In defiance of convention

The Wooksta! · March 20, 2026, 01:55:15 PM

"Well he knows a lot about the Mersey sound."

So having decided to fix the nose error, it's time to take a brave pill and sort out the dihedral.

Using the tape on the port wing underside as a guide, I scored a pilot line repeatedly, until it was deep enough for the saw. I sawed though the wing, but not quite all the way. Certainly through the lower section and partway through the top and then bent it upwards. Thankfully that plastic is quite soft, so it was fairly easy to do. Afterwards, I jammed in some plastic card to keep the wing permanently upwards. And then repeated it with the starboard wing. Not as neat, perhaps, but thankfully, it's in the right place.

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I've glued the plastic card in place and flooded the saw cuts with superglue, so I doubt it'll shift. I'm quite pleased that I don't have to cut through the wing entirely, but I'll have to do some filling and then scribe a line.

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The first skim of filler on the repositioned engine has been sanded back, with a second in place.

So, tomorrow should see the last of the filling on the fuselage proper sanded off, plus I'll sand down the filler applied to the fin and get that in place. I know I need to cut out a bay for the tailwheel, which looks to be retractable (it's on the small drawing in BSP Vol.3), plus I'll need to mug up the Mustang style radiator scoop. I might steal an intake from an MB5 and build the rest up from sheet plastic. I can't fit that until the wing is in place. The plastic card wedged into the wing has been cut back and the filler applied.

Can't resist...

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The spinner is a copy of the Magna MB5 one, I'll sort out the prop blades later. As for guns. my patented reuse of Tamiya Mosquito rockets will do.

Think it's looking promising. The nose is perhaps a tad long still, but it's certainly more prototypical. Still think it looks like a Seafang.

steelpillow · March 20, 2026, 02:59:09 PM

Starting to look the biz. Definitely convincing enough to make the confuse-a-punter class.

Old Wombat · March 21, 2026, 03:20:58 AM

Interesting! In a good way!

Steel Penguin · March 21, 2026, 03:23:15 AM

the wing work is wonderfully done

a combination of drastic and elegant, please accept some ( in my opinion) justified congratulations on it succeeding so well

NARSES2 · March 21, 2026, 04:36:34 AM

Quote from: Steel Penguin on March 21, 2026, 03:23:15 AMthe wing work is wonderfully done
a combination of drastic and elegant, please accept some ( in my opinion) justified congratulations on it succeeding so well

Very well put mate.

I totally agree

Looking evermore forward to the Northern Show in June if only just to talk about some of these builds

The Wooksta! · March 21, 2026, 05:01:18 AM

"I did that, actually"

Quote from: NARSES2 on March 21, 2026, 04:36:34 AM
Quote from: Steel Penguin on March 21, 2026, 03:23:15 AMthe wing work is wonderfully done
a combination of drastic and elegant, please accept some ( in my opinion) justified congratulations on it succeeding so well

Very well put mate. I totally agree

Looking evermore forward to the Northern Show in June if only just to talk about some of these builds

Thanks. I've seen it done, but never tried it. I've done it in reverse, trying to bring down dihedral in things - such as the Fujimi Spitfire, which has wing dihedral somewhat akin to a Stuka - so this is something new. As is rebuilding the spine. A week back, I'd have made a core and smeared superglue/baking soda over it.

I'm not entirely sure the length is right - I think I'm still a scale foot too long - but the backstory can get round that with the fuselage being a mk II, with the wings from an early prototype.

In other news, the fin is sanded back, so another coat of primer and the filler is sanded off the wings, so time for some scribing.

Robomog · March 21, 2026, 05:21:37 AM

This is a marvellous example of plastic surgery, looking forward to the finished article.

Mog
>^-.-^<

Gondor · March 21, 2026, 05:46:27 AM

Quote from: The Wooksta! on March 21, 2026, 05:01:18 AMI'm not entirely sure the length is right - I think I'm still a scale foot too long - but the backstory can get round that with the fuselage being a mk II, with the wings from an early prototype.

That would be very logical and a good explanation, where a prototype was kept by the manufacturer for development work and then used as a basis for the next version. Very typical of the time frame.

The Wooksta! · March 21, 2026, 03:53:31 PM

"Not particularly. Got any kebabs?"

Quote from: Gondor on March 21, 2026, 05:46:27 AM
Quote from: The Wooksta! on March 21, 2026, 05:01:18 AMI'm not entirely sure the length is right - I think I'm still a scale foot too long - but the backstory can get round that with the fuselage being a mk II, with the wings from an early prototype.

That would be very logical and a good explanation, where a prototype was kept by the manufacturer for development work and then used as a basis for the next version. Very typical of the time frame.

No, I was thinking more a museum exhibit cobbled together from scrap or just wrongly ascribed components - the Fw 190D-9 in the US getting a D-13 wing being the primary inspiration. Wouldn't be the first time I'd written something long those lines.

"When staff began the restoration process, it was discovered that VA449 was actually comprised of parts from two airframes - the wings from an early mk 1, believed to be fifth production aircraft TS229, with the remaining components from mk 2 VA449."

Or something like that. I'll fix it in Post.

Anyhoo. I've not done a lot with this today, due to poncing about with Mexican Bandits. But the wings were sanded back and then rescribed, before getting a coat of primer to tie everything together.

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I cut a tailwheel bay of sorts. I really don't want to start digging it out because there's a great deal of filler and other crap there making it all rather solid, so some basic doors around it and a tailwheel should do. No one looks underneath. Once that was cut out...

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As you'd seen in the last photo, the fin went on, with a plastic card fillet and then liberally smeared with filler. I'll sand that back tomorrow.

With that rather large area aft of the cockpit - the drawing has a rather large fuel tank just behind the pilot, so I may add small pipe there as on the CMR late bubble top Spitfires, as well as those nice little tanks that come with the Matchbox Tempest in the same position. One or the other would add some extra interest. - I'm also tempted to scribe in some camera ports for an FR version. I mean, they did consider it with the Seafang. I don't think a vertical camera would work, what with that radiator scoop underneath. But it's a thought anyway.

Other thoughts are for a scheme. Part of me wants to go with a post war two tone scheme, with EDSG uppers over Sky lower surfaces with the low demarcation, but on reflection I think adding Dark Slate Grey in a disruptive pattern might hide a few flaws. Or distract the eye long enough. It's definitely not going BPF, because I want proper roundels, certainly Type C on the upper wings. But I've got to get it together first.

So, it's getting somewhere. Hopefully the wings should go on tomorrow after I've finished all the sanding and shaping of that fin fillet, although the fit is a bit...vague. And the drawings don't seem to agree quite where the tailplanes go. But I'll add them once the scoop is done and all the sanding for that is completed, just in case I know them off. That's the reason why the gun barrels have yet to go on.

I've just remembered... Somewhere in the loft, and I know I've seen it recently, is a box containing parts from an old tool Airfix Defiant with the remains of an Airfix Firefly. I'd wanted to do a Sea Defiant perhaps some 30 years ago and got as far as a chopped fuselage. I've realised that it looks like I've finally done it, although it rather a different way to what I'd intended back then.

steelpillow · March 22, 2026, 02:20:41 AM

Quote from: The Wooksta! on March 21, 2026, 03:53:31 PMthe Fw 190D-9 in the US getting a D-13 wing

Similarly, the Go 229 in the Smithsonian was cobbled together from a fuselage and a couple of spare wings from a different prototype, found lying around the factory. They have been trying to restore it for display and have been faced with a mismatch between the structures where they join. Not sure how that is going, but if the most self-important aerospace museum in amerikee can keep on whiffin' (ever since they got Glenn Curtiss to whiff up a flying Langley Aerodrome), I don't see why we should not follow their, ahem, most authoritative example - even if it is not actually in defiance of their own established convention.

The Wooksta! · March 22, 2026, 03:52:52 PM

"That's OK, Neil. It was bound to happen sooner or later. "

The filler on the tail didn't take much work to sand off. I thought I'd applied more, but it came off fairly easily.

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And then I had an idea about the radiator scoop. I'd already convinced myself to steal the intake from a Pegasus MB5 but then thought "why not take the whole scoop itself and rework it?" I mean, I was going to build it up from sheet plastic, so I'd have to do a lot of sanding anyway, but this seemed like a better idea.

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Removed from the same fuselage that had the engine so cruelly hacked off. It's been glued together and yes, it needs some sanding and filling before I can think about getting it on, as well as a lot of trimming, but it's the same really nice soft plastic as the rest of the airframe so will be easy to work with. Plus it's at least 3mm thick in places so will withstand a great deal of sanding and reshaping.

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Just mocked up for now. Perhaps the scoop is a tad too long, so definitely no vertical camera if I wanted an FR version, but I'll see what tomorrow brings. I have dragons to slay as it is.

Hmmm. Still, it's coming together slowly.

The Wooksta! · March 22, 2026, 05:13:55 PM

"See?...God! Mike's floating! How's that done, then?"

I took a brave pill and glued the wing on, first with plastic weld, then with superglue to make sure the fuselage wouldn't wobble, because the fit is somewhat...vague.

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The filler is on the joins - I added baking soda to the superglue at the front and back underneath as I want the forward join uniform. The trailing edge will be hidden under the scoop, but it got sg/bs anyway, just to make sure it stays put. I've added another skim to the dihedral cuts as they needed a bit more tidying up.

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And because I couldn't resist... It really is looking something.

steelpillow · March 23, 2026, 02:00:33 AM

"It really is looking something. "

Agree with you there.

Old Wombat · March 23, 2026, 02:11:25 AM

Quote from: The Wooksta! on March 22, 2026, 05:13:55 PMIt really is looking something.

It certainly is ... It's looking excellent!

Great work, mate!

The Wooksta! · March 24, 2026, 01:02:16 PM

"It's a fish, Mike."

Whilst it may seem to many that I have been spending far too much of my time slaying dragons, I have taken some time out to advance this a shade further. To whit - the radiator scoop.

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Those who have been paying attention will recall I've used it wholesale from a Pegasus MB5, but it did need some trimming and a lot of sanding. And more and more, but I did get it to fit.

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The fit at the rear is a bit... vague. Think that seems to be the buzzphrase for this build. Anyhoo, it fitted at the front and any gaps can be sorted with filler.

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Which was applied and sanded back. But the back end didn't look right. So I looked again at the drawing. The scoop fares in to the fuselage and there's a cut out. It all looked so...vague, so with this being a production Mk II, I've modified it to something more prototypical, trimming back the scoop rear and then creating an 'ole for the flap.

With the radiator now sorted, or at least to a stage where it can be quickly finished, it was time to look at the tailplanes, so out with BSP Vol.3 to see if I can nail down just where these sodding things go. And then another hangover from using a Defiant as a basis reared it's ugly head. Or rather, tail.

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Because the Defiant has a cut out at the root on the trailing edge. Now I could have went with my trusty superglue/baking soda method to build it up quickly, but that could compromise the detail, so some sandwiches of plastic card glued in (plastic weld) and left overnight. These were sanded back earlier and I was quite happy with the result.

Getting somewhere, slowly, because that early Wyvern has my current interest, but still moving forward. The carousel of death moves slowly...

Next Episode: The Dancing Floor