Battle of Britain build part 3 - Spitfire! (Revell 1/32 new tool Spit Mk.II)

[tr1ckey66]

Hey everyone

Finally got around to starting the 5 (yes five!) Spitfire kits by Revell.

I've decided to build 2 dioramas and a Green screen wheels up aircraft to use in composite photography.

The first dio will be an earth bound scramble scene containing 2 of the kits with pilots racing to them.

The second dio will be 2 Spits in the process of climbing from the runway one with wheels fully retracted the other in the process of doing so. These will be belting over fields and will have motorised props.

The last aircraft will again have a motorised prop, wheels up and will be used in future green screen projects.

I hope this is of interest and welcome al comments.

Thanks

P

First up the kit...

Sprue Shots

I'm not sure what use these will be and I'm sure they're splashed all over the internet by now but here they are!

[tr1ckey66]

The Cockpit builds

Having mostly completed the cockpit on 1 of the 5 kits, I realised it would be useful to outline some of the bear traps that might possibly catch one out when building this kit. If you're a seasoned modeller then what follows may simply serve to speed the build process up, for others I provide this info in the hope that it will help you get the results you want.

First of all I cleaned the parts described in the instructions

[ATTACH]121669.IPB[/ATTACH]


There were some ejection pin marks on the cockpit floor and forward bulkhead. I decided only 1 of the marks on the cockpit floor would be visible and removed it with a micro chisel then levelled with Mr Surfacer 500. The forward bulkhead was simply sanded flat.

[ATTACH]121670.IPB[/ATTACH]


[ATTACH]121671.IPB[/ATTACH]


I then drilled the lightening holes in the cockpit framing behind the pilot as I felt these had 'filled in' a little during moulding.

[ATTACH]121672.IPB[/ATTACH]


It was then time to tackle the seat and this is where I think help is useful. Through a few attempts (remember I'm building 5 of these) I discovered the best way to build the seat is as follows. First attach the sides to the seat back with liquid poly (or similar).

[ATTACH]121673.IPB[/ATTACH]


When the glue has gone slightly off but is still movable, glue the seat bottom to the seat back but do not glue the sides.

[ATTACH]121674.IPB[/ATTACH]


Then squeeze the sides in and locate the seat bottom on to the tabs on the seat sides. This is a little bit fiddly. Then flow some thin liquid glue between the seat bottom and sides.

[ATTACH]121675.IPB[/ATTACH]


It should end up looking something like this

[ATTACH]121676.IPB[/ATTACH]


The second sub assembly is the steering column and is straight forward...

[ATTACH]121677.IPB[/ATTACH]


Whilst the glue is still setting it's worth placing this assembly on to the cockpit floor (DO NOT GLUE IT TO THE COCKPIT FLOOR) this will allow you to position the steering column into the location hole.

[ATTACH]121678.IPB[/ATTACH]


Note: I still need to sand the filler for the sink mark

[tr1ckey66]

Next up is the seat frame which is the most difficult bit of the cockpit to get right. Apply glue to the areas indicated. Loop the frames through the bar indicated by the bottom arrow, then glue the frames outside of the little notches on both sides,



The reason you need to glue the frames outside these notches is because another frame is seated inside them. This frame needs to be angled out slightly try to get it so it looks like the shots below.





Now you can glue the seat to the frame. Once this is glued but still pliable attach the ratchet handle with superglue at the 3 attachment points (frame, seat bearer, seat) this will set the angle of the seat. Use accelerator to fix it quickly.



You can then attach the other side using super glue also



The next part is worth noting too. On the frame are 2 really small attachment points these fit to the fuselage frame (DO NOT REMOVE THEM)



They attach to the frame here...



The finished assembly...



It's then a snap to put the rail on the rear cockpit frame...



You now have all the sub assemblies and can dry fit them together like so...



Or if you're like me your bench is pretty much resembling a 1/32 Castle Bromwich!!!!



Note: 2 of the cockpits are receiving PE interiors hence the lack of instrument detail!

And that's it for now...

[stona]

Very nicely done Paul and a very useful reference for those of us planning to build one (a single solitary one) of these later. You've really got a production line going, building Spitfires by 'armory practice' !

I have one question about the seat in the kit......what's this molded into the seat back ?



Cheers

Steve

[tr1ckey66]

I have one question about the seat in the kit......what's this molded into the seat back ?

I believe it's an impression of a seat pad? If not then I don't know.

I'll be changing the 2 seats visible in my builds to the more traditional vertically striped upholstery.

Cheers P

Ps. I included the above detailed build log because I have read a report of the attachment points being vague. They're not they're just small! And with the instructions being a bit woolly I thought this might help anyone reading.

[monica]

great start Paul, and i do like the step by step, is very informative, as I have never built a big one, but this will surly help

and look forward to next instorement

[Dave W]

Wow! Five kits on the go at once. A very ambitious project.I look forward to seeing it progress.

[ojays]

For those that may want one of these, spotted on a FB modelling sale/swap site. (Veteranous Models).!

£15 including postage in the UK.

Gregg

[tr1ckey66]

The cockpits and a few of the few!

Hey everyone. It's been a long while since I last had some meaningful build time but I have moved the Spits on and I thought I'd post the progress. I've nearly completed 3 of the 5 cockpits and the 3 pilots that occupy the hot seats. These will be the 3 out of the 5 builds that will be built 'wheels up'. The last things to add are 2 more HGW Sutton harnesses to 2 of the pilots, the compasses and the gunsight glass.

I've also installed the mighty Merlins into these Spits, and tested them to ensure a. they work, and b. they're balanced.

I've actually built up the wings on these 3 aircraft too but I didn't take pics as I don't feel it's that exciting - suffice to say they went together well but you need to take care when depicting the flaps up.

Anyway here's some pics. I'm sorry they're a bit blurred but I've been working with tiny harnesses, figure painting and punching out instrument dials from the kit decals and my eyes are shot to pieces.

Hope you like the shots despite this

Cheers

P

[Guest]

Paul, the photos are lovely & crisp - your eyes must be better than you thought!

I doubt I've seen better painted pilots before, they're a little work of art on their own mate.

Superb stuff!

[Guest]

stunning work mate!!

[Guest]

Wow thats some sharp looking Pilots Paul,stunning detail!

[Guest]

Excellent job and stunning result.

Francesco

[colin m]

Great job. Those pilots are probably some of the best I've ever seen. Any chance of a bit of a guide as to painting them. The gloves just seem so real. As does everything else of course.

Colin M....

[monica]

great work on the cockpits and the Pilots are awesome,fantastic wok, Paul