rainstel109

I'm going to try and do something with the edges of the radiator cowlings, they're way too thick and look vastly overscale, so I reckon I'll try to thin them a bit then put a thin strip of plasticard along the edge to add a "rebate" to them. I can't find any reference material showing this so its not gonna be accurate at all but it'll look a damn sight better than if I left it it as it is.

Just ordered a set of 1/24 scale paint masks from AtoZee (where I got the resin canopy from). Theres no individual markings available, just the wing/ fuselage roundels, tail flashes and canopy masks, both internal and external. Be interesting to see how good they are.

Nice work so far mate.

Hi boys and girls, update time at last. having done the jobs dutifully laid out for me by swmbo, I've got a bit more done on the tiffie, not loads, but at least summat. I've painted the left hand gun bay and and got it weathered ready for the armament to be installed which I'll put in at a later time. I also fitted both left and right upper wings. Now the fit is reasonable and the gaps not too large but where the outer part of the lower wing fits the inner part is governed by fair amount of plastic assemblies which were fitted earlier and bit of trimming might be needed here to allow the outer part to fit snugly against the inner part of the lower wing. The overall fit when the upper wing surface is fitted isn't too bad at all with a minimal amount of filling reqd mainly around the leading edges. One thing that is noticeable is how the "weight" of the model is increasing the more bits of plastic are applied, its really getting heavier as the build progresses.

I'll more than likely be doing a three blade prop as I read somewhere that the four bladers were used primarily for the bombing role as the increased power with the four blades was needed for the extra weight of the bombs when compared with the rockets that were used, plus I don't want to do full D-day stripes, I like the look of the stripes only on the underside which gives me more area to work with when doing me "faded" (weathered) paintwork. Besides, I reckon most people will build with four bladed (thats just a hunch though and I'll probably be proved wrong).

Alright kiddoes, were off and running again after me hols! I got the u/c bays completed which require a fair number of parts. No real dramas, just again, test fit before gluing. One thing I will say is that this stage shows the importance of getting the two wing spars installed in the correct position and "square" so they don't lean forwards or rearwards as its as if everything thats subsequently fitted uses these items as a datum, so if these are slightly out, everything else will affected as well. I'm only going to opening the gun in the left wing and leave the right wing closed up, so I'm not gonna bother fitting all the internals for that, just whats needed for structural purposes. So, overall so far, no problems, just dry fitting loads, cleaning flash, etc and paying attention to the instructions, its real easy to miss something especially when there a difference in parts fitting for various display options. I also managed to get the radiator cowlings fitted and rescribed which wasn't too difficult due to the size of the thing, actually makes it easier to do than a smaller scale kit.

Just got back from Jersey for a holiday so I'm playing catchup here. If you cowl up the radiator, and leave out the parts noted previously you can still display with the rad flap open as all the parts for the rad need to fitted, the parts left off would be covered by a plastic part where the supercharger ducting goes.

The problem is mate, theres so much of it! I reckon you're right inasmuch as the more you leave off, the easier it should be. I reckon the cause of my problems is summat I've done wrong somewhere along the line, and theres cumulative error creeping in. Anyways, the rads all paneled up now, rerscribed, and nearly ready for the next stage, building the wings up (I wonder what I can do to mess those up, lol)

Interesting option there mate. I've had a look at my build so far, and had a good look at the model build so far, and I reckon you could be right concerning part B19 in that leaving it off would give a clearer path for the radiator ducting to fit into position, but thats all, it has no bearing whatsoever when fitting the radiator itself, its about 1.5" to the rear of the radiator mounting points. Also regarding parts B20 and A25, these sit to the rear and above the radiator and theres bags of clearance there also, so fitting these don't impact the rad mounting as far as I can see since I've now buttoned up the cowlings (just the two lower ones to fit now). I would add that its gotta be a good idea to leave parts out if you're going to close the radiator up just to give yourself a bit more room. Theres four mounting points for the radiator, two at the front at the top of the rad where theres loadsa space and two at the back which locate onto lugs, one on each of the lower engine bearers, again theres loadsa space around these also. the problem I had was getting the cowlings to fit around the rad once it was fitted. Even with parts B19, B20 and A25 fitted its a doddle to fit the radiator and get as close to 90 degrees (as per the instructions) to the engine, my issue is/ was getting the cowlings to fit around it. The other thing is that there isn't an option to display the model as I want to, radiator cowled up and engine totally open, its a sort all or nothing thing, totally naked or just the upper engine cowlings off, or totally closed up, and looking at the instructions its exactly the same build process no matter what display version you go for, the only difference is to fit the top engine cowling you have to leave the all the engine upper pipework off to allow the cowling to fit.

Ok, got another idea here. This is only recommended if the builder is gonna display the model like me, and close the radiator up. I think another option to make assembly easier is to cut the radiator ducting clean off where is disappears through the lower panel, and just leave this duct intact where its seen on the outside of the kit. I've had a close look and with the upper wings fitted, along with the radiator cowlings, the lower part of the motor is completely obscured so you ain't gonna see the lower part of the engine anyway (obviously check first visually by doing this). This means that the completed radiator assembly "should" slide into position with minimal grief and the lower wings can be fitted afterwards, and any required filling/ rubbing down should be carried out externally. Apologies for all these posts but I'm posting these ideas as they come to me and hopefully other builders will find 'em useful.

Well I've fitted the absolute minimum of parts that would normally be fitted in the void behind the cowlings, and thats going by the instructions, theres nowt in there other than there other than the radiator itself (which would leave a gaping hole at the front if that was left out, the supercharger ducting and thats its, theres nothing else in there, and theres nothing else to fit other than two pipes from the front spar to the radiator which I've left out. The problem I reckon is that the fit between the radiator and cowling is so close and tight, theres no "wriggle room" as it were, so you have to get it spot on. A remedy to this prob would be to leave the radiator exposed and do away with the cowlings. Having a close look at the way the nose of the kit goes together, I would consider that an easier way to do this assembly might be to build it up as a complete assembly, radiator, cowlings, ducting etc, and then fit to the main airframe afterwards before the lower wings are fitted. That way you could ensure a good, accurate fit of the cowlings, so minimizing rubbing down/ rescribing. The main issue would getting the radiator ducting and the panel that the ducting passes through fitted into position as this ducting fits to the rear underside of the engine so maybe these two parts could be fitted first but glued into position, then the radiator could be fitted and glued in place afterwards. This is only supposition, and I can certainly see other installation problems might occur by doing it this way. Close inspection of the area would important here, and, most critically, test fitting before gluing. These are only suggestions and are certainly not to be taken as gospel, but it is an alternative option. Dontcha just love plastic kits?

Ok, update time again. Now the problems are starting to occur. It appears to me that if you don't get the radiator assembly in exactly the correct position, you're in for a load of grief.. Now, I'm not sure of the cause but its probably summat I've done wrong along the way. Anyways, in one of the pics you can see a huge gap between the rear of the radiator and the supercharger ducting, and thats with the radiator in the correct position, I know this because it can only be fitted in one place which is dictated by the two main engine bearers which are of a set length and they can only go on in one place, forwards of the main spar. Anyway, whatever the cause its too late to worry about so corrective work has to be done. The outcome of this problem is basically the radiator cowlings don't fit (on mine anyway) I've had to jiggle thingsaround here to find a happy medium so at least some parts would line up. As you can see in the pics, theres a severe problem with getting the lower and side panel of the radiator cowling to line up (they don't), so a bit of filling and rescibing is gonna have to be done here. Luckily, I think that might be the end of the problem as the rest of the engine is open with no more cowlings being fitted so hopefully everything else will fit as it should. Another factor here (other than my hamfistedness) is the fit quality of the parts. Theres literally so much being crammed into a small area that the slightest misalignment, bad fit, has a cumulative effect and gets worse as the build progresses, and thats what I think might have happened here. All this really a moot point if the builder is gonna show the entire front end open with cowlings at all being fitted, but I chose to do it this way so I'm just gonna have to put up with it and do the best I can with what I've done so far The main thing here is test fit again and again and again until you're absolutely sure you've got it right before gluing into place and try and think ahead and see what the consequences of doing one part has on the surrounding parts, I've found this is crucial in the radiator area. And be prepared to do do a lot of plastic hacking if you get it wrong. I also test fitted the upper wings to get and idea of the size of this thing, I think the pic speaks for itself.

Ok guys, started on the chin radiator now. I intend to have the radiator completely paneled up so I haven't bothered with all the internal pipework associated with this part as I hate fitting stuff then covering it up, besides, I prefer the look of the finished model without the naked radiator, it reminds me of a "goatee beard" hanging off the nose of the aircraft. Anyways,I've fitted the required bits temporarily and did a test fit around this area. I'm trying to avoid any major gaps/ fouling of the various parts aoccuring so I'm working out the best way to assemble the parts around the nose. This thing is so big and so complex, that the parts aren't going to fit as well I had hoped. In the pic I've glued the radiator into position and I'm using that as a datum/ reference point to work from and straight away you can see a problem is gonna rear it's head up here. Rather than gluing that triangular fairing with the radiator ducting into position I'm going to leave it just sitting in position and not glued in. I'm hoping that when the lower wing fixed in place, I can slide that duct assembly back to make a good join with the lower wing assy. Luckily any gap that appears at the other end of the ducting won't be seen as it'll be hidden by the radiator cowlings. Theres still a little bit of rubbing down to be done to allow that ducting to slide to the rear but its not much and should give me sufficient room to play with. Hope you lot understood what I'm going on about here,

I think a lot of the issues are with the molding seams around the location points of the various components and the shape of the part too. You get a round hole as it were but the part has an oval cross section so of course its gonna foul when you try to fit it. In other cases the part is just too big to fit. Its no real biggie but makes it just that bit harder to build the kit.

Ok, finally made some good progress. I've got the engine basically finished all bar a top former that goes over the top of the motor and of course, the coolant tank at the front still to do. Nothing much really to say, fit of the parts is so-so, lots of flash to be removed, parts quality is not up with Tamiya or Hasegawa, BUT, who cares, its a 1/24 scale Typhoon, its mahoosive and its an Airfix. All I did was follow the instructions step by step but I would recommend checking out alternative build orders as some parts are quite difficult to fit, and hence you might damage the paintwork of the part or surrounding areas. I would also suggest that either the mounting holes on the ignition conduit be increased or, as I did, cut the mounting lugs down a bit as they have a tendency not to slot into position. In fact I'd say increase the size of most if not of the locating holes as virtually nothing fitted straight away. It really make me wonder how manufacturers manage to do this all the time, it makes building these things a chore, just make the holes big enough so the bits can slot in, thats all. This also applies to the exhaust stubs. I've had to drill out all the mounting holes in the engine as none of the subs fitted in any of the holes. Again no real problem but it should need to done. Anyways, on with the pics.

For me, about a week of constant work (and I hate the engine pipework, theres seams all over the place, the fits a bit suss in some places, and the flash 'frinstance around the spark plug cables took me over an hour to clear off.)

Thanks for the kind remarks mate. I didn't bother with the "cruciform" part in the end, once the engine was ready to be installed, I just cut it off and let the engine fit straight onto the four mountings. I found it fouled up on the bulkhead, didn't want to pass through the hole as it were, so I just cut it off! One thing I did find was that when I went to instal the motor, it was "kinked" very slightly to the right. This is probably down to me not spending enough time getting the forward engine bearers exactly in the correct position. Easily fixed though, I just opened up the mounting holes underneath the engine which allowed a bit of side to side "play" which meant I got a got a bit room to manoeuvre the engine into approximately the right position. This also allowed a bit off up and down positioning which was useful as I reckon the engine was too low at the rear (looked like the nose of the engine was pointing upwards) so I was able to lift the rear slightly (used the horizontal cockpit framing as a reference here). No way could I have done all this with that cruciform thing sticking out at the rear.

Thought I'd post up here a build I'm doing over on "Flory models", the way I look at it is the more the merrier and more build information is available. I'm at roughly the same stage as "Georgeusa", inasmuch as I'm in the process of fitting the engine pipework and fixtures and fittings, and my build went roughly the same far so I won't do a build log preamble. Any questions please feel free to ask.

Thats great to hear, saves me a lot of work, lol. Thanks for taking the time to find out for me.

Thanks for the pic mate, I've seen that one before. What I'd like to know is, did they remove the panel "below" the exhaust stack, and the top cowling also, on both sides at the same time but leave the radiator cowlings untouched? I personally reckon they did at some time or other, but I'd just like to confirm it.

This may sound like a numpty type question, but I'm in the process of building one of these beasts and I'd like to display it with all 5 of the engine cowlings removed but to leave the radiator cowlings/ panels fitted in place.This just means removing all the panels from the from the forward fuselage. Now, I'm having problems finding pics/ images of a tiffie with these panels removed (but leaving the radiator cowlings still fitted). I'm assuming that all the upper engine cowlings were removed at same point in time, how would change all the spark plugs at once 'frinstance. It appears that this is one config that Airfix don't automatically give you an option to build/ display. The reason I'm asking this is, in the field, did the "erks" have to remove the radiator cowlings to get access to the fasteners on the side lower side cowlings as I don't want to build a fully exposed engine only for someone to say "they never did that cos' of this, that or the other. Any info would be appreciated.

Really making some good headway here. I've got the u/c bays and wings assembled and fitted to the fuselage. Again, no dramas here at all, almost as good a fit as a Tamiya kit! Now, theres an issue with the wing/ fuselage join though this time only on one side. I rubbed the wing edge down a bit as the same thing happened that occured before, though no where near as bad, but I rubbed down too much off the wing edge and ended up with a gap!. Still, its easier to fill, sand, and rescribe and I don't have to muck about with boiling water again to fix the dihedral. Theres a stiffener part thats glued just forwards of the wheel bays to give the correct dihedral, but this has to be cut up to allow the resin bulkhead to fit into position. No biggie but the amount to take away is a bit ambiguous as to where to cut so I'd advise if anyone is gonna have a go at this, make the gap too small so you can increase it if needed, its easier to remove plastic than it is to replace it. You can see what I mean in one of the pics.

Just noticed your MkXVI mate, very nice especially the naked engine. I'm not saying that all the Eduard mk IX spits have the same issue that I've encountered twice now, it could ( and probably is) just the way I tend to put the things together, but I reckon its worth checking before the fuselage is buttoned up.

Ok, got a bit done this morning. I've virtually completed the pit, just need to add the oxy bottles and rudder pedals. I'll stick the gunsight in when the fuselage halves are together. One aspect that occured on the last Eduard spit I did has re-appeared in that when the fuslage is glued together the wingroots tend to be "splayed" outwards making fitting of the wings a bit of a pig. The result is that the gap where the wings fit to the fuselage is too small by well over a coupla millimeters which means the wings are forced downwards and so doing away with any dihedral the wings should have. The cause of this is the instrument panel forcing the fuselage halves apart but its easy to correct by taking some of the profile of the instrument away to allow the fuselage halves to come together with no stresses at all. Even though I'm unable to do this due the point I'm at with the construction, I can get away with it as a bit of filler applied forwards of the windshield where the halves are not forced together and the windshield still fits properly. This allows the wingroots to have the correct gap between them and so allowing the wings to fit properly. That last bit was bit long winded so I'll post a coupla pics showing what i mean I've also painted the engine bulkhead which is now ready for drybrushing. This, when fitted, should also help to pull the wingroots in a bit (I hope).

Right, took the plunge and hacked the rear of the bulkhead off and tried a dry fit and....quite pleasantly surprised, it slotted in a treat and looks like the joins are pretty good. I thought it was in the WIP forum, although it is now