Here be dragons!

[The Wooksta!]

"Well, why can't we have a real pair of binocoliers for a change?"

Another day, another new project.  Look, I'm a serial starter.  I can't go any further with the Brigand due to a lack of resin, I'm waiting for the filler to cure on the P.103A Sea Defiant and I've been itching to start this for a long time.

It's time for the mid engined Wyvern.  Which looks like this:

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Many years ago, Maintrack did a fuselage conversion for the Eagle engined Wyvern, but they got the front end wrong, going for a circular radiator instead of the oval-ish shape the aircraft actually had:

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It's this error that makes this project more...accurate.  Of a sort.

It's been done before. TsrJoe did one for Tony Buttler, breaking my wing mould in the process (grrr!) and Kitnut617 used a CMR Wyvern TF1.  But I'm going to start with the Maintrack conversion, or rather a copy of it, because it's closer to the drawings.

[The Wooksta!]

"And by the looks of it you failed them all."

So, what do we have?

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A copy of said Maintrack fuselage in a white resin that I really don't like.  It's also shot through with bits of sprue as it's a big mould and they make the resin go that shade further.

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The tape is to indicate the lower cut line.  It worked.  Sort of. The vertical cuts were guesstimates.

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If it weren't knacked before, it is now.  That's the engine out.  You can see more of the sprue that I jammed in the mould.

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And the cockpit section out.

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A rough rearranging.  Hmmm.

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With half a wing and a radiator in place.  The red resin is the really nasty fibreglass stuff from Halfords.  It's not something I'd recommend, but as a training resin, it's...  No, don't bother.  You can get better resins off fleabay for roughly the same price which give better results.  As a shape, it looks about right but...  Let's check it against the plan.

Which it didn't, so some more strategic cuts give me this.

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The cockpit looks to be right up against that radiator.  It was at this point I started to have a rethink about using the resin cockpit piece, as it's just an empty hole. To be fair, the conversion does date from 1990 when manufacturers left that sort of thing to the modeller.  Part of me thought of chopping up a part started Novo wyvern that's sitting in the loft, but I really want that for a jet Wyvern conversion at some point (there are two different u/c versions), but then I realised why bother?  Build a basic cockpit tub from sheet plastic and build up round it to the profile. Or steal a tub and use that Airwaves set I'm sure is in the loft to add some sort of detail in it.  Either way, sheet plastic for the sides.  I've done it before and I'd have to build it up anyway to sand it back..  As long as the 'ole matches the base of the canopy.

So, off to the loft.  Again.

[Gondor]

You might be a serial starter, and to a lesser extent, so am I, but I don't care. Watching you dive into these builds with such enthusiasm is enjoyable, to watch, and gives me some motivation to get my finger out and to do some modelling. More power to your elbow, or should that be saw 

[PR19_Kit]

Kitbashing to the MAX!    

[The Wooksta!]

"Cutting up bodies for my course, you know."

Sa, after a quick dig through a few boxes in the loft, I discover the Sign Wyvern box I was after (I have two, plus a third to restore - it was a late 80s Czech resin using the Frog kit as a master) which had the Airwaves detail set in it.  But I didn't use it, as I found a spare Novo Wyvern tub that would do just as well.

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I've attached the radiator somewhat loosely here to locate the cockpit tub.  I found that it was a bit too wide, so I've cut it in half and trimmed it a bit before putting it back together.

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The engin exhausts are in place with the yet to be trimmed cockpit tub.  You can see the huge gaps that will be filled.

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That filling underway, with planks of scrap plastic card going around the engine section.  I've yet to start building up around the cockpit.

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And that's what I've done here.  I'll have to build up the rear fuselage too, aft of the plastic card chunk, as it widens to match the profile with the mid engine.  I'll plank it again, then sand it all back.  I think the superglue will be employed here, although I'm trying not to use it where possible.

I've also repaired and cleaned up that red resin wing somewhat.  It had snapped in the middle, a natural weak point, so I reinforced it with some thin plastic card and used superglue and baking soda to stiffen it up a bit.

Lots of sanding awaits tomorrow.

[Rick Lowe]

 

[buzzbomb]

Great old school techniques here.. loving it

[The Wooksta!]

"Nope! Not a sausage! Look, why won't you let me take the lens cap off?"

New day, time to get on with some sanding.  After the last post, I'd planked the rear fuselage and filled the two air bubbles in the fin with some superglue and baking soda.  I did start the sanding, only somewhat tentatively on the starboard side.  But, TBH, I thought I'd done enough for one day and left it.

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This shows the extent of the aft fuselage planking.  As you can see, there's lot of gaps that I didn't jam more plastic card in, but filler should take care of that at some point. The yellow tape is to protect the exhaust port sections whilst the heavy duty sanding is ongoing.

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Starboard after a good 30 minutes of sanding.  The profile doesn't look too bad and there's not that many gaps.  The plastic is still somewhat soft where I'd flooded it with plastic weld.  On reflection, I really should have used superglue, but I wanted to try this method first, because I may be employing it on the Nomad engined Firecrest.  Or I might just cheat and use a plastic card core and liberally smear it with P38.

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And the port side.  This isn't as good, to my eyes at least, possibly because I'd used smaller offcuts to build it up, rather than the larger bits I used earlier.  Still, it's just a core.

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Primer time.  This is some cheap and nasty stuff from Home Bargains that I use as a first coat when I'm doing a lot of sanding.  The starboard side doesn't look too bad, but the port side is very bitty.

I now need to deploy the filler, but what to use?  Superglue and baking soda?  Filler primer, No, perhaps later.  TBH, there's a lot of large areas to cover, plus I need to build up around the wing roots as the fuselage at that point is at least a mm wider, so it's time for the P38.

To the shed!

[PR19_Kit]

Nothing that a bit of PSR won't put right.

About a cubic MILE of it! 

[chrisonord]

I have an aeroclub white metal landing gear set if you are in need Lee. It's for a wyvern.

[The Wooksta!]

"Eh...Sausages. It was a Tuesday."

The P38 has cured, even if it feels a bit...odd.

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Looks a bit crusty, so out with my favourite sanding stick and the heavy duty sanding pads.  I'm not looking forward to the smell...

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After 30 minutes, it's looking a lot smoother.  I know there's a lot more work to do, but a coat of primer or three should help tie it all together on top.  I've dug out the filler primer, which may help somewhat.

More sanding is bound to ensue.

[The Wooksta!]

"Oh, no, please..."

The filler primer really didn't fill that much, there was still quite a bit of still that will need filling.

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The area underneath the exhausts needs looking at on both sides, there's an air bubble that still needs sorting plus a few other dings. 

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Another coat of primer should help, except it didn't do much other than highlight the areas that are yet to be fixed.  I'll use some plastic card underneath the exhausts, with superglue/baking soda being employed elsewhere.  I've yet to tackle the cockpit coaming, but some sheet plastic card over the top, sanded back with a hole cut out should do.

There's a few things I'd do differently were I to do this again, the first being to use an AZ Attacker cockpit tub as that has the bang seat integrally moulded, plus it's thinner, and possibly a chopped up Meteor front end for the opening.  Still, it's giving me the foreknowledge I'll need when tackling the Nomad Firecrest.

[kitbasher]

👍

[The Rat]

You, Sir, are a surgeon of plastic! 

[The Wooksta!]

"I'm completely bloody sick of this!"

The primer/filler/sanding stage seems to be going on far too seriously long enough by half, but I think I may be at the end of it.  I'm not entirely sure if both sides are equal and the odd angles are compounded by various differing shades of crap.

Anyway, I put yer actual Revell filler on last night and it got sanded off this morning.  I've sanded down the port side a bit more and it looks a bit more equal, although I think the bit near the tail needs more.

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Starboard, which has largely just had the dings filled.

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Port and I've largely got through the filler and down to the plastic.  It's possible I've gone as far as I can until I can get the cockpit coaming sorted out.

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So there's a sandwich of plastic card ready to sand down and then carve through afterwards.

More sanding...