alhenderson Posted December 13, 2020 Share Posted December 13, 2020 Having just finished my Tornado for the group build, I thought I'd have a wee bit of time off before starting a lightning or two in the new year. However, I found myself missing the bench time. So I dug out a couple of spitfires that the kids picked up at an airshow years ago and never did anything with. I used them last year for practising with rattle cans, so they're currently a bit gloss white and a bit green. I also don't have canopies, decals or instructions for them. However, I have some Pavla vacform canopies - 3 of them which could be a god send as I've never used vacform before! Have also ordered the BoB anniversary decal sheet from Hannants, plus stencilling from a very kind member on here and Airfix. Hoping this is going to be a reasonably quick and pain free build! Markings yet to be decided, although there is one on the Hannants sheet which had half black and half white undersides which looks different. Got some paint on the innards this evening: Al. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alhenderson Posted December 19, 2020 Author Share Posted December 19, 2020 Spent some time in the last week sanding off the worst parts of the paint that had been sprayed on this spit her previous life. Time for some assembly.. This is a starter kit, so wasn't expecting anything too challenging. Proven wrong straight away. The cockpit seems to be the most complicated thing I've ever seen. I've got the 3 main parts of it together, but it's almost impossible to tell if I've got the angles right. Have tried to dry fit it before I attached to the fuselage, but I haven't got enough hands!! Beginning to think I've got something fundamentally wrong, surely it's not *that* hard?? Here's current state of play: The fit of the fus with the cockpit in there seems very tight, don't think there's a lot of wiggle room 😔 Something to tackle tomorrow when I can have a good long think about it.. Al 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alhenderson Posted December 21, 2020 Author Share Posted December 21, 2020 Productive day yesterday. Change of tack with the cockpit. I snipped the two pipes under the seat that were joining the two ends together, allowing me to deal with each bulkhead seperately. Must have got something wrong in the construction of the cockpit as the two bulkheads wouldn't sit in their correct positions. I was then able to button up the fuselage, although it needed a bit of persuasion.. Few hours later and I could attach the wings as well. Having got over the cockpit everything's going together nicely with no dramas. There was a trench-like gap on the underside where the top and bottom of the wing join. It's where the flap joins the wing, so maybe there's usually a bigger gap there than the other panel lines, but it still looked big. Little bit of Vallejo putty and that's sorted. Love that stuff!! Great to be able to brush it down once you've applied it to get rid of the excess. Won't be long before she gets some paint, I don't think. Although I have got the challenge of my first vacform canopy which I'm a little nervous about! If all goes well, though, I might model it open for something different.. Al. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robin-42 Posted December 22, 2020 Share Posted December 22, 2020 Don’t fear the vacuform canopy! Use some marker or tape to mark where you need to separate the canopy. A fresh no11 blade and many gentle cuts. I cut 45deg into the junction between the actual canopy and the waste. At some point you will break through with the tip. If you gently push down like a saw, the blade will follow your cuts. A little gentle sanding to fit and you will almost never use a kit canopy again. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alhenderson Posted December 22, 2020 Author Share Posted December 22, 2020 6 hours ago, Robin-42 said: Don’t fear the vacuform canopy! Use some marker or tape to mark where you need to separate the canopy. A fresh no11 blade and many gentle cuts. I cut 45deg into the junction between the actual canopy and the waste. At some point you will break through with the tip. If you gently push down like a saw, the blade will follow your cuts. A little gentle sanding to fit and you will almost never use a kit canopy again. Thanks for the hints. Now I've googled to give out what no 11 blades look like I think I'm good to go 👍 Al. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alhenderson Posted December 24, 2020 Author Share Posted December 24, 2020 But of sneaky Christmas Eve fettling. The vacform canopy is taking me a long time! I've got the windshield and the rear sections out. Haven't got them during yet, though. The windshield in particular is tricky, like 3D chess. Every time I sand one bit to improve the fit, it impacts somewhere else. I have it such that it fits reasonably well and I can fill the gaps with putty. Part of the problem is that I'm struggling to work out where the dividing line between they cockpit and waste section is 🤷♂️ O was also probably too cautious in my cutting, leaving me with a lot of sanding to do.. Whilst taking breaks from that I've got some paint on. Going for the early 1940s black and white undersides.. That's probably it until after the big day tomorrow. Hope everyone has a great Christmas! 🍻🎅 Al 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alhenderson Posted December 29, 2020 Author Share Posted December 29, 2020 Spent most of the last week or so trying to get the Pavla vacform canopy into shape, with mixed success. The rear section wasn't too bad as it's shape isn't too complex. The front windshield has, I think, beaten me. Decided enough was enough and glued it in place tonight. There are gaps that need to be filled, and the fit right at the front isn't very good. I'm going to model the canopy open to save me having to try and make the centre section fit, having it open will be a lot more forgiving. Technically I guess an open canopy should really mean the little door is also open but I'll ignore that 😁 The camo is complete, just need a gloss coat and then it's decal time 👍 Al. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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