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Mircro-Mir 1/48 Supermarine Napier S5 N220 float plane


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Right, a few steps to cover here!


Got the metallics on. I painted the wings aluminium, and the fuselage in a durallium/aluminium mix. Both paints worked well, but I thought the fuselage was a little too shiney for my likeing. I added a very thin coat of aluminium on top to try and dull it a little. I keep looking at photos of the original racers and they all seem to dull quite quickly. I went with it anyway because it was good to have a subtle difference between the metal parts, and the silver painted ply wing surfaces.

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Silver on by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Silver on by Mike, on Flickr

 

Then time to start masking, something that I found quite daunting, and very tricky! I was cutting tiny slithers to try and mask around very awkward corners. The Tamiya tape had been detacked a little too, and so didn't like to stick to the shiney matallic paint. I was not confident at all that this would work, but after most of a day (I got knocked off my bike by a car a couple of days ago, so a little bruised and battered. I treated myself a day off work to tackle this!) I figured this is as good as I could get it.

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Masking the S5 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Paint mix is pretty much XF8 Flat Blue.

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Colour matching XF-8 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Anyway, enough time dithering, get the paint on! I did think it looked a tad too dark, but hopefully not so bad once the tape was off ...

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Paint on! by Mike, on Flickr

 

The results, as I feared were disappointing. I know the cruel eye of macro photography is very unforgiving, but even to the naked eye it looks crude and scruffy. The side radiators were difficult to mask, and because of the raised bumps the tape was raised off the surface, leaving a soft edge. The curves around the cowlings were a challenge, and took no prisoners!

The only light at the end of the tunnel were the floats, but then they were straightforward technically.

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Masking and painting the S5, not happy with my results by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Masking and painting the S5, not happy with my results by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Masking and painting the S5, not happy with my results by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Masking and painting the S5, not happy with my results by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Masking and painting the S5, not happy with my results by Mike, on Flickr

 

So, back to the drawing board on this one! Happy to hear any suggestions for better ways to mask this up. I only have Tamiya tape here, I've not used masking fluid yet. Could that be an option? Painting the blue first, then masking for the silver?

 

There are several niggles I haven't been happy with along the way with this build. This could be a good point to start again and address them all.

Getting the aluminium on fuselage correct.

Fixing the float struts I lengthened - once the silver was on it highlighted crooked joins.

Planning the rigging better.

Mixing a lighter blue.

 

Hey ho, it's all a learning curve!

 

 

 

 

 

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These days I use plumbers self adhesive foil tape. Tamiya tape is fine but needs a fair bit mor work planishing down the edges with a cocktail stick( toothpick)

I wouldn’t have thought the paint order would matter that much.  
 

As a thought you could try painting some decal film in blue and using that for the edging instead.

resized_f6544fba-df9f-4fd6-bbae-764cefa3The olive on the bulldog was done with decal film edges.

 

Edited by Marklo
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I hope you are recovering well from the RTC fella and hope that is a being sorted etc.  

Re the masking and paint.  If the blue has crept under the masking you could rub that back with a cocktail stick (a wooden one) and this will take off the top paint although if done too hard then you could damage the silver.  

Where the blue has not quite met the Silver right can you not run a very thin brush loaded with the paint along the edge to tidy ?

Chris

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Back to it, and although it doesn't look too different in the following photos I am happier with the results. That almost ultramarine blue got a good dollop of sky blue and is definitely a shade or two in the right direction. It looks better in the flesh than these photos. I'm surprised such a subtle difference can change my mood for this kit.

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Second go at paint on the Supermarine Napier S5 by Mike, on Flickr

 

On 1/7/2021 at 9:16 PM, Courageous said:

Personally Mike, I would've gone for the 'gloss' blue first, easier to mask.

 

Stuart

 

Yes, I think you are right Stuart. I wont say it was easy, but maybe easier, and the results, although not perfect, were acceptable. There are a few oversprays to deal with, but I think as this is a working aircraft and not 'factory fresh', some weathering will also help hide some of the errors.

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Second go at paint on the Supermarine Napier S5 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Second go at paint on the Supermarine Napier S5 by Mike, on Flickr

 

I enjoyed stripping the masking off this time, I was less apprehensive.

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Second go at paint on the Supermarine Napier S5 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Radiators came out much better.

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Second go at paint on the Supermarine Napier S5 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Not perfect, but hopefully the weathering will help tone it down a bit.

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Second go at paint on the Supermarine Napier S5 by Mike, on Flickr

 

There are transfers for the RAF rudder stripes, but it seemed a far easier prospect to just paint them on. AMP supply the N220 number as a separate transfer as well.

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Second go at paint on the Supermarine Napier S5 by Mike, on Flickr

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Thanks chaps.

 

Great image of a very grubby N220 back at the Woolston 'shop after winning in Venice. Barely visible is the No4 and large white circle on the rear of the fuselage.

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And another, listed as Venice, September 1927, but I'm calling that out, as that's the Isle of Wight paddle steamer behind ... N220 in it's HSF at Calshot. The black panels on the exhaust cowlings are interesting. I can only see them on a few photos, and I'm not sure what's going on there.
Also, the side radiators have been painted over in blue. Tail flash continues below the rudder here too. It's also a very different shade of blue to the body colour, and the roundel for that matter.

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After a coat of varnish a few tentative transfers got stuck on, and then some Tamiya smoke to tone down that bright white.

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Transfers and weathering on N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Getting these roundels to fit over the rads was tricky. I thought it was going OK, with plenty of coats of MicroSol, then the transfer started to split ... I didn't get too hung up over it, and brushed in some repairs. The smoke hides it too.

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Transfers and weathering on N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Transfers and weathering on N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

I did add some Flory Dark Dirt to the top of one wing, to see if I like it. I removed most of it, but in the process took some of the silver off the wing rib highlights. I've just blown some fresh paint on. I'll give it another coat of varnish and leave it a few days to cure before tackling again.

I'm still worried about attaching the floats. I haven't added any pins, and there isn't much meat on the struts to do that either. There's no strength there. Added the rigging will give some stability, but as I haven't planned out the rigging in advance, my process of doing it will put way too much stain on the joints. The plan was to have the plane sat on it's launch trolley (scratch built), so maybe this could get me out of a pickle ...

(I see the latest Micro-Mir Schneider kit has a trolley included!)

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Coming together nicely Mike - good recovery on the masking and colour! I hope you are recovering from your accident?

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

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1 hour ago, Dunny said:

Coming together nicely Mike - good recovery on the masking and colour! I hope you are recovering from your accident?

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

 Cheers Roger, yes all good thanks. Just resisiting the temptation to pick at the itchy scabs now 🩹

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Looking really good Mike, I also have one of these on the go at present, but nowhere near as far ahead as you as I've yet to close up the fuselage. I've completed the PC7 and have the MC72 unstarted as yet. Really hoping we see more Schneider craft from AMP/Micro Mir.  For some reason I can't see the 2 period images of N220 you posted?

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Thanks Mike. The differences between the Venice scheme and the subsequent HSF scheme are clear in those and I have a decision to make 🤔 regarding which one I build. Not there yet so have time to think about it.

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Right, we have mixed success. The floats are definitely on, which was always the major concern. And while they are very fragile, they support the weight of the little 'plane at least. I am very nervous of knocking them off though! There are, of course, a couple of flies in the ointment. The most jarring is the one float is very slightly wonky - somewhere inbetween "That'll do" and "Somethings definitely not right here". All down to one of the front struts being about .5mm short, but I was committed by the time this revealed itself and carried on regardless.

The second fly is that I couldn't see how I could add the rigging inbetween the front and back struts. I decided to fit the floats and glue down the rigging to the floats that add all the strength to them, then worry about that. Unfortunately now the whole caboodle is secure, I can't see how I'm going to get inside it all to add these 4 very awkward pieces. It's not an excuse, as I knew they should be included from all the photos I've seen, but they are not shown on the kit instructions. Also, they don't appear on some of the S5 racers, at certain points of their lives.   As they are cosmetic, not structural (on my build at least) I may add some stretched sprue in there.

 

I was working on the hoof, so this shouldn't be used for any sort of guide! The top wing rigging is already added at this point. (All 0.2 fishing line) Following advice after the Gladiator build I ended up drilling right through the wing on one side so I could pull the line right through and apply pressure while the glue set. Then I attached all the wires on the floats. Holes were drilled right through the floats, and, with perseverance, the line was fed through both holes. I tied knots in the end to stop the line disappearing out the way it had come.

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Rigging N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Rigging N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

After this I very carefully attached the 8 wires to their respective holes in the bottom of the wing. (I hadn't drilled these though, I just hoped the glue would do it's job.)

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Rigging N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

This mess was then put in the jig, the plane and floats held in place with bands, and the slack gently taken out of the lines and taped down. It looked good, but getting glue in the right place at the top of the struts was really awkward. Maybe I should have glued them to the underneath of the fuselage first ...

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Rigging N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

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Rigging N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

Then the wires were held taught and glued one at a time, which was actually the easiest part of the process!

 

Getting there. I've taken the masks off the canopy to the end must be in sight!
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Rigging N220 by Mike, on Flickr

 

 

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Thank you chaps! 

 

I put the S5 in the cabinet while I set about drawing up plans for a trolley for it, and the front on view I had was rather alarming! The float alignment was very obviously out at this angle, and highlighted by the horizontal bracing wires not being horizontal at all! Something will need to be done ... I have set it back in the jig, and by forcing the floats into place one of the strut joints at the rear to the fuselage has broken free. I’ve now held the floats in place firmly with elastic bands again. Tomorrow I’ll reattach the strut, adding spacers if required, or simply moving it a tad, and hope the rigging doesn’t snag or snap 🤞

I’ll be very relieved if this squares everything back up!

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