Fozzy Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Good afternoon everyone! The dust has now truly settled on my Scratch built B17G and its time to start another project!.......( for those of you that followed my B17G build....you might be interested in knowing that the model arrived in UK safely with no breakages thank God.....and its now ready for the next trip to the States for the Museum next month!) I really didn't know what was next for me as I have spent the last 10 years building and fully immersed in the B17 project .....and since it was at 1:20 scale and coming out at 3 feet 8 inches long .....I thought that it would be good to have a go at the other end of the scale spectrum! Last year my brother sadly passed away and whilst clearing out his flat I came across this Airfix 1:72 scale Spitfiremk1a that he must of been thinking to build..... I took the kit home and have been thinking ever since if it would be possible to scratch build the interior of this kit!.....this would mean having a go at building the Merlin engine and cockpit! ....and at such a small scale wondered if it would be worth the effort?....then I thought that I would have a go at it.... as a kind of tribute to my brother David! So I started this project when I was at home in Bulgaria and took some photos of the progress so far and thought I would make the first post here now. ....however ...as I am away from my office at the moment not sure when the next post will be! After opening the kit box I decided to first mark up the area on the front of the fuselage where the merlin will sit. After cutting away the plastic I saw I had to sand down the thickness the plastic....way down!!.....else it will be way out of scale!....then I shaped out of plastic the first bulk head that sits directly behind the power plant. After adding some detail on the bulkhead ....by looking at some reference photos...I took these photos. So to the scratch building of the Merlin! The engine block was first made from scrap plastic and being so small it seemed the my fingers were getting fatter by the minute and making the task even harder and fiddly than ever! I tried to shape it the best that I could and slowly added other parts to the engine to get it looking as near as possible to the real thing! I started to scratch build the exhaust stacks but I wasn't happy with them!....then I realized that I could use the kits exhausts!....silly me! Here is the Merlin before all the piping work ..........after a weeks work.... I then painted the basic colours for the Merlin......and whilst doing that , thought of how I was to make the engine frame and I decided to make the frame out of wire and build the frame around the engine when it was sat in the fuselage....here is the painted Merlin with out the frame work.... I then had a real hard time lining up the engine with the propeller disk plate that I cut out of plastic but after hours of dry fitting of the engine finally got the job done!...I then painted the area before gluing the engine in....... It was now time to fit the engine in place and then add all the other detail...this included the radiator at the front plus the engine frame and all the piping and wiring. I taped the two halves together with masking tape for the purpose of taking the photos and to show the engine in place and placed the prop on for effect!.... You might have noticed that I have scratch built a tiny gun camera on the Port wing root and cut away the panel that housed it! So that is as far as I have got on this project for now. I am planning the next part and that is cutting the top of the fuselage off to either build the fuel tanks or leave it empty so you can see down into the cockpit floor and the rudder pedals....I think it all depends on how it goes when I'm back in the office in a month or so's time! So until then guys.......Happy modelling to you all! Cheers Fozzy 49 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 You mad, impetuous fool! I love it! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Hey look guys Fozzy is doing daft things again, hooooooraaaaaay. Try keeping me away, even if it is a Spitzfire. So far so blimming excellent Lovely Merlin Fozzy 👍 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted January 20, 2022 Share Posted January 20, 2022 Wow, that is Magnificent, great work. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I'm in love too! Utterly brilliant, inspirational stuff! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 This is utterly crazy! I'm in! Ciao 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 I am in too, madness at it`s best. Go for it Fozzy. Simon 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 We will come and visit you often at the Home! You are a steely-eyed master modeler! I liked everything you did on your Merlin, but I do believe you have a leaky carburettor (Carburetor on this side of the pond!) gasket! Mike I still can't believe that's 1/72 scale! You must have monkey hands! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ColinChipmunkfan Posted January 21, 2022 Share Posted January 21, 2022 Absolutely amazing in 1/72. Well done sir. Can't wait to see what you do to the cockpit. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Posted January 21, 2022 Author Share Posted January 21, 2022 Thanks guys.....gonna be a bit of a wait for the next post as I'm 1700 miles from my office at the moment!! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 Hi everyone Finally....finally I am back in my workshop in Bulgaria!.....not for long though, as I am moving back to the UK ...so this means a lot of disruption this end!...especially to modelling! However I have made small progress on this 1:72 scale Mk1a Spitfire.... Moving back from the engine bay and my scratch built Merlin I decided to cut away the fuel cell panel and have a go at scratch building that area. The fuel cell bay hosted an upper and lower fuel tank that I may or may not scratch build. I wanted to leave the tanks out to show the detail of the rear of the IP and the Yaw peddles...sort of foolish of me as its so tiny! Here's the area to be cut out........of course "X" marks the spot! Then I got to work on the various pipes and cables in the fuel tank bay and the rear of the IP. ...as usual I used different sizes of electrical wire and bits of plastic.... xx I then painted the area....... ....and here it is with the two fuselage halves taped together.... and here's the scale shot!....... Well that's as far as I have got so far! Next up I will be tackling the cockpit! Thanks for looking in!😀 Cheers Fozzy 23 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 Nice work Fozzy, as ever. 1/72 scale..... Madness but great to watch. Moving back to Blighty? That`s madness lol. Simon. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
giemme Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 After all this time, I had to go back and check the scale (yes, your giant hand isn't fooling anybody, Fozzy.... ) Amazing job! Ciao 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthemodeller Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 By ‘eck, that’s a bit good. Nice to see your skills haven’t gone rusty! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heloman1 Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 Wow Fozzy, what a great build and tribute to your brother. The detail is exquisite. I'm enjoying your build. Colin 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 Absolutely outstanding, again. But this time in the true gentleman's scale, even more impressive! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 Good to have you back on here, Fozzy. This is well up to your usual standards. Just a lot smaller! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
perdu Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 In case you weren't sure, you still have IT. Brilliant mate. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Posted May 9, 2022 Author Share Posted May 9, 2022 Thanks guys!. ....it's good to be back at the bench and to be able to post here again!😀 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Galligraphics Posted May 9, 2022 Share Posted May 9, 2022 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k5054nz Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 I'm so happy to see you back on this, Fozzy! More stunning, very inspirational work! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 I'd missed this before, so pleased to see it now. This is variously, wonderful, a delight to the eyes & superbly potty. Looking forward to the next bits. Steve 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PattheCat Posted May 10, 2022 Share Posted May 10, 2022 Outstanding. How could I miss this! Now I've got to keep switching the microscope lens between you and Rymulus. Sorry, but I can't choose between your Spit and his Tomcat, both being such unbelievably detailed builds. Eagerly waiting for your magic touch on the pit. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fozzy Posted June 2, 2022 Author Share Posted June 2, 2022 Hi again every one! Time for another update on the old Spit! It was time to work on the cockpit that I thought would be....and was..... a challenge!...My normal scale I scratch build in is no smaller than 1:48 scale so as I said before this is a real challenge! I used the kits pilots seat and made a harness out of paper and attached the seat to its frame...... I also decided to just use the I.P provided with the kit including a decal for the instruments. It was just too small to scratch build! This next photo shows the scratch built detail on the starboard side wall........ .....and here is the Port side wall. I used tiny pieces of plastic and fuse wire to make all the parts.... Here is a view of the starboard side with the I.P and seat/frame in position.... ....and the port side... These next set of photos were difficult to take due to the size and of course the tightness of the cockpit on a Spitfire..... The cockpit door was built from a small piece of plastic.... .....and in the open position. ....and so far so good! That's it for this post. Now I could just now close it all up and finish it all off...........but I might go crazy and open up the rear of the fuselage as a cutaway and have a go at what I did years ago with a 1:24 scale Spitfire.........don't know yet...I'll sleep on it! Till then guys.....thanks for looking in Fozzy 14 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthemodeller Posted June 2, 2022 Share Posted June 2, 2022 Go on, you know you want to… 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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