ccoyle

OK Ian based on your instructions and clarification of Longridge’s book, I think I have the running rigging lines that run from the left and right of the belfry up through the paired sets of blocks under the foremast top and coiled for future rigging to their designated end points. Is it correct that the lines run on an angle directly from the rear blocks down to the belfry?

Log #18: The Inner Bulwarks and Fixing the Boom Crutches
As @Blue Ensign managed to catch, the boom crutches were turned a little outward following the run of the hull instead of inward. This is a great example to me of what a valuable resource this forum is. I had always just assumed these were purely ornamental, but now that it has been pointed out to me, the use for the crutches seems obvious.
 
Fortunately I had made them pretty thick and so with some careful filing I was able to remove some material to make them turn slightly inwards. You can see how much I had to adjust the angle in the picture below. Since I made them by gluing two pieces of pear together, the original line between the two pieces is still visible. They are still not perfect, but much closer to what they should be.


Next I turned my attention to the inner bulwarks. After much consideration I decided to adopt the approach of @jpalmer1970 and do the bulwarks before attaching the margin planks. That way I can much more easily get in there with my airbrush to paint and avoid the need for a bunch of precise masking.


The process of planking the inner bulwarks was much the same as the outside. I planked the two ends and then fitted the middle plank. The only complicated part was the shaping of the plank that ran up to the transom. Some precise cutting was required to make it fit on top of the beam I placed at the base of the transom.


I planked without any tapering (though some slight edge ending was required). The uppermost planks then stuck up over the top of the Bulwarks (as seen in the near bulwark in the above picture). Since gun ports will be cut all the way through the upper plank, I just planked it as one big plank from bow to stern. Once the glue had fully dried I simply came back with my knife to cut off the excess material. You can see the final effect on the far bulwark.
 
Next up, more sanding and cutting the gun ports.
 

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

So, as I said, work continues rather slowly. Over the last few evenings I have been working on the canopy and armored windscreen. The clear portion is a pre-formed canopy from Halinski; the armored windscreen is cut from sheet mylar using a supplied template. As many higher-end kits do, this kit came with both inner and outer canopy framing. Before fixing the frames to the canopy, they must first be edge-colored, as per usual, but with a slight twist. Because of the thickness of the clear plastic, some slight amount of the plain white reverse side of each frame will be visible, more so if the inner and outer frames are aligned less than perfectly. Therefore, the back of each frame must also be painted. What's tricky to remember is that the back of each frame should be painted with the color that is seen from the opposite side of the plastic, i.e. the backside of interior framing gets painted with the exterior color and vice versa. I don't always remember to do that last part correctly. 😬
 
Using the canopy glue from Evergreen has had its own learning curve. I have found that it adheres paper to plastic quite well, especially if it is allowed to set the entire recommended 24-hour curing time. Once cured, it resists a substantial amount of deformation, which typically happens when the flimsy canopy parts have been cut apart and require extra finishing (this flimsiness led to a few boo-boos during trimming and sanding). The glue does not dry completely clear, though, so a lot of care has to be used to not get it everywhere when applying it and putting the parts together. Its working time allows parts to be moved around a little, but not very much -- it tends to grab pretty quickly. With all that in mind, I'm somewhat pleased with the result, though I have no doubt that later efforts will be better.
 

 
I have test-fitted the canopy to the fuselage and so far it looks good, but I will not attach it until later.
 
In the meantime, I have been toying with the idea of spraying satin varnish on the model to give it a slight sheen. I have done some research online regarding just how shiny RAF wartime finishes were. As I suspected, the paints used on preserved Spitfires are applied with more of a view toward long-term preservation rather than keeping the few remaining Spits unobserved by Luftwaffe eyeballs, and glossier paints are more durable. However, I also read that the small size of scale models makes them appear to be more matte in appearance than their real-life counterparts, so a bit of shine may be in order. Not wanting to do a test spray on the model itself, I am conducting a test on the next best thing -- the kit's cover art -- and will report back on what I discover.
 
Cheers!

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

Technically, I have three models "in progress" in addition to the one I'm currently working on. In reality, there's only a slim chance that I'll actually finish any of them. Once motivation is lost, it's very difficult to get it back -- at least for me.

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

It's amazing how much of a visual difference is made by killing a white spot -- compare the starboard wing to its port side counterpart.
 

 
On the real plane, the bulge you see was made necessary by the addition of the drum-fed Hispano 20 mm cannon; the bulge, along with another on the bottom of the wing, covered the gun's ammunition drum. The early cannons were not a resounding success -- while they fired a heavier shell, the drums carried only a small number of rounds -- about 10 seconds' worth, if I remember correctly. In any case, pilots rarely got the whole 10 seconds of fire thanks to the gun's tendency to jam, often after only a few rounds.

I discovered that after two coats of satin varnish, the matte printing still looks . . . matte.

So, as I said, work continues rather slowly. Over the last few evenings I have been working on the canopy and armored windscreen. The clear portion is a pre-formed canopy from Halinski; the armored windscreen is cut from sheet mylar using a supplied template. As many higher-end kits do, this kit came with both inner and outer canopy framing. Before fixing the frames to the canopy, they must first be edge-colored, as per usual, but with a slight twist. Because of the thickness of the clear plastic, some slight amount of the plain white reverse side of each frame will be visible, more so if the inner and outer frames are aligned less than perfectly. Therefore, the back of each frame must also be painted. What's tricky to remember is that the back of each frame should be painted with the color that is seen from the opposite side of the plastic, i.e. the backside of interior framing gets painted with the exterior color and vice versa. I don't always remember to do that last part correctly. 😬
 
Using the canopy glue from Evergreen has had its own learning curve. I have found that it adheres paper to plastic quite well, especially if it is allowed to set the entire recommended 24-hour curing time. Once cured, it resists a substantial amount of deformation, which typically happens when the flimsy canopy parts have been cut apart and require extra finishing (this flimsiness led to a few boo-boos during trimming and sanding). The glue does not dry completely clear, though, so a lot of care has to be used to not get it everywhere when applying it and putting the parts together. Its working time allows parts to be moved around a little, but not very much -- it tends to grab pretty quickly. With all that in mind, I'm somewhat pleased with the result, though I have no doubt that later efforts will be better.
 

 
I have test-fitted the canopy to the fuselage and so far it looks good, but I will not attach it until later.
 
In the meantime, I have been toying with the idea of spraying satin varnish on the model to give it a slight sheen. I have done some research online regarding just how shiny RAF wartime finishes were. As I suspected, the paints used on preserved Spitfires are applied with more of a view toward long-term preservation rather than keeping the few remaining Spits unobserved by Luftwaffe eyeballs, and glossier paints are more durable. However, I also read that the small size of scale models makes them appear to be more matte in appearance than their real-life counterparts, so a bit of shine may be in order. Not wanting to do a test spray on the model itself, I am conducting a test on the next best thing -- the kit's cover art -- and will report back on what I discover.
 
Cheers!

74 GunShip
New - and Reconstruction of the section of the second gun deck.
The cannon stayed the same, only the locking of the cannon barrel / mount (Lafette) was changed.
 
Karl
 
(Google Translator)
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Dandyfunk, this photo from the Gambier bay book, shows extra fire hose in a carrier. The Flyhawk set provides this in a silly 2d piece and a rack. I used some offcut PE folded over and over. 

Chris, test a piece with gloss and see if you can tell a difference. The canopies turned out really nice, all three clear as a bell. 

I discovered that after two coats of satin varnish, the matte printing still looks . . . matte.

Technically, I have three models "in progress" in addition to the one I'm currently working on. In reality, there's only a slim chance that I'll actually finish any of them. Once motivation is lost, it's very difficult to get it back -- at least for me.

I discovered that after two coats of satin varnish, the matte printing still looks . . . matte.

So, as I said, work continues rather slowly. Over the last few evenings I have been working on the canopy and armored windscreen. The clear portion is a pre-formed canopy from Halinski; the armored windscreen is cut from sheet mylar using a supplied template. As many higher-end kits do, this kit came with both inner and outer canopy framing. Before fixing the frames to the canopy, they must first be edge-colored, as per usual, but with a slight twist. Because of the thickness of the clear plastic, some slight amount of the plain white reverse side of each frame will be visible, more so if the inner and outer frames are aligned less than perfectly. Therefore, the back of each frame must also be painted. What's tricky to remember is that the back of each frame should be painted with the color that is seen from the opposite side of the plastic, i.e. the backside of interior framing gets painted with the exterior color and vice versa. I don't always remember to do that last part correctly. 😬
 
Using the canopy glue from Evergreen has had its own learning curve. I have found that it adheres paper to plastic quite well, especially if it is allowed to set the entire recommended 24-hour curing time. Once cured, it resists a substantial amount of deformation, which typically happens when the flimsy canopy parts have been cut apart and require extra finishing (this flimsiness led to a few boo-boos during trimming and sanding). The glue does not dry completely clear, though, so a lot of care has to be used to not get it everywhere when applying it and putting the parts together. Its working time allows parts to be moved around a little, but not very much -- it tends to grab pretty quickly. With all that in mind, I'm somewhat pleased with the result, though I have no doubt that later efforts will be better.
 

 
I have test-fitted the canopy to the fuselage and so far it looks good, but I will not attach it until later.
 
In the meantime, I have been toying with the idea of spraying satin varnish on the model to give it a slight sheen. I have done some research online regarding just how shiny RAF wartime finishes were. As I suspected, the paints used on preserved Spitfires are applied with more of a view toward long-term preservation rather than keeping the few remaining Spits unobserved by Luftwaffe eyeballs, and glossier paints are more durable. However, I also read that the small size of scale models makes them appear to be more matte in appearance than their real-life counterparts, so a bit of shine may be in order. Not wanting to do a test spray on the model itself, I am conducting a test on the next best thing -- the kit's cover art -- and will report back on what I discover.
 
Cheers!

I discovered that after two coats of satin varnish, the matte printing still looks . . . matte.

I discovered that after two coats of satin varnish, the matte printing still looks . . . matte.

Determining where to cut wasn't too difficult. Only the framing that contained the aileron cut-out needed to be shifted, and the spot I selected required cutting the least amount of material. The frames were rejoined as a butt joint between the new stringer and the existing stringer. I took another picture, just for you. 🙂  BTW, the misalignment was likely just some sloppy workmanship.
 

Ch. 18 Wing, Pt. II -- Drama! Sort of.
 
So, skinning the wing begins with the center section -- no difficulties there. Neither were there any problems with the port-side skin (on the right in the photo, cuz we're looking at the bottom). Note the cut-out for the aileron -- all is in order.
 

 
Now on to the starboard skin. First, a dry fit -- again, look at the aileron cut-out.
 

 
Wow. That's off -- by a lot. What can be done about this? In this instance, what's required is . . . SURGERY!
 
We start by slicing the wing in half. 😵  Don't worry -- this will be fixed.
 

 
One nice thing about using laser-cut frames is that the printed templates for frames don't get used. That means we can use the printed template and a scrap piece of 1 mm beer mat to make a new piece to perfectly fit the gap created when the wing was cut.
 

 
After gluing that piece in and allowing it to dry, we attach the skin.
 

 
With the skin in place, we can determine the new position for the remaining frames and glue them in. And here's the result.
 

 
A small amount of material will need to be removed from the extra piece in order for the wheel well to fit, but other than that the repair has been a success. Onward!