Battle of Britain 75th Anniversary GB

Thanks, Andy.  If you do try it, I use a cheap plastic protractor to keep the horizontal stabilizers set at right angles to the vertical fin.  

At the bottom of the protractor, you can see the perpendicular lines.  Hold the protractor at the spot where the horizontal and vertical meet, and make your adjustments before the glue fully sets.

Mostly it works.

moose421

I just found you GB.  I have a question.  I see that most of the aircraft are Allied.  Is this open to the Axis side as well?  I am thinking of getting a Bf 109E-4.

moose

Moose, both sides are welcome.  What kit and scale, and I'll update the front page.

Ok, just used up a bunch of my evilbay bucks and ordered the 1/48 Bf 109E-4.  So please sign me up for Eduards 1/48 Bf 109E-4.  I will be doing the following bird.  

W.Nr. 5819, Obstlt. Adolf Galland, Geschwaderkommodore JG 26, Audembert, France – Dec.1940

I have gotten on a Bf  kick as of late and need to do another.

I have to finish up the Bf 109 GB and then will tackle this one.

moose

I missed the beginning of this due to the fact that I was on vacation and helping the girlfriend move (wah wah I know - I am not complaining) but I was able to get started on my Hurricane today.

It's the new-tool Airfix 1/48 kit, and it looks like a winner so far. The cockpit is mostly together, and I shot it with Tamiya cockpit green. I won't be modeling it with the gun bays open, but Airfix did a pretty good job on them from the looks of it, and if you want one with the gun bays open for a diorama or something, I recommend it.

So this is where it sits right now. Nothing too exciting, but I wanted to get on the board.

-BD-

The new tools by Airfix are really good.  Yours is coming along very well

BD that is gorgeous! I am waiting for one of the local shops to get those kits in so I can snatch one up.  I had the old tool original Airfix kit many years back that I build as IR Gleeds mount. But it was damaged in a move and did not survive. I had been wondering which kit to get as a replacement. Now I know after seeing yours here.

I have a new tool Airfix 1/48 Hurricane on order. Hopefully it'll be here this week and I can get started. Not sure of the markings yet. Your cockpit is looking really good BrandonD! I'll be watching closely and learning

Oh and lewbud, I'd talk to the guys over at Airfix about giving you some kind of kickback...I have a feeling they are gonna get a lot of business from this GB! LOL!

I've made a little progress over the last couple weeks.  I'm not sure if the intereior color is correct though.  Airfix calls for the use of Humbrol paint.  The instructions number is 78.  When I go to the Humbrol site and plug that number in, it show the paint is RLM 78.  Since I have Vallejo RLM 78, I decided to use it.  I think it's a little more gray than green.  I decided to stick with it.  Maybe someone can steer me in the right direction for the next time.

Ah shoot!  Looks like I inserted the photos in the wrong order.

Craig

That looks very good, Craig.  Coming along nicely!

The RAF used a color called "Interior Green."    It's available from several manufacturers.  I use enamels, so I use Model Masters and also still have some from WEM's Colourcoats.

Here's a link to a UK site that discussed the issue.

www.britmodeller.com/.../index.php

I think that the color you picked looks fine.  There were no doubt some variations, and even MM and WEM's interpretations are somewhat different..  

rooster513

I have a new tool Airfix 1/48 Hurricane on order. Hopefully it'll be here this week and I can get started. Not sure of the markings yet. Your cockpit is looking really good BrandonD! I'll be watching closely and learning

Oh and lewbud, I'd talk to the guys over at Airfix about giving you some kind of kickback...I have a feeling they are gonna get a lot of business from this GB! LOL!

As long as the kickback was in kits, it would be a deal!  They've got a new tool Wildcat that looks freaking incredible.  Can be built with wings folded or extended.  I don't normally build the losers, but their new Val looks like it will end up on my shelf as well.

Ajd, just let me know and I'll make the necessary change.

Craig, I hope my Spit comes out as nice as yours.

Yeah, looking great Craig. I use MM Acryl "RAF Interior Green". Looks close enough to my eye when I compare to pics online.

Well, the missing cockpit never did turn up, despite my turning the entire house upside-down looking for it. I couldn't find any resin pits that seemed worth buying (most of them are just a seat), so I bought a Revell mk.ii kit to scavenge for parts. It turned out that the Revell kit doesn't have a floor, so I used the seat and cobbled everything together using styrene strip for a floor. Since it's barely visible anyway I'm not too worried about it. Anyway, here are some update pics after installing the pit and adding the wings. One of, if not the best wing/fuselage fits I've ever seen.

Nice save Raven, on the scratch building missing parts.  I feel you pain I have had it happen to much. Just not a large piece like the whole pit.

Looking good.

moose

Thanks, Moose. Naturally, I found the missing pit today. Lol! If I couldn't laugh I'd lose it.

Hahaha, it always works that way.  I found an oxygen regulator for my Bf 110 just recently.

moose

Thank you, Stikpusher and Rooster. It's not as polished as some kits, but its fun to put together, and I like the engineering of it so far.

Craig - nice Spitfire! Looks like 1/72? I don't know how you can make those look so nice in such a small scale.

Steve - You, too, have a great-looking Spitfire. I think the scratchbuilt cockpit floor is great and more than does the job. Plus now you have the fun of knowing it's all your work and took more than gluing a few bits together from a kit.

-BD-

Alright, I had some time with my Hurricane again. I used a leftover Eduard PE compass from my Spitfire VIII kit, the Airfix instrument panel decal, and a decal from a Tamiya Spitfire V kit for the harness. I don't love the harness decal, but I suppose it's better than nothing. I probably should have used tape, but I may close up the cockpit, in which case it will not matter.

I got the majority of the large parts together. The wing tops went down over the spars and the lower wings really well, and the cockpit sat nicely. I then glued the fuselage halves together and glued them on top of the cockpit/wings. **Those building this kit, here's a tip** - The fuselage halves do not cover the bottom (it is a separate piece for the underside of the nose, and a separate piece for the underside from the rear of the wings to the tailwheel. When I added those parts, there was a 0.5 mm step from them to the bottom of the wings (when sitting upright, the wings hang slightly lower than the fuselage). To fix this, I would probably sand down the wing roots slightly, or consider inserting a small strip of styrene to space the lower fuselage parts. In my case, some filler feathered into the front and rear of the wing will have to suffice.

I hope that makes sense, since it reads confusingly to me even now, but hopefully if you're looking at the parts it will make sense.

So here it is now - looking like a plane.

And here's a closeup of the instrument panel. It's a decal, and it went down well with some Micro Sol.

Next up is some filling of seams and then getting the elevators, rudder and a few other assorted parts mounted. Then paint!

-BD-

Hey guys, great stuff going on in here!

Regarding the 110 question:

ajd3530

For the 109 "safety build" I'll be doing a Pegasus 1/48 Bf 109E-4. This will be my first attempt at mottling, so an inexpensive kit is ideal.

For the 110, I'll be using the 1/48 Cyber Hobby Bf 110E-2 kit and dressing it up as a C-3 or -4. That is unless anyone can point out any noticeable cosmetic differences other than armament.

Only detail I notice different is the E-2 had the back end of the fuselage extended in order to carry a dinghy.  It also had improved engines, but assuming Eduard did their homework, no external changes according to their Royal boxing instructions of the 110 C/D/E:

http://www.eduard.com/store/out/media/r0005.pdf

regards,

Jack

Nice work on the cockpit, BD.  Very effective painting.  It looks excellent.

Another entry in the "lost" department.  One of the clear wing lenses from my Airfix 1/72 Hurricane went missing last night.  I ordered a replacement part from Airfix, but it'll take a while to get here.

I think I'll just begin another one, and work on that until the missing part arrives.

I loathe the carpet monster--but this piece disappeared into the kitchen tile!

Thanks, Checkmateking. As for the "lost" entry - I hate when that happens. I tend to find them with the vacuum cleaner... "click click click...gone for good."

-BD-

Hahaha Brandon.  Mine I hear the twink as it launches from my tweezers.  If I am lucky I might hear it hitting somewhere in my shop.  As for finding them, HA no chance.

Kim

I hear y'all's pain.  

Received an email back from Airfix.  They're asking for 8 GBP (a little less than $13) for postage and packaging to send me new parts.  i also requested a Spitfire wing to replace one incompletely molded when it came out of the box.

The Hurricane kit didn't cost that much--not to mention the cost of an overseas phone call to give them my credit card info, plus the exchange fee charged by the credit card company.

So I'm just going to start a new kit and hope the missing part turns up somewhere on the table or the floor.

ajd - Absolutely nothing wrong with building a Pegasus or other snap kit. The single most important thing is that you enjoy the hobby and have fun building. I built one of their Hurricanes before I had airbrushing down, and I didn't want to foul up my Tamiya Bf-109. And you know what? I learned a LOT doing it and had tons of fun. I also learned to shoot my clear coats with an airbrush, because I was way too heavy-handed on the rattle cans.

What did I do with the model? Well, I sailed it right into the trash can after a few months of completion, but it served its purpose, taught me a lot, and I had fun with it. I'm looking forward to seeing yours, and hopefully it comes out great and gets a proud spot on your shelf.

-BD-

So, speaking of Hurricanes (If you read my previous post, you know why there's a Hurricane-sized hole in my collection), here is an update.

I shot my base coat of black tonight, and I used Model Master flat black enamel thinned with Tamiya Lacquer Thinner 1:1 at 20 psi. It was a really light coat, and I let it dry an hour and half before I hit it with 12,000-grit Micro Mesh cloth.

I really was planning to wait till tomorrow to shoot the first color coat, but I lack discipline and patience, and I figured if I thinned my Tamiya acrylics with the same lacquer thinner, I can probably get away with it without worrying about paint curing issues. I shot it with Tamiya Sky/Lacquer Thinner 1:2 around 17 psi.

Well, it looks awful at the moment, but I'll come back (hopefully) tomorrow and hit the insides of the panels with a 50/50 mix of Sky and Flat White, then micro mesh it, then hit it with the blend coat to even out the shades.

Again, since I always forget and have to hunt through old posts when I find others' work and wonder, this is the 2015 tooling of the Airfix 1/48 Hurricane Mk.I.

Cheers,

-BD-

ajd - I don't know how close you are to a Hobby Lobby, but I'm lucky to be about 2 miles from one, and I am not above using their 40-percent-off coupon to buy one can of primer or bottle of paint :)

That said, I really do like the Aclad clear coat for the gloss, and the Tamiya dull coat for my finish. I hear Tamiya is also coming out with a semi-matte, which will be really nice for the Luftwaffe birds, and possibly the RAF ones?

-BD-