airfix dh 88 comet 1/72

[yak face]

Hi all,this ones not been moving that fast due to the cold weather (my sheds freezing!) but ive managed to get a bit done today. The filler on the wing joints has been sanded ,phew!, and the tailplanes are on but yet to be filled. The flaps have been scribed on the underside of the wing/fuselage, but thats about it for any external details- the actual craft was very smooth , being mainly plywood skinned , and devoid of panel lines/rivets etc. I have crash moulded a canopy as the airfix one was pretty thick and not very clear. I used the kit canopy to mould the new one from a piece of clear acetate (actually a piece of bubble bath bottle - deep heat!) by heating the acetate while clamped to a piece of MDF with a hole just bigger than the canopy ,and pushing the kit canopy through on a piece of dowel, then hold for a second or two till its cool and there we have a canopy . The shape and simplicity of this canopy made the job easy , if youve got a canopy with a return curve (ie. curves back in at the bottom) then you wont be able to use this method. Once its cut out and glued on it should be ok,although i might mask it up before fixing as it will be a bit delicate ,only having a very thin edge for the glue to fix. Heres the pics , hope this makes it a bit clearer (ha ha, clearer, yes? no? ok ill get me coat!!) cheers tony

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[colin m]

I know it's not been easy, but I really like the nice clean lines of the built model. Obviously a lot of work has gone into it, well done. Nice idea with the canopy ! Is a normal hot air gun enough to get the plastic soft ?

Regards

Colin M.........

[stona]

Great stuff Tony,it's looking good.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

Nice details, am learning a lot. I have tried the canopy moulding technique but all I've achieved is bits of melted plastic. I think I am getting it too hot as it goes a milky colour very quickly.

If anyone is old enough to remember, there used to be a full size one of these in front of a pub/hotel on the A1 somewhere around Hatfield.

[Guest]

Looking good Tony.

Andy

[Dave W]

The place Bari is referring to was called The Comet Hotel.It was near Panshanger aerodrome to the east of Hatfield and Welwyn Garden City.I lived in Welham green in the sixties as young boy and remember going past it in my dads car many times.

[Guest]

Tony that canopy forming idea is brilliant! I always wanted to give a shot at vacuforming at home but felt lazy about the whole setup. But your method is simple and really effective! Nice.

Cheers

[yak face]

Thanks everyone!, Colin , a hot air gun is ideal for softening the plastic, get some old bottles cut up and have a bash! I recommend deep heat bubble bath bottles or wilkinsons economy

screenwash !! Its quite difficult to get it just right, -use stuff thats too thin or push the canopy former too far and it can end up very thin and floppy, not far enough and you dont get the full canopy shape , the advantage is that clear bits of plastic like this are everywhere so it doesnt cost anything to experiment. cheers tony

[yak face]

Here is the almost completed crash moulded canopy. The slight drawback with this method is that there are no frame lines ,so masking can be very difficult especially if the frame is quite thin. What i decided to do is use very thin strips of electrical tape sprayed black, and an added pain is that the canopy on this aircraft has an internal frame and sliding windows which i had to put on the inside from even thinner strips of tape . Anyway once it was all sealed in with a couple of coats of klear it looks ok, and ready to be put on the aircraft. The frame round the canopy edge will be put on after fitting .One thing is for certain , its definitely clearer and less distorted than the kit item, heres the pics, cheers tony

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[stona]

Very nice work Tony. It's a vast improvement.

Cheers

Steve

[Guest]

I always enjoy seeing an old kit transformed in this way. The canopy is a huge improvement and just shows what can be done with some simple household items but the whole aircraft has been taken to a new level and looks amazing.

[yak face]

thanks richard , im hoping to get some colour on the airframe today,so it should start coming together a bit quicker, cheers tony

[yak face]

First coat of colour on , and its starting to look like it should. Just the undercarriage and fine details (or to use the technical term- knocky off bits) such as the pitot tube and mass balances on the rudder and elevators to put on and then its decal time. cheers tony

p.s. i took two pics , with and without flash to highlight what little external features there are

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[Ian M]

Nice! If I recall the markings are gold on this bird aren't they? That'll look well nice.

Ian M

[yak face]

Quick update , the decals are on and its ready for the fiddly bits and a final couple of coats of clear gloss. Ive also been doing a bit more crash moulding , although this time its a bit more simple! I needed to make the clear light cover for the tip of the nose , as there isnt anything in the kit just the pointed nose in plastic. To do this i just heated a piece of clear acetate over a tealight candle and pushed a paintbrush handle of the right size into it . all i need to do now is cut it off without dropping it and fix to the nose at the end of the build.The actual light behind the cover is going to be made from a tiny circle of holographic confetti which should look convincing when viewed through the cover. here are the pics , cheers tony

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