Airfix 1:72 fairy Swordfish Mk1 Floatplane

[colin m]

Thanks for the comments gentlemen. Did I mention how good this kit is ? Well, you know how we often have to drill the exhaust out just to make it a bit more realistic. Not needed here, Airfix have done it for you, remember this is 1:72.

[ATTACH]75707.IPB[/ATTACH]


Colin M

[Guest]

I can believe is an Airfix kit...

[Guest]

Well cool.

John

[Dave W]

Good start Colin.Im looking forward to seeing how you do the rigging.

[colin m]

I'm looking ahead to the rigging now Dave (before I put the wings together) The Swordfish appears to use nice big thick bars, not wire like my DH2, so I think I'll go back to using EZ line, which is already black - bonus. Eight halves make up the four wings, so I'm nearly sure I can 'trap' the rigging inside somehow.

Colin M..

[papa 695]

Looking very good Colin

[Ian M]

This is a great kit! to think it is "only" 1/72 scale is quite something! And I might add that you are doing a great job of it as well!

The 'rigging' on the Swordfish was indeed rod rather than wire. Stainless steel which was more often than not painted, (the degree of how much paint stayed on them is another thing).

I would think that it might be possible to fix the rigging in the fuselage and thread it through the wings, as you build them, then trap them in the ends of the wings as you glue them together at the tips... maybe. :-)

Ian M

[colin m]

Well then, I haven't forgotten about this build, work is progressing, but unfortunately the big computer is broken and whilst we have a 'bank' of laptops ( Collective term for laptops ? I think I made that up) around the house, I can't stand the things. So, the wings are polished, ready for assembly and rigging - here we go.........1:72 rigging...........yeah............

[Dave W]

Your a master of the rigging Colin.So it will be a breeze for you!

[colin m]

Thanks for the vote of confidence Dave.

Somewhere above I mentioned the wings are in eight pieces, two pieces for each wing. So I'm going to trap the rigging in between the two halves. Like this.

[ATTACH]76603.IPB[/ATTACH]


Which looks like this on the other side.

[ATTACH]76604.IPB[/ATTACH]


Which will then be threaded through the bottom wing.

This update and pics are all being sent from my phone, sorry if it displays badly, it's all a learning curve for me !

[Dave W]

The rigging should look good when you've done it.Ive got the Tamiya etched rigging set to go with my 1/48 Tamiya Swordfish.But if Laurie's experience is anything to go by I shall probably use thread.

[Ian M]

Nice one Colin. I look forward to seeing how you get the rigging to look easy.

Ian M

[yak face]

Great stuff Colin , this is going to look very impressive , cheers tony

[flyjoe180]

Nice Colin, looking forward to seeing the rigging

[colin m]

Thanks for the input lads. I've had a bit of a break due to a dodgy computer hence no updates. But I have done a bit, really.

All painted up ready for some decals and a wash. No problems to report to get to this stage. I did pre-shade first which has worked quite well, even through the silver. I used dark grey under the grey bits and black under the silver. Rudder and elevators are both off set, just because the kit allows you to do so if you wish.

[ATTACH]76969.IPB[/ATTACH]


The top wing, pre-rigged. The ends of the rigging is glued and trapped inside the two wing halves. Which means no unsightly blobs of glue on the wing surfaces.

[ATTACH]76970.IPB[/ATTACH]


The funny thing is I'm not totally sure how I'm going to line all this up, having built it in this fashion. Hopefully, by the end of the day, I'll have the answer.

Colin M...