1:1 Spitfire K9817 Cockpit Build

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Thanks Hugh.


Lathe fixed as of yesterday. It had not been properly assembled and it was as simple as wires shorting! Cheap but FRUSTRATING! The project now, unfortunately goes into hibernation while I deal with RL.

cheers all
 
aviatik said:
You must be kidding...!! At what hobby shop did you buy this kit....? Talking about caftmanship and commitment...!!!
Click to expand...

Hare and Forbes...and you have summed up my opinion of them admirably!! I rang for warranty.."We'll have to get a serviceman to ring and discuss the problem to see what YOU have to do to get it fixed" After two weeks, no phonecall!

They have, I find now through even a cursory surf around the boards, an truely woeful record of customer service and I will never buy another item from them. I WAS about to buy $2500 of gear cutting equipment and another $1100 worth of indexing machine from them..but not now, I'll get it elsewhere.

The chuck guard cutoff switch had a wire and crimp actually come OFF the switch as it hadn't been screwed up properly. Once THAT was fixed, the thing ran for 45 seconds, just long enough to have two wires work loose in the main switch board! Basically NOTHING had been screwed in properly for any of the electrics of the lathe. The electrician was gobsmacked, particularly when the "quality assurance" tests are all marked off. What a joke!

Anyhow, cheers
 
A lot has been happening here, none of it really sim related..but I did get some time a couple of weeks ago to start the Throttle Upgrade.
This will be the last major work on the Spitfire, bringing her up to full Mk I/II converted to Mk V converted to PR IV "ish" standard.

All of the bits made so far, fitted and ready to wire and paint.





The throttle grip:



This has an integral switch (camera button) which took a bit of brainwork for a non tradie such as me!! It was turned on the lathe in three parts..main body, end cap, recessed to take and retain button..and the button itself. Having had a bit of a play now, I decided to make the button concave to accept the finger endand this turned out OK.









The undercarriage warning horn switching unit:

Tony's (Rocketeer) marvellous casting milled out to accept the switches and buttons. The milling is a little untidy as I was getting used to the resin..very different to metal or plastic.






The switch and buttons. The top button was made in the lathe, the horn cancel button on the milling machine





And finally, the first coat on the main throttle grip body.It should finish up with a high gloss black sheen.

 
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T Bolt said:
Nice bit of fabrication there Darryl!
Click to expand...

No, no.....I promise ...it's all true




Thanks Wayne, Terry, Glenn and Hugh. Hopefully it won't be too long before the final coats are done and I can fit it all in the cockpit.

Terry..not quite commercial quality yet!!
 
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I put back on the original mixture lever handle Gwyn made me as well..looks better with the black throttle than my wood one I made to match the wooden handle ..the old ones;










The next job will take more time as I need to remove the throttle altogether from the wall and pull it apart to add Tony's Chassis Indicator Horn Control unit to a newly made bracket and I will need to remake the UC Indicator switch housing to the fore as well.







The real thing, it will look like this eventually but with the black PRU throttle grip I've just made.

 
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Bl**dy Nora! Your's looks more real than the real thing!
Now then, don't tell me - when you've got this all finished, you're going to build a simulated Merlin and stick it up front, aren't you?!!!
Oh, and I might be able to get my mate Mick to part with something you might like, which you can wear when 'flying' the Spit. Might not be 'dirt cheap', but a heck of a lot less than the going rate, and reasonable for a very rare, almost pristine example. I'll e-mail you the details once I've had a word with him .....
 
Thanks Terry,

Next is to finish the throttle, stick a magnetic switch on the primer, put a cutoff switch in the "full lock" door position so that the canopy opening switch won't function unless the door is full closed and finally, fit the sutton harness recoil mechanism. That is the Spit finished!! A month or two at the most hopefully. Then it is back to the F-16 (and probably back to "The Jungles" as well....before I am too old!)

AND an intriguing offer! I'll look forward to the email.
 
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Now that your project is nearing completion, Darryl...... which, by the way looks super in all details, I just have a couple of curious questions:

1) What would you say was the total amount of expenditures for this, and:

2) What do you plan on doing with it? Are you donating it to a flight museum?

Your project photography served for me to be some of the best reference material for Spitfire interiors that I've ever seen. You've provided a great service to we modelers. Kudos!
 
Thanks guys, I am glad that people find the thread entertaining AND educational! I've amassed a vast library of stuff

plheure2, in answer

1) Too much...functional gauges were the largest single expenditure but currently (and on an original budget of $2,000) the cost is a tad over $35,000. That doesn't include the machines and tools, books or reference material, as I have them for a lifetime.

2) I fly her regularly and will continue to do so. The experience is not that that unlike real flying and navigating with stopwatch and compass in bad weather at altitude is a real challenge, particularly when I fly in PNG and the mountains. When I die she will be probably donated to a museum locally. (but I am hoping that is a while off.)

regards


Darryl
 
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