1/48 Trumpeter Attacker

[Lord Riot]

Something a bit different to my usual, but still a British post-war jet, this build is actually for a client who contacted me after seeing some built models I was selling on eBay. I’m determined to get this one spot on as I’ll be getting paid for building it!
 

Luckily, it seems like a nice kit and a fairly straightforward build (hopefully!) My biggest issue will be safely packing it.

 

I’ve never built a Trumpeter kit before but it looks good; colour paint instructions, nice decals and etched seat belts. 
 

 

 

 

 

Has anyone built this kit, anything to look out for?

[Jb65rams]

This is a nice kit, built it a couple of years ago. Enjoy the build.
 

Couple of things to keep an eye on. 

Take care with the undercarriage, I found this was not the strongest joint. Also I believe the decals for the underwing serials are undersized.

 

 

[Alex Gordon]

I wish you the best of luck.I had a crack at one in the Made in Britain GB a while ago,it sits in the drawer of doom waiting to be picked up again.I'm sure it will look good once done though.

[Evil_Toast_RSA]

Will be keeping an eye on this, have one of these on my radar but finding a build review online with working picture links is not easy. 

[Lord Riot]

Started with the office as usual, which is fairly simple but builds into a nice enough cockpit. The etched seatbelts are a nice touch and add some realism. I painted the white side console switches with a cocktail stick dipped in white paint.
 

 

I’m always pleased when the kit includes an instrument panel decal.

 

[Graham T]

A bit lacking in the wheel bay detail dept IIRC but otherwise a nice kit!

 

[Martian]

If I remember correctly, the tail planes sit about 2mm too low which can cause problems getting the demarcation between the Sky and Extra Dark Sea Grey right. Fortunately, the fix is easy. Fill the slots for the tail planes and open up new ones directly above them so that the top of the filled slot becomes the bottom of the new one.

 

Helpful of Mars 👽

[heloman1]

Now being an FAA fan, this looks like an interesting build. I'll pull up a seat if I may?

 

Colin

[Lord Riot]

It’s been a few days but I’ve got a bit more done.

 

The wings are a reasonable fit, and the forward fuselage, but the rear end around the jet pipe needed some super glue and sitting in the vice overnight.

 

 

 

[Shalako]

The Supermarine Attacker was a beautiful aircraft, at least this is what I believe about it. 

 

Looking forward to see your model complete and "ready for inspection"!😁

[David H]

On 5/3/2021 at 5:27 AM, Martian said:

If I remember correctly, the tail planes sit about 2mm too low which can cause problems getting the demarcation between the Sky and Extra Dark Sea Grey right. Fortunately, the fix is easy. Fill the slots for the tail planes and open up new ones directly above them so that the top of the filled slot becomes the bottom of the new one.

 

Helpful of Mars 👽

If i can expand a bit on Martin's comments...

 

He is absolutely right about the mis-location of the horizontal stabilizers; they need to be relocated higher up on the cylindrical fuselage cross section as to not cut directly thru the tailpipe.

 

The way the problem can be fixed is this way: lay a piece of tape over the recessed socket joint where the stabilizer nests in and using a pencil make a rubbing of the outline of the socket. Take this piece of tape with the rubbing and stick it onto a piece of .030 card, or whatever thickness of sheet corresponds to the depth of the socket. Using a snips and then a sprue cutter, nibble away most of the bulk material, using the pencil line rubbing as a guide to narrow down and fine tune the shape. Sand the piece to final shape with sanding sticks and flexifiles, using them dry, and drawing the sticks "down" so as to not pull the tape away from the plastic as you go.

 

When you are done you should be left with a fairly good fitting, aerofoil-shaped biscuit that gets glued into the corresponding socket. when dry, putty around any cracks or use super glue and sand flush. Sanding sticks will help a lot in terms of milling away the excess quickly and helping to make the plug flush with the surrounding fuselage cross section.

 

Step 2:

 

Use the panel line on the stabilizers that represents the forward spar and use this to drill a hole in the corresponding location on the butt edge of the stabilizer (you will need to remove the locating tab and sand the surface flat; You could drill a hole just about anywhere, though the forward spar line is a convenient, reliable reference).

 

Insert a peg made from brass rod. Remove the rod and now determine the correct position of stabilizer on the fuselage, making sure that the alignment and incidence is correct and symmetrical on both sides. Locate the corresponding point on the fuselage for the hole in the stabilizer spar and drill it out. With no glue applied, this is the big chance to double check that the location, dihedral and angle of incidence is in the right place. Don't worry about the monster gaps.

 

Step 3:

Lay down a piece of adhesive backed, bare metal foil, or that clear, thin, sticky-backed packing tape on the side of the fuselage where the stabilizer will go.  It has to be broad enough to span the chord and thickness of the tailplane. Stick the brass rod into the stabilizer, and lubricate the end that will go into the fuselage with some sort of very light oil (use your imagination here). With the rod in place, tack glue the stabilizer onto the fuselage, the brass peg punching thru the tape and going into the fuselage hole.

 

When you are satisfied with the alignment, start filling the gaps around where the stabilizer meets the fuselage with medium- and thick- viscosity CA. You COULD wedge strips of styrene to fill the bigger part of the gap, but you will need the joint to be strong enough first because if its not, wedging styrene strip in will break the joint and throw the alignment off. And you will still need to fill the remaining gaps with CA.

 

I do not recommend using accelerator to speed this process. Let it dry overnight.

 

Step 4:

The next day you will have a flat, white, foggy, crystalized gray mess on your hands. This is normal.

With the CA dry, carefully flex the stabilizer until it "cracks" off the fuselage and pull it off, stabilizer, crystalized CA, packing tape and all. Hopefully the brass will come out too. If not, get a pliers and twist/pull the brass rod out of the fuselage.

 

Step 5:

Break out your arsenal of rigid- backed sanding sticks and start filing and sanding away the excess CA at the joint that doesn't kook like a tailplane.

When done, you should have a clear, translucent, hardened CA fillet that is a perfect match to the fuselage side. Remove/ clean up any tape adhesive residue on the fuselage sides and when you feel the time is right, glue the stabilizers in place. If you did it right, you will require minimal filling.

 

I apologize for the long explanation, but this technique works great for bomb/rocket pylons, crap wing/tail/fuselage joints and my perennial favourite, engine pods. As long as you have the right tools handy, its not a difficult operation. You need the rigid backed tools because you don't want to chamfer (round off) the sharp edges where the stabilizer butts against the fuselage.

 

Mull this over and tell me what you think.

[Lord Riot]

Thanks @David H, that’s certainly a very detailed and helpful explanation. I think that’s a good idea regarding the plastic card to fill in the misplaced socket joints. When I get to this area I’ll certainly consider that option for sure.
 

As the kit is for someone else I’ll ask them if they would like me to move the tailplanes, it may increase my asking price depending on the work involved!

 

This is a very good fix though that I could try on other kits with similar issues, very much appreciated!

[Lord Riot]

A bit more progress today, with the intakes added and sanded for a smoother fit, then wings attached. The wings needed a bit of liquid putty at the root, but not too much. It’s quite a nice kit this, highly recommended.

 

[David H]

8 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

Thanks @David H, that’s certainly a very detailed and helpful explanation. I think that’s a good idea regarding the plastic card to fill in the misplaced socket joints. When I get to this area I’ll certainly consider that option for sure.
 

As the kit is for someone else I’ll ask them if they would like me to move the tailplanes, it may increase my asking price depending on the work involved!

 

This is a very good fix though that I could try on other kits with similar issues, very much appreciated!

Sheet plastic is not going to give you the problems of shrinkage, air bubbles, graininess etc. that a comparable putty would.

 

Admittedly, what i described is an elaborate process but it may very well come in handy for projects down the road. Martin's suggestion of simply relocating the slot upward is a good one; it's just that i have concerns about the fit where the now-relocated stabilizer mates to the round fuselage cross section.

 

-d-

[David H]

Taking a closer look at the tailplanes still on the sprue, i noticed there are tiny fillets on the leading and trailing edges. I realize the tailplanes are intended to be "counter-sunk" into the sockets on the fuselage, but  trying to replicate those fillets in the new location on the fuselage might be problematical. Not impossible, but i don't know exactly what media i would use to build them up with.

 

I still believe in my technique, but it may not be as suitable here as i once thought.

 

-d-

[Lord Riot]

After reading @David H’s fix for the tailplanes I just couldn’t unsee the fact they’re too low in the kit! 

I cut some plastic card to fit the slots and backed it with a filed down old missile to make it sit fairly flush.

 

 

 

Glued in place, then liquid putty applied and I’ll now leave it to dry before sanding the whole area smooth with the fuselage. Following that, I’ll cut the tabs off the tailplanes and superglue them to the correct position a bit higher.

 

 

[Lord Riot]

Tidied up those slots now with a bit of sanding. 
 

 

Pretty much ready for sealing up any orifices then the first coat of spray. I’m unsure whether it’s best to spray the majority colour first (Humbrol 90) or the extra dark sea grey. Any opinions?
 

[Lord Riot]

I usually spray paint the fuselage and wings before adding tailplanes, but because these needed a lot of filling I decided to glue them on with super glue beforehand. I used thin strips of plastic card to fill the gaps as the curve of the rear fuselage was different to the slant on the tailplane roots.

 

 

After that, I added some liquid putty and wiped it smooth, now I’ll leave it all to set and dry overnight.

 

[shortCummins]

6 hours ago, Lord Riot said:

 

Pretty much ready for sealing up any orifices then the first coat of spray. I’m unsure whether it’s best to spray the majority colour first (Humbrol 90) or the extra dark sea grey. Any opinions?
 

 

I tend to spray the lighter colour first although I'm not sure it makes too much difference as I favour "black basing"

 

rgds

John(shortCummins)

[David H]

I'd give the whole model a wet sand with 1000 grit first.

 

-d-

[Lord Riot]

All prepared for painting and two coats of Humbrol 90 sprayed. I’m glad I managed to hide most of the join lines. Once dried overnight I’ll mask it up ready for EDSG. The instructions call for DSG but I’m pretty certain FAA jets were extra dark.

 

I’ll need to brush over the ‘sky’ colour with a gloss varnish after as it’s matt finish. 

 

[Lord Riot]

Demarcation line! Quite pleased with that (and relieved!). Just a few small bits of tidying up to do then I’ll gloss varnish the sky colour.

 

 

 

[Terry1954]

Great progress on this one. I have the 1/48 Classic Airframes Attacker in my stash, but I think that one could be quite a challenge!

 

Terry

[Lord Riot]

Tidying up done on the paintwork and I’ve glossed up the Humbrol 90. I quite like this kit, almost a pity I’m making it for someone else! One day I’ll have to do my own collection of 50s/60s FAA types.

 

 

 

 

[Lord Riot]

Pretty much done! Just a couple of aerials to add plus the decals and she’ll be ready for inspection before posting to my client.

 

 

 

 

 

Just waiting to hear whether he’d like it displayed with the canopy open or closed ...