An Airfix classic - The Fairey Battle receives some TLC plus 3d printed main gear, bomb racks, and bomb doors.

[woody37]

This is a great inspiration for Airfix to announce a new kit Ian, thanks for taking one for the team 🤣

 

Looking forwards to seeing the rest of the paint on now

 

[corsaircorp]

Hello Ian,

I'm late but Happy Birthday !! Have a Blue Chimay on my behalf !!

Nice job on the Battle !! 

Sincerely.

CC

[Brandy]

Thanks for the comments everyone. It looks as though you've all been lurking waiting to pounce when I finally got back to this one!

 

As a follow on to yesterday, I spent a few hours today cutting out bits of masking tape I ended up with this

 

 

 

Although this is going to be an even numbered aircraft (P2332) having looked at available pics it looks as though it had the "B" scheme, so that's what I've gone with. It would have been much easier and quicker to do the "A" as that's what the drawings are in the Huntley book. I got around it by copying the drawings to scale, then drawing the pattern outlines on the back Masking tape was stuck on the back and cut to the shape giving me a mirror image to use.

 

 

It looks like more paint tomorrow!

 

Thanks for looking in and stay safe!

 

Ian

[Brandy]

I was right! However things didn't go quite according to plan. When I opened the bottle of Misterkit Dark Earth it was almost past it - a crust on it and VERY lumpy. I added some Tamiya thinners and attacked it with my electric stirrer, then did the same again another half a dozen times or more. Finally the paint dripped off the stirrer and I thought I'd give it a try. Saved - and as a bonus I now have almost twice as much in the bottle, that's how much thinner it took!

It came out pretty well...

 

 

 

I know, I know. You don't want to see those pics, you want to see THESE

 

 

 

 

Pretty chuffed with that, especially given the state of the paint! As per the colour notes in Ian Huntley's book the colours around the canopy were the same regardless of which pattern was used. They are: decking under the canopy Dark Earth, canopy frame Green, Pilot's windshield Dark Earth, Pilot's canopy half and half. He didn't state how it was split so I did it diagonally so the front and rear both match the adjoining framework.

 

However there were a couple of areas that needed further attention. The masking tape lifted the paint from the selotape on the right wing landing light

 

 

and on the same wing, at the trailing edge on the green bit seen in the above pic, there was a nasty blemish that I had somehow missed, both when in primer, and after the green was done. It was only visible under harsh light from one angle, but it looked horrible! Needless to say i sanded it down, masked off the brown on that wing and wrapped the rest of the aircraft in clingfilm, then resprayed those two areas. All good now!

 

Not sure if I'll do black yet or not. I may wait until the pitot is fitted, but if I add that now I'll knock it off. Then again, I may just go ahead while I have my painting head on and do it!

 

Thanks for looking in. Stay safe!

 

Ian

Edited May 24, 2020 by limeypilot

[hendie]

lovely paint job Ian

[Hamden]

 

Superb paintwork

 

  Stay safe       Roger

[Martian]

Tasty!

 

Martian 👽

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Excellent work on this and the paint looks great, too bad about the lift around the light but it does look a bit like weathering. 

[Seahawk]

On 2/27/2020 at 7:45 AM, CedB said:

For removing stuff like the 'big lump just behind the grab rail' I use the Swann Morton Fine 'chisel' blades - Paul has them here. He suggested using a pin vice or something with them but I bought the handle, of course. They're more expensive than the standard blades (less volume) but mine have lasted for ages and, I guess, can be sharpened.

With apologies to OP for derailing his thread, which of the baffling array of available handles for these did you buy?  Would you recommend it or with hindsight do you wish you'd bought a bigger/smaller one?

 

@limeypilot  That's some pretty awesome masking there: well done.  But I'm a brush painter and you can bet that if I ever did something like that (and I'm not sure I could), paint would seep under the tape and ruin the lovely vacform canopy.

[woody37]

Superb, I like the way you do your camo masking too, I have shares in Blutac 🤣

[The Spadgent]

Nice bit o’ masking that. Excellent work. 👍

 

Johnny

[keefr22]

That looks lovely Ian! Well, the paint job does, don't know if such an epithet could ever be attributed to the dear old Battle....

 

Keith

[CedB]

17 hours ago, limeypilot said:

I know, I know. You don't want to see those pics, you want to see THESE

We do, and what a treat they are! Lovely job Ian, she's looking superb  

 

 

13 hours ago, Seahawk said:

With apologies to OP for derailing his thread, which of the baffling array of available handles for these did you buy?  Would you recommend it or with hindsight do you wish you'd bought a bigger/smaller one?

I bought the 'fine handle' for the 'fine' blades  - a bit dear but worth it IMHO. More expensive as they sell fewer I guess.

For the #3 blades (used most) I have Retractaway handles, well worth it and good value.

I have a couple of #4 handles (can you guess I don't like changing blades?) but it's personal choice 'for the feel you prefer' (fnaar!)

 

Hope you don't mind the thread drift Ian.

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

Stunning; so good to see this back

[DaveyGair]

I've only just discovered this build recently after I was looking for information on the Airfix Battle which I already knew wasn't accurate. I have bought one of the early boxings, paid a canny price for it but wasn't bothered, it was the nostalgic box art that did it.

 

 

Cleanly moulded and complete I will correct the main structural points but , this is some detailing work that I definitely won't be copying! 

I will be using this thread as reference if you don't mind sir, along with the same book I have ordered as you are using.

 

About 3-4 for years ago I obtained a couple of Hi-Planes Beaufort's, a couple of years later Airfix announces one, so in a year or two be prepared for an announcement 😉

 

 

Davey.

 

[Brandy]

This really hasn't been my week! I realised too late that I had masked of windows in the rear gunner's compartment that were not on the later aircraft, so I decided to correct that. Whilst I was at it, I adjusted a small patch on the tailplane that I had masked incorrectly, and raised the demarcation line under the canopy slightly. 

 

Here's how I had masked the windows. Masking was removed and a smear of PPP was applied to eliminate the frames.

 

 

and the error on the tailplane

 

 

The interior colour was sprayed, then the brown, then.....AAAARGH! The green had gone solid and I didn't have anything similar! I searched online and found an article mentioning that Vallejo US Dark Green 893 was a perfect match for RAF Dark Green so i went online and ordered a pot from Mumzworld, a local kids, toy, and hobby store who for some reason stock a huge range of Vallejo products!

 

That arrived a couple of days ago so it was duly sprayed. Unfortunately the Misterkit green was obviously NOT an exact match, but it was very close! I masked out the brown and feathered the new colour in. It is barely noticeable and I will put it down to "field repairs"! I thought I had pics but apparently not, sorry!

 

So on to today. I decided to mask off the camo ready for the black.

 

 

If I do have to relocate I don't want the canopy masking on for months in a hot container so the plan is to get all the painting and decaling done, then finish the bomb bays and undercarriage.

 

Then on to detailing the prop.

I had already cleaned it up and added some putty to clean up the shape.

 

 

I have now added 6 tiny pieces of .015" rod to represent the hub bolts, and a piece of 2.5mm rod for the hub.

 

 

Tomorrow, when that's properly set, I'll round off the front edge of the hub slightly and add the counter weights. That should see the prop ready for paint too.

 

That's it for tonight, thanks for looking in, and stay safe!

 

Ian

[CedB]

Black on the bottom next - titter

[stevehnz]

1 hour ago, CedB said:

Black on the bottom next - titter

Surely that should rate a fnarrr, or however it be spelt.

Prop looks good Ian, has it been discussed on the thread before that the kit prop is too big in diameter? I can't remember that far back if it has, otherwise, the kit prop is too big. By how much?  Just a wee bit.   

Steve.

[Heather Kay]

6 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

By how much?  Just a wee bit

I think I scaled the kit prop at about two feet bigger in diameter. I think the real thing should be 12ft 6in.

[Brandy]

9 hours ago, CedB said:

Black on the bottom next - titter

Black bottoms follow...look away if you must!

 

7 hours ago, stevehnz said:

Surely that should rate a fnarrr, or however it be spelt.

Prop looks good Ian, has it been discussed on the thread before that the kit prop is too big in diameter? I can't remember that far back if it has, otherwise, the kit prop is too big. By how much?  Just a wee bit.   

Steve.

It was indeed too big and has been corrected. Unfortunately I didn't note by how much in my earlier post!

 

7 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

I think I scaled the kit prop at about two feet bigger in diameter. I think the real thing should be 12ft 6in.

That's it Heather, and as mentioned above, like an idiot, I didn't note how much I had to shorten it by. Plonker!

 

As mentioned in my last post. I was going to finish the prop detailing. I started by drilling the hub and adding a piece of .5mm brass rod which was then filed back. I was going to add the counter weights by sticking punched out circles of plastic sheet to PE. That was a silly idea as there is no way I can get them to look in scale.

 

 

 So the PE was done away with and I simply glued the 1.2mm discs of sheet to the hub. After a coat of black I'm pretty pleased with how it looks

(I did take a pic, but for some strange reason it won't upload!) I now try to check after every pic whether the pic I took is in the memory, and still sometimes they disappear!

 

 

Needless to say I also sprayed the rest of the underside using Misterkit RAF Night. I'm pretty pleased with the way it looks at the moment, enough variation with the airbrush passes to stop it being bland.

 

 

 

Pics were also taken of the other bits and pieces but they too have been eaten. The "other bits" included bomb bay doors. radiator door, and wheel hubs.

 

Thanks for looking in, and stay safe!

 

Ian

 

[bbudde]

That looks really splendid Ian.

[Heather Kay]

Ooh, getting exciting now the paint's on!

[hendie]

4 hours ago, limeypilot said:

Pics were also taken of the other bits and pieces but they too have been eaten. The "other bits" included bomb bay doors. radiator door, and wheel hubs.

 

you're bound to get indigestion y'know.  I'd advise having some cream crackers by the workbench to munch on - much healthier.

 

 

nice undersides gently understated. undeniably.

 

 

[Martian]

You have lovely black bottom there Ian!

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-F53ZCTiTQw

 

Martian 👽

[CedB]

Very nice work Ian, looking great