**** DONE: GB-43 1/32 Spitfire Mk.VIII - Aces' Aircraft of all Eras

[Airframes]

No further progress to show yet, I'm afraid.
I got side-tracked watching the Spitfire video that arrived today - over four hours of absolute, stunning magic !
I should have more to show sometime tomorrow, given my house doesn't float away in the incessant rain !

 

[fubar57]

Welcome back Terry. Looking forward to this

 

[N4521U]

The Goodies!!!!!
always fun....

 

[Airframes]

Thanks Geo and Bill.

Got the seat frame / armour plate assembled and painted, and the basic painting done on the seat. Both are awaiting some detail painting, before fitting the seat harness and then fitting the seat to the frame.
As I anticipated, the harness is taking a long time, as fiddling with the PE buckles is more than a little tricky for my knackered hands, but I'll get there eventually - I hope.
The (poor) pics below show the assemblies to date, with the seat / fuselage frame painted using Humbrol No.78 Cockpit Grey-Green enamel, lightened with a touch of white, and the seat painted using a matt red and matt Dark Earth enamel mix, with the 'leather' back pad (altered from the kit part) painted in a very dark brown, mixed from red, black and Dark Earth enamels.
I have to go to a meeting this evening, so i doubt I'll get anymore done until tomorrow, when I'll post more progress pics.

 

[fubar57]

Beauty

 

[Wurger]

 

[Crimea_River]

Your long hiatus has not affected your ability to produce quality work Terry. Have a good meeting....at the pub.

 

[Airframes]

Thanks very much chaps !
And yes Andy, you were quite correct - the meeting was at the pub, to discuss my possible involvement with the AVRO Heritage Center.
But ..... the person I was supposed to meet ( a known friend ) didn't turn up, so I had a pint or two, then her drink ( in her absence), and then the one I went for, by which time I'd forgotten what I'd came for, so had another one ............ and ....... well, my buggy seemed to have a steering problem on the way home !!!!

 

[Crimea_River]

So you get to do it all over again! Congratulations on being considered. Good on you.

 

[Wayne Little]

Doing good work there Terry, hope the consideration goes your way....

 

[Airframes]

Thanks again chaps.
Apparently, my friend thinks I would be very welcome at the Heritage Center, so it's a case of whether I can fit some hours in which would be convenient for all concerned. The Center is in the former Fire Station on what used to be the AVRO (later BAe) airfield at Woodford, home of the Lancaster, Vulcan, Nimrod etc, now closed and under development as a housing area, and only four miles from where I live.

 

[Airframes]

I decided to have a break from fiddling with the seat harness and tiny PE buckles - very tricky, slow work, with my knackered hands - and skipped back to the first stage in the instructions, the instrument panel assembly.
It seems a shame to destroy the nicely moulded detail on the kit part, but this has to be removed, in order to fit the 'Yahu' panel. The gun-sight mount and compass bracket also had to be removed, as these will be replaced with items from the 'Barracuda' resin detail set.
The sight mount and compass bracket were removed first, and then the moulded detail was filed off.
The 'Yahu' panel was positioned using a blob of PVA, which allows time to adjust as required. Once set, the panel will be firmly fixed with spots of CA, applied using a pin. It's highly unlikely that I'll be able to accurately fit the overlay panel for the Blind Flying instruments, again due to the limited dexterity of my hands, but to be honest, it doesn't really need it, as the basic panel also has the shape, in relief, and looks good enough to the naked eye.
The sequence below shows the panel before, during and after filing off the detail, and the 'Yahu' panel in place, with the final pic showing some of the incredible detail on these items.
Once the panel is firmly fixed, the small PE parts for the flaps selector and other switches can be fitted, and dials will possibly be glazed with a spot of gloss clear.
The 'Ki-Gas' primer and fuel selector (bottom right of the panel, on the plastic, kit part) will be detailed using plastic rod and stretched sprue, the resin compass bracket and compass will be fitted, and the cockpit frame will be painted. The gun sight will be mounted later in the build, in order to avoid damage during the rest of the construction.

.

 

[Wurger]

 

[fubar57]

Very impressive

 

[Airframes]

More done to the panel, with the tiny PE parts added, and the 'Ki-Gas' fuel primer pump handle added from plastic rod (yellow arrow), along with the resin compass mounting bracket from the 'Barracuda' set, the latter still to be trimmed around the openings. The compass itself will be fitted once basic painting has been completed, which should be done by tomorrow evening (er .... this evening !).
The instruction sheet extract shows which parts have been added, with 1 being the flap selector lever, 2 is the oxygen flow control, and 3 are the hinged covers for the booster coil and starter buttons - and yes, the flap lever really does have 'UP' and 'Down' printed on it !!!

 

[fubar57]

 

[N4521U]

Holey moley.
Some nice work.

 

[Crimea_River]

Stunning detail on those Yahu panels.

 

[nuuumannn]

The Center is in the former Fire Station on what used to be the AVRO (later BAe) airfield at Woodford,

Is that Mk.II Vulcan masquerading as a Mk.I still there? They do have some aeroplanes there, don't they?

 

[Airframes]

Thanks chaps, but 'Yahu's' work, not mine - I just assembled the tiny bits !

Yes Grant, the Vulcan is still there, and I believe some other airframes (an Anson being one, I think), plus Martin Willoughby's stunning Lancaster nose section, which he built himself (pic below, taken at East Kirkby in 2016).
I Haven't been yet (was supposed to go for the 'Air Days', last weekend, but the weather, as usual around here, was total cr@p , so I didn't bother).