Simon Posted April 16, 2016 Author Share Posted April 16, 2016 (edited) Another quick update, and two problems. One annoying and my fault, the other I haven't got a clue what caused it. First up, I managed to push out one the fuselage windows, which disappeared into the masked-up fuselage: which meant having to removed the cockpit masking, and then carefully lever out the cockpit control panel and control columns: At least I managed to get the recalcitrant window back in place, with the aid of a cocktail stick and some white tack...so, that worked out better than it might have done. Secondly, I thought I'd attach the wings this afternoon. I'd attached the tailplanes and fin last night, all squared up, filled and looked good. So, the port wing goes on, fits great, no gaps. Then the starboard wing, not such a great fit, but not too bad. Before the glue set, I thought I'd check the wings' alignment, only to find the starboard one sittiing about 5mm or so lower at the wingtip - d'oh! Double check the wings are a fitted correctly, double check the the fusleage isn't warped, then panic. What to do, before the glue's all set? Here's my solution - I had to insert some plastic card packing under the starboard wing root to get it to sit at the correct angle: Looks a bit of a mess, but at least the wings seem to be at the same angle. I'll leave it overnight propped up all straight, make sure the glue's set fully, and gap should fill and clean up okay. These things are send to try us, as the saying goes... More soon... Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 18, 2016 Author Share Posted April 18, 2016 (edited) Back again, with another update, mostly a tale of filling and sanding. I've been busy tidying up the wing to fuselage joints, after the weekend's tribulations. Here are the upper wings joints: The joints themselves weren't too bad, but the little fairings at the trailing edge of the wing weren't a great fit. Meanwhile, underneath the wings... A bit more work involved, but after another quick coat of primer, both top and bottom don't look too bad: Maybe I can actually start painting her up now! More soon... Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted April 18, 2016 Share Posted April 18, 2016 You're winning so far, can't wait to see some paint on Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 27, 2016 Author Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) Another quick update... Firstly, having given the model a coat of primer, and then some pre-shading, it was ready to get some paint airbrushed on. So, Here's the base coat of Xtracrylix RAF Dark Earth: After a couple of days to let that dry properly, I did the White Tac sausages method of masking the DE in preparation for the Xtracrylix Dark Earth. All seemed to go well, until the masking was removed, and I found that the White Tac had marked the Dark Earth: To say I was a little annoyed is somewhat of an understatement...!! I tried washing with water and a lint free cloth, and even some soapy water, but nothing would shift the marks. I did however notice that the marks disappeared when wet with water as I tried to clean them off. I thought I'd try a coat of Humbrol's rather excellent Gloss Clear, testing the ailerons first, and hey presto: Very strange indeed. I'd had this happen before, but never this bad. Anyway, I'll leave that for a couple of days to harden, then I can get on with the black undersides. Getting there, slowly but surely.... More soon, Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 (edited) Had a similar White Tac issue as yourself with some Tamiya acrylic recently. I'd put it down to me using a generic brand of White Tac which left the same kind of residue behind. In my case I tried everything from warm soapy water to lemon juice to WD40 to get rid of the staining. The latter seemed to work but definitely lightened the paint slightly, serendipitously for me enhancing the maritime weathering effect I was after. A coat of Pledge/Klear for the decalling stage darkened it back again sufficiently though. Your tip on the Humbrol gloss clear goes on file with me as a better solution to this problem. Regards, Tony Edited April 27, 2016 by TheBaron 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12jaguar Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Hi Simon I missed a detail on one of your pics above where you had the scalpel inserted into a gap on the upper surface. This is exactly where there is a circular aperture (skylight) between the front and rear spars. Hopefully not too late to address, it looks to be a bout a scale foot in diameter John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted April 27, 2016 Share Posted April 27, 2016 Excellent work on the Stirling! Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 28, 2016 Author Share Posted April 28, 2016 Hi Simon I missed a detail on one of your pics above where you had the scalpel inserted into a gap on the upper surface. This is exactly where there is a circular aperture (skylight) between the front and rear spars. Hopefully not too late to address, it looks to be a bout a scale foot in diameter John Thanks for spotting that John. Is this the one you mean, just aft of the DF loop fairing? https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7f/RAF_Bomber_Command_HU107751.jpg Regards Simon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted April 29, 2016 Author Share Posted April 29, 2016 (edited) Thanks to John's post, I decided to open up the skylight in the top of the fuselage. I'd had a look through the spares box, and found a round window on a sprue - all I now is that it had AIRFIX stamped on it, so where it's from, Lord only knows. Anyway, out with the drills, and here's the hole and the glazing: I found the best way was to drill a small hole, then gradually enlarge it by using incrementally larger drills. Gauging where it is took a bit of guesswork - I think that's more or less the right position. But, how to get the glazing in place, bearing in mind the fuselage is all closed up? Answer is to get in via the bomb bay, which fortunately will have its doors closed anyway. So, out with the drills again: Here's the glazing tacked in place - it may need some adjusting at a later stage, but it looks more or less okay: Hopefully after the Bank Holiday weekend I can get on with the Night undersides... Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 4, 2016 Author Share Posted May 4, 2016 (edited) So, back from the long weekend - been away three days and the Stirling seems to have grown some rigging, courtesy of the local wildlife (apologies to arachnophobes...): No sign of the culprit anywhere - maybe he's decided to become aircrew and is ensconced in the fuselage somewhere. So, after a clean up, on with the night undersides. Once again, I'm using Xtracrylix, very watered down, airbrushed over the pre-shading: I did have a minor panic when some of the masking came loose mid-spray, so I'll find out tomorrow once I remove the masking if there's any overspray got onto the upper surfaces. More soon... Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted May 4, 2016 Share Posted May 4, 2016 (edited) This is the really fun bit Simon. Reminds me of when I built the Airfix 13 years ago; I sprayed it in the bath on top of a sheet it was so huge! I just had aerosols. This looks great with the tonal differences in the black, the skylight is a nice touch too. Looking forwards to the reveal! Best regards Tony Edited for spelling Edited May 4, 2016 by TonyTiger66 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 (edited) So, off with the masking today... Looks good, but then I saw this on Youtube: There are some close-ups of W7446 MG-S of 7 Sqn, which show the demarcation between the DE/DG and the Night was somewhat less than sharp - ho hum...not much can be done now, so I'll have to live with it. It did however show that W7446 had an upper turret - I found a photo of W7442, which didn't have one, so I was a little bit worried about whether W7449 had one, even though the ORB stated that W7449 had a third gunner. Anyway, onwards and upwards. Next up is a coat of gloss to seal everything, and then maybe decalling up and some weathering. More soon... Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12jaguar Posted May 5, 2016 Share Posted May 5, 2016 (edited) Hi Simon Are you aware that the 'notches' on the underside of the nacelles have to be filled on the Italeri Mk I, The kit wing is the same as that for the Mk IV kit which has the oil coolers on the underside, on the Mk I they're in the leading edge. John Edited May 5, 2016 by 12jaguar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 5, 2016 Author Share Posted May 5, 2016 (edited) Ah, er, no...! You mean these, circled in red: I did wonder what on earth the apertures were for. I reckon the easiest way would be to make some plugs for them - I'm glad the engines aren't fitted yet! Thanks John, Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 6, 2016 Author Share Posted May 6, 2016 (edited) Okay, another update. I've made a start on filling in the Mk.III/Mk.IV oil cooler apertures. I used pieces of plastic card as plugs, shaped to fit: I'll give them a coat of paint, and see where they need filling/smoothing. Also, this little fella appeared a while ago, hopefully the culprit for the the 'rigging'.... I've relocated him, but as the spiders in our house seem to be homing spiders, so no he'll re-appear at some stage... More soon... Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Looks good, some really neat painting. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRealMrEd Posted May 6, 2016 Share Posted May 6, 2016 Simon, Really enjoying this build. I can sympathize with the challenges you've overcome, and very smartly at that. Seems to be the way it goes with this sort of kit-bashing and scratch-building. t's like the old saying "you never see the one that gets you". Keep up the great work on a great model. Ed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 12, 2016 Author Share Posted May 12, 2016 (edited) Okay, some more progress to report, and another conundrum to solve... The gaps under the engine nacelles are now filled, cleaned up and painted: The outer nacelles look fine, but the inner engines were a bit more difficult, as the various curves are quite complex: They're not perfect, and need a bit more tidying up. So now I thought I'd go ahead with the decalling, but here's where I have a slight problem. The kit's roundels and squadron code decals seem to me to be the wrong sizes. Here's the kit's upper wing roundels, 75" in size: They seem too small to me. Here's an 84" roundel from an Xtradecal set for comparison: Compare to this photo of a Mk.I. The fuselage ones seem too big, however. Here's the kit decal, a 56" size roundel: and for comparison again, a 49" one from Xtradecal: The kit fuselage codes for the 7 Sqn machine, W7442, seem too big too, being 56" high: Here's 7 Sqn's W7446 MG-S - these codes look more like 48" or even slightly bigger, to me: I'm a little confused by the kit's decals now, and dont want to go ahead applying ones that aren't the right sizes...are there actually standard sizes for Stirling Mk.I roundels...? Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 14, 2016 Author Share Posted May 14, 2016 (edited) So, on with the decalling. I've chosen 84" upper wing roundels, and 49" fuselage roundels and 48" codes. I've used Xtradecal roundels and 8" serials, and Kits-World 48" MSG codes Got the decals on last night, and just went back to find this: I'd used Micro Sol after applying them last night, so I gave them another coat to see if they'd bed down properly, and this happened: Not to worry, some gentle pressure with a lint-free cloth, and now they look like this: Hopefully they'll stay down this time! Here are the fuselage markings: The Kits-World decals bedded down really nicely. And here are the upper wing markings: The Italeri decals were okay, but seemed to take an age to release from the backing paper. The square dinghy marking is a bit on the bright side, but hopefully after a bit of weathering it will tone down a bit. Not 100% sure the yellow is right for the dinghy marking - the ones on Lancs and Halifaxes are red...? I'm going to leave the decals for a day to (hopefully) settle down properly, then a coat of varnish to seal them, then some weathering... More soon, Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 15, 2016 Author Share Posted May 15, 2016 (edited) More now, in fact. I've started on the weathering of the paintwork. As usual, it's difficult to know if it's enough or too much, but here's the progress so far. Lower surfaces: Fuselage: Upper surfaces: Needs a few coats of thinned matt varnish to deaden the sheen a bit, but I may try a bit more weathering first. More soon, Cheers Simon Edited July 5, 2017 by Simon relinking images from Photobucket to Flickr 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phildagreek Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Looks superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted May 15, 2016 Share Posted May 15, 2016 Lovely paintwork! Those panel lines almost make it look like a concrete path, who designs those things??? Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Good save on the decals Simon. The upper wing roundel had me worried there. Just my view, but to me the weathering is perfect right now. In a sense because of the deep panel lines, I feel anything else will emphasise them too much, whereas at the moment the plane doesn't have that 'over the top' very dark pin wash look about it. In short, it looks a lot more like a real aircraft like this. I'm not a big fan of heavy weathering, so my views could be utter drivel! Looking great Best regards Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Posted May 16, 2016 Author Share Posted May 16, 2016 Thanks for the comments folks. The panels lines are a bit overdone, but I think the lighting makes them look worse than they are. I don't mind them that much - they're quite deep but not wide trenches in the 'Matchbox' style. I think a pin wash will make them look much worse, and I've never been a fan of this method, so won't be doing that. Cheers Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark4700 Posted May 16, 2016 Share Posted May 16, 2016 Very nice job. Looking like an epic build. Well done so far. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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