Tony Hill
Tech Sergeant
Stunning detail Gerry..love that cockpit!
Brendan 'Paddy' Finucane Spitfire Mk Vb.
- Thread starter Gerry
- Start date
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- Thread starter
- #82
Gerry
Staff Sergeant
Thanks Wurger and Lucky. I'm away at the moment so haven't made much more progress to speak of. Darryl, appreciate your comments. I have been using your full scale cockpit build for tips on the detailing.
Cheers,
Gerry
Cheers,
Gerry
zaxos345
Senior Airman
Awesome build so far Gerry
John
John
vajled
Airman 1st Class
fantastic work in the cockpit
Roman
Roman
- Thread starter
- #85
Gerry
Staff Sergeant
John and Roman, thanks for your kind comments.
John, as you possibly have realised, I have been very impressed and influenced by your build of the 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire - Ioannis ''Agorastos'' Plagis, from last year and I have been aspiring to match the very high standards you set in that build.
Cheers,
Gerry
John, as you possibly have realised, I have been very impressed and influenced by your build of the 1/32 Tamiya Spitfire - Ioannis ''Agorastos'' Plagis, from last year and I have been aspiring to match the very high standards you set in that build.
Cheers,
Gerry
- Thread starter
- #86
Gerry
Staff Sergeant
Well, I haven't made nearly as much progress on this as I thought I might. But just to show some effort, I've got the seat belts done and the fuel tank in position. As we've had some consistent sunshine here for the last few days, for the first time since March (really!) I took a few shots. I'm currently working on the Merlin, but not enough done yet to show anything. More shots when I've made a bit more progress.
Attachments
Crimea_River
Marshal
Looks excellent Gerry. Gonna be a beaut!
Wow...that looks pretty damn good!
Looks great so far Gerry!
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Nice work there Gerry. The fuel tank was normally a red oxide colour, although if it isn't visible, the colour doesn't really matter!
- Thread starter
- #92
Gerry
Staff Sergeant
Thanks Andy, Wayne, Gnomey, Jerry.
Terry, I take your comment about the colour of the fuel tank. I had seen other builds use the red coating. I have some shots of the Spits in the BoB flight stripped down where they have left the tanks in natural metal. I fully appreciate that these are largely rebuilt since their service life so may not be absolutely accurate. However, I have also seen a shot of a crashed WW2 Spitfire (B/W) on the internet where part of the tank is visible through a tear in the fuselage and it appears to be in metallic or light finish. If the consensus would be more accurate to depict it as red then it's not difficult to respray it. It won't be viewable in the final build, although I hope some of the engine detail will be.
Did the red coating play any part in the self-sealing aspects of the tank?
Cheers,
Gerry
Terry, I take your comment about the colour of the fuel tank. I had seen other builds use the red coating. I have some shots of the Spits in the BoB flight stripped down where they have left the tanks in natural metal. I fully appreciate that these are largely rebuilt since their service life so may not be absolutely accurate. However, I have also seen a shot of a crashed WW2 Spitfire (B/W) on the internet where part of the tank is visible through a tear in the fuselage and it appears to be in metallic or light finish. If the consensus would be more accurate to depict it as red then it's not difficult to respray it. It won't be viewable in the final build, although I hope some of the engine detail will be.
Did the red coating play any part in the self-sealing aspects of the tank?
Cheers,
Gerry
Crimea_River
Marshal
Hi Gerry. Repainting hardly seems worth it if the thing is invisible. I don't thing the red oxide had anything to do with the self-sealing feature. While not 100% sure, I believe the sealant coating was on the inside of the tank. Someone correct me if I'm wrong please.
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
I agree, it's not worth re-painting it. As far as I remember, the red colour was the self-sealer outer coating, which was a rubber-based coating, the name of which escapes me at the moment (the material, in sheet form, is still used as a back stop on small bore shooting ranges). If pierced, and then in contact with fuel, it swelled up as a reaction, thus blocking, or at least partly blocking, the puncture.
From what I remember of the BBMF aircraft, the 'silver' colour is a 'modern' protective coating, but not for sealing purposes. Note that, in line with current RAF practices, the BBMF Spitfires have the internal areas of the rear fuselage painted white, partly to disclose any leaks (internal or external) or other contamination, and partly for ease of visibility when servicing.
From what I remember of the BBMF aircraft, the 'silver' colour is a 'modern' protective coating, but not for sealing purposes. Note that, in line with current RAF practices, the BBMF Spitfires have the internal areas of the rear fuselage painted white, partly to disclose any leaks (internal or external) or other contamination, and partly for ease of visibility when servicing.
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
Wow, that's just gorgeous!
- Thread starter
- #96
Gerry
Staff Sergeant
Andy Terry, thanks for the clarifications. David, thanks for your comments.
Vic Balshaw
Major General
That cockpit detail and finish is incredible Gerry.
- Thread starter
- #98
Gerry
Staff Sergeant
Thanks for your post Vic. I've been working on the engine and firewall and have made some progress, although not getting as much build time in as I'd like. Here's some 'before and after' shots.
First the firewall as it comes in the box, with a spray of interior green.
Next I assembled the basic 'black' engine components from the kit and added the first of the pipes and control levers, from wires and bits from the spares box, ready for painting.
The shots below are two of the main references I have been referring to, particularly the B/W period shot, for the firewall.
Here is the enhanced firewall...
...and the work done to date on assembling the Merlin 45.
The next task is to connect the engine to the firewall with the engine bearers, then see how much more plumbing I can add to connect both together, while making sure the completed assembly will still fit in the engine bay. I'll post some more shots when I get to that stage.
Cheers,
Gerry
First the firewall as it comes in the box, with a spray of interior green.
Next I assembled the basic 'black' engine components from the kit and added the first of the pipes and control levers, from wires and bits from the spares box, ready for painting.
The shots below are two of the main references I have been referring to, particularly the B/W period shot, for the firewall.
Here is the enhanced firewall...
...and the work done to date on assembling the Merlin 45.
The next task is to connect the engine to the firewall with the engine bearers, then see how much more plumbing I can add to connect both together, while making sure the completed assembly will still fit in the engine bay. I'll post some more shots when I get to that stage.
Cheers,
Gerry
Lucky13
Forum Mascot
Absolutely stunning work mate! 
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