Fleet Air Arm Group Build

Hey Frank,

dropping those elevators should be well easy compared to working with a vac-form canopy! I have never dared to work with one yet. I have one as part of my PRXIX kit, but I have shelved that project while I get to grips with the B-25. 

Good luck with the canopy!

Thanks my friend, you too!

I am still debating on the Seafire elevators, I know they will look great if I drop 'em and don't booger them up.

I worked on the vacuform canopy today, and it's coming along.  Boy, those things are different to work with!   I managed to put a couple of lil' scratches in it, but I know I can sand them out. 

Hey! Its the weekend!

As always, wherever you may be in the world take a time to eat, drink and be merry!

I offer you a toast. To us, and those like us...........CHEERS!

Sounds like a good read Dave, I recently read "They gave me a Seafire" by Commder R.M. Crosley. Its a great account of life in the FAA during WWII and it was a very enjoyable read.

Also, "Sea Harrier over the Falklands" is a cracking read. Its Commander "Sharky" Ward's personal account of his experience of commanding NAS 801 during the Falklands war. I have to say its a real eye-opener and this chap does not pull any punches either! He has a distinct contempt for the RAF,(FAA and RAF have always been great rivals.) yet I still found myself admiring him as both a fighter pilot and a leader. Highly recommended.

I have also had another great score.........I was in my LHS yesterday and in the "bargain bucket" was a 1/48 Airfix RN Buccaneer. I asked the chap in charge if I could take a look inside the box and he told me I was quite welcome to.

Unfortunately, all the decals were stained and torn. Not being certain if I could purchase the same markings on an AM decal sheet I decided to put the kit back on the shelf.  The owner said "hang on a minute , I have another one somewhere."

He came back with a brand new kit straight off the delivery truck and said he would sell it to me for the same low price if I still wanted it. I took a quick peek inside the box and sure enough, everything looked perfect. I snapped it up straight away. When I went to pay he then gave me another 10% off to make up for any inconvenience! What a bloody decent bloke.

The kit has a terrible reputation, but its the only game in town if one wants a 1/48 Buccaneer, luckily I know plenty of chaps who have built this kit so I will seeking lots of advice when I get around to building it.

I recon you are onto a winner there Frank with or without dropped elevators. If you decide to drop them, take your time with the cutting. I used a panel line scriber on the underside and just kept on going across the plastic until it eventually cut through. Its more time consuming this way but I got better results as opposed to using the razor saw.

Nice work Frank.

You've done a heck of a lot of work on this one and it shows I can see you dealt with those wings very well, I was just wondering if you were going to drop the elevators or not? I know its more work, but it really does make the model look more "lifelike". 

Just an idea.

Looks like good progress Frank.

Regards,  Rick

Ok, just a quick Seafire update.  A day off of work today divided between time in the shop and a little motorcycle excursion- perfect!

I sanded down a couple of problem areas revealed by the primer coat, and re-scribed a couple of panel lines.  On the wingtip lights, the kit parts did not fit very well (they are MUCH thicker thatn the wing) so I glued them on and then sanded them to match the wing.  Doing so removed all of the panel and rivet detail, so I re-scribed the lines and shot a last coat of primer on.  I think she is about ready for paint!  I still have to trim the vacuum form sliding canopy section, and mask off the canopy pieces.  More to come soon!

Since this is a Fleet Air Arm GB I thought you might be interested in this. One of the Royal Navy's most famous squadrons No.800 NAS, are back in action over the skies of Afganistan. The squadron had been disbanded a while back by the MOD and the Sea Harrier FA.2's were put into storage awaiting export sale. It was sad day to say the least.

However, they are back! Now flying the Harrier GR.7, they have done a work up criuse aboard the carrier HMS Illustrious and they have established a base in Kandaha. Here are some recent photo's from the squadron's deployment  in Afganistan:

You're welcome!

Cheers!

"NOW HEAR THIS............"

Lt. Daniels has been immortalised on the ARC Homepage. He has shown great skill and bravery by defeating hostile plastic to produce a masterpeice of modelling.  In honour of this event we salute him in our traditional way...........

(HATS OFF!) 

WHOO-HOOOOO!!!! YEAH! 

(HATS ON!) 

"SALUTE!!"

"Detail....... Disss.........MISSED!!! 

" For he's  a jolly good fellow......."

          "For he's a jolly good fellow........"

           "For he's  a jolly good felloooooowwwww.................

"Now lets drink lots of RUM........Now lets drink lots of RUM......Now lets drink lots of RUM..............

CHEERS Frank!

ALERT!

Sorry to jump a bit OT, but I wanted to share my excitement!  My Zero was featured over on ARC today, and since it WAS an adversary to the FAA (), I thought I might post it.  Rum all 'round!  Cheers everyone!

Both look good from here Dave.

Regards,  Rick

After a considerable time away I finally have some advancement on the Barracuda and Firefly - the Decals are finally on the models!!! The surprising part was that the Barracuda markings went on buetifully and snuggled down well while the Firefly markings didn't realy want to go into the panel lines.

Bob-

I was a bit worried about all that canopy masking so I bought myself the Eduard mask set. I plan to attatch all the glass parts (except the fuslage windows-these have to be done before the fuselage halves are closed.) after I have done filling and sanding the airframe, I then attach the masks. Once they are all on I will coat them with a light spray of future. This will create a barrier between the masks edge and the canopy so that the paint (if any) does not run underneath the mask. After that its just a case of spraying the canopy frames interior colour then after that the next coat will be the airframe colour. Easy! 

OK......it is still work, it still takes time, but the result is worth it.

Bob,

Sorry to hear about your Hellcat!  I had a lot of problems with the first aircraft I tried to build here too. (Corsair)  Ended up stripping it and in the process broke the wings apart.

I really hope you are able to save those decals, another option would be Mr.MarkSofter, a little more aggresive decal solvent from Gunze available at Squadron.  I really hope that you stick around too, it really wouldn't be the same around here without you.

Thanks Darren-one never knows-did some research this am and Aeromaster (I think) makes some nice FAA decals-I may end up striping and repainting as time allows.

Looking forward to seeing your B-25.  I'm thinking about doing the 'Dirty Dora' version, with kit provided decals and Eduard masks.  However, the masking & painting make me a bit nervous-I'm planning on waiting until I have no other projects/committments.

BTW-

about the B-25? I'm using the OOB decals. This one will be in the markings of "Mitch the Witch" Its nice nose art with lots of bomb markings. Paint scheme is O/D Green over grey. I plan to have fun with the painting and weathering on this one.