Pete in Lincs Posted May 20, 2017 Share Posted May 20, 2017 Once upon a time in the sixties, for five Lyons Maid? ice lolly wrappers and a postal order for 10/6d you could receive a model kit of the then TV wonder, Fireball XL5. (Apparently moulded by Airfix). Now that was a fair amount of money back then, and I for one lusted after this thing but it was not to be. Fast forward about fifty years to a couple of months ago and the local car boot sale. Oh look, a box of old model kits, Oh golly (or something similar) stay cool, it's a Fireball! One pound fifty later, I walked away trying not to grin in a stupid fashion! The nose cone, (Fireball junior) was missing, but hey, it's a start, I'll scratchbuild one. I mentioned my find on here and was contacted by a BM regular who normally scratchbuilds large scale cars. He too had always wanted one and mentioned using resin.I ended up sending my find to him and he did the deed. I recently got my kit back, plus a resin copy and another resin Fireball junior. Here is what he describes as a 'garage kit' and it looks like it will be a challenge in places but I will give it my best and we'll see what emerges. Not shown above are the resin fins for 'junior'. You can see a metal washer and small magnet so 'junior' can go off on it's own. Here's what I got at the boot sale. It was painted & assembled but had to be stripped down for copying. So this too will be on the build desk and I will end up with two of these beauties! I have some original Airfix aircraft stands which I will be using for them both. The resin copies are available on the bay and I've not mentioned any names above in case there are any issues with copyright etc, but BM regulars should be able to work out who it is. This will be a slow motion build as life is interfering with the model desk for the next month or so at least, but I will do what I can, and post whenever I get the chance. In the meantime maybe someone else will be overcome with lust for one and will purchase & build one faster than I can! Pete 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 21, 2017 Author Share Posted May 21, 2017 I managed to get an hours or so today at the desk. I thought I'd start with what I know, so I've started to rebuild the original kit. It's years since I worked with resin. Having said that, the painted wingtip pod in the picture above has a damaged rear edge so I've been given a replacement one in resin. I had to trim and sand it a bit and found it to be very simple to work with. So I'm now looking forward to tackling the new resin kit. My original kit now has a complete fuselage and the fin is fitted. I found the diameter of the rear section was smaller than the forward section so I shimmed it with a sheet of plastic card. I used filler on the joints and filled in the side windows. I did a trail fit of the rocket section to the rear of the fuselage and found that it will need some work. Look at the pic of the kit above & you will see the main rocket exhaust with smaller ones around the outside. These should match up to the cone shapes on the rear fuselage but they are slightly out of synch. The cones will need a bit of filler to match them to the tail piece/exhaust. This problem obviously carries over to the resin copy but shouldn't be difficult to correct. I did a mockup fit of Junior and found the fuselage length to be almost spot on 12 inches. Main fuselage diameter is 1 1/4 inches. Thanks for looking in. Pete BTW, linky thing - http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fireball-XL5-resin-garage-kit-Gerry-Anderson-/182561279825?hash=item2a81800f51:g:rp8AAOSwc49Y7qTM 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted May 21, 2017 Share Posted May 21, 2017 I love Gerry Anderson series and subjects. What a find!!! Really looking forward to seeing this progress Pete, great stuff Best regards TonyT PS: the GBP £ Ozzie $ exchange rate will sadly prevent me from getting a resin one. The raw materials for resin are costly, so the garage kit is very reasonably priced. I'll just have to be happy to watch, with envy ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 Tony, you'll just have to move over here. I had a PM asking what was happening. The answer is, not a lot, as Eric Morecambe used to say. Twelve hour plus working days don't really help, yet I had two days off but spent those decorating and doing family stuff. I managed to get ten minutes or so yesterday and after giving it a once over decided to add more filler to the fuselage joint and to the fuselage/rocket section joint. It now looks to me like I needed to add a touch more to the rear fuselage diameter to make the rocket section joint better, and we're only really talking about half a millimeter here. Live and learn, Better to make errors here than on the resin one. I think the old, brittle plastic lost a bit of substance when being taken apart & smoothed down. Plus I smoothed the joint again. Ah well, it will be alright in the long run, and it will be a long run, I might get time today to go and get the materials for the mancave, but who can tell? I could do with a clone! Or at least a month off work. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 And, having said all that, and after I'd mowed the lawns, I managed to get an hour or so to fettle Fireball. (Sounds rude?) I used thin superglue to fit the 'wings' and the rocket pods, then added filler to the joints. They were a bit rough having been glued back in the sixties and dismantled a couple of months ago. Above you can see an original rocket pod, you can't see the damage to the back of it, hence, it's been replaced by a resin pod. The Humbrol tin adds scale and the Airfix stand dates from the seventies. The resin at the back is the fins for Junior. A close up of the main engine moulding. I mentioned a fit problem but a touch of filler and some rubbing down and it all seems to look okay. The primer coat will reveal all! And, here we are in flight (ish). Now I find out that having a resin pod on only one 'wing' adds a balance problem! That Airfix stand can't go on the centerline though because of the sheet of plasticard I used as a spacer in the rear section, so the idea is to fit it to one side of the centerline to balance the RH bank. It might work, it might not. It was around about here that I found that Junior is not quite the same diameter as the forward fuselage. Fragments of a millimeter, but it wouldn't do. Is this resin shrinkage in action? The forward fuselage is tapered anyway and has thick walls, so I just sanded the bejesus out of it until I was happy. The transparent bits are just in place above to add the thrill factor. And that is where we will leave things for today. Back soon (I hope) 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzn20 Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 15 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said: I could do with a clone! Get "THE MAN" to mould a Garage resin kit of Pete in Lincs......! Great find, great story, great bit of work from "the man" too . Bet you couldn't wait to get away from that car boot seller's pitch with that in your hand and happier that a happy thing ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 1 minute ago, bzn20 said: happier that a happy thing Even happier than that! I got a box of old built 1/35th military stuff today for two quid. Now all dismantled to use as greeblies in future sci fi builds. 4 minutes ago, bzn20 said: resin kit of Pete in Lincs But there's resin shrinkage to consider! Cheers and thanks for looking. Pete 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard E Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 42 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said: I managed to get an hour or so to fettle Fireball. (Sounds rude?) No - it sounds more like the latest offering from my local real ale Micro Brewery. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 28, 2017 Author Share Posted May 28, 2017 Well, I've seen some great names on real ale so I wouldn't be surprised. My favourite is Tactical Nuclear Penguin. It's about forty quid a bottle though! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spaddad Posted May 28, 2017 Share Posted May 28, 2017 Hell of a find mate, one of the kids in my street had one of those, my jealousy knows no bounds, didn't have one then, don't have one now. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 Bugger I missed this up to now and they've all been sold Will be watching from now onwards... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted June 2, 2017 Author Share Posted June 2, 2017 Thanks for all the nice comments, guys. I don't know if 'the man' could be persuaded to do some more copies? There seems to be a good demand for them, though I understand the moulds get tired after a while? I hope I'll get a bit of time this weekend for more fettling. Cheers Pete BTW, Kallisti, I can't help but wonder how you would weather one of these. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gremlin56 Posted June 2, 2017 Share Posted June 2, 2017 OMG, the holy grail of wanna have kits.I have lusted after this model since I was a kid, hope the "man" decides to up his production line. Have fun building it Pete, looks bloody gorgeous BTW fettling the Fireball does sound like an ambitious Kama Sutra position that would probably lead to serious spine injuries 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I was lucky to have one of the original Kitmaster/Airfix releases, sadly long gone. I'm glad I managed to grab the last one, (and I did have some input into the final item). What I couldn't understand was 30 people were 'watching' it. It was the last one left out of a run of 3 after Pete's and 'the Man's' copies, it was BIN and still they didn't snap it up. Oh well, you snooze, you lose. Anyone else wanting one would do well to ask 'the Man' directly, as these will not be widely available, and any future production will be small. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Hi Pete in Lincs Now this is the kind of kit that I love - plenty of skill required and a challenge - good luck with your build - what a treat for the forum John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 There is an original Kitmaster on ebay. It's built, complete with stand, and looks good. 'Buy it now' for £1,000.00 Pete, you got a bargain. http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/FIREBALL-XL5-EXTREMLEY-RARE-FIREBALL-XL5-MODEL-KIT-MADE-BY-KITMASTERS-IN-1963-/192116302864?hash=item2cbb062410:g:7LYAAOSw32lYtdVh 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bzn20 Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Buy it now/ make an offer. Wonder what his "trigger" is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 Don't know. There is a Comet Miniatures vacform there as well. About £25 at the moment, but it's auction. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 I did get a bargain didn't I? I built a smaller resin version of XL5 for a mate while I was in Saudi. I can't remember the make though. It came with a section of the launch rail, so I made a mini diorama with it, including a close(ish) version of the control tower I didn't get anything done to it at the weekend. I was busy doing the mancave. Battening and insulation is up on three walls. needs boarding out now. Fireball needs filler rubbing down on the joints and junior needs fins. Then off to paint I think. May have to rethink the stand though, too heavy. Thanks for the interest and comments, guys. Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bentwaters81tfw Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 6 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said: I did get a bargain didn't I? I built a smaller resin version of XL5 for a mate while I was in Saudi. I can't remember the make though. It came with a section of the launch rail, so I made a mini diorama with it, including a close(ish) version of the control tower I didn't get anything done to it at the weekend. I was busy doing the mancave. Battening and insulation is up on three walls. needs boarding out now. Fireball needs filler rubbing down on the joints and junior needs fins. Then off to paint I think. May have to rethink the stand though, too heavy. Thanks for the interest and comments, guys. Pete http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/ROBERT-HARROP-FIREBALL-XL5-ROCKET-FX01-MINT-IN-BOX-/222510841239?hash=item33ceadfd97:g:WdYAAOSwTuJYtGID 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 Looks nice. Outside my price bracket! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 8 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said: I did get a bargain didn't I? I built a smaller resin version of XL5 for a mate while I was in Saudi. I can't remember the make though. It came with a section of the launch rail, so I made a mini diorama with it, including a close(ish) version of the control tower That'll be the Comet Miniatures kit http://fantastic-plastic.com/FireballXL-5-Comet.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted June 6, 2017 Author Share Posted June 6, 2017 That will be the one. My mate paid for it, I just got the fun of the build plus about 15 quid for 'expenses'. We were both happy. Not sure if I still have any pictures anywhere. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichO Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 I just found this Pete,...Now I can't get the end theme music out of my head.."I'd love to be a fireball...Keep up the great job here. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brian Posted June 6, 2017 Share Posted June 6, 2017 All together now Oh I wish I were a spaceman The fastest guy alive I'd fly you round the universe In Fireball XL-5. . . . . (next verse, over to you) 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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