yeehah1

21-09-07 Spitfire gurus...i need help here. I am building a Spitfire..sort of.. and I want to drop the tail-planes and off-set the rudder. I am using the 1/32 Hasegawa Spitfire Vb kit. I have cut the necessary bits like so.... But before I potentially destroy these bits...what's the best way to go about this? After the cut, both surfaces are flat and blunt, but I take it I need a curved surface? Wouls I glue a piece of stretched spru to the newly cut edge of the tail palne to be dropped and then sand/blend them together to get a smooth rounded surface that looks as if it's slotted together (as well as indiacteing the two hinges?). Or is there a better way to do this? I need to off-set the rudder as well, so the same method would apply, yes? Thanks in advance for any help. Liam

21-09-07 Update time: and the other side: This is done with the help of the Eduard 1/32 Spitfire Vb Interior set, 32029, which I believe does not have the Sutton harness, but I am waiting delivery of a Sutton harness photoetch job from MDC. Bit of a challege bending all those icky-bit etch bits....might need to invest in one of them thar photoetch mate-things while at Telford! I have started the paint work on the cockpit elements from the kit itself and will post an update when done. Liam

Oh dear...not what I expected at all. I was planning on using the underneath of the Me109 nose, (and filling hte recess meant for the airscoop) but that looks nothing like it. Any chance you could shoot a few from a different angle? Is it flat or round? Or maybe they used the bottom part of the Bf110 cowling as well? Gwad! Liam

16-09-07 Update time: engine: Still have a few wires for "dress-up" to put in and am debating if I should just forget them or go for it. and the instrument bezels from MDC: Luftwaffe instrument dials. I used these as the reports on the MesserSpit state that the Luftwaffe removed the English instruments and replaced them with German equivalents where possible. I cannot find out for sure if they just ripped out the instrument panel or just the instruments themselves, so I just went with the instruments themselves. I stuck them down on top of the instuments decal that comes with the Aires 1/32 Spitfire VB set. Sorry for the blurry pic. And when added to the phot-etch..... I thank you! Now the work on the cockpit begins in earnest. Liam

15-09-07 Dear Mike. Yeah, either I suppose, but I really need to see the underneath of the front cowling. I know it didn't have an airscoop under there, but I need to see how they treated it. Also, The 1/32 Hase Spitfire seems to be lacking in detail for it's under-wing scoops. Where might I get info on how to detail these areas? There seems to be a flap opened there ( when on the ground) so I was thinking of cutting it out and detailing it a little. Thanks again Liam

14-09-07 Can you post a pic of the underneath of the MesserSpit conversion you have? I need to see what is under there as there isn't much info. ( even a drawing from the instructions would help) Thanks in advance Liam

13-09-07 Just curious. I ordered Eduard 32-029 which arrived today mainly for the lovely instrument panel. It has a harness in it and I was just wondering if this is a Sutton harness? Which I believe this type had? Isn't there meant ot be a bit that goes into the hole in the backrest? Liam

13-09-07 Mike: Can you post some pics of the underneath of the nose section please? I need to see what that panel looks like...under the engine, behind the spinner. Also, are there any decent pics or drawings in the instructions for he resin conversion? Thanks in advance Liam ( almost got the plumbing and the engine details done. Will post pics when complete) Liam

02-09-07 Quick update... Progress slow due to other commitments which should be dealt with in a day or so.... Engine being worked on...it's been cut from the block and now the real job begins.....I find hte Aires instructions just a shade unclear..anyone else find this...not too sure about the alingment of a few bits...anyways I'll try make progress asap. Liam

30-08-07 Nice bottom. Liam

@bcauchi: Thanks for the advise. I have painted the relevant parts RLM 02. Started the engine block and progress is slow..lots of resin to saw. Liam

25-08-07 I am making (sort of) a Me109 G-6 and am doing the Aires 1/32 resin engine to go with it. Can anyone please tell me what color the inside of the cowlings and the engine harness are? I have seen photos were the harness looks like a grey/green color? Can anyone verify please for me? RLM or FS approximates would be a blessing. Thanks in advance Liam

21-08-07 KiwiSteve: Lovely. Thanks, they certainly point in the right direction!! Liam

21-08-07 Thanks guys. Bill Clark is going to order it from Hannants for me. Looks to be a prety informative volume. Liam

20-08-07 Thanks Dave. Any idea if it is still available? Liam

19-08-07 Thinking of building an FAA Avenger and I know they had a seat in behind the pilot for the radar fella. Anyone know where I might get good reference pics of this area? Thanks in advance, Liam

18-08-07 607 exists on a decla sheet alright, just not too sure who does them, maybe Model Alliance? I think I might be able to use most of what's on the Matchbox sheet if I did go for Tuxford's Victor, but the serials are not there and I would be wondering if there had been any changes since hte missions were flown in 1982( ?) and the Matchbox markings are for a time some 10 years before or thereabouts? or, were the serials removed? I recall them saying something along those lines in the book? Liam it's late..time for bed.

14-08-07 Thank you all for the very kind comments..it's much appreciated. Liam

13-08-07 Now, Roym....behave.

12-08-07 Guys, I am about to tackle a cockpit for the Hase 1/32 Spitfire Vb. I am using the SAM Publications Supermarine Spitfire : Merlin Engines as a reference and I see that on page 94, the seat looks to be a brown color, with the backrest interior green. On page 89, for the V model, the seat is shown as brown seat with a green padded backrest. Is this genuine? I know that there are sometimes issues with restored aircraft as opposed to the real thing, so can anyone confirm this arrangement ot be true? Thanks in advance, Liam

12-08-07 Here's a pretty good image of the real thing. Here's a side profile: This is the fusion resin: ( i know, not a profile, but the best I could find. LF 1/48 Resin fuselage mine again It seems to me that the Fusion nose isn't deep enough and neither is the LF nose. Prehaps the arrangement I have is too deep, so maybe I should flatten it a little? Liam (always welcome another pair of eyes on this one)

12-08-07 Hi Mike...I know. Yet, as configured in the photos above, it all fits to the rear of the spinner perfectly. Anything I have read on the MesserSpit simply refers to the Bf-110 cowling as being "modified"... I always thought it meant lengthened or something, but prehaps it was flattened a little? Afterall, the cross-section of the Bf-110 cowling seems almost circular, whereas the Spitifire, at that point, seems to be flatter. Liam

12-08-07 Small update... I thought that I would add a littel sprue detail to the interior of this kit. I know not much, if any, of it will be seen, but I thought it looked good, and it will, once it is painted and weathered. I am going to go with much of what is offered in the kit, but will add a photoetch instrument panel and Sutton harness, once they arrive. Liam

10-08-07 I finally finished Vulcan 607 ( after a diversion caused by Harry Potter). I was wondering...are there markings out there for Tuxford's Victor XL189?? I know the Matchbox kit has 57 sqd markings, but they are for a different jet.... Any help would be appreciated. Liam (ps. I'll never hear Chariots of Fire in the same way again! )

09-08-07 Thanks guys.. Liam