AIRCRAFT - Battle of Britain Group Build (Jan 1st 2005 - May 31st 2005)

Great job on the Martlett Tom. Don't have one in my collection. After seeing yours, I may have to rectify that

Regards, Rick

yup! will send them today!!! Along with an autographed picture Kremps wanted you to have... she's all lonely now in the old folks home and missing all of us...

Rick - that's why the Martlet isn't going to be weathered much as well... arriving late inthe battle, and mostly consigned to CAP and recon flights there wouldn't have been much buildup on it...

---edit---

Mother in law alert!!!! she's on her way over so thought I better post what progress I have before she gets here because she doesn't know the polite length of time to stay... might be 11pm before she leaves!!!





all that is left is antenna, hubs on wheels, propeller, wash and remove dog hair, future, dullcoat then canopy!!! I really have enjoyed this kit!!!

oh, tho, did you get the email I sent you with my mailing address?

QUOTE: Razor - yeah Tanky get himself in big trouble with that last outburst... Lunchalot made him walk around with a sign around his neck reading "I am a bad, mean person" for the rest of the day... and instructed us to throw paper balls at him everytime we saw him... okokokokok the paperballs was just my idea of fun... but she would have told us to if she thought of it first!

Yeah, but I'll get her back. She'll be fine unless she wants to go to bed!!! And we'll see about those paper balls, tho!!!

Got the 109 just about finished. Don't expect to see a lot of weathering on this build, as I prefer my shelf sitters fairly clean. Also, this aircraft was fairly new for the time frame being depicted. Hope to finish her up today & get some pics posted tomorrow or Monday. Depends on how exciting the Super Bowl is

Regards, Rick

Tweety - I think the BMF was a turn on for her... I say have a go at it again! Word is she wears duct tape undergarments so maybe this is right up her alley! Seriously though... just remember, if ya get to the point you want to start sniffing acrylics it's time to head on in to Happy Acres again... We've got a nice warm special "smoking jacket" with your name on it... I hope white is your color!

I agree Tom, for some reason this GB is just as much fun for me as last years Aussie GB.
I reckon it's the crowd you model with that makes the differance
Very proud to be amongst some very skilled folks, not to mention the wealth of knowledge

Well, got the second wash down on my 109 (sorry Darren, forgot to take pics), and have made the liberal application of Tamiya smoke to alot of areas.
Looking good so far

Tomorrow I hope to lay down the Microscale Flat, then some more light weathering and touch ups, and should be done real soon!!!

Tom, might take Lunchalot up on the rehab offer
Kinda have to, seeing as the pension isn't paying enough to keep buying Foil!

Razor - yeah Tanky get himself in big trouble with that last outburst... Lunchalot made him walk around with a sign around his neck reading "I am a bad, mean person" for the rest of the day... and instructed us to throw paper balls at him everytime we saw him... okokokokok the paperballs was just my idea of fun... but she would have told us to if she thought of it first!

Bob ... looking sharp! do you have a desk lamp? if you polace that near the model when you take pics it will really brighten up the model and probably clear up any fuzziness as well... I think the shutter spped/f-stop combo that the autofocus is picking allows for some camera shake in your pics and is causing the slight blur. But it still looks good all the same!! I ppreciate you posting the pics!

I also want to add that the level of camraderie in this particular GB has been exceptional... yeah in the others they look up info for each other etc... but there has been much swapping of parts/decals and everything else from the entire group! Bravo!!!! Modeling in the true sense of the word if you ask me! The word "Teamwork" comes to mind!

razor, i just shot you an email w/ all the info. thanks. Tho, I'll give you a new mailiong address that will make things far far more convenient.

Darren, the email has been sent. Thanks for the help. I'm not a rivet counter by any stretch of the imagination but if I have the parts to back date the H6 to a H4 I figure I might as well try to make it look as accurate as I can for the BofB. Without getting as emotional as Tanky and risk running afoul with Nurse Lunchalot... you guys are real swell!!!

Speaking of Tanky... I haven't recieved a mailing address from ya. Let me know if you still want those decals.

Bob: She's coming along very nicely. Can't wait to see the canopy on it.

Dave, I have scanned the info you need for the He-111 out of Squadron/Signal's He-111 In Action. Send me an email so I can get your email address & I'll send them through.

Cheers
Darren

Looking real good Bob. Hope the canopy worked out OK.

Regards, Rick

Hey all-got a black wash on the upper/dark grey on the lower mid-week. Put decals on yesterday & this evening. Hope to get a coat of dull on tomorrow, maybe some pastel weathering on Sunday/Monday. Based on the Three Guys Replicas instruction sheet, the crosses on the wings were painted over in a circular fashion. Will probably do that after the dull coat. Still need to work on the landing gear and the instrument panels. The moment of truth will be on Sunday when I pull the mask off of the greenhouse. This has been a fun group build-my bigger problem will be staying busy till the North Africa GB starts....anyway, here are most recent pics.

hey yall! no progress for me either tonight... had the contracter come out and patch the holes in my roof from the storm and he stayed late so decided a nap was in order after ev erything that went on this week...

tomorrow I will finish this though!!! I got the Typhoon in so that will be my new project for the RAAF build... and I must say those ultracast seats look a lot nicer in person! really nice detail! haven't ordered the filter, will do so tomorrow probably...

pics tomorrow!

Wow great progress from everybody, I'd better get my backside into gear. Not much further progress to report on the Spit other than it's assembled and pre-shaded, tonight I'll probably lay down the base color for the undersides. One thing I have done on this build which has been new for me is to reposition the control surfaces on the tail as just about every picture I have ever seen of a Spit on the ground shows these control surfaces dropped.

Nick the Hurricane looks great; you've really done a nice job on that kit.

Razor, your He 111 pit looks fantastic and really should be easily seen through the glasshouse canopy. To fix PE parts to the canopy you could use Future as mentioned or something like Testors Clear Parts cement. Also, I'll try and drag up some info on He 111 variants.

Bob, is the prepainted PE worth the extra couple of dollars, IMHO yes definitely.

Cruzr I wouldn't worry too much if I were you, the build has a long way to go.

Cheers
Darren

hey guys. just dropping a line to say that i haven't dropped off the face of the earth. i've just had a crazy busy month a haven't had a chance to work on the Spit since newyears. i'm hoping i'll get some build time soon.
cheers
Cliff

Anyway, I got the paints for my kit today, but due to various things I can't start until monday. I think this kit should be a quick build though.

Dave,

Here is a website that I used to get my paint scheme-might play around with the address and find an English version or the pics may help-click & enlarge type thing.

http://www.europa1939.com/luftwaffe/bombarderos/he111.html

I have a question for those of you who are also building the He 111 for this build. As you know most kits are of the H-6 version and while there is very little difference between the H-4 (last BoB version) and the H-6 I'm just wondering what those differences are? The Hasegawa kit includes a bunch of extra pieces for earlier and later versions so I have a bit of a dilema. My research so far suggests that the H-4 did not have waist guns in the side windows and I'm betting that the forward nose gun was upgraded at the same time with the H-6. The H-6 was also upgraded to carry torpedoes. When did they start carrying external bombs? When did the exhaust pipes go from a single pipe to individual pipes? Any other differences I should know about.

Thanks for your help.

Dave, nice work on the pit. Looks real good.

Regards, Rick

Thanks for the kind words guys.

Bob: I think the prepainted set was worth it, totally!!! If you look at the rear panels and the seat belts there is no way I could do that in this scale. The small set for this kit is $15 but you can find it cheaper on line (Great models lists it for $11).

Sean: Thanks for the tip. I've never done PE on clear parts before. However I've decided to put some strips of styrene inside the U-chanel of the overhead panel and then I can just glue it as I normally would.

Nick-nice Hurricane, very nice. Must put that on my 'to-do' list.

Dave-I am in awe with your interior-1/72nd no less. That is going to look so good with the He111 greenhouse nose. You are pushing me to try PE sometime soon. Question-is the pre-painted worth the difference in price? The results are striking, to say the least.

Nicodemus - looking good! a very nice paint job!!

Tweety - Happy Acres has a substance abuse program for disabled modelers... maybe it could help? Word to the wise: Lunchalot says the next time you come into the TV room wrapped in nothing but BMF she is locking you in your room!

Tanky - tell me where to send the small crosses to and I will be happy to send them!

Razor - impressive cockpit!!!

Rick - thanks for the advice... I've tackled a couple of kits recently with problems at the rear fuselage... I'm game for this one!!!

Nicodemus, your Hurricane looks great

Thad

QUOTE: Originally posted by razordws By the way, anyone have any suggestions on attaching PE to clear parts? I used Eduards prepainted cockpit set (the small set) and although the parts were teeny tiny I think you will agree that it was worth it. Remember, this is 1/72 scale. Next week... masking!!!!

Raz Firstly, nice pit!!!
Personally I use CA to attach the PE to my clear parts.
After they have been Futured, the CA will not craze the plastic.
It's all good.
Or you can use a small drop of Future to secure it in place, just takes longer to cure than CA.

Have been away a while folks, and haven't gone near the 109 in a week, but tonight I plan to do a whole bunch to it, so maybe by Sunday, I'll have some pics to post.

Jay, nice cockpit work mate, quite impressive!!

Rick400+ builds qualifies you as an addict!!!!
But I'm sure your aware of that!!!

Tom, my long lost friend!!!, I'm off the Future, but the Pledge is proving difficult to shake

Okay, after my last post I've been working hard on the Cockpit and managed to finish most of it. All I have left is the instrument panel and overhead panel which are part of the canopy so its a seperate issue. By the way, anyone have any suggestions on attaching PE to clear parts? I used Eduards prepainted cockpit set (the small set) and although the parts were teeny tiny I think you will agree that it was worth it. Remember, this is 1/72 scale. Next week... masking!!!!




Tanky: send me an email with your address and the size of the swaztika and I will mail that and the big cross set to you.

Jay: I use an air tank and have never experienced anything like what you've described. Sorry I can't be of help. If I get a chance I'll ask one of my brother's that worked in the welding supply business.

Nicodemus: The hurricane is looking good.

cheers

nicodemus, The Hurricane is looking real good. Nice work.

Regards, Rick

QUOTE: Originally posted by tho9900 Rick, it's the Hasegawa Mk Ib with the car door canopy... the Aussie Typhoons were the cardoor versions... have you built this one? I am hoping it is as good as the He111 looks to be! I think I remember someone (maybe you and Darren... ) mentioning the cockpit fit was a little difficult...

I've built 2 of the car door & 1 regular. Thay are very nice kits. The rear deck of the fuselage is a little tricky to get a good fit, but patience pays off. I don't recall any problem with the interior fit.

Regards, Rick

Hello Group,

Progress report,
Here are some shots of my Airfix Hurricane I. It should be completed by the weekend. I should be able to finish it up and post the completed shots then. Thanks for letting me share with you

Rick, it's the Hasegawa Mk Ib with the car door canopy... the Aussie Typhoons were the cardoor versions... have you built this one? I am hoping it is as good as the He111 looks to be! I think I remember someone (maybe you and Darren... ) mentioning the cockpit fit was a little difficult...