Nick Somerville

Personally I would find the task of reworking a ‘duff’ model disheartening. Building from plans gives you complete ownership of the build with the ability to add as much or little scale detail as you wish. That said, the cost of putting together a 50cc ish sized warbird from scratch is eye watering and far greater than going down the artf route. If you rate the DB Hurricane so much then why not crack on with the DB Spitfire? Sorry to hear about your Mum, Jon.

Thanks Denis, that’l be next spring then 😖

I am at a point with my latest build when I shall shortly need to spray the first undercoat, cut back and then build some further undercoat layers as I detail the panel lines, hatches and rivets etc. But here we are at a properly cold time of year and my spray space is an unheated small stone stable with a tin roof. I have power for my compressor and can get some short term heat using a greenhouse heater/blower but am wondering what temperature is considered the minimum for spraying cellulose primer with a small panel spraygun.

My Best Pilot’s unpainted Gunther Rall (Luftwaffe ace) arrived a few days ago from across the pond. A beautifully modelled and moulded pilot that I enjoyed painting, mixing a few basic colours I had in acrylic pots. He is 1/5th scale so strictly speaking a tiny bit undersized. I have made up his seat from the scrap drawer )just needs a leather cushion) and with these completed I can get on and complete the cockpit area.

A little progress on the canopy and cockpit. The sliding canopy fits a treat to my amazement and the articulated mounting of the armoured headrest functions as it should. The forward part of the canopy is now all fixed along with the cockpit coming that has handhold cut outs and the aperture for the gunsights. Just a seat to make up and a few other embellishments.

Basil, I have made my own nav lights and covers following someone else’s technique. It’s very easy, just by enough plastic sheet for a few goes to perfect your technique. page 8 of my Sea Fury build I think

Great stuff Jon. I shall endeavour to get there with these three Laser powered models. Now, how to fit them all in my little camper?

Absolutely! 90cc 🙏

Some progress today on the sliding canopy. I glued up the front and rear frames yesterday and let them set thoroughly overnight. First up I found a flat surface hinge in the odds n ends box and attached it to the top of the front frame with panel pins and cyano. Next a razor saw cut through the top of the frame from the inside up to the hinge with a slight V to allow for the pivot as the canopy slides back. Next up a track was fabricated to hold the rear of the canopy frame in place and this has a release hole at the rear (side tails have release holes at the front of their tracks). The idea is that the canopy can be removed if required but front and back won’t release at the same time. The top deck behind the pilot has a .5mm plasticard top layer sprayed silver and a luggage hatch with fake hinge and clasps added along with a few rivets. The plasticard can be embossed with simple details on the reverse before gluing in place. The final colour will be RLM Luftwaffe grey but the silver gives something to weather back to.

Finally satisfied that there was no more to add or do to the fuselage prior to glassing and so got on with what I always find a bit tricky, compared to the ease of glassing wings. While the resin fully cures I have made a start on the canopy frame that incorporates the headrest. The headrest is connected to the side frame with articulated parts to allow for the change in width as it slides back. 3mm G10 for the rear former and connector. Carbon sq with balsa for the side and light ply with a plastic sheet front for the armoured headrest. The forward canopy frames have also been fretted out from G10, but its very much a work in progress.

Hi Garry, re the fillets: For my Fw 190 and P47 ,that both have a central dihedral I sand back the fuselage outer skin a little more than shown on the plan. I then glue the wing saddle ply plate to the inside (fus box) only and then mount the wing to the fuselage. With everything measured and checked twice I then pack the small gap with thin strips of scrap balsa and add several triangular 1/4” soft balsa supports to hold the saddle tight to the wing. After sanding the triangles with coarse sandpaper wrapped around an appropriate round object its infill/sheeting time. You do need to have finalised the wing fixings first.

After a little head scratching I have made and fitted a pair of canopy rails. Brass tube slotted with an angle grinder (eek) and sandwiched between a split square section carbon tube. There is a round opening in each at the forward end into which a ball link fits in. This should mean I can remove the whole canopy if needed. I have offset the rails a little to minimise the taper but the top forward part of the canopy will still require splitting and a hinge fitting, as per the full size to allow for the rest of the taper as it is slid back. I do like shaping wing fairings and although a little fiddly on this model, due to the pair of panel hinges and various steps in the shape, it has worked out ok. As per the cowl the hinges are simulated. The rear portion is thin steamed balsa sheet and the front balsa infill with a final top coat of Fat Boy lightweight car body filler (lovely stuff to shape). The red blotches are 3m cellulose putty. Good stuff but messy as. A thin litho panel has been formed for the upper area above the vents but won’t be adhered until after glassing the fuselage. Here with the cowl in place. Not easy to see from this angle but that a a fair sized gap where the 4 simulated exhausts will go. Along with the other exhaust exit at the lower back of the cowl and the venting through the cooling flaps I have no concerns of an overheating engine.

Great to see you back on the BT building, Garry. I echo Ace’s comment.

Having never previously had an RC petrol engine I don’t know if regular tuning of the engine is required once set up. However, I would be surprised if a small adjustment to the needles wasn’t needed to allow for changes in atmospheric pressure on any given day. With the carburettor buried deep in the model I have had to be creative to find an access point to the two needles and idle screw. After a rummage in the bit n bobs drawer I found a lone gear door hinge that I removed the side that had the pivot pins. Mounted on a length of piano wire between the forward bulkheads, it swings a curved g10 hatch down and provides an easy view and access to the adjustment screws. I am painting the area inside white for maximum contrast and light. The area directly adjacent to the hatch is yet to be finalised as it forms part of the wing fairing at the leading edge. I suspect some of that fairing will overlap onto part of the hatch. A pair of 5mm neodymium magnets keeps it shut.

So, onto the cowl fitting, which I have been procrastinating over as I knew the engine was a little tight across it’s width. The right hand cylinder head rocker cover sits a little further forward than the left side and was a few mm tight. Firstly I made some rims for the cowl to sit accurately against at the top. These have inset neodymium magnets and matching parts to glue into the cowl when ready. These will firmly hold the cowl in alignment prior to tightening the fixing bolts. Fortunately with this model all four bolts will be easily accessible. Two under the gun cover and the lower pair can be done up with a hex driver inserted through the wing dowel holes (wing will have to be off for cowl removal though). First I removed the area that was making contact with the rocker cover. Then epoxied a G10 patch from the outside allowing the epoxy raise it slightly from the outer surface of the cowl. Also a piano hinge glued in place at the same time. Next some car body filler to blend it all in. I fitted a hinge on the other side and blended that in but no hole was required for the rocker cover as it sits further back where the cowl is a little wider. So now I have marginally asymmetric cowl blisters, but once painted I doubt anyone will notice. Inside I now have 2mm clearance at both sides of the engine so a great relief.

Radials are round!

I don’t know about ‘electricary’ powered models, but for IC it is generally not worth going to three blades unless your engine is more than 100cc. Nothing to stop anyone fitting an appropriately sized three blade prop, but it won’t be as efficient as a two blade one.

On her legs for the first time whilst finalising the wing dowels and fixing bolts. A crucial stage for any build and in this instance required several hours of measuring, fine fettling and more measurements before I was satisfied. Also used the opportunity to fit the wing saddle ply fillet bases.

I have a lightly used Ar620 I am taking out of my Acrowot XL that I will be selling; due to gradually changing radio systems on my models. As mentioned above they are compact and have built in bind button and aerial. I have used them in three of my models and they have been faultless. Message me if you are interested in a second hand one.

And here’s the instrument panel. Sprayed it silver first to help weather back through the grey.

Thanks Ron but I only had to assemble and paint the parts as supplied in kit form by Aerocockpit. Bit of a tweezer job better suited to 1/48th plastic modellers. Who btw have my greatest admiration for their ability to work with such small parts. I just don’t know how they do it.

Made a start on the cockpit interior. Here are the made up side panels.

I have used J Tape to mask the edge between colours when you need a soft transition and are spraying. It’s a soft foam tape in a rounded section. It does come in smaller quantities than the box shown. Phil at Fighter Aces recommended it to me.

Anyone from North Somerset/Bristol area thinking of going to The LMA Gaydon Exhibition this coming Sunday. I would be interested in lift sharing for ‘eco’ reasons.

Rummaging in the scrap drawer I found some sundry parts to fabricate a retractable pilot’s step. A simple cassette with magnets for the open and close position and a non scale tiny screw as grip to pull it out.