Biggles87 Posted May 6, 2021 Share Posted May 6, 2021 A little late to the party as usual. Great work on the cockpit, the original did need a little help, and you’ve certainly done that. John PS: Will you be representing any of the aerial support structure between frames 12 and 13 as the extra wide fuselage will probably make it more visible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted May 7, 2021 Author Share Posted May 7, 2021 On 5/6/2021 at 12:23 PM, Biggles87 said: A little late to the party as usual. Great work on the cockpit, the original did need a little help, and you’ve certainly done that. John PS: Will you be representing any of the aerial support structure between frames 12 and 13 as the extra wide fuselage will probably make it more visible. No I don't think I will, because I think that the aircraft did not have a radio mast. Although I'm not sure if the support structure would still have been fitted. Continuing with the engine and its components. I'm almost finished with the engine bearers. I've glued the left and right one together. They consist of the upper part of a Mosquito bearer, with the lower rear halves and the cross frames made from styrene rod. Finally I added some of the surface bits from the Hobbyboss parts, as well as the big main diagonal support that connects the two as well. Test fitting continues, and this photo also shows the cowl fastener rings I've added - made these out of 1 mm styrene rod with a 0,6 mm hole drilled into it and then sliced into pieces The engine and the surrounding bits is coming along quite nice; I'll be adding some more wires and hoses starting at the compressor unit, I think, but I'm beginning to think about painting this. As always, thanks for looking! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted May 7, 2021 Share Posted May 7, 2021 The engine and support assembly looks absolutely fantastic. Cracking work indeed. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted May 22, 2021 Author Share Posted May 22, 2021 I think I've added every wire and hose that I want to and the engine is ready for some primer, finally! Thanks for looking! 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 Gorgeous, simply Gorgeous, great work Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Antti_K Posted May 22, 2021 Share Posted May 22, 2021 Most impressive work with the details Elger I will certainly follow this build. Cheers, Antti 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted May 30, 2021 Author Share Posted May 30, 2021 Finished painting the engine - I'm going to let things dry for a bit and then I'm going to put this all together. Quick pics - a bit blurry, apologies: Thanks for looking! 20 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Oh boy , this looks stunning, really great work there. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted May 30, 2021 Share Posted May 30, 2021 Wow. That detail is seriously impressive already. Alan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Amazing detail. That could compete against the Tamiya version any day, in fact it would win the competition. John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted May 31, 2021 Author Share Posted May 31, 2021 Thanks all - really appreciate the encouragement. I've assembled the engine but there's still a few difficult steps before the fuselage is done. But so far so good: I'm cheating a little because I'm leaving off the U-shaped tube underneath the coolant tank (can't get it to fit right and still have the lower cowl in place). Other than that this stage went just about the way I planned it. 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted May 31, 2021 Share Posted May 31, 2021 Oh wow, a stunning model in its own right, great work it looks fantastic. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted June 1, 2021 Share Posted June 1, 2021 The firewall and mount looks superb, WOW!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted June 5, 2021 Author Share Posted June 5, 2021 So, the fuselage is together! In the end, the Tamiya engine fits the Hobbyboss kit remarkably well, and the entire fuselage went together without any major issues. I still need to do some cleaning up at the very front where the engine frame meets that circular plate that's behind the propeller, and some small seams along the top of the fuselage but those should be easy to take care of. Somewhat related, I got these shoes from I Love A Hangar (https://iloveahangar.com/collections/mens-low-top-canvas ) - they've got a lot of aircraft themed shoe designs but this one was appropriate for me so I got them They get made by order in China, and I did have to pay additional import taxes but it's the first time in my life that I'm genuinely excited about a new pair of shoes! Thanks for looking! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 Great news that the fit to the HB fuselage was good, yes when I built mine the parts went together very well, it is a shame that they did the spine all wrong. Love the shoes and great work on the model that engine and ancillaries look absolutely amazing Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted June 5, 2021 Author Share Posted June 5, 2021 15 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said: Great news that the fit to the HB fuselage was good, yes when I built mine the parts went together very well, it is a shame that they did the spine all wrong. Love the shoes and great work on the model that engine and ancillaries look absolutely amazing Chris I remember Edgar Brooks commenting when the kit came out that the side profile is actually quite accurate - and compared to Tamiya and Revell the fuselage spine behind the cockpit is just as tall - but the top third is much rounder, less pinched in cross section (which is why I had to adjust the Eduard bulkheads, broadening them at the shoulder as it were). But it's not that dissimilar to Hasegawa actually - that upper spine is also rather round (not as round as this one though). I'm hoping that with an open canopy this flaw will be somewhat obscured. And I've pointed out previously as well that anyone building this kit should consider sanding the upper nose area in front of the cockpit (where the fuel tank is) much more round; that'll greatly improve the look of the kit in my opinion. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted June 5, 2021 Share Posted June 5, 2021 That engine bay is a work of art in itself mate, superb progress 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 6, 2021 Share Posted June 6, 2021 It is unusual for me to get this far in a big scale WiP, all the fiddliness makes my eyes glaze over a bit, there is a reason why I'm a devoted 1/72 builder. This one though, I'm enjoying, really superb work & realistic detail. I'm impressed like anything. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 On 6/5/2021 at 9:17 PM, elger said: Somewhat related, I got these shoes from I Love A Hangar (https://iloveahangar.com/collections/mens-low-top-canvas ) - they've got a lot of aircraft themed shoe designs but this one was appropriate for me so I got them They get made by order in China, and I did have to pay additional import taxes but it's the first time in my life that I'm genuinely excited about a new pair of shoes! I'm building a 1/72 model of AA810 after sending a part to support the restoration so it makes me smile to see these! How cool! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted June 7, 2021 Share Posted June 7, 2021 great work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted June 27, 2021 Author Share Posted June 27, 2021 So it's been a while - busy with work (end of year, lots of assessments to arrange and grade at the department I work) and had to take my now 19-month old boy O for Oscar to the hospital last weekend because he was having trouble breathing. Thankfully it all turned out fine, it was a larynx infection and he responded very well to treatment. Yesterday and today I had a bit more time to paint, and take some pictures. Before I move to working on the wings in earnest I decided to get some of the details out of the way. I added leftover photoetch details to the oil cooler and the radiator: These are the kit gear legs, with some lead wire as the break line. Base painted with Vallejo dark aluminium, drybrushed with Ammo Drybrush light metal, and finished with a black wash to add shadows: I had some Quickboost Spitfire mk I exhausts in my spares box, and cut these apart so that they will fit the engine later: The whole project was partly inspired by the idea of only using parts I already had, but there were some bits I bought new. One was an Eduard wheels set to replace the kit's vinyl tires: And finally, I also added a propeller/spinner unit from Quickboost: Now that these things are out of the way, I can focus on modifying the wings to the early D "bowser" type, and working on the PR canopy. Thanks for looking, comments are always welcome. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 27, 2021 Share Posted June 27, 2021 Lovely work on all the bits there, hope your youngster is okay. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted July 9, 2021 Author Share Posted July 9, 2021 Getting ready to mate the fuselage with the wings. The wings are almost done, but haven't taken any pictures yet. But here's the fuselage. I've added a vacuum formed PR windscreen from Grey Matter Figures, and added Archer rivets. I feel like the windscreen might be more accurate for the very late PRXIX, but I might be wrong. More modifications visible in the photo below; I built up the canopy rail on the right hand side of the fuselage with styrene strip. And I've added the Quickboost stabilizers with rivets. Hope to post pictures of the wings this weekend, and attach them to the fuselage. Thanks for looking! 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted July 9, 2021 Share Posted July 9, 2021 This looks lovely, great work. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
elger Posted July 10, 2021 Author Share Posted July 10, 2021 right so here's the work I've done on the wings. The Hobby Boss wings are typical B-wings, and obviously this should should be changed into something resembling the configuration of the D (or bowser) wing. The panels were filled with sheet styrene and then covered with a layer of sprue goo (made with scrap bits of Evergreen styrene dissolved in Tamiya Extra Thin). I also filled the bumps and bulges from the inside with that sprue goo so that I could safely sand them off and the gap would be pre-filled. I let the sprue goo dry for at least 2 weeks and that worked out well - only a few little air bubbles appeared after sanding the bulges off. The people restoring AA810 say that the 1/72 Sword kit represents the upper surface of the wings really accurately, so I used photos of the parts of that kit as reference for the configuration, as well as some technical drawings of bowser wing. I scribed new panel lines, added and restored rivet lines, and added a small bulge on the port wing which is for the oil pump of the oil tank which is fitted in the port wing on the PR.IV. I'm still going to add a filler cap for the oil tank, as well as the wing fuel tanks. According to the people restoring AA810 that aircraft's lower wing was very similar to that of a Spitfire I, including the gun hatches. I left the outer ones in place but did sand off the little bulges on the outer hatches, but I did not bother to rescribe the inner A-type gun hatches on the lower wing. The IV also had a fairing on the lower port wing connected to the oil tank fitted there. I boxed in the rectangular inner parts of the landing gear wells (this is missing in the Hobby Boss kit), and I added some of the vents and small pipes that come out of the engine area on each side of the carburetor intake. Finally, I've also added the camera port in the rear middle section. The wing section is now ready to be attached to the fuselage! Next up.. some painting! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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