"Here Puss.....pusspusspuss....."

[Che Guava 5,111]

On 6/1/2023 at 2:45 AM, Jessie_C said:

An alternative approach is to mask off the canopy, slather on the Milliput and sand to shape once it's dry.

Another alternative (if I hadn't already assembled the fuselage halves) would be to widen the fuselage to match the canopy, but further revelations regarding the flatness (or lack thereof) of the windscreen renders that solution moot.

[Che Guava 5,111]

2 minutes ago, Jessie_C said:

And I'm quite certain that Richard can assist you in dealing with the suddenly homeless pineapple tarts. It would be cruel to let them suffer.

I believe they have already been reported to the RSPCA (Royal Society for Pineapple Cake Abodes) for rehousing - but we have already found them a good feed, er, home.

[Miggers 8,457]

On 31/05/2023 at 17:45, Che Guava said:

Only thing for it - cut the corners off and re-shape all three tiny panels to fit. 

Do it in the usual Czech/Soviet era engineering way,measure with string,mark with chalk,cut with gas-axe,

big hammer to make it fit,either weld it or big rivet to fix in place,the choice is yours.

[steelpillow 1,008]

50 minutes ago, Miggers said:

Do it in the usual Czech/Soviet era engineering way,measure with string,mark with chalk,cut with gas-axe,

big hammer to make it fit,either weld it or big rivet to fix in place,the choice is yours.

I prefer the British mid-twentieth-century way: Measure precisely with micrometer gauge. Wait while inspector checks measurement. Mark with scriber to within half a thou. Wait while inspector checks accuracy. Drill misalinged holes. Attempt to align pop rivet. Drill out oversize. Fire pop rivet through into gubbins beneath; leave it there, retrieving it is not in your job description. Force bolt through with Birmingham screwdriver (AKA hammer). Slip on shakeproof and plain washers in the wrong order. Tighten nut cross-threaded. Affix quality mark.

[Miggers 8,457]

On 04/06/2023 at 20:42, steelpillow said:

I prefer the British mid-twentieth-century way: Measure precisely with micrometer gauge. Wait while inspector checks measurement. Mark with scriber to within half a thou. Wait while inspector checks accuracy. Drill misalinged holes. Attempt to align pop rivet. Drill out oversize. Fire pop rivet through into gubbins beneath; leave it there, retrieving it is not in your job description. Force bolt through with Birmingham screwdriver (AKA hammer). Slip on shakeproof and plain washers in the wrong order. Tighten nut cross-threaded. Affix quality mark.

As one of the Czech fitters at work is wont to say "Very good,I like it".Sends Dave the English fitter doolali

[Che Guava 5,111]

Ok, I knew I shouldn't have mentioned 'straight-forward build' but I hoped the windscreen would have been the only detour. 

But no. Deciding to leave the wings off till my decals went on, I painted them silver and left them for my obligatory three days, then gloss varnish for another three days to dry before sticking on the stickies. Well, it might have been the heat (good drying days I hear you say), but though dry to the touch, as soon as I started applying the decals the surface became stickier than the stickies and developed all manner of mucky finger prints, midges and pollen specks on the finish till they looked like I was making the wee aeroplane appear as if it had just arrived non-stop in the Antipodes rather than in its pristine condition before leaving jolly old Blighty. So, undaunted (actually quite a bit daunted to be honest) I soaked the wings in a pudding-bowl of water to get the decals orf, then wiped the varnish and silver clean with white spirit.

Left: Things seem to be going quite well.  Right: No they weren't. Decals off, varnish off. Wings on (to the flimsiest attachment ever - hope the struts add stiffness), and here we go again.

I've since given the wings a thin coat of matt white in an attempt to seal the sticky paint (an old trick) and will re-apply the silver following my usual three-day embargo for drying, then the decals (with a bit of adjustment to get the colour nearer to the dark blue of the fuselage reg).

[Jessie_C 13,972]

5 hours ago, Che Guava said:

Wings on (to the flimsiest attachment ever - hope the struts add stiffness)

Well that's 100% authentic. The real ones had that problem also.

[Che Guava 5,111]

Wing struts going on, but unnoticed slight set-back lurking on the sprues - one of the struts is broken and semi-detached, so....

...one strut successfully fitted to the model, the broken one splinted, glued and re-set awaiting invisible mending. I was tempted to make a new one, but we'll see if the  fix works and dries straight. 

[Jessie_C 13,972]

Does the kit not give you the jury strut?

[Che Guava 5,111]

15 hours ago, Jessie_C said:

Does the kit not give you the jury strut?

Doesn't look like it - that is, I don't see them on the sprue or the plans, but are shown on the painting on the front of the box. Maybe I'll find them spare at the end of the build like an Ikea table.

However, my reference pic of 'BDW before departure for Oz doesn't have the extra strut fitted, but by the time it reached East Fortune Museum it does!

Edited June 26 by Che Guava

[Jessie_C 13,972]

Given that it was an add-on, that makes perfect sense.

[Che Guava 5,111]

In a perfect example of art mimicking reality.....

....one wing fell off when I looked at it funny.  Still, that made putting the decals on (again) a bit easier (which was why I did it that way the first time. Doh!).

Still on schedule (sort of).

[Che Guava 5,111]

Finished - mostly, but I'm taking these pics and leaving it alone because bits keep falling off whenever I touch it, and sometimes when I don't.

If I was doing it again, or another one (I'd like to do Mollison's one too), I'd build some structure into the cockpit to hold the wings on, and add some pegs and drilled holes for the u/c and wing struts. Maybe acrylic spray the wings for my sanity.

I had to find a pair of covered wire wheels with 'WW1' type tyres to replace the smaller disc wheels with balloon tyres supplied in the kit. Cockpit framing is silver-painted masking tape, and there's an added intake on the starboard side of the cowling.

The kit is lovely, and a complete pig to work with - I suppose that's maybe the lack of engineering that went into it at the (limited) production stage.

The blue is my own paint mix, self-produced decals (eventually!), and the model is still missing a tailskid which broke on removal from the sprue with just two hours to go till deadline. Sod it. Nuffs enuff - I'll fix it later.

Edited June 30 by Che Guava

[Mad Steve 25,050]

Nice one Senor Guava 

[Che Guava 5,111]

Gracias Senor Loco. Justo a tiempo, amigo! 

Edited July 1 by Che Guava

[steelpillow 1,008]

11 hours ago, Che Guava said:

Finished - mostly, but I'm taking these pics and leaving it alone because bits keep falling off whenever I touch it, and sometimes when I don't.

Stunning attention to realistic detailing there, bro!

[Mad Steve 25,050]

1 hour ago, Che Guava said:

Gracias Senor Loco. Justo a tiempo, amigo! 

No thanks, im allergic to them 

But thanks for asking 

[Dr Loopy 2,538]

Hmm….’clear’ polystyrene… for a certain value of clear. Silk purses out of pigs’ ears springs to mind. Lovely cockpit, great windscreen, ‘orribbubble side winders…fantastic finish! Well done 

 

Edited October 28 by Dr Loopy