LorenSharp Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Here is a little diversion while my milliput hardens on the "Biggun". I wanted to try my hand at a little something more "Normal" I know me and Normal go together like cheese and chalk. BUt I AM going to try my bestus to make this as OOB as possible. NO guarantees though. OK. Today for your amusement is Special Hobby's 1/48 Fairey Albacore. Special Hobby kits aren't that bad once you understand their "quirks" I've built a few in the past. Where I'm REALLY out of my comfort zone is this being a biplane and will require rigging. The last time I tried that was with Tamiyas 1/48 Fairey Swordfish and that wasn't pretty. One of these days I'm going to have to strip it all back down and see if I can redo it proper, but that is for another day and another build. I hope you will all follow along and please do offer advice. This being a stringbag AND British I want to make sure I do it and it's Service Justice. I have decided to build it as a Mk1 from 828 Squadron Hal Far, Malta 1942 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 Altogether it's not a bad little kit. I do know that I will have to either print out a torpedo for it or bombs since the kit didn't come with either of those. For the guide wires and antenna wires I'll try some EZ Line I got for the Biggun's antenna wires. It's stretchable and might be easier to work with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Glad you are going with the Special Hobby kit rather than the Trumpeter offering. Very interested to see what you make of this. Following! Martian 👽 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 22, 2020 Author Share Posted April 22, 2020 Thank you Martin. I'm not much of a fan of Trumpeters. They might be good if its Soviet Bloc but they miss the target on anything else more often than not. Welcome aboard and make yourself to home. You know where everything is. Chime in if you see I'm missing anything important. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Ooooooooo this is a real treat, got one in the stash and can't wait to see this progress. Good luck with your build All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 Has he started yet? Impatient of Mars 👽 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted April 22, 2020 Share Posted April 22, 2020 I'll be interested to see this develop from a bunch of styrene into a glorious biplane. Good choice! I was looking at this in the local shop fairly recently and fancying my chances with it, but I stuck with my civil tendency and got a Vickers Northrop Delta by Special Hobby instead. No rigging wires. Rigging is something else, isn't it ❓ My only vacform kit is an Albacore and to be honest I can't see it being built ‼️ MPM Special Hobby.... I like 'em 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pappy Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 6 hours ago, bigbadbadge said: Ooooooooo this is a real treat, got one in the stash and can't wait to see this progress. Good luck with your build All the best Chris +1 as well Coming along for the ride too Pappy 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 Count me in- not my scale, but want to see an Albacore built so I can use the WIP as a reference when and if Special Hobby ever release the 1/72 kit they have announced eons ago! Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nickthebrief Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 This is not a bad kit at all - and quite good for those who are a bit nervous about biplanes because the top wing can be securely fitted to the top of the canopy and then the struts (only three per side) and rigging (which isn't too complicated either) can be fettled afterwards. If I remember rightly (and Tony O'Toole deserves the credit for pointing this out in a magazine article) all the interior parts are slightly too wide. As ever with Special Hobby kits, dry fitting is essential, and I think you will find that all the floors, bulkheads, etc will need to be sanded down to help close the fuselage. If you get the width of these right, then the fuselage goes together nicely and the glazing then fits properly too... Also, the innermost inter-plane strut on each side is a little short and so needs to be extended... I haven't built the Trumpeter version, but from what I've seen on here (credit to Tony again - did he ever finish that kit?!), it just isn't right in several areas that are all but impossible to fix - so the extra work needed on the Special Hobby kit will be worth it! Good luck. Cheers, Nick. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 23 hours ago, Martian Hale said: Has he started yet? Impatient of Mars 👽 Goodness Martian! I've never seen you this eager before. Martians are usually so composed they make Vulcans look like rowdy sailors on their first shore leave in 9 months and its in Marseille! So to soothe your Martian self here's an update. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 Moving right along with the interior. I was really tempted to put my own framing in to give the walls some depth, but decided instead to paint and shade with a dark wash, pencil highlight and dry brush some aluminum for wear and tear. I did take some thread and make some cabling. Before I button up the sides I'll decide if I 'll make some additional supports. the kit supplies a couple of small ones. I used some making tape to hold the window glass flush while the watch crystal glue sets. The stuff dries clear but takes forever to set. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 The pilot's seat is supposed to be leather, so I used Burnt Umber Acrylic used a dark wash to show some depth the touched up with desert yellow for aging. The leather boot on the joystick was a little piece of TP soaked in KLeer and wrapped around the base . when it dried I used Burnt Sienna acrylic to give it a lighter worn leather look. the cockpit floor a dark wah and dry brushed Aluminum for wear and tear again. The side panels basic black dry brushed again with Aluminum and touches of red for colour.Few more bits of "cabling" AKA Thread. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 12 hours ago, Nickthebrief said: This is not a bad kit at all - and quite good for those who are a bit nervous about biplanes because the top wing can be securely fitted to the top of the canopy and then the struts (only three per side) and rigging (which isn't too complicated either) can be fettled afterwards. If I remember rightly (and Tony O'Toole deserves the credit for pointing this out in a magazine article) all the interior parts are slightly too wide. As ever with Special Hobby kits, dry fitting is essential, and I think you will find that all the floors, bulkheads, etc will need to be sanded down to help close the fuselage. If you get the width of these right, then the fuselage goes together nicely and the glazing then fits properly too... Also, the innermost inter-plane strut on each side is a little short and so needs to be extended... I haven't built the Trumpeter version, but from what I've seen on here (credit to Tony again - did he ever finish that kit?!), it just isn't right in several areas that are all but impossible to fix - so the extra work needed on the Special Hobby kit will be worth it! Good luck. Cheers, Nick. Thanks for the heads up on the Interior trimming NIck. you have to shave 1-1 1/2mm to make them fit properly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 Getting back to the back end, I had painted the fuel tank the was going to mask off for the straps, but paint peeled where I didn't want it to so I repainted and used the masking tape to make the straps. worked a lot better all the way around I used the same technique on the smaller seats as I did with the pilots seat. the harness' I painted with Tamiya khaki. the deck I weathered the same. but since there is more movement wore down the interior green more. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 The instrument cluster came as a 5 part assembly, plastic back, 2 pieces of film, the P/E front, and the compass/direction finder.Pretty straightforward. the P/E I painted rubber black and drybrushed aluminum. the compass after painting I put a drop on Kleer on top for the glass. MYself while all this is setting, is going to find some better allergy medication. I have spent more time sneezing and searching for parts that have "gone with the wind" than I care to handle. Further updates to be had soon. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted April 23, 2020 Share Posted April 23, 2020 This is not a good thing to be sneezing on All looks good 👌 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 Managed to get some progress in today despite the ever whimsical caprices that are the the modelling Gods. Note to any who attempt this kit, the adage ," measure twice cut once" addendum- measure again, and again, and again..the interior pieces are wider than the fuselage by a fair bit, some places as much as 1 1/2 mm. That makes for some awkwardness in making sure the parts look right once installed. I did deviate from the journey,Surprise , Surprise, Knew it wouldn't last, adding vertical bracing on the interior. So much for a little cruise😏 There was one part at the rear of the interior you had the option of P/E or plastic. I wanted to used the P/E ,but it was so far out of spec though perfect, I had to use the plastic piece as it needed a lot to trimming to fit. The little rounded square piece with the holes there next to fuselage half is the culprit in question. Planing the halves(no pun intended) to get as tight a fit as possible,will still probably need some filler and a rescribing I'll let the Plastic weld set overnight and look at it in the morning. So there you have it, one more step closer. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 Inspiring work Loren. Martian 👽 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 Thank you Martian, But these are just the preliminary rounds. I for got to add that since special hobby doesn't like locator holes(We don't need no stinkin' locators) I cut some bits of plastic card to at least keep the halves somewhat stable whilst drying. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Is that a quote from the film "Blazing Models" ❓😎 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Yes along with "Martian Toll road! Whatt'l he think of next! Somebodys gotta go back to town and get a bunch of dimes!" "Edited for Decency" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Great work, that fuel tank is enormous, I don't think that I would have liked sitting by it with bullets whizzing around. Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Great work on the cockpit interior the extra ribbing or bracing really adds another dimension. Can't wait to see this progress. Keep up the good All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 Motoring happily along, The main seam did need a little filler not much but as usual in the one place hard to sand down.NOt sure what the little "braces/brackets" are for but they looked important. especially since I managed to sand them to near nothingness.. A little bit of reconstruction with some flat rod. The first of many alterations I fear. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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