Colin W Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 Hi Chaps, I've been looking forward to the Night fighter Group build for a while. This kit was almost stated last year for the 1960 NATO GB and again it just missed the 1950 NATO GB in January. So 3rd attempt to start will commence when my 2 Hawks in the Training Group build are done. Not decided the scheme yet but I have plenty of choice. Colin W 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mottlemaster Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 Hi Colin Have always liked the box art for this kit ,and its good to have the contents exposed and built on a G/b that im partisipating in . Good luck. Regards Alistair 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted March 17, 2019 Share Posted March 17, 2019 welcome along Colin, a nice choice for the build and a model I'm very familiar with. It's not a bad model and now quite hard to find, I built an Israeli NF.13 for the Meteor STGB a few years back. I'm pretty sure the NF.11's used the same "Big Bore" intakes as the 13's, if you can find them I'd be replacing the kit ones with resin ones by Barracuda. The kits ones really are rubbish. Plus wing to nacelle and nacelle/wing/fuselage joins can be very problematic, I needed to fit spacers inside the wings the give them more depth and the joins really needed filler (I used sprue for that.) But in the end she turned out really nicely, it's not a bad model it just needs some work. Good luck with the build, hopefully she won't be too problematic for you and I look forward to seeing her in the gallery. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 22, 2019 Share Posted March 22, 2019 It'll be good to see you getting this one onto the bench Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted March 23, 2019 Author Share Posted March 23, 2019 Hi Chaps, I made a start on the Mk11 during the week but now have something worth posting today. Thanks for the comments Richard, I agree with you all the way. This is my 4th CA Meteor having built a Mk4, Mk8 and the Mk8 prone pilot before. I plan to use a new approach to the wings this time. More later. I've also had issues with the intakes but found that assembly of the halves with the wing spar and then using filler inside actually gives a reasonable end result. Here's the subject now. Cockpit cut clear of casting blocks, only the rear instrument panel got broken. Other parts assembled and most painting complete. They were really good cockpits in CA kits. No need for after market parts with these. I joined the fuselage to the nose halves to get a better fit. I plan to use the same principle for the wings. Colin 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 Colin, looking good, you are right about the interior it is excellent. I built the F8, FR9 T7 and recently(very end of last year) the NF 11 and after the first one I used the Barracuda intakes because life is too short for the grief they caused me.. Interesting how you are going about this problem so looking forward to seeing more. Cheers Andy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted March 23, 2019 Share Posted March 23, 2019 gosh this brings back memories, and you're right about that cockpit, it is really nicely done. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted March 25, 2019 Author Share Posted March 25, 2019 My cunning plan for the wings was to assemblethe lower wing as a unit and then add the upper outer wings. I forgot to take a picture of the underside but here is the assembled lower wing with the outer panels and inner leading edge glued. Result is a reasonable wing with shape. I need to add the exhaust tubes before securing the trailing edge. I've glued the cockpits in and assembled the intakes using filler and Mr Surfacer inside. Colin 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Col. Posted March 27, 2019 Share Posted March 27, 2019 That wing took some clamping but if it benefits from it then that was worth the effort. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted March 29, 2019 Author Share Posted March 29, 2019 Well thanks to the clamping I didn't need much filler. The filler on the fin is to remove the sinkage on the plastic. Starboard upper didn't need any filler at all, there's a first! So if you thought that was serious clamping, how about this? Experienced Classic Airfarme Builder clamping! More Tomorrow when its dried! Colin 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted March 30, 2019 Share Posted March 30, 2019 yes that brings back memories/nightmares! Those outer wing joins on mine were horrible, huge gaps everywhere. Spent ages test fitting them to try and get some reasonable joins, I even had to add small blokes to the insides of the outer wings to help maintain the correct profile. Once joined, I ended up using stretch sprue to full the gaps, easier to work wing and you loose less detail. One small hint, the nose wheel leg assembly is quite fragile as in the supporting structure, so I added a steel pin inside the lower nose gear leg and then fitted a small plastic block right up in the top of wheel bay where it's hidden, and then fixed the pin to it. It' not perfect but you don't really see it and it gives it the strength it needs. Great progress though, i'm looking forward to seeing her done, I actually enjoyed my build even with the build and scheme frustrations. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted March 30, 2019 Author Share Posted March 30, 2019 Cheers Rich. What worries me is not the leg but the fragile resin that the leg fits into. These long nose jobs need a lot more weight as well to offset the longer tail which adds to the issue. I'll have a look and maybe borrow your idea. Thanks Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted March 31, 2019 Author Share Posted March 31, 2019 Well not a huge amount of work this weekend but the wings went on well. Small amount of filler needed on the join, mainly on the lower wing surface. Tail added using 1mm brass pins for strength. A bit more filling and sanding then it might be final paint next week. Colin 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
triumphfan Posted March 31, 2019 Share Posted March 31, 2019 That is looking very nice and quick work too. I think, once you have experienced a few CA kits, you know what to expect and work through it quicker. I got a NF.14 conversion set for the Airfix kit recently, looking to start on that pretty soon. Looking forward to seeing the paint stages on your model. Atb, Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 1, 2019 Author Share Posted April 1, 2019 Thanks Triumph fan. Terms like 'not much filler ' are relative when building these kits. I have tried a few different ways to build the wings for these but this has been the most successful. I wasn't aware of a conversion for the Airfix kit but I suppose it was inevitable as these are becoming increasingly hard to find. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 7, 2019 Author Share Posted April 7, 2019 I didn't manage to get anything done during the week but have got some progress over the weekend. Seats fitted and cockpit finished. I did mask the canopy during the week so that went on easily. I managed to destroy all 4 cannons which were crazily moulded into the wing leading edge. In the end I removed them completely, drilled some holes and inserted cannons from the spares bin. I think they might be from a CA Attacker? A couple of coats of Mr Surfacer to tidy up any blemishes and here she is in overall Medium Sea Grey. Colin 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
exdraken Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 Looks nice and even already! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hewy Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 A testing kit and Aesthetically not a pretty aircraft,(my opinion) those two together would condemn it to the shelf by now if it was mine, but you've done a smashing job up to this point colin, good job 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stever219 Posted April 7, 2019 Share Posted April 7, 2019 On 3/30/2019 at 12:30 PM, Colin W said: Cheers Rich. What worries me is not the leg but the fragile resin that the leg fits into. These long nose jobs need a lot more weight as well to offset the longer tail which adds to the issue. I'll have a look and maybe borrow your idea. Thanks Colin The night fighters should need less nose ballast, not more. The distance from main wheel centres to tailcone tip is the same in F. Mk. 8, FR. Mk. 9, and all night fighter Meteors except those fitted with a later ECM suite: the longer moment arm ahead of the main wheel centres of the night fighters should make a smaller amount of ballast in the radome and ahead of the nose wheel as effective as a larger amount behind and below the cockpit of a single-seater. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trickyrich Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 hmmm even with small weights in the nose I wouldn't place any faith in the nose wheel assembly. I really can't remember how much weight I added, but I also had the resin intakes which helped. I generally go with a wee bit more then needed as the last this you want is to have the fuselage done and discover she's become a tail sitter! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 Many thanks for your comments Stever219. Here's a picture of my NF11 with a Mk8. The nose on the night fighter is clearly longer but the distance from the tail to the intakes is the same meaning that the moment to drop the tail is the same. As the nose weight can be put further forward then less weight is required. Having not yet built the NF14, I was relating my experience of the prone pilot Meteor. I thought the fuselage was longer but it was actually the NF14 fin which gave this the issue. The prone pilot Meteor used the NF14 fin which I did as a modification to a CA Mk8 using Milliput. Obviously it was the greater weight not the longer fuselage causing problems. Tails from front to back. NF14, Mk8, NF11. Colin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 Cheers Richard I hate tail sitters so tend to err on the side of caution when adding weight. The kits I am careful with are these Meteors (as the support for the nose leg is very brittle ) and the Canberra kits where a lot of weight is required but the rake on the main undercarriage legs means that they are very week. My thoughts are to make a brass pin for the nose leg like you proposed and drill this into the lead already in the nose. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Fox Posted April 8, 2019 Share Posted April 8, 2019 I concur Colin, I put as much weight as possible in the nose of my NF11 and then used a section of paper clip to pin the leg assembly. I like to use a paper clip as a number of my models travel to shows so the bendier metal gives some flexibility. Gratuitous shot of my attempt 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 9, 2019 Author Share Posted April 9, 2019 Looks good Andy. Shouldn't the nose be black top and bottom though ? I can't say I've seen many like this. Colin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin W Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Busy week but I masked the grey and painted the green today. I did the whole nose in black. Decals to do next but on holiday for the week so it might not progress for a while. Colin 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now