1/72 Seafire F.45

[gengriz]

Although it fills the last remaining gap in my Seafire collection http://www.gengriz.co.uk/RNPropsweb/seafire.htm , this month's kit really tested my patience. Whilst the end result is quite pleasing, this really wasn't an enjoyable build. 

 

 

This is the Czech Master Resins Seafire F.45, a kit for which I had very high expectations, but which proved to be a spectacularly difficult build. In fact it was nearly abandoned on several occasions.  My problem was that I really couldn't get the resin parts to adhere to each other, despite using different types and batches of superglue. In the end I used Araldite as a last result for some parts, which worked.  However, as a result of multiple gluing attempts, including flooding some parts with superglue, I did lose some of the detail and by the end I just wanted to finish.  The kit had a few small issues too - the separate fuselage parts were not identical sizes and the resin seemed to flake when sanded.

 

 

I was still partly bed-ridden for much of the build, which didn't help frustration levels.  Much thanks to Mrs T for going by bus into town on a search for replacement superglue mid-build!

 

 

... And here she is with last month's Seafire 46.  Once I can climb ladders again and reach their stowage boxes in the loft, I will do some shots of all 14 of my Seafire builds together!

 

 

FredT

Edited August 19, 2019 by gengriz
restoring lost pictures

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Great looking Mk.45  ... Sorry to hear of your health issues. I am glad you persevered as the finished result is worth it. The resin sounds like it wasn't mixed properly, and it had adhesion problems ?  

[gengriz]

5 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Great looking Mk.45  ... Sorry to hear of your health issues. I am glad you persevered as the finished result is worth it. The resin sounds like it wasn't mixed properly, and it had adhesion problems ?  

Possibly the case.  The only other thing I could think of is that I bought this kit way back in 2003, so perhaps it has aged in some way.  I changed the superglue for some new stuff in case it had aged, but without any difference.

 

FredT

[426]

Excellent Seafire. Looks a peach in the FAA scheme.

[cocky05d]

Hi ,don't know if you build a lot of resin kits ,but there is a product called tricky stick ,it helps superglue stick to difficult surfaces .

I have used it on rubber tank tracks with great results .

[Michael louey]

Hi Fred,

 

I think you've done a wonderful job, especially considering that you were incapacitated at the time.

 

Not sure this would have made any difference but i've heard of issues of resin not sticking and one suggestion was the quality of the superglue. I've been told that not all superglues are the same - the stuff at supermarkets has more impurities which doesn't matter most of the time but maybe in cases like yours it would. I've bought a brand called "Bob Smith" here in Australia which seems to be effective in all the tests I've put it to.

 

Cheers

 

Michael

[David H]

I tend to hear similar things about the CMK kits, but if you can get it over the finish line its hard to knock the final result. I think the 45 looks great in that paint scheme too.

 

Nice job!

 

-d-

[Mr T]

A very nice result. Sorry to hear your problems with it not sticking together. Superglue does not like 'oily' surfaces and I wonder given the issues you had with the resin itself, it does sound as if you had a dodgy kit. Resin that is near or past its shelf life can react oddly when mixed, or it could be contaminated or too much mould release agent. On my Magna resins I tend to use epoxy resins after tacking bits with superglue. Largely to deal with the weight of resins and the gaps. I have the Admiral model built up. Challenging, but I did not think it looked too bad.