Fairey Fulmar I, Trumpeter, 1/48

[Stephen Allen]

Not satisfied with one fixer-upper opportunity in the form of the 1/48 Trumpeter Wellington IC, I have decided to also plunge in to Trumpeter’s latest and perhaps not so greatest, in the form of the Fairey Fulmar I. This will plug a hole in my collection as the Fulmar had a walk on role in the Battle of Britain, and was a prominent early war mainstay of the Fleet Air Arm. I do have an MPM kit as well, but I haven’t summoned up the courage to get it underway.

 

I will post some shots of the kit contents in due course, but thought I would start by getting what I suspect is the hardest part of the build out of the way first.

 

Photos of the kit have been posted in the Rumourmonger section now for months, and having the kit in my hot little hands confirmed what the photos suggested - the top decking and canopies of the kit have a very flat top with a sharp angle to the sides, rather than having  a gentle curve to the top section. The kit also looked rather familiar - it matches the Warpaint 41 - Fairey Fulmar- plans by Ian Huntley very closely, save that the canopies etc have been even more squared off than appears on that plan.

 

 

The sad state of the canopy has been discussed on the Rumourmonger thread, and compared unfavorably to that in the MPM kit. I did venture to suggest that there might be enough ‘meat’ in the Trumpeter kit parts to allow for some gentle reprofiling to achieve a more rounded appearance.  The new kit also has two complete sets of the observer’s greenhouse, one closed up and one as three separate parts, presumably so that it can be displayed with the centre section open (more on that in a moment). This means you can experiment without ruining the kit.

 

So, having opened my big trap on this subject, the greenhouse is where I commenced the build. I used some very good quality wet and dry stuck to a flat surface to rough out the new profile, then did some follow up with wet and dry sanding sticks. I have taken the sanding to a 4000 grit, but won’t polish further until I am nearly ready to instal them and fair them into the fuselage. I used the separate canopy sections, as it’s easier to sand the three sections consistently - the joined up greenhouse has a step at each end of the centre section which would make it more difficult to get the shapes right.

 

 

 

To make it easier to follow what I have done, I drew around both the unmodified canopies ends, and the equivalent section of the sanded canopies. To make it a complete comparison, I also did a compare and contrast with the equivalent canopy parts from an MPM/Special Hobby Fulmar. Top line is before and after Trumpeter canopy profiles, bottom line compares the modified Trumpeter parts with the MPM canopy parts.

 

So, there is enough thickness in the Trumpy parts to get a nice rounded profile. It does get quite thin at the shoulders of the curve so care is needed, and of course it doesn’t fix the internal profile. I am going to minimise that problem by attaching new frame ends with an inner profile matching the outer curve, which will make the mismatch less prominent . I also think that it will be possible to get the sliding centre section under the forward greenhouse section with a bit of work. I will trim it down a bit at the base and have already started reducing its overall thickness from the outside.
 

So far, about an hour’s work and a lot easier than widening the undercarriage on the Wimpy!
 

Of course the top decking of the fuselage will also need to be reshaped, and the pilot’s canopy could also benefit with some rounding off, and there are some other infelicities, but we are on our way!

 

[2996 Victor]

I'll be following with interest, if I may! The Fulmar is one of my favourite WWII aircraft, and one I'm missing from my stash, so it'll be great to see how the Trumpeter kit shapes up.

 

Great start on the canopy profiles and I'll be interested to see how you tackle the windscreen. Looking forward to your next update.

 

Cheers,

Mark

[franky boy]

I’ll follow along too as this kit is on my to build list at some future point. 
 

James

[bigbadbadge]

Love a Fulmar build.  How have they done with the interior,  is the seat squished/too small or is it good.

Got the Special Hobby Kit in the stash.

Great start on the greenhouse.

Chris

 

[Grey Beema]

I'm in..  Interested in this one..

[Stephen Allen]

All aboard chaps.

 

After the first rush of blood - if you can’t do something about the canopy why bother - I have calmed down and will do a more serious examination of the kit contents. Like you, I am concerned about the manufacturer’s tendency to miniaturise the interior to fit so I will check, seats, floor levels, wheel bays etc to see what the go is. I would appreciate the advice of more experienced FAA builders while I go through this, so I will try to post parts with a ruler in view.

 

I think I can build this in tandem with the Wellington, as I often find that a smaller kit provides a satisfying diversion from a longer term build, reminding me that I can finish stuff off.

 

cheers

 

Steve

[Stephen Allen]

Some general shots of the kit and contents to start with. Box art, usual style of Trumpeter instructions, colour guide for the marking options, including the fictional Venezuelan version. Kit decals are very glossy, and the colours are all way too bright. The plastic in the kit itself is a mid grey, very smooth and feels harder than that in previous Trumpeter kits I have handled. No flash and the moulding looks good. The little white sheet with numbers contains diecut masks. A good inclusion, but the sheet is made of crepe style masking tape with fairly sticky adhesive. Take care if you use these over a coat of future or AK Gauzy, as it might rip the clear off.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Stephen Allen]

The kit contains approx 140 parts, including a little photo etch sheet, which has some (simplified) seat harnesses, and filter screens for the forthcoming Mk II boxing.

 

 

The main kit parts have a lot of surface detail. The rivet and panel line pattern basically matches the Ian Huntley drawn plan in Warpaint 41. The rivets are all recessed, and are of about the same size and consistency as those in recent Eduard offerings. On the after fuselage the overlapping panel lines are depicted by petite raised lines. I know there have been some concerns about these but from most angles they do actually depict the effect really well. For the observer’s position sidewall detail is moulded into the main fuselage halves, while for the pilot’s cockpit, the sidewalls are provided separately. The separate radio boxes, extinguisher, compass etc, all look pretty good, but the moulded in side wall detail is very shallow.

 

 

 

 

Instrument panel is without dial detail, and is designed to use the included single piece decal. This is fairly basic, so I will use Airscale decals to dress it up.

 

The seats appear to be properly sized. The following photos show size, and a comparison against modified MPM parts ( thinned side panels).

 

 

 

 

I also fitted the full length floor to the fuselage half and fitted the seats, to see what it looks like. You will see a problem.

 

 

Hmm. At this point I did a floor to sill measurement of the Trumpeter kit, and compared it to the MPM kit I have. The MPM observer’s cockpit floor to sill measurement ( at seat position) is 21mm, the Trumpeter kit measures 15.5mm. For the pilot’s cockpit the difference is less. MPM measures 13mm, Trumpeter 12mm. So the Trumpeter miniaturisation fairy has been at work, but not to the extent of some previous (eg, P-40) kits. I might change my mind about leaving the Greenhouse open…

 

[Grey Beema]

This also makes an interesting price point comparison.  
The trumpeter model costing c.£40 through Hannants.  

The SH (with resin & etch) was, last time a bought one, £44 ish.

 

See how this compares to the SH kit.  One of the Trumpeter kits might fall into my cart next time I’m shopping…

 

 

 

 

 

[Stephen Allen]

The wingfold option and parts look very nice. There is detail in the open sections, and the retaining latches on the wings, struts etc all seem to be included. The kit is fundamentally designed to be built with folded wings.

 

 

 

 

the instructions show the folded wing scheme, with the optional, non detailed parts used for a closed up wing.

 

 

 

I think gravity will have something to say about what looks like an unsupported extended wing. It may be that the undetailed inserts will provide an overlap and some support for the joint. I will need to check that as I want to build the plane with extended wings.

 

More in a bit.

[Grey Beema]

@Stephen Allen I think I would be looking to build some sort of spar in there to support the unfolded wing.  Maybe just aft of the U/C bay..

[Stephen Allen]

Yep, I think a spar will be essential. It will be interesting to see how well the parts match up in spread mode. The Magic Factory approach of separate wings for each mode is superior, but, obviously, pricey.
 

Pricewise, this kit currently goes for 89.95 AUD here in Oz. The price of some single engined 1/48 planes is getting a bit steep here - the new Arma Hobby 1/48 Hurricane IIC goes for 99.99 from the larger hobby shops, and I am kicking myself for not buying it when Red Roo had it, complete with additional RAAF transfers, for 88!  But enough of these gloomy economic digressions, back to the kit.

 

As already discussed, the kit seems to follow the Huntley plans quite closely, this includes situating the recognition lights mounted on the radiator cowl on the centreline. The Brian Taylor derived plans in Aircraft Archive Volume 2 has them mounted slightly to starboard of the centreline and I think this is correct. It won’t take much to reposition them. The radiator screen part supplied is also quite good.

 

 

 

Wheels are basic and not weighted. I think the hubs might be too big.

 

 

 

 

wheel wells seem to be fairly deep. The kit shows them as enclosed, was this the case?

 

 

Fabric detail on the Ailerons, elevator and rudder isa bit hills and valleys, but will probably look okay under the necessary coat of paint. I also think the lower, thick section of the rudder has too abrupt a transition back to the top section, but thats getting a bit nitpicky.

 

 

 

The machine gun barrel placement is not correct; again, it’s something that can be traced back to the Warpaint plan. Its an easy fix, just fill, and cover with a red doped bit of decal. I might be a bit fancy and cut the sections out, and replace them with correctly configured panels and show barrels inside.

 

 

finally, the pilots windscreen was modelled on that currently installed on the prototype as displayed at the FAA museum. This lacks the built up straight lower edges to the side panels. I think this will largely be fixed by masking when painting. The pilot’s sliding canopy shares the problem of the greenhouse, by being too square in profile. In this case it’s the rear edge of the canopy which needs to be rounded off, leaving the front edge more square.

 

So thats the kit. I like the overall level of detail.  The mistakes are disappointing but not show stoppers. No doubt in time some aftermarket stuff will come along - Instrument panel, wheels etc, which will make dressing the kit up easier.

 

The most obvious infelicity in external shape is actually quite easy to alter - if you are prepared to sand and reprofile clear parts. I did that first because that’s the point at which you can make any other work a waste of time. Now that’s mostly done I am thinking about:

- fixing the gun configuration

- fiddling about with observer’s seat and floor to see if I can do something other than stick the seat to the floor.

- a spar for the spread wing and the best way of assembling it so the dihedral is consistent and everything is straight.

- moving the recognition lights to starboard.

 

There will be the usual minor things to do, like thinning the sides of the seats and adding better harnesses - though I might just borrow the ones I completed for my currently stalled MPM kit build, and of course decent decals as the kit ones are rubbish. That’s all for now!

 

[Grey Beema]

Hopefully someone will bring out vacuum formed canopies too.  That will make open cockpit configurations a lot easier.  

[2996 Victor]

Hi Stephen,

 

many thanks for your thorough appraisal of the kit, it's hugely appreciated by this modeller!

 

It sounds like the kit is a bit of a Curate's Egg, but that the not-so-good parts are not too difficult to correct. The shallowness of the sidewall detail is a pity - I was thinking that it wouldn't be too taxing to remove it and scratch build more convincing replacements. The position of the cockpit floor is a pain, but if replacing the sidewall detail it wouldn't be too much of an issue to raise its level, maybe by laminating a new styrene floor over the kit part. Rivets on models bother me (the new MiniArt Tbolt is a case in point!) - did the Fulmar have "visible" rivetting? I don't know so a web search for close-up photos is on the cards. BM Walkaround here seems to show that the FAA museum example has fairly obvious (not prominent) rivets - but look at the dust highlighting them! The airframe is flush-rivetted, so each rivet-head has a circular surrounding depression in the airframe's skin, it's not a dimple. I don't think they'd be visible at 1/48 scale, and they'll be a pain to treat.....

 

All-in-all though, it looks like a nice kit. And now that the kit has been released and its issues are known, I wouldn't be at all surprised to see a vac-form canopy and a resin cockpit set before too long!

 

Thanks again!

 

Mark

[MOK61]

Really interesting build so far. I do like the Fulmar shape.

 

I'll follow along, if I may.

[Shorty84]

Hi Stephen,

 

thanks a lot for your rundown of the Trumpeter offering. This kit is high on my list now, mainly because of the possibility to fold the wings. Originally I was not too interested in the Fulmar, thinking it was kind of a dud in service but reading into it this view changed somewhat and I got interested to add one to my ever-growing stash.

Great to see that the clear parts can be sanded to a more representative shape. Originally I was prepared to ignore this error but seeing that correction is possible I think I will try that on mine once I get one.

 

Cheers

Markus

[Stephen Allen]

I think I may have confused some readers about the height issue with the floors. If anything they need to be lowered, if such were possible, not raised further. As for vacform correction canopies, I would say hooray for that, though I suspect the market would be small given it would still need the modeller to sand the fuselage to a profile meeting the new canopy. As for the rivets, as these things go they are not hideously out of proportion. My own viewing of the images available of the FAA Fulmar ( which is the prototype), is that the fuselage riveting is raised, with a very close pitched spacing along the longitudinals, the wings are probably flush and, yes, there is light coloured dust accentuating everything.

 

Now this is the prototype, so your guess is as good as mine as to whether it is representative of the finish of production machines. I also forgot to mention that the cowling fasteners are depicted as small flush circles - quite petite in fact.

 

Steve

[2996 Victor]

36 minutes ago, Stephen Allen said:

the height issue with the floors

My bad! Must read more carefully!!! The MPM floor must be significantly different in profile if it's 5.5mm lower than Trumpy's at the Observer's station. Is there any chance of a comparison photograph?

 

Thanks for the clarification, 

Mark

[bigbadbadge]

Thanks for that very detailed appraisal, looking forward to seeing this develope,  that said I think I will stick with my SH kit and won't get the Trumpeter kit.  I can just enjoy yours, of course that may change if I fancy doing a folded wing kit 😉

Thanks

Chris

[Stephen Allen]

I have continued to cut bits off to check some buildability aspects, and I am happy to report that those who want to build the kit with wings spread need not fear. As you will see from the following photos, the single piece insert section used for the spread option forms a big and solid spar that extends from the wing root to half way to the wing tips, and provides a very solid seating to which the outer wing and inner can be glued, providing a positive alignment. First impressions are that it will also fit very well. Apologies to Trumpeter - it is a clever solution and far more economical than alternative sets of wings.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A bit more on the observer/navigator’s floor issue. Trumpeter provide a footwell forward of the seat, into which you can presumably fit the legs of said observer. I think this is wrong, and looking at the cutaway Fulmar diagram on the Armoured Carriers website, you are probably best off just removing the floor for a goodly length, and putting a thin one back in right at the bottom of the fuselage. This would let you fit in a base pedestal for the seat. Side wall detail will need to be extended down accordingly.

[Grey Beema]

Good solution for the wings.  It will still look good with the origami done though.  Are the Flaps split on this kit?  Or are they closed up?  That was the bit I missed when I built mine with folded wings..

[Stephen Allen]

Closed up I think, if I understand the question correctly. There is a top and bottom to that section of wing, so dropping them would not be a problem I think. The FAA Museum Fulmar has them closed - where they opened, or openable, in the folded position?

 

I built the wings. Its a modern CAD-designed kit so all the sprue nubs need to be completely gone. You can see I have removed the inaccurate gun sections, and I opened up the handholds in the wings. Happily they match top and bottom. The landing light is boxed in, and has a separate light to be added later.

 

Simple hand pressure and Tamiya extra thin quick had everything glued solidly. The centre section in particular is a tight fit, and make sure you get the internal pins seated all the way home, or you may run into trouble later getting a good clean join at the wing fillet. I checked mine against the fuselage halves and they look good. The wingfold joint is pretty good as well, I might need a dab of Mr Surfacer but that’s all. Like any modern kit any small mistakes will likely bite later in the build. There is some really nice detail in the wheel wells. I hope its realistic! The last photo will give you a good idea of how extensive the wingfold support spar is.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[2996 Victor]

Thanks, Stephen, this kit is looking better and better! Thank you for the further details on the floor, that makes sense. The wings look very sturdy with the spar arrangement.

 

Cheers, 

Mark 

[Stephen Allen]

The kit is almost building itself. I have progressed to putting the internal bulkheads together, and cutting out the section of the rear cockpit floor needed to allow a proper pedestal for the navigator’s seat. Test fitting again shows every things fits well, the fuselage closes up around the interior parts without a problem. I have left a small equipment shelf just forward of the last bulkhead, on which various black boxes sit.

 

First, the kit parts unaltered, with the well for the navigator’s feet.

 

[Stephen Allen]

Next, the area of floor to be removed.

 

 

Next, a couple of pictures of the parts installed with the new open arrangement.