Geo1966

A couple from my small collection. Special Hobby 1/72 Meteor NF11. Built for the Meteor STGB last year. Hobby Boss 1/72 Seahawk. Built for the Fleet Air Arm GB last year. George

Time for a well overdue update. Had a bit of stuff going on in life recently so not got around to doing any updates, sorry. I have been managing a bit of work on this and even taken a couple of photos, so will try and get this up to date now. I have filled and sanded the underside and the 3rd crew member is in now in situ. I have used the Eduard canopy masks. So glad I had these, must have taken me a good couple of hours to attach them, so doing it “free hand” would have been a big job. Wings sanded and nacelles put together. Usually when parts don’t fit, I blame myself as with the fuselage (as in the last update). However, I am actually starting to think the fit of the parts on this one are not great. Just about every joint I have glued has needed attention i.e. filler. Maybe it is me, with my club fingers, but I don’t normally have this problem. I have actually given the sub-assemblies (fuselage, wings, nacelles, engine cowlings) an undercoat of Tamiya XF grey prior to further assembly, just to be on the safe side. I’ve attached the canopy with masking fluid as I still need to put in the machine gun later and the same for the lower dorsal gun. Not sure what is going on with Imgur, but really struggled to do my images tonight. Hopefully they sort there shi................... out. George

A clever modification and a great looking cockpit. George

Hi Pat, I'm interested in this one, so add me to the list please. Thinking i might treat myself to the Dora Wings Westland Lysander for starters. Cheers, George

Please add me to the list Patrice. I have 2 Brit Mustangs (Airfix and Arma) ready to go. Thanks, George

Things are progressing slowly as I am back to work now, but progress there is. The canopy and other glazing are a really soft plastic strangely. Normally clear parts are quite brittle, but these aren’t. Anyway, I found them quite cloudy looking, so I dunked them in some AK Glass Coat Gauzy Agent and I think they look much better. I have also joined up the fuselage. The top is not bad, but some gaps underneath. I am putting this down to my not getting the interior lined up quite right. I’ve made a start on the wings, which went together well. But as @ckw had warned me the leading edge sections which are a separate part are not a great fit. PPP time, hopefully they will look ok after sanding. I noticed on the wings that there are some unused holes, so maybe Zvedza are planning on releasing another version of this with underwing rockets or would they be bombs? Next up I need to get the wings sorted and start the masking of the canopy, etc. So glad I have the masking set as there is quite a bit to do. George

I have painted the connecting rings behind the collector rings black, then dry brushed the fronts with Silver. I then gave the whole area a black wash. Attached the engines and used a dab of CA to fix the resin Hedgehog exhausts. Looking at different photos, some seem to have this feature showing and others don’t. Oh well too late now. So, I am calling these done, probably a bit over the top, but I quite like the look. Next up the undercarriage.........................I think I said that last time George

Meanwhile, back to the build……………….. The crew have been painted up. They seem to get smaller and less detailed the further they go back, ending up with the rear gunner looking like a 12 year old. I have found the interior a bit fiddley in places, especially the pilot seat/floor section. It was really flimsy once put together. Maybe if I had glued it together before painting it might have been better? Anyway, I got there in the end. I cheated slightly as I glued the rudder pedals to the pilot’s feet before I put him in which made life a bit simpler. The other problem I had was getting the pilots arms to be holding the control column. Again, fiddley and again, might have been easier if I had done it at an earlier stage. The little chap in the back. Apparently, there are 200 parts to this kit, not that I have counted, but I would guess a quarter of them are the interior. There is an option to have the bomb bays and front crew access hatch open, but as I am having this with the crew in “ready for take-off” mode, I will be doing them closed. Also, the instructions say to fit the tail wheel at this stage, but you can get away with just fitting the wheel well and leaving the wheel till later. I have cut off the side gun as suggested by Colin and Craig to make life easier until after painting. So, I am just about ready to button her up. The 3rd crew member will be inserted from the top once that is done. George

The wings have turned out looking fantastic. Well done Tom. George

Nice progress JT and some lovely photos. George

No pressure then Steve 😄 George

A small update. The wing tip light covers fitted pretty well (thankfully). Just need to do a minor touch up of the paint work. I’ve also started having a go at the collector rings. Painted in NATO black, then dry brushed with Tamiya Dark Iron. I then used a sponge to add some Tamiya Titanium Silver to the front edge. The hedgehog exhausts got a coat of Dark Iron, then a rust wash, then a dry brush with Dark Iron. I also used a black pin wash on the exhaust exits. In place, but not glued on yet. Think I am getting there, but need to do something with the ring which connects the collector ring to the engine cowling, as below. George

Interesting choice AW. What is a "projection cannon" btw? George

Thanks Colin, thats a top tip. I will be carefull when i do the leading edges also. Forewarned is forearmed. I’ve done the detail painting now, so it’s a bit easier to see all of the detail that is included in the kit. I’ve also given the interior a wash with a dark brown enamel wash. Next job is to get the crew assembled and painted, then I can start putting everything together. George

Panel line wash done with oil paints. I always think the decals and a panel line wash bring the model to life. I need to tackle the engine collector rings now I know which colour I am doing and then get the undercarriage, props, etc on. George

Thanks for the advice on the collector rings/exhausts @Col. @Wings unlevel @81-er @vppelt68 @Dave Swindell and @modelling minion I am definitely going to go for black. Bit of a result really as it is probably the easier option. I did find another nice photo, but I think it may be colourised. Photo for reference only. George

Thanks for the advice re the collector rings Gents. I guess I need to figure out if the collector rings on my reference photo have the heat resistant paint on. Not easy to tell as the torpedo is black, but the rings look quite a bit lighter……………………. Thoughts and advice welcome. George

And we are off! Zvezda say to start with construction of the wings, but what do they know, so I started on the fuselage. There are a lot of parts in this kit. There are over 35 bits to fit into the interior and that is not counting the 3 (5 piece) figures and the glazing. This photo shows most of the bits installed and with a coat of AK 3rd Gen A-14 Interior steel grey. I think things will show a little better when I have done some detail painting. So far the parts are fitting well, although i find the plastic quite soft so care needs to be taken on cleaning them up. One dilemma I have already is the machine gun that is in the rear compartment. The window needs to be stuck in from the inside so that would mean trying to build the rest of the model with the MG sticking out. I just know I will break it, so wondered if anybody has any ideas of how I can get round this? George

That is looking fantastic. Not one of my favorite aircraft, but your build has made me want to make one! George

That looks interesting. A kit i have never seen before. George

Decals on and a coat of VMS Satin sprayed over the top. The engines are not fitted also. Starting to think I should have put the wing tip lights on a bit earlier rather than leave it till the end. Fingers crossed they are a good fit. Also, I need to look at the nightmare which is what colour to paint the exhaust rings and hedgehogs. Have looked at a few discussions on BM about it and there isn’t really a definitive answer. I will do a panel line wash while i contemplate that one. George

Looking great Steve. Hope my Zvezda ends up looking half as good. George

Coming together nicely Bob. I like how they have moulded the canopy at the front with part of the fuselage, prevents a potential gap. Hope all goes ok with the family. Difficult times i am sure. George

The cockpit and the BFO gun look great Bob! George

Great work Gerard, looking good! George