Fairey Albacore

[825]

So far I've effectively finished 6AFVs and 2 on the way to completion with a half finished Sa Gladiator. The AFVs have been straightforward builds and although the Sea Gladiator does need some conversion work from the Airfix Gladiator it's a fairly decent build. Therefore as a final contribution (but never say never) I'm going for something a tad more challenging. The Albacore was a much maligned aircraft, it seems to have suffered from not being a Swordfish but was an effective torpedo and dive bomber and gave sterling service, particularly in the Med. Although it was intended as a Swordfish replacement it's performance was little better although it gave a significantly more favourable environment for its crew. But it sank and damaged a considerable tonnage of Axis shipping as well as finding use as a bomber in the Desert and all around the Med. They were also used in the Norwegian campaign and to mine German ports and waterways. 

 

The Albacore has been poorly serviced in kit form and a Swordfish conversion would be a mammoth undertaking. Special Hobby do box it in 1:48 and threatened one in the gentlemans scale a few years back but that never came to fruition. This Magna kit is the only one to my knowledge that exists in 1:72 and even then it's not easy to find. I picked this up, I think from a second hand dealer, at SMW a few years back always intending to build it. As a good Scot it looks like I did get a bargain. 

 

 

I have no illusions that it will be a challenging build but I do have a few months so I'll give it my best shot. 

[825]

So let's see what's in the box. All the main parts are moulded in Magna's old softish cream resin. The shapes look OK but here's pour blocks and flash to be removed as well as some pin holes. The surface is a little rough but hopefully some work with a polishing stick will deal with that. 

 

 

 

And a bag of the detail parts in white metal along with a piece of wire for the main spar for the upper wing. There's loads of extra metal which is par for the course with older Magna kits, newer ones are much better. But after a bit of time and patience they should be knocked into a reasonable shape. 

 

 

Two vac form canopies, one is a little yellowed but will be serviceable if I screw up the first one, and a small sheet of clear plastic for the fuselage windows. 

 

 

A transfer sheet thats nice looking at first but I think it will be pretty useless as it's crazed. I anticipate Novo style shattering into a million pieces if I use it. 

 

 

One thing Magna have always done well is their instruction sheets; three pages, two of which have copious diagrams. 

 

 

And 5 sheets of possible options, obviously there being only two on the transfer sheet, most in variations of the Temperate Sea Scheme. I should be able to source something in my transfers stash or cobble something together from excess Swordfish transfers. 

 

 

The additional package insert gives evidence of the kits age, at least 20 years old. 

 

 

First job will be to remove excess resin, then a good clean in the ultrasonic bath. 

[AdrianMF]

There is also an MPM 1/72 version, which is very nice, and a Pegasus (old green bag, not the newer and better white box generation) model, which is a bit rough. It will be interesting to see how the Magna kit goes together. Looking forward to this.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

[JOCKNEY]

Great stuff @825

I built the Magna Hawker Henley a while back and although it was a bit of a battle I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Best of luck with this one.

Cheers Pat 

[TEMPESTMK5]

Good evening 825

Another interesting build I take a seat to follow it .. Have fun

Best Regards

Patrice

[dogsbody]

Here's my Pegasus Applecore:

 

 

 

 

Chris

[825]

15 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

There is also an MPM 1/72 version, which is very nice, and a Pegasus (old green bag, not the newer and better white box generation) model, which is a bit rough. It will be interesting to see how the Magna kit goes together. Looking forward to this.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thanks Adrian, I wasn't aware of either the MPM or Pegasus model, the later MPM was release in 2001 which was before I came back seriously to aircraft modelling. I see from Scalemates, a Special Hobby kit is imminent, but it's been imminent for a while. 

 

12 hours ago, dogsbody said:

Here's my Pegasus Applecore:

 

 

 

 

Chris

Thanks Chris, it's fairly basic but the shapes look and should be the basis of a nice Albacore

 

13 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Great stuff @825

I built the Magna Hawker Henley a while back and although it was a bit of a battle I'm really pleased with how it turned out.

Best of luck with this one.

Cheers Pat 

Thanks Pat, I've a few Magna's in the stash but the only one I've built to finish was a DH Dove a few years ago. It was a bit of a challenge but in the end turned out nice. I'm waiting for another resin GB to have a go at some of the stranger items in the stash. 

13 hours ago, TEMPESTMK5 said:

Good evening 825

Another interesting build I take a seat to follow it .. Have fun

Best Regards

Patrice

Thanks Patrice, there will be a short delay of a few days as I finish some others off and clear a bit of time to do the not inconsiderable amount of preparation. 

[Grey Beema]

Mind if I sit in on this one?  I have a Skua going on in this GB but I like to see these new fangled designs take shape..

 

Good luck with your build.

 

 

[Ozzy]

Good luck with your build 825, looks an interesting subject.

[825]

Found this Printscale sheet of Albacore markings in the stash. 

 

 

 

With more than one MTO option I'll be able to choose one. The 820 NAS option from HMS Formidable during Operation Torch is the favourite presently. 

[AdrianMF]

Nice decal sheet - you only have ten left to go after this one! 
 

Regards,

Adrian

[occa]

Just be aware that the shape of the cowling is wrong on all kits I know of.
It was perfectly circular not only at the front but also at the trailing edge.
There was just a rectangular cutout for the carburetor intake that gradually started about halfway when seen from the side.

 

[DaveyGair]

I was considering a dual build with my MPM and Pegasus 1/72nd kits in this GB but I don't think I'll have time now, got loads of other projects I could do. I think we need another MTO GB soon!

 

Good luck and will watch with interest.

 

Davey.

[825]

Thanks everyone for you kind thoughts and helpful advice. Though @AdrianMF I think I'll wait a while before the next 10 get built. 

 

Its been a few days cutting off the excess resin, tidying everything up and giving everything a wash in my ultrasonic bath. 

 

 

and some paint onto the innards and some other parts. Always nice to get started

 

 

I've checked the fuselage fit and it's not at all bad. I've seen mainstream injection kits that are poorer. 

[JOCKNEY]

Glad to hear the fuselage joins well, my Henley wasn't a good fit so I put the bits in hot water and clamped them together which seemed to work.

I thoroughly enjoyed my build, I really hope you enjoy this one.

 

Cheers Pat 

 

[825]

2 hours ago, JOCKNEY said:

Glad to hear the fuselage joins well, my Henley wasn't a good fit so I put the bits in hot water and clamped them together which seemed to work.

I thoroughly enjoyed my build, I really hope you enjoy this one.

 

Cheers Pat 

 

There's a little more cleaning up needed, mainly the finer end of things rather than the hacking off of great bits of resin or white metal now. I have been pleased with the mouldings overall once you get down to the actual pieces. None of the resin parts seem misshapen. I do recall when I did my Dove one of the wings needed a fair amount of hot water dipping and bending to get straight. And the nose to fuselage joint along with the fuselage underwing joint (and the whole centre section) consumed a vast quantity of Milliput. There will be filler needed on the Albacore but it's looking positive. 

[AdrianMF]

The interior looks nice and busy. Are you going to build some sort of frame to hold the upper wings in place?

 

Regards,

Adrian

[825]

On 11/8/2020 at 5:06 PM, AdrianMF said:

The interior looks nice and busy. Are you going to build some sort of frame to hold the upper wings in place?

 

Regards,

Adrian

I think I'll give it a miss. As far as I can see although it's prominent it's mainly behind the canopy frames and under the upper wing so not really seen. I was thinking about putting some more interior in as it's not too full with the seats folded up. I think most parts are there but perhaps a little on the thin side. This is what it looks like once finished as it comes. 

 

 

 

Fuselage now closed up and for an older resin kit its kit it's not at all bad. There was a need for a bit of tape along the top to keep it completely closed but it will need a small amount of tidying up 

 

 

But the underside side is really good. 

 

[AdrianMF]

4 hours ago, 825 said:

think I'll give it a miss

I was thinking more about heavy resin wings and vac form canopy than the detail aspect

 

Fuselage looks good.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[825]

4 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

I was thinking more about heavy resin wings and vac form canopy than the detail aspect

 

Fuselage looks good.

 

Regards,

Adrian

Adrian, I see your point. Magna provide a piece of wire which threads through the top of the canopy and the upper wings thread onto that. I think with the support from the struts from the lower wing that should be sufficient. I've already drilled out the lower wings and fuselage for reinforcing wires at the wing roots and will do the same for the struts. So hopefully the whole structure should be strong enough. Fingers crossed. 

[825]

I'm still pondering what to do about the interior, most of it's there but it does look bare, mainly due to the folded seats and less than bulky parts. I have made a rear bulkhead and radio receiver from an etched IP from another kit and I'll have a think about what next to do.

 

 

The lower wings have a hole drilled and a wire spigot to both give strength and help locate the wings. 

 

 

Wings and tailplane on and left to let the glue cure. There's a bit of filler needed, especially around the tail. I also had to straightening the tailplane out by popping it in some boiling water then gently adjusting them. 

 

 

I'm really enjoying building this although I'm taking it slowly. 

[825]

The fin and rudder on along with the engine and associated air intakes. I've also filled the gaps and cleaned up the joints. Although the upper air intake assembly will need a bit of work once solid. 

 

[825]

More filler and sanding. I've been using Milliput which is great on resin and also acts as a cement reinforcing joints. However, as it really needs 24 hours to cure properly, after an initial smoothing with water the Albacore has to be left aside overnight. Anyway everything seems nice and smooth now and the undercarriage legs have been attached. As the kit is pretty heavy I was worried about a simple butt join between the resin and white metal so I've drilled out the legs and fuselage and pinned the joint before glueing with cyano. 

 

 

And a first coat of paint. The undersides will be Night so I'll paint the upperworks first. 

 

 

Always a satisfying point in a build when the first paint goes on. 

[tonyot]

Coming on really well,...... be careful as the wing want to sag on this kit, especially when you fit the upper wing and the struts press down under the weight of the upper wings. If I wee building mine again I would drill holes in the upper wings and form a spar from strong copper rod,...... to keep those upper wings with some dhiedral.

 

Keep up the good work,

 

Cheers

          Tony

[825]

4 hours ago, tonyot said:

Coming on really well,...... be careful as the wing want to sag on this kit, especially when you fit the upper wing and the struts press down under the weight of the upper wings. If I wee building mine again I would drill holes in the upper wings and form a spar from strong copper rod,...... to keep those upper wings with some dhiedral.

 

Keep up the good work,

 

Cheers

          Tony

Thanks Tony. Magna provide a length of brass wire for that purpose, which is threaded through a couple of holes in the canopy. I've already drilled the holes in the wings out and very carefully drilled through the canopy. I've trimmmed the canopy to size, But it'll need a bit more cleaning up to remove the blu-tack residue inside. I usually do most of the masking before fitting which may be best as although the panels are big compared to say a Fulmar it's quite complex. Then the next challenge is whether to paint before or after adding the wings. It's coming together bit by bit and the build is enjoyable but some of the work is painstaking. It took me about 3 hours to trim the canopy off the surround and get it to fit. I know now why I prefer injection moulded. 

 

I also drilled and pinned the lower wimgs with lengths of a paper clip as I wasn't too confident that a butt joint would be strong enough, especially as they have to support the upper wing too.