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!