Peter Garsden

OK so the fuselage is done apart from the closed loop rudder system, and the wires for the spoilers/ailerons, so onto the wing which is covered in film. I have got some clear Hobbyking Film left over from the Flamingo, but I am not sure I have enough for both the root open area and the ailerons. So I decided to start on the ailerons, which are covered. Next is the inserted clear film for the outer wing section. To get the shape right I used a 4B pencil rubbing paper template as shown, which worked just fine. I will use it to cut out the red solarfilm to the correct shape also. This shows the fuselage with the rudder and AMT fitted I have made 4mm wide black lines out of Solartrim which makes the join so much better. This is the rear assembled. I tried the balance and I think it will be spot on with no extra lead needed, so fingers crossed.

Well we are nearly done with the airbrushing methinks. I have given the fuselage about 6 coats of white primer before overlaying about 4 coats of Flame Red which is the closest to Solarfilm Red I could find which I am using for the fin, the tailplane, and wings in combination with some clear for the flying surfaces. The cockpit area is masked off because that has been painted in white. It needs another coat of red before overlaying clear gloss lacquer. Next was the canopy which I completely covered with Tamiya yellow masking tape before drawing on the frame lines from the plan - width 4mm. I used the two flexible rulers you can see, which work really well. I then used a brand new blade in the scalpel to make sure of clean lines. You have to press but not too hard to avoid going through the plastic canopy as well s the tape. The first coat is just plain white to give the inside of the canopy the correct colour and also to give the red the correct base. I changed the nozzle of the airbrush from the fan shape to the single hole to get a narrower coverage.

I just looked up the spec and can tell you that the cup is rated at 15cc or 1/2 oz which I know doesn't help, but I fill this about 3/4 full. This lasts for one coat of the fuselage thereabouts. I reckon that to cover what I need, I will go through about 45ml of ready mixed airbrush paint. That will be about 4 coats, so not too bad.

So, ribs are a bit better (9 weeks) but not a lot better and am able to do a bit more than previously, so have strung up the fuselage for airbrushing - lots of coats needed The Airbrush I use is an Iwata HP-TH which has advantages and disadvantages but overall for doing this type of big spraying task is ideal. It needs a larger compressor because it is a cross between an airgun and an air brush. It covers however very well, and also comes with a smaller nozzle for finer work, but there are limits because the needle is quite large scale ie 0.5mm It also makes life easier to use specially mixed primer for airbrushes - no tricky diluting needed This is actually a Sparmax compressor from airbrushes.com. Always a good idea to match your compressor with the requirements of your airbrush. This works really well and is good quality.

Thanks Justin. Only just seen this. In answer to your question, I have had a few KST X08's break their teeth on heavy impact also. So far my 4 Max have performed well, but they are much cheaper than KST's so I wouldn't expect them to be as good. They seem slop free to me. I have used them on a Jart which is a pretty fast aeroplane without issue, but I have not had any heavy landings with it so far. Haven't noticed any 4 Max slop and they are a lot cheaper so give them a go. Since I bought mine I think they now do some stronger versions with more torque which I would definitely go for. More torque the better IMHO.

Thanks Chris. Yes indeed Freddie's sauce is very popular and works really well. I used it on my Spitfire and it produced such a smooth surface.

Despite my best efforts, most modelling tasks hurt because I have to bend over the bench and move my shoulders. Also things start to ache after a while so I cannot do much. I hope this will improve soon. I tried to fly but the constant rotating of my neck and shoulders were too much, so I had to pack that in. Strange because I thought I would manage OK. I have now covered the fuselage in 25g per sq metre fibreglass cloth. Because I have had trouble with joins before, I tried to cover the whole fuselage in one piece, which was a mistake as the resin went off before I could lay on the peel ply. I should have done it in sections. This has meant a lot more sanding down before paint. I have also added a layer of "Freddy's Sauce" which consists of equal quantities of light filler, water based resin or floor varnish, and talcum powder. It is magic stuff and easier to apply than undercoat/filler primer. I am still using just the lightweight filler for some of the parts which have escaped the sauce. More filling and rubbing down to be done yet.

A few weeks off from modelling due to a skiing holiday the last day of which I collided with a kerbstone piece of ice left by a snow cannon, which was blocking the slope at about 40mph and came to a dead halt. In the process I managed to fracture 7 ribs numbered 3 to 9 down the left hand side of my rib cage. Ever since I have been in agony and unable to do anything. Today was the first time I was able to devote about 2 hours to some repairs and the installation of the aero-tow servo. The plan shows quite a meaty servo attached to the side of the fuselage about 10cms from F1. Due to the size of my pilot "Reg", There was no room where the plan showed, so I decided to use a very small slim wing metal digital servo which is only 8mm thick. The torque is not quite as high as a Hitec 85mg rated at about 3 to 3.5kg/cm. I hope it will be sufficient at 1.9kg/cm. You can't quite see that I glued the servo to a piece of 3mm birch ply using a mixture of laminating resin and microballoons then screwed that to F1 using servo screws. I cut down the servo horn to accomodate the correct measure of movement - 10mm and programmed the servo to the spring switch on the transmitter The other end pokes out of the nose. I have now dremmelled off the excess so that 3mm protrudes beyond the stainless steel bar across the auto-release mechanism. So to use it, one threads a loop of fishing line under the bar with the mechanism retracted then activate the release to trap the loop with the piece of wire, thus locking it in position ready for take off.

Thought I would report on an unfortunate smash at the last PSS event, which looks awful but was actually repaired and back to flying condition within a couple of hours on the bench. The event was an impromptu meeting of the PSSA at the Great Orme on 29th December 2022. The winds were 55mph on the edge and with compression, but only 35mph where we stood, or rather kneeled as the gusts kept blowing you off your feet! I was looping the Spitfire across the slope, but the winds were so strong that I was being blown back towards the slope. Gradually the loops got closer. I pulled up elevator to bring the plane round then to my horror saw the Spitfire hit the ground in front of me. The compression had sucked the plane into the ground. If you look carefully, you will notice that it nearly made, hence getting away with little damage. It looks dramatic because the elevators and rudder were ripped out on impact and the weighted cowl sheered off. Stevie Kemp was videoing Phil Cooke's A4 Skyhawk, which you can just see in the distance when the Spitfire suddenly crashed right in front of him. A true "You've been framed" moment. Steve's daughter cleverly edited it into slow down mode, hence the strange audio.

Christmas is the time for goodwill to all men.....and pilot painting. Have decided that he shall be called "Reg" which seems suitably 1940's.

Yes I know it looks idiotic but his arm wouldn't fit the space unless it was pointing up in the air, so that's how it is going to be. I can highly recommend the work of Andrew Meade who sells 3D pilots on Ebay at reasonable prices by the way. In fairness I didn't send him dimensions on order because the fuselage wasn't built then. I guess Derek is pointing at an eagle thermal soaring above him in shock and awe, and when on the ground is telling the toe line man that he is suffering from terrible cramp with his knees jammed under the centre console? And the other news is that I have decided to cover the fuselage in 25gm cloth and resin rather than Oratex. This was how I finished my Spitfire and was very pleased with the result. I am going to use Peel Ply, and then a mix of water based resin, lightweight filler, talcum powder, and acrylic paint to fill the weave. It is not the way Chris Williams does it but, I think will work out a bit lighter. We will see.