Geoff’s 1/72 Fairey Firefly Mk.5

[Geoffers]

Hello,

With my first entry, the Meteor build almost finished I’ve decided to have ago with another one.


Light blue plastic, it’s quite a while since I built a kit made from this colour plastic 😀

Clear parts

Instructions, how they have changed 😂

Decals - oh dear, hopefully they will improve with a bit of sunlight but I’ve probably got replacements for most of them and I’ll paint the I.D stripes.

It even comes with a display stand 😊

Thanks again to Paul for arranging this GB I’ve really enjoyed taking part in it 👍

Hopefully starting on it soon, thanks for looking 👍

Geoff.

[flyjoe180]

That's looking fabulous Geoff, nicely done

[PaulTRose]

Now this is one i remember doing back in the dim and distant past

[Geoffers]

I’ve never built one of these before, not sure why. I’m surprised that the box art didn’t entice me to get one 🤷♂️

[Jim R]

I'll be watching with interest. I've been amazed at the great models people have made from a bunch of well past their "sell by date" kits. I'm sure this will be another cracker.

[Geoffers]

Cheers Jim 🤞🤞😂

[flyjoe180]

This will be good, another vintage to have your magic worked upon, Geoff.

[Geoffers]

Not sure about magic Joe but I’ll give it my best shot 😊

[Airborne01]

Looking forward to this one, that's for sure!
Steve

[Geoffers]

Cheers Steve, hope you enjoy the build 👍

[Geoffers]

Finally got some bench time this week so have made some progress 😊

Start with the cockpit as usual for an aircraft build.

As expected it’s quite sparse compared to modern offerings.

Thankfully British post war aircraft cockpits switched from Grey/Green paint to Black so not a lot will be visible once it’s all buttoned up.



I did consider adding the pilots but they are pretty poor 😯


The wings can be either extended or folded. I’m not fan of folded wings as it really spoils the look of the aircraft.

They took a bit of fettling to minimise the gaps but aren’t looking too bad.

The ailerons come as separate parts but had some prominent ejector pin marks so these have been tamed with some Perfect Plastic Putty.


A bit more clean up required before priming but it’s coming along ok.

Another update soon, thanks for looking 👍

Geoff.

[colin m]

Proper vintage. But from the last two pics, things don't look too bad. I'm obviously ignoring the pilots !

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Missed this one Geoff. An interesting model. Coming on nicely.

[Geoffers]

Proper vintage. But from the last two pics, things don't look too bad. I'm obviously ignoring the pilots !

Thanks Colin, yes it’s not too bad at all, it would be nice to see Airfix retool it to see a modern version but I can’t really see that happening 😔

Geoff.

[Geoffers]

Missed this one Geoff. An interesting model. Coming on nicely.

Cheers Steve, I’m quite enjoying the build 👍

Geoff.

[yak face]

Always liked the look of this kit geoff , but never got one . Looks a decent tooling ( apart from the pilots - very blobby plus one is wearing an oxygen mask and the poor guy with the hole in his chest has to go without !)
looking good so far , wise choice replacing most of the decals too , cheers tony

[Geoffers]

Cheers Tony, it’s not too bad really, just of it’s time but I’m enjoying the build which is what it’s all about I suppose 😊

[flyjoe180]

Great start Geoff. Those pilots are more flash and ejector marks than figures!

[Geoffers]

Thanks Joe, yep the pilots are pretty horrible but the rest of it isn’t too bad 👍

[stillp]

the poor guy with the hole in his chest has to go without !)

That hole is for the Iron Man power unit!
Pete

[Graeme C.]

Looks interesting one Geoff, plenty of flash & ejector pin holes to contend with.

[Geoffers]

Cheers Graeme, it’s certainly a product of its time. It’s interesting to see how far the hobby has improved 🤔

[Geoffers]

More progress 😊

The cockpit canopies weren’t looking too good so had a couple of dips in clear which helped improve them.
These were glued into place after I had spent an absolute age masking them. Oh for a masking set, unfortunately none are available ☹️.
Once these were settled in place it was primed with my usual primer of choice black Mr Surfacer 1500. I like using black for this as it helps show any imperfections.

This it did to good effect showing that the seams definitely needed some attention 😧


Normal filling and sanding would obliterate a lot of the raised surface detail.
So I used Mr Surfacer 1000 on the seams.

This was then cleaned up with a cotton bud dipped in isopropyl alcohol, a similar process to when you clean water based primer.
The results are not perfect but a definite improvement.
Another coat of primer followed this, before more masking for the “invasion stripes” were added. I measured the decal stripes and cut strips of Tamiya tape and added them to the wings and fuselage before painting on the stripe with AK Real Colours Insignia White.

These areas will be masked before the main colours are added.

Another update soon, thanks for looking 👍

Geoff.