Arniec Posted October 22, 2013 Share Posted October 22, 2013 Great progress Andy. I hope to see her finished before monday. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 22, 2013 Author Share Posted October 22, 2013 Great progress Andy. I hope to see her finished before monday. Cheers, You will mate, this is a plain old GSB finish (no fancy stripes and white masking like the F2R) as they went into service with VF-41 in 1946. About 10 decals and that's her done! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 24, 2013 Author Share Posted October 24, 2013 Hi all So, she was primed and then Lifecolor GSB was applied in two coats after a rub down of the Halfords primer with 1500 grade wet and dry. As I said earlier, the engine was left off at this stage to ensure the firewall had a coat of blue. Once that had dried, Alclad Gloss was applied in two thin coats and left to dry. The engine was CA'd in place and once that had hardened, the cowl was glued on. The decals were started and completed in about 30mins as there aren't many for this bird - an operational FR-1. The tricky one was accommodating the u/c door under the starboard wing but that was s simple cut. Here she is with just the nose numbers to do. They were left off until the black anti-glare panel was masked and sprayed. Next was the u/c legs and wheels. Having learnt the pitfalls with these off the F2R, these went in quickly. The door braces have yet to be added and the u/c retractors too - I'm waiting for the CA to really harden before going anywhere near them! Once the braces and remaining door have been fitted (the jet pipe has been painted), I need to glue the arrestor hook in place as I am using this in the down position to stop it being a tail-dragger. The back story will be that it is lowered for maintenance! I didn't fit any underwing pylons as the Squadron booklet showed thse machines as clean in deck trials in 1946 which is where this a/c is placed in time with these markings. Thanks for looking Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Arniec Posted October 24, 2013 Share Posted October 24, 2013 Nice Andy. You're nearly there. Looking good. Cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted October 25, 2013 Share Posted October 25, 2013 Mmmm nearly there, looks great. I hope I can finish my build in time!!! Don't forget to take a photo of the two beasties together, they'll look fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 25, 2013 Author Share Posted October 25, 2013 Don't forget to take a photo of the two beasties together, they'll look fantastic! Cheers Rich - was going to anyway. Brother and half-sister twice removed or something like that! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 27, 2013 Author Share Posted October 27, 2013 Managed to get her finished! I lost a small stencil decal for the cuff of one of the prop blades but other than that all the u/c doors and struts went in as clean as a whistle. I present Bu No 39670, A/c B-11 of VF-66 'Firebirds' in 1946 carrier landing trial configuration. VF-66 was de-activated soon afterwards and the Firebirds name was transferred to VF-41. And here she is with her younger country cousin All-in-all an enjoyable project - nice to see it out of the stash and onto the shelf. Thanks for looking 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 Ooh! That's a bit nice! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 27, 2013 Author Share Posted October 27, 2013 Cheers Enzo - not perfect but good enough for my shelf! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Enzo the Magnificent Posted October 27, 2013 Share Posted October 27, 2013 The Fireball and the Dark Shark together make a very interesting display. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyC Posted October 27, 2013 Author Share Posted October 27, 2013 The Squadron book that came with the Fireball kit is interesting too and there are lots of photos of the Fireballs flying either on jet, or on prop or both. Must have been a nightmare as not only dual propulsion but also dual fuel (petrol and kerosene). At least the Dark Shark would have been kerosene only. TBF, they would have sat in the stash a long time if it hadn't have been for the GB! I just wish I could have squeezed the FJ-1 Fury in! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts