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markleecarter

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Everything posted by markleecarter

  1. markleecarter
    I might give Mr Surfacer a try then. I understand there are different grades though- which is best for those odd little fuselage and wing gaps? In other news, you guys were absolutely right about swopping over the lower leg parts. It was tricky getting them apart but luckily I had used superglue and so tried the trick of sticking them in the freezer for a couple of days and then it was a little easier to separate the pieces. So now they are in the right place and I've just finished gluing the wings to the fuselage. Pics will follow tomorrow!
  2. markleecarter
    Fascinating document Edgar, thanks for posting it. Can I just ask what the context is? That is to say who were the minutes from and for whom were they intended?
  3. markleecarter
    Aha! That's fascinating and stops me scratching my head trying to work out the geometry of it all! I couldn't quite get clear in my head how if the wheels were parallel in the lowered position they could fit when up. So out of interest, how does the 'skew pivot' work?
  4. markleecarter
    Hi Bob, Interesting that that builder had exactly the same result as me when he joined the leg and top pieces together first! In my mkv build I followed the order of the instructions and had no weird angle, but I just don't understand why it should make a difference?! I don't really want to separate the pieces now so I might just see if I can orient them slightly differently when gluing them in place. Thanks again for your comments and I hope anyone else building this finds the discussion useful! (And any aftermarket manufacturers out there - please just make two of these with the correct angles all worked out so we can just drop it in place and not have to worry about it!)
  5. markleecarter
    Thanks so much for your comments and suggestions guys, it's really appreciated! The angles of the shaft of the leg seem fine as per the instructions, but it's more the 'twist' of the wheels outwards. I'm pretty sure I must have done something wrong although I triple-checked that I was using the right parts. The reason I'm questioning it really is because when viewed directly from underneath, the hub attachment is perfectly square to the opening which makes it look 'right' in terms of being able to retract into the wing but means that when down the wheels aren't running parallel: But nothing is glued (apart from the two parts of the leg - I thought this might be easier than attaching the main part of the leg later) so there is no real problem yet but I'm just intrigued about how the angles work really. Thanks again for the input!
  6. markleecarter
    I have a question about the angle of the wheels. In building the new Airfix mki, the wheels seem to be splayed rather a lot which is almost certainly just my mistake modelling but are they supposed to be splayed at all? I have been looking through all the books I have but can't find any pictures that are really square on (apart from a K5054 photo) that would answer this.
  7. markleecarter
    Looks wonderful! And those unusual squadron codes are excellent.
  8. markleecarter
    I love that you are modelling together. Keep up the good work!
  9. markleecarter
    Thanks! The gaps are where parts have just been taped together so no need for filler just yet. Hopefully I'll be able to get it all together without gaps because all previous attempts at using filler have ended in disaster!
  10. markleecarter
    I've not heard of this method! Is it just as it sounds - press with a hot cloth?
  11. markleecarter
    Thank you but I really consider myself to be far far far below most of the people who post on here! The only way to learn is by doing. Each model you make teaches you something new and sometimes it all goes horribly wrong and sometimes it doesn't! I still get nervous about deviating from the instructions and cutting away bits that you're not supposed to but when it works it is great fun. Using photoetch can be fiddly and when I started I just ended up with huge dollops of superglue everwhere. If you're new to adding detail I actually wouldn't start with photoetch because it can sometimes be hard to get a really satisfactory result. Maybe start by adding a few extra wires here and there - thin fuse wire is very useful because it can be bent into shape. Also you can add a lot of extra details just by really careful painting of the kit parts - often the detail is already there but just waiting to be brought to life!
  12. markleecarter
    And just for fun I balanced a few extra pieces to get an idea of how she might look soon!
  13. markleecarter
    Well the cockpit is now glued into the fuselage halves so attention turns to the wings. I'm not going to model this with the open gun bays but I thought I would do a VERY rough build of some of the guns just so you get an idea of what they might look like. Firstly the instructions have you cut out the access panels from the upper and lower wing halves (whcih you will just have to imagine) and then add this piece for the barrel stubs to go into: Then the guns themselves. Be careful here - I didn't realise that the long bits sticking out of the end were supposed to be there, I just assumed they were sprue attachment points! And then the ammunition feed boxes (I assume). I didn't have any references to hand so just painted everything black as per the instructions but I've a feeling these should be aluminium. With a lot more work than I've done they could probably look quite good, especially if you added some ground crew figures (which is what I might do for the group BoB build) I was going to take them out after doing this just to have them for the spares but I might keep them in as you can just make them out when you look through the ejection shutes on the underside of the wing.
  14. markleecarter
    Could I join please? I'd like to try my hand at a Spitfrire build that includes figures. Maybe Geoff Wellum or Richard Hillary as I recently re-read their accounts of fighting in the battle.
  15. markleecarter
    And of course once the other fuselage half goes on it all becomes virtually invisible!
  16. markleecarter
    Thanks for the kind words everyone! I decided I need to try and get the cockpit buttoned up soon so finished the IP as much as I'm going to. In an earlier post I showed an Eduard one from the earlier Airfix Mki release, but now I'm using the kit one with decals applied. I never have much luck with ip decals so this time I cut each dial individually which worked out much better. The base colour is Revell Tar Black with dial surrounds and blind flying panel in Revell black with a drop of clear gloss for the dial faces. The compass and little fuel switch are from the arforementioned Eduard set.
  17. markleecarter
    Looking closely at that second picture you can really appreciate just how snug those early canopies were! For a moment I almost thought the sliding part was missing it's so close fitting!
  18. markleecarter
    I couldn't let the incorrect gun button stay I'm afraid, so with much trepidation I cut the grip off and made a new one out of fuse wire. I carefully shaved the button off the old grip and glued it in the right place. The brake lever is just a little photoetch handle or something. I replaced the rudder pedals with some photoetch ones that I hade to modify from two bar to one before adding the straps. Looking at the photo I can see a few touch-ups are needed but it came together easier than I had expected. Thanks for following!
  19. markleecarter
    Come over to the dark side of 1/48! It's not that it took a long time, more that I only had an hour or so to spend on modelling this evening. Of course if I do decide to redo the grip that will be a big job!
  20. markleecarter
    It's not much but it's all I've had time for today! Hoping to get the rudder pedals done tomorrow and then I'll nearly be ready to button everything up! I'm not sure whether to redo the round part though - it looks a bit too fat and overscale and I've got a feeling the gun button is in the wrong place and should be higher up at the 10 o'clock position.
  21. markleecarter
    I just wanted to say I'm very sorry to read of the loss of your baby and your injury. I hope you find comfort and that your build will continue because it's really really good. How are you finding the permanence of the rub'n'buff stuff? I used it once for something and found it got all over my fingers every time I touched the part and then from my fingers to everywhere it wasn't supposed to be!
  22. markleecarter
    Yes those prob blades are fantastic! How did you do them?
  23. markleecarter
    There is now!
  24. markleecarter
    Excellent work, and great tip about getting the fti to fit! I'll be giving it a try this evening.
  25. markleecarter
    Looking very nice! I can see you'll soon be waaay ahead of me. I notice you've painted the door that you removed. Are you gping to use that instead of the supplied separate one?
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