Finished! Supermarine Type 224, 1/72nd scale, Rareplanes vacform

[Mr T]

My first entry to this group build is the direct ancestor of the Spitfire. The Supermarine Type 224 was designed in response to Specification F.7/30 issued towards the end of 1931 for a single seat day and night fighter. Speed was to be no less than 250 mph and an armament of four machine guns.  A wide variety of types were tendered of a wide variety of configurations, no design was judged entirely successful and the Gladiator was  adopted instead. In the meantime another specification for a fighter was issued (F.5/34) for an eight gun fighter with a top speed of no less than 275mph. Several designs were built to this specification, although all were overshadowed by two designs submitted to the Air Ministry and given their own specification numbers F.37/34 and F36/34, the Spitfire and Hurricane respectively.

The Type 224 first flew in February 1934 and soon displayed a number of undesirable flying characteristics. In addition, its speed flew well short of the specification and the there were problems with the engine. This was the Rolls-Royce Goshawk, a steam cooled version of the Kestrel and it was hoped by dispensing with the normal radiators and relying on surface radiators, drag would be reduced. However, numerous problems were encountered and it was realized the whole cooling system was very vulnerable to the effects of gunfire. The 224 ended its flying days in 1937 and was used as a target in firing trials.

The Rareplanes kit first appeared in the early 1980s and comes on a single plastic sheet A separate sheet has the clear windscreen plus spare and there are no cast or resin parts. Surface detail is raised, but quite good, and I am tempted to leave well alone.  I will have a root around my spares box for a suitable propeller and replace the moulded in wheels with something a bit better. My plan is to halve one wheel and mount it on a ledge of plastic within the wheel spat. Decals will come from some Modedecal sheets for pre-war aircraft. First job will be to cut out the parts and sand them down, tedious, but a bit of proper old-fashioned modelling.

Let's see how this one will go.

[Dave Swindell]

Nice choice @Mr T , I think that was the first vacform kit I finished some 30 odd years ago, it's still lurking in a box somewhere....

[Col.]

An excellent choice indeed and well done for using a vacform kit. Sure many of us will enjoy watching your progress with this one

I was going to suggest using a spare two-blade prop from the Airfix Spitfire I kit but they look a bit different around the boss and spinner.

[Troy Smith]

7 hours ago, Mr T said:

First job will be to cut out the parts and sand them down, tedious,

only if done the old way. 

This maybe old news, if not, 

this guide, posted by John Adams,  has many techniques that greatly ease vacform modelling.

 

 

The tee-al and stick pads really work, as does scoring around and cracking out. 

 

HTH

 

T

[Mr T]

Parts already cut out and apart from the upper wing sanded down. John Adams explained it to a group of us at a Newark show about thirty years ago although I had worked out something similar for myself after talking to Doug  Feeney (ID Models). I think at the time when vacforms were more common than they are now quite a few Modellers were looking at ways to make the cutting out easier. The green coloured thick sanding blocks that are available in packs of three are good for sabing down. The tailplane and fin and rudder still took some work. 

[Mr T]

On 11/13/2020 at 11:57 PM, Col. said:

An excellent choice indeed and well done for using a vacform kit. Sure many of us will enjoy watching your progress with this one

I was going to suggest using a spare two-blade prop from the Airfix Spitfire I kit but they look a bit different around the boss and spinner.

I think the diameter of the Spitfire prop would be too great. The Goshawk was not a great deal more powerful than contemporary Kestrels and so something off a Hart/Fury might do. I think I have something suitable in the spares box. It is a surprising large aircraft. Greater span than a Spitfire and the trousered undercarriage fairings don't help. Even as the 224 was starting its flight tests, Mitchell had sketched out a new wing with a retractable undercarriage and an enclosed cockpit. 

Edited December 15, 2020 by Mr T

[JOCKNEY]

Delighted to see this one being built.

 

My first Vacform and one of the first kits I built upon returning to the hobby.

 

Definitely could have done a better job now but, I was still really pleased to finish it.

 

 

Good luck with this one.

 

Cheers Pat

[Mr T]

Looks a nice 224 to me Jockney. This is the second time round for me. I built one in about 1983-4  when I was a student nurse and living in a nurses home as a mature student having moved from Sheffield to Leeds. Amazing how I found time to model.

Parts all cut out and sanded down and some trial fitting done to make sure tailplanes etc will be the same thickness. I am going to re-scribe some panel lines as a lot will get lost in cleaning up joints. The instructions recommend separating the lower wing into five parts. This is a good idea as they will never fit any other way.

Still finishing off a couple of other models so going to be a bit slow on this for a while.

[Mr T]

Just to reassure everyone I have not forgotten the group build, here is a photo of the current progress. The wing, tailplanes and undercarriage fairings have all been stuck together and cleaned up. The cockpit floor has been thinned down and the seat cut out and shaped. Work has been done on the fuselage interior  around the cockpit using information from Morgan and Shackladys' book on the Spitfire. There are still a few bits to add like a trim wheel and throttle control box. The next decision is the interior colour. There seem to be no easily accessible cockpit photos to give any sort of clue and given the S6B was a pale green according to both existing  airframes, one of which has not had much done to its interior I am going with that The wheels were removed from the undercarriage fairings and a ledge added to the interior to support a half wheel from the spares box. These and the propeller are the only direct replacement of kit parts as they will look better, and I am trying to use as much of the original kit.  

It Should be faster progress in a week or so when I have finished putting stencils on an Israeli RF4E. My reference photo shoes it covered in stencils. I always think Phantoms look naked without them.

[Col.]

Nice progress and I'm sure we can forgive you for wanting to finish a Phantom before really getting into this one  

[Mr T]

Now that the Phantom is virtually finished, some more progress on the 224. The interior is detailed and painted up and the fuselage halves are together. I
n places the plastic is quite thin, especially along the bottom seam of the fuselage.  A seam has cracked and been made good, but I do not recall this problem when I originally made the kit in the eighties. This kit is one produced when Hannants took the range over, and I am wondering if they were changes to the thickness of the plastic used or mould deterioration.

I have also managed to attach the wing and fuselage. This turned out to not be as easy as I thought as the wing centre section needed work to ensure a more or less even anhedral and dihedral on each side. Some hefty filling was also needed on the underside centre section. I have primed the wing fuselage so that if any major work is needed, the tailplanes and undercarriage spats will not get in the way

BTW the wings are not different sizes, it's just an artefact of the lens setting, too much wide angle I reckon.

[Col.]

It sounds as if this one is making you work but the results of your effort looks good

[Mr T]

Yes the fuselage has been a bit of a pain, especially as I had strengthened a bit. The tailplane and undercarriage fairings are on. Tailplane went on OK with a bit of rod to help locate and beef up the join. The undercarriage fairings were a bit more challenging, something I remembered from  last time. They are going to need some filler, but this is a vacform kit and no worse than I expected. In a way so much more fun than a shake and bake kit. You actually have to think things through a bit more which is good for mental health and keeping the brain active. 

[Mr T]

I have made further progress with this kit now the Phantom has been finished (apart from tinting the nav lights which I have just remembered). Undercarriage fairings and tailplanes have been added. The U/C fairings needed a fair bit of work to get them to sit level and still needed some plastic strip shims to create a strong joint. Tailplanes were not too bad as I used plastic rod fitted into drilled holds to help locate and strengthen the joints. Cleaning followed by a coat of primer revealed a few more flaws and I also decided that the moulded on exhaust under the  nose and wing centre section was never going to look right and so a piece of Contrail tube hoarded from heaven knows when was used  to improve the look. Next up will be some rescribing  of panel lines and manufacture of details like the tail skid, aerial masts etc. so that some paint might go on before the end of 2020.

Modelling not helped by  the fridge misbehaving before Christmas (faulty sensor, now replaced) and a leaky radiator in the bedroom that will require the kitchen to be partially redecorated sometime in the new year. 2021 has to be better.

[Col.]

Was about to say that looks to be coming together nicely but having read about the fight you're having with both this and various household appliances it seems inappropriate. You are, however, doing great work and the result looks good. Hopefully 2021 is indeed a better year!

[Mr T]

Thanks, spent some time with it today and it is all coming together now. The main difficult bit is trying to get the pipes that run up the front of the undercarriage fairings as part of the condenser system the same length. Strikes me that to have a cooling system of such a large area placed where you are going to get hit from the return fire of a bomber is perhaps a flawed concept for an interceptor. Having to add a lot of scratch built bits to a basic airframe is all about modelling vacforms. In a way much more fun that the  Tamiya Thunderbolt I built earlier thus year. 

[Mr T]

The 224 has some paint on it now, Vallejo White Aluminium that will be on the wings, rear fuselage and tail and once varnished and masked off then the condensers on the wing leading edge, parts of the undercarriage fairings and the forward fuselage will receive different colours to at least vaguely match the photos. The Supermarine 224 underwent quite a few changes in its relatively short (three year lifespan) and mine will represent how I think it appeared at the 1934 Hendon display after changes to the ailerons.

[Col.]

Looking resplendent in a coat of silver

[Mr T]

Thanks, silver on vacforms is something I always find a bit nerve racking, the first coat I put on revealed several issues that I thought I had sorted. Masked up ready for the next lot today. I will get there in the end. 

[Mr T]

Nearly ready for decalling now. Exhaust pipes need painting and a couple bits of touching up. The forward fuselage, wheel spats  and the wing leading edges have been painted. The former with a mix of Tamiya Chrome silver with a bit of Titanium silver and the condensers with Vallejo Duralumin and Dull Aluminium. The wheels have been added to stop the bottom of the spats from being marked.

The photo does not as much contrast as the kit paintwork as it was taken under not the most ideal conditions. I think it will look better once a satin/matt varnish has been added at the end of the build

[Planebuilder62]

Fantastic build Mr T and well done with the contrasting NMF shades.

 

regards Toby

[Mr T]

Thanks, hoping to start on the decals today. My old sheets of Modeldecals for prewar RAF aircraft will be useful. The Morgan and Shacklady book on the Spitfire as the works drawing for the markings, as l though the caption does not always agree with what's written on the drawing. 

Edited January 10, 2021 by Mr T

[Mr T]

At long last the 224 is finished and going into the gallery. Thanks for the comments and encouragement

Edited January 22, 2021 by Mr T

[Col.]

Lovely result

[Mr T]

Thanks, fairly pleased with it. Compared to the Spitfire it is a big old thing, especially considering the Goshawk was a fair bit less powerful than a Merlin. 

After I took the photos dropped the Spitfire. Fortunately the only damage was broken prop blade and a bit of chipped paint and I still had the jar with the mix in that was still usable.