WHIF: Supermarine S.7

Martin Oostrom
What will you do with this one, besides the obligatory powered engine? Actual flowing water?

Greg Baker
I didn't realize powered engines were obligatory... but there does just happen to be a perfectly placed guide pin that would support such an endeavour.😉

As for the rest... grab a seat and wait and see. You might not want the first row though, people seated there have a tendency to get soaking wet. 😄

Alec K
I'll take a seat as well, behind Martin as I sure don't like getting wet... 😄

Greg Baker
Thanks guys. After further review I decided that spinning contra-props were a little out of my league, so this one won't have any "electrical advantage". Still it should be to discover what a Supermarine S.7 would've looked like...😉

Dave Flitton
Hmmm .. must watch

Łukasz Gliński
Cool choice 👍

Greg Baker
Thanks guys. Lots of sanding so far... an old mould kit with all kinds of flash and related issues. Got the struts glued on and added a do-dad to the engine.

Greg Baker
Back in action on this one after a "now what?" hiatus. Panel lines scribed, rivets... uh... riveted... and the main parts all glued together. Might actually see some paint soon...

Greg Baker
Ok... so painted silver and blue... but I'm not feeling it. Maybe the blue's too dark?

Bernhard Pethe
Elegant model, certainly not easy to build. One question only, is it right that the ailerons are both down?

Łukasz Gliński
No, it's not too dark, looks to me like a nice Royal Blue 👍

Daniel Klink
Cool idea and very nicely implemented!! 👍
Oh wait there is big failure in it! The scale is, the scale is 1/72?!😉

Greg Baker
A couple of quick fixes, some more masking and another coat of paint. Just a few more odds and ends left... including a wee bit of rigging... What could go wrong?

Greg Baker
Have I mentioned I hate rigging...

Peter Hardy
Not recently

Martin Oostrom
Once or twice
a week

Spanjaard
how did i miss this one?? very nice.

Greg Baker
Well, this one's been flying below the radar. It's a WHIF that I decided on for a "Racing" GB, so I've been puttering away at it for a while. She's all done now... but I still hate rigging.

Peter Hardy
Another gem from the Giant of miniatures!

Martin Oostrom
This is not a miniature for Greg. It's 1/72 not his regular 1/144!
I feel the same like you Greg. None of my builds turn out the way I envision them, but I've been watching Bughunters builds too much 😄
I think you chose wisely in redoing the rigging. The first was a bit too thick.
I love the silver and blue. Well chosen!

Greg Baker
It's amazing how big 1/72 scale seems after you spend a while in 1/144 land...😉

As far as builds turning out how you envision them, I don't think a single one of mine has, however I also don't spend much time planning a build either. I usually have a general idea, especially when trying to capture a subject from Tintin or Area 88, but I don't have the whole thing planned out from the start. It's more like a build outline. I also find there's usually a moment where the build introduces itself to me for the first time. It might be after final construction, or after a coat of paint or two... but there's always a moment where I see how it's going to turn out in the end. Not all the details of course, but... the spirit of the build will suddenly appear. I say "introduce" because I usually feel like Inhaven't really seen it until then. It's strange.

Peter Hardy
It is an ART Greg. I have the same moments, albeit without the creativity! More like painting a wall of a bedroom than your Chapel ceiling. I would love to see how you display your finished works. Might invite myself to dinner one night!

Greg Baker
Come over anytime! It's not much to look at, but I updated my Man Cubby pics to show how my various projects are piling up. My Man Cave... err... Cubby | Album by strobez (1:144)

Alec K
This is turning out great. The new rigging is definitely superior 👍

Greg Baker
Thanks Alec! I used stretched sprue in the end, but I have a hard time maintaining a uniform thickness. Then the line kept snapping on me just a millimeter shy of how long it needed to be... sigh. Oh well, it looks alright, so I'm happy enough for a one-off stand-alone project.

Bart Goesaert
nice work on this one, that engine thing is looking nice, the pilot wouldn't have seen anything yet straight ahead.... You mentioned you hate rigging... well you used the same method I've learned from my father when doing things I hate, try to do them right the first time, then you're finished with it sooner...

Erik De Smet
I just wondered why you called this project S7 when the kit is an S6 ? Recently I used 0.2 mm nickel Silver thread for rigging my biplanes and it worked well.

Greg Baker
That's a good idea Erik. I'll try to find some of that thread. The reason I called the project S7 is because it's being built as an entry into a WHIF racing GB on www.whatifmodellers.com (whatifmodellers.com/..p/topic,45910.0.html). Although modification is not strictly necessary, I didn't want to be held to a "real world" version of the S6, so I decided to give it counter-props, an engine "upgrade" and version of the wing/float radiator system based on the Macchi MC.72. I figured that was enough to push the design into a new iteration. 😉

Peter Hardy
Well, that would certainly put it in the "What if" category!