Revell (ex-Matchbox) 1/72nd Supermarine Walrus MkI

[Heather Kay]

 

My second entry is another biplane. Somewhere in my stash is a red box Airfix re-re-re-re-re-issue of their venerable MkII kit. It is, I’m afraid, very long in the tooth and, sadly, even the modern transfers won’t be any use to me. Not to worry, this 2006 Revell repop of the Matchbox Shagbat remains superior, even five decades on from its original 1973 appearance.

 

 

Purchased from a BMer, the box shows signs of storage and the occasional peep inside. The contents, though, have remained sealed in their plastic bag.

 

 

The plastic is hard, so I will need some care extracting the finer parts. The original country of manufacture has been roughly excised from the mould, but the Matchbox number PK-105 still peeps through. 
 

 

The transfers still look okay, but I won’t be using them as they don’t cover my 1940 schtick. I’ll need to dig around and choose a suitable Fleet Air Arm example to copy.

 

I don’t think Lesney included rigging information, but Revell did. I will be attempting this using elastic thread and superglue. I am wondering if it’s worth the time of acquiring an aftermarket Bristol Pegasus, seeing as it is exposed for all to see. Although I got some nice images of the Fleet Air Arm Museum's Walrus a couple of years ago, I won’t be attempting wing folds. I know there are some minor corrections I can do, and I will be looking to add detail where I can or where I think it’s feasible.

 

Like the Stringbag, this will be a bit of a slow burner.

[Rob G]

You're a woman of many talents Heather, so I'm sure that you'll be OK, but be aware that for reasons best known to themselves (or possibly for no reason at all), Revell have borked the Matchbox instructions - step 8 in the Revell instructions shows the front strut assembly (part 14) reversed. There may be other gotchas as well. 

 

MB instructions at the 'Download' link here (which you probably already know about, but...) 

 

 https://www.scalemates.com/kits/matchbox-pk-105-walrus-mk-1--133204

[CliffB]

Welcome Heather. You've just got to love a Walrus!  

 

Cheers

[dogsbody]

Original Matchbox instruction from The Matchbox Kits website:

 

http://www.matchboxkits.org/product_info.php?cPath=27_35_52&products_id=553

 

 

 

 

Chris

[Heather Kay]

My Swordfish build has more or less reached the "waiting for primer and paint" stage, and as the Walrus will be in very similar colours it really makes sense to try and get things up to speed here..

 

Rather than pile right in with the sanding sticks and glue, I’ve just been familiarising myself with the parts and the instructions. I want to make some minor modifications and add a couple of little details, so I’ve been visiting the Seawings web site for inspiration, particularly for the cockpit and basic internals.

 

 

One job that needs sorting right away is opening the fuselage windows where the navigator/wireless operator is situated. I began by chain drilling round the frame.

 

 

Joining the holes with a No15 Swann Morton.

 

 

Finishing up with needle files.
 

As you can see, interior detail was not high on the minds of the kit's original designers. Then again, you won't actually see much once the single transparency is fitted. My plan, such as it is, is to construct a simple cockpit floor, remodel a seat for the pilot, add basic controls and instrument panel, and add the bulkhead to block off the view right through the fuselage. As parts are in the kit for the bow and mid-upper positions to be closed, I may opt for that. As I’m modelling the plane wheels down, it’s most likely to have the hatches battened down, and the machine guns can go in the Bits Box. That’ll also save me having to fabricate the gun mounts and detailing inside the fuselage at those points. Lazy? Me? I call it pragmatic.

[AdrianMF]

On 22/08/2021 at 15:45, Heather Kay said:

Lazy

I call it perfectly reasonable!

 

Fold the wings and do a big enough tarpaulin and you can skip the painting too

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Galligraphics]

On 8/23/2021 at 10:52 PM, AdrianMF said:

Fold the wings and do a big enough tarpaulin and you can skip the painting too

Build a hangar around it and you don't have to build the kit at all...

[Grandboof]

Watching taking tips . I am sure this will be another gem . 

Martin H

[Heather Kay]

Cheers Martin!

 

I had planned on getting this ready for paint at the same time as the Swordfish. Well, the best laid plans and all that. The good news is I’ve been gathering research material and working out how far to go with detailing, and I should get back into the build soon.

[Heather Kay]

Before I forget, here’s the link to BM's Walrus walkaround images.

 

 

 

[Heather Kay]

 

Hailing from the early 1970s, not much attention was paid by the kit designers to interior detail. In fact, the crew gets the dubious luxury of a peg sticking out of the fuselage sides, although the pilot is also afforded a sort of seat. It’s safe to say it doesn’t look much like a real Walrus seat, and couple that with no instrument panel, no floor, and a definitely missing bulkhead right behind the pilot, well, something must be done. I raided - and sorted out - my Bits Box, and found several suitable seat candidates. I also found some control horns and a control column from a couple of Dornier 17 kits of varying vintages. Now, I’m not going to pretend much will be seen through the cockpit greenhouse. Equally, I’m not going to pretend a lot will show in the gun positions either. I do not plan to go to much effort inside the fuselage/hull, but something is better than nothing.
 

Much exercising of the brain cell has been expended on how to rig this biplane, too. I fear the Uschi thread is too thin, the Eezee line I have is the wrong colour, and I don’t have any nylon fishing line. I do have tinned copper wire, and I'm wondering if I can manage to rig the beast with that. Potentially, wire could be passed through holes in the wings and secured before the wing halves are joined. There’s always the risk of damaging the wire during the rest of construction, though. I shall think on for a bit longer.

 

I was reading up on the Walrus yesterday. The type was designed as a true amphibian from the start, and the retracting undercarriage could catch pilots out. One famous example was a demonstration flight with an Admiral on board, where the wheels hadn’t been retracted after the ground take-off - well, such modern gadgets were still rare in 1935 - and the plane was flipped over when it was brought down on the water. No-one was seriously hurt, and the incident led to what is thought to be the first installation of undercarriage position markers on the instrument panel for production aircraft. The other notable event took place when the prototype was being demonstrated at Hendon in the 1930s. As the airframe had been stressed to withstand catapult launches at around 70mph, the chief test pilot "Mutt" Summers performed a complete loop - much to the surprise of all watching, including RJ Mitchell! 

[ckw]

16 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

Much exercising of the brain cell has been expended on how to rig this biplane, too. I fear the Uschi thread is too thin, the Eezee line I have is the wrong colour, and I don’t have any nylon fishing line. I do have tinned copper wire, and I'm wondering if I can manage to rig the beast with that. Potentially, wire could be passed through holes in the wings and secured before the wing halves are joined. There’s always the risk of damaging the wire during the rest of construction, though. I shall think on for a bit longer.

I use real wire on all my biplane rigging. It's tedious, but nothing looks more like wire rigging than wire! My method is to do this last of all, carefully measuring required lengths with dividers. Depending on the kit, I may pre-drill 'seats' for the wire ends (not necessarily holes). Wires are secured with PVA. As you suggest, pre-rigging with wire is I think doomed to failure - the slightest touch will probably bend the wire which will then need to be replaced.

 

Cheers

Colin

[Heather Kay]

56 minutes ago, ckw said:

It's tedious, but nothing looks more like wire rigging than wire!

True enough, Colin. I rigged an Airfix Gladiator using your method, which has generally stood up well to life in my display cabinet. The Walrus, though, like the Swordfish (and Glad if it comes to it) had flat strip bracing and not wire. I know it sounds odd, but even at this scale the difference does show. I am, therefore, thinking of investing in some Eezee line. That is a flat elastic, and if I can persuade it not to twist may look right.

 

Then again, I’m still thinking on alternatives.

[AdrianMF]

1 hour ago, ckw said:

real wire

Colin, could you possibly elaborate on what sort of wire you use and how you do it? It seems that rigid wire rigging is often left unglued at one end to avoid sagging with differential heat expansion (and I dare say knocks from display shelf manoeuvres).  I've also heard that some people use rather exotic "ceramic wire" or rigid stainless steel wire. 

 

Do you think tinned (silver colour) copper 0.1mm (scale 7.2mm dia IRL) would work? If so then wires.co.uk can sell me about half a mile for just over 5 quid...

 

Sorry for the hijack Heather!

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Heather Kay]

4 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Sorry for the hijack Heather!

No problem. It’s this kind of question I hoped would arise out of proposing a GB for multi-wing models, so I’m pleased it’s come up here.

[ckw]

I use a variety of wires from different sources. Tinned copper is what I often use, and have never had a problem with sagging but having said that, all my builds are 1/72 so no really long runs. I think using PVA is the ideal adhesive as a) it doesn't need to be strong b) easy to rectify mistakes without marring paintwork and c) being less rigid than say superglue can absorb shocks.

 

In recent times the e-cigarette has resulted in a whole range of fine wires becoming available - including flat wires. I got a selection of spools from the Crazywire company.

 

I have no experience using the more exotic wires!

 

The biggest problem I find is not bending or kinking the wire when putting in place. I use flat shovel faced tweezers as pointy ones can easily bend the wire if you squeeze too tight. And you do have to trim to the exact length before fixing in place. For me this is often a bit of trial and error as in many cases its hard to accurately measure with dividers. Just start a bit long and trim bits off the wire till it fits.

 

I've also used stretched sprue, but to my eye just doesn't look so good. And I have had some bad experiences with elastic type threads (rotting or breaking over time).

 

Cheers

 

Colin

[stevehnz]

& here was me thinking I was in for a massive catch up & more abject grovelling for ignoring this thread for so long & suddenly wow, two huge time leaps & thats pretty much me off the hook.  I've a couple of these in stock, an original & the Revell reissue, which I bought it mainly for the feet on the decal sheet, must remember to scan them before I use them.   It'll likely be done in the kits BPF scheme, the other will be a Kiwi one from the early war period so all silver dope finish. I'm keen therefore to see this come together, I know it'll be done superbly & pitfalls along the way dealt with most adroitly. Carry on Heather. 

Steve.

[Heather Kay]

17 hours ago, stevehnz said:

here was me thinking I was in for a massive catch up

Ha! Yes, well, I’ve been taking my time on this one. With the Swordfish and what turns out to be my only French Fancies GB entry out of the way, "proper work" is supposed to have taken over. Unfortunately, my old friend Muttley* has decided this week would be a good time to pay a visit.

I felt it was time to stop procrastinating and get on with something constructive.

 

 

This view gives a fair idea how much space is inside the Walrus. On the real thing, there is a bulkhead behind the pilot, extending roughly halfway across the space. Behind that, all on the port side, is the navigator's station, followed by the wireless operator. First job was to make the main bulkhead because it’s the most obvious. To get the interior shape, I borrowed an idea from @AdrianMF and pushed some electrical cored solder into the fuselage half. It was enough to give me a basic shape which I could trim and sand to fit.

 

 

Then I got distracted by the rear turret cover. The holes for the gun positions are called turrets in a pilot's guide that I turned up on the Seawings web site. They’re not what I’d call a turret, but who am I to argue? Anyway, the real thing acted as a slipstream deflector when rolled back and lifted, and also featured four small clear panels. The kit part was moulded solid but with the frame shape, so I drilled and filed the panels out. Then I went down a rabbit hole of detailing the underside with some thin styrene strip. It’ll be barely visible when I’m done! The clear panels will be filled with Kristal Klear or similar.

 

Of course, the rails the hatch slid back on had to be represented. Again, styrene strip, and some careful filing. It’s close enough, I think. While I was faffing in this area, I felt the hatch cover was too close to the hatch itself. This was remedied by simply filing the slot the cover locates into a little longer towards the front of the plane.

 

I know. I said I wasn’t going to go silly with superdetailing. I build models for fun, and I found it fun to do. What can I say?

 

 

Back inside, and it was obvious something might be glimpsed of the navigator's table, and then another bulkhead and the wireless table… where do you stop?  Well, at this point, actually. Hopefully, this basic gubbins will give the right sort of impression if you can actually see anything through the greenhouse up front. Oh, and I’ve added the half partition in front of the pilot. The pilot's seat will sit happily on the original moulded bench, with some kind of basic floor under it for the control column to sit in. Rudimentary side panel detailing will complete the interior.

 

Famous. Last. Words. 

 

 

*Muttley is my depression, after the fashion of Churchill's "black dog". When Muttley's about, not much cheers me up, so I just have to shove him out of sight and try to get on as best I can.

[AdrianMF]

Just don't look at the interior of the Airfix 1/48 kit! That amount of detailing could quickly become no fun at all...

 

What you have looks great for 1/72. Some nice shapes defining the inside spaces.

 

Regards,

Adrian

[Grandboof]

Another informative guide for us mere mortals . Will be watching as I have this Revell repop lurking in the stash and an ancient Airfix resident on the shelf of doom . Maybe to appear in KUTA so notes are being taken 

Martin H

[Heather Kay]

1 hour ago, Grandboof said:

Another informative guide for us mere mortals

Who? Me? 

 

I also have the Airfix Walrus. It is remaining in the box and will never be built. I may raid it for the odd spare before it becomes landfill in due course. For my money, if you can’t find the Special Hobby kit, stick with the Revell one. 
 

Now, I’ve been thinking some more about rigging. I am still tempted by knotted wire. You see, the wings are all split in half, and the engine and centre section are built up before attaching wings. I think, with care, it should be quite possible to paint the wings while they’re in their component parts, and then arrange rigging before fixing the upper/lower halves in place. It might be a fiddle, but the overall wiring scheme is not all that complex, with the worst bit being the stuff holding the engine and nacelle struts square.

 

I shall continue thinks in this direction, though I think I’ll end up fitting individual wires after construction.

[PeterB]

Hi Heather,

 

As I recall, the first plane I ever rigged was the Airfix O/400 and that too came with split wings. Using cotton (all I had back in the late 1960's) it was easy enough to assemble the lower part of the upper wing on to the upper part of the lower wing with the struts and rig the entire outer wings, before putting the other halves on. Of course that still left the centre section which I probably did not bother with. Not sure how it would work with wire though but if you can make up "half wings" before gluing the rest in place it might well work. I am sure you will find a way to get a good result however you do it.

 

On the thankfully rare occasions I get my equivalent to your "Muttley" I find taking a hammer and saw out into the garden and attacking trees or at the moment some fencing helps to cheer me up!

 

Pete

Edited September 10, 2021 by PeterB

[Heather Kay]

Did I mention Special Hobby? I may well be wrong. I think it was Valom that kitted the Walrus and Seagull (same thing as a Walrus,essentially, but Antipodean).

 

 

[Heather Kay]

I’ve been fiddling about with some impressionistic interpretations of interior detail.

 

 

 

Spare ammunition drums dotted about, the co-pilot seat folded up against the starboard side, some odd electrical boxes here and there, plus some frames.

 

 

 

With the greenhouse popped on, you can see the square root of naff all. A lick of paint will help, but at least there’s something in there! 
 

 

Clutter inside the "turrets" will be ever-so-slightly more visible. 
 

Happy with that, so I’ll get some paint around the place and I can close up the fuselage. Oh, you’ll note I’ve glazed and masked the rectangular side windows. It has always struck me as odd these obvious clear panels have generally been rendered as closed (missing entirely on the Airfix kit) and it is expected rectangles of black transfer will be quite adequate, thanks ever so.

[Heather Kay]

 

Gluing the fuselage together. I painted the interior Humbrol 78 Interior Green, picked out some details in matt black and ran a black wash to bring out some detail. My standard masking tape seat belts have been done, but I’ve forgotten to fit the control column.