Barracudadude

Sorry, not really sure where to put this or how to start my own company page. Rooted around here but could not figure it out. Just a quick blurb to say that Barracuda Studios is running a Free Shipping Worldwide Sale. Its running now and is over on Saturday at Midnight PST. Minimum purchase to qualify for free shipping is 15 dollars. Books excluded from the sale. Go to the website for more details: www.barracudacals.com Sorry if this is not the place for this type of thing. Happy modelling! Roy

Wow, I hope that's not the final shape. That nose is VERY off in shape. The radiator housing is too far back from the spinner backplate. The spinner looks wrong too. Yes, its a photo of a master pattern, but some things are pretty apparent. Compare the nose to the painting right underneath it. Wingtips also seem awfully thick, as they are considerably rounding down at the end, which does not look prototypical. The Mk II nose seems awfully simplified as well. Its far from a straight tube, which that part seems to be. Comments made in hopes they take a hard look at the patterns before committing to steel. Happy modelling! Roy

Be warned that Fred Spring drawing, while very detailed and painstakingly rendered, are not without their problems. His Hornet/Sea Hornet drawings are full of errors. Do NOT use them if accuracy is a top concern in your building. No offense intended to anyone, but I was initially very excited to get the elusive Fred Spring Hornet draqwings, but the more research I did, the more disappointed I became. No idea about his other drawings, as I have never seen any others save the Seafire III drawings, which also have some problems. HTH Roy

Regarding the panel lines, remember that you are looking at the kit parts many times larger than they are in real life. I have the new 109E, and the panel lines are reasonably fine. The whole thing can be tightened up considerably by sanding the surfaces to remove the rounded edges to the scribed panel lines. The tooling is of pretty good quality for the cost. To tool to the standards of Tamiya and Hasegawa requires a whole different technology that is much more expensive. Doubt it will happen any time soon. The rough area on the upper area of the nose looks like it is caused by a slide mold insert that has been ground down to improve the fit. The slide mold is there to allow the undercuts caused by the rocker covers. It looks like they overdid it a bit, and I am a little surprised that they did not go back and do some finish work to smooth this out. Not Airfix's problem, but the tooling shop. Not sure what the heck is going on with the pilots armor. That's pretty ugly. The offset rudder tab is accurate. The fuselage looks to be a dedicated Spit 22/24 fuselage. The rudder is not full length on the 22/24. If a Seafire 47 is coming, I'd expect a whole new tooling, as there are many differences between the 22 and the 47. I am excited to have a new Spit 22/24. Looks like a great little kit with some refining and cleanup. Happy modelling! Roy

Wow, I had heard rumors of this feature, but I had never seen the kit in person to confirm. http://i24.photobucket.com/albums/c22/ajlo...ie/DSCN7207.jpg The raised plinths with the printed dial faces on them is actually my idea. It was first done of the 21st Century Toys F-86 or Me-262 (can't recall which, and i am still looking for my original sketch) in 1/18th scale. I was frustrated by having the instrument panel sandwiches with the dials printed on the rear half being so far down the holes in the front half. I sketched out this solution and sent it off to the factory in China, thinking they would never go for it. Turned out that they loved doing this kind of cool technical stuff, so they went for it. EDIT: For those that do not know me, I was in charge of production at 21st Century Toys for the last 3 of the 5 and a half years I worked there. I oversaw the development of literally hundreds of military collectibles in that time, in every scale from 1/144th through 1/6th scales. Most of you are probably familiar with the prepainted 1/18th and 1/32 airplanes we made, as well as the 1/32nd scale model kits. The way its done is the rear half of the panel is placed in a jig in a tampo printing machine. This is basically an automated rubber stamping press. Once the part is registered, a foot pedal is depressed, and the rubber stamp is inked, blotted and then stamped onto the raised cylinders on the part. The only trick is getting the stamp dialed in (no pun intended!) Once that is done, an unskilled worked just feeds parts in and throws the printed parts into a bin. Takes two passes to do these panels. Black first, then after some drying time, the white detail pass. Nice to see that my idea did not die! Happy modelling! Roy

NPL has correctly identified the problem. The problem with the Hasegawa fuselage is that it is underscale. Lengthening it only makes it weirder. If you can live with the underscale problem, its a nice kit. A quick fix is to sand about 30 thou from the back of the front spinner half, file the blade openings forward, then sand the resulting complete spinner gently to match. This makes it look MUCH better. Aeroclub's correction fuselage is very nice if you can find it, but an easier way is to take the fuselage from an ICM Spit IX and graft it on to the Hasegawa wings. Easy peasy. The ICM fuselage is pretty damn good. You need to shim a tad behind the cockpit opening to correct the cross section, but other than that, its the best out there. Until Tamiya takes pity on us and shrinks down their glorious Mk IX in 1/32nd scale (and lengthens the gearlegs a bit so it doesn't sit quite so low). Roy

Hi Guys, OK. I can answer this one! That wheel was mastered by me MANY moons ago, probably about 1988. This was in the very early in my pattern making career, and before i had ever owned or used a lathe. The tire, IIRC came from a Monogram F-18, as it had the right OD, or as close as I could get. The tire section was too square, so a LOT of sanding was undertaken to get it to the proper shape. The wheel hubs were completely made from scratch with knife and file out of sheet plastic. Yes, the wheel is inaccurate. It has always bothered me, and I have long planned to produce an accurate wheel to remedy the situation, but time was always against it. Now, I have the ability to produce a much better, more accurate wheel, but for what? A vac kit that was available 20 years ago? An injected kit that has been OOP for at least 6 years? Would I sell a couple of dozen sets? Sure. Would I ever make any money with it? Doubtful. Doesn't mean it will never happen, but if Airfix WERE to give us a new one, that would certainly assure production. Hope this helps. Roy

Hmmmm. Its possible, I suppose. Some other problems with that Aeromaster sheet regards the 80 Squadron Spit 24 VN307 W2-T. The serial is painted in contrasting colors over the black and white stripes, but they do not correspond to the photos of the actual aircraft. I had to rebuild mine after painting the fuselage bands using white and black serials from aftermarket sheets. Also, the upperwing roundels are so big that they wrap over the leading edge and on to the lower surface of the wing. Other than that, they are fine. I'll have to give it some thought. Thanks. Roy

Wow. I guess I got confused by the scales! LOL Well, the Seafire 46/47 is coming back out soon, and yes, you can certainly build a 22/24 out of it. As said previously, the canopy is included, but it is not one of the kits stronger suits. The windscreen can be sanded for a better fit, but strongly suggest a Squadron or Falcon replacement for the sliding hood. A little known fact about the FR 47 is that it actually had 2 different canopies in service; The canopy fitted to the Seafire 17, with its highly raked separation between the hood and the windscreen, and a later canopy with a more standard separation angle. Both had rounded windscreens with internal armor glass. I believe Falcon has both styles in their Spitfire canopy set. The good news is that these new sets and the new Seafire 47 kit with some aftermarket decals will give you a Spit 22/24, and some nice folded wings and other bits for another project! Happy modelling! Roy

Sorry to be hijacking the forum to push my wares, but i think modelers here will be interested. Barracuda Studios will be releasing 6 sets for this kit in a few weeks. There sets were initiallty released back in the late 1990s under the Cooper Details line. I designed these sets to compliment the beautiful Airfix kit, as well as to correct a few flaws with the kit, the most glaring being the decidedly odd looking prop blades. These sets have been cleaned up and in some cases improved slightly, and set up for more modern casting methods I have developed over the years. Watch for announcements in the next 2 weeks or so. So glad to see this kit re-released. The Spit 22/24, Seafire 46/47, and the two Lightnings, really raised the bar on Airfix kit standards. Happy modelling! Roy PS. Anybody know a release date yet?

Here are two detail sets I mastered for the 1/48th scale Dynavector Wyvern kit, but are still full of useful upgrade parts for the Trumpeter kits. The cockpit especially is a huge upgrade for the kit. http://www.aviausa.com/images/CompassRose.pdf

Now, these great images raise another issue! A question regarding this area on Wartime Meteor Mk IIIs. It seems pretty clear that on post war Mk 8s that this area was either natural metal or painted silver. I highly doubt they would leave it such on a wartime aircraft. Too visible and reflective for wartime combat, so would it have been painted Black like the cockpit, or possibly IGG? Finally, I imagine that the main gearbays could well be painted the underside color, but it seems unlikely that the nosegear bay would be. So... IGG or NMF or silver? Thanks! Roy

Hi Danni. Wow. Amazing! You are simply the best. I really appreciate your taking the time to help me with my project. I see that the tanks are missing, but it is actually more interesting, as you can see the feed chutes down to the guns and the surrounding structure. This kind of information is almost impossible to find anywhere else. I will post photos of my Meteor when it is done. Happy modelling! Roy

Either way you decide, Barracuda Studios has you covered in 1/32nd scale for Spitfire Gunsights. http://barracudacals.com/proddetail.php?prod=BR32011 HTH! Roy

Hi Neil. I've thought about it, but its such a fussy detail, and there really is no easy way to produce and install it. I'm thinking about it, but not sure there would be more than a handful of crazies that would buy them! :-) Roy

Hi Danni. Bailing me out AGAIN?? You are the best. :-) Anything you have on the area behind the cockpit, not just the ammo tanks, would be gratefully accepted.I owe you big time. Roy

The new wheel and tyre for the Seafire 47 was wider by (IIRC) 2". It was so wide that bulging the geardoor to allow the gearleg to sit below the lower plane of the wing when retracted was not enough. The upperwing blister was replaced with a new one that was larger, as the entire diameter of the new tyre broke the surface of the upper wing skin. The Airfix kit has an upperwing blister that is not large enough to be completely accurate for an FR. 47. Its close enough for rock and roll, but if you really want to go all out. It needs to be replaced. It is also not symmetrical in cross section when viewed head on. HTH Roy

The Vampire in 1/32nd is being mastered by Alain Gadbois of Fusion Models up in Canada. I have seen it, and it is a thing of beauty. It will be a resin kit when it is finished. Progress is slow, but he's got a good bit of it done as i have heard recently. I'm pretty sure HK Models will be following up the B-25s with the Meteor Mk. IV. HTH Roy

I am hammering away at Dragon's 72nd newish Meteor III, which has deep roots in Tamiya's 48th scale kit. A pretty nice little kit, although they copied Tamiya's mistakes as well, such as the mainwheels with brake faces on both sides. The cockpit is a little weak, but not as bad a Tamiya's version, which is little more than a fictional seat, some empty walls and an instrument panel. I have scoured my references and have scratched up a more accurate and detailed cockpit, including an all new rear armored bulkhead, but one thing has me stumped. The area behind the cockpit and under the canopy seems to be complete fiction, like the Tamiya kit. Seems to me there should be ammunition tanks back there. I've seen a image of a later mark (Mk. 8?) and there are what appear to be tanks and some sort of tubular shelf. Anyone have anything from a Mk I, III or IV? Maybe a cutaway, or manual page or some decent photos? I hate to have something so visible be faked up, but I will if I have to! Thanks. Roy

Hi Guys. Chris and I have been discussing it, and I think the image Chris sent that I have linked in my previous post is not the back face of the standard 5 slot Typhoon wheel. I think what it may be is the back of the earlier 5 spoke wheel fitted to very early Typhoons. Chris sent a second photo, linked below, and it agrees with what little I can see in other Typhoon images. http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p310/Ro...JX-X_3Mar44.jpg Interesting Stuff. Happy modelling. Roy PS. Mick: No, its for Tamiya's forthcoming 1/32nd Barracuda with fully operable folding wings...

Hi Chris. Thanks so much! Wow, that is a great photo, and very useful! I am a little unsure as to the highs and lows on the hub, so if anyone has an oblique view, that would complete the picture. Here it is for all to see, per your request. Happy modelling! Roy http://i131.photobucket.com/albums/p310/Ro...l_rear_face.jpg

Hi Guys. I have exhausted all of my book references, and have spent many hours on Google images looking for a good clear image of the back face of a Typhoon wheel without success. If it helps, I am pretty sure that the Barracuda and Firefly I mainwheels are the same wheel, although the tires may differ a bit. I know its a obscure, hard to see detail on a finished model, but I am not happy unless I get it right when I am building a model! Any help would be greatly appreciated, even if you have wedged a camera down between the wheel and the geardoor to capture this detail. Thanks! Roy

Hi Guys. Just a quick note to let you know that some of the Cooper Details 1/48th scale Spitfire Mk.22/24 sets will be released under the Barracuda Studios brand in June (as in next month). One of those sets will be an accurate Prop and Spinner for the Airfix kits, complete with the later 11' diameter prop. These are the longer, narrower Jablo blades, not the short,wide 10'6" blades seen on the Mk XIV, although these may be coming down the road as well. The sets have all been cleaned up, setup for more modern molding and in some cases slightly improved. Happy modelling! Roy

Hi Song, Before you commit to steel, there are a number of issues that should be addressed. 1) Wingtip shape is wrong. Too rounded. 2) The blades look a little funky on the contraprop Seafang. They should be a little more pointy towards the tips. 3) The windscreen is wrong for the Seafang. Should be rounded. And the windscreen frames are too heavy. 4) I believe the cannon barrels should be more staggered, but this is from memory. They might be a bit long too. 5) The wheels are a little off. Tyre is too small and the hub protrudes too far. The diameter of the wheel should be 24". A quick cursory review. Other than that, it looks pretty sweet. Roy Sutherland PS. I replied to your email, but never heard back from you.

The appearance of subtle mottling is just the high sun angle, combined with subtle variations in the surface of the rudder, or just dirt or possible minor touchups, but my vote is just high sun angle. This photo, like so many photos of Luftwaffe aircraft in the past 20 years, has been over analyzed. Nick is right. Occam's razor, guys. Roy