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RPS-Modified Rigby Spitfire
Back in April, rockpaperscissors began posting information on his recolors and upgrades of classic Wallace Rigby model airplanes, beginning with the Vultee P-66 (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/vintage-models/41037-rigby-p-66-wsam.html), then going on to a Hawker Hurricane (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/vintage-models/42574-rigby-hawker-hurricane.html) and Westland Lysander (http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/vintage-models/42714-rigby-westland-lysander.html).
Don very kindly sent me a Supermarine Spitfire that he had upgraded and recolored in colors that, while not an exact match, capture the look of RAF camouflage during and after the Battle of Britain. These Rigby’s fascinate me because my earliest memories of paper models are of my Mother cutting out Rigby models from the Sunday Pittsburg newspaper and assembling them for me during the War. This particular model is irresistible to me (who was born at the height of the Battle of Britain) because Don used my initials as the squadron/aircraft code and named the airplane “Darling Lil,” after my wife. I am troubled by astigmatism that makes it hard for me to score precisely along a line, which, along with some age-related deterioration of my motor skills, has contributed to my not having finished a paper model successfully for the past year. However, I had to have a go at this one, and here is the result. I printed the model out on Neenah Bright White 67# premium cardstock, which is 0.19mm thick. There are no undersurfaces to the wings and horizontal stabilizers. This is not apparent unless you turn the model over, but I printed the back side of the paper with a color close to RAF Sky (duck egg green). During construction, I used Faber-Castell Pitt Artist Pens to color the edges: 172 earth green and 174 olive green, warm grey for the canopy frame, 199 black for the prop and wheels, and 109 orange-yellow for the prop tips. I used a Tombow 491 brush pen, which is close to Sky, for the edges of the landing gear covers. With Don’s fine-tuning of the original model, the Spitfire goes together very well. All the parts match up perfectly except that the tabs at the tips of the wing fillets overlap the fuselage roundels, so I did a bit of surgery (Image 5). The nose discs are also too small, so I replaced them with an 11mm cardboard disk. I inserted the nose disk before gluing the two fuselage sections together (Images 6 and 7). Mistake! I did it in order to be able to insert the disk from the rear, but this made it very difficult to clamp the tabs. You will notice that the join between the two fuselage pieces is consequently pretty Raggedy Andy. I also used little paper tabs to strengthen the join of the canopy pieces (Image 8) My only other modifications to the model were to print out an extra propeller so as to not have a blank white rear to the prop blades (Image 9), to laminate the wheels with 2mm card disks, and to glue a .057mm brass wire between the two sides of the landing gear covers. I bent the top of the wire 90 degrees and glued the tabs at the top of the l/g legs to the bottom of the wing (the model is designed to have the tabs inserted through the wing and I didn’t want to do that) (Images 10-14). The wire gives some strength to the landing gear and permits me to make adjustments to get the right “sit” for the aircraft. The final image is of Darling Lil with her airplane. Don Last edited by Don Boose; 12-22-2018 at 08:26 PM. |
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Don, I think it looks great.
Any issues you ran into don’t even show.
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Currently building Heinkel Models/Ron Miller Authentic Nautilus. |
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That came out terrific, Don. I love the last photo with miniature Lil and her namesake. The dimensional wheels really add a lot to the appearance of the finished model. Using metal wire to strengthen the landing gear was a great idea too. Nice work. I'm sure darling Lil is/will be delighted with the model.
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Regards, Don I don't always build models, but when I do... I prefer paper. Keep your scissors sharp, my friends. |
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Great looking model Don!
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#5
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Nice little model, with that nice vintage feel about it as well!
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The SD40 is 55 now! |
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#6
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Quote:
And very informative about the construction and tips. What is the scale? Thank you very much Don and Don |
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Turned out very nice.
It is neat to be able to have a paper model modified to a personal level like that.
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~Doug~ AC010505 EAMUS CATULI! Audere est Facere THFC 19**-20** R.I.P. it up, Tear it up, Have a Ball |
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W&P, the wingspan on mine (printed at 100%) is 172mm making the scale 1/65.
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Regards, Don I don't always build models, but when I do... I prefer paper. Keep your scissors sharp, my friends. |
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Nicely done Don! Glad to see you getting some build time.
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Ray Respect the Paper, RESPECT IT! GET OFF MY LAWN! |
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Excellent work on that nice personalized Spit. I'm glad that it has returned to build despite the difficulties.
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