Stillnautical, a foxy lady the Sea Vixen in the fitting out shop

[Fastcat]

Quote

Selling bikes at Vale-Onslow and opening huge packing crates and building up Japanese bikes in the showroom whilst trying to sell Triumphs/Beezer and AMC dinosaurs to older guys and YDS2s to the 250 brigade

 

When was this Bill? Whilst not wanting you to reveal any sensitive details or hi-jack your thread, I spent many a happy hour (as well as pounds) in Len's emporium.

I had and rebuilt at various times, an early Triumph Tiger Cub (awful! In bits more often than it was ridden), an Ajay 250 and a Norton Domi 600SS.

 

Dave

 

Edited August 30, 2018 by Fastcat
Too old to remember.

[perdu]

15 minutes ago, Fastcat said:

When was this Bill? Whilst not wanting you to reveal any sensitive details or hi-jack your thread, I spent many a happy hour (as well as pounds) in Len's emporium.

I had and rebuilt at various times, an early Triumph Tiger Cub (awful! In bits more often than it was ridden), an Ajay 250 and a Norton Domi 600SS.

 

Dave

 

I spent hours in the workshop with Ben putting C plates together for the bikes we sold Dave

Is that a clue?

 

I worked for Peter in the shop on the corner whilst dad Len and son Lenny ran the spares shop

 

Ben (above) wasn't really Ben but Bill the mechanic but because there were two Bills the first one named 'got' Bill and t'other (usually 16 year old me) 'got' Ben

 

I always fancied a Cub, might be a good thing I didn't get one. 😉

[Fastcat]

I was 20 then and had the Norton. Sold it when I was 21 and had an MG TC. I did a lot of work on the Norton so would have been mainly in the spares side and yes, I remember Len and his son serving. I occasionally looked in at the sales side.

Mine was a very early Cub( 1955?) with springer suspension instead of a swinging arm. Later ones were better.

So.........you were there and I never knew. Who'd have thought it?      Small world innit!

 

Dave

Sorry, nothing to do with Sea Vixens, but there you go................................

[perdu]

I think I'd have broken yours if I'd had it to play with, I learned a lot from Bill while I was there but left when my dad found me a job in Warstock at Elbief's for far better money

 

But to be fair, at the time I was not as good with spanners as I was when I left the AA a few years back... 

 

Roger breathe easy mate, the package arrived

 

I am going to scan each page as a picture then I can open them as I need them on the picture set

 

Of course this now raises a problem, he proposes certain fixes which I could do without much additional work

Should I ?

In depth was never the game plan but I see he doesnt agree either with the traditional 'Dont fix it, change how it looks' brigade and basically I agree with his methods

What to do huh?

 

 

Anyway, another thing (OK the same thing) I have just checked the dimensions against the Warpaint drawings, I see a slight discrepancy in wing sweep but very slight and not a lot more off colour at all

Won't worry me, I made a Wasp last year with less adequate raw materials

 

I suggest anyone with this kit can end up with a Sea Vixen model to like if they thin the fins and rudders and tidy the intake holes

 

And stuff we'll see when I get into it

Let's see shall we

We proceed!

 

Where's the Milliput?

[Brandy]

7 hours ago, perdu said:

 

...takes me back to my second job after leaving school

Selling bikes at Vale-Onslow and opening huge packing crates and building up Japanese bikes in the showroom whilst trying to sell Triumphs/Beezer and AMC dinosaurs to older guys and YDS2s to the 250 brigade...

Well there's a coincidence! My second job was also in a bike shop (SGT Superbikes in Taplow, Bucks) and we also sold Japs (Kawasaki) BMW and Triumph. Also had the last of the big Laverdas (a 1200 Mirage), and my dream bike, an MV Agusta 750S America, which if I recall correctly, sold for over 7,500 quid in 1982!

 

Ian

[Hamden]

 

Glad package arrived OK Bill and will hopefully be of use

 

   Roger

[perdu]

We had a lot of connections at Armoury Road, factory riders were always popping in to see Peter V-O

 

Peter was a well known trials rider, I was told and old Len famously built a smaller bike than the Honda Monkey bike before Honda did, for his kids

 

Rather a lot used to happen round Stratford rd in those days, I was proud to work there but dad  thought I was being short changed

 

Right of course no doubt, but hey it is what it is

 

I liked it

But I did enjoy industry too, making machinery do intricate tasks (sounds like Ced now I think about it, well done Ced)

 

Roger the article is exactly what i needed and I have already begun slight alterations to my basic plans to do some of his suggestions

 

And as it happens I have had a busy modelling day

 

A couple of hours cleaning the airbrushes, before and after doing some remedial paint on the Buccaneer S1s

 

I used Mr Model paints white in acrylic, excellent results hoorah

 

Then when postie popped the letter from Rog in my hands I spent time thinking about the Vixen

 

So here is the result of my latest bit o'think

 

Dolgellau's finest to replace the green stuff, wetted and shaped to suit the intake bottom profile

 

Next will be to do the same for the upper section before I get it together

 

As the Milli sets I am giving the surface a further polishing, it's coming along very nicely

 

Wish I'd had enough confidence to use the Welsh Wizzardry first 

 

Trimmed to suit tomorrow I reckon then sort out the top piece

[Terry1954]

2 hours ago, perdu said:

Wish I'd had enough confidence to use the Welsh Wizzardry first 

 

Yes! Milliput, hoorah!

 

Terry

[Tomoshenko]

Found out wot you've been up to Bill. Intakes taking shape and looking better than the green goo.

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

Sorry I'm late Bill..been taking pictures of very fast boatie things in the European Water Ski Championships  (One young lady zooooomed past at 106 Mph.I think she was pushing the boat)

First thoughts were that this is a funny looking Lightning 

Sea Vixen looking very good so far.

Mention of Simon's Sircus brings back fond memories.

[rob Lyttle]

11 hours ago, perdu said:

putting C plates together for the bikes we sold Dave

Is that a clue?

Ha!

Which end of the plate....?

That'd be after the numbers!

And the pair of arched ones to go on the front mudguard...!

 

When the going gets tough, the tough use Milliput

[giemme]

Lovely job on those intakes, Bill

 

Ciao

[CedB]

Seconded! Nicely shaped Bill, much better than the green  

[perdu]

Little done today, except I made the observer's radar unit and the vestigial instrument panel he used to do his bit of the job

 

You will never see it again, nor will I so I am not going to do any more in there later although there is a seat going in

invisible huh?

 

 

still ...

So  I WILL dry brush the units a little but my money is on no-one ever seeing them again

Also made the throttle stand for the driver

 

 

Black again I neednt have bovvered 

The pilot now has a seat in preparation

 

 

I need to check whether the seat cushions need modification and then paint the cushion and parachute pack and the head padding piece then make the straps for it

 

 

I have been making these too

 

 

Hmm, more black paint on the support vanes before I pencil lines on for fan blades, and resilver the disc methinks

 

They will be sitting in the dark down inside there

 

Work has begun tidying the lower section of the intakes and preparing for tomorrow when I intend a visit to the LMS for more Milliput, grey or white possibly so I can check the joins between the upper and lower sections of the ducts

 

A preliminary paint splash for adjustment purposes

The recesses for the engine faces shows up quite well with a splash of paint down the hole, huh?

 

As does the dust from re-carving the innards 

 

Finishing for now with a shot I took to check how visual the part-removed engine door lines have become

 

Yup, mostly off but still some near the air bleed pipe

 

Tomorrow

 

Not now 

 

ciao

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I admire your dedication in scratch building a cockpit for the Looker.  You can barely see it in the real thing, let alone at your scale. 

[perdu]

But we will all know Crisp, what else matters?

 

😊

[Tomoshenko]

8 hours ago, perdu said:

still ...

So  I WILL dry brush the units a little but my money is on no-one ever seeing them again

 

8 hours ago, perdu said:

They will be sitting in the dark down inside there

 

17 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

I admire your dedication in scratch building a cockpit for the Looker.  You can barely see it in the real thing, let alone at your scale. 

 

6 minutes ago, perdu said:

But we will all know Crisp, what else matters?

 

😊

 

All very true of course, but you and we all know it's there and that's what counts.

[TheBaron]

I've been singularly remiss in not keep up with this twin boom build tome Bill,  but then on the plus side I have just had a delightful long read whilst ingesting a particularly large mug of tea at breakfast.

 

If only all days could start as well!

On 8/30/2018 at 6:26 PM, perdu said:

used Mr Model paints white in acrylic, excellent results hoorah

That's good to know as the Tamiya white, aka 'liquid chalk' that gave me so much grief is destined to be encased in concrete and form the support of a 1/72 flyover somewhere...

 

I don't know if it helps on structural matters but I started this thread some time back as background research for a future build: both John @canberra kid and James @71chally weighed in with their usual mix of top-drawer technical expertise:

Thoroughly enjoying your work here!

[perdu]

Thanks for the link to more of your fabulous body of work Tony, outbloomingstanding. 

 

I'll bookmark it and look out for Pat C's build too thanks

 

Does any know if the air start tubes on both Avon's run down to lower right, or is it only on the starboard installation?

 

I asked in Cold War but nobody noticed 😕

[corsaircorp]

Great air intakes dear Colleague !

Did you ever have done some modelling in your AA service car ?

I did sometimes... But do not tell it to my boss 

Sincerely.

CC

[perdu]

Far too busy CC, there were a million books to read if it was quiet and at the time I was retired from model making mostly

 

Putting that right now though, retirement is fabulous

 

👍

[perdu]

THIS!

 

Is bound to failure if my previous forays into using the stuff have anything in common with today

 

Milliput is quite easy to use

Take two lengths - to suit

 

Mix together until the colours merge into a uniform mass

Yes OK!

 

 

Can't fail huh?

 

Oh well, nothing daunted and many minutes kneading the worms together (yes I use the intertwined worms mix method these days)

 

Then remixing until the slightly damp feel to the putty goes away and and an amorphous white mess results we build it into the upper section and try a test closure

 

And ditto (Ditto ah me a great film but was Sam miscast?) t'other side

 

 

Any girls out there can explain to me why he wasnt...

 

Anyway, digression over, the two halves separated in order to let/pray that the Milliput cures

 

Which I confess it already feels as if it is, the excess (sorry but I always have too blimmin' much mixed) is firming up amazingly quickly

 

 

When the upper bit has dried I will get busy making good the joins and painting it whilst I finish off the vestigial cabin interior

 

It looks as if I can slim the frontal size down using SIHRSC and make the nose cap from Frog or Pavla do the job

 

See ya laters

[hendie]

looks like you are having fun there Bill. 

 

22 minutes ago, perdu said:

Mix together until the colours merge into a uniform mass

 

 

Maybe too late now - but while that was all wet, I might have dragged a wetted (i.e. spat upon) tube through the milliput to create the general shape - and hopefully reduce some of the sanding and shaping required later

[perdu]

I have thought of it but I will be needing to smooth the upper and lower tubey bits together get rid of the joins so that part of the infill can be left to PPP

 

[Terry1954]

54 minutes ago, perdu said:

the excess (sorry but I always have too blimmin' much mixed) is firming up amazingly quickly

Me too! I have many small spherical/cylindrical lumps of hardened Milliput sitting around my work area. I always think I can put them to good use one day. I did once turn some pieces in my mini mini lathe - the stuff responds really well. Reshaped the back ends of a couple of 500lb bombs like that once. I'm certain you could even cut a thread in it on the right equipment. I digress .......... enjoying watching this one take form.

 

Terry

Edited September 1, 2018 by Terry1954