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Spitfire Vb 111 Sqdn. - Airfix 1/48


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43 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

Super work on those belts Ced - that cockpit comes alive with them in it so well worth your efforts!

I agree 100% with the Baronial opinion. The cockpit looks gorgeous, Ced :clap: :worthy:

 

Ciao

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Thanks Benedikt, Ant, Roger ( too kind :blush: ), Håkan, Chris, Tony, Giorgio and Simon, really appreciated after the trials :) 

 

6 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Yep I agree, cracking 'pit Ced!

 

But I'll be sticking with wine bottle foil for my belts!

 

Keith

Thanks Keith :) Wine bottle foil eh? I may have some of that...

 

 

Before bed I couldn't resist glueing the harness cable:

 

42799988984_1e61ddaaa2_z.jpg

 

Oxygen tank:

 

29645691118_b62422b29d_z.jpg

 

… and oxygen hose:

 

43516921431_a2927ba0b7_z.jpg

 

… so that I'm ready for a final paint touch up before closing the fuselage tomorrow (trip cancelled!)

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So you did find the shelf with the ' canned patience ' it's often hidden away behind something else. Keep it handy because you'll probably need it again for the main undercarriage leg attachment!

Great job on the cockpit, the belts and hose make all the difference.

 

John

PS I've had the video for about a month, but just havn't got around to doing anything about it.

 

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Thanks John :D 

Patience was found but only in several sessions over a few days... must get a bigger can!

I've spent some time searching for posts on the leg attachment but no-one has really specified the problem... could you point me in the right direction please? Ta.

 

In the meantime I've had to decide on the canopy. Open I guess to show off the harness. Committed now:

 

42618866855_6aedf7ec14_z.jpg

 

I then got out the Touch-N-Flow but the nozzle was blocked. Rats. Looks like I put the tube away while wet and plonked it too far into the tube:

 

43476626742_dcb25eda16_z.jpg

 

See the dent in the bottom of the tube? That plastic must be up the spout. Soaking it in the cement didn't work. Then I remembered, when I bought my Contacta, the nice lady at Frome Model Centre told me I could unblock the nozzle by holding it over a flame. Old lighter out, wave wave, done! Phew.

 

Before I close up any more, some pics of the internals:

 

28636669997_3d0b9253d8_z.jpg

 

42619075395_08e0baa4b9_z.jpg

 

On with the cover as a dry fit:

 

42619138235_c522101252_z.jpg

 

Oh dear. I think the i/p might be a bit wobbly:

 

43476547682_53c17d1fc8_z.jpg

 

Locators were good I thought... ho hum. I'll get rid of that step (slowly) and report later...

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9 hours ago, CedB said:

Wine bottle foil eh? I may have some of that...

 

Luckily I have a friend who likes good stuff so have a good supply (I very rarely drink wine & when I do it's too cheap to have decent foil around the neck!) - it takes paint fairly well, cuts relatively easily & cleanly & is easy to drape nicely over the seat.

 

K

 

Edit - missed your last post when I was typing Ced & the pics of the 'pit show just how good it looks - great stuff! Top tip about de-blocking the Contacta nozzles too - I burn off the residual lump of superglue I get on my  'applicator' (ie length of brass wire!) with a lighter but had never thought to do the same with the revell glue! :thumbsup:

 

 

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25 minutes ago, keefr22 said:

Luckily I have a friend who likes good stuff so have a good supply (I very rarely drink wine & when I do it's too cheap to have decent foil around the neck!) - it takes paint fairly well, cuts relatively easily & cleanly & is easy to drape nicely over the seat.

Agreed on the wine bottle foil (except that what I have comes directly from own use ... :coolio: :rofl:)

 

Cockpit looking splendid, Ced :clap: Not sure where you get that interference from when mounting the top cover: is there a slot inside it to accommodate the IP?

 

Ciao

Edited by giemme
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33 minutes ago, CedB said:

I've spent some time searching for posts on the leg attachment but no-one has really specified the problem... could you point me in the right direction please? Ta.

Hi Ced

See link. Then look at parts, it's a really badly designed join, 

 

Basically BEFORE wing assembly, glue gear leg to lower hinge part, drill from bottom, to add pin, cut off gear leg to fit later, add drilled hinge part to wing.

Look at linked pics, and the parts and it should all make sense?

 

Pay attention to UC bits, they are handed! Again, this foxed someone here at one point...

 

Fit of fuel tank over IP, detailed again the linked thread,  I know its a long thread, but it does deal with the kits problems.

You will need to scrape the inside of the tank cover and chamfer the rear of the IP

This problem is why I linked Plastix build, forewarned is forearmed.

 

Sorry if sounding like a lecture, not helped by typing on a tablet....

 

HTH

T

 

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Thanks Keith :) Luckily I do drink wine (occasionally) and will save some foil!

 

Thanks Giorgio :) There is a slot on the i/p (see below) for the cover... trimming!

 

Thanks Troy :) Really appreciate your help... I'll have a read through Stix's build before I go much further. Didn't come up on my search this morning for some reason :( 

Too late for me on the u/c as I've glued the wings but I'll see what I can do.

 

I have started on the tank cover already removing this flash on the fuselage:

 

42620038515_c23cf7cc2e_z.jpg

 

… but so far it's sitting a bit proud:

 

28637809787_1bc702a51a_n.jpg 41716567310_9119a19ce8_n.jpg

 

… even after cleaning out the top of the i/p:

 

43525364971_ba376be512_z.jpg

 

I'll read through Stix's thread... I may be gone some time :) 

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One point, apologies if already known, the tank cover is thin armour, and should be slightly proud of surrounding panels.

 

addition

period colour shot

33941032781_27108422d6_o.jpgSAAF pilots, 1943. by Etienne du Plessis, on Flickr

 

BM957 now

 

supermarine_spitfire_vb_bm597_12_of_43.j

supermarine_spitfire_vb_bm597_10_of_43.j

 

 

You can probably fix the UC attachment, just a lot easier to do unassembled, I did mention this in my first post,  but can see how that got lost...

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On my pink PR Spitfire I joined the u/c leg components then sawed them at the bottom of the joint and drilled them to accept a piece of wire. You can then fit the upper parts to the wings and attach the lower leg ( reinforced by the wire ) after joining the wings. I hope this makes sense, my original wip seems to have disappeared and the pictures where on Photobucket.

Also as Troy said, have a look at Stix's build, you won't go far wrong.

 

John

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Thanks Troy and John, really appreciated and I'm sure helpful for future builders too :) 

 

I'm on page 7 of Stix's build and I've found the posts about the tank cover fit, sadly spoilt by the photobucket problem. Stix didn't seem to have the problem so much, perhaps due to his using the Eduard i/p. I'll have a bit more of a fettle, bearing in mind that the armour makes the cover stand proud on the sides. The V walk around shows this too although, sadly for me, not the ridge at the top.

 

I shall fettle some more :) 

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Could you thin out the inner wall of the tank cover with the Dremel Ced? I had to do something similar on the fuselage wall of the Dornier in order to get the fuel tanks fitted using a birr, but I reckon a sanding drum or something similar would work just as handily if you had one - on low speed of course...

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Thanks John and Tony :) Trimming around the i/p, cleaning out the gap in the top and cleaning up the paint on the inside of the cover seems to have done it, at least well enough for me.

Thanks fubar - glad you like the belts :) 

 

Onwards!

The plastic weld perhaps made me over-zealous on the lower nose join, or perhaps that's the cause of the gaps in others builds? The nose bottom cover (snigger) seems too wide and there are gaps at the front of the wing roots. Whatever, I've cut the join open again:

 

43484570412_9cef858760_z.jpg

 

The wing fits beautifully at the back but naturally bends away from the front so, after lots of dry fits, the back was glued and clamped:

 

28644535037_87e392c4b8_z.jpg

 

I then used my 'spreading clamp' to open the fuselage front to close the wing root gap AND make sure the lower cover fitted without ridges:

 

42815092044_be7b0b715d_z.jpg

 

Pretty happy with the joins:

 

42627593055_5ce284353b_z.jpg

 

We can have a closer look when the clamps are off.

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Thanks Thom - I looked for ages for a proper spreader but to no avail, so I knocked this one up... essential when needed! :) 

Thanks Håkan and Simon - even more together now :) 

 

 

The promised shot of the wing root fronts:

 

43486733062_97af79d7d8_z.jpg

 

Drooped elevators:

 

42817195494_e77d3fd2e2_z.jpg

 

Of course the control column should also be suitably positioned but hey ho. Rudder on and looking like a Spitfire now, for sure:

 

43536524531_1fe715fdc6_z.jpg

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