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Speedbird - Supermarine S.5


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Well if nothing else, it's definitely been one for problem solving...    :nerd:

 

I've been working on the beaching trolley during the week, with careful attention being paid to the brilliant set of drawings provided by Quiet Mike in his 1/48 S.5 build thread (sincere thanks for sharing those!).  The real tricky bit was the spoked wheels.  I ended up experimenting and making the hubs out of clear acrylic, then scribing the spokes.  Some artist's oils were then rubbed in to represent the gloss black which the originals were painted in.

 

wYNOI1i.jpg

 

I'm hoping they will look the part once the rims and tyres are painted too.  I also need to decide whether I am going the scribe the inner faces of the hubs as well.  I probably should, but I'm not sure if it will cause some weird magnifying-glass effect and ruin it....  Hmmm.  :unsure:

 

sDOwGcC.jpg

 

 

 

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That is ingenious! And mind boggingly tiny!

 

I'm really glad you got some use out of those plans too. I need to remember what book I saw it in, but there was a good shot showing the space between the two floats full off chocks and rope, which makes sense. So that centre section would have had a base and been used like a tray. I think I put a few slats on mine, so it looks like a pallet.

 

*Edit - I've just revisited my thread and seen I've already discussed this!
https://www.gettyimages.co.uk/detail/news-photo/flight-lieutenant-samuel-marcus-kinkead-at-calshot-seaplane-news-photo/101946755?adppopup=true

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Wow that's an excellent photo.  It shows a host of small details that I could barely make out on other images.  :thanks:

 

Based on that pic, I've got a bit of deconstruction to do before I can move forward.  I was aware of the slats on the inside part of the trolley and had seen a picture of the aircraft being pushed into the water, and the trolley was filled with what appeared to be stone blocks as ballast.  I guessed wrong as to the number of slats though, as the picture shows 10 and I only have 7.  I'll have to cut them off and try again but that's no biggie.

 

Some slightly fatter tyres got made last night.  I've been using one of the dummy floats to test the "sit" as well.  It looks like my supports are a bit too high and need to come down by about .8mm or slightly more.  Getting there though.  :)

 

2cOC4Ut.jpg

 

Edit:  Just found this one via your link Mike 😮

 

26th-september-1928-flight-lieutenant-da

Edited by Putty Animal
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Hehe thanks!  Alas it’s probably one of those things that only works in small scales or when the scribe lines are really close together.  Hopefully it looks okay when everything is painted.  Plan B will be solid metal ones like some of the later S.5s had.  🤞

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14 hours ago, Putty Animal said:

Based on that pic, I've got a bit of deconstruction to do before I can move forward.  I was aware of the slats on the inside part of the trolley and had seen a picture of the aircraft being pushed into the water, and the trolley was filled with what appeared to be stone blocks as ballast.

 

26th-september-1928-flight-lieutenant-da

 

This is such an amazing photo. Not just the detail we can see, the lighting and composition are perfect.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The floats are on at last (no dramas fortunately) and the beaching gear is coming along.  Hopefully the colour looks okay.  I had to get over my preconceived notion that the trolley would be aged like a vintage barn find, and that it instead would have been barely a year old at this time.  I used Gunze 45 Sail Colour with a tiny bit of grey in it for the base colour.  Then brushed it over with raw umber oils, which also got a dab of grey to tone it down a bit.  I think it looks alright.  But again, being colour blind it may well be forest green for all I know...  

 

I will fuss around with the woodgrain texture then leave it for a couple of days before giving it a protective coat of clear.  I'm really looking forward to adding the black reinforcing straps and brackets to it after that.  :)

 

 

hEut735.jpg

Edited by Putty Animal
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Clear coat and brackety bits on.  
I really like using painted decal for small items.  It is thinner than photo etch and easy to cut and bend round corners.  It’s like free detail.  :)

 

The holes in the brackets are cut out using small bits of brass tube that have had the ends reamed out to form improvised punches.  Just a few grams of pressure is enough to cut through the decal film.  It’s handy for things like instrument dials and bezels too.  
 

Some extra shading got added to the various nooks and crannies as well.  Feeling pretty happy with the wood effect.  It would be nice to try something similar with a small scale ship one day. 
 

spacer.png

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  • 2 weeks later...

Phew!  Done at last.  Yesterday's stormy weather is out of the way so I did the final dabs of black paint on the wheel hubs and ventured out onto the balcony to spray the chrome tip of the spinner.

The sun peeped out every now and again, so I was able to take a few snaps too.  A pretty challenging build and the silver finish could perhaps have been better.  But on the whole I'm fairly pleased with it.  Thanks to everybody who followed along.  I'll make a topic in the Ready for Inspection area soon.  In the meantime here's a few pics.  :thanks:

 

fry3FVR.jpg

 

StULvsO.jpg

 

DgJ8yNV.jpg

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I'm not sure the silver finish could be any better, it looks absolutely wonderful. Love the last picture, it looks like a jewel in the palm of your hand. I'll go as far to say that this is one my all time favourite models! 👏👏👏👏

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Wow! This build has been an absolute joy to follow from start to finish. The spoked wheels were the cherry on top. Marvellous.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

OK, I'll nitpick. Do you need to add some 1/144 rocks for ballast? :)

 

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42 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

OK, I'll nitpick. Do you need to add some 1/144 rocks for ballast? :)

 

 

Hehe, I actually wondered about that!  :lol:

I noticed in some of the later shots of N221 towards the end of its career that the beaching gear was fitted with metal wheels.  Apparently the air in the rubber tyres made the whole thing float and was quite a bother.

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5 hours ago, Putty Animal said:

I have to think of what to do next now.

 

Very nicely done. Inspiring with some nice tips along the way.

 

Why not keep with the float plane theme? How about a Hansa Brandenburg W.29? Some interesting paint schemes that are not lozenge including a very interesting Japanese built license built version with a license built Hispano Suiza for an engine - Hanza-shiki suijō teisatsuki  or ハンザ式水上偵察機

 

I look forward to your next built whatever it may be.

 

cheers, Graham

 

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