Frog (Rovex) Hawker Typhoon build [not GB]

[perdu]

Spent some of Wednesday fitting the wheel well roof portions into the glued together wing halves and thinning doen the extra trailing edges to suit even more.

Not finished either the trailing edges or the wheel wells but have taken a rest tonight.

However

This afternoon I have been photoshopping the "Blind Flying Panel" to reduce and print onto a sheet of 0.005" polystyrene*



Obviously a little more reduction to do but it has to look better than my almost impossibly doddery paintbrush work

• (I'm glad I kept my old ATC manuals with their training package pictures of the standard BFP)

[perdu]

blimey have you seen the time/date?

This evil bug has weakened the will to delve, I can tell ya

I spent a happy hour or so tonight trying to get to grips with more detail tat'n'stuff

I used some plastic rod to make the elevator and aileron trim wheels



for about zixpence it doesn't look too far off the Academy parts that you chaps are really enjoying making fit

A cheap throwaway lighter held nearby (dont flame the rod) to the end of a rod and the residual blob laid down cold to the melamine to flatten it off soon has the job done



From this you can see I have addded the elevator trimwheel and the weapon's sight selector switch plinth (knob to follow) and to the cross frame above the rudders I've managed to fit a new refurbished and painted compass

All I intend to add to this side of the plane will be the red brake(?) lever in front of the right instrument panel extension for colour in a dark zone

I have decided to be less brave than the doc, no opening doors in the car door canopy but the lifting roof panel centre of the hood will be lifted up and let some peering inside happen, a benefit of remoulding the canopy to suit, let's face it, if I mess up I can always mould the later sliding hood for the mk 1




As a final looksee tonight (I am feeling utterly trashed) a look at tonight's work and the wheel bay roof sections in place. So far I have resisted the temptation to make the few lost ribs from the roof. I am not sure they will make it look better but may make it look "busier". As I've said I will be painting it the same silvery washed out colour of the photograph I showed earlier

Not convinced they wasted cockpit colour where it wasn't needed, from the picture earlier it seems there wasn't much of it on sight in the cockpit either

I have made the cockpit armour plate and am well on the way to having a seat that the ground crew can dump a parachute int when the pilot come in to work

How the hell those guys could fly to work daily in a plane that was trying to kill them amazes me. Oxygen failure was certain death due to the CO that leaked into every fuselage from the Sabre's poorly sealed exhausts. I wonder how many casualties were a result of Axis action or simply nature's chemical warfare.

Scary

As the kids say (sometimes)

Respect

I will be reading up on different bomb trolleys tomorrow, then decide which sort to use

Anyway

off to climb t'wooden hill

soon guys

[perdu]

Only if your Chicken Chop Suey and Egg Fried Rice came from the same place as mine did doc

Pretty certain that was who sold it to me

(yes and as an old semi-Scot I do resent having to pay for selfpoisoning)


What to we think guys, should I do all the roof inner surface ribs or leave she as-is?

I am quite pleased with the effect and will almost certainly scuplt each rib to follow the real thing's tapered ribbing, then with my favourite mechanical pencil I will dot some ribs with lightening stiffening holes

Anyway, hoping to feel better soon and get the two halves together (out of box the fuselage halves just "fit", realy nice and not likely to need much filling when the MEK has set

I must work on the cockpit heating duct from behind the rad

The wings with a simple pair of plastic rods each slip nicely together too

1ºanhedral-2ºdihedral it says on my plans... Looks perzackerly right to my eye

My Ebay win arrived on Saturday morning, £0.99 tyre valve adapter for the airbrush

Only just opened the package and it looks blooming darned good to me so there's another hurdle over and done

[perdu]

Whilst I did have early day troble with my old tyre adapter I soon got the knack of keeping it filled to ^ well above 40psi


I no longer have to pump pedally-ly, theres a stonking great compressor dowm in t'garage to use if or when the "reservoir" becomes depleted

I don't work in the garage, that's my Midget's home not mine but have agreed with She that I will paint down there. I just don't want the compressor on all the time when I finally get it sorted for comfort in there

So the tyre adapter is to enable a quiet compromise at painting time (and a sneaky [dont tell her] quiet access mode for the airbrush when her breathing difficulties abate)

Which brings me to a new question

Is it worth investing a few shillings in Extracolour (Dk Gn, Ocean Grey and Sea Grey Medium etc) or should I hope to find decent cross referred colours from Tamiya or Humbrol Acrylics?

Has to be paint soon after all

[perdu]

Thanks Eric (I can only spell when I have a basic knowlege of the product) Yes

I dont mind whether its superdooper as long as it airdries easily and I do prefer acrylics these days

I just want to paint this massively expensive baby with the right colours

(I paid £0.40 in the seventies at our club's branch sale of unwanted kits. Still have Sea Fury, Venom, Phantom F4K/M amongst other gold in that cache)

If I can get Ocean Grey, Dk Green and SGM in Humbrol acrylics that where I will go for quickness

[perdu]

Thanks guys

XF 53 on the shelf here at HQ

The others may be close at hand so Tamiya it is then

Mind you Neutral Grey isnt much like SGM in my eyes

anyway

off to potter 'til this evening

cheers

[perdu]

Time for an update

I'm sorry but I just cannot get decent images from my digital these days so much of what you hear/see will be hearsay

I say I dunnit

You believe me until I get something sorted

All the shots go out of focus as I'm lining up the picture

head...me...in...it's...doing

Anyway

Seat has been made and painted cockpit green

Seat back cushion brown Tamiya XF64 red brown (over thirty years old and still viable in its jar, amazing.)

Behind seat armour plate made and fitted

Seat harness made from double layer of masking tape (stick together sticky side and trim to suit) with redoubled "adjusting" straps and all painted Tamiya Buff XF57 silver disc added to represent the quick release mechanism

Blind flying panel added

And the whole caboodle MEK'ed together ready for tomorrow's rub and scrape session



Wheel wells are now silver (Humbrol Metalcote 27002) and will be flattened with a diffusing coat later(prolly Tamiya Flatcote, I still have some left from way back)



Wings to be fitted this week, mayhap, tomorrow

depends on whether "real life" intrudes, not having a very good real life lately, buggerit!

[perdu]

OK nothing new to mention but a few better pictures to gaze upon








And one of the wings slotted loosely to see the general effect of the wheel bay details, yet to be rubbed "down and out" to suit



found my "ninety-nine pence" shop minitripod and played around with the camera settings slightly, seems the way to go.

[perdu]

Yes doc, going to flatten the colour out with a grey wash

started cutting out the landing light apertures last night after the photo session

onwards and up...

[perdu]

Not much happening tonight but I have begun rescribing the panel lines and made a start on the gunsight support structure

This HAS to be done as it is immediately visible inside the screen area

No pictures tonight but I am quite content with the "content" of the cockpit now

Tomorrow after finishing this area

I will be mostly working the wheel well doors

[perdu]

Hi

I use a number one Swann-Morton blade, cutting edge first to start and then reversed so it "ploughs" out a deeper cut

Using a steel rule and the Swanny as the scriber it has a decent feel on the plastic surface

I am going to reduce the thickness of the moulded on tail-end stiffener plates, frankly in 1/72 they are just a tad embarassing

Should be bunging it all together tonight, wings and the like

I need to find a new 0.015" drill too, the tailwheel snapped off its leg last night, dammit, so I need to drill it for a stiffener from a nice new pin

[perdu]

here is the first picture of the upper frame tubing that will be the gunsight support framing

And from the other side of the fuselage



I have the mainplanes in place now, dihedral looks good as does the inner anhedral section

here is the White Stuff filler drying before tonight's onslaught




and finally the aperture for the landing lights cut out of the leading edge

Some extra creative thinking required for this section next. It might be a "bad thing", maybe I should have painted it instead



I rather like the Humbrol Acrylics, very easy to use without leaving a "Bill is bloody modelling again" signature...



Wonder how they will spray, should I use Tamiya thinners when airbrushing? I wonder...

[perdu]

Thanks Eric

I have been a tad wary of buying by website lately since hearing about the Hacked Hannants stories


have to search out my very fine drills to so it looks like a weekend buying spree is on the cards

[perdu]

A line is just a line

somemore is just...

Thanks I quite like it again now there're wings on it at last

[perdu]

Yes they are truly piffing me off too

I think I will be modelling a machine with the later faired in cannons so they are, for now, just for indication...

There is due to be much work on and around the wings before any serious further progress is made

And I still have to mix a flattish blue-greyish silvery colour for the wheel wells and doors

[perdu]

Very nice if you need to use metal

I'll be turning down a set for myself from plastic rod or sprue

probably Monday or Tuesday

I have an MG spares Day to attend tomorrow and much socialising to endure/enjoy

( A collection of friends and acquaintances to choose from )

So little chance of working on Tiff til tomorrow night

Also have Brum IPMS mates to meet in the late afternoon

Busy day

[perdu]

Odd day and little time for fettling this evening, just a few smaller than usual bits



The starboard fuselage wing joint was pretty poor (prolly as a result of cutting off the locating tabs to allow wheel well details to be "done") so I added a little Squadron White Putty, which I bought to try instead of the old Green Stuff I used to overdose on.

I like it, dries quickly and takes a good finish and details when needed

After filling and smoothing off yesterday I painted a coat of cockpit green just as a discloser coat that can be rubbed away, like here.



The port side seen during cleaning up

I see many of my retouched panel lines need a second cut to sort out the look of them, straightening and suchlike

Some have already been done tonight and others will get the treatment during quiet minutes this coming week






Here is some of the work entailed when closing off the wheel wells trimming of the 0.005" plates around the edge here



rescribed panel lines after rubbing down the disclose coat

still plenty to do but coming along slowly



really good view of really crap rear end panel lining

Has been sorted since but no picture

This and the previous one show the extra White Filler on the intake cowling, Frog's fit round here was unusually bad for one of their mouldings, I always expected better component fit from Frog

I expect to get the tailplanes on and faired in and maybe a coat of Sea Grey Medium this week

Fingers crossed we have a better week than last, it'd have to be a stinker to be worse...


edit why the hell do I ALWAYS miss seeing the spoiling mostokes first time around?

Edited by perdu on Monday 21st February 00:00

[perdu]

Mr Surfacer?

new to me

fancy describing it and how you use it please

(no work done tonight, shoulder no fun and too restless to get down to it)

I ifnd the white putty far better than the Green Stuff they make, maybe there's a differentyformulation

The green on the model is just a paint film that gets rubbed away when doing the wet'n'drying, 'tisn't Green Stuff

I use paint as a filler when getting down to it this way

With 1200 grit w'n'd it can easily polish flat and smooth

[perdu]

Ah

rather like the way I use a thickish paint to smooth a surface

I must get some to try

cheers chaps

[perdu]

Ok not a lot to report

I've taken off the Hispano barrels and trial fitted (dont tell me they arent right yet, I know) my home made later sleeved versions, far more like those on most of my pictures

They WILL look fine once the fettling period is over, honest

It seems the people that make brass ones only make to suit 1/72scale Spittyfires, not quite the same

I have also toned down the silvery wheel wells with a mixture of Tamiya light blue and Humbrol acrylic silver, not yet right either but far more like the interior colour of the wheel well on the picture I have been referencing from, a light silvery mist should do that nicely



I have the old Humbrol Authentic Ocean Grey and Sea Grey Medium to paint the basic airframes this coming week, then a substitue Humbrol green because I don't think the Humbrol 30 dark green is anywhere near the real thingy. The lad in the shop reckons Humbrol 149 is nearest, I'll report back later.

I really should dash off an order for the Extracrylics that Eric advised me t'other week...

I really need to get some work in, I have a nice Matchbox Wessex to play with next (ebay sorted that one out) and the plan is still for the folded Walrus soon too