GB Airfix Tempest: EMcL
Discussion
No tips just yet. But, to reassure those who feel that Airfix kits don't fit that well, this is, in reality, a nicely moulded Heller kit from the mid/late 70s. Heller kits of that era were very neat and precise and I don't anticipate any serious fit problems (famous last words, perhaps).
Rummaging through one of my "piles", I found this -
I don't know how long I've had this but it is designed to go with the Heller/Airfix/Smer kit. So that was a bit of a bonus.
Saves me having to scratchbuild some of the cockpit internals.
The main kit loooks like this. Neatly moulded with fine raised panel lines - typical of Heller in the mid to late 1970s
I don't know how long I've had this but it is designed to go with the Heller/Airfix/Smer kit. So that was a bit of a bonus.
Saves me having to scratchbuild some of the cockpit internals.
The main kit loooks like this. Neatly moulded with fine raised panel lines - typical of Heller in the mid to late 1970s
Progress so far
Rather than use silver/aluminium paint for the landing lights, I used some Bare Metal self adhesive foil. The picture is a bit blurry but you can get the idea -
Here's the folded brass bent into shape - namely the seat and side consoles. You can also see the instrument panel, which is etched brass attached to the original plastic kit part.
Finally, the completed tub and seat with etched seatbelts fitted. The padding of the back rest was made from blue tack cut to shape and the quilted effect was obtained by pressing a steel edge into the blue tack. The whole thing was then hardened by applying a coat of thinned white PVA glue.
The next test will be to see if the cockpit tub fits into the fuselage halves properly. That will be tomorrow's job.
Rather than use silver/aluminium paint for the landing lights, I used some Bare Metal self adhesive foil. The picture is a bit blurry but you can get the idea -
Here's the folded brass bent into shape - namely the seat and side consoles. You can also see the instrument panel, which is etched brass attached to the original plastic kit part.
Finally, the completed tub and seat with etched seatbelts fitted. The padding of the back rest was made from blue tack cut to shape and the quilted effect was obtained by pressing a steel edge into the blue tack. The whole thing was then hardened by applying a coat of thinned white PVA glue.
The next test will be to see if the cockpit tub fits into the fuselage halves properly. That will be tomorrow's job.
As anticipated, the cockpit as assembled by me does not fit into the space avaiable. I have had to remove the side consoles, repair the paint work and will now reposition them on TOP of the cockpit floor, rather than attaching them to the edges of the floor. Hopefully, this will allow the assembly to squeeze in.
One of the problems with short run "cottage industry" type model accessories is that the quality of instructions isn't that great and the positioning of parts is not altogether clear.
One of the problems with short run "cottage industry" type model accessories is that the quality of instructions isn't that great and the positioning of parts is not altogether clear.
Well - it all squeezed in, eventually. I don't think enough will be visible once the canopy is in place. Even an open canopy will allow limited visibility - which is just as good as it ended up being rather messy "down there".
The Airfix/Heller kit comes with the canopy moulded in two sections i.e. the windscreen is seprarate from the hood. However, I do have the Falcon Vacform set which includes a Tempest blown canopy and windscreen. I am still not that confident with vacform canopies so I may end up sticking with the kit rendition. I'll have a go with the Falcon canopy and see how I get on. At least I'll have the kit original as a fall back position.
The Airfix/Heller kit comes with the canopy moulded in two sections i.e. the windscreen is seprarate from the hood. However, I do have the Falcon Vacform set which includes a Tempest blown canopy and windscreen. I am still not that confident with vacform canopies so I may end up sticking with the kit rendition. I'll have a go with the Falcon canopy and see how I get on. At least I'll have the kit original as a fall back position.
Edited by Eric Mc on Monday 31st January 12:34
Progress report.
Well. the fuselage, wings and tailplanes are all together now. The fit wasn't quite as good as Heller moulds usually are but I think the shoe-horning in of the Airwaves etched cockpit probably affected the fuselage joint somewhat. That in turn, had a knock-on effect in causing gaps where the upper half of the wings butt up against the fuselage wing root.
However, nothing in modelling is insurmountable so I filled the wing root gaps with slivers of plasticard and liquid polystyrene cement. After leaving everything for a couple of days to cure, I got to a bit of sanding and rubbing down this morning.
One of the drawbacks of raised panel lines is that they will be obliterated by the sanding process and are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to restore. To minimise collateral damage to the wings and fuselage, I masked off the adjacent wing sections and the top of the nose cowling with Dymo tape. Dymo tape is more robust than masking tape and should survive the sanding process.
After initial rubbing down, I will apply some Mister Surfacer liquid filler and finish off the sanding tomorrow.
Well. the fuselage, wings and tailplanes are all together now. The fit wasn't quite as good as Heller moulds usually are but I think the shoe-horning in of the Airwaves etched cockpit probably affected the fuselage joint somewhat. That in turn, had a knock-on effect in causing gaps where the upper half of the wings butt up against the fuselage wing root.
However, nothing in modelling is insurmountable so I filled the wing root gaps with slivers of plasticard and liquid polystyrene cement. After leaving everything for a couple of days to cure, I got to a bit of sanding and rubbing down this morning.
One of the drawbacks of raised panel lines is that they will be obliterated by the sanding process and are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to restore. To minimise collateral damage to the wings and fuselage, I masked off the adjacent wing sections and the top of the nose cowling with Dymo tape. Dymo tape is more robust than masking tape and should survive the sanding process.
After initial rubbing down, I will apply some Mister Surfacer liquid filler and finish off the sanding tomorrow.
Eric Mc said:
Progress report.
Well. the fuselage, wings and tailplanes are all together now. The fit wasn't quite as good as Heller moulds usually are but I think the shoe-horning in of the Airwaves etched cockpit probably affected the fuselage joint somewhat. That in turn, had a knock-on effect in causing gaps where the upper half of the wings butt up against the fuselage wing root.
However, nothing in modelling is insurmountable so I filled the wing root gaps with slivers of plasticard and liquid polystyrene cement. After leaving everything for a couple of days to cure, I got to a bit of sanding and rubbing down this morning.
One of the drawbacks of raised panel lines is that they will be obliterated by the sanding process and are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to restore. To minimise collateral damage to the wings and fuselage, I masked off the adjacent wing sections and the top of the nose cowling with Dymo tape. Dymo tape is more robust than masking tape and should survive the sanding process.
After initial rubbing down, I will apply some Mister Surfacer liquid filler and finish off the sanding tomorrow.
Those wings look suspiciously similar to the Academy ones. The Cannon stub and open port next to it is identical, as are the landing light apertures. Since this detail isn't really correct, I wonder if the Academy is a copy? After all, if the Heller version was 'good enough', there's no point reinventing the wheel. I bet Academy just reverse engineered the Heller kit and removed the raised panel lines.Well. the fuselage, wings and tailplanes are all together now. The fit wasn't quite as good as Heller moulds usually are but I think the shoe-horning in of the Airwaves etched cockpit probably affected the fuselage joint somewhat. That in turn, had a knock-on effect in causing gaps where the upper half of the wings butt up against the fuselage wing root.
However, nothing in modelling is insurmountable so I filled the wing root gaps with slivers of plasticard and liquid polystyrene cement. After leaving everything for a couple of days to cure, I got to a bit of sanding and rubbing down this morning.
One of the drawbacks of raised panel lines is that they will be obliterated by the sanding process and are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to restore. To minimise collateral damage to the wings and fuselage, I masked off the adjacent wing sections and the top of the nose cowling with Dymo tape. Dymo tape is more robust than masking tape and should survive the sanding process.
After initial rubbing down, I will apply some Mister Surfacer liquid filler and finish off the sanding tomorrow.
What grade of Mr. Surfacer are you using? I tried 1200, but you need multiple coats to get any effect. I should have got a larger grade.
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