realworkingsailor

Thanks again everyone!
 
The lettering is tentatively finished. 
 

 

 
As I did with my Hurricane, I laser printed the registration number on blank decal paper. As long as I keep choosing to model airplanes with black painted numbers, I can do this as many times as I like. The font is about as close as I could get and the "1" in 518 is actually a lower case "L", but overall I'm happy.
 

 
The only spot where I have questions is the stencil located inboard of the underside roundels. It reads "Check Firing Contacts Before Connecting Leads". After I had applied them and figured out what they said, it got me wondering if these stencils are specific to rocket firing Typhoons or were they applied to all Typhoons, regardless. If anyone has information, please let me know. I haven't sealed the decals yet, so removal is still easy.
 
Andy

Thanks again everyone!
 
The lettering is tentatively finished. 
 

 

 
As I did with my Hurricane, I laser printed the registration number on blank decal paper. As long as I keep choosing to model airplanes with black painted numbers, I can do this as many times as I like. The font is about as close as I could get and the "1" in 518 is actually a lower case "L", but overall I'm happy.
 

 
The only spot where I have questions is the stencil located inboard of the underside roundels. It reads "Check Firing Contacts Before Connecting Leads". After I had applied them and figured out what they said, it got me wondering if these stencils are specific to rocket firing Typhoons or were they applied to all Typhoons, regardless. If anyone has information, please let me know. I haven't sealed the decals yet, so removal is still easy.
 
Andy

Airfix provides one basic engine, decently detailed, for the option of an open engine panel on top of the fuselage. Also included but not shown here are pieces to represent engine piping plumbing and wiring. The upper fuselage is partially perforated so the engine panel can readily be cut out. A paper template is included to get the precise shape cut out to fit the removable panel which comes as a separately molded part. My model will not display the open panel but it could be nice if someone wanted to take the time to detail it. The instructions suggest putting the engine in place even though it may not be openly displayed as it aides in the alignment of the entire assembly.

Bombs 

Thanks! I’ll have a look at his work. I’m sure I’ve already stumbled across a video or two of his (YouTube rabbit holes), I’ll pay closer attention.
 
I think there’s also a factor of scale to consider as well, when it comes to painting or decalling markings. I think if I was working in 1:48 or larger, I’d definitely give it a shot.
Although there’s still no guarantee that the paint I might be using is the correct colour either! 😜
 
Andy

It doesn’t look like it, they have a web storefront in $US through their parent company (Hornby Hobbies), the only customer support I found was just helpful tips and suggestions, as well as the usual returns information. The technical support and spares is all in their UK “Airfix” storefront. I suspect if you dug around on the “US” website, you’d just end up there anyway. 
 
Andy


 
 

Thanks Mike!
 
Yeah, it’s really nice that Airfix does stand behind their products. Gives me confidence in buying their products in the future.

I can now stop staring at the mailbox hoping that maybe something might show up, and start staring at the mailbox knowing that maybe something might show up! 🤪
 
Andy

Thanks everyone, I really appreciate it!
 
@Egilman I wouldn’t claim to be a master yet, but given how inexpensive a package of poster putty is (and how far it goes), I can afford a little error in my trials. 
 
Well, I received some good news this morning, Airfix has shipped out the replacement landing gear parts. Yay! 
 
Andy
 

As always, thanks everyone!
 
No point getting too verbose about the next stages, so I'll just let the pictures speak for themselves:
 

 

 

 

 

 
Big sigh of relief, everything went according to plan. Just a couple of very minor touch up spots. This is probably one of the more complicated paint jobs I've done (on account of the invasion stripes), but I wouldn't hesitate to do it this way again.
 
Andy

Thanks everyone!
 
Mike  (@Landlubber Mike), Thanks! I agree in many cases painting is the way to go, especially for invasion stripes.
 
Speaking of which, they really pop after the grey underside has been painted:
 

 
Really pleased with how things have turned out so far. Hopefully that continues. After masking the undersides, the blue-grey has been added:
 

 

 
The photos don't really show it well, but it is the lighter blue-grey that everyone chose. Once the paint has had the chance to fully dry, it will be time to start making the skinny little poster-putty worms for masking off the camouflage scheme. Then there will be a lot of breath holding, and finger crossing that it all works out and I'm not left with a mess. 
 
Andy
 
 

Thanks for all the likes, everyone!
 
After a little filing and sanding treatment, painting has now begun. As I mentioned in my first post, I was considering modelling this after a Canadian operated Typhoon, sometime in the mid-summer (later July - early August) period when the camo schemes were slowly being restored. From what Ive seen, this usually meant the upper invasion stripes were painted over first, then as time (and paint supplies( allowed, the lower surfaces followed suit (in some cases it looks like these striped areas may have lasted into the winter of '44-'45).
 
I initially thought that I could mess around with the supplied invasion strip decals to achieve the look I was after, but I've instead decided that I would try my hand at painting the striped myself, and not have to mess around with large sheets of opaque decals (which can cause trouble with merely a backwards glance). Over the course of my "research" (looking at YouTube videos of model builds for hours), I saw a technique whereby the builder painted the invasion striped first, before the rest of the model. This made a lot of sense to me, as the amount of masking is considerably reduced (just mask the stripes, not the whole airplane)and even more reduced for me as I'm only striping the lower areas.
 
 
 
I would say that things have turned out fairly well. 
 

 
Just a couple of tiny spots to retouch, but otherwise I'm pleased. The stripes work out to 6mm wide, at this scale, and fortunately I had a roll of masking tape that exact same width. Also of interesting note, the Canadians didn't quite follow the painting specification when applying the stripes to the tail section of the airplane. On British planes, the sky band forward of the tail was uncovered, with the first white strip immediately ahead of it. The Canadians simply incorporated this band into the aft most white strip, which is why my tail bands may appear to be in the incorrect location. I'm not sure if this applies to other Canadian aircraft, but it seems this was the standard of 143 Wing Typhoons (438, 439 and 440 Squadrons).
 
Andy

I have to continue to express my profound gratitude for the continued kind comments and "likes", you guys are the greatest!
 
I figured things would begin to speed up, and I don't think I was too far off!
 

 
First up came the seatbelts. Some minor surgery was required on the right hand side of the seat (left in the above photo). Airfix has a cast on lever on that side of the seat, and by carefully inserting a sharp chisel blade I was able to cut it free from the seat. The important thing is to leave the detail intact, so a lot of care was needed. By cutting this slot, this then allows the lap belt to be properly anchored on the side of the seat, with the lever passing over top. I know these particular seatbelts are not 100% accurate for a Typhoon, but for me (and any casual observer with a magnifying glass) they're close enough.
 

 
After the seatbelts were attached to the seat, the seat could then be mounted in the cockpit. Overall I think the aftermarket made for a nice little upgrade, at a relatively cost effective price point. With these details, I am seriously giving consideration to having the canopy open, I think it would be a disservice to hide all my "hard" work! 
 
*Eagle eyed viewers may notice the bandage on my left index finger. This is due to an unrelated bread slicing incident last evening, and not the result of any lapse of due care and attention in the employment of my hobby knife. Incidentally, if you're slicing some crusty bread, make sure you have a good grip to prevent the serrated bread knife from grabbing and rolling the loaf and dragging your finger into its path. Oh yeah, and keep your fingers further away from the knife next time too.....🙄
 

 
Once the glue for the seat had set, the fuselage halves are then mated, and glued, and taped together. There's a few extra bits and pieces to navigate around to get the halves to join up, but with a little care, things came together nicely.
 

 
The rudder and tail fins were next to go on. Nothing really remarkable. Just be aware that, as far as details go, the tail fins are not symmetrical, make sure the correct one goes on it's proper side. I think I did a quadruple double check on that before I applied any glue. I'm pretty sure I got it right... I think...
 

 
The lower half of the wing was next. This was a multi step process to get them glued into place. Tape was used to hold things in place temporarily until the glue set.
 

 

 
For today's finale, the upper wings were also attached. The kit does make provision for the gun bays to be left open, but I decided on mine to keep them closed. A personal decision, mostly because, for me, I felt it complicated the painting and lettering process.
 
The next steps are hardly worth documenting; there's a few areas where some filler and some sanding is require. Nothing too major, the worst spots are the chin fairing under the radiator, followed by the forward joint of the lower wing (just aft of the radiator outlet). This shouldn't take too long and painting will happen soon.
 
Andy
 
 
 
 

Did I mention how tedious the containers are....
 
They're coming along very slowly. I have installed the anchors and rudde and prop as well as touched up the paint on the hull. 
 

Possibly painted while in the dock. Surprisingly, with the right amount of labour a large ship can be fully sandblasted and painted in a remarkably short period of time (about a week).
If the ship was in any way waterborne at the time, it shouldn’t have toppled like that, unless something serious was done to alter the CG of the ship. Most, if not all, commercial dry docks don’t use the old methods where there’s only a single row of blocks under the keel and shoring beams to hold the ship up. Although there are still more blocks down the centreline, there are typically one or more rows of blocks on each side, depending on how wide the ship is. 
 
Submarines are, of course, the exception as they usually don’t have flat bottoms…. 😁 
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

each class of sub had its own set of curved blocks, however the old diesel boats had a flat bottom to enable sitting on the seabed, and i remember standard blocks with wooden props to keep her upright

Possibly painted while in the dock. Surprisingly, with the right amount of labour a large ship can be fully sandblasted and painted in a remarkably short period of time (about a week).
If the ship was in any way waterborne at the time, it shouldn’t have toppled like that, unless something serious was done to alter the CG of the ship. Most, if not all, commercial dry docks don’t use the old methods where there’s only a single row of blocks under the keel and shoring beams to hold the ship up. Although there are still more blocks down the centreline, there are typically one or more rows of blocks on each side, depending on how wide the ship is. 
 
Submarines are, of course, the exception as they usually don’t have flat bottoms…. 😁 
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

I doubt the ship was dry docked for that amount of time. That would cost a fortune, and cost the commercial shipyard a lot of lost business having a dock occupied for that amount of time. Tied up at a lay-by berth is what they’re referring to.
 
Modern dock supports are steel with wood bolsters bolted in place on top.
I did read that there were high winds at the time the ship was knocked off the blocks so it’s possible that either the blocks were not in the right place, or the ship shifted during the pump out and didn’t land correctly on the blocks. I wouldn’t speculate any further until the MAIB or whichever investigation authority is overseeing this incident, publishes its report.
 
Andy

You are zooming along Craig.
 
I’m hoping to join in soon on this log, done a few bits on the cockpit, mostly scraping off the moulded detail to add my Eduard P.E. set and started on the ejection seats (I’m using the kit ones and a P.E. Set for belts etc.) Picture updates over the weekend I hope.