FAA builds, 32nd Hawker Nimrod re started, Firefly AS Mk.6, 32nd Malta Sea Gladiator now finished.

[bigbadbadge]

Hi all

 

I have wanted to do some Royal Navy builds for some time and with the finishing today of my Vampire that is the last build on the RCAF Ventura Target Tug build thread  I have decided to start this one.

 

I have the following models on the bench currently, but I will be adding to it as I feel like with further FAA subjects such as some Swordfish,  Seafires, Sea Vampires , Barracuda and Albacore hopefully.

 

To start with I have the Special Hobby 1/48 Avro Anson Mk 1 ASV Radar trainer.  

 

This book cover shows the version I am doing and will be building the all yellow EG317 as shown below.

 

 

The Flycatcher is the Lindberg (ex Inpact) kit. This is bring done with a scratchbuilt  cockpit. 

 

The last of the current batch on the bench is the Grand Phoenix  Fairey Firefly 

 

 

Work has started on all 3 as I like to have multiple builds on the go to keep Mojo levels high.

 

The Kit above are all lovely kits and hopefully will be enjoyable builds.

 

I will post shortly progress as chores are required by SWMBO 

 

Chris

 

[bigbadbadge]

Hi again 

A very quick chore completed I will continue 

 

This is the state of thing currently 

 

The Anson

Resin bits cut and cleaned up , floor and rear bulkhead assembled 

 

A test fit

Rear most windows fitted very well and have been glued in prior to floor and port inside structure fitting 

 

Other window glued in and stb interior painted

 

 

I have since been picking out some details in paint prior to washing in readiness for yhe Central interior details.

 

The Firefly is currently looking like thiswith the cockpit details being painted along with U/C bays  just trying to figure out what all the cylindrical bit should be painted at the rear lower side of the Stb side cockpit side wall?  I can't locate any images at the mo

 

The Flycatcher has been receiving a lot of attention 

Initially I made the framework below soldering brass tubes, I was really pleased with it but then realised it was totally wrong,  not sure what I was thinking!!!

 

A rethink meant I scraped off the floor fixing area and made a rear bulkhead

 

The tubular framework was added to the fuselage sides and bulkhead and a tilted floor was added

 

A new instrument panel was made from plasticard, Little Cars 0.1 mm wire used for the diagonal pieces and gauge bezels

Shown next to the kit IP .  Rudder bar also built from scraps

 

 

 

IP finished with scratched in needles

 

IP installed along with rudder bar and some more tubing

 

 

Just got to make the compass, throttle lever assembly and the seat and will close up.

 

Thanks for looking in

Chris

 

 

 

 

[AliGauld]

Ooof,. You don't hang about Chris and some more yellow.

 

Really nice scratchwork there.

Looking forward to the progress.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[Britman]

Looking forward to seeing more. Just in case you are not aware, make sure you check fit the Firefly undercarriage bay's for thickness. How do I know? My friend stuck them in before checking and they were too deep.

 

Keith

[bigbadbadge]

1 hour ago, AliGauld said:

Ooof,. You don't hang about Chris and some more yellow.

 

Really nice scratchwork there.

Looking forward to the progress.

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks Alistair , Yes so many models, so little time !!! I thought I would just do a bit in the cockpit but it grew and grew!!!

 

1 hour ago, Britman said:

Looking forward to seeing more. Just in case you are not aware, make sure you check fit the Firefly undercarriage bay's for thickness. How do I know? My friend stuck them in before checking and they were too deep.

 

Keith

Thanks Keith, your friend !!! 😉 yes will do fella, I nearly came unstuck that way on the 72 Firefly T2 but managed to get away with it   I have taken off as much as I dare on the U/C bays will see if I need to take off any of the wings too.

 

Thanks guys 

Chris

[Marklo]

I built that same Lindbergh flycatcher a few years ago, for such an old kit it’s really well engineered. But be warned the decals I got were not water slide but burnish on and although the artwork was good they weren’t. My solution was to photocopy them into inkjet decal paper and make a water slide set out of them. 

Edited May 8, 2021 by Marklo

[bigbadbadge]

28 minutes ago, Marklo said:

I built that same Lindbergh flycatcher a few years ago, for such an old kit it’s really well engineered. But be warned the decals I got were not water slide but burnish on and although the artwork was good they weren’t. My solution was to photocopy them into inkjet decal paper and make a water slide set out of them. 

Thanks Mark, the fit so far is very good.  I have the Wings and Waves decals and will use that . Interesting re the kit decals I thought they seemed unusual. Lovely Flycatcher by the way 

Chris

 

[Martian]

Quality work going on here.

 

Martian 👽

[bigbadbadge]

1 hour ago, Martian said:

Quality work going on here.

 

Martian 👽

Thanks Martian , I have been making the throttle box assembly and compass so hopefully I should be able to add tomorrow. 

Chris

[Dunny]

Chris,

 

Crikey - you're a machine! Looking forward to seeing these come along, eclectic bunch that they are!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[mark.au]

Ditto to the other comments, definitely following along with this one.  Great work so far, Chris.

[Grey Beema]

I might slide in the back here near the bar to observe this one.

 

I need to go and find my references for the Firefly but is that flare stowage?

 

 

67 is listed as ‘Signal Cartridge Storage’

 

You can just about see them here in my SH 1/48 model.

 

Edited May 9, 2021 by Grey Beema

[Britman]

8 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Thanks Alistair , Yes so many models, so little time !!! I thought I would just do a bit in the cockpit but it grew and grew!!!

 

Thanks Keith, your friend !!! 😉 yes will do fella, I nearly came unstuck that way on the 72 Firefly T2 but managed to get away with it   I have taken off as much as I dare on the U/C bays will see if I need to take off any of the wings too.

 

Thanks guys 

Chris

Honestly, I gave him the kit ! That little Anson book is a bit of a gem isn't it, my dad bought that when it first came out ( being an Anson man in the RAF) . By the way, I have that Canadian Ventura sheet but I am wanting to do the natural metal one.....

 

Keith

[bigbadbadge]

5 hours ago, Dunny said:

Chris,

 

Crikey - you're a machine! Looking forward to seeing these come along, eclectic bunch that they are!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Thanks Roger,  I have been wanting to do these for ages but with the Ventura on the go I just didn't have the Capacity so when that finished I started a bit on these. Lots more FAA to come too.

 

5 hours ago, mark.au said:

Ditto to the other comments, definitely following along with this one.  Great work so far, Chris.

Thanks Mark , I didn't realise that I would end up doing the whole cockpit on the Flycatcher,  I have made the compass and throttle box assembly and will install later.

 

2 hours ago, Grey Beema said:

I might slide in the back here near the bar to observe this one.

 

I need to go and find my references for the Firefly but is that flare stowage?

 

 

67 is listed as ‘Signal Cartridge Storage’

 

You can just about see them here in my SH 1/48 model.

 

Thanks for posting this GB, that's very kind of you and I can't think why I didn't realise thT now looking at the shape of them, a senior moment perhaps???

Thanks for you Firefly image too.   I hope to progress on the Firefly now too.

Thank you.

 

2 hours ago, Britman said:

Honestly, I gave him the kit ! That little Anson book is a bit of a gem isn't it, my dad bought that when it first came out ( being an Anson man in the RAF) . By the way, I have that Canadian Ventura sheet but I am wanting to do the natural metal one.....

 

Keith

Ha ha Keith. Yes that book is lovely,  I got mine from PaulJ on this site and it confirmed my choice of build.

Oooooo the Aeviology sheets are lovely and excellent reference too. Isthe natural metal machine on sheet 4 with the red Hi viz panels, if so I did the yellow and black striped Target Tug option , the Revell kit is a real Gem.

Good luck with your build, you will enjoy ghat one.

 

Thanks all

 

Chris

[bigbadbadge]

Hi all a bit more progress with the Flycatcher 

Knocked up a compass out of a part for anther kit, a throttle and mixture lever assembly from plasticard and a couple of Reheat PE levers and the Ammunition boxes from plasticard 

 

 

 

And made a new Seat

 

 

Thanks for looking in

Chris

 

 

[bigbadbadge]

Hi all

 

Bit more progress on the Flycatcher. 

Joystic handle has been cut down to look a bit better instead of a round handle.

 

 

Throttle box assembly added with a couple of cables too

 

 

SeT has been painted and polished.  Seat cushion made just need to figure out the seat belts, .

Does anyone know if they were a 3 point harness or just tge lap belts, I would presume 3 point harness but some builds I can only see the lap belts.  Cockpit images are few and far between of an original machine!!!

 

Thanks for looking in 

Chris

[RichieW]

Wow Chris, some lovely scratch built details going on.  I'd missed the start of this build but am following now with great interest. That tubular framework adds a real wow factor to the interior, love it!

 

Richie

[bigbadbadge]

1 hour ago, RichieW said:

Wow Chris, some lovely scratch built details going on.  I'd missed the start of this build but am following now with great interest. That tubular framework adds a real wow factor to the interior, love it!

 

Richie

Thanks Richie, yes I wasn't planning on doing all this but you know what it's like!!! Although I have to say no Hot Sauce bottles have been harmed in the making of this!!!

Chris

[Dunny]

Lovely scratchbuilding Chris - can't help with the harness details, I'm afraid,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[RichieW]

7 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Although I have to say no Hot Sauce bottles have been harmed in the making of this!!!

Might spice things up a little!

[mark.au]

Looking great.  How do you manage with such tiny parts?  Those throttle levers are simply beyond me

[bigbadbadge]

2 hours ago, Dunny said:

Lovely scratchbuilding Chris - can't help with the harness details, I'm afraid,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

No worries thanks Roger, really enjoying this model.   

 

2 hours ago, RichieW said:

Might spice things up a little!

Ha ha yes, if you're into spicy food,  have you tried Jersey Death Sauce, wicked stuff, only need a tiny amount though .  Only literally one or two drops, I put some on a chilly once, froze half and ate half .  When I came to eat the next one, totally forgot and added a couple more drops and my lips ended up numb, wicked stuff. Not if you have a stomach ulser though!!!

 

1 hour ago, mark.au said:

Looking great.  How do you manage with such tiny parts?  Those throttle levers are simply beyond me

Thanks Mark  very pointed tweezers and an Optivisor  are essential.  I was worried that the throttle  assembly would ping off into the ether and was relieved to get it glued in safely!!!

Thanks guys

 

Chris

[72modeler]

Chris,

You are nothing, if not prolific! All three are coming along nicely! Looking forward to the Anson, though, as it has always been a favorite of mine. (I have the same Anson reference- hope the spine isn't coming apart like the one I have!) BTW, is that a '66 TL you have as your avatar, and is it yours?  I remember when VW released the 1500's when we were stationed in Germany from 65-68, and they were sure handsome, compared to the Beetle. Fuel-injected? OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Mike

[AliGauld]

2 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

I was worried that the throttle  assembly would ping off into the ether

I know that outcome only too well.

Things are looking great though. 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

[bigbadbadge]

2 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Chris,

You are nothing, if not prolific! All three are coming along nicely! Looking forward to the Anson, though, as it has always been a favorite of mine. (I have the same Anson reference- hope the spine isn't coming apart like the one I have!) BTW, is that a '66 TL you have as your avatar, and is it yours?  I remember when VW released the 1500's when we were stationed in Germany from 65-68, and they were sure handsome, compared to the Beetle. Fuel-injected? OK, back to our regularly scheduled programming!

Mike

Hi Mike 

Thanks , Yes so many models in the stash and so little time!!! Love the Anson too and yes mine is falling apart a bit too. 

The Fastback is mine and they are my favourite VW, this one is a 67 1600 TL RHD too.  This is my second one of these my previous one was a 72 TLE (electronic fuel injected although primitive compared to today's standard) loved them both .  This one is a NZ car and is a bit unusual as it came with deluxe trim.  I got the gen from the UK club when I was after getting it on a correct reg as the DVLA put it on a 69 reg.  She has a few extra touches 914 alloys and period Mota Lita  Woodham and a 67 12 volt VDO  rev counter.  She is my weekend pleasure and am gradually doing bits on her, will repaint eventually but bodywork is original and only welding done on front wing and a small patch of the front floor pan. Very lucky to have found this car back in 2010.  My word would have loved to have seen them new, my Dad's commanding officer had the squareback when he was based in Malta 67 to 70 where I was born.  

Here's a photo Mike, the C stripe down the side is my own interpretation of the Aussie version on the Later models and I painted with Humrol enamel paint and faded it along with the pinstripe on tge roof edges.   The chequers were sprayed.

 

Sorry everyone for the thread drift but I can't help myself when it comes to VWs

 

 

2 hours ago, AliGauld said:

I know that outcome only too well.

Things are looking great though. 

 

Cheers,

Alistair

Thanks Alistair  it was a worrying few moments I tell you.  I have since sacrificed a bit from the spares box to the carpet monster !!! Should be okay now, famous last words!!!

 

Thanks guys

 

Chris