Uncle Pete Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 (edited) When I was music director on cruise ships there were six words my boss the cruise director could say that always filled me with dread... "Pete, I've had a great idea". Now that I'm retired I find myself doing the same thing to myself. The plan was, take an Airfix Spitfire starter set that I found in a charity shop for £3 and turn it into a pylon racer owned by the airline I created for the missus when I turned this Halifax (charity shop, £4) into a "Handley Page Liverpool." I should know better but with a gleeful cry of "Dunning? Kruger? Never heard of them. Hold my beer!" I got stuck in. The plan was to put blisters on the nose to make room for the bigger and more powerful Rolls Royce Dragonslayer V-Several engine (packing the power of 2800 horses, three camels and a badger), install an oversize prop blagged from the Halifax above (which had come with two sets), add some extra exhaust pipes (also from the Halifax), switch out the undercarriage for fixed trike gear with pants and spats (because it looks more "sporty") and emblazon it with sponsor stickers like a F1 race car. Sometimes that which looks good on the coach's clipboard doesn't work so well on the field of play. Got off to a halfway decent start by gluing the halves of a bomb in place... Then made some underpinnings out of plasticard... Applied a metric ton of filler, sanded my fingers to the bone, then had symmetry problems, masking disasters and a canopy that didn't want to fit for love nor money. It had become a Lemony Snickett build (a series of unfortunate events). "Kit Fatigue" set in after a couple of weeks of futzing and fettling so I just finished the blasted thing with warts and all. (I had built a perfect 1:72 scale model of the Dragonslayer engine out of duct tape, chewing gum and toenail clippings but sadly forgot to photograph it before gluing the fuze shut). A slight miscalculation of the U/C and prop means the plane can also be used to mow the runway. I'm not sure if the canopy popped up a bit while the glue was setting or if I simply hadn't noticed the left side when I installed it but the thought of cutting it off and doing it again was a bit too daunting so it'll have to sit in the cabinet with the right side facing out! But, of course, the right side had the worse masking mess. Sponsors were recruited from the wife's tastes... Marks and Spencer, Versace, Prosecco, Jimmy Choo etc and, of course, her favourite footy boys, Everton... Out of curiosity, does anybody else find Mr Decal paper to be a bit "grabby"? I had a lot of trouble slipping the decals into place (or not into place!) I raise my hat to you clever blokes that scratchbuild successfully! Of course you're cheating with all that stuff you have like skill, ability, patience... Much as my execution was, shall we say, a bit dodgy I still like the idea and having had a bit of practice may give it another whack after Christmas when the £2 and £3 kits show up in Aldi and the charity shops. Here she is with a couple of unmodified Spits... Now it's onward and upward as I'm about to tackle a Roden SE 5 which will be totally OOB. Wish me luck! Cheers, lads. Edited October 26, 2020 by Uncle Pete 23 1 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike romeo Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Great imagination and a unique result! Have you sought professional help?😉 Rgds Martin 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnT Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Brilliant. Totally bonkers but brilliant. Love the Halifax job too. One thing, I tale it the wings are not modified and it’s perspective in the photo that makes the racers wings look twice the size of the other two “normal” Spits? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Pete Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 5 minutes ago, JohnT said: One thing, I tale it the wings are not modified and it’s perspective in the photo that makes the racers wings look twice the size of the other two “normal” Spits? It's a combination of perspective, the colour and the fact that my photography skills are no better then my build skills! (I love that Mitchell quote in your tagline, by the way... Says it all!) 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
roginoz Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Not sure whether to give this imaginative build a "like" or a "laugh" so I gave it the latter as your posts always give me a grin. And I like the novel Spitslayer. RJ would have approved, I'm sure !! Rog 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Pete Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 12 minutes ago, roginoz said: Not sure whether to give this imaginative build a "like" or a "laugh" Definitely go with the "laugh"... I take the builds of others seriously but my own? Not so much! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mike romeo Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 59 minutes ago, JohnT said: Brilliant. Totally bonkers but brilliant. Love the Halifax job too. One thing, I tale it the wings are not modified and it’s perspective in the photo that makes the racers wings look twice the size of the other two “normal” Spits? They do look big. Atcherly, modding the wings by clipping the tips would make a lot of sense for a racer. Not that "sense" has much to do with this.😀 Rgds Martin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Boak Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Look at the Spitfire built for the World Air Speed attempt (didn't happen) for clipped wings. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SAT69 Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 The appeal of your build is that you let your imagination run and something truly distinctive came from it. I'm impressed with the end result and with the airline you created for your missus. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Pete Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 58 minutes ago, mike romeo said: modding the wings by clipping the tips I had actually thought of doing that and using the clipped off bits for winglets but decided that might be pushing my luck a bit too far. It also occurred to me that the stance on the trike gear puts the wings more squarely toward the camera making them look bigger in the chord. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aardvark Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 (edited) 10 hours ago, Uncle Pete said: I think because of such a position of the exhaust of such a powerful engine, the lucky pilot will look something like this: 😉😁 I liked the article, Spitfire with a nose wheel too! B.R. Serge Edited October 26, 2020 by Aardvark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Hi Pete Great work and a fantastic thread, I love your narrative fella . Would have loved to have seen that engine before it was installed!!! Cracking job fella Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 That's genius. Outrageous, improbable and (to some) heretical; I love it! Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make an Olympus-powered Sunderland crop-sprayer. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Pete Posted October 26, 2020 Author Share Posted October 26, 2020 43 minutes ago, jackroadkill said: Your next mission, should you choose to accept it, is to make an Olympus-powered Sunderland crop-sprayer. Don't tempt me! 😛 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jackroadkill Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 Just now, Uncle Pete said: Don't tempt me! 😛 I reckon you'd do a brilliant job! How hard can it be?! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Abandoned Project Posted October 26, 2020 Share Posted October 26, 2020 10 hours ago, JohnT said: Totally bonkers but brilliant. Love the Halifax job too. 6 hours ago, jackroadkill said: That's genius. Outrageous, improbable and (to some) heretical; I love it! Couldn't agree more! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark.au Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Imagine the torque generated by a V16 engine driving that propeller! Great concept and execution, I enjoyed the description too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John R Posted October 27, 2020 Share Posted October 27, 2020 Typical Everton supporter - living in a dreamworld! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncle Pete Posted October 27, 2020 Author Share Posted October 27, 2020 2 minutes ago, John R said: Typical Everton supporter Don't blame me... I follow NFL but the missus wouldn't have liked to see a New England Patriots sticker on there! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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