Boultbee Spitfire Tr.9 - AZ Model 1/72

[Deanflyer]

Just been pointed in the direction of this by a friend - hadn't spotted it myself.

 

I did the same as you in August (look at my avatar) but from Duxford in PV202, and like you, have decided to build a model of the airframe I flew. I currently have two Revell 1/32 Mk IX kits sitting in the stash, as I'm intending to convert one to a 2 seater - whether it will work or not remains to be seen. Scratchbuilding and vacforming the rear canopy will be the hard part, I think- along with moving the front cockpit forward as per the real thing. 

 

My airframe has the Bremont logo on it too, and my idea was to use a photo of it printed onto white decal paper, apply it to the model, roughly mask off the letters with blobs of Blu-Tak, and airbrush the camouflage colour around the edges of the decal to blend it in. If the spaces between the letters are just a slightly different colour, I really don't think it'll be noticed. That's my plan, anyway. I definitely don't think anyone will notice in 1/72!

 

As Steve says, there's nothing like building a model of an airframe you have in your logbook...

 

Good luck with it, I'll be watching.

Dean

Edited November 10, 2017 by Deanflyer

[malpaso]

Here’s the scissor links.  Needless to say they break at the knees when trying to cut either end from the sprue.  Makes removing the Airfix P-51 control column look like child’s play!  BTW this is the sprue from the Russian 2-seater, but it’s the same main sprues in all the AZ VIII/IX/XVI.

Anyway the legs now have their scissors, have been mildly adjusted to fit the wings, which also needed a slight tweak to fit.  Next time I will temporarily fit the legs to the wing inners to jig them whilst fitting to the lower wing.

Or maybe next time I’ll avoid the issue by going “in flight” and hang it from the ceiling.  After all I’ve run out of vacant shelves!

Cheers

Will

 

[CedB]

Thanks Will and John for the heads up. Luckily for me she'll be wheels up (as usual) so I can avoid that problem!

Thanks Dean and I'm glad you enjoyed your flight too - who wouldn't??!! I think I'll try the 'print the photo' idea - I really need to just get on with it.

 

Back from SMW and, perhaps not surprisingly, no one does 1/72 pilots of bearded fat blokes in flying suits. The man on the PJ Productions stand was Belgian unhelpful. Honestly, in this 'I want it now!' world don't they react to customer demands?

 

I now have no excuse for delay so I'll get the crew box out and find some likely candidates for surgery.

Oh, and thanks to @TheBaronI've downloaded and installed Inkscape. Another user interface to learn...

 

More tomorrow, hopefully.

[The Spadgent]

Hope you all had a right old larf at Telford. Any pics? 

 

Johnny.

[CedB]

Thanks Johnny. I only took one, the eyes in the back of Martian's head:

 

Eyes in the back of his head by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Great time but not enough time to catch up with everyone, sadly. Next year!

 

 

As promised I've progressed, a bit. I decided it was time to de-mask these guys:

 

 

Scratch scratch, chisel chisel. The best I can do at this scale, primed with Ratskin as usual:

 

 

Sorry Lars (the pilot). It'll look fine on the ceiling.

[perdu]

Inkscape Ced

 

You will come to love Inkscape

 

I managed to de-perspective a picture of the unit badge of the AAC unit I used for the Scout using some almost miraculous skewing tools in it

 

(Pity it had to end up so small in the model)

[TheBaron]

'Anything for the weekend sir?'

 

[perdu]

Hmm

 

Could have been my dad

 

'cept he was off Spits by the time the Mk 9 came in service

 

 

 

 

no he didn't drive them

 

But he was a hairdresser when he came out of the RAF, maybe even whilst in

 

HE could multitask 

[bbudde]

Ha, looks like you had a lot of fun there. Cheers

[The Spadgent]

Ha! That’s a great pic. Eyes everywhere.  nice work on the pilot too.

 

Johny.

[Procopius]

On 11/13/2017 at 1:59 PM, TheBaron said:

'Anything for the weekend sir?'

While Mr Stand-Fast is my favourite John Buchan novel, Greenmantle does have a killer line of the po-faced Edwardian variety near the end. 

[Biggles87]

You've been a bit quiet for a few days now Ced. You alright, or still recovering from an overdose of adrenalin a at Telford?

 

John

[perdu]

Hmm, good point, well put..

 

I wonder if the lad has begun delving into his Sunderland stash, are we getting Airfix or 'dug-out planks'?

 

 

😇

[CedB]

53 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

You've been a bit quiet for a few days now Ced. You alright, or still recovering from an overdose of adrenalin a at Telford?

 

John

10 minutes ago, perdu said:

Hmm, good point, well put..

 

I wonder if the lad has begun delving into his Sunderland stash, are we getting Airfix or 'dug-out planks'?

 

 

😇

Thanks John and Bill - I'm fine thanks and been 'reacting' to posts but I'd decided not to post here until I'd done something and progress just slipped by... also caused by meeting an old friend for lunch on Tuesday. We met in Reading and I used to work there, so after food (and wine) we sought out the pub I used to drink in at lunchtime. Remember going to the pub at lunchtime? Almost compulsory in the 80s. We sometimes had 'lock ins' too and, if the conversation was flowing, didn't manage to get back to the office. Probably just as well. I'd bought an 'off peak' ticket so wasn't sure if I could get a train late afternoon. Conversation and ale flowed and before I know it I was on the eight o'clock train home. Just like the old days. Unlike the old days the following day was mostly written off. Ah, memories... mostly a bit blurred

 

On 13/11/2017 at 19:59, TheBaron said:

'Anything for the weekend sir?'

Thanks Tony and Bill - great picture and memory from Bill. I missed the classic barber's question by some years but I do remember the 'odd' supplies in the shop... I wonder if that's why men had shorter hair 'in them days'?

 

On 14/11/2017 at 16:55, bbudde said:

Ha, looks like you had a lot of fun there. Cheers

Thanks Benedikt - it was great to see the boys and wander around the traders stands. I have to say that, like some others, I don't have much interest in finished models done by people I don't know so the club tables don't attract me much. After a few hours at the kit sellers I also get 'box blindness' and find my eyes wandering over lots of coloured boxes without taking anything in.

 

2 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Ha! That’s a great pic. Eyes everywhere.  nice work on the pilot too.

 

Johny.

Thanks Johnny - not great work on the pilot but still some more to do.

1 hour ago, Procopius said:

While Mr Stand-Fast is my favourite John Buchan novel, Greenmantle does have a killer line of the po-faced Edwardian variety near the end. 

Thanks PC. 'Killer line'? You must tell... us less literary blokes lost you at the last bend

 

 

Progress? Not much. I lost confidence in the AZ cockpit assembly (vague instructions and no locating pins) so it took me some time to think 'Oh just get on with it' and put these together:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Big deal. I'll hopefully get some more done today.

[Stew Dapple]

It's all progress, Ced, that's the ticket 

 

Cheers,

 

Stew

[keefr22]

1 hour ago, CedB said:

Remember going to the pub at lunchtime? Almost compulsory in the 80s.

 

In DVLA in the 80's, we had a Social Club, with a fully, well stocked bar, on site....!!! Only reason to go to the pub was to clean out the quiz machines!

 

1 hour ago, CedB said:

like some others, I don't have much interest in finished models done by people I don't know so the club tables don't attract me much. After a few hours at the kit sellers I also get 'box blindness' and find my eyes wandering over lots of coloured boxes without taking anything in.

 

I am SO glad it's not just me that's like that!

 

1 hour ago, CedB said:

'Killer line'? You must tell... us less literary blokes lost you at the last bend

 

 

Count me in as one lost at that bend...!

 

Good to see you making progress on the Spit Ced, I haven't even finished unpacking my stuff from the weekend yet!

 

Keiith

 

 

 

[CedB]

Thanks Stew Every little helps...

Thanks Keith Social Clubs - I remember those too! Presumably nowadays being 'social' is frowned upon. Political Correctness gone mad (again).

It was actually Stew that fed me the line on other people's models - I fully agree, of course. Most other people's models just make me envious...

 

Progress! Sort of. I want to hang this with the Harvard in the right formation so 'my head' is, er, looking the wrong way. No problem:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Some floor detailing, never to be seen again:

 

 

A first coat on the crew. I used Vallejo Model colour for the helmets; I like it, especially as it's glossy:

 

 

I'm off to get my hair cut soon. To see my lovely 'stylist' who I've been going to for years now. Gorgeous. I have pondered the need for my visits, especially when looking in the mirror at my decreasing hair, but I really enjoy our time together discussing the state of the world.

Any thoughts of 'something for the weekend' will be censored...

[noelh]

Great idea. I've often wanted to build models of actual aircraft I've flown. Sadly most are rarely modelled and unbearably dull. I seriously considered spending some of my poor late Mother's inheritance on a Spitfire flight. She would not have approved though.  I even considered getting some stick time so I could enter it in my logbook. You can actually do a full type rating course if you're a pilot. But I fancied the lower cost day where you get to fly a Chipmunk, Harvard and then a Spitfire.  But in the end it ended up in my wife's bank account. Oh well, maybe I'll get a lottery win or something one day and do the full training course.

[CedB]

It's a hard choice Noel but I have to tick off my bucket list. Just had one entry (so far)!

[Grey Beema]

Trouble is that it's one of those "once in a lifetime" trips that once you have done it - you want to do it again.  I am definitely saving for my second "once in a lifetime" trip.  

 

Combine it with a stay in the Royal Oak in East Lavant (Spitfires overhead all day), a trip to Portsmouth shopping for the wife and daughter and the fact that my son can wander around Goodwood circuit all in the same trip keeps the entire family happy...

 

Nice work on the crew but you need the model the big S..t eating grin on the guy in the back seat....

Edited November 17, 2017 by Grey Beema

[CedB]

Thanks GB - you're right, of course. I saw the first guy to fly standing by the hanger door after his flight with his head down and asked if he was OK. "Yes," he replied, quietly, "just reliving every minute. I'm going to save up for another flight next year."

You're also right that I need to try and model 'the Spitfire Smile' although, at this scale, it's going to be a challenge.

[CedB]

The crew are painted and almost complete:

 

 

Attempts to get the 'Spitfire Smile' were tricky, even with my smallest brush:

 

 

Looks more like someone foaming at the mouth, but to get a smaller brush I'd have to split hairs

 

I've also blobbed some CA on a bit of electrical wire:

 

 

I may, or may not, use that later...

[keefr22]

56 minutes ago, CedB said:

I may, or may not, use that later...

 

And I may, or may not, be able to guess what for....

 

Keith

[Cookenbacher]

Hey that's a pretty cool 'smiling Ced', especially when you consider that it's zoomed in like 10x in that image.

[giemme]

1 hour ago, Cookenbacher said:

Hey that's a pretty cool 'smiling Ced', especially when you consider that it's zoomed in like 10x in that image.

Agreed! He has that "I'm having the time of my life" kind of grin

 

Ciao