Thanks again guys, it's very much appreciated!
Got quite a bit more done, and it's starting to look more like a Spitfire, rather than the remains in a butcher's shop!
The fuselage has been joined and glued, with the exception of the fin, which has been left in order to insert the plastic card fillet for the new, wider-chord fin.
PICS 1 and 2 are general shots into the cockpit, and I'm afraid I goofed, as I had the camera on 'Auto', instead of 'Aperture Priority, hence the slightly out of focus pics!
PIC 3. To profile the new rudder and fin, the 1/32nd scale plan was traced, and the shape of the new rudder transfered to the Mk22 rudder, which has been marked in blue where the plastic needs to be removed. The original Mk.V rudder is on the right.
PIC 4 shows the fin extension cut from .75mm plastic card, to be inserted into the modified fin, then glued. The blue line is a datum for the leading edge of the existing fin, to aid in alignment.
PIC 5. The extension fillet is glued in place, and a 'cap' has been added to the top of the fin, to allow the correct profile to obtained with the rudder. The 'cap' has yet to be trimmed and sanded, and the fillet will be blended in to the fin with Milliput epoxy putty.
PIC 6. Is the rudder trim tab and actuator on the Mk.22 rudder. The tab needs to be modified, to remove the offset 'step', and the actuator removed and replaced with a scratch-built item.
PIC 7. Shows the new rudder, modified from the Mk.22 kit parts, with the original Mk.V item for comparison. The 'taped' ribs were made by cutting very shallow slots into the rudder surface, then laying in thin strands of stretched sprue, which were then sanded when the cement had fully set. The leading edge 'stitching' was engraved using the point of a scalpel blade, and the base for the tail lamp has been added, from shaped pieces of stretched sprue, and will be contoured later. Note the whole lot, including the trim tab insert, has yet to be cleaned up.
PIC 8 is the new trim tab actuator, which will be enhanced slightly later.
PIC 9 Shows the first test fit of the new rudder, checking alignment.
PIC 10. This is the hard part, and the most critical! The firewall has been fitted, made from .75mm plastic card, reinforced by bracing strips inside the fuselage. The blue 'bar' is a length of .5mm thick plastic strip, providing reinforcement between the vertical and angled parts of the firewall, and the two white pieces across the lower gap are to provide bracing, and a backing for the lower cowling from the Mk.22. The edges have yet to be trimmed and sanded, to provide a ledge onto which the upper and side cowlings will sit. The red squares are the locating points for the engine bearers. A small pilot hole will be drilled in each square, and the bearers test fitted for alignment. Once I'm happy that the bearers are in the correct position, further alignment will take place, with the engine in position, before proper locating holes are drilled for the bearers, which will then be cemented in place, and reinforced with superglued 'brackets' around the sides and bottom edges.
PIC 11 shows the lower cowling test fitted, held in place on the underside with tape. This will be adjusted as required, before being aligned with the engine lower surface, and the engine bearers.
PIC 12. In order to check the overall geometry of the nose, the port side and top cowlings have been taped in place. So far, the fit looks reasonable, with a minimal amount of internal 'plating' and some filling being required around the wing root joint. Note, the the oversize cowling fateners will be removed, and new ones engraved.
So, that's it so far. I'm begining to think that this will work out quite well, but I'm not counting any chickens yet, as I remember having a few problems with the engine and nose alignment the last time I did this conversion.
The more I do on this, and the 'derelict' Mk.22, the more I fancy doing a Mk.21, and then using the 'left overs' to build a low-back LF16E - that's if the Hasegawa kits are still available when, or if, I eventually get around to it, as the Mk.V appears to be now out of circulation, and the MkVI lacks some useful parts that are included in the Mk.V. Still, that's something for the future!
Thanks again for your kind comments, and I'll post some more progress shots soon.