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

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Thanks all, it's much appreciated.

Started on the starboard cockpit wall, with the resin part removed from the casting block and cleaned up, and some parts fitted and painted, and also did some alterations to the fuselage half.

Pic 1. The resin lower wall, with the resin undercart quadrant fitted (operating lever yet to be attached, after decals), two small pieces of plastic card, covering the I.F.F. destruct unit, and the other below it, which will eventually have placard decals added. Also fitted are the bottle from the kit parts (grey part), and the lever (white rod), made from flattened and shaped plastic rod.
Pic 2. The first stage of painting. When dry, some components will be gloss coated, with the relevant decals added once the clear gloss is fully dry.
The undercart lever will then be fitted, and, I hope, the hydraulic lines, made from either copper or lead wire, then these will be painted and some re-touching done. Fitting the hydraulic lines looks challenging, as these have to curve around the forward fuselage (instrument panel) frame, which will be almost impossible to reach easily, once the side wall is fixed in place.
Pic 3. Whilst waiting for the paint to dry on the sidewall, work started on the starboard fuselage interior. The solid blue arrows indicate mouldings that need to be removed, whilst the other arrows show the vertical ribs that need to be thinned down slightly, as they're a touch too wide. I'd thought of removing these, and replacing them with plastic strip, but there was a risk of damage to the surrounding area.
Pic 4. A modelling chisel was used to remove the unwanted mouldings, and also to do the initial work on thinning the vertical ribs, which were then scraped and shaved with a scalpel. Some final sanding has yet to be done to smooth out the 'modified' ribs.

When the clear gloss has fully hardened, I'll tackle the decals - there are seven to apply to the lower sidewall, including some tricky ones on the undercart quadrant and other small, moulded components, so I hope they perform well !
When that's all done, the hydraulic lines and undercart lever can (I hope) be fitted and painted, and the sidewall (somehow) attached to the cockpit assembly, the it's the turn of the resin port sidewall.


 
Thanks Bill and Wayne,
Currently working on the port side wall, the intention being to get both pieces, and the fuselage walls, to the same point, so that the decals can all be applied together.
Might have some pics later this evening .............................
 
Some progress pics, with the port, lower sidewall nearing completion.

Pic 1. The resin parts removed from the casting blocks. The smaller parts are, from left to right, the electrical distribution panel, the elevator trim wheel, and the throttle and pitch quadrant. The smaller, rudder trim wheel is moulded onto the sidewall, and can be seen below and to the left of the socket for the elevator trim.
Pics 2 & 3. The parts assembled and painted. These will be gloss coated, ready for the decals provided in the 'Barracuda' set - there's a tiny decal to go on the prop pitch lever (the black lever at the front of the quadrant), although I have doubts as to my ability to accurately place it, depending on the amount of carrier film at the edges !
The small red patch at the front of the quadrant is the warning horn cut-out switch, actually moulded on the resin part.
I'm trying to figure out how to add scratch-built throttle and pitch linkages, which have to pass through a hole in the instrument panel cockpit frame, although this will probably be a little easier than the previously mentioned hydraulic lines on the starboard side.
Pic 4. The internal fuselage areas have been painted, with the bare areas being where resin and kit parts are to be fitted. These areas will be re-touched and the rear fuselage area will be painted silver later.

I'm hoping to get the cockpit more or less completed within the next day or so, and I'll be back when more progress has been made.


 
Looks smashing old chap!

For the link rods to the throttle quadrant I'd suggest dryfitting the bulkhead then pass some stretched sprue through the hole and .CA glue the ends to the quadrant. Snip the ends on the other side of the hole then carefully slide the bulkhead out. On final assembly it will be a matter of fishing the ends through the hole but there may be enough flex in the sprue to make it work.
 
Problem is, the bulkhead is part of the main cockpit assembly, with the side walls attaching to this and, being resin, can't be attached with cement, which would allow more 'wiggle' time. Consequently, it means trying to feed any lines (including the undercart hydraulic pipes) into their final locations, inside a box-shape assembly.
I'll probably use lead wire, running from the throttle quadrant, bent out of the way until the wall is in place, and then attempt to feed them through the hole in the frame once the walls are attached.
A bit like the gynecologist who decorated his entrance hall via the letter box flap !!
 
Got the resin parts fitted to the upper cockpit wall (fuselage half), along with a kit part, and a little scratch work.

Pic 1. The resin parts, from the top left - gun sight spare bulbs rack, with the Morse key below it, the I.F.F. remote contactor, and the oxygen hose.
Between the Morse key and remote contactor is the kit part for the manual fuel pump, and below the oxygen hose is the seat harness tension release, made from plastic rod and stretched sprue.
The rough appearance of the paint work is due to scraping some away to allow the adhesives to 'take', and the pencil lines show the position of the instrument panel and rear frame, to aid in alignment of parts. The small white spot at the rear is one of the attachment points for the kit oxygen bottle, as shown below.
Pic 2. The oxygen bottle was cleaned up, removing some fairly heavy seams and sprue attachment points, and the moulded retaining band was sanded down a little, to hopefully help the decal to settle properly, all of which was a real paint to do. A hole was drilled into one end, and a length of plastic rod inserted and cemented in place, to represent the valve nozzle, which butts- up against the rear cockpit frame. This part will be fitted after painting and applying the decal.

Next step is painting and fitting the compressed air cylinders and radio channel selector to the port fuselage half, and then the areas can be painted and the resin parts painted also, before gloss coating, ready for the decals. When that's all done, the cockpit module will have the required hydraulic and control lines made and fitted, and fiddled into place as the side walls are fitted, then the whole lot can be attached and the fuselage halves closed.


 
Thanks Wojtek and Andy.

Now painted, and the decal areas gloss coated. Details will be picked out once the decals have been applied, settled and matt clear coated.
The harness release is a bit over scale, but it'll have to do, as it can't be removed now. Once buried in the interior, it should look OK.


 
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