Yep, know what you mean Paul, especially with the later 3 blade prop and pointed spinner; got to build one, as all the Hasegawa kits I've done have been conversions!
Anyway, here we go!
The first thing to be done, whilst waiting for the Hasegawa kit, is to mark out which areas of the Revell Mk22 will need to be used, and then cut them in such a way that they will be able to fit into the modified parts of the MkV (or MkVI as it turns out!). Back in the mid 1970's, the original Matchbox tool makers deigned the Mk22 kit with a separate ventral spine as a centre section, presumably in order to facilitate the forming of that elusive gull wing shape on the underside of the wing root. This includes the lower cowling section, and the rear portion of the supercharger intake, and actually makes life a lot easier for this conversion, and the subsequent use of the Mk22 hulk later.
First, one lower wing section was taped onto the centre spine, in order to check where and how the wing would ultimately fit when the Mk22 is constructed later, as shown in PIC 1.
Once satisfied that the lower nose cowling could be cut leaving plenty of plastic on either side, to make this later joint, a heavy pencil line was marked around the edges of the intake, as a guide to cutting. PIC 2.
The rest of the nose section of the Mk 22, needed to replicate the cowlings for the MkXIV, are separate parts, designed to be removable to display the engine. The cowling over the forward upper fuel tank has an angled forward edge, unlike the vertical joint on the MkV/VI and, although it would be possible to duplicate this on the Hasegawa fuselage, I decided that the eventual Mk22 display would benefit from the fuel tanks being visible, and that the cowling could be successfully grafted onto the Hasegawa fuselage. So, another heavy pencil line was marked along the panel lines for the cowling, on both fuselage halves, as a cutting guide, as shown in PIC 3.
With everything now ready for the first stages of surgery, the first cuts were made around the supercharger intake of the lower cowling, using the excellent razor saw kindly sent to me by Matt. PIC 4.
This really is a beautiful tool, allowing fine, precise cuts, and it didn't take long to separate the lower cowling into one, intact piece. PIC 5.
Although not difficult in itself, cutting off the upper cowling was a little more tricky, due to the flex of the fuselage half. In order to prevent stress marks, or worse, a lump of 'Plasticine' was positioned under the part, to prevent bending, and the razor saw used to carefully cut along the engraved panel lines. PIC 6.
PIC 7 Shows the first half of the upper fuel-tank cowl removed, ready for grafting onto the Hasegawa nose. The other half was carefully removed in a similar manner.
Before putting aside the Mk22 fuselage, some of the panels were thinned down around the cut lines and around the cockpit hatch, and one of the rear fuselage hatches was also cut out, ready for a little scratch-built detailing for the small diorama which will display the forlorn hulk of a once-proud machine. To give an idea of the remaining shape of the Mk22, the fuselage halves were taped togrther for PIC 8.
The Revell (ex-Matchbox) kit includes quite a reasonable representatation of the Rolls Royce Griffon engine, and I've decided to include this in the finished MkXIV. The kit provides parts for the very substantial engine bearers, which are much 'beefier' than the tubular mounts used on the smaller, lighter and less powerful Merlin series of engines. In order to incorpororate these into the build, and the oil tank and other ancilliaries also provided, I thought it better to use the front firewall bulkhead from the Mk22 kit on the MkXIV, and this was cleaned up ready for use, although I suspect some filing and sanding will be required to fit it snugly into the fuselage of the Hasegawa kit.
So as not to detract from the Mk22 model, depleted hulk or not, I used the kit firewall as a pattern from which to make a paper card template, which will then be used to help fabricate a new, though less substantial, firewall for the Mk22, from plastic card.
The major components for the nose of the MkXIV are now ready to be adapted and mated with the modified forward fuselage of the Hasegawa MkVI, as shown in PIC 9.
The FINAL PIC shows the long spinner for the 5 blade prop, and cowling parts loosely taped together, to give an idea of the new shape.
Once Surgeon General Wojtek has approved and signed-off this first piece of surgery, I can then continue with the operation!
When the Hasegawa kit finally arrives, the forward fuselage will be cut as required, and then the fuselage halves taped together, in order to trial fit the wing and the nose sections. The neccessary cuts will then be made, before the interior work on the fuselage is carried out. More trial fitting will take place, and the fin will then be modified with a piece of thin plastic card, before joining the fuselage.
Then the real work of blending-in the fin, new broad-chord rudder, and the firewall and front section will then begin, before moving on to modifying the wing panels, radiators and armament fit.
Thanks for your interest, and I'll post some more pics and descriptions as soon as I get the Hasegawa kit.
Terry.