Bangle's 1:72 SBS model DH.88 Comet

[bangle]

It's been a very long time since I posted on here, my last model being my BR86 loco. Unfortunately that has gradually ground to a halt, i've been busy letting life get in the way of model making so here I am. It's been at least 2 years since I actually completed a model so I decided I need to pick something nice and simple to get back into it. This particular model is yet another result of spending too much time in the Hannants tent at an airshow. I'm not usually a fan of resin kits, but this one just caught my attention being rather more sophisticated than the resin kits of old. Well I have to say it's a beautiful kit, and of course within about half an hour I managed to slice my finger with a fresh blade whilst cutting a piece off the casting block (I never seem to learn to use a saw and I always cut myself pretty well at least once when dealing with resin).

 

 

This is the kind of kit that makes my fingers seem like huge clumsy blobs despite the fact that they're smaller than average, this little seat being a great example. That said, I seem to be able to get on somehow and haven't crushed anything yet! I'm pretty impressed with how the pieces fit together once they're off the casting blocks, they really do need very little, if any adjustment to fit perfectly which is a bonus.

 

 

I've just finished detailing up the cockpit ready to go together, I decided to go more dark grey than black as it's only tiny and I actually want something of the cockpit to be seen, it being pretty much mostly black!

 

[Crossofiron1971]

Great start!

[greggles.w]

Off & running!

 

I'll be following, have always thought this such a sleek & shapely machine.  I have a 1/48 on my wishlist ...

[bangle]

Thanks! I'd agree it is a rather attractive looking plane. It may be the obvious choice but i'm going for the red scheme.

[Fastcat]

Great start on one of my favourite aircraft.

It's a lovely little kit and a huge step upwards from the old Frog and Airfix kits.

Doing the cockpit in a lighter shade is a good idea in this scale, black is too stark for anything other than adding a little depth. I'm sure others will disagree however...........................

Looking forward to seeing the finished model.

 

Dave

[Madhatter]

It's great to see you back Amanda, and with quite a cool subject to boot

 

I hope that one day you'll muster up the mojo to finish off the '86 - that really is a master piece worth finishing (when your ready)

Si

Edited December 8, 2016 by Madhatter

[Caerbannog]

Nice to see you back here Amanda - I liked the work you did on the BR86 a lot - very impressive job.

 

Regarding the cockpit colour Dave is correct. Someone will give his 2 cents on this. There is a topic on the interior colour but no real conclusion so far:

There are some links in this topic which might be helpful in adding to the confusion :-)

 

I will resurrect my Heritage Aviation DH88 in the DH GB next year - so any input on the colours will be helpful ;-)

 

René

[Der Lingener]

Dear Amanda,

 

you made my day!
I was sneaking around this kit for some months now and couldn´t decide whether to buy it or not.
Your build helped me a lot in decision-making: I definitely will get my hands on at least two S.B.S.-kits ...

Thank you for helping and keep building ...

 

Michael

By the way: The typewriter in the rear cockpit (see link above in Caernbannog´s post) would make for a cool and very intersting little vignette. I´ll keep searching for 72nd or even 87th typewriters ...

 

Edited December 8, 2016 by Der Lingener

[bangle]

The SBS kits really are great, the precision on these is quite impressive. Everything fits pretty much first time, though I did make the mistake of trying to glue the bottom and sides at the same time which means I have some gaps to fill on mine. Definitely more user error on that one though than kit as when I tested it there weren't any gaps on the fuselage halves. There were some on the floor piece but nothing too drastic.

 

I found some photos of the cockpit in its current form on someones walk-around pictures from 2005 so I used those. I don't mind going for the modern rather than period look on this one. I'd say they're a model maker by the photos they took so plenty of information to go on. Here's the link

http://digitalaviationart.com/skyraider3d/photos/walkarounds/dh88.htm#09

 

Also i'm pleased you all remember the 86, it is still around and I do intend to get back on it once i've built up a bit of model making momentum again!

[bangle]

So my fuselage is all together, the tail piece needed a bit of filling but it's not too bad when you can use super glue as a filler material, it being so small! Anyhow, here's some pictures, i'm still kicking myself about that underside. I could have done so much better had I taken more time! Of course the knock on effect is I spent more effort sanding and I managed to round off my wing root on one side so I just created myself some more work!

 

 

 

[Alpha Delta 210]

Hi Bangle. I really look forward to seeing your build progress. I note that you will be finishing your model as "Grosvenor House", so you might be interested in seeing some pictures that I took of her in 2014 at Old Warden. I hope that they are of use to you.

 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234968762-de-havilland-dh88-comet-grosvenor-house/

[StephenCJ]

Nice set of photos you have Alpha Delta 210

 

[Tomoshenko]

Nice progress. I have this kit in the stash (Australia silver scheme) so watching with interest.

[Pete in Lincs]

Welcome back from me too.

Nice start on the Comet.

I remember all the detail on the

BR86 and I too would like to see

more of it. Please!

[bangle]

7 hours ago, Alpha Delta 210 said:

Hi Bangle. I really look forward to seeing your build progress. I note that you will be finishing your model as "Grosvenor House", so you might be interested in seeing some pictures that I took of her in 2014 at Old Warden. I hope that they are of use to you.

 

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234968762-de-havilland-dh88-comet-grosvenor-house/

Thanks for letting me know! Those are some excellent photos you've taken there! I'll certainly be using them as a reference. Your underside photo makes me want to work on maybe reducing the width of the panel lines on the bottom. It also helps to know the rudder would be better blended, among other things. Looking at the pictures the propeller blades look like they're black on the pilot's side is this right?

[Alpha Delta 210]

Hi Bangle. I'm pleased that my pictures will be of use to you. Having looked at my pictures and others on the web, I am reasonably confident that the back of both propellers are black. I look forward to seeing the next instalment. 

[Caerbannog]

Nice progress Bangle

 

[bentwaters81tfw]

Good to see you back Amanda. I just know this will be an exceptional build.

[bangle]

Thanks! It's update time again. I've been busy with the super glue as filler again. The wings and the tail are now very much firmly attached. I love the shape of the wings on this plane, they almost seem glider like. I had to do some filling but it wasn't all that arduous, although I will be going along and putting the panel lines back in along the wing roots. I think I might fill the lines on the underside and scribe them thinner than the originals too. The nice thing about the super glue is it's clear so I can see exactly where the lines were!

 

[bangle]

I got some of my least favorite jobs done yesterday. I scribed the underside, which i'm quite relieved actually worked ok as my scribing skills are highly variable. Thankfully I now actually own a scribing tool that works so that probably helps. I also got my canopy off it's casting block, and i'm quite relieved to say I didn't break it! It looks lovely and clear and shiny now it's had a wash. I test fitted it on the model and i'm pleased to say it fits extremely well and is displays the interior very clearly which I really like.

 

[Alpha Delta 210]

Great progress, Bangle. The Comet is such a beautiful aircraft. Looking forward to seeing the next update.

[Col.]

Great progress on this one. It looks to be a good kit and your skill is bringing out the best of it.

[dieselweasel]

Good to have you back Amanda, the comet is looking in great shape, looking forward to the next installment.

Keep up the great work

ATB

Jim

[bangle]

Thanks for the encouragement, I really appreciate it! Despite the fact that I know it's going to be a massive pain to mask I decided I really needed to blend in the glass on the nose with the rest of the fuselage as on the real thing it is very much an almost seamless transition. I also pre-painted a ring of black underneath before I glued on the part so it has a black rim inside like the real thing. It's going to be subtle but viewable (I hope!) I also added the tailplane, the undercarriage bits (whatever they're called) the canopy and the pitot. O ha and of course the tail skid, which i'd say if I had to pick the only part that doesn't really fit very well, this is it. I ended up fitting it then cutting it down to a shape that looks kind of right. I suspect it would have been a better idea to test fit it more and cut it down a bit before I glued it on as the main issue seemed to be that it had extra material that made it step rather than curve onto the fuselage. Thankfully though my new friend supeer glue helped me out and all is well again! Up next is some masking, then i'm hopefully on to paint!

[Alpha Delta 210]

Hi bangle. I have just returned from Old Warden and can confirm that the back of each propeller is black. I took as many pictures of Grosvenor House as I could in the circumstances (she was very tightly packed in the hangar!) If you are interested, I will post them. Keep up the good work!