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Alex Gordon

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Everything posted by Alex Gordon

  1. Hello again Chums, Wolwe,the decals in this kit are surprisingly good.Minimal carrier film and good opacity.Very easy to work with.The exhausts had a little attention too. Chockhead,these kits are worth the effort.Good value for money. Well the matt varnish (Vallejo) is dry,the antenna mast and inner wheelbay doors have been fitted and the masking removed from the canopy.The exhausts have had a coat of Dark Earth and a rub over with some powdered pencil lead.Photography has shown up a couple of little touch ups that are needed on the propellor,those will be done in the next day or two.I'm calling this finished. What would I do differently next time?The cowl flaps would be thinned down as would the front edge of the carburettor air intake.Apart from taking a little more time and refining the exhausts and cockpit there's not really much else to do to this kit.This was a thoroughly pleasant build and well worth the effort. One final shot of Team Tenner. My thanks once again to Mark for his hosting and to all for looking in,this has been a good fun GB.Now how about LTAT 2?
  2. I've no idea what it is or where it's from but it looks like a very involved and well made bit of work to me . Well done,I like that.
  3. Crumbs Mike! Bite off more than you can chew and then chew it like you mean it!
  4. Hello again Chums, Wolwe,the exhausts are so prominent that it would be rude to ignore them.I have a little plan... Jorgen,I'm enjoying the stress free build that is there to be taken from time to time.The trouble is that it's going so easy and problem free that I'm going to wake up on Sunday morning thinking "Did that really happen or was it just a dream?" Steve,if you happen across any I entirely recommend them.I've a P39 part built that was the first one I acquired (still part built because Sid Muggins here didn't put in any nose weight and am still working out how to without destroying the work done) which is another true delight.It is quite possible to crack one of these kits off before close of play,my best wishes to any one who decides to give it a go. 'Stix,thanks.It's closer than you think. Chockhead (I do hope I've spelt that right,not like one interpretation that I read recently that omitted one "h" and gave it a whole new meaning), masking is an essential part of airbrush discipline.Yes,it is a faff but the end result is well worth the effort and if you don't want paint on something don't let it get there.This is from a committed hairy stick jockey who got fed up with removing the meniscus line left where the masking tape once was. I became a little impatient last night and so decided to go for Bust and work the decals.I could still smell the solvent coming out of the paint but I was getting the buzz and just thought I'd give it a go.This has ended in tears in the past but I will not learn. Decals on.What you are about to see,dear reader,is todays photography of last nights work.Using a strategically placed drop or two of Klear the whole set of relevant decals were applied.The "No Step" decals on top of the flap bays are provided as a line around the edge rather than a big sheet of decal film edged with red ink.These went on dead easy with a bit of gentle sliding off the backing paper sort of action.All the rest of the decals were applied using tweezers and no fear.The slop marks you can see were the result of applying Klear with a brush and not removing the excess soon enough. The decals themselves looked,to me,thick solid and unwieldy.How wrong I was.Resilient enough to remain intact with my handling (we're not talking ICM's earlier offerings here) they settled in to any surface detail with no problems at all. Anyway this is how it all looked this afternoon when I returned.I've since sprayed a matt varnish on and am waiting for it to dry. RFI soon chums,thanks for looking in.
  5. Some good work going on there Andy,I like what you've done with the wheel fairings.
  6. G'day Chums, Wolwe,the masking on this one is the easiest I've ever done on a canopy.It's just a case of let the engraved line guide you and don't try to force it.Some canopies are easier than others and it does help if you can see what you're doing as well.I haven't the time to do a flaked paint finish on this one but the next one will have it. Will,thanks.If someone does give it a go I wish them as trouble free a build as this has been so far. Mark,this is a deceptively simple kit.Everything seems to fit properly which makes it easy to motor on a bit with it.A couple of days off ish helps as well. Rain stopped play again this morning so I've had the chance to do a bit more.Masking on for the upper surface paint. The consensus of what I've read,particularly Nick Millman's writings,goes with the idea that Humbrol 75 Matt Bronze Green is a reasonable match for Japanese Navy Green but perhaps a little dowdy and not quite bright enough.I added a tiny drop of Humbrol 3 Gloss Brunswick Green into the mixture and sprayed it on.It looks convincing enough to me. Time for a few decals.The kit sheet provides the load indicator marks for the maingear doors (10) and two sorts of yellow stripe (8 and 15) for the propellor blades.Using a tiny drop of Klear for each one these were applied. This is where we are at the moment.The peg for locating the engine assembly was strong enough to use for manhandling until I'd got the drop tank fitted which then meant that I could add the maingear and paint the guns and pitot probe. Once again we are waiting for paint to dry so I'm off to play Seafire and Harrier for a bit.More soon chums,thanks for looking in.
  7. Hello again Chums, Wolwe,yes they are very pleasant things to build and can be the base for some superdetailing.I am quietly watching your progress with your Mosquito and I'm very impressed. Done a bit today.I started by masking the canopy.I broke with my usual method of masking off the inside and only worked the outside instead.This is by far the simplest canopy that I have ever masked,the framing lines are engraved so it is follow the line with the tip of a new scalpel blade and job done.This took me about 20 minutes to do the whole thing and I'm happy with the result. Cockpit in,none of this messing about with PE and resin. Interior painted.This was sprayed with Humbrol 226 US Interior Green.According to the various things I have read about the Zero this is about near enough.It'll do for me. Wings and tailplanes on,yellow leading edges sprayed.The wing fit was spot on,the tailplanes took a little bit of aligning but a lot less than some kits I have built over the years. Silver sprayed onto the engine and the undercarriage bay components. Cowling and mainlegs sprayed with Humbrol 85 Satin Black with a touch of dark blue mixed in. I used a length of rolled up bog roll as a combined handle and impromptu mask. The propellor and spinner were painted with a mixture of Dark Earth and Signal Red. Aotake!This was a mixture of Tamiya Clear Blue and Clear Green.I tried to hairy stick it for a start because I don't have any Tam thinners to hand.This didn't work too well so I chucked a drop of cellulose thinners into the mix and sprayed it.I've been wanting to try Aotake for years and,for a first attempt I'm rather pleased with the result. Once dry enough (about half an hour or so) I used Maskol on a cocktail stick to mask off the undercarriage bays. The yellow was masked off and the underside was sprayed with Humbrol 165 Light Aircraft Grey.The recommended match is Humbrol 64 but I ran out of that a couple of years ago and haven't got around to acquiring another one yet.It's near enough for me anyway.I also managed to knock one of the guns out of line in the process.This will stay as it is for the time being so that I don't break it off by repeated straightening. More soon chums,we're now waiting for paint to dry.Again.
  8. G'day Chums, I just thought I'd bang one out quick and being as I've been gawping at this for nearly a year this seemed like a good time to do it. Picked up from Perkins at Horncastle for the princely sum of £5.25 I was delighted to find a mixture of complexity and simplicity all in one box.The surface detail is very fine and well rendered and the component count is low enough to be a short term project. The engine,although it doesn't have the cooling fins on the cylinders would make a very respectable base for superdetailing. The fuselage is one piece and hollow with just a very fine moulding seam along the spine and underside centreline which took very little effort to remove. The one piece wing section looks very sharply moulded and likely to be a spot on fit. More soon chums,I'm just posting this while some paint dries.
  9. Finishing,however... Odd to relate,I'm just eyeing my Hobbyboss Easykit Zero with the thought of banging it out quick...
  10. G'day Troy, As per usual Edgar has the answer. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234934176-spitfire-mk-1-early-landing-gear-bay-colours/
  11. Hello again Chums, Col,Sean,thanks,glad you're enjoying this. Work has taken up a lot of time just lately but I've managed to do a little bit since the last post. The lower wing section was put on,This took a little bit of work.The way I had removed the old one meant that this one only fitted where it touched and some jacking and packing was needed.Once fitted and set the various gaps were filled with thin strips of plastic card. The usual two little gaps at the leading edge root were filled with stretched sprue and the engine air intake assembly was given its final fettle and glued on. Then it was time to bite the bullet and rework the rework on the wingfold. The relevant bits were cut off the outer wing panels and refitted to the inner wing panels.This was assisted by the inserts carrying the wingfold furniture which held the airfoil shape while the glue was setting.The inner wing inserts have been set in a bit deeper since this piccie was taken because offering up the outer panels showed a gap between the two sections which won't be there on the real thing. And for an encore I scratched up the missing maingear door from two different thicknesses of plastic card. A little more work will have it looking symmetrical with its counterpart. More soon chums,thanks for looking in.
  12. G'day Chums, Thanks for the encouragement chums,some bits of this are taking a bit of thinking about but it is fairly straightforward up to now. Having been delayed by work for the last few days I've managed to do a bit more today,mostly whittling and fettling before we even think about construction.Both wings are now about ready having done any errant milliputing and made the fuel dump vents and wingtip lights. The filling and shaping behind the rear nozzles has come up more or less as intended too. The front fan was masked off for paint,having cut the masking tape before assembly using the fan as a template. The nozzles needed a little attention.A light scrape out behind the vanes was all that was needed for my purposes,this did take the best part of an hour to do all four though.A bit more of a tidy up to get rid of the dust will sort these out nicely. The outriggers needed a square up too,and a little bit of creative scraping to try to represent the yoke for the wheel. Once the outriggers were sorted I put the blanks into the fuselage to mount the nozzles on and made the box for the APU exhaust.You can also see the hole to take the tongue for the wing has been opened up so that the wing lines up properly from the outside.And I've drilled out the Frogeyes too. The cockpit area had a spray of Humbrol 5 Admiralty Grey fairly early on in proceedings and this was now ready to dry fit to see what fettling was needed there.The instrument panel is holding the fuselage apart and will need to be sorted out.I'm quite pleased with how the APU exhaust looks so far. Driver,Airframe will need some work.Fitting the facemask and dropping the visor will be on the agenda. And while offering up was taking my attention I thought I'd drop the seat in and see what it all was going to look like.I think the pilot figure looks a little too small to me and replacing him could be the way to go.I sense a dig through the Big Box Of Little Bods is in the offing. More soon chums,thanks for looking in.
  13. I hope so too,that really was looking the business.
  14. There were some thoroughly worthy entries and we have seen some spectacular effort (masochism) displayed.Well done to all who joined in.
  15. Can't take a joke? Shouldn't have joined. You've done a cracking job Mark,be proud of your efforts.If your attention to this is not a benchmark then it bally well should be.
  16. Thanks Max,I'm never one to turn down a challenge.As is usual in my horrific little world all the gen I need to know tends to turn up just after I needed to know it. Cookenbacher,thanks dear heart.They didn't name a ship "Oh For Crying Out Loud Now What?" did they? Jockney, http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234959624-airfix-seafire-fr47-in-148th-scale/ http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234960320-airfix-harrier-gr3-in-148th-scale/ Oh,and just for your viewing pleasure Please drop in and have a look.While we are at it chums may I please say Thank You to the wonderfully kind soul who voted for my rendition of the Percival Prentice. Take it easy Chums,do it like you mean it.
  17. The T3 was a lovely build,shame we'll never see it again.
  18. Amazing what you find in the stash.
  19. I've a pair of ICM wingtps suitable for your needs going begging.Yours if you want them.
  20. http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234917993-airfix-gloster-javelin/
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