Back in the Saddle

Time for John's update! 😉 The wing exhausts were placed into position but without any glue - these were simply used to ensure the separate engine intake sections were correctly aligned with the back ends. The engine intake furthest from the camera is setting; the closer intake is about to be positioned next to the exhaust and clamped, before applying the glue: Everything in place (the exhausts are still just resting on the wing, not glued): Then the exhausts were removed for painting separately on a warmer day: Finally the inboard elevons were attached in a drooped position, after chamfering their forward edges: Outboard elevons next - they need a bit more fettling to get a good fit, due to the wing tips curving downwards...

I haven't done anything to this one for a week, as I was waiting for a package to arrive: Six pieces of resin - two wing root extensions, two wing tip extensions and two winglets. Plus a tin of paint for a size comparison: Now I have these, I think my next step will be butchering the fuselage to make the wings detachable - it's just too large otherwise! My plan is to join the wings together and blend them into the fuselage belly, but to have this entire section separate from the lower fuselage. I think it should work...!

Stay posted John, I’m working on Concorde today!

You’re both added to the list - thank you!

From the artist's own website here she explains it was only applied to eight aircraft. It was not used as much as it could have been, but the same can be said about many of the later tail fin designs...🙁 I've PM'ed you about this - I might be able to help!👍 Cheers John! Work on the refurb continues. The nose gear bay was removed and the remains of the undercarriage were discarded, just keeping the doors: The large doors were a single piece of plastic and went back into the same place easily. The smaller doors were the ones that hung down and needed to be retracted - I glued these together on bent paper to introduce some curvature: Then added scrap around the recess to give them something to glue onto, as they were too small for the gap: Once in place copious amounts of filler were added: The tail skid also needed to be retracted. First it was gently removed: And then eased into the gap and glued: The next stage is sanding everything - windows, joint lines, gear doors, the whole lot! It should look a bit different next time I post.👍

Thanks John - it's a graceful looking aircraft.👍 I've spent some time with my polishing cloths today and improved the windows considerably. There a few issues though - it appears the resin was thinner than I realised on some of the panes and I've sanded/polished all the way through them... However, the ones that are still intact are now smooth and flush with the fuselage, so it's not been a total failure: The opacity is from the inside of the windows, where the masking tape was applied. Next time I will have to sand that smooth and well before closing the fuselage, as it can be seen from the exterior. This has been a useful mule so far for trying out new techniques - I will know how to better approach this task next time. I have a cunning plan for the damaged windows - I will fill them but then paint over them with white primer. I'm hoping that when the window surround decals are applied it will look like the cabin blinds are down. It might work!😁

You know me too well Mike! 😁 The refurbished model was originally destined to become G-BNWV, a long haul aircraft in the "Colum" scheme. Decals were consequently purchased from F-DCAL: I'm not entirely sure what happened next, as it was over a year ago... However, it involved scanning these, making a few amendments and reprinting them - I couldn't help myself as I felt there was room for improvement! My corrected "Colum" decals will now go onto one of the two new builds. The refurbished model is going to be a 'what if' model. I will depict it as G-BNWY, an aircraft that was repainted from the 'Landor' scheme straight into the 'Chatham' livery when the world image designs were being phased out. As an aside, the 'Chatham' livery it received was different from the current version, as the red/blue/red bands on the tail fin were lower, leaving a larger expanse of white at the top of the fin. Photos of this aircraft from that era look slightly odd as a result! If the world image liveries had continued, G-BNWY would have received one too. I'm going for "Grand Union", one of the entries that won the Sunday Times competition to design a new tail fin and based upon the artwork on the sides of barges on the Grand Union canal - hence the name of this design. Out of interest "Chelsea Rose" was the other winner from this competition and was used much more extensively. Here's the image I'm replicating: Quite an underused design, appearing on just eight aircraft. The 767 never received this one, so I thought that made it a good choice for this model! As for the third kit, the jury is still out - there's plenty of time to decide!

It's that time of year again when I find all sorts of new projects making their way towards the workbench...! I know I have plenty on the go already, but most of these are awaiting paint which requires better weather - I spray outdoors and need warmer, drier conditions. As @Paulaero will understand, these other models are generally at least 95% built, which qualifies me to start on something new in the meantime! 😁 This build is partly a new challenge and a bit of repetition too. The new bit is refurbishing one of my older models and this will form the bulk of this thread. The repetition part is concurrently building two untouched Revell 767-300 kits, which I did here a couple of years ago and I don't see any point in documenting it here again! However, these kits will throw up a few challenges along the way (more on this when I get to those parts!), hence their inclusion into this thread. Let's start with the model to be refurbished. I would guess that I built it around 20 years ago, when my modelling skill set was rather more limited than it is now. It is the Revell 767-300, with RR engines and built to depict G-BNWA which I flew regularly at back in 2003. The model has been in the attic for years and I think it must have been dropped at some point too - luckily I still have most of the pieces: It's certainly been neglected and the attic did it no favours - it's covered in grime: The refurbishment will consist of the following tasks- 1. Open the fuselage up and fill the windows with Milliput 2. Removal of the damaged undercarriage and rebuild the model with the gear doors closed 3. Replacement of the missing windscreen (the only piece that I cannot find!) 4. Removal of the old paint and re-spraying with an accurate demarcation line and correct shade of blue 5. Production of custom decals to give the model a new identity To complete this introduction, the other two models in this build were purchased cheaply but with a few pieces missing. More importantly though, they both have the sprues for the RR engine option, so these will be built as BA aircraft. Here are the sprues: And another shot, showing the first task completed - Milliput is applied: It is well past its 'use by' date and quite dry and crumbly, but perfectly good enough for this job!

Done! Thanks for the leap of faith! 😁

Indeed you are! 😁

As a former -400 pilot, I’m very happy with the position I’m now in. Final answer!😁

Go for it Paul, it looks at least 96% done! 😁 Great finish too!👍

I don’t like quoting myself, as it seems pretentious. However, I’ve just picked up the conversion kit on eBay tonight. My thanks to @BritJet for letting me know it was listed - cheers! 👍 I did - here’s a picture: Note the size, compared to a 1/144 A350 and a 12” ruler! Anyway, more on this soon. I’m off to amend the thread title for a third time…!😁

This totally floats my boat, so count me in!👍

Nice selection Tim, you’re on the list as number 20!

I just thought white might be a little stark (and Airfix references are not always correct!) - hence asking the BM hive for their opinion. Thanks Adam!👍 Looks good - I will give it a try! Thanks for the suggestion.👍

You’ve both been added and the list on page 1 updated, along with revised size guidelines…!😁 If I’ve missed anyone out, please let me know. Currently at 19 potential participants.👍

Sorry for the tardy reply - I forgot to check for any updates! 😳 To answer some questions: No! Will do - thanks for signing up! A5 is perfectly acceptable too - shall I add you to the list?!😁 Yes! I’m flexible on this - I can’t get too excited about the exact size. How about “approximately A4 sized or maybe a bit bigger/smaller”?🤔😁 Will do! Thank you! Done! Thanks for all the support for this GB; I’ll update the participant’s list shortly! 👍

That could work - thank you! One more quick question. Can anybody confirm the correct colour for the air brake recesses please? I think Airfix suggest white, but I just wanted to double check. @Adam Poultney - does white sound plausible? Nearly ready for more paint but need to spray these areas first before masking them. Thanks!

I seriously considered that scheme, but opted for something easier. It's taking quite long enough without an extra level of complexity! 😁 Yours is looking good.👍 Cheers Terry! However, this comment of yours: Somehow keeps reminding me of Barbara Windsor...!😁 Hopefully the masking will be finished soon. I remembered the masking template that was supplied in the kit: Somehow I don't think this will help me much, as the intakes are already white - the area covered by these masks needs to be in camouflage colours so I can't use them...

Thank you! Next time the glazing will be far tidier - this has all been a bit of an experiment for me. I've definitely learnt how not to do it!😁 As I mentioned earlier, control over the flow of resin is critical for this and my idea to use the tip of a discarded propelling pencil worked a treat. There were a couple of gaps in the glazing that needed a dab of extra resin and I could apply this with great accuracy using the tip like a fine piping nozzle: Note the assembled fuselage in the background, which makes sanding far easier too - no more flexing! The tip will probably need binning, as I suspect the remnants of resin will remain inside and set solid. Not to worry, as I can find plenty of others if needed - my kids get through these at some rate! I also made a start on the wings, getting the undercarriage bays glued into place: The wing upper surfaces will go on next, just leaving the engines and tailplanes to construct.👍 So far it's been a very pleasant kit to construct.🙂

Thank you! Not much has happened recently but I thought a small update was in order. I've masked the base to add a couple of lines: These will be applied heavily but in a patchy fashion, to replicate worn apron markings. You know the ones - applied with thick gloopy paint! I'm hoping to get some paint onto the airframes soon too, which will bring the finishing line in sight for this build.👍

It's not been the best of kits, which is why my mojo keeps failing me...! It's getting there slowly... Thanks Serkan. The priming is finally over and I'm getting the top coat on - here's the underside: As an aside, the green sheet will hopefully be used soon for some airliner RFI shots! I then had the tedious task of getting the white masked off ready for the top side paint: A few tricky curves around the intakes! Talking of which, I still need to mask the insides of these to protect the white trunking...😬 It's fair to say I've been putting this job off for a while! Whilst looking at the remaining jobs required on underside, I had to butcher the bomb bay doors to make them fit correctly - they were 1mm to 2mm too long, with the red dots showing where the hacking took place: Will I get this one over the line in 2023...? Hopefully! 😁

Cheers John. Progress has been slow and steady recently but not really worth taking any photographs. Hopefully I'll post some pictures soon; I'm just going through a round of fill - sand - repeat at the moment! 😁 Is the Concorde the Doyusha kit? I have a few of their 1/100 kits in the stash - 2 x 747's and 1 x Tristar awaiting attention. It might be a while!

Don’t blame me…😉 Looks like a great project to get stuck into!