Halinski 1:33 Spitfire Mk 1a

[Texman]

Excellent work Erik. Stunning to look at.

[Isaac]

Erik

Beautiful work on the landing gear and flaps. That is a really nice detail.

As an aside, looking at the narrow landing gear of the Spitfire ( and the Bf-109 ), I wonder how the designer got away with such a dangerous configuration that was prone to ground loops and other ground accidents.





The lives of pilots were less important than the ease of construction and support ( the landing gear struts were attached to the fuselage ( via small wing stubs for simplicity and lighter weight ).


If you look at the later Spitfires with the larger griffon engines, I would be scared to ground taxi them, let alone land it.


In any case, lots of fun with airplanes.


Isaac

[Skyhawk]

I am absolutely in awe looking at this model. I have been working on a spitfire (not a Halinski) for some time and you have given me inspiration to continue.
Well done - amazing work (goed gedaan - geweldig werk)
I look forward to your next build.

[romanmodels]

great work Erik.

[Erik Zwaan]

Hi Gary, Texman, Isaac, Skyhawk and David - thanks for your response . Indeed the track width of the main wheels is alarmingly dangerous. Even today, when Spits or Messerschmitts are present at flight shows, ground movements or take-off rolls sometimes go wrong - just check out YouTube. Indeed, saving cost on main spars and aircraft weight led to this inherent unsafe design. In that respect the Hawker Hurricane for instance was saver to handle on the ground.

Alright, job's almost completed. The last details such as antenna mast, aerial (steel wire), pitot tube and navigation lights are in place. There are no parts included for the latter, and luckily I checked the Polish building instructions, as the "recipe" for the lights is included after all, in the very last lines of the "opis budowy".

I also drilled small holes at the gun ports and painted the inside gun metal. Finally a bit more detailing of the access door, to show the opening and closing mechanism. Thanks Tom (Olo) for the hint, I checked numerous pictures on the internet and it seems that the mechanism came in many variants.

Next time I will post pictures of the completed model, with final weathering (exhaust trails and a bit of dirt/tire profile highlighting) and a coat of matt varnish.

I can only conclude the build by saying that this model is a delight to build. The only issue is the fitting of the rear end cockpit lining/rear former assembly in the fuselage. The rear end of the cockpit is just too big to fit in the fuselage.
I recommend the builder to make a copy of the parts involved (cockpit lining parts 1L/P, former 1r and possibly former 1o/p), and prepare a mock-up to fit in fuselage parts 15 and 18 (both already joined). This will exactly determine the extent of required modifications.
Glue 1L and 1P together, leave the rear end open at the bottom and slide the assembly into the fuselage parts. Likely you need to take out a small wedge, and that determines to what extent the formers need extra sanding.

Cheers,
Erik

[Hans van de Pavoord]

You've done a professional job here Erik. You can be proud on yourself. Better than is is not possible.

[Isaac]

I am impressed. The small details are excellent!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


Isaac

[Burning Beard]

Incredible!!

[Olo]

Great build Erik.. Congratulation....only antenna line looks a bit to heavy .....

[Mike1158]

It is fantastic. No matter how bad the day, when I come here and see these amazing works of art, my day is lifted. This airframe is one of the finest in a whole heap of talent. What a great place to be.