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1/48th scale Seafire model aircraft build page two
More pictures and info on the Seafire III model build.
Next up was the fuslage to wing join, but wait the dihedral looks like it's set at too small an angle. To overcome this I scored down one of the root recess lines on the lower wing surface and run some liquid poly solvent down the crack, I also applied a mixture of polystyrene cement and filler to the other side for both reinforcement and to force the wing to stay at the 6 degree angle required in the instructions. The wing was then taped up until set. When dry the tape was removed, the wing now looking more like a Spitfire wing. This is a tricky bit on this kit, it's no use forcing the wing to the correct angle while gluing it in place as it justs returns to it's moulded shape while warping the fuselage sides out when you remove the pressure, first hand experience here ;-)
The wing was then glued to the fuselage and allowed to dry properly.
The tail halves were glued in next (good fit here), and the lower cowl attached. The radiator and oil cooler were also glued in place under the wing.
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The cockpit assembly of the Seafire.
Sorry for the blurry picture, ahem, bloomin camera.
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The model by now is getting to look like a Seafire especially with the canopy temporarily put in place.
Filler is now required in various places on the aircraft, mostly around the wing fairing to fuselage joint to achieve a smooth seamless transition between the two parts. This then being scapped and sanded down.
The general fit of the fuselage halves is very good with hardly any filler being required.
The model features separately moulded split flaps. A few problems here, for a start they are too thick and need thinning down considerably. Also the instructions appear to give the numbering reversed, so care is advised here. I paired the flaps down and took my knife to the main wing where the flaps fit, then glued them in the closed postion.
Next some time was spent scraping plastic from the wings training edge to thin it down a bit, the recessed detail was deepend with a pin and a blade as I did this to save it vanishing along with the plastic shavings.
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As this kit appears to be a part remake of the older MKVb Spitfire and mixes fine raised panel line detail on the fuselage with recessed details on the wing I took the decision to have a go at scribing out most of the fuz panel lines to give a matching recess panel lined model. Trust me doing this is a pain in the tail pipe, but after a few hours of tedium quite a good result started to come through. To do this I used a scapel, a stanley blade and a modeling pin, first running the scapel point along the raised panel line forming a thin groove, then removing some material with the pin. The trouble here is the need to get these line real straight, else it looks like a dogs dinner that's been through the dog. This is where the rigid Stanley blade was useful, the back surfaces of this being run long the grooves planing out the lines. Anyhow after scribing, filling, scraping, cursing, more filling etc. etc. I had a fuz with mostly recessed panel lines.
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