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XH135 Airfix 1/48th PR9


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Well thought i'd better start my first GB on BM.

There are so many choices as to different variants and colourschemes, but in the end i decided i wanted a PR9 in a standard scheme, as often the "specials" get built too often. As such and as a last minute decision decals from Alleycat have been ordered this morning for XH135. I will be painting her as she sits now at kemble in the Hemp scheme:

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I wont bother with box shots etc, as its been done lots before. I will be using the fantastic cammet control surfaces set as well as a little surgery to get rid of the kit panel lines. as hardly any can be seen on any photos i've looked at!

I have started by filling the "nav windows" and repositioning (first time if cut appertures in a kit)

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A little tidying to be done and a second layer of filler as i have a slight recess at the moment.

Not much done, but off for a few days so see what happens!

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One quick question.... what would be the correct bomb bay piece for 135 in 2006??

Regards

Chris

Edited by Inverted
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Hi all....

Right a day and a half worth of work update....

Mainly working on the fuselage. First, as i am not going to open up the nose i chose to remove the front section of the cockpit assembly to make space for the much needed added weight i've heard many talk about:

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In this space i have some fishing lead shot, stuffed and glued into the nose cone, and i had some rusting old screwdriver bits that have quite a weight. I arranged these in the front section so daylight can still be seen through the navs "windows".

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Next was to add the top coming and added a tiny bit of detail just to busy up the rear bulkhead a tad so its not completely baron: (by no means accurate!)

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Now the fun part. The fuselage pretty much fits itself together. I spent a fair bit of time alligning and glueing the cockpit assembly into place however, still a little filler was needed to smooth it over. I have also started to back fill the panel lines to make them much shallower/remove them.

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finally i have added some spacers to the bomb bay as it sets a little narrow for the part that fits at the base.

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some final bits of sanding of the fuselage tomorrow then on with the wings :)

Chris

Edited by Inverted
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Nice work so far Chris

finally i have added some spacers to the bomb bay as it sets a little narrow for the part that fits at the base.

Chris

This seems to be a common problem on Airfix kits of Late. for some reason this new plastic doesn't keep it shape like the old sort did, and it always seems to need pushing apart with some form of spacer. the Mk IX spitfire needed this at the cowling, and I've now seen the need to use them on several newer Airfix kits, therefore something for builders to certainly be aware of.

Nice work on the panel lines as well by the way

Dave

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Hi everyone,

yesterday was my last day before back to work first thing this morning, so inbetween getting all the fun domestic jobs done i got a few more bits done to the PR9.

Firstly i started trimming and fitting Cammets replacement flying surfaces to the back end. pretty straight forward and adds a little more refinement to the surfaces:

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Next was to get the wings together and sort the engines out. I painted the blades with citadel metallics (first time i've used them and actually i'm pretty impressed!), and sprayed the inside of the intakes in xtracrylix Hemp, so it left a nice crisp demarcation between the two once glued:

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The front and backs of the engine structures were then faired in, and the slight seams were filled with Vallejo model putty. if you haven't used the stuff before its great!. It basically resembles thick emulsion paint and easily gets into those awkward nooks an crannies. Also if you mess up its easy to remove without marking the underlying plastic as it doesn't "bond" as some other fillers do.

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last job yesterday was to get the wings on, and the seams filled ready for sanding today:

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So onto todays work,

working shifts means i got home just after lunch and set to tidying the kit up. lots of sanding and a little rescribing. I fitted the elevators to the rear with some upward deflection to add some interest,

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next ws to tackle the ailerons, which actually was pretty simple! Make sure you use the correct top halves that include the actuator fairings and not the ones stated in the instructions. Use the ones in the instructions for the bottom halves and you get the correct depth surface. if you build what they tell you too, the surface is near on 2mm too thick and sits proud under the wing. :banghead:

final job was to get the cockpit painted up and canopy all masked and tacked in place, and some seams checked etc.

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i have also added the missing camera holes in the nose section.

next job is to fabricate a couple of the missing lumps and bumps, then the fun begins!

Regards

Chris

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Sorry for no recent updates.... paint is on and decals have started to be applied. My god are there a few stencils to add... more of a HSE poster than an aircraft...... I'll get some shots up before i get it weathered and flat coated...

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Hi all,

sorry for the delay in updates.....

The paint is on (xtracrylix hemp and light aircraft grey) with various painted detailed all over the airframe. decals are from A2zee and Model alliance. Never realised how many stencils are on this thing and they're not subtle!

Coated with Klear, and maybe one more coat before weathering......

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once weathering complete, just a flat coat and fingers crossed that an ordered Pavla 2CA seat arrives this week! before a museum exhibition i'm contributing to next weekend!

NB... grey splodges around canopy and exhausts are meant to be there.... references show barley grey left over from deployment wasn't completely removed......

Edited by Inverted
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