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1/72 Miles Messenger G-AKBO ( Framed Model )


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Checking the registration documents, it would appear to have been owned by Clive in the past. It was also owned by Pete Holloway, who has a collection of vintage aircraft at Old Warden. I've known Pete for over twenty years, back when much of his flying was a 1/4 scale R/C Sopwith Pup at the Large Model Association shows.

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Yesterday, the flaps were fitted.

 

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The exhaust was also glued on. It still needs further sanding and blending at the front of the cowling. On its own, it was too small to hold and sand, but now it is glued, it can be sanded. The glue and filler around the flap hinges need time to fully cure before this area can be cleaned up, though it won't be seen once mounted into the picture frame.

 

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Edited by Army_Air_Force
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The paint was cleaned off the top edge of the cockpit, and thin strips of styrene were glued on, slightly inset from the fuselage skin. This will help to hold the vac-formed canopy in place.

 

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The canopy framing itself was painted the interior colour on the inside. When attached, the rear joint can be filled and sanded before masking for the primer/top coats. It hasn't yet been glued on.

 

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The wheels were cut from the sprue, and took some sanding to make the tyre circumference parallel to the hub circumference. They were somewhat uneven straight off the sprue. The control columns and tyres were painted black and left to dry. Later, the hub was filled in with PVA glue which would dry and simulate the hub covers of the fullsize.

 

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I've also been working on the graphics, using scans of the model parts and working in layers to create the correct sized markings for the model. Once drawn, I do a test print on paper and these paper prints are then cut out and tested for size on the model. Adjustments can then be made if needed.

 

messenger48.jpg

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After a day finishing off the graphics for this aircraft and another project, a test print of the decals was made on plain paper.

 

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The paper printouts were carefully cut out and laid onto the model to check the size in relation to photos of the fullsize. Walkways, step and wing upper registration seemed ok. The angle of the outer fins looks odd, but that must be an effect of the camera lens.

 

messenger50.jpg

Edited by Army_Air_Force
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The fuselage registration and nose stripe looked ok too. While the test print included the miles logo, it was so small that I didn't bother cutting it out and trying the size.  While it won't be seen once the model is framed, the underside registration was ok. I normally take photos of the models from a scale eye level before framing, so wanted the underside registration on the model.

 

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Yesterday, the cockpit roof was attached. I scratched the inner edge of the vac-formed canopy along the gluing areas prior to attaching. It was left to set for a while. The joints were then covered in filler. It was all left to fully harden overnight.

 

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It took some time to wet sand the filler to blend the vac-forming into the fuselage. It was also slow due to being careful not to damage the glazing. Next I decided to mask and paint the cockpit framing. I planned to paint the frames by brush and once set, mask the whole canopy and spray the rest of the airframe. As I've often done before, to make masking easier, I only mask in one direction. In this case, it was the spanwise framing. They would be painted and left to fully dry. After that, the fore/aft framing would be masked and painted. So much easier than trying to cut tiny rectangles of masking tape.

 

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The teardrop rear window was painted freehand, using a watchmaker's magnifier for a good close view. Before I painted the canopy, I did a test on a scrap piece of the vac-form material . With the paint fairly dry, the masking tape pulled away some of the paint when the tape was removed. The paint on the cockpit was given a few minutes to go tacky and the masking was removed.

 

messenger56.jpg

Edited by Army_Air_Force
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Tape removed and the paint is left to dry. The fore/aft frames will be next, along with an area of the fuselage ahead of the cockpit and under the sides. Enough to allow this area to be masked before spraying.

 

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The landing gear parts also received some cream and the wheel hubs red over the PVA glue covers.

 

messenger58.jpg

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  • 4 weeks later...

I haven't updated this thread for a while, but the model has been moving forwards. The edges of the paint was sanded and then the canopy area was masked off with liquid mask. This was done in several stages, slowly rotating the model to keep the masked area level while the masking liquid dried.

 

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Eventually the canopy had a good covering and the model was ready to spray.

 

messenger60.jpg

Edited by Army_Air_Force
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The first coat of cream is sprayed, giving a very thin coating. It was going to take many coats to build up the density required.

 

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Starting to build up the colour now.

 

messenger62.jpg

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Once the colour coat was dense enough, the canopy masking was removed, ready to start spraying the clear coat. This took some time, gradually building up the gloss.

 

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A few days ago, the decals arrived in the post. They were on a larger sheet for another project. It had taken several attempts to print them as the printer kept missing sections of colour or left lines through blocks of colour. I had added more graphics than needed, just to make sure I had spares in case of scratches or torn decals during application.

 

messenger64.jpg

Edited by Army_Air_Force
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I started with the registration on the underside of the model. While this one won't be seen once the model is mounted in the box frame, I usually take some scale eye level pictures of completed airframes before they are mounted. It also allowed a practice application and a Microsol test to make sure there were no adverse reactions on this batch of decals.

 

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Positioned and drying.

 

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The Miles logo for the fuselage side was TINY! around 2mm square, but has a remarkable level of detail for such a small object.

 

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The cowl line, Miles logo and fuselage registration are now applied, and it's looking rather good!!

 

messenger70.jpg

Edited by Army_Air_Force
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This is how the project was at the end of today. All the decals are applied and hardening. They need another clear coat to seal them in. The tail wheel tyre, prop tips and spinner were also painted today.

 

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The decals were clear coated today, then after a while to dry, the landing gear was assembled and fitted.

 

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The painting of the prop was finished and then that was attached.

 

messenger74.jpg

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Everything was left to dry. The last piece is a tiny propeller for the wing mounted generator. The paint on that was drying when I took these pictures. I had confirmation the picture frame has been posted, so after I make the box frame for the back, I'd expect to do the final assembly of the picture early next week.

 

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I got the generator prop attached today and the landing gear had dried fully allowing the model to sit on its gear for the first time. This allowed some photos before the model is mounted into the box frame. The frame may arrive tomorrow, but as I'm at a 1940's event with my Jeeps and Dodge over the weekend, it will be next week before it is all completed.

 

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