The Wooksta! - The Plan, a Spitfire Blog

[The Wooksta!]

Spent and hour or so cutting out the shapes to blank off the intakes on half a dozen* Attackers last night.  Created one set then used it as a template for a second, they bcome templates for more, etc.  I'd already assembled the wings, they just need cleaning up.  I'll have the fuselages closed up tonight (I'd really had enough by that point last night) and then I can do the cleanup and rescribing of the engine hatch.

One's definitely going to be the PDU aircraft and the 607 Sqn machine I mentioned yesterday is going to be an Acklington Station Flight aircraft (going with the Meteor T3 I did some years back) but with a 607 Sqn shield and coloured wingtips.  It also means I can use the spare roundels and fin flashes from the Airfix F22 - their new policy of including enough national markings for two aircraft is certainly a winner with me.

Still need to cast a few more of the belly/slipper tanks and the solid canopies, at least another two sets.  The last batch I did went funny as the resin wasn't mixed right.  They seem to weep, if that makes any sense, but dry out after a few days.

*I never do anything by halves when it comes to modelling and usually 'production line' things.  The idea is to start about 6, 5 get to primer, 4 get painted and I usually finish 3.  Lots of things about, most unfinished but when you *do* finish them, it's spectacular.

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[The Wooksta!]

One of the Attackers is now decalled, partially anyway.  Overall High Speed Silver (aka Halfords gloss Aluminium and I need a new can) with the wingtips and rudder in 60 Sqn colours, although the hand mixed purple doesn't look quite right, being too dark and more purple than lilac, and my hand painting is a bit wonky.  Looks good at a first glance and photos will hide a lot.  

I just gave it the national markings (using the Airfix Spitfire F22 sheet) and the 607 Sqn shield went on the fin above the flash instead of the nose.  The excuse will be that the erks found it easier to paint it there than the nose but it's there because I think it just looks better.  Codes will be for Acklington station flight and for a serial, I'll nick it from a Vampire FB5 - they're in the same time frame so it'll look right.  I may have it ready for the weekend at this rate, so hopefully it'll get unveiled at the Driffield show (IPMS Tyneside had a stand so be afeared - The Wooksta! is coming!)

Thoughts of Acklington made me think about another Spitfire that's part started.  An Airfix IXc I think I was intending to do as a real Isreali one but I'm now toying with the idea of modding the wing to an E configuration (which I may have partially done), adding a pointy rudder (in camo) and spraying the rest of it silver.  I have the serials for a high back 16 somewhere so that adds one of them to the lineup. I may do a Heller low back 16 to go with it.  IIRC, there's one sprayed silver already and has been waiting for decals.

I'm sure I've said it before, but not every what if *has* to be front line  with one of the "sexy" squadrons.  I'm so sick of seeing the 56 sqn checkerboard fin applied to anything and everything that even the good ones don't have the same impact they once did.  And don't get me started on sodding Zwillings!  Jaded and cynical?  Possibly, but then I've been doing this for twenty years.

One final thought.  Given that once The Plan is completed I intend writing a book around it, would there be any interest in compiling this blog into a book form?  Charlie Brooker did something similar with his Guardian columns.

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[The Wooksta!]

The Acklington Attacker is now ready for varnish, which is good because there's a Spiteful which really needs varnishing too.  I decalled it a while back and it's just languished in a box, along with various other painted and decalled things that I really should finish.  Quite a few of them are Spitefuls and I'd like them out of the way. Whilst I've got the airbrush out and the compressor fired, I may as well get a few sprayed with their first colour.  I know there's a PR.IG that masked ready for the lower surface colour and several mk 16s need another coat.

I went searching for the mk IX I mentioned yesterday, only to find that the fuselage had been modded to a mk VIII with the Freightdog tail and the wing had the inner blisters removed (only on post war aircraft) but still retained the C wing gun blisters.  So, I dug out an Airfix IX when I went looking for something else.

One thing I know I want to find is that Xtrakit Mk XII that was part built for last year.  IIRC, the wings are done plus the cockpit.  The plan was for another FR bird, although whether it'll be in the Ocean Grey/Dark Green/Med Sea Grey scheme or the more usual Dark Sea Grey/Dark Green/PRU Blue that I normally prefer.  Think I'll got for the former as I've enough of the latter.  I know I've got markings for the squadron I've got in mind, I just can't remember the number. 

It's just a case of finding the kit, which I'm sure is in a re-used original Heller 16 box - I had plenty of them about when I was tidying it away.  There are that many boxes to go through and I'm unsure which one it would have went in.  That's about an hour gone whilst looking for it.

Some slight progress with the PR Attacker.  The wings are rescribed where necessary and then sanded down, the canopy plug is in place and the filler is on the fuselage.  In addition, I've got the resin slipper tanks for the wing cleaned up and they'll go on once the wings are in place and the roots filled/sanded back.

This year I intend to have everything finished for Telford at least a few days beforehand, ideally the Tuesday.  I'm fed up of being up until daft o'clock the night before. All construction has to be finished by the 17th of September and if the weather holds, I'd like to get the bulk of the priming done by then too.  Meaning a month of spraying, a week of decalling and then another week of finishing off.  As with previous years, it'll be little things, like wheels, exhausts and props that'll trip me up.

Why do we put ourselves through this?

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[The Wooksta!]

I didn't get as much done at the weekend as I'd hoped, partly laziness but more realising that what I wanted to do would entail more work to get up to a level before I could start proper.  So in the end I opted for some priming and sanding.

Sunday saw the small version of the display getting a day out at Driffield.  It looked OK and went down rather well.  No snarky comments as there were few if any JMNs about.  Only came back with the one kit purchase, but spent more on books.  One of these being the SAMI datafile on Griffon Spits.  Nothing I haven't already got but a handy one stop shop to dip into.

Found the F.XII I was looking for.  It was in a Heller box as I'd suspected but not the one I had in mind, if that makes any sense.  A quick look at it reveals it's not quite as far on as I'd thought I'd got but I have at least a week of construction time left - it may spill but only if the priming I want done is complete.  I'll do the necessary prepping with sponge tonight to get as much of that out of the way tomorrow or over the weekend as possible.

Attackers.  The PRU one is now ready to prime and the Argentinian Navy has had the rescribe work done on the fuselage and is under a coat of filler awaiting sanding.  Need to rescribe the wings, sort out the canopy plug and the belly tank before I can go any further.

I've had a look through the hardcop of The Plan to prioritise things, highlighting those that I'd like to get done and finished. There's a number of Fujimi Griffon options that I'd like to get done but they are a bit of a pain to do, although a quick switcheroo with something built & painted for an unstarted one means I can get a small minitheme underway.  I have an FR14e in far east camo that I intended for SEAC (the whiff being intended as kill markings - the war was over before the FR14e was delivered) but as I was wanting to do an Isreali machine (bought from the Indians), I decided to just change the markings which have yet to be applied anyway.  IIRC I wasn't happy with the paint job but a second hand machine suitably dirtied means I can get away with it.  Maybe.

I think there were two other Fujimi Spits in The Plan that are highlighted and I'm sure that they were half done, which means I need to clean up and assemble my resin cockpits - the kit gives you sod all by way of detail and if I'm shelling out up to ten notes, I want some detail in there.  I like a reasonable base level and the Fujimi kit doesn't have that.  Externally fine, but not the cockpit.

There's also a pair of Airfix 19s re-winged as XIVe's that I want finished.  The FR will end up over Japan as one of the occupation aircraft but the other will be a SEAC one, although I detest the white theatre bands with a passion.  Real pain painting those on.

Yesterday saw me cleaning off filler, getting stuff advanced to primer stage but also trying to sort boxes out.  I must get ahead with the props and wheels, so this will entail splitting boxes up - I have a tendency to gather everything together to eliminate clutter but usually wind up mislaying bits in the meantime, meaning a frantic search and usually robbing Peter to pay Paul.  I *really* don't want that to happen this year!  So, there's a pile of A4 boxes at work waiting to go home.

Interesting night ahead...

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[The Wooksta!]

Managed to get most of the sort out done but there's still a load left to sort through.  More A4 lids salvaged from work helps.

Painted a slew of Merlin exhausts and got a few wheel hubs sprayed silver too. Still need to sort out exhausts for the post war Merlin aircraft, although I may cheat with some and leave them with wartime ones.  Alternately, tack them in place with white glue and replace them later. I do know I need to cast a load of fishtail Griffon exhausts but I have a high failure rate with these.

A final sift through The Plan has identified a few others to prioritise and a few to be deferred.  I do need to do more sorting and pull everything together before the final push starts.  Offhand, I know there's about 6 airframes to close up (ie cockpit in, fuselage closed and wings on) but I can get these done by Monday.  A week of final filling and sanding plus some priming and remedial work and then I can get spraying. 

This is the time I'm least happy with.  Primer?  Fine, picks out flaws which although irritating, is necessary.  First colour?  Not a problem, although with one colour schemes - ie PR birds - I do enjoy.  Get them out of the way sharpish, so PRU Blue tends to be the first to get sprayed.  It's the masking that I really hate, especially when I have to deploy the tape.  And people wonder why I tend to go for simple schemes?

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[The Wooksta!]

Got a decent head start over the weekend whilst the weather held.  Pretty much all of the priming - at least the initial coat - is all done bar the six or so airframes that were still under construction.  Three of those are now ready to prime, two of which are going to go NMF/Polished metal so I'll prime in Aluminium which will show ANY flaw so it's ideal.

Another benefit of this is that I may actually get some of the decalling done early.  One of them was going in a Navy scheme but a quick rethink made me decide on NMF.  It remains a Navy machine, albeit shorebased and second line. Part of it will have to be primed in white though.

Lots of wheels painted but not as many as I would have liked plus I realised that I needed a load of the late wheels and the 4 spoke hubs so a scrabble through teh resin bits box has yielded hopefully enough.  Painting these is on the list for tonight.

I did get the Fujimi aircraft assembled - well, the fuselages are closed up and the wings are on and filled.  Still need to do some major sanding on them.  The 4 cannon F.XIVe with the fuselage tank is one and I managed to find the piece to represent the fuel tank behind the cockpit - the round tub that Fijimi give you for the cockpit.  Cut down and sanded a little, it looks just about bang on.  I doubt anyone could tell the difference.  I thought I'd identified a problem with the two Fujimi 14s - both are in the same scheme (OG/DG and MSG) and could be difficult to tell apart when I start decalling  - but then I remembered the 4 cannon one has 4 wing blisters, so I don't think it'll happen

I've also identified the aircraft needing props, mainly Griffon airframes and at least three of those need contraprops.  I only have two, short of robbing several kits in the stash (which I really don't want to do to at least two), so a PM to John Adams of Aeroclub via Britmodeller may be in order.

I think I'm in a better position than I was this time last year so it looks quite promising.  Still think I'll end up chasing my tail again...


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[The Wooksta!]

Last night I did sod all.

Let me rephrase that.  I did a lot of to-ing and fro-ing but, in the end, acheived sod all to show for it. 

I moved boxes around, tried to allocate wheels, find out what I was missing and needed to do, tie it all up against the hard copy of The Plan (finding stuff that wasn't on there and - more worryingly - stuff that should be there missing altogether, mainly 2 PR19s) and managed to drive myself round the twist.  In the end I gave up, with a splitting headache and feeling really annoyed. And this is weeks in advance! 

The whole purpose of the exercise was to ensure that this situation didn't happen further down the line, so really, it's better that it happened now.  In addition, I may take the opportunity to prune a few out that I'm not happy with.  They've waited long enough so a few weeks/months more won't hurt.  In at least one case, I've already got it's replacement on the go, so it may get donated to a worthy cause (ie the SIG reserve collection) once I have some photos and it's been to a display or two.

So apart from this monumental waste of Time, what did I actually do?  I sprayed some wheels and painted a few props.  I finished two off and did another two, plus assembled another pair.  Plus the contraprop 21 got it's undercarriage on, so that's off to get primed over the weekend.

When I was fretting over The Plan, I found what I thought was a typo and I was convinced that I had a planned colour scheme wrong. So much so, I actually painted the prop!  In the cold light of day, I realised that the scheme on The Plan was indeed correct but I rather liked the idea of a Met Flight F21 in 2TAF colours (DSG/Dark Green over PRU Blue and a black spinner but with glossy post war Type D markings) which I thought it was what should have been on The Plan. On reflection, it's more likely to be a communications hack rather than Met Flight and I may use the unassigned but painted PR21 that suffered u/c failure some time back.

I've just remembered that I've an Airkit F21 that's in need of a rebuild so it *may* just come out.  Most of the construction is done, it just needs filling and sanding plus I'll have to source an u/c and canopy.  On the plus side, I've got the prop done and being a late aircraft it'll have round exhaust pipes and 3 spoke wheels.  I've just painted a slew of the latter.  Down side means poncing about with vacform canopies which I hate, although the Airkit 21 canopies are easy enough to work with and fit quite well.  The dark colours may hide whatever deficiences are there in it, although I think I have to find a new rudder - I'd originally converted it to a Seafire F45 and did the mods to get a sting hook.  A look in the Special Hobby F21 kit should find me a spare rudder but I know there's a load of 14 rudders in the spares box.

It's somewhat ironic that i have a dislike for the Spitfire F14 yet I'm quite fond of the F21, when apart from the wing they're essentially the same airframe.  I have quite a few whiffed F21s in The Plan and this is just adding to it!

One thing I've been wanting to do is a normal span wing with a low back 9/16 fuselage and I have a scheme already in mind for it.  Snag is, the Heller 16 kit is set as a clipped job and I loathe putting tips on clipped wings.  They never look right.  Much easier to cut them off.  So I decided to try and see if I could cross-kit the wing uppers from the Sword Seafire II with the wing lower from the Sword 16. If they're going off the right drawings, they should be a perfect fit and I get a Seafire LF.IIc out of the leftovers into the bargain.  Sure enough, they did fit and I've now got my full span 16, albeit an expensive one. 

Another bonus was that I found an ideal set of unit markings for the FR.XVIe that's already got a coat of paint on.  It's a Polish unit and I've been adding Poles or Czechs into my battleplan for a while - there's a Spiteful FR to complete that's got Polish markings on the cowl.  Even better, the aircraft in mind doesn't have that pesky Sky band to worry about, has a nice black spinner (out with the Halfords for the whole prop!) and natty 2TAF roundels on the upper wings.  As I've a pair of the Sword 16s, I don't feel quite so guilty about sacrificing the markings either, especially as some of the other serials are going on other whiffed 16s.

More Blue Peter moments tonight before I get started too.

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[The Wooksta!]

Apart from the Blue Peter stuff with A4 box lids (turning them into trays with two compartments which hold one complete airframe plus the bits in each), there wasn't much done.  A few airframes now have their lids on so are ready to be masked prior to spraying.  Some others have had remedial filling done.  Got some more wheels painted, including the two for the vile AZ Spiteful* that's bit sitting about "nearing completion" for a year.  I also cleaned up the canopy and gave it a bath in Kleer, along with a slew of other canopies.  Few more props done and some more sanding on the trio of Fujimi 14s. 

One thing I did notice was that the low level PR19 hasn't got the slipper with the forward facing camera.  What the devil happened to it and just where have I put it?  May have to quickly knock up another one tonight.  Whilst I'm blathering on about low level stuff, I'm still undecided as to what scheme my FR.XIVe will end up in.  Initially, I was thinking about SEAC but remembering I detest painting those white stripes on (and decals just don't look convincing, even if I could be bothered with the hassle) I was toying with a 2TAF scheme and adding a contraprop (conveniently forgetting I don't have enough props to cover what's already in The Plan). 

Then again, it's just a bit too easy and I've two or three 2TAF aircraft in the build at the moment anyway.  Plus, given that I've discovered a pair of Airfix 19s sans wings I may just do the 14 in both F and FR configuration with contraprop and the big 18 rudder.  The former would have to get rockets or a pair of bombs and the latter a forward looking camera or the bulged camera hatch on the PR1Gs. 

Hmmn, at least that connundrum is settled, but what to do with the highback FR14e?  Dutch perhaps?  Transferred from RAF stocks post war when they re-took control of the Dutch far east possessions?  Given that I was going to do a Dutch PR19 anyway, it isn't too much of a stretch and does get me out of a small bind with regard to missing items and The Plan.  It does mean that I can defer the Dutch PR19 till later (ie buy it another day as I've run out of Airfix 19s) and use the one thus allocated for the planned PR19 in MSG/PRU blue in SEAC markings.  The planned Norwegian one has already been deferred. 

I've plenty of Dutch markings thanks to the Brigade Tr.9s in the stash (I've a pair of CMR ones which will end up as the real thing at some stage in the distant future).  I'm still uncertain as to possible colours - either Ocean Grey or Dark Earth - but an orange or red spinner is a must.  In any case, the idea of Dutch Griffon Spits has been appealing to me, especially as a few Dutch squadrons flew them under RAF control.

The next few weeks are going to be busy but rather dull, as it's going to be several rounds of spraying and masking which must start on Monday, so updates are likely to be few and far between.  Certainly less eventful.


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*I *loathe* that kit and I'm not over happy about the "finished" model either.  Another one for the reserve collection, methinks.

[The Wooksta!]

Two down, oodles more to go.  Got the old Hasegawa mk Ia finally finished.  It's been awaiting a new tailwheel and because I'm not particularly keen on it (the kit and the finished model), I've been dragging my feet.  Getting it finished should spur me on a little and bump things up a gear. 

Why don't I like it?  The base kit is poor, having been superceded years ago by the old Airfix Ia.  I didn't like the finish and the wheels are wrong.  I can get away with it as being a restored aircraft and it's replacement - the new Airfix mk I - is already primed and awaiting paint.

I also pulled my finger out with regard to the AZ Spiteful.  Again, it took little effort to finish it but it's not one of my best, a definite case of left handed modelling.  It's a crowd filler and one for the reserve collection.  The original kit is poor, I'm unhappy with the finish, the fit, the decals and frankly, I hate it.

Got four more in primer and the Attackers are re-primed.  And apart from them, it was just a case of painting more wheels and props, plus a set of exhausts for an Airfix Mk Ia that's been sitting about for ages.  More left handed models.  With a few exceptions, all the wheels are now done and I'm trying to do a few props each night.  They always trip me up at the last minute

I've finally got a unit for the RN mk IIa that's been sitting painted for a year, a second line fighter trainer school.  I got a sheet of yellow British style letters (the pack said Luftwaffe but the style looked RAF) at Telford last year for that very purpose, but it was just letters and all the units I found had numbers in the codes.  A quick flip through the On Target Seafire book to confirm spinner colours yielded a unit. Woo hoo!  So that'll get decalled tonight, hopefully.

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[The Wooksta!]

Saturday saw me plug a gap that had appeared from noweher in the plan and I managed to throw together another Airfix PR19.  Final filling and sanding on that tonight so I can get the u/c on and it shoudl be primed by the weekend, weather permitting. I did manage to get some more primed on sunday, in between the rain storms plus another half dozen got sprayed proper with a can of Aluminium.

This week will see the final phase of construction, the final cut off point is the 21st of September  - Friday.  So last night I managed to get together that Xtrakit mk XII that's been looking at me accusingly (another FR version).  It's not an easy kit, needing a fair bit of fettling but it looks good once it's done. 

In addition, there's another Airfix F22 quickly closed up (most of the work was done on it a while back) and that will end up in the post war Intruder scheme with underwing tanks nicked from the Special Hobby Spitfire F221  I'd like to put rocket stubs on it too but have mislaid my F22/24 references so I'll just stick with the tanks.  Given that they'll be glued on prior to painting, there's less work.

The undercarriage finally went on my e wing FRXIII amd it's one I'm really pleased with, so finishing that one is a definite must.  The prop is done for it but I still need to decide which wheels it's going to get, either 5 spoke hubs or plain covered hubs.

The other thing I wanted to do was another low level PR19, although this will be a post war aircraft in the Intruder scheme, with a big rudder and contraprop.  I found the fuselage bits no problem, but all of the wings have been butchered - at least, they've had some surgery and usually to remove the locator bits for the radiators.  A trawl round the few shops in Newcastle city centre that sell kits revealed nowt.  With a rapidly looming deadline, I'll have to run with what I have.

More worrying, it adds another contraprop aircraft into a Plan teeming with them (IIRC, 5) and I don't have many useable ones I can steal - the CMK/CMR Spitfire F21s in the stash give me 3 and the two Seafire FR47s that are wrong will give me another 2, whilst the AZ Seafangs yield another 2  so I may be ok.  I've a few more in the various AZ Spitfire 21/22/24/45/46 boxings but these are based on the Aeroteam/Eduard F21 prop and need fiddly assembly for which I neither have the time nor the patience.  The sooner Colin at Freightdog releases his threatened resin set, the better!

Still no decalling, but I may do some tonight.  I need something a bit more relaxing.

In terms of progress, I'm way ahead of where I was this time last year.  Undoubtedly, The Plan will get pruned as the deadlines approach but I feel confident that this year I have a good chance of achieving everything I want to do.

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[The Wooksta!]

Spraying has finally begun!  Tuesday saw the airbrush and compressor fired up and half a dozen PR Spits now have an overall coat, although three need a respray.  Three of my export aircraft also got their first colours, two of which I'm please dwith, although the Egyptian LF9 needs another coat of Mid Stone.  I don't know what it is about this colour but I've yet to do a desert schemed aircraft that looks right.  In addition, a decalled Spiteful finally got matted down - it only needs the canopy and a tailwheel, plus some tiny aerials and it's done.  Looks fab too.

Finishingwise, an FRXII in PRU Pink *finally* got finished.  Another one I've been dragging my heels with - it nearly made Telford 2010 but didn't - and another one I'm unhappy with.  It was rushed and it shows.  Frankly, I hate it.  Another crowd filler and another that will be replaced in due course before getting stripped and redone.

I also took the opportunity whilst the compressor was fired up on Tuesday to get the Acklington Station Flight Attacker glossed.  That's now finished but needs a stand.  So, with that, I now have the last bookend in place, although I have plans for quite a few Attackers and intend to strip-mine the Collectakit stand of them at Telford - Geoff pointed a load of them out last year but at the time I thought I had enough.  Six should do, but if they're cheap enough - ie £3 as that's all they're worth - I'll nab more.  One trader was selling them for £12 each a few years back. Good luck with that, mate.

Couldn't face another night of spraying but tried to make a final push towards getting all the props done.  Everything in The Plan (well, all the highlighted ones anyway) were tied up with the relevant boxes and marked off.  If I've seen it with me eyes, then it gets marked off in thick green, otherwise red pen.  All of the Merlin props are done, I just need to do the Griffon ones and that highlights a real and worrying problem - not enough props.  I've been nicking the Airfix ones for Spitefuls and have assembled the MPM/Fujimi ones in the spares box.

Schemes are still fluid in some cases - I'm undecided over the two 14es although RAAF for the FR14 and Dutch for the F14 seem to be a final conclusion.  In addition, there's an FVIIIe that I had considered RAAF but I'm yet to be convinced.  Unless I do an RAF or SAAF one in Italy.  The FRIXe that I had slated for Isreal is now a 2TAF one - Isreal did have some FR Spits and until I can find some more details, I'm not touching them.

More spraying ahead tonight.  Retouches, resprays and first colours.  Once that's done, either decalling or back to the props. I think I need to look at the situation with regard to wheels too - although I know most are done, there's an element of doubt.  Once these are all done, the final coming together is going to be spectacular.  I think.

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[The Wooksta!]

All the first lot of spraying is done, apart from a few late comers that have just been primed, plus one that was primed but I hated the finish so stripped it back to the bare resin.  Yes, Fairy Power Spray *will* remove Halfords Primer.

The schemes are now finalised.  The FR14E is RAAF in standard RAF grey/green. Orders said that they should be be Dark Earth but my RAAF unit commander is going to ignore those rules.  The Dutch F.14e is the one in Dark Earth but has a nice orange spinner.

The FR.IXe has the upperwing bulges and as it's primed, too late to sand off so some lateral thinking.  208 Sqn had IXs before getting FR18s, so it's going to be a unit hack in that micey but fetching post war desert scheme.  I can also nick some 3 spoke PR19 wheels for it rather than the frankly vile kit ones although I'll need a new prop - all my Airfix ones are now painted and no spare red spinner.  I'll end up doing another FR.IXe at some stage but will remember to sand the wheel bulges off.

There's also a pair of low back IX/XVIes that I had sprayed silver but hadn't decided on final users - 607 was one, possibly 603 for the other - but in the end one's going Burmese and will be one of four models that will all be the same aircraft but at different points in it's history - RAF, Czech, Isreali and finally Burmese.  Just need to repair the Isreali one.  So I still need to come up with a user for the other.  Unless I just do it real as a Joker.

Currently masking the second colours and I hate Maskol.  Still, it's the least worst of the masking agents so I have to stick with it.  Masking bores me rigid...

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[Radish]

Bloody hell, Lee.....talk about prolific......

The hobby should give you a Gold Medal for your production rate!!

[The Wooksta!]

Every year I do it, even though I promise never to do it again.  I add late items into a build plan one everything is settled and advanced.  This time?  Three more Spitfires, although in my defence, one was planned and then dropped and all three are part started anyway.

One is a Hasegawa F8, which will end up as an FR bird with clipped wings, although whether its RAF or RAAF I'm undecided.  Green on top with PRU Blue underneath is the intended scheme.

One is an Airfix IXc converted to an F.VIII contraprop, but with the F14 tail surfaces.  It's intended as a post war machine with one of the schools, so no need to take off the wheel bulges, stubs instead of guns and 3 spoke wheels. Overall NMF with Type D markings and black codes.  Quick and simple.  The contraprop is the one from the Special Hobby F21 which is too small diameter-wise.  Red spinner.  The fuselage was already assembled, wings took five minutes to and down and the cockpit is ready to go in.

Final one?  A part started F22 that's going to be a 24, but whether it's Hong Kong auxiliary AF with a contraprop or RAF in Malaya with tanks and rockets has yet to be decided.  Either way, it's NMF.  Again, quick and simple.  The tanks will come from the Special Hobby F21 (and they do fit) with the rockets from a CMR F22/24 or FR47.  Korean War is another alternate which I may keep for the future but it's given me an idea.

More props finished, think I only have a few left to finalise and a catalogue has revealed I need a fair few sets of Airfix PR19 4 spoke hub wheels, approx 4 sets but ideally 6 in case of disappearences.  I may have to mould them for future use but I know there's some Aeroclub 4 spoke hub wheels that are mounted to mould up.  May just have to do that this weekend if I have a free hour.

The first lot of Maskol is now done but due to bitter experience, second coats are necessary.  Another boring night beckons, so a comedy box set DVD is a must to have as a background.  Dinnerladies or The Young Ones? Last night was Dempsey and Makepeace.


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[The Wooksta!]

The second lot of Maskol took a night - the first coat took three days - and all the spraying was done yesterday.  All bar half a dozen now have their second disruptive colour on.  My hands had a distinctly green cast most of yesterday.  Doing the respray ( I do one coat and then another later to ensure I've covered it properly) to 30 minutes.  Doing the first lot took longer for some odd reason.  I hate spraying.  And now I have the clean up (removing the maskol) and masking with tape.  A real fun week, although I may break it up by organising the colours, so anything with Azure blue gets masked first and sprayed, then MSG or PRU Blue. You get the picture.  Anything to break up the endless tedium of masking.

The F24 over Malaya is now assembled with the filler on the wing roots and having had a quick look at the rockets in the CMR 22/24 I'm going to use a set of Academy ones instead.  The CMR ones look a tad too delicate and likely to break during clean up.

The other two late comers are at the same stage so they should be ready to prime by the weekend.

I wonder...  Is the tedium of all the painting and masking making me look towards assembly to break the monotony?   Could explain a lot.

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