Bedders Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 (edited) Thankfully the waiting for the Edgar Spitfire Group Build is over, and we are up and running as of yesterday, "K5054 Day" (which I'm starting to think should be a Public Holiday - petition to No 10 anyone?). But what's a man to do whilst waiting for 5 March to arrive? I can now reassure you that I have not been idle, and here's the proof: it's the little Sword Seafire XV (late version), which I've had in the stash for a year but kept getting it out, giving it a good looking at and then putting it away, concerned at the amout of work required. Anyway I've taken the plunge, and I'm pleased I did. Yes, I have moaned about the wings of Sword kits being a bit short. But the rest of the kit is beautiful so I've got back in my box and started work. As it's a short-run kit it needs patience and care: the cockpit detail is very nice and whilst there's no reassuring click as the parts fit in, fit they do and the internals look convincing. Care needs to be taken too with the upper cowlings and with the tailplanes to get them aligned properly. And the wing/fuselage join works if you dont rush it. Anyway here's how far I've got, all primed up and waiting for paint: The only real modification I have made is to the propeller: for me the Sword spinner is a little short, so I sawed the tip off and grafted on the front end of a spare Special Hobby Griffon spinner. It needed some fettling but I think it looks better now. The blades also needed some shaping and I think they're just about there (I'll post more pictures soon). In terms of colour scheme I'm keen to do something similar to PR503 which has been restored in the States (see my profile image). For me it's Seafire elegance at its best. I must say that I'm now converted to the Sword kits. I've ordered a Mk III Seafire and the excellent work of other BMers such as Procopius and Tony O'T inspires me to do a Vc too. I'll try to finish a couple of less advanced Spitfire projects in the Group Build. In the meantime I hope to provide more updates on this Seafire soon. Justin Edited March 6, 2016 by Bedders 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I always look forward to your Spitfires (and Seafires now) Justin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 Very nice work! I have the early version, and I may get back to it seeing what excellent results you can get with a little care, on what is basically the same kit. I do plan on buying this very version also. Regards, Jason 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted March 6, 2016 Share Posted March 6, 2016 I must say that I'm now converted to the Sword kits. I've ordered a Mk III Seafire and the excellent work of other BMers such as Procopius and Tony O'T inspires me to do a Vc too. Swoon! I had no idea the wings were short -- knowledge really does only bring pain. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted May 31, 2018 Author Share Posted May 31, 2018 (edited) Hi all, I've had this on the go for ages, but progress has been glacial. For two years it looked like this: And then I painted the spinner... All the while I was mulling over (i) what paint scheme to do and (ii) a problem that I'd noticed with having too much dihedral on the wings. Eventually, and recently, I bit the bullet and took steps to resolve the dihedral issue by cracking open the wing-root joins, inserting a bit of plastic on each side, re-glueing, filling, sanding and re-priming. It's not perfect, but it's better, so I'm pushing ahead. On the paint-scheme issue, I have long thought this to be one of the best-looking schemes on any Spitfire or Seafire: Only problem was, I was unsure what colours they actually are. Some say dark blue over silver, or black over silver, or black over sky, or dark blue over sky. A further photo in this book: and many hours of pondering, led me to conclude that it's black over sky, with a silver spinner. I'm guessing that serials and stencils are light grey (having considered also white, sky, red and silver). There are no serials under the wings, as shown by the above photo. That having been decided, it was time to commit to paint. I used Mr Hobby matt black for the uppers, and Tamiya Sky for the unders. The spinner is Xtracolour High Speed Silver enamel, thinned with cellulose thinners which cut the drying time by more than half. As protection and in preparation for decals, I gently brushed on some Alclad Aqua Gloss, which works pretty well for me. Decalling was another conundrum. I started creating thin strips of white decal for the walkways, and applied those using the microscale solutions. So here's where we are now: The next step is to tone down the white with washes to get to an approximate light grey tone... Justin Edited May 31, 2018 by Bedders 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Looking rather neat and unusual Justin, what is not to like. Now, don't stall again. Stuart 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Looking good! Nice that you've picked up the build again! Håkan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted May 31, 2018 Share Posted May 31, 2018 Now that is a smart looking colorscheme.👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 1, 2018 Share Posted June 1, 2018 Beautiful scheme Justin, wow. I couldn't help but notice how the paint has been chipped off the cowl fasteners and various panels on the pic showing the Mk XV in the air, while the two pics taken on the ground show a 'fresher' paint scheme. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 Good spot Cookie. That will hopefully give the chance to disguise any mistakes I make by adding the the odd deliberate scratch/chip here and there... Justin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 19 hours ago, Cookenbacher said: I couldn't help but notice how the paint has been chipped off the cowl fasteners and various panels on the pic showing the Mk XV in the air, That's not paint chipping, Cookie - each fastener has an alignment mark painted along the screwdriver slot and out beyond the slot each end onto the cowling. The line is approx twice the length of the screwdriver slot, and the slot should line up with the marks at each end when the fastener is locked. The fasteners are predominantly aligned so that when closed/locked the slot is in a fore/aft position (except those on the lower cowling panel which align with the lower panel edge). The marks are for a quick visual check that all cowling fasteners are colsed/locked. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 On 6/2/2018 at 11:37 AM, Dave Swindell said: each fastener has an alignment mark painted along the screwdriver slot and out beyond the slot each end onto the cowling Oh, interesting, so the 'clean' version in the photos just hasn't had the alignment marks painted on yet? I had always assumed it was the paint getting chipped off by the screwdriver each time the cowl was removed. You learn something new everyday on Britmodeller! Thanks Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Swindell Posted June 4, 2018 Share Posted June 4, 2018 10 minutes ago, Cookenbacher said: Oh, interesting, so the 'clean' version in the photos just hasn't had the alignment marks painted on yet? I'd say yes to that, the photo's on the ground look pristine, the airborne shot shows paint wear round the cockpit entry door, canopy rails, radio hatch, fuel tank cover and especially on the wing root. Why the markings are so prominent I don't know, but the white really stands out. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted June 5, 2018 Author Share Posted June 5, 2018 Decals done. Apologies for rubbish photos...! I'm finally getting used to the Sword decals. If you treat them with respect, they behave themselves! The Royal Navy scripts are from the Sword Mk XVII kit, and I toned them down with black washes as I have with the walkway lines. The grey serials are from the Ventura sheet. I applied all the stencils on the bottom, but only those on the top (as hand-painted representations) where I could see them in the photos. So no 'Walkway Forward' etc. Does that sound sensible? Hope so, as I'll need to hand paint them otherwise... Justin 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Looking very nice 'stickers' fitted. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 Nice work with the decals! Looking good! Håkan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre B Posted June 5, 2018 Share Posted June 5, 2018 An nice looking and different Seafire! A Good proof that one can always build one moore Spitfire! Cheers / André 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted June 12, 2018 Share Posted June 12, 2018 It's looking really smart with the marking applied Justin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bedders Posted October 1, 2018 Author Share Posted October 1, 2018 It's finished, finally. More shots in RFI soon. Justin 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr T Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 (edited) Nice model. I think I put one on RFI last year. Sword kits are deceptive. They are, by and large, nicely detailed and well presented and it can lull you into a false sense of security and then you suddenly realise it is a short run kit after all. I was quite pleased with mine, but it did some effort around the wing fuselage joint, which seems to be an issue with a lot of Spitfire kits in the past. Edited October 1, 2018 by Mr T Making more sense 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thom216 Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 That's a sleek looking Seafire. Nice color scheme too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted October 1, 2018 Share Posted October 1, 2018 That's a beauty Justin. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted October 2, 2018 Share Posted October 2, 2018 Nice to see this finished Justin, looks really smart. 11 hours ago, Mr T said: Sword kits are deceptive. They are, by and large, nicely detailed and well presented and it can lull you into a false sense of security and then you suddenly realise it is a short run kit after all. We are modellers after all, let's model... Stuart 3 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