Narses2's Blog - or what I'm slowly making progress on

NARSES2 · July 11, 2012, 07:30:20 AM

Right the Spitfire 22 is assembled and cleaned up. Not much cleaning up to do at all and most of that was my down to me. Only problem I can see is that the carburettor air intake leaves a small gap on both sides when fitted - nothing Mr Surfacer can't fix and there's no positive location for the rear bulkhead. Therefore yours truly got it slightly out of true and needed to shave a tad off the shoulder before the fuselage would close

Just my standard clumsiness, nout else. I also reamed the holes for the pins out on the fuselage as suggested by Lee, just made things slightly easier, if you don't do this you might have problems getting the halves apart again after dry fitting

All in all it's a lovely kit, well up there with the best as far as assembly goes. Been good fun so far. Prime tomorrow and then paint commences over the weekend

The PR XIX has had the cockpit assembled and painted and the Beaufighter and Mosquito have been looked at

NARSES2 · July 12, 2012, 07:51:06 AM

Spitfire 22 is now primed, painting to commence over the weekend.

The PR XIX has had the fuselage and wings assembled, they will be mated over the weekend. I didn't spent to much time detailing the cockpit, once she's buttoned up you can't see much anyway. Just some black to bring out some details, leather colour for grip and headrest and masking tape seatbelts. Might get this one to priming stage over the weekend but as she will be "high speed silver" she will need to have the seams really sorted out and I always have problems with the upper cowling seam on any Spitfire I make

The Wooksta! · July 13, 2012, 03:23:51 AM

If that's the case and you're going NMF/High Speed Silver (Halfords Gloss Aluminium is bestest), extend the anti glare panel along the top cowl but leave the rocker covers in NMF. You could also try doing the whole engine cowl in another shade metallic, like some of the RAuxAF F21s.

Actually, may do that myself!

Mossie · July 13, 2012, 04:24:52 AM

Chris, try using a gap filling superglue if you're using metallics. Doesn't shrink so there's no seam left. Managed to eliminate the seams on my manned Blue Steel using it, and that was with a kitbash.

NARSES2 · July 14, 2012, 02:00:48 AM

Lee. I will be using Halfords Aluminium for the paint job. The glare panel is a little different shall we say as the model in question will be a USAAF aircraft replacing the PR XI's they had. I've got the transfers and scheme from a real world XI sorted out so it will possibly be a contender for is it a wif or not ? on the stand.

Thanks for the info Mossie

NARSES2 · July 17, 2012, 07:25:21 AM

Not much progress as I've been quite rough since Friday. Got alternatively very wet and very warm at cricket the other Sunday and the lurgies have finally hit. Sunday I got in about 4-00pm, slumped into the armchair still fully dressed and stayed there until I went to bed at 8-00pm and I was sober

Still some progress.

The 22 has had the spinner and sky tail band painted.

The XIX has now been basically assembled and seam correction has started. Somehow I seem to have got some cheap masking tape sticky stuff on it. Anyone know best way to remove this. Soap and water best or are there some shortcuts ?

I've also dug a AZ Models Hurricane IV out of the stash for a project. It will fit well into my alternative WWII theme and after a conversation with Geoff aka Thorvic will have a slightly unusual but very plausible camouflage scheme. I'm always slightly bemused by some of these so called limeted run kits. Maybe it's because you expect extra cleaning up work that you don't get as annoyed when you have to do some. But the cleaning up on this kit is absolutely minimal. The sprue gates are some of the smallest/thinnest I've seen and took no cleaning up at all. Sure the wing leading edge did need a bit of sand paper run around it to take off the very slight flash, but it came off like an apple peel in an instant. I don't know what benefit the 5 bits of resin give the kit they could have produced them as well, if not better in plastic going by the rest of the kit. Initial trial fit looks very good. Sure if you put the control column where the instruction drawings tell you to then the pilot would need an apes arms but that's no problem and anyway tell me what can really be seen under a closed Hurricane hood ?

The Wooksta! · July 17, 2012, 07:45:22 AM

WD40 should remove most tape residue. I need to take some of an assembled Spitfire F.XVIe.

NARSES2 · July 17, 2012, 07:51:38 AM

Cheers Lee

NARSES2 · July 19, 2012, 06:54:27 AM

No modelling for a few days and none likely for a few more $:-\$ I've managed to get a very bad tickly cough/chest complaint which seems to involve a lot of clearing of the breathing passages

Temperature is a bit on the high side as well. Got alternatively very wet and very hot a cricket couple of weeks ago and think I'm paying for it. Not as young as I was

Want to get completely better before I enter the dust, fume filled atmosphere of the modelling room.

On the bright side picked up some WD40 in the Pound store today for guess what

? £1

So at least I can clean up the Spitfire XIX

Chris

NARSES2 · July 24, 2012, 01:01:53 AM

Still no progress, still bad chest $:-\$ Slowly, very slowly getting better but age increases recovery time.

NARSES2 · August 04, 2012, 01:41:20 AM

Chest is a little better - better or not I'm modelling a bit this coming week. Once I've done the Newsletter that is

Radish · August 04, 2012, 01:51:13 AM

Hope you feel better soon....the tickly cough is a downright bounder!!

NARSES2 · August 09, 2012, 07:12:21 AM

This is getting more like a medical buletin then a modelling blog

However the meds have worked

Great British Beer Festival on Friday, Yate model show Sat and Sun, then I can do some modelling next week

after I've printed the SIG Newsletter

NARSES2 · August 14, 2012, 07:20:44 AM

Finaly got some modelling done today (where's the jumping up and down with glee smiley when you want him

). Got the spinner and tail band on the Spitfire 22 painted, canopy fitted on the Spitfire XIX - as it will be mainly silver doped I want to spray it with the canopy attached, normally attaching the canopy is one of the final acts for me. Hurricane has had all of its inards detail painted. This is probably a waste of time as I doubt anything but the seat, belts and control column will be visible once the canopy is on and painted, but if I skimp on this stage of construction it always niggles away at me and I'm never happy with the finished product

Not much more progress this week as I've various things to do, but next week........hopefully

NARSES2 · August 16, 2012, 12:54:38 AM

Right more progress on the Hurricane

Got the cockpit fitted into the fuselage. Really nice easy fit, AZ have handled this bit very well, the floor, seat etc fit into the fuselage with no cursing, swearing, sweating at all. Other more mainstream companies could take note here. As I thought however you can only really see the seat, belts (which are moulded in to the seat and quite nice) and controll column, a few of the red/white/yellow "dots" stand out but not many.

Fuselage fitted together very well, especially considering there are no pins. If building remember to fit the exhaust blanking plates before joining the fuselage - I did for once

. Wings fit together well and then fit to the fuselage with just a little fettling to the forward wing/fuselage joint. I'm impressed with this effort from AZ, they have definitely moved up a notch with their recent releases.

Now need some good weather (and a day when I'm not going out) to get on to the balcony and spray prime this and the Spitfire XIX.

Chris