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Showing results for tags 'RAF RE8'.
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I know, I must be mad...but hot on the heels of the Roland I felt I had to butcher some more plastic, and this one is one of the best candidates for that treatment! This is a fairly new boxing, and it looks as thought the moulds have been cleaned up as most of the details are very crisp. It's a shame most of it will have to be removed anyway! The decals are new and include a Belgian version, although for reasons best known to themselves, all 4 RFC wing roundels still have the white outer ring, instead of just the 2 for the upper wing! So aftermarket decals will be needed anyway. I'm sure we all know and love this old relic from our childhoods but here's what I started with: I also have a resin engine from Choroszy, an Aeroclub prop, and Miniworld guns/Scarff ring: So....on with the butchery! First of all I needed to figure out an accurate reference point for all the alterations. After comparing the fuselage to the Datafile plans, it appeared that the distance between the front edge of the pilot's cockpit and the firewall was pretty accurate, and from there to the tip of the nose wasn't far off either, so that's where I started. The first casualty was the moulding inside the engine compartment which represents the air scoop and the engine block, and on which the kit cylinders mount. All that plastic was cut away, leaving an open engine area to be further thinned and detailed later. Next I figured out that the pilot's cockpit was too wide, front to back, and the fuselage as a whole was about 5mm too long. The first cut was therefore made down the centre of the cockpit. Each edge was then sanded to reduce the size of the cockpit until it was correct, then the two halves were reattached. This pic shows the fuselage after both those jobs were done: That's where it sits for tonight, tomorrow the second cut will be made, probably between the cockpits to bring the observer's further forward, but I'll confirm that then... Thanks for looking in! Ian edit: I forgot to mention I also have a Barracuda resin seat for it
