Fleet Air Arm Group Build

I got a little bench time last night and did a little painting on a Fw 190 that I'm doing, then I hit the rum (well red wine actually), waaaaaaaaay to much rum as usual.

This morning I don't feel so great...

..........too much rum last night..............no workshop time............too many things to do.

I need some downtime........and some more rum.

TANGO 1 wrote:

Its the weekend!   Rum Rations! Cheers!

It's friday and i'll drink to that! Especially since i didn't get to indulge last weekend!

I've got a week long furlough next week (or vacation for the civilian types) and i'm finally gonna catch up on all the things i've been pushing off. My "honey-do" list is pretty minimal, which is completely out of the ordinary. But why question a good thing? I'm hoping that with a week off, i'll be able to make some good progress on the Dauntless, and i'm hoping that i'll get to where i'll be ready for paint by the end of the week. That's my goal anyways.

NOW WHERE IS MY CAPTAIN????????

Its the weekend!

Rum Rations!

Cheers! 

Hey Everyone,

I've not got much done since I was last here, but will try and get some pics up tonight. To be honest though, the Spit looks very messy at the moment. Still, at least we can have a good laugh at it!

Darren,

thanks for posting that picture! I've seen some banged up airframes in my time, but that takes some beating. Again, off topic....but I'd love to show that to Pat Hawley and say "Build that!"

He'd lay an egg!! 

Oh my sides......Ha!Ha!Ha!

Darren, that's an incredible Spitfire pic, one I had not seen before.  Shows evidence of a lot of paint touch-up, but the ground crew forgot to pre-shade the panel lines .

 Good luck filling the gap at the wing, looks like a tube or two of Squadron White will do the job...

Regards,  Rick

Darren-

Wow, that is quite a gap.  looks like a job for super glue and talcum powder!

Thanks for the Spitfire pic, it's incredible!  Wish I could pull off a weathering job like that!

Here's the pick of the one wing on the Spit that I have trimmed and test fitted the MDC wing.  As you can see from the pic there is a sizable gap at the bottom of the wing that I'm going to have to fill somehow

Also, this is way for FAA group build but I found this photo a while ago and was totally blown away by it.  This photo is a Spitfire Mk.II taken circa late 1941 and just have a look at how badly weathered and stained this plane is

Have a look at just how little real panel lines actually show up and how the exhaust is not rusted through.  Although you can see a definite bleaching to the RAF Green on the spine of the aircraft behind the cockpit.

Anyway it's a good reference. 

Cheers

I agree with you Darren I hate re-scribing as well, principally because I suck at it.

Well I was a bad boy last night and I made a start on the Seafire by cutting the wings of my Tamiya Spitfire Mk.Vb and to say I'm disappointed is the understatement of the century.  The width of the MDC wing where it meets the fuselage is actually too short for the Tamiya kit so I'm going to need to need to do some serious surgery to get this puppy to fit . 

I've also got to try and figure out how the heck I can get the correct dihedral on the wings when I eventually glue them on with CA .  I'm thinking at this stage of setting up some kind of jig to keep everything lined up while the glue dries.

I'll take a pic of the wing problem and post it when I get home from work tonight.

Cheers

Darren-

Any pics?  I'd love to see how it's looking.  I'll have one with ya!

...........just finished the port wing on the Spitfire. I hate re-scribing...

I'm off for a drink!

Cheers!

Thanks for the kind words fella's.

I have been doing a little filling around the bottom of the Lynx's windscreen. There is quite a prominent lip there so I have added a few layers of Mr. Surfacer to even it out. Thats the easy bit, it the clean up around the winscreen thats the tricky bit!

I have also been working on the Spitfire, I have now re-scribed the starboard wing and am taking a break from it as my butchery of model kits is something that cannot be rushed!

This will either look good or hopelessly bad when its done.........

See you later,

Dave-nice work on the cockpit.

Darren-the helo is coming along nicely.  I just need to file away in my memory the tip about the liquid mask....somewhere...

Darren-  Looks like your Lynx is really coming along well!  I really like your mask and handpaint idea, curious to see how it works out for you.

Dave- That cockpit is looking good!  Can't wait to see her finished.

I painted the interior bits on my Corsair, and the prop tips but that is about all.  Trying to finish up a couple of other projects on the bench so I can really get to work on that Corsair.

triumf wrote:

Got to say that the cocpit is a bit sparse but firure it`s ok with the canopys closed thogh Other wise seems like a gift to me... Have no pics of them as yet,but I have built and painted/wethered the cocpits of both the Wyvwern and Gannet as of now..I like the way they build and in this scale I only added seatblts from maskingtape No flash at all,but there were some pinmarks? on the flaps of both kits needing filler the wings went fawlessly together on both aircraft even thoug it tokk some patience to get the wings on the wyvern smooth in the extended form, A bugger when they are molde folded and as I prefer the wings out I had no choice Thankfully they were unfolded on the Gannet Hmmm the wyvern is definitle getting some Suezstripes.Gotta love `em Thats all for now Pardon my crappy use of the Queens own english, but it isn`t my native language

triumf I wouldn't worry too much about your use of the Queens English, we colonials (Aussies) have our special way of mangling it every bit as good as everyone else .

Thanks a lot for the rundown on the Gannet, it's pretty much as I'd read especially in the cockpit area.  As I plan on modeling mine with the canopies closed, about the only thing I plan on adding is some making tape belts as you have.

Cheers

darson wrote:

Hey Triumf, I have ordered the Trumpeter Gannet and I'm just waiting for it to arrive from Hobbyeasy, so can you tell me what you think of the kit, especially the cockpit? Depending on how my build schedule goes I might do the Gannet as part of this GB but I would be doing it in Royal Australian Navy markings. Cheers

Got to say that the cocpit is a bit sparse but firure it`s ok with the canopys closed thogh

Other wise seems like a gift to me...

Have no pics of them as yet,but I have built and painted/wethered the cocpits of both the Wyvwern and Gannet as of now..I like the way they build and in this scale I only added seatblts from maskingtape

No flash at all,but there were some pinmarks? on the flaps of both kits needing filler

the wings went fawlessly together on both aircraft even thoug it tokk some patience to get the wings on the wyvern smooth in the extended form, A bugger when they are molde folded and as I prefer the wings out I had no choice

Thankfully they were unfolded on the Gannet

Hmmm the wyvern is definitle getting some Suezstripes.Gotta love `em

Thats all for now

Pardon my crappy use of the Queens own english, but it isn`t my native language

Dave,

Nice work on the Barracuda! Shame about the fit problems, but you seem to have it well under control.

Glad you like the Lynx, its 1/72 scale. I wanted to build one in a larger scale and the other two kits out there are the Belchers Bits kit in 1/48 and the Accurate Armor kit in 1/35.

Both are a bit on the expensive side for me, although if I had the cash I'd love to build the 1/35 kit. It only comes in a UK army version at the moment, but I've love to build it as after seeing it close up at the UK Nats, I was well impressed. Its a superb kit.

Darren,

thanks mate! I pondered how to do the windscreen wipers and came up with the idea of painting a liquid mask around them, then hand brush them. Not tried it before, but I recon if I'm careful it will be OK.  

Here are some if the initial images of the 1/48 Special Hobby Barracuda II. It needs constant fitting to make sure that all the bits fit in as the rear cockpit floor and bukheads are too big. This is the standard version not the 'Hi tech' and as such doesn't have all the extra bits in it eg resin walls for the rear area. I'm scratchbuilding a bit of the interior to make the rear cockpit look a bit busier. I have only started to weather the interior.

Darren (Darson), it's all your fault - I have started to detail the interior of the Barracuda. Currently I have only put in the ribbing in the rear cockpit, but I don't plan on doing too much detailing. I will see how my sanity goes with it.

The other Darren - Keep up with the good work! What scale is it? I have been looking back through several pages but can't find where you mentioned it.

Looks really good Darren and the work on the interior really paid off as it's very visible through the canopy and doors.

One question for you please, how are you going to mask around the windscreen wipers so that you can paint them?

Cheers 

"Its progress Jim..........but not as we know it......." 

OK, I actually got most of the cleanup done on the fuselage of my RN Lynx and started installing the transparancies, I glued them in with krystal klear and will leave it to dry overnight.

Here's some pics,

Hey Roger,

don't sweat it mate! Just enjoy your build and if it gets a little tricky now and then, then you know that you are a true modeler!

I hope the Dauntless goes well, I'm sure it will.

Well finally after a freakishly busy weekend, i can get back to the bench! I'm gonna see about getting the cockpit area on the dauntless done some tonight. I just had to swing by the good ole LHS on the way home for paint/supplies and just to talk a little shop with someone more experienced than I (which isn't saying much)

   Between this build and another i got on the bench, i am a little apprehensive about alot of the newer techniques and such used today. So it's definately gonna be a learning axperience. But Darren? If i come up with a substitution build outta the blue, don't be surprised!

Hi Everyone,

hope all is well, I have had some time in the workshop today and started cleaning up my 1/72 Lynx. I am not very good with helicopters but so far this one seems to be going OK. I have sanded the fuselage halves and fitted the MK.8 nose, the instructions are not the clearest in the world.... some of the smaller parts have been given assembly nos that don't match so I've been studying lots of pics of the real thing in order to find out what goes where.

Anyway, its coming along slowly. I corrected the camo on my Mk.IX Spitfire and then found the most horrid finger print on the fuselage... Needless to say, that'll have to be sorted.

I'll upload some pics when things start looking "better" Right now I'm off for a nice glass of rum.

Goodnight all. 

Many thanks for the links Dave I'll have a proper read tonight after the kids have gone to bed. As for the decals, I picked up my set of Red Roo Gannet markings from Vic Hobby last week .  I haven't completely made up my mind yet but I'll probably do one of the Gannets that flew of the Melbourne.

The kit I plan to build to IMPS OOB/Enhanced rules so there won't be any resin cockpits added.  With any luck (ie if it turns out ok) I'll have it ready for the Model Expo in June.

Cheers 

Darren here are two veiws on the Gannet kit, one is an in box and the other is Pt 1 of a build review:

 http://www.aussiemodeller.com/pages/Reviews/acft%20kit/Neal_TrumpeterGannett.html

http://www.aussiemodeller.com/pages/Gallery/Coburn_Gannet.html

And here is a first look review of the Red Roo Decals for the RAN Gannet:

http://www.aussiemodeller.com/pages/Reviews/Decals/RRD7248Gannet.html