Lindsey C

Hi Maginot, Nice to hear I am not alone in the re-instituting of a former modelling career (and I don't mean the 'Cat Walk!'). Sad news on the stash. Some of the fires you guys are having and we are seeing on the other side of the 'big blue marble' here are very scary looking! I too am flirting with the idea of an airbrush before I hit the German stuff. They have camouflage schemes, that seem to me, will be near impossible to achieve by brush! (Any tips or links to existing threads greatly welcomed here too guys). Thanks, Lindsey

Brilliant. Thanks again Troy. Fabulous shots that show the offset well (plus extra info for a modeller). I go to bed a more educated man! 🙂 I have loads of shots of L1592 and the Finnish Hurricane but am looking forward to the walkround for L1592 which I will view tomorrow. If it is little effort for you I would like to see also the Finnish Hurricane walkround too. 👌 Regards, Lindsey

Brilliant, thanks Troy. You learn something everyday! Life is always interesting! Thanks FPB. It's not the details that worry me about the kit. It's the fit and ease of building for what is an entry level kit and any possible discouragement of newcomers. Wait till you try and 'easily' glue the aerial mast into it the fuselage. This has me wondering, again, if a spurious batch of Airfix models were pawned off to Lidl? I seem to have the 'runt of the litter' here judging by our conversations. I will sign up to a host and pop up some images of the Mk1 Spitfire sprue's 😱 Thanks guys, Lindsey

Done. It took me the guts of 15mins to dry fit it since the base of the mast has no chance of fitting into the hole on fuselage out of the box and is also too deep! Doesn't bother me, I find it fun, but Airfix (Hornby) are shooting themselves in the foot with this kit! It's supposed to be an entry level kit and I am glad I never encountered it as a newbie youngster as one of my first builds. Reduce the tolerances Airfix on supposed entry level stuff. A newcomer would be discouraged here and some put off the hobby. They need everything to fit, enjoy painting it and decalling, admire and go onto the next. They get proficient & technical with time, not out of the starting blocks! I am dreading the Spitfire with the horrendous flashing on the sprues! Maybe I skip to another Spitfire kit but won't be giving it away to any youngster or newcomer to try, for fear of them being put off modelling! Plus the Orc pilot might give them nightmares! 🤣 Rgds, Lindsey

Thx FPB. Hmmm, I am beginning to wonder now and this really is turning into a Mule. Oh Deary Me Airfix. The Tailplane (A68216) is completely out! It is really noticeably facing off to port by about 2 degrees with the starboard side of the same meeting the centre line (where the 2 halves of fuselage join). A serious fault of the kit and not mine. To fly this one you would need a fair amount of left rudder to fly in a straight line with the loss of about 15 knots of air speed. It is also not tall enough and leaves a 1mm gap from itself to the rudder which I will have to fill with sprue! It is also not truly vertical it looks to me. I would post shots but I need to sort out a host yet. Nothing I can do about about it without serious surgery. I would need to completely cut off the tail plane, re-work the panel work where it joins the fuselage (which is also offset), extend it by 1mm plus the width of the cut and re-attach it. Right I am off to correct the antenna aerial which is also the incorrect one. It should be the much shorter TR9B 'Pole' type. Starter kit my bottom! 🤣 P.S. I have an Armour Hobbies Hurricane Mk I - Battle of Britain - Limited Edition on the way so I should be covered for the BoB Hurricane if my mule has to hide in a dark corner of the shelf. Rock on Metal Wings! Regards, Lindsey

Thanks for the info Chuck, there is hope for me. I am using 3x glasses at present and am on the limit of seeing the really small stuff. I might research Jeweller's vision equipment a bit more. It needs to be binocular for me. Regards, Lindsey

Wow, nice looking kits. Great detail for 1:72. Special Hobby 72439 Messerschmitt Bf 109E-4 will have to be bought! Slats, positionable flaps, loads of extra detail goodies! It makes my starter Airfix Bf109 look a bit 'Mickey Mouse'🤪 Any one know where I can buy 18 year old eyesight to reinstate my vision for such a kit? 🤣 Regards, Lindsey

Thanks FPB. I know you are right and perfection even unto ourselves is unattainable. But I cannot look at it with 4 spokes, etc. It will annoy me every time I look, though only you guys and myself will be critical. As we all know, none of us are totally happy with anything we build and we know what details we are not happy with. Others may not notice the same. The minutiae annoys me if I am aware of it!🤣 I will get L1592 as close as possible then onto the rest then a Hurricane or 2 to finish. I am only planning on building all the period BoB aircraft then after, the sneaky SR-71. Oh God, I hope I don't get caught again! 😱 I looked at the 1:48 Lancaster today and large scale Mosquito's (my favourite aircraft) and I only have limited space for display! Rgds, Lindsey

From what I have read and watched, many 109's were also damaged on take off by lesser experienced pilots by not allowing for the torque the engine created with the aircraft having such a small effective 'axle length'. (I know not what, the correct term is for the lateral distance between front wheels on aircraft.🙈) The Spitfire also has a small effective axle length with undercarriage moving outward to the up position. The Hurricane did it the more sensible way. Outwards in! 😊. And at least on Hurricanes there are 3 points of anchor rather than a single leg! Much less strain on landing gear and bearings. I would love to see a Bf109's front wheel bearings or their spec. Just to look at that sideways loading on the bearing makes me wince. Any ball race doesn't like that. Maybe they were tapered bearings? They don't like that either but last a little longer with regular adjustment. Maybe in times of war they did not worry and just kept putting in new ones? The Spitfire seems to have suffered from this far less than the 109 though many were damaged on landing by in-experienced pilots over-braking while landing due to the poor sight over the nose (read inexperience). Great brakes Supermarine.👍. All a matter of learning/experience. The Hurricane just looked & laughed being a more 'hardy but slightly slower animal'🤣 Rgds L

Wahey! 5 spokes will be here in a week or so (plus an extra pair I may require later). There was no work on L1592 tonight due to other commitments. Also on the way is Arma Hobby's AMH70023 Mk1 BoB L.E. Hurricane for the end of the BoB shelf building (also with a one piece upper wing!). Any tips on this kit welcomed in months to come. Also a Tamiya 60750 Messerschmitt Bf109E-3 (I never built Tamiya before so I want a comparison and version 2 is Autumn 1940 France, though the kit from what I can discern doesn't look much better in terms of detail) which means my starter Bf109E-3 Airfix A68205 can be a 'Guinea Pig' though I expect it to turn out well. I am getting ahead of myself here I know, but the Bf109's single leg undercarriage (and the spitfires to a lesser extent) is the scariest looking thing for these builds. The real aircraft must have had seriously strong wheel bearings for wheels that sat at that angle to the ground for landing and take off! How are you guys assuring the right angle in both directions for undercarriage? Chocked up from below or braced when upside down or other? I have a lot of work ahead of me now but hours of relaxation (usually!). I am keeping quiet about the SR-71 also on the way! I am an old aircraft fella really but it was one of the most impressive aircraft ever built (a family friend actually got to see one in it's hangar). That will live on the bottom, darkest shelf of the cabinet well below the BoB aircraft where it may well not be detected in a year or twos time! 🧐. Ssshhh🤫 Rgds, Lindsey

I got the lip showing along the rear of wing (and it is not a very sharp edge either) and the landing light mis-alignment (fixed with a little filler and scalpel/sanding) on 1:72. I let wing set and then filled and sanded wing edges. The ailerons are misaligned as you state. Hmmm, gluing centre section. Then each outer wing with extra thin and holding in position until set to obtain correct dihedral. Nothing about that in the 'Starter Kit' instructions Airfix! 🤣 As you state, a problem of the 1 piece upper wing. Re: the split cockpit approach, my 1:72 scale stick is going in after wings and fuselage are together. It would be too easy to catch it while performing and concentrating on the biggest join of the whole model. I tried it dry! Rgds, Lindsey

Damn it! It will be finished 1st (or maybe not if I don't have the ordered 5 spokes in time 🤣)! It is a basic kit that does not fit well together in places and there seems a lot of work if you are pernickety like me. I will put it up as a 'Ready to inspect' when finished with what info I have gleaned that maybe helpful to anyone building A68216 though, I am sure most of you guys have long gone past building an Airfix Starter kit with it's 4 nearly dried up colour pots! Still, it is teaching me a lot after 35 years away god bless it. I have already learnt a huge amount from you guys that should stand me in good stead for the coming builds. Rgds Lindsey

Oh God! Will I ever be finished? I feel like Michelangelo trying to paint the Sistine Chapel Ceiling with Airfix A68216! Now I am looking at radio masts/wires. Hurricane L1592 was fitted with a T.R.9B antenna system (pole) from what I can can decipher and the kit has a T.R.9D! I presume I am correct here? L1592 as is, residing in the Science Museum, South Kensington, seems to confirm same. A bit more remodeling to be done before assembly. 🧐 I WILL get this done and move onto the other BoB aircraft! Then at the end of the BoB builds I will also build a couple of more accurate BoB Hurricane kits to address the Hurricane to Spitfire ratio of the times. 🤣 Rgds Lindsey

Mine is L1592 so I better go with 5 spoke. I have some on order but don't know when they will arrive. I will carry on with this one and wheels will need to be last. At the end of BoB shelf I may find myself building another Hurricane or 2. Metal wing all the way (maybe). lol Thanks guys

Thanks Fukuryu, The 'Curse of the Mk1 5 Spoke' strikes again! 🥴 Rgds Lindsey

Thanks Colin. I have been looking at the Arma Hobby 1:72 Mk1 Hurricane kits. They all have 4 spoke wheels (Except the Eastern front which has both)! I presume one can purchase a 5 spoke wheel for them? Regards, Lindsey

Thanks vildebeest. 👌

Brilliant! Thanks Troy. I would think complete Matt was a hard sheen to obtain for any 'real aircraft' paint then. I would say drag was of no concern then and they were happy if it 'matted down'. I want my BoB shelf to be honest and factual. I intend to have a little card with info on each aircraft (detailed info that I can obtain hopefully) on the shelf for any that care to view the BoB shelf. I think this makes it more meaningful for any looking in. The Bf 110 will most likely be L1 X B rammed in the air by the Hurricane flown by F/O Burton, 249 Squadron after a long, low altitude chase with the loss of all 3 airmen. I presume he was out of ammunition? I have to research this further. It shows the extremes of the time. Though I know little of these desperate times and my father was only 4 at the start of the war, he remembers a Lysander crashing in the field down the road. He remembers vividly the wings cutting the tops off the trees in the 'Spinny' before it landed on the field the other side. Both pilots survived though the pilot lost one of his ears. He used have a piece of perspex with a swastika on it from another aircraft that he collected from a crashed aircraft but it was lost over the years, Since you are a Hurricane man I will relate the story I like best. His father, my Grandad built Auster Reconnaissance aircraft in Thurmaston during the war and afterwards (we all hail from Leicester). This is directly from my Grandad as verbatim as I can remember it. For some reason, unknown to my Grandad, they had a Hurricane in one of the hangers at Thurmaston one day. An 'amazement' to humble Auster builders at the time. Cutting edge fighter! He said an RAF 'Big Wig' (his words) arrived and went straight to the Hurricane. He eventually got round to being seated in the cockpit. He asked if he could press the fire button on the stick and they themselves couldn't see why not. They didn't know who was in charge or meant to be showing him round the aircraft. The noise was horrific and the 'Big Wig' blew a big 'oval shaped' hole in the side of the hanger! They didn't know the aircraft was armed. How would they? My Grandad was amazed how far the Hurricane reversed within the hanger! Regards Lindsey

Well 'Hot Diggity Damn and Yahey'. Test part came out well so I risked a Hurricane front screen and it is way better than Humbrol Clear! I blast out music on a proper HiFi system when modelling and used the heat off the Amp for my warming. Risky I know since this involves air flow and dreaded dust but it suffices for tests. 🤣

Thanks very much guys. I really need to get my Canopy's 'nailed down' before I go anywhere near the Ju88, Do 17 & any He111! Black Knight - I got some Astonish Floor Polish today. A test part now drying 🙂 I could only get a 1 litre bottle! Enough for 20 lifetimes of canopy dipping! Dnl42 & - I will get some Deluxe, Looks Like Glass and try that too. My nearest modelling shop is 30 mins away in Enniskillen and he does Deluxe products so he can get it in for me. While on this subject, I presume this is also good stuff for my varnish coat before washes & decal application? The Clear may suffice there anyway. It will be going on over Enamel with the final coat being Enamel Matt Varnish. NoelH - I am not too far from you Noel. I live on the border between Leitrim & Donegal. I have already mail ordered from Mark's Models. Thanks for info on the other 2 outlets. Humbrol here we go again! The Humbrol Matt Coat does not impress me too much either. It is not very flat. I must try 2, 3 or 4 thinned coats? What is the best Matt Varnish? Windsor & Newton Galleria? I am brushing everything. Troy Smith, you seem best qualified to direct this one too. Directly out of production, actually how Matt were freshly delivered Raf Aircraft in 1940? Were they truly Matt at all? Thanks in advance Lindsey

Hi fishplanebeer, Great info too. Thanks. I will have to get shopping again. Damn Lidl!!! lol rgds Lindsey

A wealth of great info Troy. Thanks very much. I want a high degree of accuracy on what will be on the BoB shelf. I will digest all tomorrow. Bed is calling. I maybe weathering too much! At 56 yrs old I feel well weathered! The Hurricane I am building is L1592, the one that was shot by a 109 with a consequent forced landing at Croyden. The Hurricane now residing in the Science Museum, South Kensington. If nothing else, it will be be a good Guinea Pig for me to practice on. God knows the 4 spoke wheels bugged me so much I have resin 5 spoke ordered on special order! It is a very basic Airfix kit and I can build a better one later with Arma gear. The next one doesn't have to be Airfix, any accurate, BoB, 1:72 I will will build. Recommendations gratefully welcomed. Thanks, Lindsey

Hi Guys, Hope you are all keeping well. Well Damn Lidl! They recently had Mk1 Hurricane (A68216), Mk1a Spitfire (A68206) & BF109-E3 (A68205) Airfix kits for €7.99 each. I thought 'that will be a bit of cheap fun' for this once prolific model maker (returning after 35+ years away) and I can create a little BoB shelf in my little display cabinet. 😊 Now it has all got out of hand and is costing a small fortune! Of course I have to have all the aircraft to be fair so have had to buy Boulton Paul Defiant Mk1, Dornier 172-2, Ju87B-1, Ju88 A-1, Bf 110C/D (Eduard Kit which is impressive), all the paints, flat brushes, detail brushes etc. etc. Packages are even arriving from Poland since Airfix can seem to supply nothing to me here in Ireland and their website wasted 2 hours of my time! (Brexit Panic maybe?) Super-hobbys in Poland are seriously impressive and efficient having a huge range all in stock. Of course I still need to obtain a HE111 H2-3. I can't find one in day bombing colours from the earlier part of the Battle and may need to find and back build one if I can get the decals etc. (Any help here appreciated). It will be a long time until I get to the He111. I have started with the Fabric Wing Hurricane to re-learn, hone new skills. A lot has changed since I have been away! Weathering, detailing etc. I want the BoB aircraft to look fairly worn/constantly used since these were desperate times and the only thing on ground crews minds was keeping aircraft in the air rather than touching up paint and aesthetics. The Hurricane is taking longer than I thought. I looked in the Spitfire kit and the pilot is a terrible looking individual. An escaped Orc from Lord of the Rings with hands and legs an Ogre would be proud of (see Avatar pic)! 🤣 I won't even go into depth about the horrendous flashing on the sprue's but has any got a 1:72 scale jig-saw I can borrow to cut out the landing gear on the Spitty? The Spitfire pilot cannot go into any model of mine so the Hurricane pilot is being saved for the Spitfire. This means the Hurricane has become an 'open cockpit' model meaning cutting back fuselage to let the Canopy be in the open position. It has also meant scratch building gun sight, Sutton Harness straps etc. I've also been detailing. Drilling out exhausts, gun ports, building clear starboard and port wing lights etc. That's why the build is taking longer. 🧐 I will get faster as I go on (I now know how to make RAF 1:72 Sutton Harness straps and have a few spares made! lol). I can put up progress in the appropriate forum if anyone is interested and no doubt you guys might have useful info & tips for me. One thing I am struggling with is the horrible Humbrol Clear for the supposed glass like canopies! Despite pre-cleaning the Clear pulls away and leaves unsightly looking areas. It does nothing like the Humbrol Youtube video! I would like to see theirs when dry! I have de-greased with detergent, metholated spirits, lighter fluid. Tried 1 dip, 2 dips, brush coats. Makes no difference! Is there a better gloss out there that will achieve that 'glass like' finish'? Thx in advance, Lindsey