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

PR19_Kit · September 23, 2013, 12:55:53 PM

I've built mine already

But I need yet ANOTHER prop for it.

Librarian · September 23, 2013, 02:11:50 PM

Always room for one more

. I'm really chuffed to find so many people like the old bird...I thought I was alone.

NARSES2 · September 24, 2013, 07:14:19 AM

Well a bits and bobs sort of day. The Wellesley is very nearly there, should finish her Wednesday or Thursday. The Beaufighter will be finished at the weekend, probably. The Destroyer has started having her top colour painted, I hummed and ahh'd a bit about the scheme, and the Black Hawks sub assemblies are complete. Fuselage has had a little psr and that was it, good fit by Anigrand. her engine pods will need a little more work on their fit to the wings but not to much.

Once the Wellesley and Beau' are finished then the next 4 are in the wings. Spitfire, Corsair, FW 190 and a Dweotine for the Biggles SIG

NARSES2 · September 25, 2013, 07:32:22 AM

Wellesley is finished and backstory is wriiten. I'll photograph when I've completed the Beaufighter.

I started cleaning up the Fw 190 from its sprues yesterday. It's the Revell Fw 190 F8/R 14 and to be honest I'm a little disappointed. Now I would have got this kit when it first came out and I've been surprised by the flash on the moulds. Don't get me wrong, there's not a lot and it's easy to clean (apart from on the moulded in wing guns) but there shouldn't be any on new tool from a mainstream manufacturer. You don't tend to get much, if any, flash on a lot of limited run stuff now so it's a tad disappointing.

NARSES2 · September 27, 2013, 07:25:14 AM

Beaufighter canopy framing done

Destroyer unmasked and then masked again for the "personal" markings and a bit of the camo I'd missed

Night Hawk can now be primed. Once done then I'll assemble the wings which are a superb fit.

Fw 190 has had her interior assembled and painted. More work over the weekend. This will be a relatively quick build as she goes together well and there aren't many parts in all honesty plus the scheme I have in mind is a simple one. It would be even quicker if I wasn't having to clean the blasted flash up. As I've said it's not an old mould and I would have got when she came out, so disappointing.

NARSES2 · September 27, 2013, 07:28:34 AM

This is purely an explanatory note to explain why I constantly update this thread when in all honesty there isn't that much to report sometimes. It keeps me at it ! No Julian not that (shows his age

)

Seriously I find that doing the blog means that I do go to the work bench whenever I have a suitable moment. Part of the discipline process I suppose....Julian's just smiled again at the "D" word

....but they tend to compliment each other.

NARSES2 · September 29, 2013, 08:32:48 AM

Destroyer is on her wheels. I played with the front undercarriage a bit as I didn't like the sit of her. Mustn't forget to add a hook, there isn't one in the kit. She's a strange looking beast. You can see she was intended as a 3 seater converted to single seat as she looks way to wide in the cockpit area. It's even fooled Planet as the seat and accoutrement's look 1/48th scale.

Night Hawk is primed. Needs a little more psr on the underside of the engine pods.

Beaufighter is finished - pics on Monday

The Fw 190 is built and primed. I will mention the flash just once more as it's a right p.i.a. Other then that it's a nice kit except there's a largish gap at the port wing root. Slice of plastic card fixed that. The other problem is that the pitot, wing guns and lengthened tail wheel (it's the torpedo version) are moulded in situ, and guess what ? They snap off, there's a surprise

Mossie · September 30, 2013, 07:08:48 AM

Looking forward to them all Chris, especially the BTD. She does have a strange look about her, that unusual shaped annular intake and muscular build giving a brutish appearance. I've never seen a model of one done (even a real world examples) so I'd like to see this one.

NARSES2 · September 30, 2013, 07:27:05 AM

Quote from: Mossie on September 30, 2013, 07:08:48 AM
Looking forward to them all Chris, especially the BTD. She does have a strange look about her, that unusual shaped annular intake and muscular build giving a brutish appearance. I've never seen a model of one done (even a real world examples) so I'd like to see this one.

Yup I know what you mean just looks odd. The version built that had the auxiliary jet engine looks even odder to my mind.

No progress today as I've had my editors hat on and been concentrating on getting the WIF Newsletter out.

NARSES2 · September 30, 2013, 08:07:26 AM

Well here's the most recent additions to the collection.

First the Wellesley

Back story here http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,37728.msg612639.html#new

And here's the Beaufighter

Back story here http://www.whatifmodelers.com/index.php/topic,37727.0.html

NARSES2 · October 01, 2013, 07:23:34 AM

Right the Destroyer has her transfers on and looks a little better. To be honest she is a "baby" only her mother could love

Fw 190 has paintwork finished. Nice simple scheme with a underside colour on topside

Start getting her transfers tomorrow. Mind you had my flu jab today so we shall see how that goes

NARSES2 · October 03, 2013, 07:33:36 AM

1 step forward a couple back $:-\$ $:-\$

Varnished the Destroyer this morning and

Humbrol varnish played up again. Not as bad as the previous time but still a right royal pain. Anyway whilst I felt like junking the flippin thing I went out for a walk, got my hair cut and calmed down. Came back and looked at it more closely. have sanded the damaged bits, luckily none on the markings, and will repaint and try again over the weekend. On the up side I cut out the rather large vacform canopy and even if I do so myself made a rather good job of it.

The Fw has had her national markings put on and is looking quite nice if a little minimalist. Other transfers will go on over the next day or two.

Started on an AZ Spitfire XIVe. Innards have had the interior green from the spray can I got

and have some details painted in

NARSES2 · October 04, 2013, 07:29:25 AM

The AZ Spitfire is basically complete. Went together quite well apart from a couple of niggles of my own making

There are a lot of sprue gates and injection towers that need cleaning up but the plastic is soft so it's not a problem. This one will be RAAF. When I built my NEIAF Mark VIII I said the Aussies had replaced theirs with XIV's and this is one of them.

Get some modelling done over the weekend hopefully and then they'll be a bit of a hiatus over the next few weeks as I'm busy with non modelling related things

However I do need to get a Dweotine done for Rad's Biggles display at Telford but that shouldn't take long. My WIF Telford stuff is done and as I go via public transport I can't be tempted to try and finish more

NARSES2 · October 06, 2013, 08:08:43 AM

Fair bit of progress yesterday but mainly today.

I kept my fingers, toes and other things crossed and sprayed the Destroyer and Fw 190 with Humbrol matt varnish after first warming the can in a tub of warm water for 15 mins and then shaking for a count of 200

(Paranoid or what ?) Anyway they came out fine this time around

I've now fitted the canopy to the Destroyer and if at all possible she looks even odder

You can really tell she was designed to one specification and changed half way through. Looks like the front half of one type attached to the rear of another.

The Black Hawk has had her wings fitted, superb fit by Anigrand, no filler at all when fitting them

. She is a big aeroplane, and heavy to with all the lead in her nose. I'm still thinking of intruder operations in Korea (she could easily have a bomb bay and if you look at the existing panel lines you could bluff it) however the thought of high altitude P.R. use also in Korea crossed my mind. Need to think of a colour scheme for that one though if I go with it.

The AZ Spitfire is now ready for primer but I'll wait until the next kit is ready for that stage before I do her.

Stated on a Heller Dweotine 510 this morning. She is now sitting there complete sans her undercarriage waiting for some filler. I'll sort that over the next day or two and then prime with the Spitfire. Really nice little kit, I've built one before, with just a little flash which given her age is perfectly acceptable unlike the 190, but that's another story. This one is for the Biggles SIG at Telford and will be Norwegian. I think I'll build her without the motor canon, the appropriate prop boss is in the kit, and just go with MG's. Not sure on colour scheme yet. Maybe silver undersides with brown, green, grey uppers that have had some white patches added for operations over southern Norway in Spring when the snow will have started to clear ?

NARSES2 · October 08, 2013, 07:25:49 AM

The Fw 190 just needs to have her canopy framing done and then the cowl/prop assembly fitted and she's done. I'll be getting the Airfix F when it comes out and it will be interesting to compare the 2 kits

The Spitfire and Dweotine are primed and will both need a little remedial work when I can get some serious modelling time which probably won't be for a week or so.