1:48 Blackburn Skua Mk.II *FINISHED*

[Dunny]

14 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Happy New Year to you too Roger, good progress with the paint going on , this is looking very nice indeed, great work fella.  Thanks for posting the link to that very useful site  that looks good and there is TT info on there which is brilliant as yellow and black is how I want to do mine, I am sure that won't come as a surprise to you 😉 

Now the paint is going on you'll have this one wrapped up in no time!!!

Chris

Chris,

 

I thought that might grab your eye old son - the man can't resist the yellow & black stripes! Great source of detail info too...

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

4 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Chris,

 

I thought that might grab your eye old son - the man can't resist the yellow & black stripes! Great source of detail info too...

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Very useful indeed Roger, I will have a good look through that site soon. Thanks again for posting that.

Chris

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Some good progress on the Skua today! My next task was going to be spraying the port wing with Nato Black, but I'd come up with a cunning plan - more on that later. Instead, I decided to spray the Dark Slate Grey - here she is:

 

 

I oversprayed areas using some Mid-Stone mixed in to the DSG, just for a little tonal variation. Next I masked up for the Extra Dark Sea Grey using the tried & tested method:

 

 

Aaand sprayed and unmasked:

 

 

Looking quite nice - I'd added some Medium Sea Grey to the EDSG for local highlights! Next, the reason for my cunning plan  

 

I'd done a bit more perusing of the mine of information that is Dinger's Aviation Pages:

 

https://www.dingeraviation.net/skuaroc/skuacolours.htm

 

I found that the Skua had some quite prominent rubberised anti-slip areas applied to the wing roots - although I could not find any photos of camouflaged aircraft with the anti-slip obvious, I figured that this was not conclusive proof that they weren't there! I therefore decided to add them, firstly to add some interest, and secondly to perfectly disguise the step at the wing fold - no flies on me! Here's the pattern as shown on the website:

 

 

You can see that I've masked up to a reasonable facsimile of the diagram shown. Both sides:

 

 

I then proceeded to spray the underside of the port wing and the anti-slip areas with Nato Black. I went over the wing with the Nato Black lightened with Interior Green (it's the gift that keeps on giving @bigbadbadge - great tip!). Here's the result:

 

 

Not quite as extreme as it appears in the photo - it actually looks pretty good to my eye. Here's one of the anti-slip sprayed:

 

 

And unmasked:

 

 

They look alright! After an almost indecently short drying time, I couldn't resist demasking the beast:

 

 

 

I'm pretty pleased with the overall result, although there's the usual minor defects to sort out:

 

 

 

They were dispatched quickly enough, so here's where we are right now with a gloss coat drying, ready for decals:

 

 

Looks like a bought one! I may get the decals on today, so may add a small update later on.

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

As promised I managed to get the decals on this afternoon. As indicated, I'm going with a 1:72 'B' type roundel from the spares box for the wing roundels, as it looks to be a pretty good match for the size of roundel in the photos. I wasn't happy with the fuselage roundels as presented:

 

 

You can see the SH ones on the left - the red centre looks too large to my eye, and there are no photos to indicate that a non-standard roundel was used. I'm going to therefore replace them with the right hand set, which I've sourced from the spares box. So here she is in all her glory:

 

 

Not looking too bad, although you can see that the serial on the port side needs a minor repair. But what's that next to the cockpit you ask? Well, from what I can see it's an arm clad in naval uniform, firing a Luger at a wasp with a human face with what look to be Balkenkreuz on it's wings and tail. What else - nice little detail, anyway.

 

 

Anyway, I'll get a gloss coat on to settle overnight, then tomorrow Mr Flory can work his magic!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

Oh yes looks absolutely splendid Roger, the walkways look great as does the paint colours and thank you for the mention too.  The decals look great, definitely the right choice to replace those roundels, the fuselage ones SH supplied look odd .  You'll have this finished in no time at all now.  Looking forward to the wash effects .

 

Great work fella

Chris

[Dunny]

2 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Oh yes looks absolutely splendid Roger, the walkways look great as does the paint colours and thank you for the mention too.  The decals look great, definitely the right choice to replace those roundels, the fuselage ones SH supplied look odd .  You'll have this finished in no time at all now.  Looking forward to the wash effects .

 

Great work fella

Chris

Thanks Chris - although there was little evidence for the walkways it was also very difficult to say they were not there. As it solved another issue I was happy to go with it, and at least it looks the part! Glad you agree on the roundels - it would not have sat well!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[bigbadbadge]

6 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris - although there was little evidence for the walkways it was also very difficult to say they were not there. As it solved another issue I was happy to go with it, and at least it looks the part! Glad you agree on the roundels - it would not have sat well!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

I reckon you're right on the walkways too fella, they are most likely going to be there .  

 

The SH supplied fuselage roundel looks like a post war roundel with a yellow border added, strange!!!

You were definitely right doing those.

Chris

[Dunny]

21 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

I reckon you're right on the walkways too fella, they are most likely going to be there .  

 

The SH supplied fuselage roundel looks like a post war roundel with a yellow border added, strange!!!

You were definitely right doing those.

Chris

Strange, considering that the others are proportionally correct. Hey ho, done now!

[mick b]

35 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Strange, considering that the others are proportionally correct. Hey ho, done now!

Unfortunately Roger, SH have the roundels correct as shown in photos of this captured Skua; an example of which can be found in Stuart Lloyd’s ( @iang on this forum) book FAA Camouflage and Markings Page 142 as well as a close up of the artwork under the windscreen.

 

Mike

Edited January 2, 2022 by mick b

[iang]

4 hours ago, Dunny said:

Hi All,

 

As promised I managed to get the decals on this afternoon. As indicated, I'm going with a 1:72 'B' type roundel from the spares box for the wing roundels, as it looks to be a pretty good match for the size of roundel in the photos. I wasn't happy with the fuselage roundels as presented:

 

 

You can see the SH ones on the left - the red centre looks too large to my eye, and there are no photos to indicate that a non-standard roundel was used. I'm going to therefore replace them with the right hand set, which I've sourced from the spares box. So here she is in all her glory:

 

 

Not looking too bad, although you can see that the serial on the port side needs a minor repair. But what's that next to the cockpit you ask? Well, from what I can see it's an arm clad in naval uniform, firing a Luger at a wasp with a human face with what look to be Balkenkreuz on it's wings and tail. What else - nice little detail, anyway.

 

 

Anyway, I'll get a gloss coat on to settle overnight, then tomorrow Mr Flory can work his magic!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

Very nice Skua, Roger. 

If you are touching up the serial, you might also consider changing the F code to blue.  At this time, 803 Squadron used coloured individual letters for sections - so A,B,C green, F,G,H blue, K, L, M yellow P, Q, R red.

L2963 was very well photographed and the blue code is evident by comparing the ortho and panchromatic film. Quite a few 803 Skua photos are reproduced in my FAA Camouflage and markings book, showing the different colour codes.

IG

[Dunny]

6 minutes ago, mick b said:

Unfortunately Roger, SH have the roundels correct as shown in photos of this captured Skua; an example of which can be found in Stuart Lloyd’s ( Ian Lang on this forum) book FAA Camouflage and Markings Page 142 as well as a close up of the artwork under the windscreen.

 

Mike

Interesting Mike, and another learning point on this unusual aircraft! Thanks for pointing this out - I may choose to correct it, or invoke Rule #1 again! This is proving to be an interesting build on all levels!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Dunny]

2 minutes ago, iang said:

 

Very nice Skua, Roger. 

If you are touching up the serial, you might also consider changing the F code to blue.  At this time, 803 Squadron used coloured individual letters for sections - so A,B,C green, F,G,H blue, K, L, M yellow P, Q, R red.

L2963 was very well photographed and the blue code is evident by comparing the ortho and panchromatic film. Quite a few 803 Skua photos are reproduced in my FAA Camouflage and markings book, showing the different colour codes.

IG

Ian,

 

Many thanks for this - I may yet consider changes based on yours and @mick b's input. Every day's a school day,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[mick b]

2 minutes ago, Dunny said:

Ian,

 

Many thanks for this - I may yet consider changes based on yours and @mick b's input. Every day's a school day,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

Regardless, it’s an excellent looking Skua.

 

Mike

[Dunny]

3 minutes ago, mick b said:

Regardless, it’s an excellent looking Skua.

 

Mike

Thanks Mike - much appreciated! I suspect I may not be able to let it lie now. Maybe I should sleep on it...

[mark.au]

Looking good Roger, the ugly duckling continues to look like a swan.  I reckon you’ll fix that roundel… 😉

[Dunny]

6 minutes ago, mark.au said:

Looking good Roger, the ugly duckling continues to look like a swan.  I reckon you’ll fix that roundel… 😉

I reckon you're right. The code too. I'm already working through the plan...

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Clearly my research did not scratch the surface of t'internet too deeply. I had not realised that L2963 had been recovered after being shot down on the Scharnhorst raid. Once @mick b had kindly pointed out that the fuselage roundel was indeed non-standard (thanks Mike!), I thought I'd better have a bit more of a dig. Sure enough, elsewhere on this site exists the below pictures (copyright Michael Balss - photo for discussion only and will remove as requested):

 

 

You can clearly see that the roundel is non-standard, as well as great views of the personal markings next to the cockpit - the front of the prop also looks like aluminium to me. Humble pie duly eaten - SH's presentation of the fuselage roundels was correct, although I'm still sticking with the reduced-size 'B' type roundels for the wings. I'm going to address the fuselage roundels and the code colour on the tail (should be blue - thank you @iang!!) once I've got a flat coat down, which is today's job - I'm about to break out the Flory wash so will update later,

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

Edited January 3, 2022 by Dunny
Grammar & spelling

[bigbadbadge]

Hi Roger

Some great piccies there, with some amazing info in.  They certainly will allow you build a definitive model.  Glad you got the info before it was too late fella.  

Chris

[Dunny]

5 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Roger

Some great piccies there, with some amazing info in.  They certainly will allow you build a definitive model.  Glad you got the info before it was too late fella.  

Chris

Thanks Chris - it certainly was timely! Also not too difficult to correct - my plan is under way...

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

First job today on the Skua was getting down a Flory wash - here's the result:

 

 

POP - always love that point in the build. Next I resolved to correct the incorrect roundel (which I'd corrected 🤣). I was thinking of respraying the red to the (in)correct diameter of 4.5mm, but I happened upon a set of centres from last year's Airspeed Oxford build, and blow me down if they weren't exactly the right size 🤩:

 

 

That was one problem easily solved. With the blue 'F' code on the tail, I elected to cut straight strips from a spare roundel to make up the 'F' on both sides of the tail:

 

 

This was part way through the process, using a nice sharp blade. So here's a shot before:

 

 

And after rectification:

 

 

A subtle difference, but important for accuracy's sake! Once I'd done that it was a case of applying a couple of flat coats:

 

 

Not looking too bad at all! Here's a couple of shots after the grand unmasking:

 

 

 

 

 

What's that? You'd like to see a shot with the distinctive glazing in place to get a full impression of this unusual aircraft? Why of course! Closed:

 

 

And Open:

 

 

I'm in two minds as to how to pose the glazing, as the rounded rear of the glasshouse is such a prominent feature on the Skua - opinions welcome! I'm off to get on with painting the exhaust and the prop, so may check in again later,

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Some more good progress made on the Skua - I'm trying to get it wrapped up before we go away for a few days on Weds. I managed to get the undercarriage in place. It needed some fettling to achieve the distinctive vertical oleos, but I achieved this by a combination of cutting an angle on the top of the leg itself, and selectively removing material of the wall of the u/c bay until it sat correctly. Here's the result:

 

 

That'll do pig! 🐷

 

I finished painting the exhaust, which was a combination of steel progressively mixed with brass, and then oversprayed with a heavily thinned red-brown. You can also see that I've hollowed out the exhaust cavity, which as presented was just a blank face - I then painted it black to at least try and disguise the plastic butchery horrors therein :

 

 

Next I completed the propeller assembly. The tips were sprayed white and then yellow, and were then masked. The whole propeller was then sprayed in black, and then the rear of the blades masked. The hub, the front of the blades and the spinner were then coated in aluminum, and finally the whole lot received a flat coat. Here's the result:

 

 

I've attached a few more widgets and doodads, but not quite there yet:

 

 

I'm pretty pleased with the way things are heading, and barring any major disasters I should be in a position to RFI tomorrow! 🤩

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[Learstang]

If you'll forgive the oxymoron, that's a beautiful Skua! Brilliant job!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

[Dunny]

18 minutes ago, Learstang said:

If you'll forgive the oxymoron, that's a beautiful Skua! Brilliant job!

 

Regards,

 

Jason

Thanks for the kind words Jason - much appreciated! Oxymoronic I know, but I have come to admire the ungainly lines!

 

Cheers,

 

Roger

[Learstang]

You're very welcome! Well, the lines certainly are a bit... different. I keep expecting that windscreen to continue leaning forward until it finally topples onto the top of the fuselage.

 

Best Regards,

 

Jason

[Grey Beema]

Great job there Roger lovely finishing.

 

Something for the TAG to fight back with and the aerial & mast and you’re done..

 

Mine was Green Flight ‘A’ again with the support of @iang and it’s arrival post dated L2963..