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davecov · Posted: Mon 28 Aug 2006 10:16 am Post subject: Fluff75's Build

Progress of Fluff75's build will be reported here.

Dave
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fluff75 · Posted: Thu 07 Sep 2006 14:42 pm Post subject:

I have made a start! This first pic shows the parts being washed in washing-up liquid to remove release agent from the plastic.

Hope to start assembly early next week. Will report back.
Ron.

fluff75 · Posted: Wed 04 Oct 2006 15:11 pm Post subject:

More work done yesterday and today.
The photos tell their own story

All the parts. some have been removed from the sprues and cleaned up.

Parts assembled in their various sub-assemblies. I preferred to leave the propellers free so that they can be detached during painting and for transport later.

The seats attached to the cabin floor. It is quite amazing that the Islander is a ten seater! Sit it next to a Hurricane and you can appreciate how small that cabin is.

The wing parts assembled. Most of the rivets have been sanded off. Landing lights at the wing tips have still to be added.

Fuselage with doors cemented in and rear fuselage bulkhead in place. Rivets have been sanded off and the rather prominent door frames have been thinned down by sanding.

My chosen decals for the Blue Islands Islander. This sheet came from forum member Ray Charles at TwoSix decals.

Next stage will involve painting the cabin interior gloss white 33 and matt khaki drill 72.
Impression so far on this kit. Parts fit well but care will have to taken in fitting the transparencies after painting. Will probably use two part epoxy to glue them in place. This is a good kit and an excellent choice for a Group Build in my opinion.
More follows.
Ron.

Richard M · Gold Star Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Posts: 3246 Location: Cyprus

Hi Ron,
nice to see the start of the build! When you add weight I would be on the generous side, I have slightly more than the amount the instructions state, and she will very easily tail-sit. I used 2-part epoxy on my side windows - following your recommendation. The fit was pretty good, the windscreen needed some filling at the roof line and the lower front where it met the fuselage. I used humbrol filler for the roofline and tippex for the lower area which I found good as it was liquid and flowed into the gap.
Best
Red
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fluff75 · Posted: Mon 09 Oct 2006 14:42 pm Post subject:

I have done a little more work and here are the photos.

Bottom view of the complete wing with engine nacelles added, under wing mass balances to the ailerons and the wing tip landing lights. All nicely in place. To be added after painting and decaling is the small pitot head under the port wing. I found that the landing lights were tricky to fit. Look at them with a magnifying lens to find the correct way up. They have a section which matches the wing aerofoil. Blue paint on starboard wing was put on to match the colour with the decals from Two Six. I have left off the undercarriage legs which will be added after assembly to make sure that they are vertical and have the correct sweep.

Top view of the wing. Rivets and most surface detail have been removed using fine grade emery paper. The landing lights need polishing with MicroMesh 6000 and then masking off before painting. I took care when fitting the engine nacelles so that they conformed with the top wing surface.

The fuselage halves complete with windows in place. (I used 5-minute epoxy to glue them in and I found them tricky to fit and did them about three times before I was satisfied). The inside has been painted white (130 Satin white) and khaki ( Matt 72) The floor with the seats on has been painted Humbrol 72 also. Note the weight in the extreme nose. I weighed out 6 grams of lead sheet which I had cut into small pieces. Then superglued it in place. Very tight fit! Also I put three small pieces of lead sheet under the instrument panel. Here is a photo of the electronic scales I used to weigh the lead.

More later.
Ron.

fluff75 · Posted: Mon 16 Oct 2006 18:02 pm Post subject:

I have made quite a bit of progress over the weekend and here are photos of the model parts as of 6 o'clock this evening.

Photo of the completed fuselage in Blue Island livery. Gosh am I glad that I didn't assemble the model before applying the decals. Anyway I must congratulate TwoSix decals (Ray Charles) on the quality of their product. I used Humbrol 25 as the blue and unfortunately it does quite match the blue in the decal - however it is isn't too bad and looks better in natural light. Hu15 would have probably been better. On a construction note I didn't fit the fin properly into the slot in the fuselage. This became obvious when I applied the tail fin decals. The registration G-XAXA points slightly down indicating that the fin hadn't been installed properly.

Top view of the wing with registration decal in place, de-icer strips
on leading edge and small Blue Island decals on each engine nacelle. I wasn't sure about the white demarcation at the wing centre rear (where it joins the fuselage but went for a small semicircle of white to match the moulding lines)

Wing underside. Undercarriage legs and wheels attached, pitot tube in place, de-icer strips and registration decal on. All the parts were given four coats of Johnson's Klear before decal appliaction. After they decals had dried and before the window masking had been removed I gave the parts two coats of Satin Mattcote to seal the decals and to give the model a more authentic shine!.

All I've got to now is to cement the wing onto the fuselage and tidy up the join. The windows require some further attention also. Hope to do this in the next few days to meet the 31st October finishing deadline.
I am happy with my Islander and can heartily recommend the kit which I think is probably one of Airfix's better ones.
Ron.

Owen · Posted: Mon 16 Oct 2006 18:09 pm Post subject:

Looking Very nice there Ron!
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fluff75 · Posted: Wed 18 Oct 2006 14:36 pm Post subject:

Here is the completed model.

Ron.

Ratch · Posted: Wed 18 Oct 2006 14:48 pm Post subject:

and very nice it is too

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farmroad38 · Posted: Wed 18 Oct 2006 14:58 pm Post subject:

That is lovely, Ron. I want to make mine now!
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Cheers,

Adrian

hippo · Posted: Wed 18 Oct 2006 15:15 pm Post subject:

farmroad38 · Posted: Wed 18 Oct 2006 15:42 pm Post subject:

I did consider joining the GB when I managed to pick mine up...
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Cheers,

Adrian

Owen · Posted: Wed 18 Oct 2006 15:52 pm Post subject:

It's 'Bootiful' Ron - A splendid job!
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Richard M · Gold Star Joined: 26 Apr 2006 Posts: 3246 Location: Cyprus

Very nice job Ron. Interesting decision to complete it in two seperate modules, but having had a closer look at the decals I can understand it. The whole model is brush painted? I'm impressed if so -I can never get a good finish brush painting white. By the way the spinners are painted what colour? It looks like a metallic - brass or bronze but a very smooth finish.
Thanks for participating in the build and giving a comprehensive build report.
Many thanks
Red
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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."

Visit my PORTFOLIO

fluff75 · Posted: Thu 19 Oct 2006 07:27 am Post subject:

Hi Red,
Yes the model was mainly brush painted except for the final coats of matt white (thinned Humbrol 34) which were sprayed on. The spinners were painted with Revell gold 94, the prop blades silver Humbrol 11. Both brush painted.
Taking part in this group build has helped me to finish the model. Glad you liked the final result. I'm looking forward to seeing what the other group builders have made of the AIRFIX Islander!
Ron.

davecov · Posted: Thu 19 Oct 2006 10:11 am Post subject:

Well done Ron on a fine build. I just hope mine will be as good when I can finally get working on it again!

Dave
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