What I whiffed on my holidays

AeroplaneDriver · August 29, 2006, 09:15:09 AM

Every time we go over to England the lovely wife has to have a shopping day with my aunt. This is normally my day to sample the wares at a few local pubs, but this trip I decided to build a model too (not to worry, the pubs were not neglected!).

Since I had no modelling supplies at the cottage in England I was starting from scratch. This meant I needed something easy to build, easy to paint, and easy to whiff. As part of my take-home-stash I had picked up a dirt cheap Revell Red Arrows Hawk (Italeri mold), and since an overall red scheme is pretty easy with a spray can I headed in that direction.

Then I found a Revell 1/72 Hunter in a pack with glue, brush, and paints for a good price so the plot thickened.

In the end I ended up buying a 1 pound hobby knife (price, not weight), a Boots 3-way nail buffer (kindly purchased by the wife), a couple of cans of Tamiya spray paint (not cheap, but I love how these Tamiya cans go on), some masking tape, super glue, a couple of extra bottles of paint (love the new square Revell acrylics!), and a bottle of Johnson's Kleer.

The end result? As expected the Hunter went together well with no filler (just a bit of careful pre-assembly sanding around the leading edges and wingtips, plus a bit of extra sanding around the gun pack). With a little coaxing of the Hawk decals and a bit of touching up with an almost-matching blue I gave the Red Arrows of the early 70s a slightly more impressive steed than the diminutive Gnat.

Unfortunately the finished article was way too delicate to bring home, so it stayed in England. Next trip I plan on building it a friend.

nev · August 29, 2006, 09:27:18 AM

You built that, in a day?

On holiday??!!?

*gives up*

Ian, where's them knitting needles?

John Howling Mouse · August 29, 2006, 09:32:16 AM

With $9 MIL worth of supplies and workbench tools I could not produce that sleek/clean a model.

Right then: knit one, pearl two...

Chap · August 29, 2006, 10:57:07 AM

Absolutely fantastic!!

~Steve

Aircav · August 29, 2006, 11:00:59 AM

Looking good there Nick, you could always bring it with you to the Nats

If you need a lift down for the day I may know someone

That XR-7 kit is great, many Thanks
All the best
Steve

Drat, dropped a stitch

Martin H · August 29, 2006, 03:20:01 PM

Ok that needs to be taken in to protective custody for telford.

Any chance that could be loaned (seeing as its in the uk) nick?

Stuff the knitting needles, pass me the knitting machine.

Brian da Basher · August 29, 2006, 06:57:37 PM

That's it guys, I'm heading over to macrame.com.

Holy Moley AD that's one amazing build in an incredibly short time! How in the heck are ham-handed duffers like me supposed to compete?

Brian da Basher

Leigh · August 29, 2006, 07:03:04 PM

Yeah that Stamp collecting thing is looking more exciting by the minute.

WOW

That's an idea that's been on my back burner for a while, so the Hawk decals worked out Ok? Of course I went and bought two Gnats just for the Arrows decals duh :dum:

AeroplaneDriver · August 29, 2006, 07:15:50 PM

Thanks for the comments guys!

It really does look better on camera than in person. The masking on the canopy could have been better, and there are a few other flub ups.

Leigh, the Hawk decals worked surprizingly well. The tail as the toughest part. The white stripe fit well, but the blue didnt cover The tail. I started cutting slivers of blue from the tail flashes from the Hunter decals, but ended up nipping out to the toy shop nearby for paint. The closest they had was a Humbrol enamel that looked close from the tin, but isnt that close really. Still, from a distance it looks OK. You can see on the trailing edge of the rudder and the fairing where it is painted. The Hawk roundel on the rear fuselage is a bit small for the Hunter, so I cut it out and replaced it with a larger one (one of the Hawk wing roundels I think-I used roundels from both kits). The white stripe in the firward fuselage also worked well, and is long enough to wrap around the nose. I was pleasantly surprised at how well the decals settled with nothing but Klear (Future). The gloss finish from the superb Tamiya laquer really elped with the decals.

AeroplaneDriver · August 29, 2006, 07:19:58 PM

QuoteOk that needs to be taken in to protective custody for telford.

Any chance that could be loaned (seeing as its in the uk) nick?

Stuff the knitting needles, pass me the knitting machine.

If we can find a good fare we may be over again around the nationals. Dont know if I'll make it down though (couldnt talk the wife into it last year even though we were voer then), but if Steve or anyone else nearby wants to take it down they are more than welcome to. However, I should warn that it looks better here than in person.

BlackOps · August 29, 2006, 09:17:37 PM

Nicely done! Very nice way to spend a holiday I might add

elmayerle · August 29, 2006, 11:08:13 PM

My compliments, that's a truly gorgeous piece of work and looks so right.

Aircav · August 30, 2006, 12:24:11 AM

Quote
If we can find a good fare we may be over again around the nationals. Dont know if I'll make it down though (couldnt talk the wife into it last year even though we were voer then), but if Steve or anyone else nearby wants to take it down they are more than welcome to. However, I should warn that it looks better here than in person.

Hi Nick
just PM me when and where I can pick the Hunter up and I'll look after it for the show.
Steve

Ian the Kiwi Herder · August 30, 2006, 01:50:33 AM

Quote*gives up*
Ian, where's them knitting needles?

Right here, bud, but I think Bazz has asked to use them next....

As for Nicks' Hunter..... All I can say is what you normally say..... "Why didn't I think of that ?"

D*mn, Nick, that is sooooo sexy !

Ian

F-32 · August 30, 2006, 02:04:17 AM

Absolutely brilliant, if they had them for real I'd stick around until the end of every airshow! ^_^

What I whiffed on my holidays

F-32