Popular Post Navy Bird Posted February 5, 2016 Popular Post Share Posted February 5, 2016 Hi mates! Last August, I started a project for a "quick build" of the 1:72 Special Hobby kit of the Fairey Firefly FR.1. Naively I let my fellow Britmodellers talk me into doing a "dual build" since I also had the Special Hobby kit of the TT.4 in my stash. And then the final elbow - I succumbed to numerous requests to fold the wings on the TT.4. Dementia had finally shown its face. So here we are, six months later and the kits are finally done. You can read the whole sordid work in progress thread here. (It's really not so bad!) I don't think I need to provide a short history of the Firefly. The fine Britmodellers on this forum are keenly aware of their aviation heritage and the important role their aircraft have played throughout the years. Special thanks to Steve Long (NAVY870), our friend from Australia, for his incredible help during this build. No matter how silly my questions were, he always had the answer. Of course, he lives with a real Firefly TT. As usual here is my Executive Summary: Project: Fairey Firefly FR.1 and TT.4 Kit: Special Hobby Fairey Firefly FR.Mk.1 (kit no. 72195) and Fairey Firefly TT.Mk.4 (kit no. 72066) Scale: 1:72 (the only scale that matters) Decals: From the kits, Fairey Firefly FR.1, MB464/272-Y, 837 Squadron FAA, HMS Glory 1945, Fairey Firefly TT.4, VG974/501-TD, 700 Squadron FAA, RNAS Ford, 1955 Resin: Extensive cockpit and wheel well resin components included with the kits; Barracuda Studios Firefly Early Main Wheels (72137) and British 4-Slot 32 inch Main Wheels - Block Tread (72222) Photoetch: In addition to the frets included with the kits, the Marabu Designs British landing lights (72002) were used Canopy Masks: Montex set (72108) Paint: Colourcoats BS 640 Extra Dark Sea Grey, BS 634 Dark Slate Grey; Gunze H364 Interior Grey Green (my own custom counterfeit recipe), H74 Sky Type S, H77 Tire Black, H90 Clear Red, H94 Clear Green, H95 Smoke Gray; Testors 2072 RLM 04 Gelb; Floquil 110100 Old Silver; Tamiya XF-69 NATO Black; Alclad 125 High Speed Silver, 302 Grey Primer, 314 Klear Kote Flat Weathering: Pastel chalks; Prismacolor Silver Pencil Improvements/Corrections/Modifications The FR.1 was built essentially out-of-the-box, the only additions being the aerial wire, IFF antenna, and the landing and navigation lights (made from a clear plastic fork). Most of the extra work was done on the TT.4 as follows: Carburettor intake under engine cowling was left out of Special Hobby kit, so one was scratch built by scabbing formed styrene on the lower fuselage and blending it into the cowling Separated the wings for folding - since the full span Fairey-Youngman flaps fold with the outer wings this made for some interesting cutting patterns All exposed inner wing details were scratch built All wing fold mechanism details were scratch built Wing jury struts made from 0.025" styrene rod Inner fuselage structure and associated details (where the Fairey-Youngman flaps attach to the center fuselage) were scratch built Radiator inlet vanes were replaced with 0.015" styrene Navigation lights were scratch built and added to each wing, made with clear plastic silverware Landing light was scratch built from clear plastic silverware and photoetch reflectors from Marabu Design Rear view mirror and housing added to top of outer port wing Cables on horizontal and vertical tail, to prevent drogue chute from interfering with flight surfaces, made from 0.005" Nitinol wire Cable tie-down brackets on end of horizontal tails made from copper wire VHF whip antenna made from 0.005" Nitinol wire Added photoetch catapult hooks Elapsed time: 6 months! A fair bit longer than anticipated. At this rate, my stash will be exhausted in 2157. At 13:30. How about some photos? First, a family portrait. As can be seen in the following photos, the folded wings are aligned with each other and are at the same height: To achieve this, I designed, built, and used a high precision alignment and gluing jig constructed from the highest technology aerospace alloys: A splendid time was had by all! Cheers, Bill 100 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin-42 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Beautiful work, although I am kind of sad the always informative and entertaining WIP thread has come to an end. Looking forward to the next "quick" build. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winenut Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Absolutely amazing Bill. Both of them are just superb and clearly worth the time and effort. Incredible detail and finish in what I agree is the "only" scale Congratulations on your results Cheers Bruce PS. Don't you just love the colour choice you get now in the latest aerospace alloys 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Brilliant builds and a brilliant WIP Bill. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 I've said it before, and I shall say it again Bill, beautiful work! You make me wish I could make model aeroplanes. I want to be you when I grow up! Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Marvelous, both of them! Alex 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stew Dapple Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 They turned out beautifully Bill, nice work Cheers, Stew 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reini78 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 absolutely lovely pair! congrats 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SimonT Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 They do look good, folded wings were totally worth it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Wonderful Bill! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spruecutter Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Top marks - these are great. I love both schemes, both beautifully finished. Cheers Richard C 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellsprop Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Cracking work! Ben 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 I shouldn't like to be accused of gushing but these are a bit flipping terrific Bill, pure masterclass modelling. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Oh my, those are wonderful. How on earth did I miss the build thread? 'Scuse me I've got a lot of catching up to do....... Trevor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kuro Nezumi Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Brilliant pair of Fireflies you have! And congratulations on the folded wings! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
polo1112 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Absolutely terrific!! I love both. Outstanding work. Bravo. Polo. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy Dyck Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Excellent work! But the favorite is the silver/yellow one. Can`t believe it is 1/72 scale !!!! Fantastic! Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
batcode Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 fantastic pair of builds, both the schemes look great and very nice finishes. but do like the target tug, very nicely done on the nmf 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Superb, I can find no other words to describe the work you put into these builds. Duncan B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
merlin101 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 WOW! Love your TT4, great job! Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
moaning dolphin Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Excellent work there Bill, I think the TT gets my vote as the most esthetically pleasing, but as models they are both masterpieces and it was a pleasure to follow the progress, Whats next I wonder? Bob 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
occa Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Bill they are simply absolutely fantastic !! Can I call them 'my models' still haha ? (I think you bought those kits from me, not sure this time tho) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
85sqn Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Great job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shrek51 Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 Pair of stunners there, I particularly like the folded wings ...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cardiff guy Posted February 5, 2016 Share Posted February 5, 2016 loving these especially the TT. very well done Glenn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now