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FINISHED: Airfix 1/72 SA Bulldog


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I remember this little kit fondly - it was one of the last ones I built in the height of my first wave of modelling planes, age 12 or 13 or so. After that I went to cars and from 18 to about 35 I barely built a model at all.

 

 

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I can remember doing the classic red and white RAF scheme on it - no masking tape of course - and it was a big tail sitter. But I liked it and I was pretty proud of the result. I have no idea what happened to it over the years.

 

I snagged this on ebay for a pretty cheap price and though it's not the exact same edition I had as a kid (which I think was either bagged or in one of those clear plastic containers), the plastic already brings back memories. There was a piece loose and I nearly tossed it before some kind of touch memory reminded me of installing it in the first build. Amazing.

 

So I will build this kit and I guess I will do the gloss black RAF scheme if the decals are still any good.

 

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Edited by bianfuxia
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Happy memories, I built both the original blister pack issue and this one. It might be worth checking the decals sheet as it was reported at the time that the yellow wasn't printed properly on some of them. It was definitely patchy on mine. 

 

The late Duke of Hamilton had a very cool example, which was on display at the Museum of Flight:

 

DSCF3568.jpg

 

John

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Hope you enjoy revisiting the delightful little Bulldog kit. I built the same edition, with the black and yellow scheme, a couple of years ago. The decals in mine were seriously out of register. Looks like yours are ok. Good luck getting enough weight in that small nose!

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Oo a S.A Bulldog.  An aircraft that is pretty close to me as I have about 4 hours flying time in one with the ATC as a kid (funny enough).

 

I also built this kit but different decals (I think it was a blister pack one) for one of the many GB's I sign up for, but unlike most I actually finished this one!  Below is my example from about 4 years ago.  I will look forward to watching this one progress.  I cheated with the noseweight by using a stand. lol

 

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Kind Regards,

 

Dazz

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I haven't made a lot of progress as I was wrapping up some builds in another GB.

 

So far I've painted the insides, done a basic instrument panel, and started painting the pilots.

 

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I also did a bit of a weight test. Not sure I can squeeze all that blu-tack into the nose, but I don't have any small metal pieces to weigh it down and I don't really want to buy them (they'd cost more than the kit did). Luckily I can probably build it up with open access to the nose area so I can do some tests and see as I go along.

 

IMG_20200614_234807796.jpg

 

 

 

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Here's Bob the Pilot and...Fred the Pilot. Still a bit to do including some trimming on their pants, but they'll look good I think.

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It's all just a test fit for now - still plenty of painting to do before the plane can be built.

IMG_20200618_001146928.jpg

 

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Made a little more progress on this one. Tidied up the pilots with their oxygen masks and seatbelts, but the main thing is some COG testing.

 

Looks like it might just make it on its own three feet with a truckload of blu-tack. I've scrounged around the house for something metal that's small enough to fit in that front area, with no luck. I really don't want to order anything, so I'm thinking I might find some tiny pebbles outside that might be heavier than b/t for the same volume.

 

IMG_20200622_232037140.jpg

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For filling small spaces with weight, I flatten airgun pellets. The metal is soft enough to be shaped easily. Nails or panel pins work and can be bent with pliers and garden wire is another option.

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Hey thanks all. 

 

I live in a small apartment in downtown DC, with neither guns nor garden so I'm not really as set up as I would be if we were somewhere more permanent. I wondered about paper clips but I'm not convinced they are actually that heavy for their volume. 

 

Anyway it stands up fine with the blu tack as you can see so it'll probably be ok. I'll do a final check with tape before gluing and see how I go.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Finally I made some progress on this. I found and ordered some tiny metal nuts that must be for remote control cars or something like that. I jammed a bunch of those into the blu-tack blob and the plane now sits up convincingly.

 

So I've sealed it up and done some filling - as a result of all the crap in the nose area it barely stuck together so I needed a sliver of putty on one side seam ahead of the wing, and I tidied up a few other spots too. For such an ancient kit it actually fit together pretty well. From my limited experience I feel like Airfix was really on song in these 70s kits.

 

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A bit more of a scrub up and it'll be ready for some paint.

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Hi,

 

Looking good.

 

Mine is in the red white and grey scheme from not long after it was released. Don't suppose they sell lead tape for sticking on windows over there in the states - not as popular as it used to be but there is still a market over here for pseudo antique leaded windows, The strip is usually about 9mm wide and comes in various lengths on a spool - perfect for rolling/folding to make weights in my experience. One spool has lasted me 20 or so years.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

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10 hours ago, PeterB said:

Hi,

 

Looking good.

 

Mine is in the red white and grey scheme from not long after it was released. Don't suppose they sell lead tape for sticking on windows over there in the states - not as popular as it used to be but there is still a market over here for pseudo antique leaded windows, The strip is usually about 9mm wide and comes in various lengths on a spool - perfect for rolling/folding to make weights in my experience. One spool has lasted me 20 or so years.

 

Cheers

 

Pete

Yeah that was the version I had as a kid. It was pretty cool though I now can't remember if I actually painted it up like that or I just remember the illustration. 

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IMG_20200709_230830963.jpg

 

I'll use a gloss varnish over that once I do another coat of black. Normally I'd just use gloss black but I am running on short supplies here and with an imminent international move - I hope - I don't want to be gathering more stuff just now.

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