galgos Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 I've rambled on in GB Chat about my reasons for doing this build, so no more said here, but I love this picture: As with all CA kits the build will not be straight forward even if I was building it OOB, which I'm not! The main reason for this is because the nose of the Battle is not very accurate, nor is the tail. Fortunately Heritage Aviation do a correction kit for this but it means amputation of the offending parts at some stage. Box art and supplied bits. Now the partially finished Battle was started by my father 10 years or so ago but he didn't get to complete it before he died so it's there as inspiration and maybe a backup!? It surprised me just how big (and therefore underpowered) the Battle was, look at the comparison with a Hurricane powered by pretty much the same Merlin engine: As with the Anson, lots of prep and dry fitting needed to make sure there's not too many tears later. Max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Looking forward to watching this one. I built a bomber version many moons ago with the original resin nose and tails that I think were re-mastered by Heritage. I also used some undercarriage parts from Aeroclub IIRC. I'm sure you'll master this one as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 Better get the sun shades out again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted February 18, 2014 Author Share Posted February 18, 2014 With the Anson nearing completion, but having to wait for some bits to dry, it's time to get on with the Battle. First job was to get my head around all the resin bits and find out where they went. So here we have the sections for the pilot's and crewman's cockpits. The resin really is quite exquisite. It's very crisp and detailed even down to the crewman's seat in two parts. I'll be sanding, assembling and spraying this up over the next couple of days. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 A little progress with the landing lights: Marking out the positions: The resin nose section is the corrected one with the right profile, though I had to add a couple of panel lines and rivets! The starboard one placed for initial fit. The landing lights are handed, port and starboard, the lens isn't central and should be in the lower half of the insert. More later with the cockpit I hope. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bobster Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 This looks like another interesting build Max, looking forward to seeing this evolve. I like the yellow/black striped scheme, very distinctive. Rob. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paganpete Posted February 22, 2014 Share Posted February 22, 2014 Love the scheme Max! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted February 22, 2014 Author Share Posted February 22, 2014 Love the scheme Max! Should test my masking skills.......and I hate masking! Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted February 23, 2014 Author Share Posted February 23, 2014 I spent a long time last night whittling and filing away to get a good fit for the clear cover for the first of the landing lights. I didn't realise at first that the 2 curious clear vacu-formed items in the kit actually were the covers, it's so comforting that Classic Airframes include duplicates of all these items anticipating the inevitable cock-up! Once the cover is in position it's even more obvious that the orientation of the landing lights is right as mentioned previously. I also cut out the spaces for the navigation lights and made my own from spare sprue having first drilled holes for the clear red/green dot of paint to be inserted. A little more polishing and they should be fine. Max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Had the chance to do a little to the Battle, sprayed the cockpits interior green, washed with Payne's Grey oil wash to dirty it up then picked out a few edges and details with dry-brushed silver. The instructions are even more vague than the Anson ones, I'm scratching my head over the exact fit/positioning of the side panels of the aft cockpit but I'll mull over it until a get a chance to do some "proper" modelling tomorrow (hopefully!) Max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted March 20, 2014 Share Posted March 20, 2014 dry fit three time then hope to goodness when you use glue the Classic Airframes modelling imps don't get involved! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 20, 2014 Author Share Posted March 20, 2014 Good tip SF, measure twice, cut once suitably amended! I've tried looking into this area on Dad's Battle but to be honest all that lovely detail gets hidden so I don't think I'm going to be too pedantic about it. Think I'll finish Dad's as a wheels up flying Battle too. Max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedman Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Shaping up to be another fantastic build! The cockpit parts look great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harvs73 Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Trying to mask the black stripes is what has put my 1/48 Battle TT on the shelf of doom for several years now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Trying to mask the black stripes is what has put my 1/48 Battle TT on the shelf of doom for several years now. Yep, I'm pondering that problem already! I think, as mentioned above, that I'll modify Dad's model as a wheels-up then use it as a test bed for the painting side of things. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 A day of lots of individual bits of preparation work, and much head scratching over the sketchy instructions, what fits where and how etc etc. The prop resting on what will be the new nose, though it will be almost the last item to be properly fixed in place. Each blade was a separate item so getting them fitted (more or less) accurately to the centre hub was a bit of a challenge. A couple of views of the cockpit, as previously mentioned, some lovely detail. The seat belt harness is moulded, a much easier option in my opinion than PE ones which I always find a nightmare to fix in place realistically. The instruments on the control panel are aftermarket decals, the control panel was weathered a bit after this pic was taken. I've added detail in the way of wingtip nav. lights, riveting and fitting the landing lights. The landing lights aren't a particularly good fit but the covers will hide some of the gaps and the upper halves are painted over anyway! The fully assembled cockpit. Its precise fit in the fuselage half is guesswork, and there's nothing to hold it in place so when I'm satisfied that I've got about the right position I'll add some supports. By taking measurements today I think the front end of the resin box is going to be dangerously close to where I'm going to be chopping off the front end of the fuselage to fit the new nose! So much excitement in one day...time for a lie down I think! Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Enjoy the lie down! Great work so far, have you thinned the cockpit walls down to a point where they are see through? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Not necessary on the Battle SF, though it was on the Anson. These are just thick boxes, though I did many trial fits as things progressed to make sure they fitted. Both for'd and aft cockpits are now in place and the fuselage is ready to be joined, tomorrow hopefully. Then the butchery can commence! I'm also doing the wings like the Oxbox, uppers and lowers joined then the fuselage offered up later. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted March 23, 2014 Share Posted March 23, 2014 Must have been my ham fistedness then but the halves were fouled by the over thick walls. Glad you have not had this problem. Nice prop as well, mine wouldn't stay stuck for some reason I had a good template to work from to get the angles right so fixing it wasn't a problem but a new tube of superglue eventually resolved it once and for all. Sadly it got damaged at a model show and wasn't fixable.( oops sorry its fallen off and I've stood on it, was worth much was it?). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 23, 2014 Author Share Posted March 23, 2014 Yes, I drew a template to get the right angles for the prop, nothing worse than seeing blades all awry! I've just had a close look at the Battle with Dad in the cockpit, the leading edge of the air intake under the nose is markedly different to the resin one so I'm going to have to modify that......doh! Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 24, 2014 Author Share Posted March 24, 2014 I managed to close the fuselage up before bed last night so work on the new nose and tail can start. The wing assembly's also complete but it's clear from a quick test fit that a fair amount of work will be needed to get a good finish. More later. Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 24, 2014 Author Share Posted March 24, 2014 Quite a bit of fettling required..... Great starboard wing joint: Max Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 First session of major surgery successfully completed.....successfully meaning the old nose is chopped off! It's obvious from the trial fit that quite a bit of work will need to be done to fair the new nose profile into some of what's there already, plus replacing some areas with Milliput. Should keep me out of mischief for a while. Max 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted March 25, 2014 Share Posted March 25, 2014 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
galgos Posted March 25, 2014 Author Share Posted March 25, 2014 Much pondering, researching and wine-drinking (a rather nice South African Sauvignon! ) led me to conclude that it's easier to hack off the overly-square aft radiator bits completely then build the gap up rather than try to re-shape and fill bits and pieces, so they're off. I've done lots of work with trying to get the wings fitting as cleanly as possible before gluing them in place, including putting a spacer inside the port wing. The wing assembly is now on, aligned properly (I hope) and setting overnight. Before that happened I cut out the space for the radiator flap since the kit's area was very unconvincing. The new nose isn't too bad though it's very slightly out of square - question is, can I live with that?!! Max Later......no I can't.....it's off! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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