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

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Got the cockpit module in, without any major hassle, and the fuselage joined.
This had to be done in stages, starting at the rear section, as the front end, forward of the cockpit, was very tight, needing a lot of pressure to join the two halves. And I was right about the rear cockpit frame - it locates ever so slightly too far aft, a feature of the kit parts, not incorrect positioning.

Pic 1. The fuselage joined, cemented and set aft of the cockpit.
Pic 2. The prop shaft has to be fitted at this stage, and was secured with PVA, to prevent it dropping out of the locating hole. This can be 'broken' later, allowing the shaft to rotate . A note here for anyone building this kit - it is essential to remove the moulding seams and any sprue attachment burrs from the shaft itself, and ensure it fits cleanly into the spinner back plate by test-fitting, otherwise the shaft will not fit later, and the forward collar will not locate into the recess in the back plate.
Pic 3. The forward fuselage was then joined, needing a lot of pressure and some help from a bead of CA, as the instrument panel bulkhead is immediately behind the locating pin, causing 'spread'.
Pic 4. The upper cowling joint will need some attention, with gentle sanding and polishing.
Pics 5 and 6. A couple of poor views showing how the completed cockpit looks.
Pics 7 and 8. The rear cockpit frame on the kit is slightly too far aft, compared to the real thing, but probably not that noticeable when the model is painted and finished.

I'll now let the fuselage fully set, before sanding the joints, and correcting that error on the tail wheel well.


 
Thanks Wojtek and Andy.

The front end was rather "springy" - I think it was caused by the method of aligning the front of the cockpit assembly - but it went together after keeping pressure on the joint. I had to use tape, as clamps couldn't get a decent purchase.
The upper joints have now been sanded, but there's a slight, shallow depression where a sprue attachment 'peeled' some of the plastic when removed, and also a small sink mark on top of the cowling, which will be filled with a smidgin of CA and sanded back.
Working on correcting the tail wheel aperture at the moment, and hope to have the fuselage stage completed later tonight, and then move on to the wing assembly.
 
Could you feel me breathing down your neck, I've been stalking the site waiting for you to start something! It's looking good. I just bought the Revell 1/48 MkII ( our friend BD). The idea was to build it for GB43 out the box as I was late starting but still haven't started building so I guess I've missed that boat now. I will watch your build with enthusiasm and perhaps take some pointers and stretch my skills and my knowledge of the current after market industry. All I've ever done is pretty much out of the box stuff.
 
Thanks chaps.

Alan, I have the Revell MkII, and have recently bought the resin wing correction set for it, as the kit oil cooler is the MkV type, fitted to the aircraft used as a pattern for the kit, and the ailerons are metal-covered, instead of fabric covered. I've yet to decide whether to build it as a Mk1. or a Mk.II - if the latter, then I'll need to get a resin Rotol prop, as the kit parts are more akin to the Mk.1 DH prop.

I've now taken care of the upper cowling joint, and have almost finished dealing with the tail wheel well correction, having cut the darned hole in the wrong place initially.
Wings are next ...........

Pic 1. The joint on top of the fuel tank cover had a tiny, hair-line gap, which has been filled with CA and sanded smooth, but awaits polishing.
Pic 2. The shallow depression caused by the sprue attachment has been filled (red arrow), again with CA, as has the sink mark (black arrow)
Pic 3. The tail wheel well had a short length of sprue, roughly cut to shape, attached at the front of the well, using CA.
Pic 4. Once fully set, this was filed and sanded to shape, and the joints filled where needed, again using CA, which was then sanded smooth. A thin coat of primer should show if further work is required.
Pic 5. The sprue attachments for the wing sections are rather thick and heavy, needing care when removing the parts from the sprues.
Pics 6 and 7. This is how one attachment point looked like - right on the leading edge of the wing - which will need some attention. Stupid bl**dy place to put them !!

I hope to get the main wing assembly done later tonight - pics soon.


 
Got the main wings assembled, and waiting for them to fully set, before dealing with that damaged area on the leading edge of the starboard wing.
Once that's done, the wing can be fitted to the fuselage, and an initial trial fit suggests it should be a good fit, and, hopefully, filler won't be required.

Pics 1 to 3. More huge sprue attachment points, on the wheel bays, and upper wing sections. These had to be removed from the sprues using a razor saw, and then filed and sanded.
Pic 4. Wheel bays fitted.
Pic 5. Inner surface of the upper wing sections, which include detail on the 'roof' of the wheel bay, and also incorporate the side walls on the leg 'tunnels'. Note that, although flap interior detail is included here, and on the separate, split flaps, there is no provision for an open flap actuator bay and door. Although the flaps were not lowered when on the ground, except perhaps for inspection or servicing, those wishing to have them deployed could easily cut open the actuator doors and scratch-build the actuators and door covers.
Pic 6. When assembling the wing halves, it is important to ensure that this joint is properly cemented, and clamped until set, to ensure that the wing root joint is correct, preventing a 'step'.
Pics 7 and 8. Wings assembled, and wheel bay 'roofs' painted (walls will be exterior colour), along with the part of the lower fuselage fillet, visible through the rear cockpit glazing. After further checking of photos, I opted to paint the rear fuselage interior in the Cockpit Grey Green, rather than 'aluminium'.
Pics 9 and 10. The joints and sink mark on the cowling, and the joint at the tail wheel well modification, received a thin coat of paint, to check for any signs of the joint lines. The cowling is fine, but one side of the tail wheel well 'plug' needs a small amount of light sanding, and a further primer coat should blend things in nicely.

Back sometime tomorrow, hopefully with the main wing in place.




 

LOL Terry, your a fountain! Now that I know about the wings and the prop I need to get them, can you point me in the right direction please? Also, very cool about Avro and Woodford, went to many of the air shows there back in the day!
 
Thanks all.

Here you go Alan, wing set and cockpit door from Barracuda, and a set of wheels is good idea, as the kit parts in the Revell Mk.II are weird. Again from Barracuda, or, like mine (for this Mk.VIII build, as I have a spare set for the Mk.I/II) from True details .
There's a Rotol prop from Eagle Products, but it costs as much as the kit. However, Grey Matter Figures in the UK do one for around £6.

I'll post pics of the latest progress in the next post.


 
More work on the wing, which needed doing before fitting to the fuselage.

Pic 1. Damage to the leading edge of the starboard wing repaired, by filling with CA and sanding.
Pic 2. The panel lines and filler cap for the extra wing tanks of the Mk.VIII have been engraved on both wings, and await clean-up.
Pic 3. Gun camera aperture drilled and hatch engraved, again awaiting clean-up.

Still got a couple of other little jobs to do on the wings before fitting, including enlarging the machine gun openings, and thinning the rebate at the rear end of the wing bottom fillet. to improve the fit at the fuselage joint.


 
Innards look very nice Terry and despite some of the fit issues, the rest is proceeding nicely. For what its worth, Airfix and a few threads on Britmodeller recommend aluminum colour for the fuselage area behind seat of the Mk.V and I went with that...

​
 
Thanks all.
Geo, that's probably correct for Mk1 to MkV, and certainly early Mk.1s, although I've also seen it grey green, with aluminium aft of the rear glazing. Having re-checked period photos and film footage, plus pics of preserved, static aircraft, it appears that from late Mk.V onward, the entire interior was in the grey green. This can be seen when the radio and / or battery hatches are open, with the grey green on the inside of the hatch cover, and visible inside the fuselage.

Regarding the fit of the cockpit frames - they're all correctly aligned and positioned and, having studied the photos of the finished model on the Revell box top and instruction sheet, they match exactly. It seems that Revell have located the aft frame (the one bearing the seat mounts and armour plate) slightly too far aft, roughly 1.5mm, or just under 2 scale inches. I suspect that their Mk.II kit will be the same, so I'll see if I can alter that when I get around to building it, although it might not be worth the hassle.

Anyway, Mr. Numbnuts has had another brain fade - I drilled the gun camera hole in the wing, rather than the wing root !
The hole has now been filled, and the engraved hatch replaced by lines of rivets, and the new hole drilled in the correct location - forward of the hatch already engraved as part of the kit's surface detail !!
The rear of the underwing fillet has been thinned, where it joins the underside of the fuselage, to allow a better fit. Although test-fitting shows that the overall fit should be good, I'm expecting some fiddling to get everything seated properly, and a little filler may be needed here and there.

Pic 1. The new hole for the gun camera port. The moulded hatch cover can just be seen aft of this, on the wing root fillet.
Pic 2. The arrow indicates the rebate that has been thinned on the inside, to allow better 'seating' at the joint with the lower fuselage.

Looking at the photos, those cowling fasteners seem a little too prominent. The real ones do have a raised 'collar' around them, but don't look that 'bulky'. I think i may sand them back a touch,





 
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