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Bog Standard Brisfit +++ Finished +++


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I'm coming late to the party, but I'd like to join in with this please.

 

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Another of Airfix's venerable Brisfit kits, this time in a 1973 blister pack.  I first built this kit when it came in a poly bag.

IMHO the artwork is sublime :thumbsup2:.

 

The decals represent the Duxford museum aicraft (I believe), but unfortunately feature a number of errors.  I've yet to decide what to do about this, but regardless I'll be building a standard scheme WWI RAF aircraft.

 

It'll be essentially an OOB build, plus rigging.

 

Cheers

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I was up early this morning, so thought I'd make a start. 

 

The parts are the same as in @JOCKNEY's build, although mine lack a 'Copyright 1957' mark.  I must admit to being slightly dissapointed!  

Like Pat, I'm also missing one cabane strut, which looks like a moulding fault in my case.

 

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The kit has a number of working features, where we are told 'Do Not Cement' the parts.  One of these is the rear gun mount, which clips into two holes in the fuselage sides thereby allowing it to elevate.  Unfortunately these mounting holes go right through to the outside of the fuselage, so will require filling in due course.

 

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There's no cockpit detail (apart from some lugs for the truncated crew members to sit on), so I've painted everything matt black to disguise what's not there.  I've also stuck some card above the stand slot, so that it can be filled later.

 

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For sure the fuselage halves are a bit rough, but fundamentally they fit together OK.  Surprisingly, the locating pins also proved to be more of a help than a hindrance ;).

 

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Cheers

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I have lost count of the number of times I have built one of these Airfix beauties, you have made a good start so far!

 

All the best, Ray

 

PS I did not upgrade any of them except for the wing ejection pin marks, and even that was done badly!

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1 hour ago, Ray S said:

I have lost count of the number of times I have built one of these Airfix beauties, you have made a good start so far!

PS I did not upgrade any of them except for the wing ejection pin marks, and even that was done badly!

 

Thanks Ray :thumbsup2:

Those ejector pin marks are certainly a very prominent feature of the kit!

Thankfully, they're hidden away on the underside of the top wing.  On the bottom wing however, they're on the top surface :(.  I don't really know, but I'm guessing that because there are four short struts moulded on to the top of the bottom wing, this may mean that the part has to be ejected from that side.

 

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Cheers

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7 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looking forward to see what you do with this one.

 

Regards,

Adrian.

 

Thanks Adrian.  It will be nothing like one of your makeovers!

 

Cheers

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3 hours ago, Greg Law said:

Boy Cliff those ejection marks are nasty. Do you think you can fix the ones on the top of the wing? Otherwise it's it will draw the eye everytime you look at it.

 

I think I should be able to fix them to an acceptable standard Greg.  Luckily, they're only on top of the bottom wing and will be straddled by the struts.  Add to this the general visual distraction of the decals and rigging etc., and I'm hoping that any residual imperfections won't be too noticeable.  

 

Cheers

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Time for an update, as I've been fiddling away with the fuselage and wings, and they're now ready for priming.

 

Not much filler was needed (apart from on the ejector pin marks), but some judicious sanding was.  Having been brought up on a diet of 'starved cow' Airfix biplane wings, I don't normally find then too offensive.  However, even I felt the need to sand off the ribbing from the tailplane.  Being silver plastic, details that I've sanded off still appear to be there :hypnotised:.

 

Whilst working on the tail, I scored along the elevator hinge lines and then bent them down to give a slight droop.  I've also added some simplified control horns.  I drilled holes right through the control surfaces and then inserted short pieces of plastic rod.  They're not an accurate representation of control horns, but the technique is easy and the result is reasonably resistant to damage.  Painted up and rigged, they usually look OK to my eyes.

 

Finally, I drilled out additional holes for rigging location and added a simple radiator cap.

 

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Cheers

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Thanks for your comments @rob85 @stevehnz and @AdrianMF :)

 

The kit's never going to set the world on fire, but at least the parts do seem to fit together OK.  It probably has a head start from being a relatively simple shape, with no complex curves (like engine nacelles), to deal with.  I'd assume that that would apply to most WW1 subjects, but then again I've never tried to build an Airfix RE8 :winkgrin:.

 

Cheers

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After two coats of primer,  I'm now happy enough with my treatment of the ejector pin marks.

 

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Having originally decided to build this as an RAF aircraft, I've now changed my mind and will be going Polish.  I'm blaming @Greg Law's RWD-8 build in the High Wing GB for turning my head!

 

I'll be following this very simple scheme, unashamedly cribbed from a Model Maker decal sheet.

 

Model Maker state FS34079 for the green colour, which apparently equates to Humbrol 116 or Xtracolour 110.  Despite having dozens of greens in my paint drawer, I don't have either of these (of course)!  I'll probably chose something from my existing stock that looks OK to my eyes 🤓.

 

Cheers.

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2 hours ago, Greg Law said:

The colour I used is an Olive drab colour. Tamiya XF-62. It is more of a brown/green colour. Maybe the earlier planes where a Olive green.

 

Thanks Greg.  I've since discovered that my chosen example was the delivery scheme of PC10 (Warsaw 1920).  XF-62 is one of the suggestions for PC10 too and it's also one that I've got.  Decision made!

 

Cheers

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Time for another update, as the main paint and decals are now on.

 

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Unusually, this particular aircraft is reported as having all of its upper surfaces (including the engine cowlings), finished in PC10.  I haven't really got my head round this yet, as I thought PC-10 was a fabric dope.  Maybe it could be applied to metalwork too?  Or maybe it was a similar colour paint?

 

My decals were left over from an old Choroszy Modelbud kit (Fiat CR.20).  Luckily, I decided to try out one of the other decals on the sheet before applying these.  I found that the colour density was very poor and that they would tear given the slightest encouragement.  The remedies were an 'undercoat' square of plain white decal and an 'overcoat' of Liquid Decal Film (before use).

 

I've just a few details to paint and add now (including the aircrew), and then it will be on with the wings :).

 

Cheers

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I like this kit too - a real chunky aircraft, the Brisfit. You're making a lovely job of this one. I had a bit of a nightmare with the wing and cabane struts on mine - all seemed to be different lengths. I think the undercarriage legs go through the lower wing to locate on the fuselage. Don't spoil that lovely paint job! Best of luck. Mike.

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1 hour ago, Ventora3300 said:

I had a bit of a nightmare with the wing and cabane struts on mine - all seemed to be different lengths. I think the undercarriage legs go through the lower wing to locate on the fuselage. Don't spoil that lovely paint job! Best of luck. Mike.

 

Thanks for the heads-up Mike.

I've got an Aeroclub biplane jig in my cupboard somehere.  I rarely seem to use it, but it sounds like now would be the time!

 

Cheers

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4 hours ago, CliffB said:

 

Thanks for the heads-up Mike.

I've got an Aeroclub biplane jig in my cupboard somehere.  I rarely seem to use it, but it sounds like now would be the time!

 

Cheers

Here’s what I mean…

 

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9 hours ago, Ventora3300 said:

Here’s what I mean…

 

Thanks Mike, I enjoyed the read :).  It seems that short shot struts are a feature of this kit - it's just never the same strut!

I think the struts on the Brisfit are particularly challenging, given that they all slope and are supplied individually.  Goodness know how I coped with them last time I built this kit (aged about ten I guess).

 

Cheers

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Having got the details painted, I spent a happy hour this afternoon getting the wings set up in my Aeroclub biplane jig.  There have been various iterations of this jig - I can see that mine is a Mk.2A.

 

The first task is to set up the width of the jig.  I've chosen to support my wings just inside of the decals. This will allow the cabane struts and the inner interplane struts to be fitted, but the outer interplane struts will need to be fitted once the plane has been removed from the jig (but by then everything should be nice and rigid anyway).

 

Next up, you need to set up the wing stagger.  Airfix helpfully tell you that this should be 14and this can be easily set up on the jig (it is calibrated).

 

Once this done the fuselage/lower wing assembly can be clamped onto the jig's lower support arms.  The jig is made of brass, which in many ways is good, but it can mark the surface of the model.  I've found that the simplest way of avoiding this, is to wrap masking around the relevant areas.

 

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The final task is to position the upper support arms at the correct height and then clamp the top wing to them.

 

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The clamps are very effective and allow you to pick the whole assembly up and wave it around (even upside down), without the model moving.  This is really useful, when trying to manoeuvre the struts into place.  Let's see how I get on tomorrow :winkgrin:

 

Cheers

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