tonyot Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Hiya Folks, Having first seen the Gladiator in the now sadly defunct Battle of Britain Museum at the RAF Museum Hendon,.... I have always fancied building an 87 Sqn aircraft with the units distinctive unit markings of a black bar with wavy green line; And the unit was well know for its aerobatics team; But then I came across photos of one of 87 Sqn`s Gladiators that had been zapped by 601 Sqn of the Auxiliary Air Force, presumably at their RAF Hendon base. One side of the fin bore the 601 Sqn insignia while the other had a roughly applied `Popeye'! So,.... when Eduard included a decal option for K7974 in the photos above, wearing these markings in their re boxing of the Roden kit (which I`ll be building in Fleet Air Arm markings) I decided to apply these spare decals to the Merit kit. I had to make some tweaks as the white areas on the Popeye decal needed to be overpainted with silver and the green wavy line was also overpainted using a darker green as the pale green of the decal was too light,.... both being done using a small brush after the decals were applied to the model. Here is the Merit kit box art; And finally,...... if you are still with me,.....here is the model,! I had built and painted the model almost 2 years ago but I couldn`t get the mojo to rig it,....... and I have to say a massive thanks to my mate Neil for the Uschi rigging thread,......it scared me to death but once I got used to this new medium it I felt like I`d never stopped rigging at all. So thanks for looking and all the best, Tony 48 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Hi Tony the Gladiator looks absolutely fantastic. Great job indeed. What's the Merit kit like to build compared to the Roden kit? Great work All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob 1 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 That's an excellent finish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMCS Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Cracking job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Lovely looking Glad, and a superb finish! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Cheers Fella`s,...... the Merit kit is much easier to build than the Roden kit, but it is simplified and not as detailed so swings and roundabouts,.....I forgot to mention that the propeller came from the Roden kit too. The model was finished using a Tamiya rattle can and then brushed with matt varnish. Cheers Tony 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Never been brave enough to try a rattle can, but that finish would be ideal for a B-17 I need to do. Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Just now, fightersweep said: Never been brave enough to try a rattle can, but that finish would be ideal for a B-17 I need to do. Steve Go for it Steve,..... I`ve done a couple of B-17`s using the same rattle can and I was pleased with the results. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fightersweep Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Thanks! I'll give it a try. What's the colour in the Tamiya range? I just remembered, I did try a rattle can on a 1/48th F-105 many moons ago (about 30 years ago!!). I think it was a car paint. It wasn't a bad effort for a first try, but it was a bit blotchy. I think I tried the can in hot water first before using. Steve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 11 minutes ago, tonyot said: Cheers Fella`s,...... the Merit kit is much easier to build than the Roden kit, but it is simplified and not as detailed so swings and roundabouts,.....I forgot to mention that the propeller came from the Roden kit too. The model was finished using a Tamiya rattle can and then brushed with matt varnish. Cheers Tony Thanks Tony All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Great Gladys Tony 😁 I do like to see a unique subject like that too. Bravo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Epeeman Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Nice one, Tony Glad you have found a medium for rigging that works for you. Regards Dave 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 You make that rigging look easy mate, lovely finish 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Great looking Gladiator 👍 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 Beauty! Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevej60 Posted September 17, 2018 Share Posted September 17, 2018 That's a cracker Tony,great job! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 1 hour ago, woody37 said: You make that rigging look easy mate, lovely finish Thanks for the rigging material mate,...... that stuff is quality and helped a lot,...... now onto my Walrus which has been waiting around a year for its rigging! Cheers bud, Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 2 hours ago, fightersweep said: Thanks! I'll give it a try. What's the colour in the Tamiya range? I just remembered, I did try a rattle can on a 1/48th F-105 many moons ago (about 30 years ago!!). I think it was a car paint. It wasn't a bad effort for a first try, but it was a bit blotchy. I think I tried the can in hot water first before using. Steve Hiya Steve, The Tamiya can was AS-12 Bare Metal Silver mate,....... Tamiya sprays go on beautifully,..... just add the coats lightly. https://www.ebay.co.uk/p/Tamiya-As-12-Bare-Metal-Silver-100ml-Spray-Can-86512/14006169371?iid=253864449213&chn=ps All the best Tony Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted September 17, 2018 Author Share Posted September 17, 2018 Thanks again everybody. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modelling minion Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Very nice indeed Tony. I do like the Gladiator and yours looks fantastic. Like many others its the rigging that puts me off doing biplanes as there are some really nice ones with great colour schemes. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Beautiful build presented with an interesting story and photos. Adding rigging to a biplane makes it look much more convincing, good work ! Is the Merit Gladiator a good kit ? Merit is a brand name from the same company who does Trumpeter kits and they have a reputation to mess up british aircraft subjects. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire31 Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 Wonderful Gladiator, looking just 'right'! And the darker accents around the cockpit framing looks. er… just right! Super job! Kind regards, Joachim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tonyot Posted September 18, 2018 Author Share Posted September 18, 2018 (edited) Cheers again everybody. 5 hours ago, BerndM said: Beautiful build presented with an interesting story and photos. Adding rigging to a biplane makes it look much more convincing, good work ! Is the Merit Gladiator a good kit ? Merit is a brand name from the same company who does Trumpeter kits and they have a reputation to mess up british aircraft subjects. Yes it isn`t bad actually,..... although it was rather expensive for what you get. The fit of the parts was excellent although I had to add quite a bit into the cockpit to get it looking OK, including a plastic card rear bulkhead and interior framework. The prop is also from a Roden kit. Cheers Tony Edited September 18, 2018 by tonyot 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
invidia Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 great looking model. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BerndM Posted September 18, 2018 Share Posted September 18, 2018 6 hours ago, tonyot said: Cheers again everybody. Yes it isn`t bad actually,..... although it was rather expensive for what you get. The fit of the parts was excellent although I had to add quite a bit into the cockpit to get it looking OK, including a plastic card rear bulkhead and interior framework. The prop is also from a Roden kit. Cheers Tony Thanks for the info about the Merit kit. I have one Roden, one Roden/Eduard and with all the extra marking versions i could need a third one as well. ( and maybe some time to build them ) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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