Tamiya Meteor III in 1/48th Scale.Finished.

[Alex Gordon]

G'day Chums,I'd like to join in with this one if I may.

I bought this at a Waddington Airshow some twenty odd years ago and have been threatening to build it ever since.Several times I've looked in the box,decided that I couldn't do it justice and put it back in the stash.Nowadays I'm the best equipped and capable that I've ever been so this Group Build seems like the perfect opportunity.

 

 

Here's what's in the box.

 

The map suggests starting with the wing root fillets,why not.

 

The cockpit components were prepared for paint.

 

The speedbrakes have been fitted closed,this was a matter of nipping off the mounting pegs and putting them in their recesses.

 

More soon Chums,thanks for looking in.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Alex Gordon

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Hello and welcome to the build Alex, nows as good a time as ever to build the Meteor. The Tamiya is one I regret never buying. As its never been re-issued since the original three releases I very likely wont. 

[Ray_W]

On 10/16/2022 at 9:45 AM, Alex Gordon said:

seems like the perfect opportunity

 

Hi Alex,

 

Nice choice. Yes, a "perfect opportunity". I built the Tamiya F.1 many moons ago and really enjoyed it. Even my version, with the goofy windscreen, has a nice presence on display. Once you get to your F.3, and the revised canopy, it becomes very attractive. As I recall, I needed to take some care with the rear of the bottom wing half where it joined into the fuselage. Probably just my ham-fisted modelling related to the wing root fairings. Something to look for when dry fitting. 

 

Ray 

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,a little bit of progress to show.

 

Dennis,thanks for dropping by old chum.

 

Ray,cheers old fruit.Thanks for the heads up on the wing joint snag.

 

I wanted to paint the cockpit.

Dear Mr Humbrol,

Once again I have cause to ask why it is that the tin of 78 I bought last year has dried out to the bottom of the tin

 

 

but this one,bought probably twenty years or more ago stirred back to life with little provocation and,when brushed on,dried like a spray job.

 

I thought it was my technique that was at fault but it turns out that it's your firms current paint that is not up to snuff.

 

I'd forgotten what it is to brush on a single coat of paint that actually wants to be painted.

 

The fuselage halves have been put together with no serious problems.

 

The undercarriage leg components were cut from the frame and cleaned up

 

and have been glued together.  

 

Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

[stevej60]

Cracking kit Alex and excellent start oh I do miss those tins of paint but not used enamel's for year's.

[franky boy]

Nice start Alex

 

Its good to see the Tamiya kit getting an airing. 

 

James

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

11 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

Dear Mr Humbrol,

Once again I have cause to ask why it is that the tin of 78 I bought last year has dried out to the bottom of the tin

 

 

but this one,bought probably twenty years or more ago stirred back to life with little provocation and,when brushed on,dried like a spray job.

 

I think it has to do with VOC’s (volatile organic compounds) ? I had the same issue with house paints a while back. Old gallon cans still liquid but a new can mixed fresh would dry halfway to the wall from the can. 

[Celestialsphere]

5 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

Old gallon cans still liquid but a new can mixed fresh would dry halfway to the wall from the can. 

Many modern paints are marketed as 'quick dry'... 🤔

[Alex Gordon]

Put it on dry so that there are no runs in it...

[Back in the Saddle]

Shame about the paint…

 

I too built the Tamiya F1 kit many years ago and it went together very nicely. Looking forward to seeing this one progress.👍

[Alex Gordon]

G'day again Chums,a spot of progress to show.

 

Steve,thanks old chum.I only stick with Humbrol because I know my way round the range and there's no alternative available at the LMS.I haven't really got the hang of acrylics so I tend to stay away from them.

 

James,thanks old lad.

 

Dennis,Celestialsphere,cheers chaps.Ain't that the truth.

 

Matt,thanks old fruit.I haven't read a build report yet that indicated any lack of enjoyment of this or the F1 kit.

 

Tamiya supply a weight to hold the nose down.

 

 

In place it is very visible through the spent case chute apertures.

 

A spot of thin plastic card was chopped up and cobbled together.When the glue had set silver paint was pipetted in to the chutes,I don't have a paintbrush small enough to get in there.

 

Once it was all dryfitted together it was a nice snug fit.There are a couple of pins that stop the upper fuselage squeezing in too far,they needed a slip taking off the contact sides to allow the joint to line up properly.A blob of Milliput was squeezed in on top of the weight to stop it from rattling and the mating up of the wings began.

 

This is one of those joints that has to be worked in several goes.I started with the front joint which needed a push forward from the back to encourage it to line up.

 

More soon Chums,thanks for looking in.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Nice touch with the shell casing chutes, Id probably have painted everything inside non-reflective black myself. 

[Marklo]

16 hours ago, Alex Gordon said:

don't have a paintbrush small enough to get in there.

https://www.ebay.ie/itm/225052113407?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&mkrid=5282-175127-2357-0&ssspo=sh8mpk3nsg-&sssrc=2349624&ssuid=VGICMH_DRRi&var=523936537696&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY They’re meant for detailing finger nails but I find they’re fantastic fr very small hand painting.

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,a little more done.

 

Dennis,thanks old chum.I thought about doing that too but it wouldn't be putting on much of a show if I had.

 

Marklo,thanks for dropping by old fruit.I have some tiny brushes but the handles are too wide to go into the slots,they're less than 1.5mm wide.

 

There are three decals for the instrument panel.

 

 

which went on using the wad of bog roll soaked in near boiling water to press them into place method.

 

The undercarriage legs have been cleaned up,painted silver and dryfitted into place.They were tricky to fit without breaking something so I forsee some shaping of the locating pegs before installing them for real.

 

On 10/17/2022 at 12:35 PM, Ray_W said:

 As I recall, I needed to take some care with the rear of the bottom wing half where it joined into the fuselage. Probably just my ham-fisted modelling related to the wing root fairings. Something to look for when dry fitting.

As Ray W mentioned earlier the aft wing joint needed some creative fettling.

 

I finally settled on some shimming at the joint itself with a bit of clamping and the insertion of a bit of runner to push the surface to the right place and shape.

 

 

While that was setting I fished out the engine components and started preparing them for paint.I'm not going to leave the engine bays open on this one but everything needs to go in to support the bits that will be visible.

 

The mainwheels needed some attention,the removal of the part lines and joining the dots with the tread which doesn't all match up.

 

 

One of these days I might get the hang of scribing.Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

[Alex Gordon]

G'day Chums,a spot of progress.

 

Joining the wing uppers to the unders took a little persuasion,the clamps were used to press the wheelbay sides fully home and close up the gaps that would have been there if they hadn't.

 

 

The creative fettling seems to have worked.

 

The engines have had all the paint that is going to be thrown at them and have been glued together.

 

The starboard engine had a little bit trimmed off the front locating peg to allow it to sit forward enough for the jetpipe to fit properly.

 

The starboard cover panel and intake mouth went on with no problems,the port panel just needed the locating holes elongating to let it sit down.

 

More soon Chums,thanks for looking in.

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,a little bit more to show.

 

The cockpit tub was put into place and the upper fuselage insert dryfitted.There was a big hole at the front where the back of the instrument panel could be seen.

 

 

The mainleg locating lugs have been filed back so that the legs can be fitted without breaking something.

 

Some instrument bodies have been made from stretched runner and glued into place.

 

The canopy is splendidly clear,or it was before I got my pawprints all over it.

 

I decided to fit the windscreen to the fuselage insert so that the inside of the framing could be painted in situ.

 

Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

[Alex Gordon]

G'day again Chums,a little more to show.

 

The instrument panel wiring loom has been fitted.

 

 

and the cockpit upper section glued into place.

 

There was a bit of a pause when real life took over during which I read @Rod The Fixers build where he raised the question of whether or not the cockpit should be painted black and I reckon it probably was so the windscreen was prised off,no small ring twitcher 'cos it had bonded rather well,to do the repaint.The tailplanes have also been glued on with only the starboard one requiring a small bit of fettling to make it sit properly.

 

To be honest it looked a bit bare in there so I went looking for photos to work from and found this 360° view of what I think is a T7 front cockpit https://www.alamy.com/360-degree-panoramic-view-of-take-a-look-around-the-cockpit-of-an-raf-gloster-meteor-f4-picture-credit-mark-pain-alamy-image378613325.html?imageid=6449078C-010B-428B-82DC-012188722F58&p=1334052&pn=1&searchId=7262a488c755cba3f999ffade95b2297&searchtype=0

 

The underside lamps have had their reflectors painted with chrome paint.

 

More soon Chums,thanks for looking in.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Nice work on the wiring for the IP, Ive tried that but my fat fingers don't allow me to do it that often. 

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,Happy New Year to one and all.

 

Dennis,thanks old chum.

 

The underside has been painted Medium Sea Grey and masked off.Well I say that,yet another of my part used tins of Humbrol has dried solid so I've used a drop of Xtracolour X255 Silbergrau darkened with a drop of black which looks nearly the part and the wing leading edges have been painted yellow.

 

 

A few odds of plastic card and thin wire have been made into a couple of inserts for the cockpit sides

 

and painted black and dark grey.

 

Just how much of that can be seen once in there? I've also fitted the gunsight and made the thingy behind and above the seat for the harness to hang off.

 

Thanks all for looking in,more soon.

[Alex Gordon]

G'day again Chums,

 

There has been some paint chucked about.The green was Humbrol 163 RAF Dark Green,sprayed yesterday and left to sort itself out overnight.I started making tape masks using the drawing supplied in the box but I was finding it a bit time consuming and only really working on the flat bits of the airframe when I had a thought.I have a tub of liquid latex from a failed moulding project and why don't I try using that instead.

 

 

I had the remaining bits of the airframe masked up in the space of about half an hour and the stuff was dry enough to paint over in around an hour from starting the job.The tape masks on the wings were helpful from the point of view that I had somewhere I could hold the thing while squirting paint about.Humbrol 106 Ocean Grey was the choice this time and it hadn't dried out in the tin either.Result.

 

More soon Chums,thanks for looking in.

[Alex Gordon]

Hello again Chums,a little nearer to finishing.

 

There has been a spot of decalling.I started with the lettering on the fuselage,using a strip of masking tape to set up a straight line to align to.

 

 

I've decided to paint the Sky band.It's going to take a couple more coats,such is the nature of enamel paint these days.

 

The upper wing roundels went on easily,bedded on a drop of Klear they very soon started to settle into the engraved detail.

 

I've started making a replacement seat,the kit item doesn't really do it for me.The new one is based on a Spitfire seat.

 

Thanks for looking in Chums,more soon.

[Wings unlevel]

On 08/01/2023 at 09:18, Alex Gordon said:

using a strip of masking tape to set up a straight line to align to.

Good tip, I’ll borrow that. 

[Alex Gordon]

G'day again Chums,more decals and twiddly bits this time.

 

Gerard,thanks for dropping by old fruit.

 

I hadn't fully thought through the straight line with the tape method.To make the right spacing I needed to put the roundel in place and the strip of tape was in the way so I peeled it back a bit and cut off the now free end.A couple of circles of masking tape were cut to the same diameter as the roundels and used to position another pair each of marker strips so that the roundels would be correctly and symmetrically located. 

 

 

That's when I found out that the yellow ring on the kit decals was off register.The spares bag was suitably ransacked and a couple of replacements from a Spitfire of some description pulled out.

 

The stencil decals didn't go so well.It might be that I didn't use hot water to soak the paper in but the first ones I tried broke up when I tried to lift them so I've left them all off.

 

The replacement seat has been finished,painted and fitted.The photo I took of it before fitting was so far out of focus that it was unuseable so this one will have to do.The harness was knocked up from masking tape and thin wire.

 

The undercarriage doors all have very positive locating pegs.

 

There are gaps at each end of the nosewheel bay that are going to have some Milliput.

 

The legs and wheels have all been put together and will have a wash of thinned dark brown paint before they are fixed into place.

 

We're nearly there,thanks for looking in.

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Wow great work so far. 

[bissyboat]

Coming along nicely. Massive weight inside the cowling, but it should keep the Meteor leveled. ⚓👍