Chewbacca
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Posts posted by Chewbacca
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Thanks Rich
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On 08/07/2018 at 21:33, bigbadbadge said:
Great Firefly she looks fabulous. I have one of these in the stash and so thank you for the heads up on the cockpit fit.
Thanks for sharing.
All the best
Chris
The other elements that are too big are the U/C bays. Although this was well documented online so I was aware of it, you really do need to sand back the top until it is almost transparent or the wings won't meet at both the leading and trailing edges. I went too far on the corner of one of mine and went through!
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I actually finished the aircraft that forms the central basis of this back in February time but then put it to one side and didn't finalise the project. So whilst putting the figures together for the Carriers Ahoy Seahawk, I thought this would be a great opportunity to paint the aircrew figures to complete the Firefly.
The basic kit went together as well as you might expect for a mixed media, limited run kit with no alignment tabs and a plethora of butt joins. The resin was actually lovely and the cockpits looked really good once they were complete - it was almost a shame to fit them into the fuselage. Unfortunately that's where the problems started because the resin wasn't a great fit to either cockpit space and meant that it was near impossible to get the Observer's canopy to fit properly. I'd shaved off as much as I dared but still they were a tadge too wide.
I tried a new pre-shading technique on one lower wing - a fine line permanent marker. Complete disaster. It took about 17 coast of Vallejo Sky to cover it up and even then it's still way too prominent. Fortunately the model is glued to the base so its impossible to see unless you go looking specifically for it. I also didn't notice until I took the photos that the propeller blades are somewhat swept back. The final photo with the close up of the aircrew seems to show silvering on the decal; I think this is a symptom of the flash as to the naked eye it seems fine.
The figures are from CMK, ostensibly RAF WW2 aircrew. I wasn't especially impressed - the mouldings on other resin figures I've had have been better and there was a lot of fine rubbing down to get rid of seams etc. The pilot (with his back to the photos) originally had a moustache so milliput made that into a beard.
The kit represents an aircraft from 1792 NAS embarked in HMS OCEAN in 1946. The squadron was especially formed for night fighter duties which possibly explains why the Observer is looking wistfully up at his cockpit with a nervous disposition. If he is like me, I used to hate night flying. Punching off the deck into the dark knowing that at least 50% of your brain for the next 2 hours is completely pre-occupied with trying to find mother again in the middle of a dark and featureless ocean, or go for a swim, and then totally placing your trust in your pilot to land the thing on the deck in near zero visibility; I imagine it was worse in the 1940s!
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1 minute ago, Killingholme said:
Bit of trivia, a number of Dennis N type fire engine chassis ended up in WD use on the Western Front- they were converted to general purpose trucks. The plant was dismounted to form "trench pumping" engines. There's a few photos in the Tankograd volume "British Military Trucks of World War One".
Didn't know that so thanks.
Surprisingly, for a model that the actual vehicle still exists, there's not much reference material. This particular vehicle was restored by Dennis and used to sit in their factory near Guildford but in recent years seems to have been transferred to the Transport Museum in Coventry. But unfortunately it was "upgraded" in the 1930s and a lot of the original details were lost. Also the iconic wheeled ladder seems to have been replaced by a smaller standard ladder.
So I think my main reference is going to be another build thread but for the 1/16 version of this vehicle built by a real master here: http://www.modelcarsmag.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=80618. I know his is twice the size but that is stunning. I've been pondering how to quilt the seat in 1/32 scale...
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That looks very tidy compared to mine. So much so that I had to spend a couple of hours this afternoon stripping it all down and cleaning it, principally because I've lost my Tamiya tape. It's got to be there somewhere but even with the bench completely empty, its nowhere to be seen. Good job I won't need it for a few weeks.
Anyway, Carriers Ahoy Seahawk complete so my hat now thrown into the ring for this one. I settled on the 1914 Dennis Fire Engine in the end because I think I can realistically finish it in the time remaining as opposed to something in 1/600 that has no chance. Besides my daughter saw it and asked if she could have it in her bedroom once it was complete; how could I say no.
Build thread started here:
https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235040542-132-1914-dennis-fire-engine/
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Okay, so 5 weeks late to the party but I wanted to get the Carriers Ahoy Seahawk finished before I started anything else. In fairness the last time I made one of these it took me an afternoon so being a few weeks late should make that much difference.
Part of me would like to go to town on this and super detail everything to see what it is possible to make from one of these. But there are no aftermarket parts available to the best of my knowledge so any detailing will be scratchbuilt. Nothing wrong with that but it does take a wee bit longer and knowing the pressure of work that I am under at the moment, coupled with the fact that I will lose 3 weekends in the middle of this for the annual family, holiday, I think I will keep it as close to out of the box as my conscience will allow!
Initial look at the sprues reminds me that it is a s clunky as we might expect for a model first produced over 50 years ago. But in fairness the mouldings are reasonably crisp with not too much flash although I'm not sure what I will be able to do with the figures. they really do show their age and I fear will make it look very toylike when complete. I'll see what they look like after a clean up and a coat of primer. I must confess the red plastic takes me back a few years. I think the last kit I had in red plastic was the AMT ambulance and that must have been 40 years ago.
I had a look for a copyright marker but the only one I could see lacked a date, simply saying Airfix Hobbies ©. But I don't think there's any doubt that this is the original mould.
So the box shot:
Sprue shots:
And the instructions. Sadly as you can see, I have 2 sets of Fire Engine instructions and no omnibus instructions. Though I don't need them just now, i will at some point. I'm sure I can download then from ATF. For the same reason I won't publish every page of the instructions; if you're interested they're almost certainly on ATF.
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Trumpeter 1/48 Seahawk FGA6, 804 NAS, HMS BULWARK, Operation Musketeer November 1956
Largely build out of the box but with some scratchbuilt embellishments mainly round the cockpit. Build thread here:
Figures are lightly modified Eduard 1042 US Navy Personnel. The deck is 5mm MDF covered in 320 gauge Wet & Dry .
Paint is a mix of Vallejo, Tamiya and Humbrol, mostly sprayed but details picked out by brush.
Overall it was a fun build and the first FAA jet I've done for about 10 years.
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I think this is a first for me - a GB completed within the time limits. My last one (on ATF) was 10 months late!
Anyway here it is. Still not overly happy with the fuselage Aden stripes but it's about the best I'm going to achieve.
Aerials (part B11 & B19) were replaced with 0.1mm nickel rod from Albion Alloys which is probably a bit closer to the scale size even though the kits ones were commendably thin, they probably still equated to about 25mm in real life.
I always like to put my models into context if I can and so here you can see the armourers putting the finishing touches to the 3 inch rockets before handing the aircraft over to the pilot for his next mission over Egypt. Figures are modified Eduard 1042 US Navy Personnel. Their rate and specialisation badges were hand printed. Unfortunately there use dot be a very good online reference that showed every single RN specialisation badge but it seems to have disappeared. There is one that does a cross section but the artwork is not great. I may at some point in the future add the rocket deck trolley. I've seen one in a YouTube video but I'll be blowed if I can find it anywhere and there are no images that I can see. there are some shore side ones but I'm pretty certain the ones used on aircraft carriers were different.
The deck is 5mm MDF covered in 320 gauge Wet & Dry and sprayed Vallejo Dark Grey
Whilst this model threw up a whole raft of issues, it was a fun build and using the lessons learnt from this one, I do plan to do another one in the later colours of the RNHF 806 NAS Ace of Diamonds cab.
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1 hour ago, Wez said:
Now if anyone from Airfix is reading this thread, please do not take the views of Allan aka Albeback52 as representative, the rest of the world wants a Spitfire XIV, 1/72nd, 1/48th and 1/24th scales please.
Not all of us do!
How do you define a perfect new release list? One that has no Spitfires, Hurricanes, P51s, Me109s or FW190s
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7 hours ago, stevehnz said:
Very nicely done, I like the subtleness of your weathering, that finisih the sort of thing I'd love the be able to turn out.
Steve.
I'll second that. This is very nicely finished. My weathering is either too much or near non-existent.
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It didn't look like a tank model. Unfortunately it was so large and in a glass case with light reflecting from everywhere it was near impossible to get a half decent photo.
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1 hour ago, MikeR said:
A new Lynx family - the HobbyBoss ones are OK, but we could do with decent line up including the Army variants.
Well if we're going to have a new Lynx, how about a fully tooled up HAS 3 GMS in 1/24 scale with all of the Gulf modifications - Yellow Veil, ALQ157, HMP, M130, Sandpiper. I can even let them have my noseart royalty free
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So the member of staff at The Riverside was telling me! It looks very arty and attractive to casual visitors but not very good for research. And it has to be said some of the models in there are really shoddy. they have a 12 ft long supposedly shipbuilder's model of QE2. There's more detail in the 1/600 Airfix kit!
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So I got along to the Riverside Museum in Glasgow last week and sure enough they do have the model of BULOLO. It's not quite clear if it represents her as built or after she was returned to commercial use in late 1946 - I think the former. Unfortunately, she was displayed in a very artistic multi-model display case...about 12 ft up! So I had a cracking view of the hull, screws and rudder but everything else was a little challenging. The museum staff were excellent and even tried to find a step ladder for me (ignoring the obvious health & safety limits that would normally preclude this) but couldn't find one. This is the best I could get:
Fortunately they did have some photos in a rolling graphic display so I tried to get some of those. Not brilliant but at least it gives some idea of the layout of deckhouse. etc.
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On 30/06/2018 at 03:18, trickyrich said:
I hate to be the barer of bad news folks, but we have a little over 2 weeks to go with this GB!
We have something like 27 builds in the gallery already with quite a few others builds almost completed.
So time for that final push. Forget about that silly game on the TV where they kick that silly white and black ball around that silly pitch, I have! Spend some quality time completing your build....and hiding from the misses and those chores. Also it's not that really hot over there, just a nice warm sunny day and perfect for painting models so stop complaining about it!
Once it gets to 40C then it's starting to get hot. Plus if you don't get to it I'll have to send my sidekick Pat along to hurry you up.
Been away for a week on business and then trying to sort out my late father-in-law's house but hopefully back this afternoon. Just the panel line wash, 3inch rockets and base to finalise so should be done this week.
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22 hours ago, fightersweep said:
I think a new 1/24 Spitfire would sell extremely well for Airfix. As much as I would love a new Mk 1a, I suspect that Airfix would choose the Mk IX. Yes, it would be another 1/24 Spitfire, but not a mark kitted by them or anyone else. A popular mark, lots of colour scheme choices and the aftermarket bods could have a field day with conversions (Mk XIV anyone).
I know Trevor Snowden wanted to see this, so it's a kit I would put money on seeing at some point in the future. A new tool 109E in 1/24 would kill my wallet as well. It's taking me years to bash the old kits into shape.
If it has to be another Spitfire derivative, how about a 1/24 Seafire. I know I'm biased but FAA subjects do seem to be popular at the moment as evidenced by the F4-K, Sea Fury, Walrus etc and to my knowledge no one has done one. In fact in continuing that theme, how about a 1/24 F4-K?
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Starting to think about weathering. Does anyone know if the underwings fuel tanks were aluminium or GRP? I suspect the former.
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I am beginning to think that this model is trying to tell me something!
So I managed to finish spraying the fuselage Aden stripes. Took off the masking and the black had all run through onto the yellow. I couldn't face another 2-3 hrs trying to remask it so I resorted to brush to try to touch it up.
Then turned my attention to the undercarriage doors. Despite everything I tried, I couldn't bend the port undercarriage leg back after it distorted while in the spray booth without risking breaking it. I do have a cunning plan but that will have to wait until its fitted to the flight deck base.
Managed to fit all bar one of the doors - including refitting the front nosewheel door which broke off in the spray shop - but as I was fitting the aft nosewheel door with the model balanced upside down on two pots of Tamiya paint, the weight I had in the nose to keep the nosewheel on the ground decided that it was going to drag the model off the bench and onto the floor. Fortunately its a fairly strong model and the only casualty was the nosewheel leg itself which snapped just above the yoke.
When refitting this I managed to drop the whole nosewheel/yoke assembly into the small pool of superglue that I was using to place drops on the leg and when I picked it out and tried to clean it off, the CA took all of the paint off. By this stage I was ready to launch the whole thing off a catapult into the nearest bin but stepped away and came back 30 mins later. Then I was about to fit the Kleared fuel tanks when I thought, that's a very dark sky compared to the rest of the underside and realised that I had Kleared over primer! So time to paint the tanks! this model really was trying my patience!
That said, I can see light at the end of the tunnel (is that an express train coming my way?). Off on a business trip this week and then away next weekend so no work for a week but when I do get back its fuselage roundels, fuel tanks, 3 inch rockets, aerials and pitot to fit, then a final coat of Klear and an oil pinwash and it should be done. But I'll bet something else will go wrong before then. I think I'm going to stick to floaty things in future.
And I've only just noticed from scrutiny of the photos that there's virtually no ground clearance on that stbd uc main door...
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12 minutes ago, Plasto said:
The problem is you cannot really seperate Airfix from Hornby. It’s the same thing. As hurtful as this may sound Airfix is just a brand owned by Hornby the same as Pocher or Scalextric. So if Hornby are hurting then so are Airfix..
The overall groups financial posistion impacts on if Airfix can get the cash to release the next Spitfire, Jaguar or WHY...
The trick with the product lines especially if your aiming for an enthusiast market rather than a general toy market would be the ones that generate the most margin for your business I would think. Your unlikely to see a line by line margin analysis in a set of year end reports..
On another forum I read that in 2017, the only brand in the group that turned a profit was Airfix.
Lots of talk on here about Airfix being too expensive and yes, to a degree, I agree with that. I am very fortunate that having worked all of my life and now in a reasonably successful senior position, I can spend £100+ as I have just done on two Atlantic models 1/350 resin ships. But I'd prefer not to. I'd prefer to give my money to Airfix if they produced models that I wanted to build to the quality that expect for that money. Sadly, with a very few recent exceptions (Walrus, Sea Fury), they don't. £21 for a 1/72 single seat, single engine jet fighter (the Lightning F6) had better be pretty good to justify that price.
On the other hand, Wingnut Wings continue to prove month after month that they can turn out new tool sometimes quite obscure 1/32 WW1 aircraft and they seem to sell like hot cakes at £70-270 and turn a profit to enable investment in new tooling. I think it is true to say that the pocket money model days of the 60s and 70s are gone. The successful manufacturers now are the ones who have trned to the high end, more expensive but importantly very good quality products. And if they can get the quality, I am sure they will sell well against their competitors.
Sadly I take no encouragement from the CEO's statement that there is any chance of a return to the maritime market anytime soon. Which given that my wish list for 2019 would be headed by a series of new tool 1/600 cold war RN warships means that I shall continue to live in disappointment! I'd take a 1/48 F4-K though...
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I'm doing basically what both of you suggest, but to be fair I am using EZ line which to get it to the right thickness has to be stretched to about 5/6 times its original length so perhaps that's the problem. I will get some Uschi or Infini before I do my next batch of rigging and give that a go. Thanks for your help.
My camera eqpt is not dissimilar to you General M (Canon rather than Nikon) but what I don't have is the lighting rig and hence I get deep shadows from the flash or discolouration from the not quite so natural lighting if I shoot without flash. How do you set up the background card so that you get a seamless join from the horizontal to the vertical? The only time I tried to introduce a natural roll to length of white card to eliminate a harsh angle, the tension in the card nearly threw the model onto the floor!
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It's got to be in the house somewhere. It's probably lurking with the other one I couldn't find, an early boxing of HMS TIGER complete with a WEM PE and a lot of resin bits (Seacat launchers, Sea Kings HAS2s etc) ready to be converted to the helicopter carrier variant.
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9 hours ago, general melchett said:
my 'to do' pile is growing by the month!
Happy to help
though my speciality is to take aged Airfix 1/600 and try to turn them into something half decent,; I'm not really into modern kits. That said, I was given the Atlantic models 1/350 ARROW and NEWCASTLE for Fathers Day to be built as two of my former ships, ALACRITY and GLASGOW. In fairness, the thing that has also put me off talking to AMW about doing some builds for them is the photography requirement. Though I can build the models, write the words and take a decent model photo, I've never quite managed to get that seamless white or blue background that they seem to want.
23 minutes ago, general melchett said:The most useful tools for the job I find are Uschi's 'Superfine' rigging line, a quality Head Loupe LED magnifier,
The challenge I find with this or any other elastic rigging line is that the tension is so much that they bend brass yard arms or mastheads which is why these days I tend to revert back to extended sprue. Any tips you've got as to how to get the rigging line in place without bending the mast the minute you let go of the free end would be appreciated.
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Okay so nearly finished the Seahawk for the Carriers Ahoy GB and whilst waiting for the fuselage stripes to dry which I've had to respray as the decals were utter rubbish (long story, detailed in the GB thread), I thought I'd have a rummage through the stash to see what came up. Quickly found the Dennis Fire Engine that I was thinking of doing. It's the twin box with the 1910 Omnibus from the mid 2000s, but they both date from the early 60s (and I clearly remember making both of them in the early 70s at least once if not twice) so I'm comfortable they're both eligible. I was tending towards the fire engine but then I thought that somewhere up there is the James Bond autogyro that I picked up at a school fete some years ago for about £2.50 and to the best of my knowledge, I've never made it. That might be quite different but can I find it? Not a chance. It's got to be there somewhere but where is beyond me.
I did find the MANXMAN/SUFFOLK dual boxing that I didn't know I even had so that was a nice surprise, especially as I've just finished reading an excellent book on the ABDIEL class minelayers and was about to bid on one on Ebay. I also found an original boxing of QUEEN ELIZABETH that I started in about 1980 and FORRESTAL that I started in about 1979, all of which are eligible but none of which could be completed in the time allowed for this GB. So unless I can find the autogyro by the weekend, 1914 Dennis Fire Engine it's going to be.
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On 17/06/2018 at 20:58, general melchett said:
That's great to hear, I'll pass on to the editor. He realised that far more maritime subjects were needed in the mag and I'm only too happy to oblige. We have plenty more in the works, in several scales, hopefully catering to many tastes. Naval subjects have been sadly neglected for a while but that's changing now.
That's encouraging. Having collected AMW since Issue 1 I was about to give it up if I saw yet another month where it was Mirage after Mirage or obscure Swedish jet thing that no-one's ever heard of and no mention of maritime modelling. I spoke to the previous editor at the Yeovilton show about 2 years ago and his comment was that maritime didn't sell magazines. I asked him on what he based that statement and he responded by saying just look at the number of Airfix new ship releases in the past 5 years. A good friend of mine is Malcolm Lowe who contributes widely to that magazine and I know he's been lobbying Chris on the maritime behalf so it looks as if the message has gotten through. I even got one of mine in last month's issue on the Vikings Show report page.
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Once it gets to 40C then it's starting to get hot. 
REVELL DC10 LAKER SKYTRAIN
in Ready for Inspection - Aircraft
Posted
That looks really nice. Sir Freddie was an old boy of my school and I remember being captivated when he came to speak to the 6th form. He was probably the inspiration behind a fair few of my school friends becoming successful businessmen after university. It was a real travesty the way that he was forced out of business in the 80s by what these days would probably be deemed a cartel.