Supermarine Seafire FR.47; Special Hobby 1/72 - FINISHED

[Wlad]

@Ngantek, you can also use toilet paper to mask wheel wells. Pack it in with the back of a paint brush. Once the well is covered, brush a little water so it conforms to the well, and add more pieces if needed. The whole thing can be peeled off with tweezers once it has done its masking job.

 

Cheers,

Wlad 

[k5054nz]

What a trial, but good on you for persevering Andy! She's shaping up nicely!

 

And if you need any inspiration to help motivate...

 

[bigbadbadge]

2 hours ago, k5054nz said:

What a trial, but good on you for persevering Andy! She's shaping up nicely!

 

And if you need any inspiration to help motivate...

 

I love watching this video  and was thinking about it whilst going through this thread myself, you have given me another excuse to watch it, so thanks for posting, what a beast and an awesome dound,love it.

Chris

[Ngantek]

5 hours ago, k5054nz said:

What a trial, but good on you for persevering Andy! She's shaping up nicely!

 

And if you need any inspiration to help motivate...

What a great video. Thanks so much for posting. I will confess that I may possibly have watched it a good few dozen times since I started this build!

[k5054nz]

  

14 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

I love watching this video  and was thinking about it whilst going through this thread myself, you have given me another excuse to watch it, so thanks for posting, what a beast and an awesome dound,love it.

Chris

10 hours ago, Ngantek said:

What a great video. Thanks so much for posting. I will confess that I may possibly have watched it a good few dozen times since I started this build!

I live in the hope that Mr Smith either gets her flying again or sells her to someone who will - what I wouldn't give to see the likes of Steve Hinton or Chris Gotke have a go in her!!

[Planebuilder62]

Dear NG

Another thing to look out for on this kit is the spinner back plate has a smaller diameter than the nose cowling. This gives a bit of a step so test fitting is a good idea follwed by sanding down the edge of the nose to match the spinner.

 

regards Toby

[Whistlekiller]

On 5/16/2022 at 4:34 AM, Wlad said:

@Ngantek, you can also use toilet paper to mask wheel wells. Pack it in with the back of a paint brush. Once the well is covered, brush a little water so it conforms to the well, and add more pieces if needed. The whole thing can be peeled off with tweezers once it has done its masking job.

 

Cheers,

Wlad 

Agreed, but use good quality toilet paper though. The cheap stuff (that you can put your fingers through easily 🤣) often leaves a fibrous residue behind which can be difficult to clean up! @Ngantek, I'm currently doing the SH 1:72 FR.47 but haven't come across most of the issues you're experiencing. I suppose this is the nature of limited run injection moulded kits with a reduction in consistency. The bubble canopy however is a sod and I needed to chamfer its inside edge and also reshape the area of fuselage decking on which it sits. I found this to be a common problem with the SH FR.47 as well as XtraKit F.22/24. The spare canopy parts included allow for Seafires F.45/46 and 47, the curved front screen being the one needed for the FR.47. I'm no expert here but Special Hobby, XtraKit, AZ, KPM, Brengun and Sword all seem to have design and moulding commonality in their (considerable) Spitfire/Seafire ranges.

[Ngantek]

11 hours ago, k5054nz said:

  

I live in the hope that Mr Smith either gets her flying again or sells her to someone who will - what I wouldn't give to see the likes of Steve Hinton or Chris Gotke have a go in her!!

Is it not flying anymore or just flying 'in private'?

 

3 hours ago, Planebuilder62 said:

Another thing to look out for on this kit is the spinner back plate

Thanks for the heads up! Yep I should definitely check before wasting time priming. 

49 minutes ago, Whistlekiller said:

I'm currently doing the SH 1:72 FR.47 but haven't come across most of the issues you're experiencing. I suppose this is the nature of limited run injection moulded kits with a reduction in consistency. The bubble canopy however is a sod and I needed to chamfer its inside edge and also reshape the area of fuselage decking on which it sits.

Thanks I will check that. Lots of helpful pointers on this thread that I likely would only have blundered into too late in the day. I do have the advantage of posing the canopy open, so at least there's one join that I can cheat, if not the sliding join. Judging by all these warnings, I think now is probably the time for a full test fit. Usually I leave these extras as late as possible to avoid losing pieces or breaking them off, but clearly more care is required here. To be honest I should probably do this with everything, I've just been spoiled by modern toolings.

 

On 16/05/2022 at 04:34, Wlad said:

you can also use toilet paper to mask wheel wells. Pack it in with the back of a paint brush

Thanks I might try in the future. I've had issues in the past with tissue fibre @Whistlekiller mentioned, but good to know it can work if done with water and sensibly. I'll experiment next build.

 

Thanks again for all the help!

Andy

[Bedders]

12 hours ago, Whistlekiller said:

The cheap stuff (that you can put your fingers through easily 🤣) often leaves a fibrous residue behind which can be difficult to clean up!

Probably. Moving on, must agree I love that video, and I hope that one day the 47 will be seen on the other side of the pond. What strikes me about the vid is the sound of the contraprop which seems to generate a high pitched buzz from the front and only after the aircraft passes do you get the roar of the Griffon. 

 

Great start to the build. Looking forward to seeing it progress. 

 

Justin

[k5054nz]

20 hours ago, Ngantek said:

Is it not flying anymore or just flying 'in private'?

Spitfire specialists class VP441 as "resting" - I don't believe she's flown in about 15yr, if not longer.

Edited May 18, 2022 by k5054nz

[Dave Wilko]

On 5/18/2022 at 5:47 AM, k5054nz said:

Spitfire specialists class VP441 as "resting" - I don't believe she's flown in about 15yr, if not longer.

One believes she last flew December 2010 in the hands of her restorer,Nelson Ezell,though her engine is run regularly

and her systems exercised.

[Ngantek]

Not much of an update of recent. The radiators are kinda on minus the flaps (I think I'll use the photo etch, but I'm giving the radiators a day to bond before poking my fat fingers in there). I masked the radiator faces before installation and applied CA only to the back fillet, so hopefully the masks come off!

 

On 17/05/2022 at 08:25, Whistlekiller said:

The bubble canopy however is a sod and I needed to chamfer its inside edge and also reshape the area of fuselage decking on which it sits.

Having checked, mine doesn't seem awful. a bit of fettling to get it to sit down, but it seems okay (famous last words). I might have got lucky on this. I did notice that the bubble that mates with the more upright design with the extra (old school) upper pane... yeah that doesn't match nicely. The bubble top should mate with the fore canopy about flush horizontal, but the bubble has an exaggerated upward slope at the join, giving a clearly discontinuous 'off' look; I've seen it on other builds of this kit too. I think for canopy closed, the simpler more sloped design is almost a must with the kit transparancies, even though the fit is not so good on my copy. Fortunately for me, I'm posing the canopy open, and am happy just to ignore the issues.

 

On 17/05/2022 at 05:37, Planebuilder62 said:

Another thing to look out for on this kit is the spinner back plate has a smaller diameter than the nose cowling. This gives a bit of a step so test fitting is a good idea follwed by sanding down the edge of the nose to match the spinner.

Again at first fit, I might have dodged a bullet on this; there might be a slight kink between the backplate and the 'mid spinner', but the backplate seems to fit the forebody pretty well. I'll do a proper fit to be sure though. It's seeming like with limited run kits, you win some you lose some.

 

Cheers,

Andy

[Dave Wilko]

On 5/16/2022 at 9:36 PM, k5054nz said:

  

I live in the hope that Mr Smith either gets her flying again or sells her to someone who will - what I wouldn't give to see the likes of Steve Hinton or Chris Gotke have a go in her!!

Or Cliff Spink or Lee Proudfoot.

Cliff Spink has flown all the marks of Spitfire airworthy in these modern times,one is sure he'd love a go in a Seafire FR.47.

[k5054nz]

14 hours ago, Dave Wilko said:

Cliff Spink has flown all the marks of Spitfire airworthy in these modern times,one is sure he'd love a go in a Seafire FR.47.

That's a brilliant call.

[Ngantek]

Not much chance to progress this build of recent, but the cockpit is (hopefully) sufficiently masked and the surprisingly fiddly job of attaching the PE radiators flaps is done.

 

Nothing like a coat of primer to reveal all sins!

Looks like I've still got several rounds of filling still to come, and what with the surprises and warnings I've had so far, I want to get all of the external parts cleaned up, fettled and drilled out before progressing to paint so I suspect that's still a fair way away. On the plus side, hopefully that'll make the interminable process of finishing up the build somewhat less arduous if that time ever does arrive.

 

How's yours coming along @Whistlekiller?

 

Cheers, 

Andy

[Dave Wilko]

On 5/21/2022 at 11:30 PM, k5054nz said:

That's a brilliant call.

Here's Cliff's story of all the Spitfires he's flown.

The parts about Griffon Spits,particularly the XIV and XVIII are most interesting.

 

https://vintageaviationecho.com/cliff-spink-spitfire/

 

John Romain and the lovely PL983.

 

https://vintageaviationecho.com/spitfire-prxi-pl983/

Edited May 23, 2022 by Dave Wilko

[Johnson]

A great read Andy, and hats off to your perseverance. It's a kit I have in the stash and your experience will prove invaluable when (if) I get round to building it. It did read a bit like my SH 1/48 Spitfire Mk XII build, currently residing on the Shelf of Doom.

 

Best wishes for the rest of the build!

[Ngantek]

4 hours ago, Dave Wilko said:

Here's Cliff's story of all the Spitfires he's flown.

The parts about Griffon Spits,particularly the XIV and XVIII are most interesting.

Thanks for posting, that was a really interesting read. Some of the differences are surprising to me at least, especially between different aircraft of the same mark. As a near outsider to the world of current air worthy warbirds, I was surprised to see (by implication and seemingly confirmed by wiki?) that there are no airworthy late mark (21+) spitfires?

[Ngantek]

3 hours ago, Johnson said:

A great read Andy, and hats off to your perseverance. It's a kit I have in the stash and your experience will prove invaluable when (if) I get round to building it. It did read a bit like my SH 1/48 Spitfire Mk XII build, currently residing on the Shelf of Doom.

 

Best wishes for the rest of the build!

Thanks! As I say, being basically a novice who's so far been spoilt by nicely fitting new tooled kits, I suspect the issues I've had would be tackled very easily and without the hysterics by most modellers. But it's been helpful keeping this as a learning diary at least, and the pointers that people have been giving me have been invaluable.

[Procopius]

I keep meaning to comment on this thread, but keep getting distracted by my stupid job or my horrid children, always needing to be fed or whatever.

 

On 5/23/2022 at 4:02 PM, Ngantek said:

Thanks! As I say, being basically a novice who's so far been spoilt by nicely fitting new tooled kits, I suspect the issues I've had would be tackled very easily and without the hysterics by most modellers. But it's been helpful keeping this as a learning diary at least, and the pointers that people have been giving me have been invaluable.

 

You're doing a great job on an amazingly disappointing kit. I love the Spitfire and Seafire, and so I was incredibly excited when Special Hobby came out with their late-wing Spitfire/Seafire kits, and even more disappointed when I tried to build them. Dimensionally inaccurate, the wings are the wrong shape, and they're also kind of a pain to build! Even Academy's Spitfire XIV-on-doughnuts is at least a nice easy build. This is one that really tests a lot of those "basic modelling skills" that I struggle with, and I ultimately gave it up in frustration, which I never (well, hardly ever) do, and used some of the nice detail parts to gussy up a CMR resin one.

[Dave Wilko]

On 5/23/2022 at 9:56 PM, Ngantek said:

that there are no airworthy late mark (21+) spitfires?

As far as one is aware,the only late marks under restoration to fly is a Mk.22(PK624) owned by TFC,though one believes not much work

has been done for a few years.

The other is the ex-RAF Museum Mk.22(PK664) with Kennet Aviation,passed to them as payment for the recovery of Dennis Copping's

P-40,which of course,ended rather disastrously for the RAF Museum.

 

The only Mk.22(or any other late mark to date)to have been restored to flight was PK350,a cropped version of the story can be found here:

https://airscapemag.com/2017/03/26/mallochs-spitfire/

[bigbadbadge]

Great to see the first round of primer going on Eve  if it shows up some areas that may need attention,  at least it is a good step forward.

Great work 

Chris

[Ngantek]

4 hours ago, Procopius said:

I keep meaning to comment on this thread, but keep getting distracted by my stupid job or my horrid children, always needing to be fed or whatever

Aiyee always with those ungrateful kids! Mine have the gall to require feeding multiple times per week😩

 

4 hours ago, Procopius said:

You're doing a great job on an amazingly disappointing kit. I love the Spitfire and Seafire, and so I was incredibly excited when Special Hobby came out with their late-wing Spitfire/Seafire kits, and even more disappointed when I tried to build them. Dimensionally inaccurate, the wings are the wrong shape, and they're also kind of a pain to build! Even Academy's Spitfire XIV-on-doughnuts is at least a nice easy build. This is one that really tests a lot of those "basic modelling skills" that I struggle with, and I ultimately gave it up in frustration, which I never (well, hardly ever) do, and used some of the nice detail parts to gussy up a CMR resin one.

 

Kind of you to say, it's nice to see I'm not the only one who's had issues. I suspect if I had noticed big shape issues with the kit, it would be a much larger incentive to bail out. Turns out though, I don't have a particularly sensitive eye for detail. Many kits people have talked about shape or detail issues, and despite being fortunate enough to have grown up down the road from duxford, I tend not to notice these things unless they are pointed out, after which they of course can't be unseen!

 

I think with this advantage, on balance I will probably enjoy myself more if I try not to read too much about kit accuracy beforehand. Thick-headed willful ignorance is bliss!

 

2 hours ago, Dave Wilko said:

restoration to fly is a Mk.22(PK624) owned by TFC,though one believes not much work

has been done for a few years.

The other is the ex-RAF Museum Mk.22(PK664) with Kennet Aviation,passed to them as payment for the recovery of Dennis Copping's

P-40,which of course,ended rather disastrously for the RAF Museum.

 

The only Mk.22(or any other late mark to date)to have been restored to flight was PK350,a cropped version of the story can be found here:

Thanks for this excellent summary. I get the feeling that I've heard various accounts that the new wing, large fin versions stopped feeling like 'proper spitfires', but perhaps that's my bad memory.

 

2 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Great to see the first round of primer going on Eve  if it shows up some areas that may need attention,  at least it is a good step forward.

Great work 

Chris

Yeah feels like a good moment. I think on balance a thin spray of primer earlier in the process is probably sensible for my next build rather than fussing too much before you even have a clear view of what's wrong. 

[Ngantek]

Spent this evening 'catching up with work' which swiftly deteriorated into fiddling with tiny bits of plastic. I think the amount of modelling I do is entirely proportional to the level of apocalyptic work deadline panic I'm currently in. Oh well it'll just make tomorrow a little more horrific...

 

Anyway I started by getting trolled by the wheels, which come split down the middle in time honoured fashion. These had some lovely looking centre locating pucks which I though was a nice touch until I realised they were on both sides and were in fact massive ejection pins. A few gear legs got pinged across the room and I cleaned up but a single pair of rockets and fins before deciding that I never wanted to see another rocket or fin ever again. Then fussed around with a ruler trying not to balls up putting in the rocket mounting holes. 

The rear mounts don't have locating pins, but in an unusual burst of foresight, I realised that the pencil marks wouldn't exist when the stores finally get added. There are actually some nice panels that should make it easyish to locate but given my long proven ability to gum up even the most Airfix of panel lines with over enthusiastically applied varnish, I drilled some locating holes for them too.

 

 

Special hobby give you a nice stencil on the PE fret to replace the cowl oil cap scribe that never really stood a chance of making out of the mould. Unfortunately, rescribing is one of several core modelling skills in hot competition for the much coveted title of 'thing Andy does most wurst'. My current go to scriber of 'sewing needle stuck into kid's calpol syringe' is only the 6th generation of tool to get blamed and discarded by the aforementioned bad workman.

 

Anyway lots more faffing still to do before we get to the fun bit.

[Chuuurles]

Brother, I feel you on the hunt for a rescribe tool....

 

TBH I am loving the adventure and enthusiasm over here, following along closely!