S5 modeller Posted May 19, 2018 Author Share Posted May 19, 2018 Hi chaps. It's been a while since I updated my build, not had much time to work on it. Only a small update today. Managed to get the airscale decals on the instrument panel. May not look like much, but a godd few hours were spent chasing those little dial faces around with a paint brush. They're still drying in the photo, but will be adding more decal softener later. Hope to get the snuggled down nicely, then a drop of klear in each, to try and simulate glass. Also made a start on the fabric seat belts, but not much to show for them yet. Matt 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted May 19, 2018 Share Posted May 19, 2018 Looks promising Matt, I'd hope those IP decals are easier in 1/32 than they are in 1/48. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted May 20, 2018 Author Share Posted May 20, 2018 Thanks Robert. The decals behaved impeccably, although a little small and fiddly even in 32nd scale. They're currently sitting under another application of micro sol/set. On another note, I'm struggling with the seat belts. The straps all seem too wide for the photoetch buckles. Thinking of giving them up as a bad job, as I've already ripped one of the straps. Might look for some eduard etch belts instead. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted May 22, 2018 Author Share Posted May 22, 2018 Right time for an update. Hmmmm. seems to me I appear to be avoiding certain jobs here, so decided to bite the bullet. Got the Cockpit tub assembled, as this is one of those jobs. It's awfully dark in there. I cut out the molded in bar on the rear wall, as I want to loop the harnesses round it. I used a section of cut down sewing needle to replace it. Stuck this section onto the bottom of the tub, wasn't sure what it was at first, but it turns out it's the top of the nose wheel leg! This section will get painted when the wheel wells get painted. Here's how it all fits in the fuselage, including the kit supplied nose weight. Nice and neat. General fit looks nice, and the gaps close up with a slight application of pressure, not much is needed. Overall the fit of the tub is rather nice. Might have to do something with the section below where the rear canopy fits, as it's rather bare. I'm sure there should be some detail there. Started looking at the gun sight too. This is the kit part. It's not badly molded, but I wonder what the makers were thinking when they made the clear section in opaque styrene. It's smacks of cheapness and a lack of thought. This is the much nicer, albeit smaller, resin replacement. There is a nice and fine support frame in PE to add, and 2 clear acetate screens to add. Right I'm off to see if the paint has dried on the control column, so I can fit it into the tub. Matt 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 Hello again. Not had much bench time recently. Managed to sneak an hour earlier, so decided to do the last job preventing me from closing up the fuselage. I have decided to replace the kit guns with some aluminum tube. What they supply in the kit is 4 solid rods of styrene and they look nothing like gun barrels. Yet again for a kit in this scale and prince range it's rather unacceptable. I cut 4 sections of aluminum tube and glued them into the cannon ports. Reinforced the rear with some extra super glue. Whilst doing a dry fit of the Cockpit tub and nose weight, to ensure the tubes wouldn't interfere with the fit, I noticed the underside of the fuselage halves might present a problem when gluing. They don't align very well and would result in a step when glued up. To try and help I cut and glued a couple of tabs from plasticard into one half. I'm hoping that a better join will be made when I close it up. Matt 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted May 29, 2018 Author Share Posted May 29, 2018 I've started the delicate procedure of closing up the fuselage. Rather nervous at this stage, hope to have some pics later. Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 Morning all. As promised I started the delicate task of closing up the fuselage. So far I've only glued the nose, up to the rear of the Cockpit. A word of warning to anyone foolish enough to spend mucho lucre on this kit, the supplied nose weight is a godsend but needs some fettling to get it to fit. I had to file a fair bit off of it, as it was preventing the nose closing up completely. This is the best I could get it shut, not bad, but a small gap is present along the top of the nose. The bottom of the tub/nose wheel bay fits beautifully. Minimal gappage here. Also the top of the nose wheel strut is located nicely in two sockets. Bit of a relief as it felt a bit flimsy when just glued to the front of the Cockpit tub. I added another plasticard tab behind the Cockpit to help the vertical alignment of the fuselage, as without it a difficult step might be created otherwise. That's as far as I've got, for now, want to make sure it's all set solid, so it doesn't spring open when gluing the rest of the fuselage. Matt 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted May 30, 2018 Share Posted May 30, 2018 Looking good dude, hope you can close the rest of the fuse without any fuss. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted May 30, 2018 Author Share Posted May 30, 2018 11 minutes ago, Hockeyboy76 said: Looking good dude, hope you can close the rest of the fuse without any fuss. Thanks Hockeyboy76. The tentative squeezings I've been giving it bodes well for the rest of the joins. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted June 2, 2018 Author Share Posted June 2, 2018 (edited) Afternoon viewers. Major update! Pushing this build along now. Managed to get the fuselage glued up. Managed to get the top of the fuselage joined without any major issues. Remembered, just, to slot the rudder in before gluing the tail section. Needed to go in as it has a pivot that passes vertically through the tail. Didn't have so much luck on the bottom. Try as I might I couldn't prevent this step. It's only on the rear end, and closer to the wing attachment points it's flat. Started looking seriously at the wings, whilst the fuselage is setting. Above is the wing spar as it passes through the engine nacelle. I've ground and filed the intake tube so it fits around the spar. Got the front pushed on as it's a nice tight fit. This is how it's all going to fit together. Despite my measurements the tube is slightly long. Will reduce the length on the lathe at work next week. Just got to grind the tube for the other side now. I can see an end in sight now. Matt Edited June 2, 2018 by S5 modeller 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 This looks promising Matt, even with the problems at the rear end 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted June 4, 2018 Author Share Posted June 4, 2018 Thanks Robert. I don't think the rear problem is too bad, going to remove some of the material from the high side, and add some filler to the low side. Luckily it's in a fairly inconspicuous place, should be able to hide it pretty well. Matt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 Hi chaps. Done a bit more work here, need to push on or I'll run out of time. Got the front engine faces fitted along with the visible section of the wing spar. I painted the spar with AK extreme metal paste aluminum. Had to do this now, as I couldn't think of an easier way to paint it after the wings are closed up. If I tried to airbrush it later, with the inner trunking, I would end up with overspray on the engine face. Need to drop what I presume is the lower airbrake into the wings before gluing the tops on. Hoped to have them deployed, but thanks to the manufacturer I think it is going to be impossible. Nice place to stick half a dozen ejector pins! The opposite location on the upper wing half is no better. Closed I think, shame though, as it means closing the upper airbrakes in the top of the wing too. Here's where I'm up to now. Both upper wings are glued on and taped until thoroughly set. I've not glued the sides of the nacelles yet, as I could not align them at the same time as the rest of the wings. So far I've only glued the fuselage to the wings at the front, just aft of the nose well. The join here is pretty good, with a minimal step, the shadow makes it look worse than it is. Just got to glue the rear, with it's weird key like shape, and along the sides of the fuselage. The wing root join looks like it might give a bit of a problem as there is a sizeable gap along the fuselage, but it closes up with a bit of pressure. Just got to try and avoid any dihedral on the wings. Hope you like my amateur progress on this rather large bird. Matt 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Great progress Matt - those ejector marks look like a nightmare though - WTF were they thinking of. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted June 17, 2018 Author Share Posted June 17, 2018 I know, it's the most stupid place ever to put them. It's not like it's a big piece that needs a lot of help to get it out of the mold. A couple would have sufficed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted June 17, 2018 Share Posted June 17, 2018 Splendid job so far matt, i have this kit and I've seen some fantastic examples built and painted, i didn't realise that it was so much more involving though, good job so far. Glynn 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted June 18, 2018 Author Share Posted June 18, 2018 Thanks Glynn. It is a fairly involved build, but with some poorly thought out mold issues. Also the lack of engine detail and intake tubes is odd, especially at the price point of this kit. It's almost like it was rushed, and designed with aftermarket parts in mind. There are some lovely engines available for this kit, but the price of them would double the cost of the kit, and that's if you only want 1 engine! I've glued the rear of the wing assembly to the fuselage... This is the rather strange arrangement at the rear. Don't know why they did it like this, seems over complicated to me. This is the resulting gaps left along the wing root join. They do close up when pressed though so shouldn't be too bad. I have looked over some other builds on the net, and people have avoided the gaps by gluing the upper wings to the fuselage first, then gluing the assembly to the lower wing. I didn't attempt this, as I was worried about aligning the wing halves after. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Good progress Matt,keep it up! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabbit Leader Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 Apologies S5, I have been taking quick peaks but failing to comment. She’s looking the goods now that it’s all taking shape. Nice progress and great informative thread. Cheers.. Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BIG X Posted June 18, 2018 Share Posted June 18, 2018 10 hours ago, stevej60 said: Good progress Matt,keep it up! 7 minutes ago, Rabbit Leader said: Nice progress and great informative thread. ditto the comments above - looking the business. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted June 19, 2018 Author Share Posted June 19, 2018 Thank you Dave and bigx. I too peek in on people's threads but don't comment much. To be honest I don't think I have that much knowledge on the subjects to comment. I'm trying my best to keep it informative, as best as I can, and point out any issues I come across. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 (edited) How do chaps. It's been a while since I did any modeling, and this was my last kit I worked on. It's been languishing on my bench, getting a nice thick coat of dust. I'm trying to get back to building again, so asked @Mike to kindly move it from the completed raf group build, to here. I'm hoping it will encourage me to start working on it again. Matt Edit: wow didn't realise how long it's been since I sat down at the bench! Edited January 15, 2019 by S5 modeller Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 7 minutes ago, S5 modeller said: wow didn't realise how long it's been since I sat down at the bench! It's depressing when that happens, isn't it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
S5 modeller Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 8 minutes ago, Mike said: It's depressing when that happens, isn't it? It is Mike, amazing how quickly time flies by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hope you get your mojo back Matt. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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