Meteor NF.12, 46 Sqn, RAF, 1/48th scale.

Airframes · May 27, 2017

I just don't believe the repeated delays happening here !
Had a power cut last night, from around 20.00 hrs until around 02.00 hrs, so couldn't get any more work done !
Was just about to spray the finishing clear coat this morning, when the power went off again, and didn't come back on until around 13.30 hrs !
I'm about to spray the model now, and hope that the power doesn't fail again, as it's already getting dark due to thunderstorms.
Will I be happy when this model is finished ?
I'll be happier than a pig in sh*t !!

Wayne Little · May 28, 2017

Good luck Terry...

Airframes · May 28, 2017

Thanks Wayne.

Well, I got a couple of coats of semi-gloss clear on last night but, due to the patchy finish of the so-called 'satin' Dark Green, it's going to need at least one more coat in order to get an even finish (had the same problem on the Mosquito FB.VI, which turned out OK in the end).
I've left it drying until now, to be absolutely certain that the varnish is fully hardened and won't 'bloom' when the next coat is sprayed, which I'm just about to do. Meanwhile, the undercart and tanks have been attended to, ready for fitting and, if all goes to plan (yeah, right !), I should have it finished by late tonight - then it's time to pack them, and concentrate on preparing for the Holland trip.

turbo · May 28, 2017

Nice one Terry, I'm sure you'll get there!

Crimea_River · May 28, 2017

Terry may be modelling on the plane.

Airframes · May 28, 2017

No way !
Once this is done, I'm not touching another model for at least ... er ... ten days !

It's almost done - just got a tiny bit of re-touching to do on one canopy frame, where the tape lifted the paint, then clean-up the model, and attach the undercart and doors, fit the drop tanks and add the pitot and probably the two IFF dipoles, and if I have time, I'll make the pitot and the dipoles from brass tube and wire. If not, then I'll risk the kit pitot, and stretched sprue for the IFF dipoles. I'm omitting all of the smaller antennae, such as the radio altimeter 'T' antenna, as they're sure to get broken.

PIC 1. Test fitting the main gear legs showed interference from the small 'lump' indicated by the yellow arrow. These were filed off, as seen in the lower leg. The main wheels are rather nice resin parts, with injection-moulded plastic parts for the legs.
PIC 2. There was some rather large, and quite thick, flash between the nose wheel leg and the mudguard, where the scalpel blade is pointing to, which was a tw*t to remove.
PIC 3. Another small 'blob' had to be removed from the inner face of one half of the nose wheel leg, and the retraction jack did not survive the exercise. It'll be re-attached when the leg is fitted to the model.
PIC 4. The nose wheel is provided as two plastic halves, but the axle hole in one half was moulded over, and needed drilling. Aligning the two halves was a tad tricky, as the inner faces were flat, bare plastic, but I got there in the end, and eliminated the joint by careful scraping and sanding.
PIC 5. The drop tanks also needed a lot of preparation and clean-up, to remove sprue attachment points and get rid of the joint line. Once done, the areas for the white bands and the panel for the warning stencils were roughly brush-painted, then masked, and the surrounding excess paint lightly sanded back, before painting the tanks in MSG.
PIC 6. The undercart assembled and painted, and the drop tanks ready for a gloss clear coat for the stencil decals.
PICS 7 to 9. How the model looks after four coats of what should have been semi-gloss clear, and with the canopy masks removed.
The satin Dark Green didn't seem to want to even-out with a semi-gloss clear coat, so I reduced the amount of Tamiya Flat Base added to the Humbrol Gloss Clear, and sprayed a final coat which is almost, but not quite, full gloss, which will have to suffice.
There's a small amount of what appears to be sanding dust on the inside of one canopy panel, which appeared from who knows where, and the aft windscreen frame on the port side needs to be re-touched, as the tape lifted a small section when removed, which is a bit strange.

So, tomorrow - or more correctly, later today - the undercart, doors and tanks will be fitted, along with the 'sticky out bits', and it'll be finished. Then it'll be packed, and in the van ready to deliver on Wednesday. Talk about cutting it fine !!

fubar57 · May 28, 2017

Sweet. Looking forward to the finals

Crimea_River · May 29, 2017

The finish coat looks good to me. Good luck with the final bits Terry.

Tony Hill · May 29, 2017

Very nice mate. You've certainly "battled it" on this one!

Wurger · May 29, 2017

Airframes · May 29, 2017

Thanks chaps.
Hopping back and forth between the model, and preparing for the Holland trip - confusion reigns at Tel's Towers !
Should have the finished pics later tonight - my wrists are stiff and very painful at the moment, so the delicate bits will be fitted to the model after some pain-killers kick in, and the stiffness eases off.
Back later .............

rochie · May 29, 2017

Looks good Dogsbody

Airframes · May 29, 2017

Thanks Karl. Wasn't sure if you had time to check-in here, so sent you a couple of pics !

turbo · May 29, 2017

Looks good to me Terry! Well done on making it to the finish line.

Airframes · May 30, 2017

Thanks Kirby. It's not quite finished yet, but it will be later today.
Work was somewhat slower than I'd hoped, due to my hands being stiff and painful - probably aggravated the arthritis with all the modelling lately - and a couple of areas also slowed me down, due to ill-fitting parts and large sprue attachments in awkward places, which needed careful removal and clean-up.
However, the undercart and wheel bay doors are on (what a pain they were too !), a new pitot tube has been made and fitted, and all that remains is to fit a couple of IFF dipoles using brass rod, paint the nav lamps and re-touch a couple of small spots - and then have another go at fitting the drop tanks ( explanation below).

PICS 1 and 2. The undercart in place, along with the main gear doors. As mentioned earlier, the locating tabs on the main gear ran the opposite way to the locating slots in the wheel bays, so the legs had to be modified to fit - which they just about did, each side being in a slightly different location !
This, along with a slight difference in dihedral on the outer wings, has caused the model to 'sit' slightly lower on the starboard side, but it's too late now to worry about this !
The nose wheel attachment is about as strong as a Politician's promise, as the plastic leg fits into a hole in the resin frame, which is very delicate, and quite flexible, causing a bit of a 'wobble' if the model is moved. But the joint itself is strong enough so, givent he resin frames hold up to the weight, it should be OK.
PICS 3 to 5. The nose wheel doors are slightly too long, and the forward 'hinge' should be further aft by a few mm, behind the cut out. To save time, the forward hinges were cut off, and the rear ones reduced in length, and the doors were stuck in place using CA adhesive.
A bit of re-touching will be done, to cover the marks made by handling, and once on it's 'feet' they look acceptable enough to serve the purpose of this model.
PIC 6. A new pitot tube was made from aluminium tube and brass rod, with the rod 'blended' into the tube end by moulding CA around the joint. It has yet to be painted in this pic.
PIC 7. The drop tanks refused to adhere, and little wonder, as there are NO contact surfaces, the pylon edges being concave. If I have time later, I'll try cementing some plastic strip over the open ends of the pylons, and then cement this to the bare plastic of the wings. If that doesn't work, then the tanks will be omitted, as I just haven't got enough time to mess about with other options.
PICS 8 to 10. What the model looks like at the moment.

I have a lot of 'running around' to do today, preparing for the delivery trip to just south of Oxford tomorrow, and for the Holland trip on Friday, but I'll get the final bits done later today, and post pics probably tonight, or at least before I depart tomorrow.
Thanks again to all for your interest, and I'll be back later.