wrong shape ( ie half a 'D') so I just cut the blanking plate in half.

This is a possible trap for the unwary as there is also a corresponding 'D' shaped recess on the other side that a clear part with the two nav lights fits into

cheers,

Pappy

Edited January 3, 2011 by Pappy

[Mark M]

infor storded for my build in the not too distant future, keep it coming!

[HOUSTON]

excellent work...

[Duncan B]

You're making good progress there.

The slot I was referring to should be on the inboard edge of the intakes once you've mounted the outer intake to the trunk, it was to bleed off unstable airflow entering the intake along the fuselage side I believe (same function as the holes in the McD Phantom intake ramp).

Keep up the good work, you are really setting a high standard for those of us who haven't started ours yet.

[Pappy]

infor storded for my build in the not too distant future, keep it coming!

i'm glad that you are finding my thread useful, happy stording

excellent work...

Thanks

You're making good progress there.

The slot I was referring to should be on the inboard edge of the intakes once you've mounted the outer intake to the trunk, it was to bleed off unstable airflow entering the intake along the fuselage side I believe (same function as the holes in the McD Phantom intake ramp).

Keep up the good work, you are really setting a high standard for those of us who haven't started ours yet.

Ahh gotcha!, I knew about the boundary layer bleed air ducts and these have been left to form a thin inlet as per design,

cheers,

Pappy