1:48 Blackburn Skua Mk.II *FINISHED*

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Having recently RFI'd my Sptfire Mk.I, I now have the appetite for something a little less... mainstream, shall we say? What better than an early war, twin seat, Bristol-(under)powered beastie to get the juices flowing? I've had Special Hobby's Skua peeking at me from the stash for a while, and I'm feeling suitably strong-willed to give it a red-hot crack. Here's the box art:

 

 

As you can see, this is the 'Norwegian Campaign' boxing, which allows completion of 3 schemes from 800 or 803 Sqn FAA, all of which were embarked aboard HMS Ark Royal in July 1940. All 3 aircraft were also shot down during the attack on the Scharnhorst on 13th July 1940, although only one of the six crew were killed (Lt. R S Bostock) - happily(?) the rest were taken as PoWs. Of the 15 aircraft which took part in the raid, 8 were shot down - brave men indeed.

 

As we all know, the prototype Skua was powered by the Bristol Mercury, but the Mk.II was Perseus-powered, and 190 aircraft were delivered to the FAA. Although they acquitted themselves well in Norway and the Mediterranean, they struggled against more modern opposition, and were withdrawn from front line service in 1941. 

 

I'm going to complete as this scheme:

 

 

This is L2963 of 803 Sqn FAA. I've never completed an FAA aircraft in Sky Grey before, so this will be an exciting new experience! A quick image search does not turn up any pics identifiable as L2963, but there are a number of pics of Skuas from 803 Sqn aboard Ark Royal in 1940:

 

 

Some nice details visible there. Here's another:

 

 

Finally, here's a nice shot of the cockpit:

 

 

On to the kit - here's the sprue shots:

 

 

 

Moulded in the usual SH hard, mid-grey plastic. The surface detail looks reasonable, although I might have to give Rosie an outing...

 

Here's the transparencies and resin parts, which includes what looks to be a very nice Lewis gun:

 

 

Here's the decals, PE fret and the mask set I picked up:

 

 

So off we go on another FAA adventure! I also have a Hurricane Mk.I (Tropical) I might build in parallel just for a bit of light relief, inspired by @bigbadbadge's lovely recent 'spaghetti' scheme (watch this space!)

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[mark.au]

This should be fun 👍

[Grey Beema]

Hi Roger, mind if I tag along?

 

I have built two of these so far, as a kit I like it though it takes a good bit of work to get everything to line up.  Wing joins are particularly difficult and will require tabs to get the alignment right (same with the fuselage.

 

The TAGs cockpit is a bit fantasy and needs work but I found this article (see link) after I glued together the fuselage.  If I knew I would have changed the position, removed the floor etc.  It is a useful article especially when it was time to build the alighting gear which I got wrong on the first but got right on the second..

 

https://dingeraviation.net//skuaroc/modelling_the_blackburn_skua.htm

 

Good luck with your build, good luck with the S1E scheme, I think you’ll enjoy it..  

 

 

 

[bigbadbadge]

Hi Roger, 

This will be good, I'm in fella.  Not got one of these yet.  Thanks for the backround info, yes very brave crews indeed.  

Looking forward to this and also the added bonus of a Hurricane build too, great stuff.  

Thanks for the mention too .

Chris

 

[mackem01]

Not a beastie I know an awful lot about so following in the hopes I get teached something!

Good luck with the build.

[Dunny]

17 hours ago, mark.au said:

This should be fun 👍

Good to have you aboard sir!

16 hours ago, Grey Beema said:

Hi Roger, mind if I tag along?

 

I have built two of these so far, as a kit I like it though it takes a good bit of work to get everything to line up.  Wing joins are particularly difficult and will require tabs to get the alignment right (same with the fuselage.

 

The TAGs cockpit is a bit fantasy and needs work but I found this article (see link) after I glued together the fuselage.  If I knew I would have changed the position, removed the floor etc.  It is a useful article especially when it was time to build the alighting gear which I got wrong on the first but got right on the second..

 

https://dingeraviation.net//skuaroc/modelling_the_blackburn_skua.htm

 

Good luck with your build, good luck with the S1E scheme, I think you’ll enjoy it..  

 

 

 

Great tip GB, and many thanks for the link - yours is a cracker and I'll be very happy if mine turns out half as well!

15 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Roger, 

This will be good, I'm in fella.  Not got one of these yet.  Thanks for the backround info, yes very brave crews indeed.  

Looking forward to this and also the added bonus of a Hurricane build too, great stuff.  

Thanks for the mention too .

Chris

 

Thanks Chris - not sure whether to do a separate WIP or maybe I'll do a merged one like yours..

11 hours ago, mackem01 said:

Not a beastie I know an awful lot about so following in the hopes I get teached something!

Good luck with the build.

Thanks Mackem - welcome aboard!

[bigbadbadge]

8 hours ago, Dunny said:

Thanks Chris - not sure whether to do a separate WIP or maybe I'll do a merged one like yours..

Hi Roger, oooo yes you could mix it up a bit by doing them on the same thread,  it soon snowballs!!!

I have gone and got a Skua now too, SWMBO will not be happy   hopefully it will arrive when she is at work, then I can add to the stash and say I have had it for ages when submitting to questioning!!!😉

I will do mine in TT yellow and black , I am sure that won't come as a surprise to you 😄

Looking forward to both of these. 

Chris

 

[Dunny]

54 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Roger, oooo yes you could mix it up a bit by doing them on the same thread,  it soon snowballs!!!

I have gone and got a Skua now too, SWMBO will not be happy   hopefully it will arrive when she is at work, then I can add to the stash and say I have had it for ages when submitting to questioning!!!😉

I will do mine in TT yellow and black , I am sure that won't come as a surprise to you 😄

Looking forward to both of these. 

Chris

 

Haha - I feel like there is some mutual egging on mischief occurring! Perhaps we should bring @corsaircorp into the fun. A trio of 1:32 Lancs anyone?!

[bigbadbadge]

Crikey,  a trio of those🤣 I would be looking for new accommodation!!! @corsaircorp does seem to have some naughty influences when he exits yhe naughty corner!!!😉

Good on him and long may it continue. 

Chris 

[mick b]

As you can see from the photos you have attached of the real machine, the SH propeller also suffers from being too small in diameter with fat blades.

 

Mike

[73north]

If you are after a Bomb for the underside recess , BrenGun do a nice one with etch fins and a good etch underside bomb cradle - it’s on eBay for sale .

also be aware the bomb dive bombing release crutch supplied by 

Special Hobby is too short and also missing detail .

plus the rear gunner seat had no full sized seat , just a bench with a 

back support strap 

another omission is no gun sight for the pilot .

good luck with the build , following this one .

[corsaircorp]

Well, I obviously have a Skua in the stash....

A Skua GB ??? 

I'll finish my Sharkteethed cobra before

I'll do mine as one of Cdr Ronnie Hay 's serie.... Thanks to @Grey Beema

A target tow Skua Chris ?? @bigbadbadge Are you a member of the TF sig ??

Ooooh good Lord..... What did have I started moons ago when I joked with our Great Admiral of the Poole galactic fleet... aka @Martian

Does it mean that I have to do one more Skua ??

So, go on Roger, I'm in, at the bar as usual...

Sincerely.

CC

 

[Dunny]

10 hours ago, mick b said:

As you can see from the photos you have attached of the real machine, the SH propeller also suffers from being too small in diameter with fat blades.

 

Mike

That's a good pickup - thanks Mike!

[Dunny]

1 hour ago, 73north said:

If you are after a Bomb for the underside recess , BrenGun do a nice one with etch fins and a good etch underside bomb cradle - it’s on eBay for sale .

also be aware the bomb dive bombing release crutch supplied by 

Special Hobby is too short and also missing detail .

plus the rear gunner seat had no full sized seat , just a bench with a 

back support strap 

another omission is no gun sight for the pilot .

good luck with the build , following this one .

Thanks for that - might have to look into that bomb! I am also becoming aware that the rear cockpit is something of a work of fiction!

[mick b]

9 hours ago, Dunny said:

That's a good pickup - thanks Mike!

@tonyot takes the credit as he picked this up in his build articles for a modelling magazine (MAM?) back in the day.

 

Mike

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

After a busy few weeks I'm finally back at the bench, so I've spent the day kicking off the Skua as well as a Mk.I Hurricane, just to take the edge off this build! I started off in the cockpit, specifically the TAG's position. I thought that the rear bulkhead looked a little... one dimensional?

 

 

I decided to scratch a new bulkhead and repurpose the radio gear from the original, as the detail was perfectly acceptable. I therefore cut the radios out using a razor saw, made a new bulkhead from plastic card, and added a couple of ribs using Evergreen strip. Here's the radios placed in position just for effect:

 

 

Here's the finished article after painting & drybrushing:

 

 

I think that's an improvement on the original. I next had a go at the pilot's seat. It has a whacking great moulding gate right in the middle of it:

 

 

Really, SH - REALLY? I started off trying to chop it out, but was just going to end up butchering it. I then had the bright idea of drilling it out with a 3mm bit, taking care not to go through the seat base:

 

 

After filling with Tamiya putty, and a quick wipe with thinners, it doesn't look too bad:

 

 

You can see that I've also opened out a slit for the seatbelt. The cowling suffers from the same issue as the seat:

 

 

That got the same treatment, though I didn't take a photo. I've spent the rest of the afternoon throwing paint around, so not much more to report!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

[Grey Beema]

Hi Roger,

 

Did similar myself.  Cut out the radios and set them back slightly forward of the bulk head.  

 

Good luck with the TAGs cockpit, not much detail available and the Tanks sit on top of the bomb recess rather than on a floor so I’m not sure there is a frame between TAG and tanks..

..

[Dunny]

On 27/11/2021 at 18:16, Grey Beema said:

Hi Roger, mind if I tag along?

 

I have built two of these so far, as a kit I like it though it takes a good bit of work to get everything to line up.  Wing joins are particularly difficult and will require tabs to get the alignment right (same with the fuselage.

 

The TAGs cockpit is a bit fantasy and needs work but I found this article (see link) after I glued together the fuselage.  If I knew I would have changed the position, removed the floor etc.  It is a useful article especially when it was time to build the alighting gear which I got wrong on the first but got right on the second..

 

https://dingeraviation.net//skuaroc/modelling_the_blackburn_skua.htm

 

Good luck with your build, good luck with the S1E scheme, I think you’ll enjoy it..  

 

 

 

GB can I ask what you used for your Sky Grey? It looks just right to my eye so I'd like to get as close as possible with aqueous acrylics,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger 

[bigbadbadge]

Hi Roger

Great to see this on the go, I like the rear bulkhead with the radios, it looks fantastic.  Those moulding gates are a pain , I can't believe they put it on the good side of the seat like that!

Cracking start 

Chris

[Grey Beema]

45 minutes ago, Dunny said:

GB can I ask what you used for your Sky Grey? It looks just right to my eye so I'd like to get as close as possible with aqueous acrylics,

 

Cheers,

 

Roger 

 

Hi Roger,

 

I have built two Skuas & two Fulmars using different paint for each (all acrylics).  I include pictures of each which would have been taken in different lights so that you can compare..

 

First Skua I did (don’t look at the alighting gear) and the first Fulmar.

 

I used a Tamiya mix - Had to go down the Cave to check but it is - Tamiya XF19 + 20% Tamiya White.

 

 

 

My second Skua and Fulmar uses Hataka Sky HTKA203 bought as part of the FAA and Costal command set.  Bought from Poland as I was trying to get around UK Customs..

 

 

 

I found the Hataka quite soft and lifts easily (might be my fault) so I Kleared it after each colour before masking.

 

I also have the AK FAA colour set from Spain.  I haven’t tried them yet so can’t comment on the colours but hopefully they are harder than the Hataka colours..

 

Hope that helps..

 

[Dunny]

4 minutes ago, Grey Beema said:

 

Hi Roger,

 

I have built two Skuas & two Fulmars using different paint for each (all acrylics).  I include pictures of each which would have been taken in different lights so that you can compare..

 

First Skua I did (don’t look at the alighting gear) and the first Fulmar.

 

I used a Tamiya mix - Had to go down the Cave to check but it is - Tamiya XF19 + 20% Tamiya White.

 

 

 

My second Skua and Fulmar uses Hataka Sky HTKA203 bought as part of the FAA and Costal command set.  Bought from Poland as I was trying to get around UK Customs..

 

 

 

I found the Hataka quite soft and lifts easily (might be my fault) so I Kleared it after each colour before masking.

 

I also have the AK FAA colour set from Spain.  I haven’t tried them yet so can’t comment on the colours but hopefully they are harder than the Hataka colours..

 

Hope that helps..

 

Helps a lot - thanks mate, the colour looks bob on

[Dunny]

2 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Hi Roger

Great to see this on the go, I like the rear bulkhead with the radios, it looks fantastic.  Those moulding gates are a pain , I can't believe they put it on the good side of the seat like that!

Cracking start 

Chris

Cheers Chris - happy to stand on the shoulders of giants (yes you @Grey Beema) to make this one work...

[Grey Beema]

3 hours ago, Dunny said:

Cheers Chris - happy to stand on the shoulders of giants (yes you @Grey Beema) to make this one work...

😂😂 - Thanks Roger but I hardly think I’m a giant.  I’m more in the “close but no cigar” end of modelling...

 

 

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Whilst I've pushed ahead and finished the Hurricane Mk.I (Tropical), I've also been chipping away diligently at the Skua, which was always going to be more of a slow burn. Here you can see the structure of the cockpit being added - I've done it this way to avoid the vagaries of SH assembly. At least this way I know everything is in the correct position!

 

 

The instrument panel consists of 3 sections, each of which consists of a plastic base, a PE cover, and the instruments printed onto sheet. I didn't have the energy to build a panel from scratch, so here's the rather half-baked result:

 

 

Not very impressive under macro photography, but it actually doesn't look that bad. The other panels were given the same treatment. Here's a couple of shots of the cockpit with detail being progressively added:

 

 

 

There is very little detail available on the TAG's position - I am aware that they allegedly had a bench-type seat running the width of the cockpit, but in the absence of any detail I chose to stick with the kit components, which don't look too bad to my eye (quite luxurious accommodation, methinks!) 🤣

 

Here's the lot after an oil wash, ready for closing up:

 

 

Next I turned my attention to the Bristol Perseus, which comes as the resin engine casing and nine separate cylinders, all with a decent level of detail. Here's the basic unit painted and glued:

 

 

And here's another shot of the unit with the cowling added, along with the cowling brace and oil cooler trumpets:

 

 

Doesn't look too bad? Here's another showing the current state of play, with the fuselage buttoned up:

 

 

I've also spent a bit of time masking the canopy with a Montex mask set, which being vinyl do not inspire confidence:

 

 

On the plus side, the glazing does appear to be a reasonable fit, and nice and transparent. Today's going to be wing day (as opposed to leg day? 🤣) - they'll need the landing lights boxing in, and formation lights adding to the wing tips. This one will not move quickly!

 

I've also been fretting over the colour scheme. As presented the scheme uses non-standard roundels on both the upper wings and the fuselage:

 

 

All the photos (of actual aircraft, as opposed to those of other peoples' models ) show standard pattern roundels on the upper wings. Here's a nice photo of L2950 (which admittedly was restored and put on display in Hull, near the Blackburn factory):

 

 

It's pretty close in serial number range to L2963 which I'm going to finish, so at the moment I'm veering towards this roundel configuration, with black & white undersides and sky grey flanks. Also some nice details of the undercarriage angle (vertical) and finish (aluminium). I'm also aware that there was an Admiralty order to overpaint the black & white undersides with 'Sky' around this time, but I'm going to stick with B&W ('cos I loikes it!). Any further information gratefully received!!

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger

 

[Dunny]

Hi All,

 

Some solid progress on the Skua today, in the absence of any cricket to watch 🤬. As I indicated, today has been wing day, and the first item to receive some TLC was the landing lights. Although SH provide you with transparent covers for the lights, the lights themselves and any form of mounting are left to the imagination of the unsuspecting modeller. Before overcoming that hurdle, I felt that the openings themselves were a bit narrow:

 

 

Nothing a few swipes with a needle file wouldn't sort out:

 

 

That's better! Next I boxed in the area, and painted it in aluminium:

 

 

Next I cut a short length of transparent sprue for each lamp, polished the front face, painted the rear face with aluminium, and finally picked out the frame of the lamp in black. That got us to here:

 

 

That'll do for me! Next I painted the undercarriage bays in Sky Grey prior to joining the wing halves:

 

 

Once the wing halves had been joined (which occurred painlessly), I started work on the wingtip lights. SH have neglected to provide these, and they do add a level of interest to the model. I therefore started out by cutting out the cavity for the light:

 

 

Once that had been cleaned up, I took another length of transparent sprue, and filed two slight flats onto it. Into each of the flats I drilled a 0.5mm hole, and filled each with red & green paint respectively. This was then coated over with aluminium, ending up with this:

 

 

Each end was separated from the sprue, and joined to each wingtip using CA thus (apologies for rubbish photo):

 

 

It was then a simple matter of shaping each with a needle file, polishing with 1000 grit wet & dry, and a final coat of gloss:

 

 

I think that's a considerable improvement on the original, even if it's not perfect. Now I'm onto joining the wing base to the fuselage,

 

Thanks for looking,

 

Roger