The Bobby Oxspring Spitfire Mk1 build....

[Neil Merryweather]

I do enjoy your builds ,Barry.
always very informative :thumb2:

[BarryW]

i have been filling and blending in the oil cooler.

After first I filled the gaps with Vallejo Plastic Putty and, when dry, I used MR Surfacer 500, applied with a fine disposable brush where needed as below.



The next step, once it was dry, was to soak a cotton bud in i.p.a. and rub away excess Mr Surfacer. You need to use some elbow grease with this and be patient but slowly the surplus comes away, I used about three cotton buds in the process until in the end the Mr Surfacer was only where I want it and no detail was sanded away.



But, it’s not finished yet, there will still be imperfections even if you cannot see them. so next I apply, again with a fine disposable brush, some Mr Dissolved Putty. This product self-levels into and dents and cracks and being very fine grained it really gets into the smallest cracks. This too can have any surplus removed with a cotton bud.

I will have to do a little careful localised sanding in that small gap between the cooler and wheel leg. Another application of Mr Dissolved Putty might be needed.

I have also been doing some painting of the interior, spraying MRP and detail painting with Vallejo MC. Pictures to follow In due course.

[stona]

Looking good Barry. Sooner you than me with all that photo-etch, though it makes a big improvement.

The Barracuda radiator does look a lot like the kit supplied one. I have a vague recollection of hacking holes in both wings so there must have been some difference, maybe the depth of the cores in the wing? Maybe I just thought that I'd paid for it so I was bloody well using it

I also remember making some adjustments to the wings to take the new ailerons before finally sticking the halves together.

[BarryW]

Looking good Barry. Sooner you than me with all that photo-etch, though it makes a big improvement.

The Barracuda radiator does look a lot like the kit supplied one. I have a vague recollection of hacking holes in both wings so there must have been some difference, maybe the depth of the cores in the wing? Maybe I just thought that I'd paid for it so I was bloody well using it :smiling3:

I also remember making some adjustments to the wings to take the new ailerons before finally sticking the halves together.

That’s right about the ailerons. I will be looking at that soon. The Barracuda resin says it is for the Hasegawa Spit as well, perhaps the rad is more for that. I looked at them side by side from every angle and I really could see no difference.

[BarryW]

I have been fitting the painted etch after detail painting.

I find Gator Glue to be best for flat panels of etch and a pick-up pencil is ideal for positioning.

Below is the panel above with all its etch.


I have also finished blending in the oil cooler. When I prime I might find some more treatment is needed but for now it looks fine.

[BarryW]

I have been pulling together the cockpit, some pics.




I have found some warping of the wings.

I started some fettling to fit the resin ailerons but when checking I found that there would be some serious problems matching the warped wing to the resin. By using the kit ailerons i only have the warping to contend with so regretfully I put aside the resin as the added complications of making them fit the warped wing was not worth the effort. I will improve the appearance of the kit parts with some sanding to tone down the detail.

You can see here the warping.



The wing itself is slightly misshapen.


I am going to have a fair bit of work to improve the appearance. It will never be perfect though. This is the problem with these cheap Revell kits (and larger Airfix) the cheap plastic is very prone to this.

[stona]

Lovely looking cockpit!

I mist have got lucky with my wings

[BarryW]

Yes I do seem to have a run of bad luck with warping issues, the 1/24 Hellcat was the worse I have ever seen, then the minor warping on the Revell109 which was not serious enough to be a big concern. This is somewhere in between. It will detract from the appearance only when looked at from the wrong angle and there is not much I can do about it. It is buildable though and that’s the main thing.

[stona]

It's definitely not right and it's a shame. As you say, it won't be very noticeable on the completed model unless you look for it but it shouldn't be there.

I just had a good squint at the version of this model I built for the BoB GB and there is just the slightest hint of a warp in the same (starboard) wing. Luckily it is not as severe and I hadn't noticed it when building the kit.

I wonder whether it's something that happens in production or later? I suppose a badly stored kit might develop something like that, but mine was from Hannants, so just a great big warehouse which I very much doubt is over heated

[Vaughan]

Barry you seem to be having some real bad luck with Revell kits. My build a while back had no issues and came out fine https://www.scale-models.co.uk/threa...re-mk2a.28313/ fingers crossed you don't have any further issues.

[Ancientmariner]

Hi Barry,

Sorry to digress from your outstanding work but is your corner storage station a custom or shop bought one?

Best regards,

James

[BarryW]

Hi Barry,

Sorry to digress from your outstanding work but is your corner storage station a custom or shop bought one?

Best regards,

James

They are Hobbyzone modules and are available from John at SMS.

[Ancientmariner]

Great thanks very much Barry

[BarryW]

just a quick shot of the fuselage all clamped.. the fit issues do seem to be about the major parts, small parts fit great. I am going to have to do a fair but of filling and sanding along the seams.

I have also ordered a SAC metal undercarriage. The kit parts are weak and after drilling out the resin wheel holes for the axles one broke on a test fit. No real strength at all.

[BarryW]

I dont want to turn this into another anti-Revell thread and neither do I want to abandon this build as I have spent a lot on aftermarket and I really want this Oxspring Spit, but I am getting close to it...

The big problem is the wing warping. I cannot get the aileron to fit at all. Look at the pics.




Compare the port and starboard wing

Mind you I had to do some surgery on the starboard wing too but at least the aileron and flaps will fit, after a fashion and should be at least acceptable after some filling and sanding. If you build one of these my advice would be to cement the wing tops and bottoms at the front only and do not apply cement to the rear while hoping yours has not warped....

The port wing is warped so badly it is just impossible to fit the aileron much as I try to bend it and force it.

I am giving up for this session and will return to it tomorrow.