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farmroad38

Use this thread for general chat about the Group Build.
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Cheers,

Adrian

Sgt.Squarehead · Posted: Fri 04 Jan 2008 18:07 pm Post subject:

Hi Adrian, Guys.....

I've got my Airfix Dragon Rapide sat in front of me now, in fact I'm trying to type around it, it's a very big thing compared to even the most expensive of my tanks! Juggling

I would very much like to build along with you guys, but I have to say that the chances of me finishing this aircraft in a month are, realistically, absolutely nil!

However I don't want to miss this opportunity to pick your collective brains so I will be building along with you, but at a much more sedate pace. Tonight I may file a wing! (I did this with the lower wing of my Tigermoth last night.....What did they do to it!

It looked like the ejector pin had bulged the whole upper surface of the wing and I had to take a coarse rounded file to it and attempt to cut the rib(?) pattern back into it. Tidying this up meant I had to rescribe the elevators!) I have to say the Airfix DH-89 kit is much, much nicer than their Tigermoth and also better than their Anson (mine has a dirty great flaw in the canopy

), although there are a few loose bits in the box which always worries me! Nailbiting

It looks like I'm going to need some new paints too.....Always the way with me and aircraft. After finally getting round to buying some Tamiya J.N. Green and Grey I thought I could proceed with my Hasegawa J2M3 Raiden, only to discover upon preparing to paint the cockpit that my Feldgrau had dried up! I only got the joystick and instrument panel done!

Anyway good luck with all of your builds, I shall be following along, slowly but with great interest!

All the best

Richard M · Posted: Fri 04 Jan 2008 18:29 pm Post subject:

The builds two months! Also you can over-run and continue in the GB Plus, just ask Adrian (or Dave) ROTFL

Best
Rich
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Rich
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Sgt.Squarehead · Posted: Fri 04 Jan 2008 19:53 pm Post subject:

Richard M · Posted: Fri 04 Jan 2008 20:01 pm Post subject:

King's Flight, DH Rapide G-ADDD, 21st July 1936 Hendon, formerly King Edward VIII's private aircraft. Might help to find you some more details.
Best
Rich
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Rich
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"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

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revell_gmbh · Yellow Star Joined: 13 Jun 2006 Posts: 115

I'm not participating, but having built a number of the Heller Rapide, I can offer a few tips. The big issue with the Heller Rapide is the part breakdown is not entirely condusive to finishing and painting, even with the simplest of liveries, never mind the more complicated ones like the AA, Rothmans and Kings Flight. T

here are a number of issues, however, the biggest is the top wing forms part of the fuselage.

Convention tends to be when building bi-planes is to spray the the lower wing and fuselage, then add the upper wing. However, with Rapide the upper part of the top wing is one piece that includes part of the fuselage. This issue is excerabated that it is very thin in this area and not the best of fits and filling and rubbing down is required,not good if the

The way I got around this was to cut the one piece wing into three seperate parts with the cuts at the wing root. This allows the fuselage part to be fittedas part of the fuselage construction, one will need to include a couple of spars to which the prototye has any way -- this acts a location point and introduces strength to the top wing and will allow the top wing to be added after the lower wing, fuselage and spars to be painted.

The glazing is way to thick and the strip can be seen so as a bare minimium one needsto cut the windows so they are indivdual pieces. Ideally they need to be replaced, whatever way one goes masking and spraying them is a careful operation.

If I'm being honest despite it's age and slightly odd scale [1/78] the old Frog kit is far better kit, particulary as it is relatively straight forward to adapt the Heller interior to fit, as well as not having the build issues the Heller ones has.

Richard M · Posted: Tue 15 Jan 2008 18:44 pm Post subject:

Well I'm a very unhappy bunny right now. The left fuselage half of the kit I opened was slightly warped, I thought I could work round it, having checked and dry fitted that's looking unlikely. Opened up the second box thinking I could use that, and it's horrendous! 1000 times worse than the first one.

So I have one good right fuselage half to keep me going! I think Airfix replacement parts service is going to be getting a email from me first thing tomorrow!

The moral of this tale - never assume a shrink wrapped kit is going to contain usable parts!
Best
Rich

Edit: Moved this post and the subsequent ones to chat as it has become more general than just about my build. Rich.
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Best
Rich
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"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

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Ratch · Posted: Tue 15 Jan 2008 18:51 pm Post subject:

Nasty

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stuzzar · Posted: Tue 15 Jan 2008 19:07 pm Post subject:

Richard M · Posted: Tue 15 Jan 2008 19:17 pm Post subject:

Still fuming! I mean how does that get past QC for crying out loud! Le Mousieur Heller must have flipped it out of the hot mould and sat on it

I'm also annoyed at myself for not checking the kits when I got them. But if you ever intend to collect or sell them, having them originally shrink wrapped is prefereable!
Best
Rich

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Best
Rich
---------------------------

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

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Sgt.Squarehead · Posted: Tue 15 Jan 2008 20:06 pm Post subject:

Ooh la la!

I thought mine was bad because it does a bit of an impression of a certain '007 submarine swallowing supertanker' at the front end!

What a pigs ear.....Did they cook it with garlic?

All the best

bunny · Posted: Wed 16 Jan 2008 13:09 pm Post subject:

thats the worst i have seen

weres the quality control

Jonathan · Bronze Star Joined: 02 May 2006 Posts: 1605

That is spectacularly appalling Richard.
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farmroad38 · Posted: Wed 16 Jan 2008 16:13 pm Post subject:

Maybe someone left it on a radiator?

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Cheers,

Adrian

Richard M · Posted: Wed 16 Jan 2008 16:26 pm Post subject:

Maybe it was produced during the period of "negotiations" just prior to the collapse of both companies

.

I've let Airfix know and I'm waiting for them to get back to me, in the meantime I'm seeing if Vince from MFS has a couple of decent ones in stock.
Best
Rich
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Best
Rich
---------------------------

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

Visit my PORTFOLIO

morgandude1 · Posted: Wed 16 Jan 2008 17:49 pm Post subject:

I've never seen anything as bad as that!

BAC · Posted: Wed 16 Jan 2008 20:20 pm Post subject:

Crikey!

I've never seen a molding like that. Unbelievable!
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Loll · Posted: Wed 16 Jan 2008 21:12 pm Post subject:

I presume you have checked that there is not anything where you stored the kits that might have caused the warps ? No unseen overheating wiring, or leaking flue ?
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Richard M · Posted: Wed 16 Jan 2008 22:10 pm Post subject:

They were both sealed in plastic when I got them and were kept in a below stairs cupboard with half the stash. No other problems with other kits bought at the same time and stored in the same place.Before I got it - who knows?

The sprues runners are OK but some of the components like the floor and wings show some banana type warpage but nothing as bad as that fuselage half, and the packaging and box are all OK.

Looks to me like it happened while the plastic was hot, got squashed or bashed or sat on?

The other two fuselage pieces show warpage, annoyingly its lengthways and also a inward depression in the fuselage below the windows, which means trying to straighten it and pop out the side of the fuselage. Tricky to fix. Frankly, I want replacements as I don't consider the parts to be fit for purpose.

I've seen some dodgy transparencies and short shot pieces but nothing as bad as this.
Best
Rich
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Best
Rich
---------------------------

"I've seen things you people wouldn't believe. Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion. I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhauser gate. All those moments will be lost in time... like tears in rain... Time to die."

Visit my PORTFOLIO

Loll · Posted: Thu 17 Jan 2008 13:38 pm Post subject:

If that is silver plastic , how old are the kits ?

Did you ask for the two new kits to be checked before they send them ?
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