Supermarine Spitfire Mk Vb by ccoyle - FINISHED - Halinski - 1/33 - CARD - aircraft flown by Jan Zumbach as commander of No. 303 Squadron RAF 1942

[ccoyle]

Introduction: Back on the Halinski horse!

 

Okay, for anyone wondering where the Bloch build went off to, let's just say it ran into a terminal combination of issues (kit design, print quality, & builder interest) and has been packed off to the Land of Misfit Models. But let's not dwell on the past -- on to brighter horizons! Maybe!

 

I say "maybe" because this kit is a Halinski publication, and Halinski are the Tamiya of the card modeling world. I have a lot of Halinski kits in my stash, but I have only ever attempted two of them, a Polikarpov I-16 that I completed successfully and a Brewster B-239 that sadly never made it past cockpit skinning, though I have another copy of it in the stash. The killer issue for me with Halinski kits has been the fact that the cockpit areas are double-skinned (inner + outer), and if the inner skit fit is not absolutely perfect (i.e. no gaps at all), the outer skin(s) will not fit.

 

At some point I need to get myself past the Halinski Hurdle if I am to progress up the card modeling curve, so here I am. I actually had another kit in mind for this task, a P-39N in Soviet markings, but I discovered that the canopy for that kit got a slight kink at some point in its life and is slightly fogged as a result, so I will need to replace it. That leaves the Spitfire Vb as the next easiest option that doesn't have a radial engine but does have the desirable laser-cut frames and canopy.

 

For those who are not big WWII aviation buffs, the Spitfire Vb is the mark that was in widespread service when the Germans sprung their Fw-190 surprise on the RAF. It was later phased out in favor of the Mk IX. This kit portrays the personal mount of famed Polish ace Jan Zumbach at the time he commanded the equally famous 303 (Polish) Squadron. As is the norm for Halinski kits, the cover is beautifully illustrated.

 

Right around 2002-2003 is the time that Halinski was transitioning toward exceptional graphics in its kits, with a high level of detail and realistic weathering. This transition was completed prior to 2005, so this kit exhibits the high printing standards that Halinski is famous for.

 

And as I said, I have the laser-cut frames and molded canopy, so I'm all set.

 

I know I said elsewhere that I was looking for a quick project for my next model, and this kit definitely is not a quick and easy build. But eventually I decided that I'd rather focus my efforts on a model that will (hopefully) look great when finished. This kit will definitely challenge my abilities and require a great deal of patience -- which is okay. I plan to treat each sub-assembly just like wooden ship modelers are encouraged to treat those on their models -- each a miniature kit in its own right.

 

Okay, I'm off to mix edge colors!

[Richard44]

Chris,

 

I've looked at the Halinski website several times, and nowhere can I find any info about a particular kit other than what I assume is the cover photo. Am I missing something?

 

Cheers

[ccoyle]

46 minutes ago, Richard44 said:

Am I missing something?

 

Nope. Halinski provide very little information at their website other than a list of kits currently in print. Clicking a name in the list brings up a very small image of the kit cover, but nothing else. The best way to get information on a Halinski kit is to google it and find info at another site, either a vendor or one of the various dedicated card modeling forums. I have found kartonowki.pl very useful in this regard, and it is pretty easy to navigate, especially if you use Google Translate. There are presently three finished examples of this kit available for viewing at Kartonowki -- here's a link to one of them.

[ccoyle]

Ch. 1 Cockpit Interior

 

Construction begins with the cockpit. Inner skins were pre-formed, and internal framing is slowly being added. There is quite a bit of it to add.

 

 

 

The bit of plastic rod near my thumb in the second picture is simply a spacer I added to help stabilize the second bulkhead frame during all the man-handling yet to come. It won't be easily seen once the cockpit is closed up.

 

[Danstream]

Here the magic starts again. I am curious to see how the complex Sptfire surfaces are resolved this time. In particular, in the real plane, forming the fairing of the wing leading edge was apparently a challenge because of its double curvature.

Cheers,

Dan.

[ccoyle]

Ch. 3 Rudder Pedals

 

Another half-frame and rudder pedals added. This bit of progress consists of 14 parts and took over 3 hours to cut, fold, laminate, paint, test fit, and glue. That's Halinski for ya.

 

[Captain Slog]

3 hours perfectly spent!

[ccoyle]

Ch. 4 Control Yoke

 

The cockpit is getting busier with the addition of the control yoke, compass, and various bits on the starboard interior. It will get even busier still.

 

 

I thought some viewers might be interested in the difference between an ultra-detailed and difficult Halinski kit and a less difficult but still pretty detailed Kartonowa Kolekcja kit. The shot below shows a portion of the cockpit parts for KK's Hurricane IIc.

 

 

Of particular interest for this comparison are parts 1 and 21. Notice that a lot of the 3-D details are printed in 2-D, e.g. the interior framing, rudder pedals, and wall-mounted accoutrements. In the Halinski kit, these are all provided as separate parts. Yikes!

[Old Collingwood]

That looks incredible.

 

OC.

[amateur]

These Halinski's almost look like plastic models: highly detailed, an dlots of very small stuff

(I guess that breathing is a no-go while working on those microscopic pieces)

 

Jan

[ccoyle]

9 minutes ago, amateur said:

These Halinski's almost look like plastic models: highly detailed, an dlots of very small stuff

 

I have seen some of these super-detailed to insane levels -- way beyond my abilities.

 

Funny story: I have no idea what most of the cockpit elements are in real life. I just glue them together according to the diagrams and plug them in. One of the items I finished yesterday was a quadrant of some sort with a single handle; the diagram showed the handle protruding at what would be an intermediate setting on the real instrument. Later, as I surfed the internet for some cockpit photos, I discovered that the quadrant raises and lowers the landing gear: handle all the way forward is raised, all the way down is lowered. In between is . . . well, is nothing. Half-lowered gear are not very useful. Anyways, I tried to see if I could detach and reposition the handle without too much difficulty, but it is super tiny and stuck fast, so no joy. You wouldn't notice it unless I told you, or else perhaps you're a Spitfire pilot. So now I have told you, and you are sworn to secrecy!

[popeye the sailor]

hi Chris.......count me in please!    look'in forward seeing what you do with the spit........if she come out look'in like the moth,  she will be spectacular!   

[ccoyle]

Ch. 5 Cockpit Interior Details

 

Even a Halinski kit can have minor issues, like this one:

 

 

Yep, that's two parts 10f (the '+' sign only indicates that the part is to be doubled). I think I solved this riddle correctly.

 

So far, 16 parts have been added to the starboard cockpit wall and 27 to the port side. Work will soon commence on the seat, which in this case is, in fact, a real piece of work. 😬

 

[EricWilliamMarshall]

I’m grabbing a seat and popcorn to watch the festivities! Best of luck on this monster!

[ccoyle]

Ch. 6 Seat, Pt. I

 

Seat construction in progress. Here's a shot of the basic seat and some of its components still to be added. . .but not all of them. 😮

 

 

And here is the cause for my most recent headaches . . .

 

 

Now to get back to the fun!

[Keith Black]

 De plane, De pain

[ccoyle]

Ch. 7 Seat, Pt. II

 

The frame upon which the seat hangs first had to have some interior bits removed. To strengthen what was left, I wicked thin CA into the cut edges before edge coloring them. The head armor was then added. Next, the seat frame was constructed from styrene rod -- not the hardest piece I have ever built, thanks to all of the parts being thankfully straight. Finally, the back armor and seat were added, bringing the total number of parts in this sub-assembly to eighteen.

 

 

 

A really, really nice little detail is that, where required, the printed parts in this sub-assembly have tick marks to indicate both where other parts attach and at what angle they should be attached.

 

P.S. I also just now noticed that I glued the head armor on upside down. Fortunately, the mistake is merely annoying, not structurally significant.

[Egilman]

1 hour ago, ccoyle said:

P.S. I also just now noticed that I glued the head armor on upside down.

I don't think anyone would have noticed if you didn't tell us... {chuckle}

[ccoyle]

Ch. 8 Seat, Pt. III

 

The seat is finished up with the addition of its Sutton harness. There's a slight mistake in the way it's installed, which is due to a combination of my ignorance about the harness coupled with some slight ambiguity in the diagrams. I won't tell you what the mistake is. 😁

 

The seat and its bulkhead are now installed in the cockpit and the transfer linkage to the control yoke is added. The straps that extend aft through the bulkhead are part of a tensioning system that allowed the pilot to lean forward in his seat while still being adequately restrained in the event of a hard landing. The cables for the system will be installed later.

 

[Canute]

Sounds like an inertia system. We had them in the F-4 and I suspect most fighters would have similar systems. We have them in cars now, too, since most everyone has some kind of upper body restraint system.

[Old Collingwood]

Chris in my Eduard Spit kit  the end of the harness  was connected to the  next  frame  behind the seat.

 

OC.

[ccoyle]

17 minutes ago, Old Collingwood said:

Chris in my Eduard Spit kit  the end of the harness  was connected to the  next  frame  behind the seat.

 

From what I read online, I gather that the inertia cable passed to a frame farther back in the fuselage. For the kit, the cable terminates two frames back from the seat. The harness actually has two sets of shoulder straps. The two in front are attached to the inertia system, and the two behind them are part of a yoke that goes over the back of the seat, down between the seat and armor, and fastens to a crossbar beneath the seat. All of these were fastened by a single pin at the pilot's midriff, so that in the event of a needfully speedy exit, the pilot could undo the single pin to release all of the straps simultaneously.

[ccoyle]

BTW, Santa brought a very important part of my-probably-next-project (we do gifts on Christmas Eve -- long story). You'll have to stay tuned to find out what it is! 😮

[Old Collingwood]

1 hour ago, ccoyle said:

BTW, Santa brought a very important part of my-probably-next-project (we do gifts on Christmas Eve -- long story). You'll have to stay tuned to find out what it is! 😮

You tease  lol.

 

OC.

[GrandpaPhil]

On 12/18/2021 at 3:02 PM, ccoyle said:

Okay, I'm off to mix edge colors!

Merry Christmas Chris!

Your Spitfire is looking great!

 

Your card builds are excellent!
 

2 quick questions for you.

 

Firstly, what are you using for your edge colors?

 

And do you seal small parts prior to cutting them out?

Edited December 25, 2021 by GrandpaPhil

[ccoyle]

2 hours ago, GrandpaPhil said:

Firstly, what are you using for your edge colors?

 

And do you seal small parts prior to cutting them out?

 

1. Cheap acrylic paints from Hobby Lobby.

 

2. Yep. Two coats of matte clear spray.

[BrianK]

Chris, that is a killer paper airplane! 😃 Seriously, I have the Revell 1/32 P-51B on the workbench and your Spitfire blows it away! I am building mine as a prop to discuss design iteration with my engineering students so the details are scant but I know I could not do your Spitfire justice.

 

In fact, I have shied away from paper models in model railroading but the truth is I never gave them a chance. You may have changed my mind.

 

I will be following.....

[ccoyle]

Ch. 9, Cockpit -- The Final Chapter

 

After a week of work, the cockpit is finally completed. Here are the final interior photos -- the next step will be to zip the two sides together, after which much of this will be very, very inconspicuous

 

 

 

 

At this point, it's still not too late to open up the port-side cockpit door. I haven't decided on that bit yet.  EDIT: Okay, made my mind up. After perusing some photos, I find that displaying the door open would require some additional scratch-building (hinges, latching mechanism) that I don't feel up for.

[Keith Black]

Chris, it seems a shame  to hide away your beautifully detailed work but I understand completely. We know it's there. 

[Canute]

Chris, that has everything but the kitchen sink in there. All that's missing is the wiring and tubing. WOW!