A Flight of Fanciful Fairey Fireflies: FR.1 & TT.4

[Martian]

Its beautiful Bill! What's next?

Martin

[bigbadbadge]

Hi Bill

I am sorry but, I have taken an unauthorised absence for a few weeks , had a lot on and am now trying to get a loft conversion sorted too so modelling has taken a bit of a back seat for a while and will again soon no doubt.

have caught up and what lovely models, they are absolutely stunning, amazing work fella.

All the very best

Chris

[hendie]

lovely job. s'been a pleasure to be along for the ride

[NAVY870]

Very nice but a couple of comments.

The VHF mast needs to go back onto the aft equipment bay hatch

Last one, you'll need the cold air inlet doo dang on top of the windscreen

Apologies for not picking these up earlier.

Edited February 1, 2016 by NAVY870

[giemme]

Stunning! Good thing we pushed you to build it with folded wings ...

Ciao

[Fritag]

Thanks - it's been fun!

No Bill. Thank you!

Not only has it been fun - but it's been educational and inspiring (as usual) as well.

Steve

[abat]

Absolutely fabulous work. Just brilliant.

[giemme]

No Bill. Thank you!

Not only has it been fun - but it's been educational and inspiring (as usual) as well.

Steve

I have to agree with that, 100%.

Ciao

[PlaStix]

I can only echo all the comments made above!

[Hamden]

I can only echo what others have said already, what a superb stunning pair!

Looking forward to the next build now

Roger

[Ascoteer]

Lovely. Just lovely.

[Navy Bird]

On 2/1/2016 at 00:14, NAVY870 said:

Very nice but a couple of comments.

The VHF mast needs to go back onto the aft equipment bay hatch

<snip>

Last one, you'll need the cold air inlet doo dang on top of the windscreen

<snip>

Apologies for not picking these up earlier.

 

Thanks, Steve. No apologies needed!

 

The VHF mast has been moved, that one was easy. Now, that air inlet on top of the windscreen. Does the rear view mirror mount onto that as well? Believe it or not, I just added the photoetch mirror. Timing is everything as they say!

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

On 1/31/2016 at 16:30, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Beautiful. Can we at least have one photo with both Fireflies together?

On 1/31/2016 at 16:38, perdu said:

Proper job Bill

That looks wonderful

(echo the wish for both together too)

 

Absolutely - as soon as I add these last few fiddly bits to the TT, I'll pose them both together. I need to do that for the RFI post as well. They look good together, I can tell you that!

 

On 1/31/2016 at 16:56, martin hale said:

Its beautiful Bill! What's next?

Martin

 

Well, I gave you some clues back in Post #660:

 

I'm already getting excited about what may be my next build - a nice little resin kit. So that means it's not a mainstream subject...it's a prototype aircraft that only flew for 43 hours before being destroyed in a landing accident. No other examples of the aircraft were built as the project was cancelled. The build will be a bit out of the ordinary for me, as I haven't sprayed this colour combination in well over two decades. I hope the paint bottles aren't dried up!

 

I'll give you some more clues: The paint scheme, which I haven't sprayed on a model in a very long time, is Olive Drab with Dark Green splotches over Neutral Gray. I've had a closer look at the resin kit, and I think it has some major boo-boos. But it will probably build up OK. Tailspin Turtle has provided me with some good background information.

 

On 2/1/2016 at 03:17, giemme said:

Stunning! Good thing we pushed you to build it with folded wings ...

Ciao

 

Right, who was that that suggested folding the wings in the first place? Whoever it was should buy a round for everyone!

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Beard]

They both both look great, Bill, as your builds always do.

Edited to correct spelling.

Edited February 1, 2016 by Beard

[Procopius]

Is it the XP-67 Moonbat? Please say yes.

[NAVY870]

Thanks, Steve. No apologies needed!

The VHF mast has been moved, that one was easy. Now, that air inlet on top of the windscreen. Does the rear view mirror mount onto that as well? Believe it or not, I just added the photoetch mirror. Timing is everything as they say!

Cheers,

Bill

I've never seen a mirror mounted up there, nor is one mentioned in the parts manual.

The tugs had one mounted in the rear cockpit and another on the port wing in a fairing.

Both for keeping an eye on the target.

[Navy Bird]

On 2/1/2016 at 13:44, NAVY870 said:

I've never seen a mirror mounted up there, nor is one mentioned in the parts manual.

The tugs had one mounted in the rear cockpit and another on the port wing in a fairing.

Both for keeping an eye on the target.

 

Thanks. Looking through my reference books on the Firefly, there are a lot of photos that show a mirror mounted in that position, regardless of mark. None of these photos are close-ups of the windscreen, so it's hard to see any details. The following is the best that I've found.

 

"Captain Eddie's" restored Firefly, which as you've described is (was?) made up of pieces from several air frames, has some target tug DNA as can be seen in this photo:

 

 

Notice the drogue chute on the bottom of the fuselage. At least for this restored warbird, there is a mirror mounted on what looks like the air inlet. This, however, doesn't mean that in-service aircraft were equipped the same way. However, I also found two other photos that show the same arrangement. The first is an FAA aircraft:

 

 

And this is an Australian Navy aircraft:

 

 

I think I'll be safe if I add the air inlet to the photoetch mirror that I've already mounted to the windscreen.

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. How you know you're getting old, part 12: Without thinking about what I was doing, I painted the jury struts red to match those on my Buccaneer and Scimitar. Only when I was ready to put them on the model did I remember that they are aluminium and yellow on the target tugs, because the struts fold down and are stored in the fuselage side, requiring them to match the paint scheme on the fuselage. And, of course, Steve has provided beautiful close-ups of the struts not once, but twice in this thread that clearly show how they're painted. Getting old indeed...

[Navy Bird]

On 2/1/2016 at 13:44, NAVY870 said:

The tugs had one mounted in the rear cockpit and another on the port wing in a fairing.

Both for keeping an eye on the target.

 

This is the mirror on the port wing?

 

 

I've been looking at this photo all through this build, and it never came to my mind to question what it was. Getting old again...I think I can add this pretty easily. I wonder what other stuff I've missed...

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

On 2/1/2016 at 13:39, Procopius said:

Is it the XP-67 Moonbat? Please say yes.

 

OK, yes.

 

Gotta love the shape of that thing. However, the canopy in the Anigrand kit is pants, and the exhaust openings in the nacelles are the wrong shape, and the exhaust pipes themselves are larger than the openings. The cooling intakes and the exhausts, among many other things, went through several different configurations during the Bat's short life.

 

The Anigrand kit may have a combination of features that weren't all present at the same time. The cockpit will need to be pretty much scratch-built, but Tailspin has helped me with that so I think we're OK there. Should be interesting to get everything sorted out.

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Navy Bird]

 

Martin Hale wins the Grand Prize, as his prediction from post #644 came true. The Firefly TT.4 went to my Model Club meeting tonight, and suffered some damage on the return trip home (i.e. the wings fell off). Back to the drawing board on how to attach those babies - I guess I will have to pin them after all, or something like that. Arghh.

 

Oh well, this is actually good news. It's better for it to happen now, rather than on the way to a competition.

 

"Always look on the bright side of life."

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Martian]

That's one prediction I am sorry to see come true Bill. Is the damage fixable?

Martin

[NAVY870]

Thanks. Looking through my reference books on the Firefly, there are a lot of photos that show a mirror mounted in that position, regardless of mark. None of these photos are close-ups of the windscreen, so it's hard to see any details. The following is the best that I've found.

"Captain Eddie's" restored Firefly, which as you've described is (was?) made up of pieces from several air frames, has some target tug DNA as can be seen in this photo:

Notice the drogue chute on the bottom of the fuselage. At least for this restored warbird, there is a mirror mounted on what looks like the air inlet. This, however, doesn't mean that in-service aircraft were equipped the same way. However, I also found two other photos that show the same arrangement. The first is an FAA aircraft:

And this is, I believe, an Australian Navy aircraft:

I think I'll be safe if I add the air inlet to the photoetch mirror that I've already mounted to the windscreen.

Cheers,

Bill

PS. How you know you're getting old, part 12: Without thinking about what I was doing, I painted the jury struts red to match those on my Buccaneer and Scimitar. Only when I was ready to put them on the model did I remember that they are aluminium and yellow on the target tugs, because the struts fold down and are stored in the fuselage side, requiring them to match the paint scheme on the fuselage. And, of course, Steve has provided beautiful close-ups of the struts not once, but twice in this thread that clearly show how they're painted. Getting old indeed...

I went through my sizeable collection of RAN firebox pics and after careful consideration I can say with authority I haven't

the faintest idea what a standard fit was.

I have shots with mirror, without mirror and two aircraft in formation one with one without.

I give up

The bottom photo is interesting. Its a mark 5 (cannon ports in the wing) but it has a light series bomb carrier on the port wing

as well as the winch. I wonder if its 388.

[Navy Bird]

On 2/1/2016 at 23:25, martin hale said:

That's one prediction I am sorry to see come true Bill. Is the damage fixable?

 

Yes, everything is fixable. The wings are curing in their Legos right now. I did some extensive scientific research on epoxy adhesives (for example, does the wife have a coupon for one that is on sale) and decided on "J-B Weld - The World's Strongest Bond." Hey, they can't print that if it's not true, right? Besides, it has a tensile strength of 4,400 psi, and the wings won't be subjected to that much tensile no matter what. (That lousy Loctite 5-minute epoxy has a tensile strength of only 3,300 psi. Ha!)

 

Plus, I've added the side view mirror to the port wing.

 

Once the wings are fully cured, I'll do some proper photographs and make the RFI post for both of the Fireflies.

 

On 2/1/2016 at 23:59, NAVY870 said:

I went through my sizeable collection of RAN firebox pics and after careful consideration I can say with authority I haven't

the faintest idea what a standard fit was.

I have shots with mirror, without mirror and two aircraft in formation one with one without.

I give up

The bottom photo is interesting. Its a mark 5 (cannon ports in the wing) but it has a light series bomb carrier on the port wing

as well as the winch. I wonder if its 388.

 

I agree on the mirror, maybe it was up to the specific pilot on whether one was fitted. The pictures that I've collected show a mirror more often than not, but there are many without the mirror.

 

The caption for the bottom photo says "Firefly of the Royal Australian Navy converted for the target-towing role with guns removed and a G type winch Mk.3. This one is also fitted with bomb carriers. An exhaust glare shield has been fitted, suggesting that target towing is only one of its duties."

 

Did VX388 have multiple simultaneous roles when it was a tug?

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Martian]

"The World's Strongest Bond" Hmm, I have heard that one before! Still, if you have pinned the wings, you should be OK, especially if you use some brass for the supporting stats for the wings.

Repeat after me: "For future builds I will consider transportation from the start"! I would give you lines but I suspect you would just copy and copy and paste them!

Martin

[Navy Bird]

Ladies and gentlemen (Martin, too) may I present the Dance Band on the Firefly!

 

 

The celebration, of course, is the completion of my Fanciful Flock of Fighting Fairey Fireflies! The next few photos were just some quick shots, so I'll get the tripod out tomorrow and take some proper photos. Not that they'll be any better, but Memsahib likes to see the tripod in use since she paid for it. Wait a minute, I'm the only one who ever had a job...

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the mirror on the port wing - I knew that '69 Mustang kit would come in handy:

 

 

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. Good news! El Lumpo seems to just be a calcified cyst, and nothing to worry about. Unless it starts growing and turns into the Blob That Ate Cincinnati, and then I'll have to join the Screen Actors Guild.

 

PPS. Bad news! That XP-67 kit has more things wrong than right. After this mammoth Firefly build, I think I might want one of them shake and bakers first, just so I can relax. What to do...I guess I'll peruse that stash of mine again.