It doesn't matter if the plane was an Mk.I upgraded to Mk.Vb or the brand new Mk.Vb from assembling lines. All devices of Mk.Vb had to be attached to the airframe and wings. And it means that these old of Mk.I were replaced with new ones methinks.
1/24th Airfix Spitfire Mk1a Conversion to Vb build....
- Thread starter weetam
- Start date
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Yes, the colours were the same, more or less, throughout the life of the Spitfire. They were actually simple code colours, indicating function.
The 'upgraded' airframes were not modified in the field - they were laid down on the production line as MkIIs, but 'converted', on the assembly line, to the first MkVs. The next production batches, when the MkII fuselages had been 'used up', were built from the start as MkVs.
All that I pointed out in my previous post still applies, in regard to those detail areas mentioned.
When you get to the wing, you will need to make the bulges for the cannon breeches both above and below the wing, add the cannon barrel sleeves, cut new ejector ports for the cannon shells, and block off and fill the two inner machine gun cartridge case and link ejector ports, as well as fill some access hatches and scribe others. You will also need to mould, or otherwise fabricate a circular section oil cooler intake and its flared outlet.
For the sake of around £40, it really would be easier to get the MkV kit, and build the present kit as a MkI or MkII.
The 'upgraded' airframes were not modified in the field - they were laid down on the production line as MkIIs, but 'converted', on the assembly line, to the first MkVs. The next production batches, when the MkII fuselages had been 'used up', were built from the start as MkVs.
All that I pointed out in my previous post still applies, in regard to those detail areas mentioned.
When you get to the wing, you will need to make the bulges for the cannon breeches both above and below the wing, add the cannon barrel sleeves, cut new ejector ports for the cannon shells, and block off and fill the two inner machine gun cartridge case and link ejector ports, as well as fill some access hatches and scribe others. You will also need to mould, or otherwise fabricate a circular section oil cooler intake and its flared outlet.
For the sake of around £40, it really would be easier to get the MkV kit, and build the present kit as a MkI or MkII.
- Thread starter
- #24
weetam
Airman
yup, i see your point!
if only i knew all of that before! that'll teach me to bite off more than i can chew >.<
if only i knew all of that before! that'll teach me to bite off more than i can chew >.<
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
No problem. Research, research and more research, before cut and glue, is the key!
- Thread starter
- #26
weetam
Airman
Days 3, 4, 5 and 6
Things have been slow on the build recently, due in no part to waiting for a few aftermarket products to arrive. Because i was converting to the Mk Vb, it was necessary, for accuracy, to buy a few bit that were different to the original kit, IE the undercarriage retraction lever in the Vb was a mechanised affair as opposed to the manual handle on the Mk Ia, also the spade grip was different, requiring a cannon firing button. Also and probably the most noticeable difference was the protruding cannon on the wings, all of these needed adding so i duly waited for the parts to arrive.
Whilst i was waiting on those, i cracked on with a few other little ditties that i could without compromising the build, so set about lightening the cockpit shade slightly by adding a light grey to it. Airframes pointed out that the cockpit shade was too dark, so i took on board what was said and lightened it. This however proved good for effect, as i left the horizontal cockpit panels and detailing in the slightly darker colour i had mixed and lightened the rest, then adding the silver to show wear.
The effect, is something that approximates light and shade. I must point out, that the tank on the top side, should be silver, however, i couldn't get it silver, without brush marks being visible, so in this case, i had to go for what looked best as opposed to what was strictly accurate. With a bit of luck, it wont be that noticeable anyway so its not a major concern.
I then gave the wings both top and bottom a coat of silver. This was difficult, as it was almost impossible to paint the wings silver in acrylics, without getting brush strokes, this could be a problem. Having looked at photos though, it was clear the aluminium in the construction of the wings was fairly rough and ready anyway, they were not perfectly polished silver, so after giving it a light sanding with a sanding block, which had the effect of eradicating both the brush strokes, and lightening some of the aluminium, giving it a worn, used look.
The wing mounted guns were then added. For this i left one gun from each wing out, as the Mk Vb's were equipped with 2 .303′s and a cannon. The extra ammo ejection ports, were filled using milliput, and left to dry. The green, for the bottom of the cockpit was then painted on the middle of the wings, completing the look of the cockpit.
with the arrival of the new spade grip and undercarriage retraction quadrant, i set to work on these. These are quite detailed, and can be bought from Grey Matter Figures for about £4. I will link up all the after market parts i have purchased at the end of the blog, when the build is complete.
The new spade grip look a lot more authentic than the one provided in the kit, even though it was a bit of a bugger to paint, it was still worth paying the £4 as that included both the spade grip, and the quadrant.
Next, i started on the seat detailing, unfortunately, the seat detailing is minimal, and the original seat has a padded back, which normally, wouldn't have been seen with the pilot sat in place, but I've opted not to seat the pilot in the cockpit, so i painted some of the detail on, using the dark and light effect to achieve the correct look. Its not a brilliant result, but much of it will be covered when the photo etched Sutton harnesses arrive, so again, not a major concern.
What happened next, i will put down as a 'senior moment'… I decided that it was the right moment to glue the fuselage together…
whats wrong with that you say? Well, i had forgotten that the photo etched Sutton harness hadn't arrived! I remembered, however, the next day when they indeed did arrive… This meant i would have to retro-fit it, which in honesty, was a right royal pain in the arse.
So, following the somewhat unclear instructions, i proceeded with the Sutton harnesses.
Now, this was the first time i have worked with photo etched parts, and i was a bit was cautious to be honest, as it was an unknown quantity. would they be fragile? would they be tough to bend into place? As it turns out, they were relatively simple, once you get your head around the fairly baffling instructions and use something which isn't often included in model kits or aftermarket products… common sense!
The result is quite impressive if you ask me. The product comes in the right colour and requires no painting, just assembly. They are, for what they are, relatively cheap as well, i think i paid around £6-£7 form eBay for it, and will definitely use them in further builds, as i think they add a little something to the detailing.
Note: the Sutton harnesses aren't fixed strictly accurately, but this was due to the fact i had to retro-fit them, as opposed to any oversight in research. not an awful lot i could do about that, but in honesty, this kit was always meant as an introduction back in to aircraft builds, and as such served to remind me not to get ahead of myself!
Next up, a few more detailing, the undercarriage. Fairly simple construction, give them a coat of silver, and slap the rubber over the wheels… simples!
the wing mounted ammo boxes next, again, fairly simple, give em a coat of green, let em dry, stick on… no great skill required there.
After filling in the seams of the aircraft, it was time for some of the surface painting, in this instance the under-side of the aircraft and the under-side details. i tried to paint this at first, but kept getting brush strokes, so decided to go with spray cans, as i have never used an airbrush (its on my to do list of skills to learn in the new year!) first off, was masking the fuselage off. This being the first super scale aircraft i have done since i was about 15, i was slightly nervous about this, as i never finished the last one, and don't usually use spray cans for anything other than priming.
This proved to be a bit easier than anticipated, although i do think some of the surface detail has been covered by a little excess paint, i cant see it being too much of an issue as its on the underside of the aircraft and when its based, i doubt it will be too visible to the onlooker unless they are examining it in detail.
The colour used for this, was Humbrol number 90 beige green, as recommended on the box, this however, strikes me as too green, and i'm fairly sure it should be more of a sky blue/duck egg blue colour, so this may be re-done at a later date. This however strikes me, as the correct colour for the cockpit, a note for future reference i feel
th-a-th-a-th-a-thats all folks! well for now anyway, i will of course update as often as possible with the build as it progresses, but for now, its goodbye from me, and its goodbye from him!
Things have been slow on the build recently, due in no part to waiting for a few aftermarket products to arrive. Because i was converting to the Mk Vb, it was necessary, for accuracy, to buy a few bit that were different to the original kit, IE the undercarriage retraction lever in the Vb was a mechanised affair as opposed to the manual handle on the Mk Ia, also the spade grip was different, requiring a cannon firing button. Also and probably the most noticeable difference was the protruding cannon on the wings, all of these needed adding so i duly waited for the parts to arrive.
Whilst i was waiting on those, i cracked on with a few other little ditties that i could without compromising the build, so set about lightening the cockpit shade slightly by adding a light grey to it. Airframes pointed out that the cockpit shade was too dark, so i took on board what was said and lightened it. This however proved good for effect, as i left the horizontal cockpit panels and detailing in the slightly darker colour i had mixed and lightened the rest, then adding the silver to show wear.
The effect, is something that approximates light and shade. I must point out, that the tank on the top side, should be silver, however, i couldn't get it silver, without brush marks being visible, so in this case, i had to go for what looked best as opposed to what was strictly accurate. With a bit of luck, it wont be that noticeable anyway so its not a major concern.
I then gave the wings both top and bottom a coat of silver. This was difficult, as it was almost impossible to paint the wings silver in acrylics, without getting brush strokes, this could be a problem. Having looked at photos though, it was clear the aluminium in the construction of the wings was fairly rough and ready anyway, they were not perfectly polished silver, so after giving it a light sanding with a sanding block, which had the effect of eradicating both the brush strokes, and lightening some of the aluminium, giving it a worn, used look.
The wing mounted guns were then added. For this i left one gun from each wing out, as the Mk Vb's were equipped with 2 .303′s and a cannon. The extra ammo ejection ports, were filled using milliput, and left to dry. The green, for the bottom of the cockpit was then painted on the middle of the wings, completing the look of the cockpit.
with the arrival of the new spade grip and undercarriage retraction quadrant, i set to work on these. These are quite detailed, and can be bought from Grey Matter Figures for about £4. I will link up all the after market parts i have purchased at the end of the blog, when the build is complete.
The new spade grip look a lot more authentic than the one provided in the kit, even though it was a bit of a bugger to paint, it was still worth paying the £4 as that included both the spade grip, and the quadrant.
Next, i started on the seat detailing, unfortunately, the seat detailing is minimal, and the original seat has a padded back, which normally, wouldn't have been seen with the pilot sat in place, but I've opted not to seat the pilot in the cockpit, so i painted some of the detail on, using the dark and light effect to achieve the correct look. Its not a brilliant result, but much of it will be covered when the photo etched Sutton harnesses arrive, so again, not a major concern.
What happened next, i will put down as a 'senior moment'… I decided that it was the right moment to glue the fuselage together…
whats wrong with that you say? Well, i had forgotten that the photo etched Sutton harness hadn't arrived! I remembered, however, the next day when they indeed did arrive… This meant i would have to retro-fit it, which in honesty, was a right royal pain in the arse.
So, following the somewhat unclear instructions, i proceeded with the Sutton harnesses.
Now, this was the first time i have worked with photo etched parts, and i was a bit was cautious to be honest, as it was an unknown quantity. would they be fragile? would they be tough to bend into place? As it turns out, they were relatively simple, once you get your head around the fairly baffling instructions and use something which isn't often included in model kits or aftermarket products… common sense!
The result is quite impressive if you ask me. The product comes in the right colour and requires no painting, just assembly. They are, for what they are, relatively cheap as well, i think i paid around £6-£7 form eBay for it, and will definitely use them in further builds, as i think they add a little something to the detailing.
Note: the Sutton harnesses aren't fixed strictly accurately, but this was due to the fact i had to retro-fit them, as opposed to any oversight in research. not an awful lot i could do about that, but in honesty, this kit was always meant as an introduction back in to aircraft builds, and as such served to remind me not to get ahead of myself!
Next up, a few more detailing, the undercarriage. Fairly simple construction, give them a coat of silver, and slap the rubber over the wheels… simples!
the wing mounted ammo boxes next, again, fairly simple, give em a coat of green, let em dry, stick on… no great skill required there.
After filling in the seams of the aircraft, it was time for some of the surface painting, in this instance the under-side of the aircraft and the under-side details. i tried to paint this at first, but kept getting brush strokes, so decided to go with spray cans, as i have never used an airbrush (its on my to do list of skills to learn in the new year!) first off, was masking the fuselage off. This being the first super scale aircraft i have done since i was about 15, i was slightly nervous about this, as i never finished the last one, and don't usually use spray cans for anything other than priming.
This proved to be a bit easier than anticipated, although i do think some of the surface detail has been covered by a little excess paint, i cant see it being too much of an issue as its on the underside of the aircraft and when its based, i doubt it will be too visible to the onlooker unless they are examining it in detail.
The colour used for this, was Humbrol number 90 beige green, as recommended on the box, this however, strikes me as too green, and i'm fairly sure it should be more of a sky blue/duck egg blue colour, so this may be re-done at a later date. This however strikes me, as the correct colour for the cockpit, a note for future reference i feel
th-a-th-a-th-a-thats all folks! well for now anyway, i will of course update as often as possible with the build as it progresses, but for now, its goodbye from me, and its goodbye from him!
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As far as the Sky S-type is concerned.... The tinge of the colour was just the green. And it sems to be OK. looking at these undersides in pictures you posted above. But I'm afraid I can't agree with the idea of using that for the cockpit green. The interior green was of grey tonality and doesn't match it at all.
Also I've noticed the lack of bulged fairings on the wing undersides where 20mm cannon was mounted instead of two MGs . So if you want to make the Mk.Vb the detail has to be added and those hatches for amo cartriges for the two MGs removed.
Also I've noticed the lack of bulged fairings on the wing undersides where 20mm cannon was mounted instead of two MGs . So if you want to make the Mk.Vb the detail has to be added and those hatches for amo cartriges for the two MGs removed.
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- Thread starter
- #28
weetam
Airman
ah! ive shaped those out of milliput last night, they're ready to go on tonight, but i wanted them completely dry and set before i mounted them and coloured them as wet milliput absorbs the colour
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
I agree with Wojtek. The Humbrol colour for the interior is Number 78, and this can be lightened just a touch for scale effect. The Beige Green is what Humbrol. or Hornby, retaining the brand name, have replaced their original 'Sky' with - presumably as Humbrol no longer exist, and the paint is now made heaven only knows where. This can be adjusted to obtain the desired shade, depending on which squadron, where, when etc, in order to obtain true 'Sky', locally mixed version, etc. You'd need to experiment by adding very small amounts of white, yellow and or blue.
However - check the period being modelled, as the colour scheme may be Dark green and Ocean Grey (or Mixed Grey) upper surfaces, and Medium Sea Grey undersurfaces.
Also, as Wojtek mentioned, before you go any further with the wings, you will need to fill the un-needed areas where the two inner machine gun hatches are, top and bottom, and cut openings for the blisters both above and below the wings, and then mould or otherwise fabricate the early 'B' wing blisters and the correct hatches, as well as the empty case ejector ports. You also need to check the cannon barrel sleeves, as these were totally different on the MkV compared to later Marks.
The control column grip from the kit could have been used, by removing the mg button and making a combination mg/cannon button.
You will also find it much easier to complete the main airframe construction before any painting is undertaken (not sure why the wing is silver?), as there is bound to be some sanding and filling of joints required, followed by more sanding. It's normally much easier to achieve a better paint finish once all major construction has been done, and any corrections taken care of.
However - check the period being modelled, as the colour scheme may be Dark green and Ocean Grey (or Mixed Grey) upper surfaces, and Medium Sea Grey undersurfaces.
Also, as Wojtek mentioned, before you go any further with the wings, you will need to fill the un-needed areas where the two inner machine gun hatches are, top and bottom, and cut openings for the blisters both above and below the wings, and then mould or otherwise fabricate the early 'B' wing blisters and the correct hatches, as well as the empty case ejector ports. You also need to check the cannon barrel sleeves, as these were totally different on the MkV compared to later Marks.
The control column grip from the kit could have been used, by removing the mg button and making a combination mg/cannon button.
You will also find it much easier to complete the main airframe construction before any painting is undertaken (not sure why the wing is silver?), as there is bound to be some sanding and filling of joints required, followed by more sanding. It's normally much easier to achieve a better paint finish once all major construction has been done, and any corrections taken care of.
- Thread starter
- #30
weetam
Airman
ah yeah, hadnt thought about the filling after the painting >.<
im a beginner with spraying, so this is very much a trial and error build for me, as i have previously only used acrylics and brushes. however on a model this scale, the brush marks were too evident for it to be of any real use, so i decided to try spraying.
the un-needed ports will be filled when the wings are put together, i couldnt see any reason to do them singulaly as the joins may not be right so thought filling them when assembled with milliput would be easier than trying to do it individually.
ive been trying to find a pic of a cannon ejector port so i can remodel it to the right shape, but alas no luck, so if anyone has a pic or can describe the rough shape and size, that would be helpful.
I also noticed that the spinner and backing plate need to be the same colour as the underside, but that can be done at a later date pretty much at the end of the build.
What colour should the inside of the wings be if not silver? i was kinda assuming they would be plain aluminium, and unpainted
im a beginner with spraying, so this is very much a trial and error build for me, as i have previously only used acrylics and brushes. however on a model this scale, the brush marks were too evident for it to be of any real use, so i decided to try spraying.
the un-needed ports will be filled when the wings are put together, i couldnt see any reason to do them singulaly as the joins may not be right so thought filling them when assembled with milliput would be easier than trying to do it individually.
ive been trying to find a pic of a cannon ejector port so i can remodel it to the right shape, but alas no luck, so if anyone has a pic or can describe the rough shape and size, that would be helpful.
I also noticed that the spinner and backing plate need to be the same colour as the underside, but that can be done at a later date pretty much at the end of the build.
What colour should the inside of the wings be if not silver? i was kinda assuming they would be plain aluminium, and unpainted
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Ah,the inside of the wings - I thought you'd painted the actual wings!
The wheel well roof could be the interior Cockpit Grey Green, with the tunnels in the underside colour, or they could all be the underside colour, depending when/where painted or re-sprayed. The inner surface of the wheel doors was also the underside colour.
The machine gun ports are not a major problem - it's the gun and ammo access hatches which will need filling, and those blisters and their hatches are going to be very tricky to get right.
I should have pics and drawings of the wing, the hatches and ejector ports, which I'll post when I get a chance. Believe me, getting the blisters and cannons right is going to be a big job!
The wheel well roof could be the interior Cockpit Grey Green, with the tunnels in the underside colour, or they could all be the underside colour, depending when/where painted or re-sprayed. The inner surface of the wheel doors was also the underside colour.
The machine gun ports are not a major problem - it's the gun and ammo access hatches which will need filling, and those blisters and their hatches are going to be very tricky to get right.
I should have pics and drawings of the wing, the hatches and ejector ports, which I'll post when I get a chance. Believe me, getting the blisters and cannons right is going to be a big job!
- Thread starter
- #32
weetam
Airman
fortunately, there are plenty of pics of the blisters available, its only really getting the right depth for the scale im worried about, the shape is fairly easy, but the if i get the wrong depth, its going to look odd.
i dont mind admitting that those ejector ports are worrying me as well...
i dont mind admitting that those ejector ports are worrying me as well...
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
OK, here's a couple of pages of pics and drawings taken from the SAM guide - didn't have time to go through my own photos. These should show you what's what and where.
I really would suggest going through as much reference material as possible, studying the photos and any drawings thoroughly, before proceeding further, as this will show you what will be required, and you can then work out the best way to do it, and in what order. This will be well worth the effort, as it will save a lot of problems and complications which can be avoided in this fairly complex conversion.
Converting a MkV into a MkI is a lot easier than the other way around, I can assure you!!
EDIT: Oops! Forgot to include the pics!
I really would suggest going through as much reference material as possible, studying the photos and any drawings thoroughly, before proceeding further, as this will show you what will be required, and you can then work out the best way to do it, and in what order. This will be well worth the effort, as it will save a lot of problems and complications which can be avoided in this fairly complex conversion.
Converting a MkV into a MkI is a lot easier than the other way around, I can assure you!!
EDIT: Oops! Forgot to include the pics!
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- Thread starter
- #34
weetam
Airman
cheers mate, i'll get my head in those now 
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Beautiful job so far.
- Thread starter
- #36
weetam
Airman
So far, the kit had been done pretty much out of the box, with only the exception of the the changes to the spade grip and quadrant. now, it was time for the REAL conversions. First off, i needed to shape some 'wing blisters' typical of all variants with a cannon. so i used this photo as a marker (many thanks to Airframes who provided me with this) enlarged it till the wing fitted over it perfectly, and traced the outlines of the blisters. From these i cut out two stencils to cut the shapes out from the milliput.
Although i know the scale is right, i cant be sure the depth is, however, using reference photos, i judged the depth and shaped them to what i think was about right by placing them over a paint brush and rounding them using that as an even edge. The front edge was shaped once the blister had been placed on the table, simply by pushing the front end gently down. The left side are the under wing blisters, the right side are the above wing blisters. These were then left to semi-set, before being sanded and smoothed off.
next up, was filling the entrance hatches to the machine guns on the topside of the wing. Fairly simple as these have covers anyway, but they needed filling, so i placed the covers in their holes, and filled it with milliput.
these were then roughly sanded just to take the surface off the wings, i didn't want to do it too hard, because it might remove it from the gaps.
The next step, and one of the bits that was worrying me the most, was to cut the new cannon ejector ports. using the same schematic as above, i drew in pencil roughly where the ejector ports would be, and then scored the initial lines, using a ruler to keep the edges straight. It was just a case of repeating until the plastic was thin enough to go through.
I had planned on cutting the hole out and not needing it filled, but gravity and common sense took over. After the first hole went right through, i realised that it may be easier just to cut and fill the holes to the shape they should be, rather than try to cut the potentially tricky shape, and risk losing a finger, or at least part of it! so this is what i did.
These were then sanded square.
The picture on the left is the one with the new cannon ejector ports cut, the picture on the right is how it was before conversion.
The next job was simpler. it was just filling in the spare machine gun ejector port, and filling the access hatch. They were done as previously described, so no need to go over those again.
Next up, was filling in the cannon ejector ports and separating them from the undercarriage wells. This was done using a small amount of milliput, rolled into a sausage shape, and pushed over the two sides of the wheel well, shaped and left to dry. these were then shaped and sanded flush.
The blisters were then semi set, so i took this opportunity to apply them to the wings, while they still had some malleability and movement to them, otherwise they would have snapped as i tried to apply them to the curved wings.
Because these have been sanded, there is a flat edge on the sides, instead of a bevel, so the next job will be to smooth some milliput around the edges so they fit the wings properly and touch all around, but this is relatively simple and will be done on tomorrows work, once it has set properly. I will also just smooth of the blisters a bit more so they are even and touch up any other defects.
Believe it or not, that was the best part of 4 hours work, so i binned it for the night and will continue later, once everything has set solid.
More to come tomorrow, stay tuned!
Although i know the scale is right, i cant be sure the depth is, however, using reference photos, i judged the depth and shaped them to what i think was about right by placing them over a paint brush and rounding them using that as an even edge. The front edge was shaped once the blister had been placed on the table, simply by pushing the front end gently down. The left side are the under wing blisters, the right side are the above wing blisters. These were then left to semi-set, before being sanded and smoothed off.
next up, was filling the entrance hatches to the machine guns on the topside of the wing. Fairly simple as these have covers anyway, but they needed filling, so i placed the covers in their holes, and filled it with milliput.
these were then roughly sanded just to take the surface off the wings, i didn't want to do it too hard, because it might remove it from the gaps.
The next step, and one of the bits that was worrying me the most, was to cut the new cannon ejector ports. using the same schematic as above, i drew in pencil roughly where the ejector ports would be, and then scored the initial lines, using a ruler to keep the edges straight. It was just a case of repeating until the plastic was thin enough to go through.
I had planned on cutting the hole out and not needing it filled, but gravity and common sense took over. After the first hole went right through, i realised that it may be easier just to cut and fill the holes to the shape they should be, rather than try to cut the potentially tricky shape, and risk losing a finger, or at least part of it! so this is what i did.
These were then sanded square.
The picture on the left is the one with the new cannon ejector ports cut, the picture on the right is how it was before conversion.
The next job was simpler. it was just filling in the spare machine gun ejector port, and filling the access hatch. They were done as previously described, so no need to go over those again.
Next up, was filling in the cannon ejector ports and separating them from the undercarriage wells. This was done using a small amount of milliput, rolled into a sausage shape, and pushed over the two sides of the wheel well, shaped and left to dry. these were then shaped and sanded flush.
The blisters were then semi set, so i took this opportunity to apply them to the wings, while they still had some malleability and movement to them, otherwise they would have snapped as i tried to apply them to the curved wings.
Because these have been sanded, there is a flat edge on the sides, instead of a bevel, so the next job will be to smooth some milliput around the edges so they fit the wings properly and touch all around, but this is relatively simple and will be done on tomorrows work, once it has set properly. I will also just smooth of the blisters a bit more so they are even and touch up any other defects.
Believe it or not, that was the best part of 4 hours work, so i binned it for the night and will continue later, once everything has set solid.
More to come tomorrow, stay tuned!
- Thread starter
- #38
weetam
Airman
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Good stuff so far. Just a note for any future cannon blisters - these were different shapes and sizes, and in differing positions, depending on the Mark of Spit.
On the MkVb, they were broader, and higher, than on the MkIX, for example, and located further aft, and with different access hatches. This was due to the earlier cannon of the MkV being drum fed, with the cannon on it's side and the drum magazine on top. Later versions used the later cannon, belt fed, with a BFM (Belt Feed Mechanism) requiring the smaller, though longer, blister further forward on the top of the wing, and a small, elongated blister below.
To make life easier when cutting apertures in wings (or other parts), it's best to do this before the wings have any other work done, and of course before joining the wing halves.
Mark the shape of the aperture to be cut, then drill a small hole at each corner, inside the area to be removed. Further holes can be drilled along the inside of the cut lines if required. Once this is done, cuts can be made between the holes, preferably using a razor saw, until the part is removed. The rough edges can then be trimmed with a scalpel, and then filed and sanded to the required dimensions, whilst at the same time providing a smooth, even edge all round.
All major modifications of this sort should be done before any other construction is undertaken, whenever possible.
Once apertures are cut and finished as above, a piece of suitable plastic card can then be cemented inside the open aperture, obviously larger than the hole itself, as a support for the surface filling. Once this is set, the outer surface can be plugged with more card and filler, before sanding smooth to blend-in with the surroundings, thereby eliminating any traces of the 'patch'.
Plan all the modifications before commencing work, and work out how they are going to be done, and completed. If necessary, make a written list of what's required, and the order in which they are required, and work from this list in conjunction with the relevant sections of the kit instructions.
The only paint work which needs to be addressed before the main assembly is completed is normally on internal or detail areas - all airfrmae painting is done after construction and any modifications, especially where areas have been filled and sanded.
On the MkVb, they were broader, and higher, than on the MkIX, for example, and located further aft, and with different access hatches. This was due to the earlier cannon of the MkV being drum fed, with the cannon on it's side and the drum magazine on top. Later versions used the later cannon, belt fed, with a BFM (Belt Feed Mechanism) requiring the smaller, though longer, blister further forward on the top of the wing, and a small, elongated blister below.
To make life easier when cutting apertures in wings (or other parts), it's best to do this before the wings have any other work done, and of course before joining the wing halves.
Mark the shape of the aperture to be cut, then drill a small hole at each corner, inside the area to be removed. Further holes can be drilled along the inside of the cut lines if required. Once this is done, cuts can be made between the holes, preferably using a razor saw, until the part is removed. The rough edges can then be trimmed with a scalpel, and then filed and sanded to the required dimensions, whilst at the same time providing a smooth, even edge all round.
All major modifications of this sort should be done before any other construction is undertaken, whenever possible.
Once apertures are cut and finished as above, a piece of suitable plastic card can then be cemented inside the open aperture, obviously larger than the hole itself, as a support for the surface filling. Once this is set, the outer surface can be plugged with more card and filler, before sanding smooth to blend-in with the surroundings, thereby eliminating any traces of the 'patch'.
Plan all the modifications before commencing work, and work out how they are going to be done, and completed. If necessary, make a written list of what's required, and the order in which they are required, and work from this list in conjunction with the relevant sections of the kit instructions.
The only paint work which needs to be addressed before the main assembly is completed is normally on internal or detail areas - all airfrmae painting is done after construction and any modifications, especially where areas have been filled and sanded.
