discussion Andrew's 1/48 Airfix Spitfire XVIII (A05140)

[HAWKERHUNTER]

he's not too bad.....certainly much better than the usual 1/72 offering you get

I agree Andrew. Thats a half decent pilot for sure.

 

[yak face]

Pilot does indeed look good andrew, nice that you get the seperate arms too , cheers tony

 

[adt70hk]

I agree Andrew. Thats a half decent pilot for sure.

Pilot does indeed look good andrew, nice that you get the seperate arms too , cheers tony

Thanks chaps. He's actually much better when fully in focus!! He really is very nice.

Unfortunately, when I had a quick look at my phone after taking the picture he looked alright but by the time I was about to post the picture, it was too late to get a better shot as I'd started to paint him.

Tony - as you say nice that he has separate arms. Hopefully I can place him so that he has his hand on the joystick.


Thanks as always for the support guys!

ATB

Andrew

 

[adt70hk]

Hi all

So cockpit and pilot are ready for assembly....just waiting for the varnish to fully cure.

In hindsight, it would have been easier to not glue the cockpit's main frame elements in place until all were painted, as it makes installing the seat in particular much harder....you live and learn!

The pilot is far from my best work but whilst I'm ok at doing your typical white European individual e.g. British and German, I'm obviously doing a plane from the Indian Air Force, post independence, and so need a different skin tone. I'm much happier with the colour on the hands but neither the hands or face are anywhere as dark as it appears in the below shot.....will try to get a better shot next time.

Next time you see this, it should all be assembled and the pilot in place.

And as you can the prop is also completely done

ACW as usual.

ATB

Andrew

 

[adt70hk]

OK chaps, bit more of an in-depth update:

• pilot added to cockpit and generally looking ok in situ
• cockpit 'tub' closed up and fits very well
• initial fuselage dry fit tests are promising, with interesting way of fitting fuselage to lower wing helping a great deal.

And a WARNING for any of you tempted by this:

• you have to trim the fuselage in four places before assembly...cockpit sides if you want a closed canopy and also for the tailplane

More details below with the pics.

ACW as usual.

ATB

Andrew

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Pilot in situ.

• had to cut off his feet and front of the chair to get him placed properly. However, can't rule that out being my fault, given the self-made problems I had fitting the chair.
• as you can see the posable arms means that he actually has his hands on the controls.....a nice touch! I need to do do a touch up on the tops of his arms/shoulders now they have been glued on
• cockpit tub went together very well, aside from my self-made problems
• fit against fuselage side is very positive and absolutely no ambiguity in where it goes....so much so it almost holds itself in place...it is purely dry-fitted in the last shot....no glue...almost defies gravity!!

Wing and dry fit

• Noticed some odd knobs/blocks on the underside of the fuselage, with holes in
• turns out this is how Airfix ensures proper alignment when adding the wing....assuming you glue the wheel well parts in place properly but that is almost impossible to get wrong
• as you can see holds together nicely even without the glue
• the holes in the knobs are the main attachment points for the undercarriage, so hopefully that will fit very well, with no room for error

WARNING: Pre-build trims required

• closed canopy requires two minor trims
• tailplane also has to be trimmed....regardless

 

[flyjoe180]

Looking good Andrew. Same warnings apply to the Mark 1. In the Mk1 kit using the pilot, the rudder pedals are not fitted.

 

[colin m]

Great work Andrew. And a brilliantly detailed build thread as well.

 

[HAWKERHUNTER]

Coming along very nicely Andy.

 

[yak face]

Top work andrew , cockpit and pilot are looking excellent . Rest of the kit looks really nice too , hopefully it carries on co operating , cheers tony