Said I'd do this a few weeks ago, so here's a step-by-step (ish) walk through of the Airfix 1/48 Bucc dealing with the fuselage fit and a few other areas.

Step 1 - Know the enemy! Here are the fuselage halves for the Bucc and they flex like mad and the fit is all over the place. At this point you can (1) sit on your duff and clog up message boards with saying how the kit is unbuildable (2) form a lynch mob and go march on castle Airfix or (3) try this.

Biggest problem with the kit is the shape - the Buccaneer is an awkward Johnny to mould due to the complex curves and fuselage break down. With the thinness of the plastic there's a lot of air inside that fuselage and combined with some batches of mouldings that were run off the moulds before the plastic had cooled, the fit is alarming on a dry run. However, its not as bad at first glance.



Step 2 - We need to firm up that fuselage so in goes the bomb-bay of choice which stiffens up the underside no end. Airfix thoughtfully provide an arrow for the hard of thinking!



Step 3 - Same goes for the cockpit, be it the kit one or aftermarket.



Step 4 - Bit of basic modelling prep here, but sanding the mating surfaces helps remove any blips and also provides a better key for the glue.



Step 5 - We start here, at the point of least flexing which is the junction between the flap and the exhaust.



Step 6 - Fix the trailing edge together and bind with tape, adjusting the fit as you go. I always use EMA Plastiweld, its a fast setting solvent.



Step 7 - Repeat on other side then start to work your way aft, fixing the rear fuselage sections together and binding with tape. If you wish, you could run superglue inside with a squirt of accelerator to really firm things up. Repeat both sides. You should now have a Bucc with a firm back end.



Step 8 - Work your way into the leading edges of the wings, gluing and binding before moving onto the intake areas. Here the mating surfaces are a little thin so reinforcing with superglue is not a bad idea. Repeat both sides. Don't worry if there are still gaps on the front end because...



Step 9 - All you have to do is run some glue into join and hold it together few a few moments before binding with tape. Again work your way forward right up to the nose, repeating both sides.



Step 10 - Ta da! You should now have a perfectly straight, firm fuselage with no flexing. One of the plus points about the soft-ish plastic used in the kit is that it makes cleanup a little easier, which will be dealt with in the next update.



Step 11 - Go on, you deserved it.

He he he...excellent!...

This is good. Me likey

I will be watching this as I have a couple stashed away plus I need to build another one as the cat got my last effort

Graham.

Ooooohhhhhhhh. . . . .THAT'S how you do it!

More importantly, I will also be giving a step-by-step guide on how to make a proper cup of tea.

Is that what you call it! Looks proper awful like donkey piss.

Nigel.

Oi! No!!

That's DJ Miles Kenyan Blend I'll have you know - stupid indoor lighting has given it a rather strange hue.

Detention for Nigel. Write out "I must not diss Miles" a squillionty times.

Still looks like southern jess donkey piss.

You're gonna make me mail you some now aren't you Nigel?

Tea or donkey piss?

...I thought it was orange juice

You might have to and it looks like people are joining my gang fast.

Nige.

Cop seems to be an expert on donkey piss. P'raps thats what they all drink north of Watford.



peebeep

Here's a first - Airfix thread hijacked by tea!

Thats Tea Christ- I KNEW it was orange juice...

I seem to be polluting your thread..........................with donkey piss.

Don't worry Jonathan, we'll tidy up the mess once you've posted the rest & convert it into an article... minus the donkey piss nonesense.... although it does look a little dinkey pissy, thinking about it

So after tackling the nightmare fuselage I treat myself to donkey piss? Ooh double whammy can't wait



By the way if anyone's mailing tea out I'll take some can't be anyworse than the bollocks on this side of the Atlantic, even if it does look like donkey piss.

Looks like donkey piss to me

Julien

Guys, there's an excellent tutorial here, so I would say taking the piss out of his tea is a little unfair.

If that's what Jonathan likes in it, then that's his business..

To me, it actually looks more like the mid stone I just sprayed on my desert Hurricane...

Leigh, you mean LA has no PG?

Nope, and apparently neither does Jonathan's house

No, no decent Tea, no back bacon, no cheese, no pork pies, no saveloys, but we do have pastrami, bear claws, vernors ginger ale, and good steaks cheaper than a pint of milk!

Oh the inhumanity.

Nige.

Meanwhile...

Tape removed, time to clean up those seams. Best tool for the job is one of these, a foam-back sanding block. They smooth down plastic in no time and also conform to curves so you get no flat spots.



Five minutes work and the front end is cleaned up with no filler needed. You can also take this opportunity to sharpen up the "beak" a little.



The back end also cleans up in no time but there is a "lip" of plastic just aft of the exhausts which needs paring down with a knife blade.



This is easily fixed with a smidgen of filler. Likewise the slight step in the aft fairing can just be given a coat of filler and then smoothed over - minimal sanding needed when dry. The more observant student will have noticed that's the first time we've broken the filler out on this kit.



The intakes need care in aligning, for some reason the port-side ones are always a little tricker to fit than the starboard-side ones. If might be best to slightly bend down the lower panel that juts out from the fuselage and align the bottom of the intakes there before fixing into place. That way the top of the intake should line up with the rest of the fuselage. This is probably about the worst it gets and will need a little filler.

No must have been me, it's working now

Great stuff Jonathan




What's your coffee like?

Coffee? COFFEE?!

Nah - tea is the liquid of Satan. Coffee is the place to be

I'll have you know the British Empire was forged from a hot, strong cup of tea. Coupled with a stiff upper lip. You bloody heathen!!

Nige.

I bet they used to spill loads of tea with those stiff upper lips

Coffee is for two types of people - yanks and poofters. Tea man, TEA!

Then I must be American... y'all. Tea sends u bonkers

er... "Have a nice day y'all"

Yeah, me too buddy! Tea's for when you're ill.

obviously you blokes have not tasted the coffee they get in America.............its shite!!!!!! Great article by the way

What about yank poofters? No herbal tea?

I think we need a separate tea vs coffee thread here!

I agree. How's the Bucc coming along?

Sounds good Jonathon (seeing as I have 3 of the buggers on the go!!)

Mr Johnathan:
What looks like an excellent build series is not there. Have you removed the pics from your host?

Hi Jonathon,

Your hints and tips would be very useful to anybody building the Buccaneer. However, the pictures are now missing, although I see that the html code is still there. Would it be possible to re-post the pictures, as it would benefit a lot of people and after all, it is a pinned article. I may say that the same could apply to your article regarding the Hawk canopy.

Two excellent articles I'm sure.

Best regards,

Dave.

I've re-uploaded them to a new host who hopefully won't crash and lose them!

Jonathan - with your permission, I'll transfer them to the BM server. At least that way you don't have to keep track of whether to move/delete/rename them, and they'll be there for all to see as long as BM is around

Good idea mate ! worth keeping for future brick builders

That's great,

Thanks Jonathon. Well worth getting to see again. Thanks for the effort. Thanks also to Mike for putting them on the BM server.

Best regards,

Dave.

i still cannot see them!!!!

No probs Mike, be my guest. Hope to add some more to that build soon.

Done! I'm sure everyone appreciates it being there. When you do your next update, I'll axe all the chat so the thread doesn't get too long.

Any more updates chap?

As long as they're not merged. Tastes bloody awful!

Tony