Eddie’s Ride

Munkyslut
Started on the cockpit......... I know it's only 1/32 but for my fat simian fingers these cockpit components are very fiddly & a pain in the arse 😄
Had a go at weathering the seat & airframe sections with different shades of green, photo is shit so doesn't show it at all!
The included instruments decal I expected to go behind the instrument panel but it goes on the outside.......... does it work easy? I was thinking of chucking the decals & dry brushing the instruments instead.

Munkyslut
Yeah that intricate frame behind the seat was a time consuming fiddle, mainly cos I had found a couple of them snapped before I'd even got them off the sprue's.
I'll think about the instrument panel but I think your right Roland 👍

Munkyslut
Instrument panel decals applied, took loads of softener to get it to sink in to the panel reliefs, not sure if I like the results or not, expected a better way of doing it.
Maybe this is where aftermarket & PE parts come in to play? I'll look next time.

Daniel
Aaaand in! 👍

Nathan Dempsey
Looking nice already Munky 🙂

Nigel Chapman
Ditto. The 1/32 scale is a lot better for showing the detail.

Munkyslut
Welcome Daniel & thanks Nathan & Nigel 😉

Munkyslut
Jockey wheel & cockpit fitted in to fuselage & the 2 halves glued together. Didn't fit quite as nice as I thought they might but only minor clamping & taping to get the gaps right 👍
I like it when I have a complete fuselage, like a milestone!

Munkyslut
Oh & I haven't installed Eddie on purpose, I didn't forget........... I'm going to have him sitting on the wing & standing by the prop when I've finished demonising him a little more 😉

Munkyslut
Good progress today! Wing upper & lower halves glued together & both main assemblies attached together, lower nose panel installed too.
Took a fair bit of sanding away material on the right hand join where the wing meets the fuselage below the cockpit, there was a gap about 3mm. Plenty of clamping & patience & it seems to have paid off. I'll give it a day to cure properly before I start sanding & filling the top centre line of the fuselage. It's not too bad so should only take a little while.
All the wing tips, rudders, tail fin & flaps are glued & ready too.

Munkyslut
Only real problem I've had with the moulding so far has been the lower half of the wings.
You can see here where the plastic hasn't got right in to the mould properly & left a void.
It's also warped at the edge where it joins the fuselage, still has a 1mm gap even after loads of heat & clamps.
It's annoying but just means a little filling & sanding, still a huge improvement over my Airfix experiences 😄

Munkyslut
Wing tips, ailerons, flaps, tail fin & rear wings installed, now it looks like a Spit 😉
Filled & sanded the fuselage joins so ready for primer later today once the lie has cured.
I love paint, my favourite part of the build!

Munkyslut
Laid down a few coats of Tamiya light grey primer last night, just sprayed Tamiya Ocean Grey over that.
I'm going to mix the colours & decals between the Stage Version & the Aces High Version.
I really like he ocean grey & green camo, I also love that yellow stripe across the leading edge of the wings, so I'm going to combine the band decals with that livery & maybe swap a few decals here & there.

Munkyslut
Couple of coats of Revell acrylic Sky applied to the underside.......... I like it but now I'm thinking the Ocean Grey on the upper side looks too dark!
Why's life so hard? 😄
...... & no I didn't forget to fill that gap by the wing join, I just wanted to test the colour first 😉

Munkyslut
Thanks Roland, I'm fairly happy with it so far 😉
Yeah you're right, it's difficult, there's a good amount of artistic license that can be applied to this.
Its more about what looks better than what is technically & historically correct.

Nathan Dempsey
Wow Munky, you are really moving on this build! Looking good too 🙂

Munkyslut
Canopy frame painted & glued on, easy to mask up when it's bigger......... how do you mates manage with 1/144 ffs???? 😄

Nigel Chapman
Looking good. Can't wait to see it finished

Munkyslut
Brushed on a camo design taken off the Revell diagram & modded where I fancied it.
I used Tamiya NATO Green Matt over the Tamiya Ocean Grey.
Next step before spraying a few coats of Tamiya semi gloss clear is some black panel line, which I've never done on a plane before,, looking forward to it 😉

Munkyslut
You know what Roland I nearly asked that question! You must be a mind reader 😄
I'll go with your suggestion, it makes sense, thanks 👍

Munkyslut
Listened to Rolands advice & laid down some Tamiya clear gloss coat before placing the major decals.
I wanted to use a mix of the 2 variants, the stage version & the Eddie box version.
I liked the large Maiden script for the underside of the wings but I still wanted to use some sort of RAF bullseye, I think it looks pretty good.
Also I played with the choices & placement of the fantasy & real life decals, still haven't placed the small technical ones yet but I didn't want to do that while I messed around with the larger ones.

Christoph Kunz
Looks good

James C
Looking gorgeous👍

Nigel Chapman
That looks brilliant. The decals really bring it to life.
All together now -
Run, live to fly
Fly to live, do or die
Won't you run, live to fly
Fly to live, aces high

Munkyslut
Cheers mates!
Haaahahaha very good Nigel 😄

Nathan Dempsey
That's great work Munky!

Munkyslut
I'm struggling here a bit mates & I need some inspiration & advice please!
I want to put the wheels up but the strut mechanism for the landing gear doesn't lay flat enough in the wheel wells. If I drop them in as they are they sit far too high & look awful.
I'm surprised that the instructions don't give the option......... anyone else changed theirs?

Munkyslut
Thanks Roland!....... that helped a lot! 👍

Munkyslut
I've had another idea after a lot of trial fitting;
The wheel itself prevents the strut from laying low enough in the wheel well so that the wheel covers fit flush.
So, I might try splitting the assembled wheels in to their halves & install just the back half of the wheel see if that gives me clearance.

Munkyslut
Think I've done it & preserved the depth of the wheel & maintained the hub part of the strut & the wheel cover.
I followed Rolands lead & it inspired me to experiment with several ideas. I decided to split the wheel halves to get the required depth I wanted & went from there, pleased with the result!

Munkyslut
Sorry Roland I missed your comment when I was loading the pic, thanks mate! 😉