Airfix 1/48 Canberra B(I)6

Theapplechap

New Member
Joined
Mar 8, 2013
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8
Firstly a big thank you for taking the time to come and look at my build thread! I am a very recent member of Scale Model Addict and this is my first contest so I have to admit to being a little nervous and excited to share my work(!) with such a large and experienced audience.


The box-top of the Airfix 1:48 Canberra B(I)6
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The model I have chosen is one of Airfix’s newer kits, being launched quite soon after their acquisition by the Hornby group. Although being by Airfix (traditionally one of the least expensive kit makers), at 1:48 scale it is a fair old lump of plastic so has a list price of about £40($60). Luckily though, fierce discounting by on-line retailers means that the kit can be widely found for less than £20($30), which I figure is a bit of a bargain for what will be a fairly impressively large kit to add to your collection.


Choosing the kit to enter
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I’ve had this kit (along with its sister kit - the PR9, photo reconnaissance version) in my “stash” for quite some time now, waiting for the appropriate time/SIG/Group Build/Competition to come along. It was an eagle-eyed internet friend who pointed me toward this competition (one without loads of restrictions!), and the perfect opportunity to both build this kit of one of my favorite “classic” British aircraft, and share my build with other like-minded enthusiasts.

The only problem (or in marketing talk “opportunity”) is that I had already missed the start-date by some time - over one month out of the three allotted, meaning I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself if I want to get this kit built on time, and to a sufficient quality not to embarrass myself in the competition.


Choosing which version of the kit to build
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I’ve decided to build the B(I)6 - Interdiction - version of the kit. It has a:
  • Great colour scheme
  • Best in-box decals
  • Big old canon gun pack below the fuselage
  • Lovely choice of ordinance with bombs, missiles and two choices of rockets available
I only wish there were options for an early US version, or better, in-service (Vietnam) Canadian option, than the German stationed “Cold-War” British RAF version. But on balance I felt that the version chosen had the best balance of visual impact, camo pattern, decal set and weapons choice.


Enhancing the build with after-market extras
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The kit is blessed with some of the more modern attributes, like recessed panel lines and positionable surfaces. However, it is a fairly simple kit so will benefit greatly from enhancement such as scratch building, after-market parts and enhanced painting techniques.

So, the sensible thing to do is to go for and OOB (Out Of the Box) build, keeping the actual construction phase as simple as possible and concentrating on making up for this with the best paint-job I can manage .....

..... however, I’m not a particularly sensible chap, so I intend to pay homage to this fine publication and its readership by upgrading the kit with the most cost effective aftermarket add-ons I can find on the web. In doing so I can use this build to:
  • Visually enhance the final model
  • Upgrade my modeling skills
  • Share the experience with the forum readers
  • Utilise the forum to solicit help and best-practice from those interested in the build

So, Ive dipped into my (non-existent) piggy bank, scoured the web searching for existing builds for advice and inspiration, checked out what is available cheaply on eBay and finally checked out the online model shops for parts not available on eBay to come up with the final list of candidate enhancements and have chosen and bought the following:
  • P/E (Photo Etch) cockpit and exterior set - Eduard
  • Clear resin canopy and bomb-aimers window - Alley Cat
  • Resin wheels - Czech Master’s Kits
  • White metal undercarriage legs - Scale Aircraft Conversions
  • Resin main wheel well & doors - Pavla Models
  • Resin nose wheel bay & doors - Pavla Models
  • Resin MB Mk 2CA pilot’s seat - Pavla Models
  • Resin MB Mk 4QS navigator’s seat - Pavla Models
  • Resin gun pack - The Aviation Workshop
  • Resin underwing pylons & rocket set - The Aviation Workshop

I think that’s just about it! ..... OK, so it’s a lot more than is strictly necessary for a good build ..... OK, so the upgrades cost about as much as the main kit’s list price ..... OK, so there’s now almost unlimited potential for fit issues, poor instructions, gluing problems, paint errors and other as-yet unknown construction terrors around the corner. But, and this is a big but (does my butt look big with these!):
  • Price wise, this still comes under the cost of big detailed kits that are now coming out of the Far East
  • I don’t get to do many builds anymore, so why not try to do the best I can with those I manage to complete
  • There is surprisingly little detailed, hands-on, practical information about using aftermarket parts available (even on the internet), so this is both a great way of upping the learning-curve for me and potentially a valuable resource for other forum members wishing to enhance their kits using the types of add-ons utilised here

I just hope this doesn’t make me run out of time. I also desperately hope that my wife doesn’t read this article and realise how much I’ve blown on this kit.


Anyway, you only live once so they say ..... so, ON WITH THE BUILD!
 
Nice Choice :) Looking forward to seeing how you get on with that lot .

Welcome to SMA ;)

Chris.
 
Wow! Great write up. I am really looking forward to the next installment to see what's next. :D
 
Working on the cockpit

Firstly, a huge apology for the big gap between posts. I'm sure there were many of you full of ennui at the perceived lack of progress ;) , but give a disabled modeller a kit with loads of add-ons (ok, so these were my fault) and things may take a little time. The truth is that half of the 2 months I'd allowed myself for the build have already been burnt up, so I'm going to have to put the hammer down if I've got any chance of finishing in time. Saying that, hopefully you'll see enough in my write up and the model itself to subscribe to my thread and maybe even be kind enough to leave words of encouragement, pity or regret, to give me the motivation to motor along at the required rate.

It's another regretful symptom of my condition, that I tend to rattle of when speaking or writing, so I may have gone into more detail in this post than some of you may be expecting. Therefore, if you are amongst the more expert modellers on this site then you may want to scroll along the post, concentrating on the photos and points that you find most interesting. Those new to the hobby, are recently returned to it, or want to examine real life examples of multimedia builds, being the combination of plastic, resin and photo etch, then please read on as hopefully you'll find them particularly useful.

Preparing for the cockpit build
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The cockpit on this build is far more complex than usual due to the various media (plastic, resin, photo etch (P/E) and scratch building), but the first thing to do is to identify the correct parts for your particular version of the build, remove them from the sprue and clean them up properly with modelling knife and various sanders. Unfortunately, and typically for me, minutes after this shot was taken the control stick pinged off the modelling board, to be consumed by the Carpet Monster* (even though there are no carpets in this room!).

*Carpet Monster - A mythical beast living in all modellers carpets that consumes any part dropped onto the floor, irrespective of how much you get on your hands and knees to look for it.


Preparing for the replacement after-market resin canopy/cockpit cover

I'm still not sure whether I'm being dumb or heroic choosing to use the clear resin replacement parts on the kit. Although they should give an improved clarity and canopy shape, it could just be a lot of work for very little difference.

Cleaning up the clear resin parts
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A fairly simple task for a change (with resin), as a run round with a sharp blade separates the canopy and nose cones from their resin plugs*. Both will require a scrub in warm soapy water to remove the mould release agent*, polishing the transparent areas using various grades of polishing sponges or compound then a dip or three in Johnsons Klear/Future.

*Resin Plugs - the resin equivalent of sprue which must be removed from the part before final clean up. Usually sawn from the part using a fine razor saw, making sure you wear a decent respirator mask to protect you from the extremely harmful resin dust.

*Mould Release Agent - A (typically) oily substance, used by the manufacturer to ensure the easy release from the mould by the various sprue, the stuff requires cleaning from the parts using warm soapy water (and an overnight dry) else it often causes the paint not to adhere properly to the kit parts, leaving round unpainted areas.

Removing the required kit plastic to receive the clear resin
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My one big criticism of this replacement part is that although the manufacturer uses panel lines for two out of the three edges that require cutting, they unnecessarily leave the third to be measured and cut manually.

You can see from the picture that there is a third panel line only millimetres from the resin part, which if only made those few millimetres longer would eliminate the tricky measuring and cutting required. Cutting along the panel lines is so much easier and can be accomplished simply and accurately with either a knife or (preferably) a scribe/P-Cutter.

Measuring/Guiding the third cut
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Accurately cutting and removing a part from polystyrene can be very tricky, particularly on a curved surface. Although very thin metal rulers/cutting templates are available, they are a nightmare to both conform to the curve and hold steadily while you make the cut. The best way to achieve this is to use a material that (those old enough) had many hours of fun with in the 70's, and that is Dyno-tape. This is the stuff that was super sticky on one side and could have letters punched on it using a simple plastic "machine" to make name plates for our lunch-boxes and the like.

The stuff is still available today in specialist stationary stores (eg Staples). It's very expensive for what it is and you must buy the thicker version (usually blue) if you want it to be secure enough to use as a guide.

Once measured and a thin strip (about 1/3 its width) of the tape cut to the correct length, you can remove the backing tape and apply it firmly, ensuring it conforms properly to the curves and the "straight" side is the one you get to use. Although it can be removed and repositioned if you make an error, the stickiness reduces exponentially each time you do so. For such an important cut as this I would probably recommend using a fresh strip each time.

Options for making the cut
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They say that there are many ways to skin a cat (eww!), and we have multiple options when making this type of cut, particularly when following panel lines. Those returning to the hobby after many years will probably still be familiar with the "traditional" tools like craft knives and razor saws (the tools on the right in the picture). They may not be as familiar with scribing tools, which are typically used for scribing/re-scribing panel lines on models or making accurate cuts like we are here. As well as "scribers" the type, like the Tamiya one here, are also called "P-cutters".

There tools have a single sharp point which, when dragged lightly over plastic, remove a fine, curly slither of material with each pass (think planing wood, scraping some butter off with a knife or peeling an apple). Their advantage over knives and saws is the level of accuracy and controllability in removing the material. Their down-side is that they are thicker than their alternatives so make a thicker channel in the plastic. To make the thinnest cut possible I used the cheapest scriber in my toolbox which is the one from Trumpeter, which can be easily found for less than $10. It did a great job, as can be witnessed from the photo. Only the simplest of clean-ups with a sanding stick was required for the perfect edge. That was as far as was needed to go with the clear resin part at this point in the build, so we turn ourselves to the typical (albeit stuffed with goodies ;D) build process of an aircraft cockpit.

Using after-market P/E enhancements within a cockpit
Replacing the kits original parts, scratch building, decals and (increasingly) resin, Photo Etch cockpit sets are a relatively cheap (about $10) way of accurately bringing life to a kit's cockpit. There are a number of manufacturers out there (usually residing in the Czech Republic for some reason), but the biggest company by far (and for good reason) are Eduard, who provide P/E cockpit (as well as other parts of the aircraft) enhancement sets, for a bewildering array of model aircraft kits for the majority of kit makers, from scales ranging from 1:24 scale, right down to 1:144 scale (and I've used several 1:144 scale sets which were actually quite easy to use and gave great results!).

Using P/E, you've got to consider the following depending on your original kit and the supplied P/E set:
  • Prepare the surface - Parts like instrument panels often require you to remove the raised detail on the kits parts. There are various such panels on my kit so there's some sanding to be done. Parts like seat harnesses may need moulded in harnesses to be removed from the kit (or after-market) parts if they exist.
  • Painted / Non-Painted parts - Increasingly, P/E parts are coming pre-painted to provide a finer and more precise finish than can be achieved by hand. The key point here is that unpainted parts should be added prior to painting the cockpit, but painted P/E parts should be left until your painting is completed. I have both types of P/E part in my set from Eduard, so I need to be careful to apply them at the right time in the build.
  • Attaching the P/E parts - Again, to add to the ease of use, manufacturers are supplying some of the P/E parts with self-adhesive backing. This can be useful for flat parts, but to add confidence on a kit that you intend to keep for some time, you may wish to add additional glue to the back of the part. For those parts not pre-glued there is the option to use a CA or quality PVA (like Gator Glue) glues. My preference is CA unless i anticipate it may need repositioning, where I may use Gator Glue. This P/E set from Eduard has the coloured instrument panels pre-glued and everything else unglued.
  • Folding the P/E parts - one of the criticisms of P/E is that the results may look a little flat. However parts can be folded to form corners or even boxes. Specialist folding tools can be purchased, though they can be quite expensive. Flat edged pliers with sides at 90 degrees and no serration can be purchased online for just a few dollars as an alternative which is the type I use.
  • Removing the P/E parts - this can be dome with a sharp knife or small sharp scissors. If using a knife, ensure that you cut against a hard flat surface to ensure that you don't bend the part, which is a problem for P/E and once bent is difficult to straighten again. I use a small pair of quality Fiskars scissors which I keep very sharp.

Applying the non-painted P/E parts
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As mentioned above, I start by sanding off all the kit's raised detail that will be covered by the P/E. Next up is to stick on the P/E parts that are unpainted, and we have two panels at the side of the pilot's seat that adds some nice detail to an otherwise plain panel.

Those a little nervous trying P/E for the first time, as long as you have a few models under your belt and are proficient using the usual modelling tools, I think that you should be ready for a simple cockpit enhancement set like this one from Eduard. Eduard do provide nice instruction sheets telling you which kit detail is to go, where to place the P/E, which folds are required and where to make them etc. There might be a little mild surgery required to a few kit parts but, with probably only a dozen or so P/E parts, you are left with a cockpit way beyond that capable from a modeller of average ability. And very quickly too!

Completing the cockpit ready for painting
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The rest of the cockpit goes together quite simply as long as you trim and sand the parts well and follow the kit's instructions.

Making the best job of painting a black cockpit
Painting black (like white) is often considered a bit of a nightmare, as even if done well and smoothly, your model ends up looking like a die-cast model. Where, with all other colours, we can use post shading to darken certain areas to give a little depth and variation to the paint, how to you try to darken black?

The answer is to use a scale-effect* version of black which, though to the viewer actually looks like black, is just a shade or two lighter, allowing you to add the variation that the colour needs. In this build I will be using pre-shading and dry-brushing to add life to the cockpit's dark interior, to hopefully make it far more realistic than going for the plain black colour.

*Scale-Effect - Modelling techniques that produce the illusion of the real aircraft at different scales. Obviously, we are trying to create an illusion that fools the viewers eyes into thinking that they could be looking at the real aircraft some distance away. Such techniques include lightening the colour of the aircraft more as your scale decreases (so a 1:72 is lighter than a 1:48 and so in), darkening panel lines to highlight how the aircraft is put together, pre/post-shading to emulate the weathering and wear & tear that an aircraft undergoes in operational service or just sitting around exposed to the elements.

Pre-shading the parts
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Pre-shading is a technique where we can apply a darker colour prior to adding the main colour, which shows through the main colour to emulate either construction features of the aircraft or weathering that it may have suffered.

My pre-shading is emulating the panels/struts/rivets that are used to construct my cockpit. It is often used over existing panel lines or features (as I have done here around raised panels on the bulkhead at the back of the cockpit) or even to emulate features that exist, but are not detailed in the model in any way (like the crossed panel lines on the flat surfaces of the fuselage's interior).

Despite what some may tell you (and you often see in model magazine builds), the pre-shading does not have to be all neat and even. In fact I would suggest that it definitely should not be neat and even, otherwise your final model looks like it's painted on a grid. The "neat" style of pre-shading/weathering, was a big deal when it first appeared as it seamed to create the perfect scale model, but over time the more random approach seems to appear more frequently to stop the aircraft looking "too perfect". Aircraft do not weather identically across the aircraft, so this attempt at "scale-effect" seemed to produce the opposite effect. You do still see the neat approach in some magazines, but they stick out like a sore thumb.

Applying the main cockpit colour
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Once the pre-shading was thoroughly dry, I lightly sprayed moderately thinned (a 50:50 paint/thinner mix) layers of my chosen scale-effect black (in this case I've used Tamiya's acrylic "NATO Black" which is slightly lightened with a subtle green tinge) until the panel lines just started to disappear.

Once dry, the panel lines darken up slightly, leaving a subtle representation of something "going on" below the cockpits base colour. This technique is particularly good at "jollying up" the paintwork on (often quite old) model kits that lack much in the way of surface detail and are not blessed with the range of after-marker bling that is available for the 1:48 scale Airfix Canberra.

Using dry-brushing techniques to add to the paintwork illusion inside the cockpit
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Despite being a technique as old as the hills, and unless you are an airbrusher with medals, dry-brushing has got to be one of the best ways to add depth and character to the inside of my Canberra's cockpit.

To make the best job of a black cockpit, I stayed clear of white (which only works on the palest of base colours) and silver (BLING!) as my dry-brushing colours as they are just too over the top. I chose a mid-grey on a good quality, but ageing, brush for the first light dusting. This picked out the detail nicely, leaving a slightly dusty look inside without destroying the detail from the pre-shading. A dark metallic colour (in my case "Boltgun Metal" from Citadel) was then flicked around the edges of any objects that may experience additional wear and tear from being rubbed by the various flight and ground crew as they went about their duties. I was now left with a cockpit tub looking the part and ready to receive the detail which would really bring it to life.

Completing the cockpit
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This is the fun bit, adding all the lovely detail, which takes the build up a notch or two.

Adding the coloured P/E
Finally!! We get to play with the pretty stuff! Adding the coloured P/E is really no more difficult that the plain stuff. Just follow Eduard's instructions and be very careful where you position it. I'm using self-adhesive parts here, so I don't have to sit and mull over which type of adhesive to use. To be honest, I would probably have gone for PVA glue for these parts, both to benefit for the extra "wiggle time' getting the positioning right and also PVA (particularly the good, modelling stuff) dries completely clear and glass-like, which is perfect for the face of all those tiny dials on the instrument panels. But even with no choice in the matter, the parts all went down nicely, with only the merest moment of butt clenching required when sticking the second layer of each instrument panel over the first.

Sticking in any final parts
Only a couple of parts required adding, the pilots rudder pedals and the control column. The rudder pedals were from the P/E kit (which was lucky as I lost the kit's part with the control column). A funny little part requiring folds, bends and curves, it felt more like metal origami than modelling. I don't think that it really adds anything over the kit part, but I was glad to at least have the choice to use it.

No such luck with the control column .... Mr Eduard decided to provide no assistance here, so it was back to scratch-building. All of my ready-made styrene rods seemed also have disappeared, so my only choice (without leaving the house) was a bit of DIY. I managed to recall memories of making stretched sprue as a child and, after stealing one of my wife's tea lights, got to it. It only took six attempts and two burnt fingers and "Hey Presto"! Two styrene rods of appropriate diameters and, just, enough length. A few snips with the scissors, a couple of bends with the pliers and a drop of Tamiya's Extra Thin and "Bob's your Uncle and Fanny's your Aunt", one new control column that's more to scale and better featured (I added the brake lever) than the kit part.

Painting the final detail
Once everything else is in, you can go about adding colour to all the boxes, levers, switches etc that are not part of the main colour. I got the tan navigator's shelf out of the way then got on to the smaller parts.

Here is where your references come in! Scour the web and any old books/pdf's you can get your hands on, and pray some of them are in colour if you are painting an older aircraft like mine. Also be aware that museum aircraft may have been restored using the same internet sources as you've found, so may not be 100% reliable. I used the sharpest end of a cocktail stick (tooth pick) to lightly dab into the colour cap of the paint, then attempt to create the best small circles that you can in the right areas for the switches. And used a fine brush to paint the control levers and enything else that wasn't small and round.

You're almost certainly going to create a switch that is slightly larger and brighter, than is strictly to scale, but this is not necessarily a bad thing as most of the stuff which is strictly to scale will be completely invisible when viewing the final model through the canopy. Just don't go over the top!

Seats, Ladies and Gentlemen please!
The seats that come with aircraft kits are usually one of their week points, and those in the Canberra are no exception. Mine looked like they belonged more in a lavatory than a post-war nuclear bomber, so they needed to be changed. My resin replacements from Pavla arrived and, though happy with the navigators seat at the back, the drivers seat was not up to scratch as its so visible through the large clear canopy. I shelled out another few quid on one from (I think) Airies, which was a big improvement. Unfortunately, both suffered the ill's of much of the resin that's shipped out of Central Europe, and were not particularly well packaged, allowing the parts to roll about and break off the finest of their detail. In my case the very fine, emergency pull handles were all turned to a fine powder requiring a little more scratch-building before the cockpit was finished.

Getting on the basic colours
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I chose not to pre-shade the seats as they are just too small (though some do, and I raise my hat to them), but went through the exact same painting and dry-brushing routine as the rest of the cockpit.

You can see from the photo that they've turned out quite well, and blown up to this size look exceedingly detailed, with beautifully crisp and easy to follow harnesses. Unfortunately, the seats are not this big, neither am I the size of a elf, so to my old eyes they were quite difficult to pick out, particularly where they overlapped or were twisted or folded. This would make the painting just that bit more difficult, especially with my swollen, disable hands, but life wasn't supposed to be easy was it? As one modeller, of reasonably fine repute, says .... "this is modelling, not construction", so we should expect a bit of hard work to separate the men from the boys (and whatever the politically correct version is for Ladies, women etc).

Making them pop (though not literally)
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Firstly, apologies for the slight lack of sharpness, I always seem to find it impossible to clearly capture ejector seats at this scale on my iPhone.

When trying to paint seats, references are again the king. Trouble is that each reference will have completely different colours for the seat cushion and harnesses. Never mind, pick the ones that you like, or have the paints for and carry on dear boy. I went for green seats and tan harnesses and they look really good if you don't zoom in really close like this! I used a dark metallic colour for all the hardware on the belts and used Citadel's oily wash (a black version of Tamiya's "Smoke" colour) to outline everything to improve their perception of depth.

Having lost all the ejector pull handles in transit, I had to fabricate new ones. Because of the tight loops, I decided against stretched sprue (I also couldn't afford to lose anymore fingers) and went for wire instead. I've got a roll of very narrow gauge insulated copper wire, so thought I'd go for this. I cut off a two inch length, painted the whole length RAF trainer yellow from Xtracrylix, then gave it overnight to dry fully. To get the black (or yellow) hoops, I used a number 3/0 (teeny weeny) brush, and twisted the wire very slowly between my fingers while I held the brush in the right spot. You can see that I've not exactly got perfectly equal stripes, but not too bad, and probably better than I would have been able to achieve painting the resin loops of the seat, had they survived.

The rest of the colours were added to represent metallic parts on the frame, red warning placards and the drone chute on top of the navigators seat, that was about it. Sorted!

It's time to do the do people!
Lordy, this seems like it's been a marathon getting this far into the build. This has nothing really to do with the kit or even the after-market parts, it's all about not being as physically capable of doing things as I remember from my past. Even writing this crazy blog article has taken an elapsed week, where once I could have zapped through this in a day. Still, now is not the time to moan, as I'm in much better condition than many and blessed to be able to continue a hobby that I used to love as a child. So we have all the parts of the cockpit put together and painted, so it's on with the assembly!

For those with a warped sense of humour :D
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It seems that nothing I tried to do managed to straighten the cockpit floor, which came out of the box like a frowny mouth. Hopefully it should not make a difference when slipping it between the fuselage halves, and even if it does I have four different types of CA glue and two types of kicker, to "massage" it into place.

I picked this shot primarily to show how, by using the correct (and similar) painting methods on each different part (and material), I've managed to (hopefully ;)) create something that looks realistic, consistent, made from the materials used in the real aircraft .... having a sort of "weight" about them and possibly most important of all being properly visibly through the canopy and various doors and windows, withough looking over done.

I'm particularly happy with how the colour and weathering scheme seems to move seamlessly across the various materials used in the build. The photo-etch parts behind and below the seats blend really well with the original plastic kit parts, with the resin seats adding the anticipated detail (that hopefully justified the $10 outlay) whilst fitting perfectly and not in any way looking out of place. This can happen if you just stick a resin seat into a bland kit cockpit without thinking about it and adjusting your technique.

I doff my hat to those nice people at Eduard
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OK, so I'm showing off the lack of "depth of field" of my iPhone again with the half-blurry image, but hopefully is still conveys how much a P/E set can add to what otherwise would be a pretty plain cockpit.

The stars of the show have to be the two instrument panels. They are made up of two parts, the dials on the first piece to stick on and the second one has all the holes for the dials to peek through and all the surface detail. I'm really quite impressed, maybe enough to persuade me away from my usual choice of a resin cockpit replacement.

The part I'm less happy with is the panel to the left of the pilot. It is very obviously just a gloss black panel with a series of white dots and lines painted on. I'm going to check how it looks through the canopy, and if still a bit "obvious" I'll probably go over it very lightly with a very light black wash. We'll have to see how it goes. All in all, not bad though.

All done and dusted and ready for the next steps - finally :-\
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Thought I'd add one final shot to show the finished cockpit tub. Thankfully, the seat harnesses look a heck of a lot better zoomed out a little, than they did in their close-up shot! Seems an awful lot of work for such a physically small part of the finished build, but it is such a focal point when viewing the model that it is worth getting it right. A shabby cockpit definitely lets down a model, so let's not make it shabby.

Next steps
If I were building the kit out of the box, it would be time to start throwing large pieces of plastic together. However, I've got some resin wheel wells to take care of so, I need to put the plastic on hold for a mo and do a bit more detailing. As the wheel wells sit inside the wing a little, I cannot just mask the wings up and paint them at the end. I need to undercoat then paint the resin an aluminium colour and then get all the details (wires, pipes, boxes, straps etc) painted in their various colours. Only when done can I glue them into the wings and somehow mask them up - I'm not sure the best way to go about it yet, BluTac, Tissue, Tape ..., so if any one has any good ideas, please leave a comment.

Then it's time to throw large pieces of plastic together, including the clear resin canopy top which may require several pairs of gentlemen's particulars before it's all done ;D


It beholds me to say a huge thanks for stopping by and taking a look at my build, especially as you've got all the way to the bottom! I hope you found my trials and tribulations helpful and of some interest too you - especially if you're relatively new to the hobby, recently returned to it, or are just making the jump to multi-media kits and are looking for examples of the combined use of plastic, photo-etch and resin. If so, it may be possible to subscribe to this build, or at least be on the lookout for (more frequent - I promise) updates.

If you feel in the need to leave a note of help, congratulations, support or general sympathy then please feel free as they are greatly appreciated. If you have any detailed questions that require a lengthy answer or anything else that's not best placed within the forum threads, then feel free to PM me and I will do my best to get back to you as quickly and completely as possible.

I look forward to my next update, and hope you'll join me as I stumble my way through this lovely kit and all the associated bits and bobs that should make for an interesting build and fine finished aircraft.

Cheers

Alan
 
Am I ever glad I am subscribed to this build thread, that update was epic! :eek:

You should write for SMA magazine with the detail of that post. ;)

Thanks for sharing that cockpit with us. It is amazing what is available these days to really make a cockpit look incredibly realistic. I got a lot of little tips and tricks from your post.

:D
 
Nice work on the office!
Gutsy move to start it so late!
Good luck finishing it!
Cheers,
Guido
 

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