Aims Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 AIMS 1/32 Spitfire PR 1G Although in pain I want to try and do a little modelling each day if I can. Inspired by Andrew Eaton's PR IV and with fond memories of my 1/72 PR 1G from 25 years ago I have set out to make my AIMS 1/32 conversion. I have a host of goodies from Barracuda Studios and other items are on their way to me from Hannants. I have also ordered some 0.2mm solder balls to see if I can locate them along the datum line longeron and a few other noticeable places. I have burred off and filled the absolutely terrible engine cowl clearance blisters and will make my own, and I have started reshaping the wheel blister as well as filling in all the sink holes. So here we go - something British for our Queen's Jubilee! Long live the Queen! 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Hi John What a cracking project, will tag along as I do love a Spitfire and have a few 32nd in the stash to do. I hope you're not in too much pain and hope you make a swift recovery fella. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
npb748r Posted June 4, 2022 Share Posted June 4, 2022 Brilliant - looking forward to learning from your build - I put exactly the same kit, decals and conversion out on my bench at the start of this week so will take little steps and follow your progress !! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 1/32 Spitfire PR 1G A little time here and there - fixing the terrible upper cowl, removing and then building back up cockpit details as well as adding the missing top corners - and finally the utter madness of looking into the possibility of using 0.3mm solder balls where the Spitfire frame has the raised rivets. This will be done when the model is almost ready for the painting stage as too many will be lost from handling before that as you can already see. I have also started to thin out the cockpit lower wall sections as they stand too proud for real life otherwise. Never made a 1/48 spitfire before - never mind a 1/32 one so would like to get the details right if I can 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spitfire Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Nice to see you building, just take it easy and pace yourself, it looks like a great start though those solder balls would definately be a bridge too far for me. Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 10, 2022 Author Share Posted June 10, 2022 Thanks Dennis, Yes I am sure - if I could even just get the strengthened longeron along the datum line under the rear of the cockpit done with the solder I would be happy J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 great work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 10, 2022 Share Posted June 10, 2022 Nice work on the cockpit internals so far, I corrected the 32nd Hobbyboss Mk.Vb kit and ended up using HGW rivet decals for the aft fuselage and longeron, that took long enough and they didn't show up hardly at all under paint so the solder balls would definitely look better, but might take an eternity 😉 Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 12, 2022 Author Share Posted June 12, 2022 (edited) Yes Chris, I am planning on 10 a day for the next two years lol. HGW was my first port of call but I could see nothing for the Spitfire on Hannants website when I typed it into their search engine? I was surprised so started looking on You Tube for an alternative idea having brushed off the idea of making my own embossed printing. Yes the solder balls will take an eternity but I do not have to first fill in everything and then sand before decals at least! It is so ironic that I spent most of my adult life sanding off unwanted rivets and now that my hands and eye sight is ruined I want the bloody things! Edited June 12, 2022 by Aims 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 12, 2022 Share Posted June 12, 2022 Hi John, yes that is ironic! 10 a day for the next 10 years , like that😄 I was thinking the Archers fine rivets, I have used them on 00 gauge locomotives and they stand out quite well, but when I did mine I could not see any available. So got the 1/32 HGW rivets from ebay. Just wish they were more pronounced. I admire your tenacity in doing this one John and will definitely watch progress as interested in improving the Spitfires in my stash too. Hope you are okay Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 17, 2022 Author Share Posted June 17, 2022 AIMS 1/32 Spitfire 1G conversion with Barracuda details update Hi everyone enjoyed doing a little plumbing but now I am near blind. A little more wiring to add still but I am not looking for perfection - just enjoying making this budget model into as nice a Spitfire as possible. once what I have done has been painted I can attach the dashboard frame to the right sidewall and plumb in the Barracuda undercarriage control. Please note that I had to remove my pilot's head armour and make the early style set up. I might be wrong but I do not think you can fill up the 29 gal tank with such armour in place and as I had no photo of a PR IV with the head armour and the only clear photo of the PR 1G head location in the Ventura publication also showing it without the armour I went ahead and removed mine and fixed the resulting chaos as well as making the lightening holes etc. latter...... I decided to get the remaining interior components all together prior to painting. I show the right side yet again as I have added the electrical horn to the pilots frame as well as the rub mat for the Sutton Harness and also 2x small screws to the head frame which I think are there regardless of head armour being fitted or not. Behind that the 29 Gallon had the rear bracing and fuel indicator added and aft of that some Balsa wood was used to make a camera support box. It is not correct thickness wise but I just wanted to have something there and it was easy to do and I will not have to paint it lol. On to the left side I think the best way to assemble the Oblique F 24 camera is from the left as you can measure your wooden beams (0.4 thick card). The width obviously depends on how much plastic you have chopped away to represent an open hatch with nice scale thickness. I then mounted centrally the Type 25 camera mount pivot sides - with the balance weights pointing upwards for a 14" lens! Going to the front the Barracuda seat and kit parts were assembled as well as the Barracuda control column - together with the wire supplied in Roy's interior set but also with the camera control switch from my AIMS set (used only on fighter recon birds). Enjoy, John 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted June 17, 2022 Share Posted June 17, 2022 (edited) This is looking wonderful John. Lots of attention to detail. What was your source for the F-24s and their mounting frames? I need some of those for my Wirraway... Edited June 18, 2022 by Derek_B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Now that does look wonderful the detail in the cockpit is fantastic with your extra plumbing work and additional bits. The little solder balls set in the longeron look spot on. Will have to remember that myself. Great work Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 Seconded I used Micron Mark rivets on my last ( completed ) 1/32 Spitfire. They are HO gauge but work well on 1/32 and stand a little more proud than the HGW variety which tend to disappear under a coat of paint. They are not cheap but you get an A4 sheet with circles and arcs in addition to the lines, some of which are double. Looking forward to more. John🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 18, 2022 Author Share Posted June 18, 2022 Derek my source for the F-24s and their mounting frames is photos and the SAM Modellers Datafile book on the Merlin Spitfires. You can buy the camera sets as a separate set - look at Hannants website J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek_B Posted June 18, 2022 Share Posted June 18, 2022 3 hours ago, Aims said: You can buy the camera sets as a separate set - look at Hannants website J Many thanks John, I wasn't aware you were the manufacturer! They look fantastic, an order is about to be placed on Hannants! I have many photos and actually gone to the extent of drawing these up in 3D CAD for printing, you've saved me the effort! Cheers, Derek 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 18, 2022 Author Share Posted June 18, 2022 haha yes Derek I am the sole guy behind AIMS for its 25 years of history. Well you might want to keep the CAD drawings haha - my PE is super fiddly but a good way to represent the details. The inner collar in my AIMS case is part of the camera lens casting - it just needs pegged to the outer pivot frame via the holes in the PE part - if you can follow the photos etc on the instructions it all works as I can say with first hand experience haha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 24, 2022 Author Share Posted June 24, 2022 (edited) AIMS 1/32 Spitfire PR 1G conversion with Barracuda details update. Hi folks and a very long update from me just for a few photos but maybe you will find it interesting or even helpful? The other day the postman arrived with a shipment from Hannants. I wanted the Eduard exterior set to help me make the wheel wheels nicer and at the same time got the Sutton Harness as less work for my fingers than the HGW set. I also thought that the canopy masking might speed me along with the vacform canopy. Whilst shopping I got tempted by the Eduard full Mk II cockpit set. The details are fantastic and comprehensive but....... Ok so I was thinking I was near the end of the painting stage and would soon be glossing and decaling but then I noticed a few things - one the Barracuda seat I am using and the Eduard seat in the new purchase do not have the triangular plates at the back edge for the lap belts? I am not saying this is wrong but all the photos I could find have the triangular mounts half way up and none have the belts at the bottom going through the seats grab handles so I stopped what I was doing and added some. Whilst looking at the Eduard instructions to see if I had missed anything else I noticed a control near the pilots right foot that I did not recognise??? Instead of looking again at Mk I photos (my PR 1G was built from a MK I) I panicked and spent an hour scratch building one so as not to rob the Eduard kit for a future build! A big waste of time - I do not know why it is in the Eduard set but this is the drop tank unit first seen on Mk Vs! I also spotted that I needed to amend the rudder control pedals as the Mk I did not have the upper rest so I carefully chopped them of and added some stirrups. And finally...... I noticed that the Eduard cockpit door was very very wide - much wider than the Barracuda or kit door - again time to stop and make sure I have an understanding of what I am trying to do! Obviously the width of the door is important as it has a knock on effect both for the true location of the pilots bulkhead and the rear clear part that starts in line with the back of the door. I have been advocating that the Revell kits pilots bulkhead be moved forward to the back of their door opening and that the upper cut outs in the fuselage halves be filled - these two corrections only being possible if you have the AIMS conversion with the longer rear clear section! The Barracuda door is a life like representation of the kits door and so it is perfect for use with my conversion and the kit as it is. Eduard however believe that the Revell pilots bulkhead is in the correct place and that instead of filling the top cut outs you instead slice all the way down to the datum line on the door side and add a wider door! I needed thus to investigate in case my AIMS rear clear part was wrong. The doors true width in real life is 468.88mm making the 1/32 correct width = 14.65. Barracuda and kit door = 14.37mm Eduard door - 15.28 Tamiya Mk IX door - 14.63 Hobby Boss Mk V door - 14.50 So the Tamiya door is the most accurate but the Barracuda door is a much better compromise than Eduard's door at an extra 0.63 I appreciate all this will not interest many but as I had gone to great lengths and expense to have a clear part designed longer than what Revell provide you can imagine my panic when I saw how much wider the Eduard door was. Well what ever you use on your model - enjoy! J Edited June 24, 2022 by Aims 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 27, 2022 Author Share Posted June 27, 2022 AIMS 1/32 Spitfire PR 1G conversion with Barracuda details update. Hi everyone, interior decaling is finished using the Barracuda and kit decals plus some data plates robbed from my FW 190 Oleo leg set for both side walls, under the spare gunsight bulbs and the rear of the regulator. The camera's were also done and these decals were supplemented with white decal paper to make some patches on top of the cartridges. Hope you like 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 Lovely work John, thanks for the info re the doors, the Barracuda doors are wonderful and look amazing when painted, decalled and weathered, I have bought them for all my 32nd scale Spitfires after doing and correcting the HB kit . Interestingly the Revell components fit well in the HB Mk.Vb kit too, some with modifications and some just fitted as the HB kit has a weirdly squashed cockpit. Your cockpit interior and cameras look absolutely fantastic, great work all round. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles87 Posted June 27, 2022 Share Posted June 27, 2022 Excellent cockpit detail. You are obviously doing a lot of research into this and it’s paying off, especially in regard to the drop tank release handle and the single step rudder pedals. I find the early mark Spitfire cockpits a bit of a minefield as the equipment changed really rapidly in the early stages of WW II. john. 🇺🇦 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 27, 2022 Author Share Posted June 27, 2022 But I have the Mk II onwards U/C control installed - I just thought rather than scratch build a Mk I control i would use the Barracuda part on the reasoning that when the bird went to be converted to a PR IG and have the Merlin engine upgraded to a Merlin 45 perhaps other items were upgraded at the same time? Enjoying it - my first 1/32 Spit and first Spitfire since I built the same pink PR 1G in 1/72 25 years ago! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aims Posted June 28, 2022 Author Share Posted June 28, 2022 AIMS 1/32 Spitfire PR 1G conversion (using Revell Mk II kit) with Barracuda details update. Hi everyone and thanks for following this build. Today I was able to finish the interior work and despite the pain in my hands really enjoyed it.First the dash/firewall was added and this was followed by the rudder pedal assembly. Adding the latter would have been 100% easier if I had not pre-located the framework on the kits floor as I had to twist the pedal assembly this way and that to get it in. With that headache over I was finally able to complete the plumbing of the excellent Barracuda Mk II onwards U/C control - opting to leave the brass wires unpainted. After the rudder pedal control cables were added I could then install the Barracuda control yoke and then the control arm and bracing. Moving backwards so as to leave the pilots seat to last - my AIMS PR conversion 29 gallon tank was popped into place and work started on what remained. The Barracuda seat with kit/scratch built framework had the beautiful Eduard Sutton harness added but I left off the left side lap belt as I planned to drape it over the door. After this my attention turned to the overly thick balsa wood camera box I had made early and the camera's were added simply by drilling through the box and into the camera sides and thus allowing me to micro adjust them into the correct place thanks to the flexible but strong brass wire. The camera box and the pilot seat were then added to the model leaving only the oblique mounted F 24/Mk 25 pivot cradle to be re-joined with the pivot arms at the correct angle. Please note that many 14" lens bodies have an angled end but in this case I have not done that. Hope you like and found helpful, John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mick Posted June 28, 2022 Share Posted June 28, 2022 great looking pit 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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