Quiet Mike

That's a beautiful build! And an aeroplane I had not encountered before, thank you 👍

That's an amazing job. The build is excellent as always, but you've really brought that canvas and veneer to life.

Thanks Trivic, I've already got that Mushroom Press book, it's well worth it! Same goes for the Walrus book that also pops up on this link. (I think I may spend more on books than I do on plastic) I didn't have the Profile booklet on the Walrus though, I've just downloaded it and printed it off here at work, thanks for the heads up on this resource. Thanks for the feedback chaps. I have spent a little time adding some silver to the undersides of the hull and floats. The aluminium dope finish on the wing undersides is next I think. Progress has ground to a halt as I'm working on the 1/1 scale kit in the shed outside. Like a fool, I don't like crawling around on a cold concrete floor in bad weather, and put off maintenaince jobs until it warms up. Of course then I can't think of anywhere worse than sweating away under a rusty Kombi in a heatwave! Anyway, I've swapped a scalpel and glue for an angle grinder and a welder. It's a lot noisier, and a lot more dangerous. A slip with a grinder makes me shudder 😬 Rust never sleeps. Most of this is the original 1959 metal. Kombi chassis repairs by Mike, on Flickr Kombi chassis repairs by Mike, on Flickr Chassis repairs by Mike, on Flickr Chassis repairs by Mike, on Flickr Chassis repairs by Mike, on Flickr I also had an unsignificant birthday last week, and got a good haul. The 1/24 2CV was from my work colleagues, they know me well 😉

Excellent job on a pretty little aircraft Chris. Very clean finish on that paintwork. My ailing eyes are looking forward to Airfix's 1/48 offering later this year.

Always liked the no-frills utilitarianism of these trucks, great job 👍

Glad you got that fixed Johnny! You're not the only one with camper woes ... Kombi chassis repairs by Mike, on Flickr I'm in the middle of clearing this little mess up on ours. Working on scale builds is a lot less stressful than the 1:1 scale stuff! And the tools you need are a lot more dangerous. Angle grinders terrify me 😱 But got summer plans for it and need to crack on. Once the tin worm has been sorted out a dual circuit master cylinder and brake servo upgrade on the cards. The poor old Stranraer has had to take a back seat for a while.

Looking good so far Rob. The little Citroen is one of my favourite cars and I've always hankered after one, since I was a teenager. Nearly 50 now ... I should really add this kit to the wish list! I did get this book yesterday though!

Good news! My wifes idea of a Spa weekend ... (Spa-Francorchamps that is) Le Bug Show by Mike, on Flickr

"Timing will be key" 😄 Oh, how that phrase resonates ... 🙄 And those little windows of opportunity seem few and far between. Ah, domestic bliss 🤫 But wow Chris, what a fantastic relic, and one most interior designers would kill for! (There must be a pinterest board out there to sway SWMBO?

Great save Tom, very glad this is rising, Pheonix like, from the bin bag 🔥

I haven't checked in for a while, what a treat to see it come together. A fantastic build, I'm taking lots of notes here!

Cheers for the tips Phil, I think I'll take on board your comments about the cerrux grey undersides. I'm going do all the undersides in silver dope or aluminium, with the large identification numbers on each wing. I've painted the metal parts in what should be gloss black. It falls short of that,but it's not matt at least, and will hopefully give the aluminium parts a bit more shine than the doped fabric. I'll leave it a few days before I paint over it. (I'm not so concerned for the camouflage top surfaces.) Here's the hull and wings in primer - First coat of primer on the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr First coat of primer on the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr First coat of primer on the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr First coat of primer on the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr

He left of his own accord. I'm not entirely sure why so can't give any details. He keeps a very good blog though! https://wingsofintent.blogspot.com/ That blue looks very good by the way 👍

The much missed modelling monk, Moa, referenced the Pegram book in his Sea Lion II build, and I put it on my wish list after that. I've only flicked through it so far but already I'm impressed.

I keep forgetting this is 1/144, there's as much detail here as there is in the 1/48 kit!

Malc, I've just added the details of the photos to my post - captions and the book they are from. I've recently expanded my little library with a couple of good books. The Diamond Jubilee was a local charity shop find, and is worth getting as it has some great photos of the S5 and S6. I've taken a couple of snaps of photos I hadn't seen in my google searching. I only got the Ralph Pegram book yesterday, a belated Christmas present. S5 reference by Mike, on Flickr S5 reference by Mike, on Flickr S5 N221 reference by Mike, on Flickr

Such a great image Putty, there is a lot of reference material here. I'll boomark it for help refining my beaching trolley and ladder. I have a feeling this was during the high speed runs at Calshot, and Kirkhead was sadly killed shortly after when 221 dove into the water and completely broke up on impact. I'm not sure if these are a help or hinderance, but good views of the S5 with the engine cowls off. A clever idea, having the rocker covers of the Napier exposed, but flush with the engine cowlings. I got in a muddle with the exhaust ports too! Beaching trolley reference by Mike, on Flickr Groundcrew of the RAF High Speed Flight act as ballast while the Napier Lion engine in S5 N221 is tested prior to Sam Kinkhead's fatal attempt on the world air speed record. Haynes S6B book Beaching trolley reference by Mike, on Flickr Napier engineers work on the engine of S5, N221, prior to an attempt on the world air speed record in 1928 Haynes S6B book

Beautiful build and weathering, your photography shows it at its best too 👏

These popped up on facebook recently http://lpmodels.eu/index.php?fbclid=IwAR3hs-C0M5P_nhZpPZS9t7VvCPvBBjM83Sam-RI4CxHEIGt42qoMPy8QyCQ https://www.facebook.com/René-van-der-Hart-Scale-Models-250725525692334/photos/pcb.923254011772812/923253848439495

Thank you for the feedback gents. I will throw caution to the wind and admit, it doesn't look half bad at this point. Which is no mean feat for a first attempt, but of course this is just setting me up for a fall. I fully expect the primer to obliterate all those minute little rivet dots! I've now taken a rest from the hull. There is still plenty of little details I need to add, like the tiny cleats and grab rails and suchlike, but these can wait until I've worked on the wings. I've added panel lines and rivet lines where appropriate. A fair few are guesswork, where the drawings and photos I had didn't match up. I've also drilled holes for all the rigging lines. This is causing me a fair amount of head scratching as I've never attempted a rigging job this big before. I've paid close attention to @Vulcanicity attempt, with making dozens of minute wire loops and using EZ line. At the moment I'm thinking of a different approach, and painting the wings while dissasembled, then threading the line through the holes of the bottom wings, and closing them up and fitting them. Then attaching the lower halves of the upper wings, pulling all the wires through, and then fixing the tops halves of the wings on. It sounds massively complicated though, and it's still not straight in my head. Also, I'm not sure I have enough hands for this! Bomb racks. These are present in all the photos I have found. I made a paper template, covered in tape, to mark them out. I thought they looked 6/10, but looking at the edges here under the unmerciful eye of the macro lens I'm leaning more towards 4/10 now! There is also a box opening on the insides of the racks, but I'm not convinced this wasn't covered up in some cases? It's difficult to be certain but in some photos you can make out the two racks, but not the box. Would they be covered up when not in use? They were a lot of work, it took two evenings to finish them. And I need to filler in my slapdash saw marks! Detailing the wings of the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr Detailing the wings of the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr Underneath the centre wing section, showing off my homemade riviter, which I'm getting the hang off. Detailing the wings of the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr Rivit detail on the tops of the lower wings Detailing the wings of the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr You can see a couple of chunks from my new razor saw missing here. That was those fiddly little bomb rack holes, and annoyed me greatly! Detailing the wings of the Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr

A beautiful build, and that photography is faultless!

A couple of rare interior shots of the Stranraer just popped up on facebook https://www.facebook.com/aflyinghistory/photos/pcb.1624468367710248/1624458541044564

Thanks Chris, I'm hoping it holds up with a few coats of paint. I can't tell you how many times any one fo the sharp tools I used went off piste and carved a furrow where I didn't want it. It's looks a bit rustic in places! Also, I managed to pop one of the side windows in, the one furthest from any opening of course. I tried with bits of wire, bluetack, cocktail sticks to get it back into place, to no avail. Then I just trimmed it the the same size as the opening, and pushed it firmly in from the outside. Crisis averted!

And a quick refresher of how clean it looked before I started scratching it about! PK-601 Supermarine Stranraer by Mike, on Flickr

Right, here's a few shots of the hull all nipped up. This is my first serious go at adding panel lines and rivet detail, and I have armed myself with a CMK razor saw, a Trumpeter scriber, and a homemade rivet tool. I had seen the photos of the cheap Trumpeter rivet tool, and they were enough to tell me it would be pretty useless. The Rosie Riveter tool looked amazing, but I couldn't justify spending out on one presently. My homemade version is adequate. The wheel wobbles a little, and when it doesn't wobble it tends to stick. I'll keep saving for a pukka one. The old watch I robbed the wheel from never kept good time, it won't be missed. I scribed the panel lines with the razor saw, and cleaned them up with the scriber tool. I'm reluctant to pass judgment until I've splodged some primer on ... It's not easy, and an extra few fingers would have come in handy to hold the dymo tape while I lightly used the edge of the razor saw. I mainly used drawings for reference, and there are a couple of good photos that show the separate panels quite clearly. Adding extra detail to the outside of the hull by Mike, on Flickr Adding extra detail to the outside of the hull by Mike, on Flickr Adding extra detail to the outside of the hull by Mike, on Flickr Adding extra detail to the outside of the hull by Mike, on Flickr Adding extra detail to the outside of the hull by Mike, on Flickr