Black Magic - the first of five DH 88 Comets

[Basilisk]

I decided to build "Salazar" CS-AAJ, the former "Black Magic" G-ACSP which was the first Comet built and still exists today!

                  

 

The DH 88 Comet was designed and built for the air race from London to Melbourne sponsored by the Australian millionaire MacPherson Robertson with a prize money of £ 15.000.

 

The first Comet, G-ACSP flew for the first time on 8 September 1934, just 6 weeks before the start of the race. It was marked "E.I" before receiving its final black paint.

 

The three Comets started for Melbourne on 20 October 1934 and "Black Magic" was piloted by Jim and Amy Mollison who started the race as favourite. But it had to retire at Allahabad (India) due to use of the wrong type of lubricant.

 

After the race it was acquired by the Portuguese Government and renamed "Salazar" with the registration CS-AAJ, making a number of mail flights to South America. The history in Portugal is very sketchy and "Salazar" was presumed lost.

 

But in the mid eighties however it was found languishing on a portugese farm and recovered to the UK. After passing through a number of owners Black Magic now resides in a safe and secure environment with her own workshop. G-ACSP ‘Black Magic’ is now in the process of a complete restoration to airworthy condition by the Comet Racer Project Group.

 

I am building the S.B.S. model 1/72 resin kit.

It looks to be a very nice kit with some of the best - if not THE best resin casting I have ever seen

 

A great web site to learn all about the DH 88 Comets is The Comet pages.

 

Cheers, Peter

 

 

[AndrewE]

Looks a lovely kit, rather more detail than the old Airfix kit by the looks of it. I shall enjoy watching your progress on this one.

[Dave Swindell]

Watching this one with interest Peter, I've got a stack of these to build!

 

[dieselweasel]

Can i tag along peter, looks a really nice kit, a question if i may, has the comet ever been done in a bigger scale 1/48 etc,

 

Cheers

 

Jim

[Basilisk]

Sure can Jim. There are resin kits in 1/32 and 1/48, but I am not sure about availability. Scalemate is your friend and helper.

 

Cheers, Peter

[Basilisk]

On 05/03/2017 at 5:38 PM, AndrewE said:

Looks a lovely kit, rather more detail than the old Airfix kit by the looks of it. I shall enjoy watching your progress on this one.

There is no comparison to the Airfix kit as it is loaded with attention to details.

 

21 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

Watching this one with interest Peter, I've got a stack of these to build!

 

Well, this GB is a good reason to reduce your stack

 

But as we all know, nothing is perfect and one aspect I dislike with this kit is the imitation of the fabric covering - specially on the wing.

Why oh why did they do this over the top representation of the fabric

 

Here is a picture showing how it looks on the original.

No wavy fabric whatsoever and the only raised detail are the rib tapes - otherwise dead flat !

 

Have to do something about this when building the kit.

Cheers, Peter

[Dave Swindell]

1 hour ago, Basilisk said:

 

But as we all know, nothing is perfect and one aspect I dislike with this kit is the imitation of the fabric covering - specially on the wing.

That also jumped out at me, all there should be in this scale is a faint representation of the rib tapes.

1 hour ago, Basilisk said:

Have to do something about this when building the kit.

My plan is to mask round the edge of the fabric areas and spray with filler/primer. Might take a couple of goes, but it should lessen the effect and hopefully leave the ribs subtly showing.

 

1 hour ago, Basilisk said:

Well, this GB is a good reason to reduce your stack

Or I could add them to the stack of Mosquito's for the DH group build and do all my Maintrack Project X vacforms for this one - oh, wait, I usually fail at completing just one model for a group build entry....

[Basilisk]

2 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

My plan is to mask round the edge of the fabric areas and spray with filler/primer. Might take a couple of goes, but it should lessen the effect and hopefully leave the ribs subtly showing.

 

I most likely fill the hole fabric representation to a flat surface and use some HGW rib tape after a cote of primer.

 

2 hours ago, Dave Swindell said:

... oh, wait, I usually fail at completing just one model for a group build entry....

 

I know how it goes. I was a bit over optimistic myself last year in participating in too many GBs with too many models, resulting in not ONE being finished

 

I learned my lesson and hope doing better this year.

Cheers, Peter

 

Edited March 6, 2017 by Basilisk

[Dave Swindell]

10 minutes ago, Basilisk said:

I most likely fill the hole fabric representation to a flat surface and use some HGW rip tape after a cote of primer.

Watching to see how it turns out....

[greggles.w]

Lovely subject.  I recently purchased Black Magic at 1/48 by Akatombo Works, direct from Japan.  Will follow this with interest.

[Basilisk]

It is indeed a great looking plane. I wouldn't mind doing the Comet in 1/48 scale - maybe the French Air Force example. What is the Akatombo Works kit like? I can find very little on the net about this resin kit. And did you purchase it direct from Akatombo Works?

 

Cheers, Peter

[greggles.w]

On 09/03/2017 at 10:06 PM, Basilisk said:

What is the Akatombo Works kit like? I can find very little on the net about this resin kit

 

Hi Peter, I'm away from home for a few weeks - I'll post some pictures of the contents when I get back. I had a brief look when it arrived & it is definitely a limited run kit, requiring some work, but I suspect not too much trouble for those with the skills I see on this forum!

 

On 09/03/2017 at 10:06 PM, Basilisk said:

And did you purchase it direct from Akatombo Works?

 

Yes, contact ATSUSHI KOYANAGI via [email protected]

 

I got the impression that the kit was 'cast to order'.  He's clearly an enthusiast: the box comes with reference material (hard copy & CD) including a few large glossy photos of the Grosvenor House Comet which I believe he has taken himself when on a visit to the UK.

[Basilisk]

Thanks for the information Gregg. Some pictures of the kit later would be great.

 

As we had a public holiday today, I actually got a bit done on the comet over the long weekend. Attached the engine gondolas to the wings and fitted the small resin parts and etch to the cockpit.

Then all got a coat of resin primer.

 

I am impressed about the detail contained in the cockpit floor.

Should get some paint onto the parts next.

 

Cheers, Peter

 

 

Edited March 19, 2017 by Basilisk

[gingerbob]

On 06/03/2017 at 6:25 AM, Basilisk said:

 

I was a bit over optimistic myself last year in participating in too many GBs with too many models, resulting in not ONE being finished

I learned my lesson and hope doing better this year.

 

 

Looks like time to join the next round of the KUTA Group Build!  (and I'm right there with you, though with even less to show for it)

 

I've always wanted to do the Portugal scheme on this, but hoping for something larger than 1/72!

 

bob

[AdrianMF]

That cockpit is something special! Looking forward to seeing you make this.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Basilisk]

On 13/03/2017 at 10:05 PM, gingerbob said:

I've always wanted to do the Portugal scheme on this, but hoping for something larger than 1/72!

 

bob

There are some good resin kits available in 1/48 and 1/32 scale

 

On 14/03/2017 at 0:56 AM, AdrianMF said:

That cockpit is something special! Looking forward to seeing you make this.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Yes it does look very detailed considering the scale and I myself are curious too what I will make of it.

 

As we have a bit of an Indian summer currently in Melbourne, no progress was made on this kit over the weekend as I spent my time with two aircraft in a larger scale

FMS Piper J-3 Cub with 1030mm wing Span.

 

And here in company with a Horizon Hobby Carbon Cub with 610mm wing span (They both are on the small side for RC planes).  The Cub is a nice gentle flyer, but the Carbon Cub is a handful to fly.

 

As the weather forecast for next week doesn't look too promising to fly them, I should be able to get back on track with the Comet.

 

Cheers, Peter

[TonyTiger66]

I just caught up with this Peter. A great subject.

 

You started on my birthday and on that day I was a little..busy !

 

This kit looks light years away from the Airfix and Frog kits. I always forget how small the Comet is until I actually see the parts of one of the kits mentioned above.

 

I got hold of an SBS Farman last year and can agree; their resin casting is unbelievably good. 

 

The detail for the cockpit here is amazing, good progress, she's going to be a beauty .

 

Great stuff

TonyT

[Basilisk]

Thanks Tony. The kit is indeed in a different league. But the comparison isn't really fair as the Airfix and Frog kits are from the infant time of plastic models.

 

Painted the cockpit black.

Brushed some white glue onto the trim wheel to give a bit of depth.

 

I then found out that the interior was most likely in natural timber and not black. So I came up with my own version of this

 

This was the first time I attempted to create a wood effect with oil paint.

Looks ok. I will ad some translucent orange over it which I think will improve the colour of the wood.

 

The instrument panel was next.

I had problems in the past with the white paint not sticking well on the surface of the clear film.

 

This time I used white Stynylrez primer and no problem coming loose this time

I used gloss varnish to represent the instrument glass. Unfortunately the dials don't show too well on the picture as the light reflected in the gloss varnish.

 

Should be able to finish the cockpit next week.

 

Cheers, Peter

[TonyTiger66]

That's a nice wood effect achieved with the oils Peter. The I/p looks very neat with the white Stinylrez, easy to forget how small the dials are when we view on monitors and tablets.

 

All the best

TonyT

[Colin W]

Wood effect looks great Peter.   Infact the whole interior is looking good. I believe its actually better detailed than Heritages 1/48 kit although thats quite old now.

 

Colin

 

[Basilisk]

On 26/03/2017 at 1:04 AM, TonyTiger66 said:

That's a nice wood effect achieved with the oils Peter. The I/p looks very neat with the white Stinylrez, easy to forget how small the dials are when we view on monitors and tablets.

 

All the best

TonyT

Thanks Tony. Yes the IP is indeed tiny compared to the picture.

 

On 27/03/2017 at 1:25 AM, Colin W said:

Wood effect looks great Peter.   Infact the whole interior is looking good. I believe its actually better detailed than Heritages 1/48 kit although thats quite old now.

 

Colin

 

Thanks Colin. I was surprised myself how well the wood effect turned out. And the detail in the casting on this kit is stunning.

 

The two compasses needed a dial so I used a punch with some dial decals.

 

Airbrushing some clear orange over the wooden parts did enhance the look of the timber panels nicely.

Here the cockpit base in detail.

And this arrived this week

 

Always like to learn more about the aircraft I build.

 

The fuselage is now ready to be closed.

Cheers, Peter

 

 

[Basilisk]

Only managed to progress on the Comet this week as I am finding it a very enjoyable build.

 

Got the fuselage together. It was a but tricky, but at the end it all fitted well.

Used some CA / talcum powder mix to fill the gaps.

 

This stuff sands really nicely.

The wings needed a bit of attention where the engine enclosures joined as there was a small gap.

 

I always follow up with Surfacer 500 just to make sure that all is smooth.

I also used Surfacer 500 to eliminate the fabric representation which is dead flat in real.

 

After the final sanding some panel lines needed to be re-scribed.

I found the new Tamiya masking tape for curvatures worked well as a guide for the scriber.

 

All done.

Fuselage and wings are now ready to be joined - a task for next week.

 

Cheers, Peter

 

Edited April 8, 2017 by Basilisk

[dieselweasel]

Peter, great progress, quick question, when you use CA/Talcumpowder, do you add the powder to the glue before you put on the model, or do you put the glue on the fuselage then add the powder, sorry if its a stupid question, would like to try it out some time on my DH88.

ATB 

Jim

[Basilisk]

2 hours ago, dieselweasel said:

Peter, great progress, quick question, when you use CA/Talcumpowder, do you add the powder to the glue before you put on the model, or do you put the glue on the fuselage then add the powder, sorry if its a stupid question, would like to try it out some time on my DH88.

ATB 

Jim

 

Thanks Jim. There are no stupid questions - only stupid answers.   People do it both ways. I make a mixture first so that I can control the consistency. Here a picture from a previous build.

As you can see, I mix just a small quantity for the amount I intend to use. This is the only filler which works in re-building trailing edges and stay in place!

 

You can also alter the hardness of the filler. The more talcum powder you add the softer (and easier to sand) it becomes. I use a softer mixture on resin kits as the resin is not as hard as plastic. If the filler is harder than the surface it is applied to, you tend to sand off more of the stuff around it which isn't ideal.

 

I let it normally dry over night and do the sanding the next day. But with medium CA, it is dry in an hour or two and you can use it for about 15 minutes. If you use thin CA, it dries faster bat the using time is also much shorter.

 

Just experiment first on a scrap part with different mixtures proportion to see what is working best.

Cheers, Peter

 

[Basilisk]

I made some progress and the wings are on.

 

Followed by more filling and rescribing.

 

The landing flaps needed a fair amount of reworking as well.

 

Next was the tailplane and fin and tatah, we have finally a model looking like a DH 88

And what an attractive looking plane it is.

 

I always complain about thick trailing edges on models - not here!

 

It is actually rather fragile and I hope I don't damage it when handling the model.

 

A few small parts still need to be added before the Model is ready for the primer coat.

 

Cheers, Peter

 

 

Edited April 17, 2017 by Basilisk