Halinski 1:33 Spitfire Mk 1a

[Olo]

All you need now is to find a great pilot who is going to fly this beauty Great work.

[MacSongLi]

WOW! That is a heck of a lot of work with those frames. Amazing job Erik.


Gary

[Erik Zwaan]

Thank you Gary, Tom, David, Wireandpaper, Yoav, Dan, Isaac and Kevin, that's a lot of responses!

@Isaac, Kevin, Gary and Dan: Indeed a lot of frames but when installing the cowling it feels like you're shaping it so smoothly around those frames, it's almost like sculpting. On the other hand, there would be nothing wrong with the conventional method of sections and formers. In any case, if you look at the entire assembly from just a short distance, the shape really looks round, no edges or straight parts that in fact should have been curved. Really a smart design.
@Tom: I have a SEP rating (Single Engine/Pilot) rating so after a few hours of instruction I would be honored to fly this machine .

Next is to install a small dia 2mm brass tube inside the cowling with a 1mm dia brass pin that fits inside the tube. Although I prepared the propeller cores already, the blades will follow later. It runs very smoothly!

Finally the spinner with the inside pin attached to it, and I'm happy that the petal construction turned out nicely. I'm using a circle template for pressing the petals evenly together and then apply a bit of glue to hold them in position. Lastly, to firm up the assembly, small scraps of thin paper glued at the inside to ensure the petals stay together.

Also installed the small bubbles on the cowling and exhaust pipes. Small parts of which the many sides need to be shaped and glued very accurately. It's obvious that the Spitfire had a long nose, because of the inline Merlin engine, as you can see in the last picture.

Next will be something more "shape defining": The empennage section.

Regards,
Erik

[MacSongLi]

Erik,


That is a very nice smooth shape. The fuselage transitions vary nicely from part to part. Realistic. You're doing amazing work.


Gary

[romanmodels]

nice work Erik, I chamfer the inside edges of petals I find that they sit together better

[Erik Zwaan]

Thank you again, Gary and David. The Spit takes shape, that's for sure.

Next is the empennage section and I have decided to build it as a separate assembly first, before attaching to the rest of the fuselage. Everything is pretty straight-forward but I needed to sandpaper the oval shaped former at the front side of the internal structure for a good fit. Maybe it wasn't necessary but for me it worked better this way. To reinforce the skin of the fuselage part of the entire assembly I glued additional paper inside, thereby leaving a margin for the tabs that will be glued here when mating to the fuselage aft of the cockpit.
The horizontal stabilizers will be aligned by the protruding metal pin, which also helps to align the internal structure properly.

The rudder consists of two clam shells, which at first look difficult to glue together but the internal structure has been designed such that it's easy to kind of drape the skins over it. Nevertheless, as a good start, I glued a tiny joining strip to the leading edge of the rudder to ensure proper alignment of both halves (or shells).

From the instruction pictures and also actual photographs of the Spitfire, there is a small navigation light at the trailing edge of the rudder. It seems to be missing in the model and I will include it later on.

Next are the horizontal stabilizers, elevators and tail wheel.

Regards,
Erik

[Erik Zwaan]

Well, the tail section is also finished now. The fit of the various parts is just extremely good. I gave a slight downward deflection of the elevators. Some small parts involved here and I included a picture of how I cut small circles, it's very effective this way.
In fact, the most difficult parts were the fillets between horizontal and vertical stabilizers. They must be bent concave and convex, but again, the fit is superb.

The tail wheel is a very strong assembly and there will be no risk that once on its own legs, it will sag. The protruding metal pin is held firmly in place under the right angle by a small cardboard shaft inside the tail structure, very well designed. I turned the wheel slightly towards the left, to have everything exactly straight feels somewhat unnatural.

Finally connecting empennage and fuselage. Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the process but to ensure a seamless bond as much as possible I glued a small strip of paper behind the gluing tabs at the fuselage end, to create a better grip when gluing both sections together, as it allows you to put a bit more pressure on it.
In fact, as I explained last time I also reinforced the inside of the tail section with an additional layer of paper, but I only did so just before gluing both sections together, allowing me to shape the oval cross sectional areas properly. Once the acetate glue had dried the end result is a strong fuselage skin, which I prefer over a single paper skin, that can be accidentally dented during handling of the model in the entire building process. It takes extra time but it's worth the effort.

Also two pictures of the cockpit area.

That's it for now,
Erik

[Isaac]

Great results come from a great model kit. Here is a perfect example of a designer that went thru all the details to make sure all the parts fit well, the graphics matches the sections and the finish will look realistic. That is professionalism in the field of our hobby.

Next comes the builder, and Erik, You have performed superbly on this advance model.

The end result is a pleasure to look at item, and nothing but real praise can be said.


Isaac

[ccoyle]

Very slick work, Erik!

[WVA]

I agree with Isaac on the quality of this kit. We often do not give credit to that contributing to a good build. On the other hand, few build to the level possible. I am SO impressed with your ability to make this all come together as planned!