Edge Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Well, having finally sorted myself out & found all the bits I thought I had, but couldn't find, here's my entry for my first GB: It's the well known Airfix kit, with 3D Kits Mk.II LR conversion, to which I hope to add the Quickboost seat & Pavla improved parts. I may leave off the Pavla vacform canopies as I've only once tried to use one of these & it didn't end well! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 Will be good to see this lesser know variant built. I'm also curious to see the improvement that the Pavla parts can bring to the basic Airfix kit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gingerbob Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 (edited) Nice to see this. I've done some looking at squadron ORBs and such for the LR, so feel free to ask if there's anything I might be able to help with. One comment that might not be well known- these aircraft had metal-skinned ailerons. (I would think that you can just smooth down the kit ailerons.) bob Edited March 4, 2016 by gingerbob 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 4, 2016 Share Posted March 4, 2016 A nice selection of parts there Edge. Should make for an interesting, if slightly lop-sided model Is there a few options included on the 3D Kits decal sheet? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 4, 2016 Author Share Posted March 4, 2016 Will be good to see this lesser know variant built. I'm also curious to see the improvement that the Pavla parts can bring to the basic Airfix kit Thanks Georgio. Having a quick look, but I don't think they'll be a huge improvement to be honest. Nice to see this. I've done some looking at squadron ORiBs and such for the LR, so feel free to ask if there's anything I might be able to help with. One comment that might not be well known- these aircraft had metal-skinned ailerons. (I would think that you can just smooth down the kit ailerons.) Cheers Bob, great tip about the ailerons. I'll probably go for a bit of primer and sanding. A nice selection of parts there Edge. Should make for an interesting, if slightly lop-sided model Is there a few options included on the 3D Kits decal sheet? Hi Col. Yes I like the idea of a slightly oddball spit. Just 2 options on the decal sheet. I'll post some pics a bit later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 A few pics of the Airfix vs Pavla & Quickboost replacement parts. As thought, any improvement in the resin sets is mainly confined to the thinness of the casting, with the exception of the Pavla exhaust, which even has hollow exits & the exquisite Quickboost seat (pictured next to the obligatory coin to emphasis the small size). And finally an image of the decals options from the 3D Kits set: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 I've started to remove the fuselage pieces & am surprised by the large sprue gates. No huge worries, but I'm having to take care not to mess up the airframe at such an early stage! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Quick snaps of the main airframe assy. Some very slight misalignment, caused mainly by the alignment pegs, which I will probably slice off later: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 Good start there Edge. Just a heads up with the canopy though. Having built three of these new kits, I found the canopy a tight fit on all of them and needs no glue to secure. This goes for both the flat and bulged canopy options. I suggest a slight trimming at the rear otherwise a lot of pressure is required and if not careful may result in stressing the clear part. Keep up the good work. Trevor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 5, 2016 Author Share Posted March 5, 2016 Thanks for the heads-up Trevor. There are a pair of vacform canopies in the Pavla set which I keep looking at and may have use as practice, knowing I have a kit one to fall back on. I'll dry fit that next up, based in your experience. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 5, 2016 Share Posted March 5, 2016 All those new parts are an improvement over the kit but the seat particularly so. See what you mean about the generous sprue gates; little danger of parts falling off there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted March 7, 2016 Share Posted March 7, 2016 Seems to me that the Pavla parts are indeed a step up from what the kit supplies. With one exception, the water radiator fairing. The Airfix part is more correct in shape, the sidewalls of Spitfire water radiators are almost flat, not curved while the Pavla part seem to be very curved Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Just a tiny update from the weekend, as it's been Mother's day..... I've cut out the Pavla canopy & spent what seems to be an eternity fettling with nail scissors, files and various sanding sticks until I've got a reasonable fit. I'm quite pleased that I've been able to stick with it, despite the temptation to give in! I'd earlier removed the kit canopy from it's generous sprue gates and, heeding advice from Trevor, trimmed the rear down until it fitted. Tightly, but it fitted. Now comparing the kit with the vacform accessory, I have to say the Airfix clear parts look, well, clearer & certainly shinier than the admittedly thinner vafcorm parts. This leaves a little conundrum as I've already shelled out for the 'improvement set' and the vacform 'bubble' part has the oval opening panel in the port side included, which the kit part doesn't. On the downside, using the Pavla set will mean lots more fiddling & fettling, which is always good for improving my skills, but there's no guarantee that I'll manage to get a decent fit. Plus will the Eduard mask set fit? Who knows?!! Anyhow a couple of pics of the canopy progress. You can hopefully see the difference in clarity between the kit & Pavla parts here. KIT PAVLA I may try dipping the Pavla part in Klear to see if it improves the clarity at all. Anyhow, I'd better get back to some proper work. Good luck to everyone else building Supermarine's finest! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Well, the canopy conundrum has resolved itself this lunchtime. I found an article on Aeroscale, by Jessica Cooper giving some good advice on removing vacform canopies from their backing. In shortened form, take a sharp felt tip pen & highlight the edge of the canopy & score this gently with a new scalpel blade. Then, using sharp scissors, cut a series of slits at 90° to your scored line. Finally use aome tweezers to gently bend the tabs back & forth (the scored line being the fulcrum) until each snaps away, leaving a small amount of clean up with sanding sticks etc. I got as far as cutting slits with sharp scissors, when on my 6th snip a large split opened up across the canopy. I can't figure out why, as I would have thought that the line I'd scored at the canopy base would have dissipated any force. Either way my vacform piece is now U/S, so it's Airfix all the way! Some pics for your delectation: Pondering a little, perhaps the scissors I used were a little thick for the task? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 7, 2016 Author Share Posted March 7, 2016 Not really an update, more the result of a small experiment. After ruining the main part of the Pavla vacform canopy, I decided to see if the clarity issue I noted earlier would be improved by a bath in Klear. So I plopped the windscreen part in a pot of the amber nectar (well almost) for an hour or so, drained off the excess & left it to harden on a piece of kitchen towel, under a cover. I also gave the kit canopy the same treatment, as despite appearing clearer than the Pavla version, I wanted to see if it too could be improved upon. The results: Pavla Airfix So I think the Klear has improved the Pavla part, but it's still rather 'grainy' looking, and that is pretty evident with the naked eye. Compared to the kit part, it's definitely far less transparent. The Airfix parts were pretty transparent to begin with, but the Klear bath has given them an added sparkle, so in conclusion I'd say it was worth giving it a dip. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted May 11, 2016 Author Share Posted May 11, 2016 Well 2 months since my last post & very little movement due to work & family commitments. Cockpit together & installed. Fuselage halves glued together & that's about all. Must try harder...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beard Posted May 11, 2016 Share Posted May 11, 2016 That looks very nice. The Quick boost seat is splendid, I have one in the stash which I really ought to use. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted May 12, 2016 Share Posted May 12, 2016 Love the cockpit, really impressive. Even if this build has been slower than you would have wished, please don't give up, there's still time to complete this 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted February 28, 2017 Author Share Posted February 28, 2017 Talk about a thread resurrection! Having thoroughly disheartened myself with Airfix's HE-111 I've dragged this one out of the cupboard for a 2nd chance. All I've done since last year is add some PPP the fuselage seam (it's more of a step really) and gently sand back. I've misplaced the Airfix canopy I'd given the Klear treatment to so I'm going to try with the 2nd Pavla vacfom one. Not sure how this will go but if the worst comes to the worst I'll have to find a plan C! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted March 21, 2017 Author Share Posted March 21, 2017 Still struggling to balance home and work life so modelling time is pretty scarce at present. I have managed a few little steps on the Spitfire since my last post. I Separated the 2nd Pavla vacform canopy from it's backing & trimmed to fit as well as I can - it's my 1st attempt at fitting one. It does look horribly grainy in these macro photographs, despite taking a long soak in Future. The naked eye (OK with glasses on too) doesn't make them out unless you really look for them! I think the fuselage seam will need some further tidying, but i wanted to leave that until the 'screen was fitted & blended in. Next I had a play with some resin from the Pavla kit. I separated the wheels & exhausts from their casting blocks & tidied them up. I'm mightily impressed with the delicacy of the exhausts in particular, I was able to remove the skin between the individual stacks so that they appear to be separate. I only broke 1 and that should glue quite easily! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted April 8, 2017 Share Posted April 8, 2017 Glad to see this one still in the works Edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted July 18, 2017 Author Share Posted July 18, 2017 Nothing done on this since April thanks to a lack of mojo, extra work and general family life taking up so much time. Oh wait - I have tried to lessen the panel lines by addind a small dose of tippex from one of those pens, wiping away the excess with some IPA on a cotton bud. Rummaing through the box I see that I've lost the sliding part of the canopy - this kit may find a permanent home on the shelf! Generally a post to check how Flickr works with BM (have changed some of my old images in this thread) and to remind myself I sometines model...... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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