neilh

Not long now to our annual show in conjunction with the Lincombe Barn Wargaming Society on Sunday 3rd August. We will once again be filling three full Sports Halls at Thornbury plus the competition will be held in the Severnside Suite upstairs. Details of the clubs, Sigs, wargaming clubs and traders are updated on our web site here ;https://ipmsavon.org.uk/shows.php. Going to be a busy show again this year and look forward to seeing you all again. Location Thornbury Leisure Centre, Alveston Hill, Thornbury, South Gloucestershire, BS35 3JB opening times are 09:30-16:00 entry for adults is £6.00, Children under 16 go free

The wings of the kit are supported by the internal framework that protrudes out each side so you might be able to cut up the vac form canopy into the same sections as the Gavia/Eduard kit. Are all 5 sections of the canopy broken in your kit ? Can't tell you if it the vac form will fit perfectly but it will be an easier task if parts of the original kit canopy can still be used. Sounds worth a try if Eduard cannot provide a replacement canopy for you. Complex cutting and fitting though.

IPM Avon had a " jolly boys weekend " taking a minibus to this show, visiting Hendon first on route on Saturday, and then the West Anglia show on the Sunday. We had a great day at the show. It was well set up with a lot of space, decent lighting and ( thankfully) good ventilation on a hot day. A good selection of traders and varied displays filled the day with plenty to see. Felt like a really friendly show with lots of interesting chats with other clubs and punters. An ice cream van was a nice touch too. Thanks to the organisers for holding our space as we were delayed arriving due to an un announced road closure.

Hi Wellsprop, how did the U/C stand up to that weight over time?

Hi Mike, Take a look at the Rumourmonger section- one on the way from DB model kits...

I also have that kit. If I do build it ( am hoping for the new injected one to be released) I planned to hold the nose in a vice and carefully drill out the nose using a DIY type power drill to be able to add some weight. I also intended to thin out some of the tail end parts to reduce the weight that end. Trouble is that I don't think the resin U/C legs are reinforced internally with wire so they may not take the weight over time.

Hi Duncan, I messed up my first attempt at even building this kit that I chucked it ( something very rare for me). The interior just wouldn't align for me, especially the seat assembly, the lower wing was so thick the trailing edge looked a scale foot thick and remedying this caused more problems than it solved and finally when I did glue the lower wing on, despite taping it in place, it twisted 3 degrees out of true ports to starboard! I did buy another though and lessons learned have progressed much better this time and its painted and " Bader" decals on ready for some light weathering before the final assembly. Still have to rig it though when I get back home from a holiday in Zante. Can I ask what the problems were with the SBS set as I am still thinking of that as an option? Thanks.

I also wonder if there are any new parts for this version ( as I am already building the original release as a Finnish aircraft). There are more than one windscreens in the box , one with the centre panel wider than the other but not used in the original version.

That was James Corden, who was given a flight in both the Mustang and an L 39 jet by Tom ( I think they are good friends). https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1iZtBM23bY&ab_channel=TheLateLateShowwithJamesCorden

I'd agree with Paul, it still has it's place but I have never mastered stretching it well enough to rig a whole plane and find the various other options easier. I do use sprue when you cant easily thread either end and need to tension it once in place.

looks like lacquer over enamel; or something similar? What products did you use for each coat?

Have a read of this previous thread which includes input from Try.

Thanks for that Dave, although it now means I have to work out how to get a Sutton type harness on the seat once its glued in place in the tubular cockpit framing 😱 (and then paint it!)

Hi, I wondered if the Bulldog would have had just lap belts of a full " Sutton" type harness. Eduard sets already released depict a full set but I have not found any walkaround pics so far that show inside the cockpit and Airfix for once didn't mould belts onto an optional seat. Sadly I trashed my first attempt at this kit. I had added a full harness and pre painted all the cockpit components but found them, very tricky to then assemble using CA glue as they are so flexible. Have bought another kit for attempt # 2.... I also found the lower wing edges to be very thick so when I glued them together I was left with very blunt wing edges with a noticeable groove in the centre. I may try to thin the wing from the inside next time.

Hi Alfisti, is the issue fixed yet? If so, do I need to request club table space again? Thanks.

Any idea how a club can book space for this show? My emails are being ignored. Thanks.

Very nice work there. The slight incline to starboard gives a lovely impression of movement to me.

I do wonder if Airfix would sell the decal sheet so I could use the stencils on my AS version and build it as my preferred COD scheme.....

Nice effect of speed in your display Jon. They really look " on the move".

Hi Paul, Yes, I was aware they are screw type connectors. I think the Swordfish has similar. I make my own tiny turnbuckles and I think in 1/48th I can disguise then with a dab of white glue to look less like a loop, or maybe I could also crush the loop flat once the monofilament is attached?

Looking at this walkaround (https://ipms.nl/walkarounds/walkaround-vliegtuigen-props/walkaround-bristol-bulldog#&gid=1&pid=5), any wires attached to those lugs are fixed in place with turnbuckles. If I can drill fine enough holes, I can make up some turnbuckles using very fine jewellery wire. I wonder if I can't drill 2 holes in the lug I could attach the turnbuckle to the side of the lug using CA glue and rig from those. I'm some way off rigging yet though as I am only just at the stage of assembling the cockpit.

Can't be sure as I don't have the set, but it looks to be etched steel like the Tamiya Swordfish set rather than the " flimsier" etched brass? Pauls idea to deepen any rigging points is a sound one as on the Tamiya kit it allowed the PE to move in the slot as the wide and heavy wings flexed. Only issue may be that the Bulldog kit doesn't look to have any indented rigging locations into which the etched wires can be inserted. Do the instructions suggest a technique? I am leaning to drilling the lower wing right through on this one for flying wires and aileron control wires and maybe to use thin jewellery wire or stretched sprue cut to the exact length for the cabane wires.

Hi Mick, they could be a good option, although having used etch steel wires on both the Tamiya Swordfish ( 3 times) and the AM F3F ( also 3 times) I did find them easy to kink or ping off. Any slight variation induced by me also meant some didn't quite fit, either too short or too tight. They do look to be a way of fixing to the kit lugs/fairings though. I'll take them under consideration. Thanks.

I usually rig biplanes post painting by drilling a pilot hole in the lower wing to anchor one end of monofilament and then drill right through the upper wing. I then thread the thread through the wing and secure using CA glue by adding a drop to the thread and then pull tight into the locating hole in the top wing. Once dry I snip the threads off and tidy up the surface, mask and paint the top wing. I've just started the Airfix Bulldog and it has a decent guide to rigging in the instruction book, but Airfix have moulded a number of small " fairings " on the wings ( under the top wing and above the lower wing) . I assume this is where the flying wires are attached? If so I think they are too small for me to comfortably drill one or two holes through them even using my thinnest PCB drills. I think some parts of the rigging use turnbuckles so I can fabricate those and glue them in as anchors for my usual monofilament. I've never got on too well with the elasticated type of threads such as EZ line as it seems to curl up on contact with CA and is hard to locate cleanly without blobs of glue! Seeking advice and ideas from those who have built or are considering one? Thanks.

A Spitfire pitot tube should be simple to fabricate as its just a thin round rod stuck to the bottom of a rectangular length of rod. For extra realism you could gently file the rectangular piece to round of the corners a little.