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Esoteric 1/72 Blackburn Dart


Patrik

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I would gladly accept your reasoning if the number was 3, as it is 83 under the lower wing. With 6 there is probably other reason, which - I admit - we may never find.

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Amazed I missed this one. Fantastic level of detail. Starting to love the Dart, (along with the Bison) so ugly they're cool. Am definitely considering adding both to the collection (only maybe next year, as the wip queue is still a bit long still)

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Hi, Patrik,

 

First, I'd like to add my voice to the admiring comments posted on your work on the Esoteric Dart.  Absolutely splendid!  I am now wishing I'd bought two of them, because the one I have is absolutely committed to a Greek Velos.  I had thought the main problems would be adding an aft gunner's position and scratch-building the floats (no, don't think Shark floats would do, different era).  But most of the things you've uncovered will apply to my Velos conversion.

 

Thanks to Troy Smith for his tip on the woodworking scraper, I'll be ordering a couple of these right away.  I foresee plenty of uses for these, not only vacuforms.

 

Re the in-flight photo of 460 Flight - beautiful!  Something new to me was the bit about the signal flags used to identify the individual a/c within the flight.  This photo confirms it, except for '83', where you can't see the flag because of the angle.  Thinks:  at this time the aircrew and many of the groundcrew would have been RAF.  I wonder if they would have known how to read signal flags?  I suppose that after a certain time serving on a ship, they might have learned to.

 

About your number '86',  I wonder if the rudder horn is actually black.  Look at '82', which has the same arrangement, but clearly in red.  If we're talking section colours here, then '86' would have been blue section leader.  And I see no point to a white fin.  My vote would be for silver dope.

 

Cheers, John 

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  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks a lot for the encouraging words, guys.

 

@gwelldysg

Nice idea about the Velos.

In-flight photo of 460 Flight - there is another one showing the same formation from the other side, where 83 is right in the front and wears proudly the number 3 flag on the upper wing.

Very intriguing proposal for the blue rudder section, I will think about it.

 

It has been five weeks since my last post. Count with me. One week pre-vacation stress, two weeks vacation, one week post-vacation shock. And if you want to know, what I did last week, have a look below. While I have still not decided on the Bagginses, I am pretty sure about the torpedo gear. We hates it.

 

20190726-DSC-0165.jpg

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@gwelldysg

Re rudder horn once again. Definitely black. Convinced by the below photo of Ripon from the same flight and very close time period. Source: p.75 FAA Aircraft, Units and Ships 1920-39 by Ray Sturtivant,

 

CCI27072019.jpg

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I'm late to this party - this is great stuff!

Great affection for the Dart - my Grandad used to work on them.  I've got two Esoteric kits in the attic that will be built at some point in the future and this is excellent inspiration.

Al

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Below the preparatory works for the drilling of the interplane struts' holes. I sincerely hope I did my math well and there is later no nasty surprise while aligning the upper wing.

I have been working on a few small detail parts needed later and - so far - quite successfully procrastinating the manufacture of the exhaust pipes. Alas, not that much left to do, so I am starting tomorrow.

 

20190803-DSC-0174.jpg

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After testing my copperbending skills thoroughly last week, I decided to do the exhaust pipes for real today. So it was Phase one first.

 

20190810-DSC-0176.jpg

 

Phase two port side.

 

20190810-DSC-0179.jpg

 

Phase two starboard side.

 

20190810-DSC-0182.jpg

 

Starboard side Phase three.

 

20190810-DSC-0185.jpg

 

Still nine more short exhaust stubs to go, but these will be piece of cake compared to the long pipes. And I managed knocking off nothing more than the tail skid during the bend-test fit-repeat cycle,

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Patrik,

 

That is some  serious exhaust system fabrication! Any chance of you doing the dual exhaust and crossover on my 1987 Monte Carlo SS? 😜 Just kidding! Very, very nice work, and I can't wait to see the finished product.

Mike

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If I said, the short exhaust stubs would be a piece of cake, I apologize for it. It was an apparent blasphemy, and blasphemy has been very seldom rewarded with a piece of cake. The middle part is Mk.2 version. Mk.1 (seen above] ended up in rubbish.

The fuselage is completed, except a few small details, and ready to be painted.

 

20190817-DSC-0194.jpg

Edited by Patrik
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  • 5 weeks later...

Painting job in half-time. I have to say frankly that the size of the kit seems to be very close to, if not slightly over, the limits of my hand brushing techniques. Applies especially to the silver dope, I needed three coats to be satisfied.

You can spot the wheels in making in their Mk.2 disguise among the other extra parts. The first attempt to produce the desired marking below, ended up in Mk.1 having been stripped of all paint without mercy.

 

blackburn.dart.n9538-83wheel.jpg

 

20190915_DSC_0201.jpg

 

Additionally, below my new best friend. Magnification 2.25 x. It means - if I calculate well - that I will be building my kits virtually in 1/32 from now on.

 

20190915-DSC-0197.jpg

Edited by Patrik
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On 10/08/2019 at 22:13, Patrik said:

After testing my copperbending skills thoroughly last week, I decided to do the exhaust pipes for real today. So it was Phase one first.

 

20190810-DSC-0176.jpg

 

Phase two port side.

 

20190810-DSC-0179.jpg

 

Phase two starboard side.

 

20190810-DSC-0182.jpg

 

Starboard side Phase three.

 

20190810-DSC-0185.jpg

 

Still nine more short exhaust stubs to go, but these will be piece of cake compared to the long pipes. And I managed knocking off nothing more than the tail skid during the bend-test fit-repeat cycle,

That is some nice work!

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