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Douglas Bader Hurricane 242 squadron 1/48


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It probably was my browser to be fair, so this time I've assembled the whole thing including links in OneNote first

 

So progress report covering cockpit and gear bay

 

It may not look like a lot of progress, but it's taken a fair amount of time

 

Troy posted a marvellous photo of the starboard exit panel (this is part of it):

 

spacer.png

 

so I copied it, printed to a Jetcal decal and had a go. I filled the recesses with a little thinned black acrylic, then cut some steel painted stretched sprue to make the locking bar. The handle I made by taking some 0.3mm rod and flattening one end with pliers to make the upper part (I previously tried gluing cut out sheet to rod but it never looks good)

 

The result was disappointing:

 

50824493381_fee79d224e_c.jpg

 

 I then looked in the Airfix instructions and found there was a decal supplied for the warning and Open and Shut positions, so I stripped off the original decal, applied the Airfix decal and cut out the two notes pages decals and tried again, looks respectable now:

 

50824493471_9bf04032fd_c.jpg

 

 

For the port side I found an a picture of an old Eduard photoetch, copied and printed it to a Jetcal, it looks ok, but could be better. I also found a photo of the two meters and copied that to Jetcal. It looks ok but not great. I built up the big control on the port panel from rod and flattened rod, I found a photo showing a red rotary knob, it probably should be black. I dry brushed a bit of metal colour and it doesn't look bad. I also cut a bit of photoetch to represent the throttle lever. A few bits of stretch sprue painted black and light colour finish off the port panel

 

I thought I was done with the port panel but then checked my references, I had copied this picture:

 

50824586942_de2bf55aa7_c.jpg

 

 

but then checked Troy's picture of the Finnish Huri and found it was different, so went for the new scheme:

 

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Basically there are two controls, plus two switches for the shrouded cockpit lights, one black on the sidewall, and one brass on the panel (like a very old style light switch) so I added those. I'm still not clear what the controls are, one is described as a propellor control, but for the Rotol constant speed there is no pitch control!!

 

I scraped off the meters decal and painted the angled ledge white then black then attempted to scratch off the meter face through the black to the white, that looked terrible. Then I attempted to cut the meters from left over photoetch, that looked bad. In the end I cut out the last pair of meters from my sheet of jetcal (I had printed four just in case) and just stuck them on complete with the backing - I'm reasonably ok with this now:

 

50824493606_f792ca8309_c.jpg

 

 

I have done a bit of tidying up on the main cockpit, added a couple of small stopcocks to the right of the seat, a quick small lagged pipe to the right, with two smaller brass pipes above, and a bigger linkage from the throttle body, also the funny little actuator for the quick harness release you see on top of the frame on the port side

 

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I'm onto the gear bay now - most pictures show it grey and not aluminium. However I've gone with aly semi matt and it looks good, with a bit of Tamiya black wash

 

I added the leather or canvas strip in the wheel bay and the smaller pipe alongside the main cooling pipe, plus a couple of (pneumatic) lines from the cylinder, they're not going anywhere yet, they will go to the gear cylinders that go on later

 

I had a lot of trouble fitting the cockpit correctly to the lower wing, which I correctly (phew!) deduced was caused by the rear end of the cooling pipe. Having filed that I finally got a fit, so this is where I am:

 

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Looks like the red canvas needs a bit of rework!! Needs to be weathered to much darker, stuck down better, and the yellow bits painting grey

 

Gun bays next!

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On 1/13/2021 at 9:50 AM, nickhenfrey said:

...I added the leather or canvas strip in the wheel bay...

That's great you've added this detail! I didn't realize it was there until I crawled around under a Canadian Hurricane a couple of years ago.

I'm enjoying seeing your build.

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  • 4 weeks later...

Yeah - thanks to @Troy Smithfor the info on that red canvas/whatever it is in the wheel bay

 

This is actually several updates rolled into one - I wasn't expecting the gun covers to take so long to do!!!!!!

 

So first - this might be a problem!!!

 

I test fitted both upper wings, and basically they don't fit without a huge amount of bending to fit the front centre to the lower wing

 

50941559658_3762b0dc76_c.jpg

 

 

50942362377_ec4e9d8805_c.jpg

 

 

I thought I'd got something  glued way too high onto to the lower wing. Thinking I'd have to do some heavy duty filing I then test fitted the upper wing to the fuselage halves and the wings are nowhere near curved enough.

 

50942362522_1e95b861d6_c.jpg

 

 

So I then forced one upper wing into place on the lower wing and with my third hand tried the fuselage half and it seems to fit. Anyone have the same issue? Essentially both upper wings are far too flat, and need major bending. Perhaps this is a "feature" of the 2020 re-release?

 

By the way that first picture definitely emphasizes the rear wing issue - that step should not be there!

 

And onto the gun bays. I always used to paint mgs black or dark grey with quite a bit of light grey and silver dry brushing. This time I found I had some Tamiya gun metal so I tried that. The guns do look quite dark and metallic, but when I looked at the photos, they look matt black!! So I put a lot of black wash on, and they look OK I think....

 

50941559818_574375a9c0_c.jpg

 

 

I used Alclad semi matt aly with just a little Tamiya black wash. I added the gun actuators, which I guess are (Bowden?) cables, rather than electrical or pneumatic, and that's about it. I painted the ammo belts in alternate swishes of gun metal brown and yellow to get he look of individual bullets without going overboard. They look ok from a reasonable distance

 

I tried the Eduard gun covers, and I probably did them wrong, because I folded the inner lattice back onto the cover itself, and it's difficult to describe, but the lattice is very fragile, I will try both sets of covers, Eduard and Airfix (which fortunately are identical in size) the Airfix items are OK, and actually who cares what they look like off? I only want to see the model either with or without the covers fitted, I'm not interested in the covers themselves when they are not fitted - do I????

 

50941559888_304668e35c_c.jpg

 

 

Well, I wrote the above around four weeks ago, but been struggling with the gun bay covers ever since. So in the end I unfolded the Eduard items, cut the lattice underside from the covers themselves and glued them back on. Trouble is they just don't seem to fit, so a lot of the lattice is now bent and buckled

 

50942362442_5b24c3fdd5_c.jpg

 

 

Then I tried test fitting. Well it's complicated because the spars that divide the main gun covers from the small ammo covers are part of the gun bays, whereas everything else, including, obviously, the cutouts are on the upper wings

 

So several days of filing and test fitting, and bending the spars and I'm sitting there thinking this will never work and why oh why didn't Airfix make the spars as part of the wing? Well obviously they didn't because opening the gun bays was optional

 

This went on to make me realize three things:

 

1. It would have been much better if they'd done the same as their 1970s 1/24 scale and just moulded the wings with the cutouts, and if you didn't want to do the gun bays then you glue the covers on

2. Therefore I would act like that is what they did: I cut off the spars from the gun bay parts and fabricated my own on the upper wings: I dropped the gun covers in then slotted and glued in my new spars so the cover was a perfect fit

3. This whole issue was my own OCD in wanting to be able to fit the gun bay covers perfectly, most ppl if they are exposing the gun bays simply tack the gun covers haphazardly onto the upper wing to represent where the mechs would have slid them if they were rearming

 

Then I found another photo @Troy Smith had posted of the gun bays and it seems the Eduard representation of the retainers for the fasteners aren't really accurate at all, so I'm now making those from 0.5mm sheet polystyrene

 

All in all I'm rather disappointed by the gun bay section of the Eduard set - it's neither practical nor looks right. Coupled with the strange Airfix decision made, for me, this all a quite painful exercise, which could have been much simpler. Of course this is all in my opinion, and other modellers would probably have sailed through this, worked around it, or simply not got as obsessive as I did (having said that we're all pretty obsessive, aren't we really?)

 

OK - so after a lot more effort here are the gun bays, with my home made spars and fastener retainers - which are probably oversize:

 

50942255266_01c87eefb3_c.jpg

 

 

And from the underside:

 

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And the reworked main covers, look ok without a magnifying glass/macro lens

 

50941559683_4247b285ff_c.jpg

 

 

So, that was a lot more work than I thought it would be

 

Now I've been thinking rivets..................................

 

And of course googling I find there is a fantastic Hurricane already on Britmodeller with rivets:

 

 

 

 

By @ad70 - he used Archer rivets - looks like a loooooooooot of work (but a magnificent result)

 

I am playing with an alternate idea for the domed rivets, here is a prototype (stuck on the inside of the wing as a test, sprayed with Alclad Grey primer/microfiller) I am going to attempt a whole wing next

 

50941559963_a42101db2c_c.jpg

 

 

I particularly want the rivets on the side engine cowlings, in the picture of Bader in front of the boot, there are definitely rivets there

 

So I'm off to experiment more with rivets!

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  • 4 weeks later...

A couple of updates in quick succession....

 

Rivets

 

Well the plan is (was?) to use aluminium foil to represent the panels with domed rivets, and simply using a riveting tool from the rear

 

I looked at the thinnest foil available and decided on 0.018mm hairdresser's foil, It turns out this is really just a short roll of  ordinary kitchen foil. I am planning to have the shiny side outside, and paint it, as the dull side is advertised as being non-stick!!!! My prototype in the previous update is based on that

 

Alternatives are:

 

  • bare metal foil - would have to roll the rivets through the backing paper - may try when I've had more experience  (it's a lot more expensive!!!!)
  • copper foil - want to be able to rub the paint off at panel lines to naturally simulate the same thing
  • Copper aluminium leaf - I think it will tear, may try if all else fails

 

I see the issues with the 0.018mm foil as:

 

  • It's 50% thicker than bare metal, but this is probably ok because I want to create the texture rather than just wrap existing texture
  •  
  • The edges may show, I will attempt to cut it accurately so the edges line up with the panel lines, and either cut it into the plastic panel line or just fold it in. Foil is interesting stuff, as I'm sure a lot of you know, it's critical to flatten the edges, however I cut it the edges are always burred
  •  
  • How to attach it to the plastic - I will try and use Future/Klear - because it's thin, non-destructive - and seems to have worked quite well on prototype 2 (plan is to paint it on the back of the foil round the edges and along the rivet and panel lines so you get that slight bent metal effect (well you can hope can't you?)

 

I have another issue in that I am using a single riveter but the rivets in the double lines should be opposite one another not staggered in any way. I am experimenting with a small diameter steel rod at one end to engage the riveter, so that two successive lines match up - but it is extreeeeeeemely fiddly, I may need to make up a jig, ah - got a solution now…..

 

A test sheet - there are lots of those!

 

51022283493_3da9497d56_c.jpg

 

 

My means of aligning double rows of reivets, the teeth engage on the right angle rule and start at the same point (well that's the plan)

 

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And one of many rejects stuck to the inside of the fuselage for effect

 

51022283373_30026f78df_c.jpg

 

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 Moving on, I decided to make a push on getting the wings and fuselage buttoned up

Had to look at the landing lights, punched some aluminium foil disks and stuck over the plastic parts (painted black) and then built up the visible framework

Then very fiddly, spiralled some thin fuse wire painted it black and cut and glued it to form the framework for the bulb holder. I think I probably should have just taken a  photo and printed out at hi-res


So done that. Spent ages filing the raised parts on the lower wing to avoid trouble, and then glued the upper wings in place. As I previously mentioned it took a humongous amount of force to form the front of each upper wing, and had to use super glue to hold it but reasonable successful

 

Lots of clamping required

51023017211_0363097ae2_c.jpg

 

Not so pretty (yet)

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Q Should the trailing edge be that thick?

A = No!!

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The landing light

51023112567_24dab07e0e_c.jpg

 

Then onto the fuselage, built up the Eduard instrument panel, I see they now do the instruments themselves with glossy finish, avoids the little drops of gloss varnish, and they look pretty good, nearly forgot the firewall, which actually isn't visible

And onto fitting the fuselage onto the wings

 

I HATE filler

 

So many, many, test fits, and nipping little bits out here and there I was finally able to get the fuselage to slot either side onto the wings and with a little bit of bending got the rear part flush and glued that on with poly cement, superglue, and when all set wadged in a load of E6000 to get the strongest joint, knowing a huge force will be required to close that gap at the front

In the process I broke off the throttle control on the port fuselage side, so remade it and the little lever behind and this time glued them onto the frame - with a much better result than before

And here we are, over six months and a major milestone, well not complete, but underway

 

Centre and rear fitting nicely, bit of a gap at the front to close!

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Looks bad but that gap will close!

OK

 

And cockpit still looking ok

51023112752_9e522d5628_c.jpg

 


 

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I see that the 1/48 kit has some of the same issues as the 1/72 kit. Fuselage and wing roots don't match that well and those over-thick wing trailing edges.

 

 

 

 

Chris

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7 hours ago, dogsbody said:

I see that the 1/48 kit has some of the same issues as the 1/72 kit. Fuselage and wing roots don't match that well and those over-thick wing trailing edges.

 

 

 

 

Chris

Chris

 

Yes, I was expecting a fair bit of work from reading others' builds, but seem to be over the worst now

 

I will be dealing with the trailing edge, and then back to... 

 

... riveting

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@dogsbody

 

Chris - 

 

well the fit wasn't straightforward, but brute force, trimming of obstructed parts and loads of glue have done the job, this is after some basic sanding and filing, but no filler, and no rescribing yet, so it can be done without major gaps, but it's certainly not easy…

 

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  • 4 months later...

Actually I wish now I'd read Basilisk's build log to the end - what a fantastic result

 

So I decided to tone back the fasteners, and address the curvature between wing and fuselage. From what I can see the fuselage panels curve outward and the wing root panels curve upward so that they meet to form a smooth overall curve (if that makes sense) I have started with coats of Mr Surfacer 500 to try and smooth out the wing root, which I think will do the trick - otherwise I may use Squadron Green stuff-  but I don't like it's consistency or stickiness or something else with it always seems to make a mess, but at least I can sand it down

 

In the meantime I simply sanded the wing trailing edges to get that sharp edge, took the simple root of mostly filing the underside inboard of the main flaps, top and bottom of the flaps. Easy to re-scribe the underside, not so easy to recreate the upper side detail

 

OK, so ten months into the build and here's where we are:

 

The aluminium foil panels looked great, but attaching them was a flop. I tried Future and it just didn't stick. In the end I went with super glue, but it dried so quickly I ended with hardened pools underneath, so gave up with that:

 

Wing upper side and curvature between wing and fuselage

 

51244520838_10d91bc54b_c.jpg

 

Wing underside

 

51244520883_b02dd171c0_c.jpg

 

Close up of the wing root curve after primer

 

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I pulled off the ally, then spent days sanding the panels back flat and re-scribing the panel lines, which wasn't easy as the scribing blade insisted on detouring round the hard superglue

 

I then went on to try some HGW rivets. Preparation is all, I primed with Alclad grey, then coated with Future, and one double line stuck, one half stuck, what a drag. To cap it off I ran my finger over the finished result, shone a light on and could feel and see absolutely no raised effect

 

In the end I used the Trumpeter punch set, the #3 punch with a sideways flick effect to apply every single rivet individually. You see why this post is so late....

 

They look OK at the moment

 

At this stage I've pre-shaded, applied some white squiggles, laid out where I think the roundels and code letters will go, and sprayed white for the under and fuselage decals, and grey where I think the code letters will go, and then applied some masks (Montex for roundels, hand cut for LED and fin flashes):

 

Checking where the LED should go

 

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Those should be exactly 80" inboard

 

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But I moved the undersides out a bit and reduced to 45"

 

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Cutting the LED masks

 

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and trying to apply them straight

 

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After researching (mostly on this site) I have assumed the following:

The Hurricane in this picture:

 

51319494868_2f477855c7_c.jpg

 

is V4676 in September 1940

 

It is the A camo pattern

 

It has a Rotol spinner

 

It should have

 

 49" B upper wing roundels 80" centre to wingtip (I've just masked these with Montex, no white)

 

50" A lower wing roundels 80" centre to wingtip

 

30" code letters in light grey, (the picture confirms the code letters are quite "bold")

 

35" A1 fuselage roundels

 

8" Black serial numbers

 

I am using the picture for the port side placement, mirroring the roundel placement on the stbd side, and arranging the codes at the same spacing

 

I will put the serial numbers mirrored, so that on the port side it is aft of the code (you can't see it in the picture), on the stbd side the seem to run under the L

 

Hope that all seems sensible....

 

The wing leading edge is still a bit dodgy, so I've applied mor Mr Surfacer, sanded and reprimed, in the process I've oversprayed my landing light reflectors, doh!

 

Next is a bit more aluminium in high wear places, wing roots, leading edge and cowling front, masks then some salt and alcohol, and the first coat of real paint

 

I then masked off the roundels, code (LE-D) and the tail fin

Upper wing 49" Type B Montex

Lower wing 45" Type A Montex (50" didn't fit, and they are less than 80" from the wingtip) over white paint

Squadron codes over light grey

Fuselage roundel = 35" Type A1 Montex over with paint

Fin = 8" stripes Tamiya tape

 

I am using all Tamiya arylics for the camo

(I mix 2 parts paint to 1 part X20A at 15psi, sprays like a dream)

 

Sky = XF-21

Earth = XF-52:5, XF-49:1

Green  = XF-81

 

Earth applied, only lightly where the green will go so as not to distort the pre-shading

 

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I cut the masks from Tamiya tape, with some heavy duty thread stuck just inside the edge to give the slight overspray effect

 

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I did the green in sections, because the masks seem to come off faster than I could attach them:

 

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After a bit of reverse masking and touching up:

 

51319525393_58132854f6_c.jpg

 

Then I sprayed the roundel yellow (on both the yellow and blue A1 circles), then red, then blue using the following ratios:

 

Dull Roundel Red - Mix of 75% flat Red (XF-7 ), 25% NATO Brown (XF-68)

Blue - Mix of 95% flat Blue (XF-8), 5% flat Black (XF-1)

Yellow - Flat Yellow (XF-3) with a tiny amount of flat Red (XF-7)

 

(sorry forgot who published these, but they look great)

 

Red

 

51318581837_064f41d6f1_c.jpg

 

Blue

 

51319317946_8b67ab8d60_c.jpg

 

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The big reveal - oops that's going to need some touching up!

 

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So, with a tiny bit of touching has brought me here

 

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Pleased to see the rivet detail is still visible

 

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But the paintwork is very fragile

 

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I was going to add the gear next, but in fact I think I will add some metal chipping, retouch up then at least one coat of Future

 

Also pleased to see the cockpit is still looking ok

 

51320097169_c946b09761_c.jpg

 

51319582478_ebd5449a00_c.jpg

 

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Quick update

 

So I have:

 

done a bit of touching up

 

Corrected the camo around the L-Lima on the port side, you can see from the group photo the green brown split runs between L-Lima and E-Echo

 

Corrected the flash on the fin, so it doesn’t extend so far down

 

Added some paint chipping by filing and chipping with tweezers and a metal moulding tool

 

Run over some panel lines and raised edges and big details with a Faber-Castell silver pencil

 

Run along my home made rivets very lightly with the silver pencil and light green, tan, pink, light blue and white Staedtler pencils to make them seem more proud than perhaps they really are. From a distance this does seem to make the metal wings look, well, more metal

 

Still got the masks on the starboard codes, because I'm going to apply the serial numbers before removing and then defo a coat or two of Future

 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Coming along very nicely!

 

Someone pointed out to me when I was at this point with mine a couple of years ago that the stirrup step is actuated by the rearmost handhold (you can see it open in the photo above with Bader in it). Cursing, I cut the thing open and made a folding cover for it out of old photoetch and retouched the area with paint. You can't unsee it now, can you (I couldn't!)? 🤣

 

Glad to see you got your cockpit installed okay. I glued my seat to the fuselage and slipped it into the cockpit framework, rather than the way the instructions would have you do it as that little foible was pointed out to me early.

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Thanks for the comments

 

yes, I thought it was something like that! Most pictures of it on the ground do show the handhold open. Another thing for me to worry about! So where does the handhold cover go to when it's open?

 

I'm actually working on the radiator at the moment, like everything when you start looking at the pictures you think - oh that's what it looks like!

 

It seems there are two very thin rods connected to the non-moving bit, and then two more rods connected to the radiator flap. Both Airfix and Eduard seem to have combined these four into a single pair

 

Also is it me or is the front of the radiator too narrow vertically and too wide horizontally????

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  • 8 months later...

So I imagine everyone's gone now, waiting for an update

 

Well I am very nearly there now

 

Ad as always happy about some bits unhappy with others:

 

the radiator took a bit of filler to smooth out but looks ok I think

 

the formation and landing light covers I cut and bent from different materials, but in all cases the superglue has fogged the insides, sigh....

 

I lost the original gunsight, started to cut down a spare Spitire on, and pinged that, then bought the Brengun set, spent ages painting up, dropped it in the cockpit, whereupon it totally disappeared, and then finally used  second Brengun one (they supply three) with an oval acetate cut out

 

The Airfix stencils went on ok with Humbrol Decalfix (which I am coming to really like), but unfortunately didn't include the distinctive antifreeze markings on the radiator, so I bought some HGW stencils. The smaller ones just disintegrated, and the larger ones didn't stick - until I put them back down with Decalfix and left for a week - and then they stayed ok

 

I originally put on the three Airfix Avgas decals, but took them off having researched (on this site) and concluding they were inappropriate

 

My home made squadron leader decal, and Bader's boot decals came out ok I think 

 

I cut into the exhaust outlets with a scalpel, not expecting much success, but in fact they came out really well, I thin partly due to the soft Airfix plastic

 

I crated a moderate rust finish on the exhausts using Alclad burnt manifold, and then mixed up some cheap acrylics from Amaxon and streaked that on to them

 

I've used a mix of WD40 and black and brown acrylics for the stained underside, and so far looking OK, although it hasn't dried sufficiently to seal with Klear

 

So things still to do:

 

  • Aerial wire (can't decide between 0.1mm enamel wire or 0.2 mm fishing line - will try former first)
  • some more photoetch for the rudder actuators
  • Probably the pitot tube and other bits
  • Squadron leader badge on starboard side
  • Serial numbers on rear fuselage
  • Tidying up paint blemishes
  • Final coat of Klear, and Matt varnish on the fabric parts
  • Put the main canopy on
  • patches over the gun ports
  • Probably a million other things I've forgotten

 

But starting to look nice (I think!):

 

52038013701_a009cbd401_b.jpg

 

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wow, look at that hair on the sensor of my camera!

 

More when finally finished - starting to think about the Revell-o-gram B-17f build now...

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sorry about all the typos

 

just cleaned the sensor, so a couple more:

 

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an interesting note on macro photography, I have been using an OM Zuiko 50mm F3.5 macro on my Sony A7R2, and a 40mm Nikon AFS micro on my D3200, but I don't think either is really doing the trick

 

These pictures are an OM Zuiko 100m F2.8 with extension tubes on the Sony body, I think the perspective is much more realistic - I've just successfully bid on a Tamron SP 90mm macro, I'll see how that goes...

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oh, and one on the underside

 

I think Bader would have made sure the upper side would be relatively clean, but perhaps not the underside?

 

And how much oil and dirt would there be in battle conditions? Difficult to be sure, it seems to look ok to me....

 

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(I wonder if that WD40 will ever really dry...)

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I just got through with this thread.  You have a wonderful build.  In junior high in Brownsville, Texas, the very tip of south Texas, I stumbled across this huge book "Reach for the Sky".  I had been into modeling as much as a pre-teen, turning into a teenager was.  I built Revell kits OOB with whatever combination of decals I though looked the "coolest".  Accuracy and the concept of researching a subject was the last thing on my mind.  Generally, would the built kit be good enough for a cheap metal shelf in my room, or long distance target practice with my BB rifle.

 

After reading the book, I got hooked on historical research on all things WWII.   Prior to this, I had never even heard of Douglas Bader.  It greatly influenced my building of kits, my appreciation of history, and a greater appreciation for tactics which came in handy when I received an all expense paid trip to Southeast Asia in the 70s.  It wasn't until the 90s that I read articles about how difficult Bader was and how not everyone thought he was just the best thing since sliced bread.

 

Your build is great.  I have in my stash the 1/48 DB Spitfire kit.  I may just have to look at it again as the next kit to build after the generic Tamiya Spit I am attempting to not mess up.  Thanks for the photos, the new update and way to go!!

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2 hours ago, nickhenfrey said:

I've used a mix of WD40 and black and brown acrylics for the stained underside, and so far looking OK, although it hasn't dried sufficiently to seal with Klear

 

1 hour ago, nickhenfrey said:

I think Bader would have made sure the upper side would be relatively clean, but perhaps not the underside?

Aircraft don't work well when dirty, they all get cleaned. 

1 hour ago, nickhenfrey said:

And how much oil and dirt would there be in battle conditions? Difficult to be sure, it seems to look ok to me....

Wartime Merlin's leak oil, a lot.  It's said if it's not leaking, it's run out of oil. 

(peacetime transport Merlins, designed for chugging along,  were a lot more reliable and leak free, and these are often used in warbirds) 

 

and, to show what I mean,, the reference plane is new, on a test flight, 

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the 'oil' is burnt umber and a little black oil paint, neat, and then streaked with a brush wetted in lighter fluid.  

Note also it makes for a unappreciated Hurricane stain, look at the gear doors, and then look at photos,  

eg  note this one of of the Gloster batch which had flaky paint, and has just landed,. Sammy Allard, 85 Sq, VY-K, July 1940.   

note the oil stains, underneath, and that characteristic door stain.  Once you know, you see it all the time.Hawker-Hurricane-I-RAF-85Sqn-VYK-Geoffre

 

Regarding oil and exhaust,  and varnish...many folk do an overall varnish on these.  Don't, because exhaust deposits are really matt,

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oil is has a slight shiny  sheen, airframes are smooth, and unless, really weathered, and  your subject is still fairly new.

Allowing these different finishes makes for a more realistic model.

 

2 hours ago, nickhenfrey said:

Aerial wire (can't decide between 0.1mm enamel wire or 0.2 mm fishing line - will try former first)

Hmm, by later in the Bob they had switched from the TR9 radio sets (which need an aerial wire) to the TR1311, which don't.  The giveaway is if that triangular tag is visible.  Similar era,  no tag, thus no wire.   note, this is one of the 50 mid production Mk.I's built with a fabric wing 

Hawker-Hurricane-I-RAF-242Sqn-LET-SubLt-

 

 

2 hours ago, nickhenfrey said:

Probably a million other things I've forgotten

Mirror, and that white stripe on the back on the blade, just above the chap head on extreme left

 

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On 05/08/2021 at 11:55, nickhenfrey said:

Also is it me or is the front of the radiator too narrow vertically and too wide horizontally????

the edges need thinning

 

sh43.jpg

 

sh38.jpg

from here

Which is a really really helpful walkround, as the Shuttlewortth plane is not overly tidy warbird glossy, , and has a very good patina of a working aircraft.

 

2 hours ago, nickhenfrey said:

an interesting note on macro photography, I have been using an OM Zuiko 50mm F3.5 macro on my Sony A7R2, and a 40mm Nikon AFS micro on my D3200, but I don't think either is really doing the trick

 

These pictures are an OM Zuiko 100m F2.8 with extension tubes on the Sony body, I think the perspective is much more realistic - I've just successfully bid on a Tamron SP 90mm macro, I'll see how that goes...

I use a five quid posted off ebay 2nd generation Concord point and shoot digital ..    

46471887365_e59d415ccb_b.jpg

 

Just i think really good cameras can show up way more than you want...  I like my cheapie as it produces photos that do a reasonable job of what I see...

from here https://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/235052380-hurricane-airfix-72nd-fabric-wing-mki-oob

 

 

 

Neat work, :goodjob:

HTH

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49 minutes ago, Troy Smith said:

Neat work, :goodjob:

HTH

Troy, thanks for all your comments and help, I really appreciate the efforts you have put into helping me, and others on this site

 

Tbh I think I bit off a bit more than I could chew with this. I'm going to try and take on board your last few points, I really like that streaked oil effect which I'd been struggling to get

 

Thanks again, I'll post again when properly finished, then it's on to DB's 222 Spitfire (in 1/24 and 1/48)

 

Btw eventually I'd like to do his 19 Spit, do you happen to know his code (QV-?) 

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1 hour ago, georgeusa said:

It wasn't until the 90s that I read articles about how difficult Bader was and how not everyone thought he was just the best thing since sliced br

George, I suspect that's the price we have to pay for someone that determined. I'm just pleased he was on our side, like him or not he had great charisma and really licked 242 back into shape after their problems in France

 

Thanks for the kind comments, I do like building specific aircraft, on the other hand there are times when I wish i was just building out the box, which is why I'm going to enter a couple of STGBs later this year

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One of the fondest memories of building kits as a kid was deciding what to do with the decal sheet included.  My focus then was what looked good to me.  So, many a finished kit received a mish-mash of markings to create the most unique or colorful finished kit I could make.  Whether they were for the specific version or that numbers, squadrons, markings did not match a specific existing aircraft was not a consideration.  The shark-mouth hurricane with nose art and the full fin markings was what should have been painted.  Now, I feel I have to be responsible and make sure the markings match the kit I am making and are as close as I can get to the real aircraft that existed.  The good old days of using the artistic license of a nine-year old has been superseded by research and historical accuracy.  For one of my next builds, I should let that 9 year old out.

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Update May 22

 

So, very, very nearly finished:

  • Added the main canopy,
  • Added aerial wire (0.1mm fishing line)
  • Added pitot tube
  • Added the starboard squadron leader patch
  • Added the gun patches - I'm not sure if they would be separate squares or one strip of fabric, I've added the equivalent of 6" squares
  • Added another coat of Future/Klear
  • Sprayed all the wood and canvas parts matt Vallejo varnish (1:1 with Vallejo thinners - I've had no success with Vallejo Air paints - they always seem to clog and then leave big chunks of gunk in the airbrush - the varnishes spray really well)
  • Sprayed all the metal parts Vallejo acrylic varnish
  • Added some more photo etch
    • Handles on canopy
    • Rudder actuator
  • Redid oil smears on underside
  • Added the rectangular mirror
    • After many attempts I 3d printed the mount, then made the mirror from some copper tape painted black with some alu foil stuck on - doesn't look toooo bad
  • Painted the little lines on the inside of the prop - at first I thought that @Troy Smith was pulling my leg, but they're clear in multiple photos and on at least two blades so must be real
  • Thinned the radiator scoop a little

To do:

  • The lens for the light on the underside
  • The rear light
  • Maybe - strip off the light covers on the leading edge and try again
  • And - what about the serial number?
  • Oh, and the funny little footstep which is linked to the rear handhold, and am I going to attempt to open that handhold.........

 

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  • 1 month later...

Final update

 

Well, I'm calling time on this model

 

I started on 1 September 2020 and finished a couple of weeks ago, call it 1 June, so 21 months in all

 

It's certainly not perfect - but then I never expected it to be

 

I'm quite pleased though that I've actually finished (well almost finished) and that it has come out quite nicely in my eyes

 

Here's the final set of photos (although I may add the serial numbers later)

 

Thanks to those that watched, particularly @Troy Smith for his advice, comments and the time he took to upload some really useful photos

 

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