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1:72 Scale Resin Blackburn Buccaneer S.Mk.1


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Now, about that casting defect on the port side forward front fuselage, the one that looks like a crack. The intake piece covers it completely! No one will ever know, well, except you and me, and, uh, untold thousands of mates. You guys won't tell, will you?

Cheers,

Bill

I don't know about the others but your secret is safe with me.

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Excellent and well crafted progress, even your blanking discs are really well finished!

IMG_0759_zpsqdjfccox.jpg

Just the 36 Buccaneers (plus one rather startled looking Lightning and a regal Fulmar. My guess is that this IS Lossie, since Lossiemouth was HMS Fulmar.

Excellent shot, I think it's 26 Buccaneers and 10 Hunters though, Lossie July 1970. I do wonder if that Lightning should've been in that bit of airspace at that particular time!

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My experiments with weight came to an interesting conclusion - the amount required is exactly what CMR have put in the instruction booklet: 27 grams. It's good to verify that, as it tells me that CMR most likely did the same thing I did in order to figure it out. So I went and got the appropriate amount of weight and put it in. CMR have you put all the weight behind the cockpit, but I got some of it farther forward than that, which should give me a cushion just in case.

 

IMG_0631

 

Now it's time to close up the fuselage, which is the most intense part of a resin build for me. I typically use CA adhesive (superglue). It's not really possible to glue the entire seam all the way around all at once, and there are no alignment pins to help you. For this model, all of the clean up was on the port side of the fuselage, both top and bottom halves, and the quality of my work in those areas isn't quite as nice as how CMR cast the starboard side. So here is what I plan to do:

 

First, tape the two halves together, making sure that the positioning is as good as I can get it. Like this:

 

IMG_0633

 

IMG_0634

 

Next, start with the areas that look to have the most misalignment, or will require the most care in assembling and/or sanding. Remove the tape from this area only, and use superglue to complete the join. I'll use a scalpel (#11) to apply the superglue to the inside edges of the seam - you can't spread the halves apart very much, since everything else is taped together, but you can get a scalpel blade in there.

 

Do each section a little bit at a time, so you can set the alignment and then allow the superglue time to cure, re-apply the tape, and move on to another section. For this kit, based on how well (or not) that I cleaned it up, I think the difficult spots will be the forward fuselage and those tiny little intakes at the wing root.

 

Sound like fun? Let's do it! :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

EDIT: My workbench has been invaded by springtails! The little buggers are everywhere, I've been killing about 20-30 per hour. They're tiny, harmless, don't bite, don't lay eggs indoors, etc. etc. but the jumping just bugs me. Too much like fleas - which they're not. Fleas crunch when you squish them, springtails just flatten out. And they're only on my bench - they must be attracted to the light. Or Mr. Color maybe? Oh well, time for a more thorough cleaning and sealing of the windows I guess.

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Next question:

 

If I model the all-white scheme as applied to the Carrier Trials aircraft, there would be no reason to model the bomb bay open, correct? I assume these aircraft would be unarmed - but I may be wrong in that assumption. Perhaps bomb deck handling, loading, launching at mission weight, etc. are all things that are part of Carrier Trials. Anybody know for sure?

 

The open bomb bay has some nice detail in it and would look nice with some ordnance mounted in it.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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The fuselage has been closed, and Elvis has left the building. :)

 

Putting the two halves together was uneventful, and proceeded according to plan. Once the superglue was cured all around, I used some of my spot glazing putty to smooth the seams. Here is the starboard side:

 

IMG_0639

 

And here is the port side:

 

IMG_0638

 

You'll notice that there is a big spot of putty right up front - this is where that defect was. I decided to fill this after all, even though the separate intake piece will cover it up completely, because I wanted a better base to glue the intake to.

 

I still have some tricky spots to clean up. First, the metal areas around the exhaust still have some gaps, and second the small triangular intakes at the root of the wing leading edge don't line up well. The notch up front where the radome hinge goes needs to be "squared" up, and the area on the trailing edge of the wing where the flaps attach also needs some gaps filled. It's possible that these issues stem from how I cleaned up the pieces - I may not have done enough work before closing up the fuselage. Still, these issues shouldn't be difficult to correct.

 

All told, though, I think this one went together better than the older S.2 model. I've test fit the vertical fin, and it seems pretty good, so it shouldn't give any trouble.

 

I'm leaving on Friday for a week at the cabin in the mountains, and I'm not taking any models with me. The smartphone works there now (didn't use to) so I may stop by BM every now and then to harass someone. I probably won't get much more done on the Brick until I get back. A week at the cabin is always good for recharging your batteries. I think it's all that fresh air, drinking, hiking, drinking, fishing, drinking, cooking, drinking, boating, drinking, sitting at the campfire, drinking, etc.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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fresh air, drinking, hiking, fishing, drinking, cooking, drinking, boating, drinking, sitting at the campfire, drinking, etc.

Oh - where do I meet you? That's my kind of week right there!

Super progress on the model. I'm taking notes. I think you must do the bomb bay rotated open. Much to see in there. I can't answer your question about trials with certainty but I'd say surely they would have rotated the door at some point at least if not loaded some bombs. You could always take the so what if it ain't accurate route or choose a different scheme. I'll do some reading on it and report back. Cheers - Jack

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Well I found this in Wings of Fame vol 14:

image_zpspjrnzie5.jpg

Small pic but the bomb bay is rotated and it looks to have a rounded shape in there. This pic is from early trials before the 1963 period depicted in scheme A1. Also, I interpret the diagram at the top of page 10 in the instruction book as confirmation that bombs can go in the bomb bay.

Edited by wadeocu
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Confirmation found in NA.39 kit instructions (citing Graham Pitchfork's book):

"The 'Controller of Aircraft' release to drop weapons was not issued until 1963, however sorties were flown with the bomb bay loaded with four inert 1,000lb bombs, giving experience of handling the aircraft at high all-up weights"

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Fresh air + drinking = best combination ever :thumbsup2:

But also hot summer and fresh drinks works pretty well :winkgrin:

Fuselage halves look great after joining them together :clap: I know you had already mentioned in other builds, but can you please remind me what kind of putty is the one you've been using here?

Ciao

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Looking nice so far, and I think it would be safe to assume the trials would include ordnance as they would want to see how it handles under all conditions as supported above in wadeocu's posts, so I say crack on and rotate the belly, it deserves to be shown off!

Enjoy the break and all that fresh air!

Bob

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On 8/23/2016 at 23:55, wadeocu said:

Confirmation found in NA.39 kit instructions (citing Graham Pitchfork's book):

"The 'Controller of Aircraft' release to drop weapons was not issued until 1963, however sorties were flown with the bomb bay loaded with four inert 1,000lb bombs, giving experience of handling the aircraft at high all-up weights"

 

Excellent! And thanks for the photo, too. I completely missed that diagram on page 10 - don't know how, but I did. So, four inert 1,000 pounders in the bomb bay. Hmmm...next problem. I only seem to have three in the box. Could I have lost one? Seem a rather large part for the carpet monster. Wait, an idea! Let me check something...yes! I have eight 1,000 pound bombs leftover from the S.2 build, and two leftover from the Scimitar build. I guess that's thirteen in total - should be enough!

 

The inert bombs used in testing should have the front half painted in a light blue, correct?

 

On 8/24/2016 at 00:44, CedB said:

Looking very smooth Bill, nice job. Have a good rest at the cabin... hope you get some drinking in! :)

 

Thanks. I was just trying to decide whether I should bring any ale or Scotch. Might be worthwhile, I guess. :)

 

On 8/24/2016 at 08:10, giemme said:

Fresh air + drinking = best combination ever :thumbsup2:

But also hot summer and fresh drinks works pretty well :winkgrin:

Fuselage halves look great after joining them together :clap: I know you had already mentioned in other builds, but can you please remind me what kind of putty is the one you've been using here?

Ciao

 

I use Nitro-Stan "Spot and Glazing Red Putty 9001." This is an automotive putty that is used in auto body repair over the top of Bondo (P-38) after it's been primed, in order to fill all the little holes and voids that might be present. I like it because it sands to a marvelous feather edge and is super smooth. One disadvantage is that when filling a gap, it can shrink a little which necessitates a second coat. But it dries fairly quickly so I don't think that's a big problem. I apply it with a small strip of styrene with a flat edge cut to resemble a putty knife. I've painted enamel, lacquer, and acrylics over it with no problems at all. Wonderful stuff.

 

The putty comes in a 0.5 kg tube - one tube will last you like forever. You have to store the tube vertical, cap up, or else when you remove the cap the putty will start coming out all on its own! It's made by the Standard Coating Corporation in New Jersey, and I don't think the formula has changed since the 40s.

 

On 8/24/2016 at 08:38, SovereignHobbies said:

The combination of CMK kits and your work seems to make for a visually appealing thread :D

 

Thank you! Remember, though, it's CMR. CMK is a different company. I think they're related, but they split some time ago. It's hard to keep track of all the Czech companies, who owns who and so on, but thank God for them all. They are a godsend to us crazy modellers!

 

Cheers,

Bill

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The inert bombs used in testing should have the front half painted in a light blue, correct?

I do believe that is correct. Should make for a nice extra splash of color on the finished example that will match the stenciling nicely!

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I'm leaving on Friday for a week at the cabin in the mountains, and I'm not taking any models with me. The smartphone works there now (didn't use to) so I may stop by BM every now and then to harass someone. I probably won't get much more done on the Brick until I get back. A week at the cabin is always good for recharging your batteries. I think it's all that fresh air, drinking, hiking, fishing, drinking, cooking, drinking, boating, drinking, sitting at the campfire, drinking, etc.

Cheers,

Bill

If the Boss and I weren't off in our caravan for a week I'd have come over and brought my shotguns too..............

Have a good one Billy.

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On 8/24/2016 at 15:11, Miggers said:

If the Boss and I weren't off in our caravan for a week I'd have come over and brought my shotguns too..............

Have a good one Billy.

 

You don't need to bring any shotguns. We have plenty over here - just drop into your local Walmart and pick one out. One problem though - there's no hunting on the land where the cabin is. It's a state park, but I think the land is actually leased from the Seneca Nation and they reserve all hunting rights to themselves. Lots of good fishing though, if you like brook trout and large mouth bass.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Have a good trip Bill, sounds like the break will do you good, as you say recharge the batteries. I'm off to Sweden on Friday to recharge mine at the Malmen airshow then a ten day tour of all the Air Force museums, participate in the Gothenburg IPMS show ending in a base visit to F7 Wing and their Gripens... largemouth bass, is that like a Fender Jazz bass, probably not, mind you plenty of fishing out Gottenburg way so I might well indulge......and for goodness sake don't upset the Seneca Nation.

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On 8/24/2016 at 19:15, general melchett said:

Have a good trip Bill......and for goodness sake don't upset the Seneca Nation.

 

You got that right. They have a very long memory. :cowboy:

 

So, I spent some time today removing more parts from their casting blocks. The tyres and wheels look quite nice, but they have no flat section. Easy to add if I like. The bomb bay is a clever design with the exterior detail on one side, and the interior detail on the other. I wonder if they thought of having it actually rotate - I don't think it would have been difficult. The sway braces(?) which hold the bombs to the bomb bay are separately cast, and are nicely detailed.

 

The main landing gear doors have a thin lip around their periphery and you have to be careful when removing and sanding to shape to make sure you don't obliterate it. Here is an example, you can see the lip easily:

 

IMG_0640

 

The attachment point to the casting block was the edge opposite the hinges. Once I had the part removed and the edge sanded to shape, I flipped it over and found this:

 

IMG_0641

 

The raised area must be a remnant of the casting block - kind of odd they attached the doors that way. Oh well, the raised section needs to be removed and again I'll need to be very careful with the lip. Also, if you look at the three hinges on that door, you'll notice that they are also very thin and easy to damage. Much like the strakes on the air brakes, I think these hinges should have been cast just a wee bit thicker.

 

Removing the landing gear, which are made from a black resin, really showed how much stronger that material is. Sawing and sanding require noticeably more effort. But we won't have to worry about anything sagging - on the model that is! :shocked:

 

We had a discussion earlier about the colour of the wheel wells, landing gear, wing fold, air brake interior, etc. and the consensus opinion was to follow the CMR instructions and use BS381C 697 Light Admiralty Grey. (Some surfaces were covered with an oil-based protective wash applied by brush, especially heavy on the airbrakes. To be honest, I probably won't try to duplicate this with anything other than a normal wash. We'll see.) Since I don't have any paint specifically matched to Light Admiralty Grey, I've decided to use Gunze H417 RLM 76 Light Blue. The paint is a light blue-grey and to these tired old eyes is a dead ringer for my LAG chip. Especially if I were to slop an oil-based protective wash all over it! :tease:

 

While we're speaking about colour again, CMR have you paint the interior of the bomb bay white and the sway braces black. OK?

 

In the main wheel bays, there is a cylindrical section that appears to contain the engine. These areas are to be painted "Burnt Steel" - OK? The rest of the wheel bay is to be LAG, other than some small details.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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Have a good trip Bill, sounds like the break will do you good, as you say recharge the batteries. I'm off to Sweden on Friday to recharge mine at the Malmen airshow then a ten day tour of all the Air Force museums, participate in the Gothenburg IPMS show ending in a base visit to F7 Wing and their Gripens... largemouth bass, is that like a Fender Jazz bass, probably not, mind you plenty of fishing out Gottenburg way so I might well indulge......and for goodness sake don't upset the Seneca Nation.

Looking forward to meeting you, maybe already at Malmen (i'll be there on Sunday), but certainly in Gothenburg where I'll be one of the judges. Am very much looking forward to see the BC SIG display!

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Bill, not overly sure about the S.1's bomb bay colour though white does ring a bell, the part you mention in the main gear bay, (bottom of the engine bay runs) was a burnt steel, at least it was on the S.2 can't see why it would be any different.. Strange main gear door casting must say, break out the sanding sticks and hope for no air bubbles.

Sten, went to Malmen today, fantastic show, massive crowds and plenty of noisy Swedish heavy metal on show. See you at the Gothenburg show.....

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