I'm a fire starter, twisted fire starter!

The Wooksta! · February 10, 2026, 06:14:11 AM

Quote from: NARSES2 on February 10, 2026, 05:14:27 AM
Quote from: The Rat on February 09, 2026, 09:58:06 AMNever done a resin kit before.

The problem is that pick the wrong kit and you'll be put off for life, pick the correct one to start with and you'll be hooked. Planet can be a good starting point. Czech Master are great, but can be a little complicated. A firm called Pro-Resin only produced a couple of kits but they are fantastic

Pro Resin have the slight problem of their country being bombed and invaded by fascists.

The Wooksta! · February 10, 2026, 03:07:32 PM

"You wouldn't let it lie!"

The rear canopy rails are on, with hopefully the last of the filler there.

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And the wings are now on, with the yawning chasm being filled. I've also drilled out the gun location holes and added some cannon barrels, utilising my patented Tamiya Mosquito rockets. The Firebrand T.6 had the short barrel Hispano cannons.

So get the filler sanded back tomorrow and a coat of primer. Really pleased with the progress of this one.

The Rat · February 10, 2026, 05:05:53 PM

Quote from: The Wooksta! on February 10, 2026, 05:30:23 AMYou cannot view this attachment.

Ginger snap crumbs on the keyboard?

NARSES2 · February 11, 2026, 05:14:06 AM

Quote from: The Wooksta! on February 10, 2026, 06:14:11 AMPro Resin have the slight problem of their country being bombed and invaded by fascists.

True mate, but as far as I'm aware they stopped production before the invasion ? Might be wrong

The Wooksta! · February 11, 2026, 09:51:59 AM

"Who hell he?"

Well, I ventured into the loft, albeit for something else, but dug out the Valom Firebrand 4 and 5, stripping the resin from one and both of the tailplanes from the other.

There are subtle differences between the 4 and the 5, the latter having enlarged trim tabs. They attach differently to those in the Magna and Rareplanes kits, in that the centre is solid and there's a cut out on the fuselage on the Valom, vice versa on the Magna and Rareplanes, so I bit the bullet and carved out the relevant slot on both sets to fit the Magna (the TF.VI) and Rareplanes (TF.5).

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That's the set for the TF.IV, as the ones for the TF.5 are now attached.

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All of the filler has been sanded back, although I've had to remove the small scoop under the engine cowling for ease of sanding. I can make one from scrap card later. That area needed a fair bit of filler to fair it all in properly and I'm quite pleased with the result.

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Next task is to fill the gaps around the tailplane and then perhaps I can get some primer on this proper to tie it all together.

Quote from: The Rat on February 10, 2026, 05:05:53 PMGinger snap crumbs on the keyboard?

Snide Hobnobs from Lidl.

The Wooksta! · February 11, 2026, 04:33:07 PM

"I told you not to mention that!"

I had planned to prime the fuselage and then put the wings on, but I just thought "Sod that!" and glued first one wing on, filled it with superglue and baking soda before sanding it back. Then I added the other. The wing root there needed a lot more filler and probably needs more tidying up, but that's what primer is for. I've reapplied the superglue/baking soda under the fuselage at the centre section, so that needs sanding back before the primer goes on.

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After I've fixed the filler, I can get the tailplanes on, as well as the gun barrels. I also know where the bomb racks go (seems a pity to put really good bomb racks on such piece of crap) and I'll need to cast the centreline rack for the torpedo style drop tank.

This really is horrible and if it looks halfway reasonable when it's finished, I'll be happy.

Now to start pulling out the references.

NARSES2 · February 12, 2026, 01:07:54 AM

Good to see progress on these Lee

Any chance one will make the Northern show in June

The Wooksta! · February 12, 2026, 03:48:32 AM

Probably all three, unless they stall at the decalled stage. I've plans for a Sea Fury to go with the TF.IV and have dug out a Special Hobby one, it'll get a four blade prop to show it's one of the early FB.Xs.

The Wooksta! · February 12, 2026, 05:15:19 PM

"It's time to talk Stott!"

Not a lot happening here, just the tailplane is now on, having been modified from a spare Valom one from the TF.IV.

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The Wooksta! · February 13, 2026, 01:33:53 PM

"The In Crowd drive a colourful van."

So, we get to the primer stage and that shows up all the flaws in all their ugliness. So stop! Filler time!

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And the Magna one got a quick blast too, although mainly just the underside. That didn't need as much remedial work as I'd thought, but I didn't primed the uppers properly, so I'll know better tomorrow.

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Still have to sort out the under nose scoops.

buzzbomb · February 13, 2026, 04:37:40 PM

Its a sizeable critter.
I have found this interesting as the version I have is the old Contrail version

The Wooksta! · February 13, 2026, 05:44:06 PM

Contrail never did a Firebrand - Airmodel and Rareplanes did, the latter being the better kit. Contrail did a Spearfish though and that was a really nice kit, from what I remember (I did it in late 1991), with decals, injection u/c and a white metal prop. I got one of those a few years back, so it's going on a Magna one. Ironically, I've a Contrail Spearfish in the loft - I wanted to do an open weapon bay - and I've been tempted to dig it out.

The Wooksta! · February 18, 2026, 12:58:44 PM

"I got it fighting off marauding Messerschmitts"

Some years back, Kitbasher did a Sabre engined Firefly and I though at the time that a Centaurus engined one could look really cool.

Fast forward to now. I've a wide ranging programme of swapping engines for Hawker stuff and part of my plan for later in the year is a bunch of Fleet Air Arm stuff. The possibility of a Centaurus Firefly raised it's head in my Fury thread.

So having had to look in the loft for some drawings, I dragged out a bagged Firefly I - it's either a Novo or Smer one, probably the latter. After a few minutes with a razor saw on the nose, the Matchbox Tempest II Centaurus fits!

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Even better, I can keep the wing root intakes of the Firefly which coincidentally hides that bit of the Tempest cowl. Think there's more work to do underneath there, but it fits, and that's half the battle. Might clip the wings too and it definitely needs the slipper tanks of the Firefly V. I have a mould for those somewhere, as I used them on several Spitefuls. Incidentally, this is my last Tempest II cowling. That Matchbox one is very useful.

I will say this. It's never been out of the bag in all the time I've owned it, it was still sealed until I opened it over an hour ago and has been up in the loft for at least twenty years. It's very greasy and oily. The surface feels horrible. Maybe I need to fill it full of washing up liquid?

Long term project.

zenrat · February 19, 2026, 03:29:21 AM

The radial engine makes it look a bit Kingfisher.

kitbasher · February 19, 2026, 03:59:03 AM

Quote from: zenrat on February 19, 2026, 03:29:21 AM
The radial engine makes it look a bit Kingfisher.

I saw hints of Su-2 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sukhoi_Su-2) and SAAB B-17 (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Saab_17).