Peter's Airfix Spitfire Mk.1a - 1:72 - 90 Yrs of Spitfires GB
- Thread starter pjgtech
- Start date
I am thinking of a very small dio for when the GB Spit is done, maybe parked up on a bit of grass/runway, etc with a few little figures beavering away, ground crew, etc.
So I bought this to go with the Spit...
So I bought this to go with the Spit...
Nice choice and great idea
Excellent choice Peter
Nice one Peter 
Geoff.
Geoff.
Nice idea Peter. Looking forward to it.
Great choice Peter
Ok, so here are the obligatory sprue shots plus the figures I will prolly be using...
I think I may have built this model as a nipper, I'm sure of it TBH.
Does not look like many parts! Should be fun....
Cheers
I think I may have built this model as a nipper, I'm sure of it TBH.
Does not look like many parts! Should be fun....
Cheers
Nice choice Peter, it's a nice easy kit that builds up well. The RAF figures are a nice touch.
Nice one Peter.
Made a start....
I want an open cockpit, so had to cut out the cockpit door and cut the canopy into three sections [Gulp!].
But, it all went ok, [Phew!]
Cockpit canopy was cut first, holding it in some reverse tweezers, cutting with the thinnest razor saw that I own, and cutting very slowly and very gently.
I've watched a couple of YT vids of this being done, and in a couple of them they cracked the canopy! But I seem to have got away with it, so yah!
Then the cockpit door (sides) was cut with the razor saw, and the last lower cut was made with a scalpel, making several passes until the door came off cleanly....
Canopy in three sections and....
First two cuts to the cockpit door sides....
Cockpit door out...
And the other side....
And how it will look when it complete (dry fit only at this stage) looks a bit "thick", so may sand down the door so it sits a bit better, eg: flush with the fuselage.
Then made a start on the cockpit interior, seat, frame, control panel, etc. I will paint this up before attaching to the fuselage proper.
I want an open cockpit, so had to cut out the cockpit door and cut the canopy into three sections [Gulp!].
But, it all went ok, [Phew!]
Cockpit canopy was cut first, holding it in some reverse tweezers, cutting with the thinnest razor saw that I own, and cutting very slowly and very gently.
I've watched a couple of YT vids of this being done, and in a couple of them they cracked the canopy! But I seem to have got away with it, so yah!
Then the cockpit door (sides) was cut with the razor saw, and the last lower cut was made with a scalpel, making several passes until the door came off cleanly....
Canopy in three sections and....
First two cuts to the cockpit door sides....
Cockpit door out...
And the other side....
And how it will look when it complete (dry fit only at this stage) looks a bit "thick", so may sand down the door so it sits a bit better, eg: flush with the fuselage.
Then made a start on the cockpit interior, seat, frame, control panel, etc. I will paint this up before attaching to the fuselage proper.
Brave work, I'm glad it turned out well.
One tip I was give a while ago was to fill parts like that canopy with blutack or similar to give them support while cutting.
Happily you didn't need it, but it may help next time.
One tip I was give a while ago was to fill parts like that canopy with blutack or similar to give them support while cutting.
Happily you didn't need it, but it may help next time.
That's looking good Peter. Regarding RAF Blue, Humbrol 96 is what I used, there is not an equivalent Mr Hobby Aqueous or Revell equivalent that I can find.
Brave work Peter. Does the middle section of canopy actually fit over the rear section ?
Some good modifications there Peter.
Little update today, primed some bits and started painting internals...
Cockpit seat, etc painted up....
And the little fella driving was painted up too.
Quite pleased how he came out considering how bloody small he is! Lol...
Getting the decals onto the cockpit dash will be fun! tight little space to get them onto...
Highlighted some of the panel lines, levers, etc on the internal fuselage sides...
Cockpit seat, etc painted up....
And the little fella driving was painted up too.
Quite pleased how he came out considering how bloody small he is! Lol...
Getting the decals onto the cockpit dash will be fun! tight little space to get them onto...
Highlighted some of the panel lines, levers, etc on the internal fuselage sides...
Sort of!
The rear section has a slight angle on one side, where it meets the middle section.
If I have the rear section the proper way round, then the middle section does fit over it, but its on the wonk, and does not completely cover it.
However, if I turn the rear section round 180 degrees, then the middle section seems to cover it better, slightly.
Or I could leave off the rear section, as the middle section would effectively hide it anyway as it covers it.
We'll see.....To be decided later, Lol....
One thing you could do Peter if its a bit thick is use a thin piece of clear plastic, something from a drinks bottle, and cut it and shape it with some gentle heat and use that for the back section then your center section will fit over it.
More progress...
Cockpit dash decals now on, fiddly, but not too bad!
Cockpit seat, frame, pilot, etc installed to one side, after several dry fits to check it all lines up!
I actually misaligned the seat with the frame when I initially glued the cockpit interior together, not pushing the seat far enough back. This meant when I installed the pilot, he was not far enough back, so his feet were on top of the pedals (instead of being in front of them) and his bum was not fully down on the seat.
Hmm, did not really want to redo the whole seat and frame again....
So..... Thinking the original pedals were far too "chunky" anyway, I lopped them off, thus allowing the pilots feet and his bum to sit down properly. I then made up some thin pedals using plasticard.
IMHO these look much more to scale anyway. (I did paint these black too)
But as ever, once its all glued up, no-one is going to see them anyway, but at least we know they are there.
Two main halves of the fuselage glued....seems to fit well with not too many gaps, but clamped anyway just in case...
Then the wing halves were glued to the bottom section.... again, decent enough fit, not too many large gaps...
Then the main fuselage and wings were joined, and once again, not too many large gaps, seemed to go together ok, but once again, many clamps were employed to hold things steady for a while...
There will be a few little areas that will need the merest smidge of filler and then a sanding down and then I will prolly give it al, another very thin coat of primer.
Think I have settled on these few figures for the little diorama I am proposing for this one, a pilot, an officer, a geeza on a bike? a small cart of some sort and a bloke with the little paddles, I think he is called a Landing Signal Officer (LSO)?
I have removed the large thick flat base from the first three, one to go. The bike was tricky, its very, VERY fragile! Lol...
I've made a bet with myself as to whether the bike survives or not. Also the plastic on these figures is very soft, but I assume I can use the usual type primer and paints, acrylic, etc?
Cheers
Cockpit dash decals now on, fiddly, but not too bad!
Cockpit seat, frame, pilot, etc installed to one side, after several dry fits to check it all lines up!
I actually misaligned the seat with the frame when I initially glued the cockpit interior together, not pushing the seat far enough back. This meant when I installed the pilot, he was not far enough back, so his feet were on top of the pedals (instead of being in front of them) and his bum was not fully down on the seat.
Hmm, did not really want to redo the whole seat and frame again....
So..... Thinking the original pedals were far too "chunky" anyway, I lopped them off, thus allowing the pilots feet and his bum to sit down properly. I then made up some thin pedals using plasticard.
IMHO these look much more to scale anyway. (I did paint these black too)
But as ever, once its all glued up, no-one is going to see them anyway, but at least we know they are there.
Two main halves of the fuselage glued....seems to fit well with not too many gaps, but clamped anyway just in case...
Then the wing halves were glued to the bottom section.... again, decent enough fit, not too many large gaps...
Then the main fuselage and wings were joined, and once again, not too many large gaps, seemed to go together ok, but once again, many clamps were employed to hold things steady for a while...
There will be a few little areas that will need the merest smidge of filler and then a sanding down and then I will prolly give it al, another very thin coat of primer.
Think I have settled on these few figures for the little diorama I am proposing for this one, a pilot, an officer, a geeza on a bike? a small cart of some sort and a bloke with the little paddles, I think he is called a Landing Signal Officer (LSO)?
I have removed the large thick flat base from the first three, one to go. The bike was tricky, its very, VERY fragile! Lol...
I've made a bet with myself as to whether the bike survives or not. Also the plastic on these figures is very soft, but I assume I can use the usual type primer and paints, acrylic, etc?
Cheers
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