jaw Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Paul - your Swift has turned out very well and really captures the look of the real thing. In another but related thread on the gunports on the Swift I had another look at the real thing (WK281) at Tangmere today, and see that what appears to be the fared over guntroughs are just that, but on the real thing are plated over flush to the adjoin skin flush hardly noticeable so it would be better to fill those panel lines to better represent that. I shall certainly do so when my Swift appears. I gather that this only applied to early production FR5s that were originally planned to be F4's which did have 4 guns. On the FR5 the gun troughs are directly underneath the air intakes - ie outboard of the plated over troughs referred to above. It looks as though to give a better representation of the guntroughs they should be drilled/files to make them deeper. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viscount806x Posted December 8, 2014 Share Posted December 8, 2014 Very nice project Paul, many thanks for sharing it with us. Me? I'll be popping down to F.W.Woolworths straight away when they get them in. I guess this one will be a 3 rather than 2 bob kit won't it? Nige B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted December 9, 2014 Author Share Posted December 9, 2014 (edited) Cheers, guys. Nige, this is definitely a "3 bob" kit - although I do believe the modern Series 1 kits to be a terrific value, this kit with 62 parts would probably have been a Series 3 kit back in the "2 bob" days, rather than the Series 4 that it is. Paul - your Swift has turned out very well and really captures the look of the real thing. In another but related thread on the gunports on the Swift I had another look at the real thing (WK281) at Tangmere today, and see that what appears to be the fared over guntroughs are just that, but on the real thing are plated over flush to the adjoin skin flush hardly noticeable so it would be better to fill those panel lines to better represent that. I shall certainly do so when my Swift appears. I gather that this only applied to early production FR5s that were originally planned to be F4's which did have 4 guns. On the FR5 the gun troughs are directly underneath the air intakes - ie outboard of the plated over troughs referred to above. It looks as though to give a better representation of the guntroughs they should be drilled/files to make them deeper. John If I get another, I'll do that. Edited December 9, 2014 by Paul Bradley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Geoff_B Posted December 9, 2014 Share Posted December 9, 2014 Paul - your Swift has turned out very well and really captures the look of the real thing. In another but related thread on the gunports on the Swift I had another look at the real thing (WK281) at Tangmere today, and see that what appears to be the fared over guntroughs are just that, but on the real thing are plated over flush to the adjoin skin flush hardly noticeable so it would be better to fill those panel lines to better represent that. I shall certainly do so when my Swift appears. I gather that this only applied to early production FR5s that were originally planned to be F4's which did have 4 guns. On the FR5 the gun troughs are directly underneath the air intakes - ie outboard of the plated over troughs referred to above. It looks as though to give a better representation of the guntroughs they should be drilled/files to make them deeper. John I think they are shallow on the kit due to the plastic where they are on the lower fuselage is slightly thinner to accommodate the intake trunking. So be careful when drilling out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted December 12, 2014 Share Posted December 12, 2014 Plenty of manufacturers of the most disparate goods have production in the far East and handle quality control without apparent problem. I say apparent as I know as a fact that a constant quality product is the result of very hard work when dealing with contractors from that part of the world. Still, it can be done, takes a lot of work and commitment, a lot of swearing but can be done. If then it's the best thing to do, this is a different story. Maybe bringing production back to Britain would be a better choice, but then all the aspects have to be considered. Producing kits in India, really? Its a joke and can only end in tears, a very short sighted and retrograde step as the evidence up to now proves. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marty_hopkirk Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 (edited) Producing kits in India, really? Its a joke and can only end in tears, a very short sighted and retrograde step as the evidence up to now proves. How many threads on this forum do we see bitter complaints about the price of kits? Tons I contend £7.99 for 62 part kit that any half decent modeller can correct, you can't have it both ways. Anyhwoo..., the Airfix quarter scale Gnat is not too shabby and that was produced in India, this is first Airfix I have bought in an epoch and was impressed. Marty... Edited December 14, 2014 by marty_hopkirk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Fleming Posted December 13, 2014 Share Posted December 13, 2014 Airfix have produced kits in India for several years now. The problem with the Swift fuselage was not one of QC per se, but a fault with the mould that is being fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 That may be true, but doesn't someone inspect the parts before they go in the box any more? Remember those little slips of paper that used to be in various kits - "Inspected by 49"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 That may be true, but doesn't someone inspect the parts before they go in the box any more? Remember those little slips of paper that used to be in various kits - "Inspected by 49"? It does not appear that anyone was inspecting the Swift kits at all. If there was, they they did not know what to look for. I suspect that for items like this most manufacturers would select a random sample from the production run for a deeper QA check and only do a more extensive investigation if the number of defects found was excessive. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Work In Progress Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 *Somebody" spotted enough to stop production and distribution after the batch had gone to the US market. Obviously it would have been better if they had stopped it before the US kits were dispatched... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miggers Posted December 14, 2014 Share Posted December 14, 2014 The lad was over in India a few years back doing a quality audit on one of his company's factories. He gave me a phone call to ask about a paint spec.that the Indian plant should've been using on certain parts of water industry standard equipment. "You ought to see this Dad" he said,"I've got a guy mig welding wearing a tee shirt,loin cloth,flip-flops and a pair of welding goggles,about ten feet from him is a bloke spraying two pack paint not in a booth of any sort wearing a loin cloth,sandals and a paper mask.His legs and feet are the same colour as the job he's spraying with over-spray everywhere" No wonder that the firm doing Airfix's moulding aren't too hot on their QC eh?. Real nice job on the Swift Paul. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted December 14, 2014 Author Share Posted December 14, 2014 (edited) Cheers, Miggers. Edited December 14, 2014 by Paul Bradley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rw00025 Posted December 15, 2014 Share Posted December 15, 2014 No matter where Airfix had this kit made....a very nice job Paul, and thank you for the step-by-step build review...it will help me when I get mine. I'd like to see Airfix(are you reading this?) get rid of the grainy exterior surface, sharpen up detail, improve the quality and hardness of the styrene, and tighten up those panel lines. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted December 16, 2014 Author Share Posted December 16, 2014 Cheers, Ross. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted December 16, 2014 Share Posted December 16, 2014 I am very sorry for casting aspersions on Airfix for sourcing their product from and the manufacturing ability and integrity of India, my perception of India being a corrupt and chaotic place are obviously incorrect and I now intend to start purchasing an ever wider range of manufactured items from there with an increased expectation of quality and durability, I need a new dishwasher so i'll start with that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VMA131Marine Posted January 6, 2015 Share Posted January 6, 2015 ..and we're calling this finished. The windscreen has a tab at the front, to aid in fitting it, but it doesn't so much aid as hinder the fit, so I removed it - and I will want to take it off to replace it when Airfix send me a replacement one without a mould flaw in it... The canopy fits really nicely, but I decided to leave it partially open, which will make removing the screen easier. Cutting off the tab on the windshield will create a new problem. Airfix provide a clear oval shaped part, which I assume is internal armored glass that attaches to the windshield using a matching tab. If you cut the tab on the windshield off there will be nothing to attach this internal armour to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Driver66 Posted April 15, 2015 Share Posted April 15, 2015 Conversions to other swift variants now available at frieghtdog models! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 Really an nice looking Swift. What colour did you use? Humbrol 163 Dark green over Humbrol 164 Dark Sea gray or... ? Cheers! / André Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Bradley Posted February 15, 2017 Author Share Posted February 15, 2017 Holy Thread Resurrection! Cheers, Andre - I used Xtracrylix paints for that model, DG and DSG. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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