Charlie's Chop Shop

[Captain Canada]

Looking forward to seeing the sinister swordfish......I like that name !

[Charlie_c67]

Well I had taken a pic, but for some reason it didn't work. Unfortunately a slight wandering of the upper wing in the first round of strut flying has meant she has to spend the night on her back with weight to aid positioning whilst the glue dries, but that shouldn't be too much of a problem. Matchbox biplanes are still the gold standard on how to attach the upper wings on all the ones I've built so far...

[Rick Lowe]

Hope the job search goes well, Charlie. 
And the Swordfish too, of course. 

[Charlie_c67]

One sinister Swordfish! I tried to glue the propellor from behind as shown in the destructions to allow it to still rotate but, perhaps unsurprisingly, it stuck fast. Much care now needed to paint the exhaust ring. I'm also not sure how well the Vickers gun at the back will fare as the bar it will be attached to currently flops down in to the fuselage, we will see!

[NARSES2]

Coming along 

[Old Wombat]

That is a very Sinister Swordfish!    Love that look! 

[NARSES2]

That is a very Sinister Swordfish!    Love that look! 

Weren't some painted black overall for night attack in the Med ?

[Old Wombat]

That is a very Sinister Swordfish!    Love that look! 

Weren't some painted black overall for night attack in the Med ?

No idea,but it looks so-o cool, it should have been done!     

[The Wooksta!]

I think that's the radar equipped ASW aircraft from the Matchbox kit.  I've an assembled Skua that has long been planned go the same route, but have to do the gynaecology to insert some radar gear in the rear cockpit.  And finish the tour on Mosquitoes first.

[Rheged]

That is a very Sinister Swordfish!    Love that look! 

Weren't some painted black overall for night attack in the Med ?

I believe that radar equipped Swordfish Mk 111  with rockets were used in 1944/45 off the Belgian/Dutch coast to hunt miniature submarines.  They were black painted.   There is also the phenomenon of the "Blackfish".................Blackburn ( Sherburn-in-Elmet)  built Swordfish

[Charlie_c67]

Yes, the Dutch/Belgian raids were what I'd read about, though I'm sure they'd have used her elsewhere! Luckily the IWM have an extant version of the Mk.III seen here:

https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/70000163

[NARSES2]

That is a very Sinister Swordfish!    Love that look! 

Weren't some painted black overall for night attack in the Med ?

I believe that radar equipped Swordfish Mk 111  with rockets were used in 1944/45 off the Belgian/Dutch coast to hunt miniature submarines.  They were black painted.   There is also the phenomenon of the "Blackfish".................Blackburn ( Sherburn-in-Elmet)  built Swordfish

Ah, right. Wrong Sea    Thanks 

[Charlie_c67]

So, quiet as I have been over the recent festivities, I haven't been sat on my hands the whole time. Job searching has taken up a fair bit of it and making sure I'm all up together should anything progress, as well as visiting family members.

I decided to take advantage of a discount on some of the AK Real colour markers, namely the Allied cockpit and the tactical markings sets. So far I'm quite impressed by the coverage and tones of them, though one has to be a little careful with the tips as they could prove a little delicate. This has also put me in the mindset of completing the Sinister Swordfish with what little other colours are required and to start the internals of the next project. Now I just need to find my microset & sol for the decals! 

[Charlie_c67]

So, further update. The Sinister Swordfish just needs a touch up here and there and the stickers can start to go on  Problem is, I've no idea where my gloss varnish has gone to (probably under the PO'C on my other desk) and I'm not sure I want to risk the Humbrol I have got. Here's hoping I find it tomorrow!

I've also started the next project, based on Toko's, via EE, P-63 which will become a South American machine with a hint of whif. Prep's done as are the internal colours save the control panel as, rather bizarrely, it's a clear part so needs a bit of thinking on how to tackle it. The doors are the same so some very careful painting is required. It's not got a high parts count so with any luck it will be straight forward to put together, but isn't a shake 'n' bake kit by any means.

This is good as to keep my brain engaged I will be starting a third project that will run sort of in the background of on-going projects as it's mainly a painting project to tackle to the grey mound of GW plastic I have in various boxes. More on this in the Sci-fi section!

In other news, finally had an offer on my house so that will be one major headache dealt with in the coming weeks! Now to find a job 

[NARSES2]

Best of luck with both the house and the job mate