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Section
#1
Above
is the left side fuselage half showing the cockpit detail. Everything that is
visible comes in the kit and looks quite effective once painted, washed and dry
brushed. My
only complaint is that the trim wheel is actually moulded to the side instead of
being offered as a separate component.
Considering the fact that Hasegawa already supplies you with five pieces
to attach to the left side, I find it strange that the trim wheel was neglected.
Those of you not building OTB, will want to find a replacement for this
important component
Section
#2
Once
again, everything shown on the right side is moulded onto the fuselage half
except for the undercarriage control quadrant and the oxygen cylinder.
The cockpit was finished with Model Master British Interior Green, then
it was dry-brushed with a lighter shade of the same color. Once dry, a light
mist of Testors MM Clear Flat lacquer sealed everything.
It was now time to apply a wash of black oil paint & odorless
turpenoid into all the corners of the raised details.
After letting the oil wash dry for a day, a light mist of Testors MM
Clear Flat lacquer was dusted on to seal the oil wash.
The final steps included some additional dry-brushing with a darker shade
of the base color, some details were picked out in red and silver to give the
sidewall some color and finally, I sealed everything with a light coat of
Humbrol Clear Flat.
Section
#3
(click on
the images below to load the full size photos)
The
top portion of the instrument panel was airbrushed Testors MM Interior black and
once dry, the raised instrument dials were dry-brushed with MM Flat White.
The detail on the panel is superb and it only took me one attempt to get
the results I was after.
A little dry-brushing with some MM Lt.Grey, some Gunze red and brown to
pick out a few switches and indicators and once everything was dry, I applied
some thin CA to the instrument faces to represent the glass.
The results of the CA are fairly good but I think Gunze Clear Gloss or
Future produces better results for simulating the glass.
The
seat was first hand brushed using Gunze Red Brown ( H47 ) which was then
dry-brushed around the edges using Gunze Brown ( H7 ) mixed with a touch of
white. The
harness and buckles are made from regular masking tape as this and paper are the
only materials allowed if you intend on entering a kit in an OTB category.
The holes in the belt were made using a sewing needle and once applied to
the seat, the masking tape was painted with a wash of
Acrylic White mixed with a little Lt.Brown.
Once again, a final coat of Humbrol Clear Flat
eliminated any shiny spots
The
remainder of the cockpit assembly was airbrushed Testors MM British Interior
Green and drybrushed with a lighter shade of the same color. When dry,
everything was sealed with a dusting of Testors Flat Clear lacquer .
The Black oil paint and Turpenoid wash was applied to all the raised
areas and especially to the crevices found in the cockpit floor..
Finally, a darker shade of the base color was dry-brushed on certain
areas and a final coat of Humbrol Clear Flat completed the tub assembly.
Section
#4
| Here
we can see the area to the left of the cannon blister where the two
bumps above the wheel well have been removed.
According to those who know what they’re talking about, these
shouldn’t be on the Mk.IXc version that is represented on the decal
sheet.
If you look closely, you can see the patch of Mr.Surfacer that
has been applied to the area where the bumps were removed.
This has since been sanded down and there is now no trace of the
previous bumps. |
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Section
#5
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larger photo |
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The
fit of the rear portion of the wing ( gull area ) is very good on the sides as
these photos of the dry fitted pieces show.
However, as you can see, it does leave a gap at the rear of the join.
This is no problem and only requires a small amount of filler to smooth
everything out.
I should point out that when these pictures were taken, the cockpit had
not yet been glued to the fuselage halves.
I strongly recommend that when you get to this task, only glue the
instrument panel and the two bulkheads to the right fuselage half.
Do not glue the floor of the tub along the horizontal line.
I didn’t do this as I wanted to make sure the bottom of the tub could
move freely once the fuselage halves were cemented together.
This step prevents the fuselage from ‘ pinching ‘ which will result
in unnecessary gaps at the upper wing to fuselage joint.
Section
#6
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larger photo |
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These
two images show the nice joint between the wing and fuselage that is obtained
during the dry fitting stages.
You want to avoid doing anything that will change this.
Why use putty if you can avoid it.
Section
#7
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This
picture shows that I’ve removed the raised hinge from the bottom of
the cockpit door.
These hinges were also removed from the two access panels found
on the fuselage and below the wings as they are far to pronounced for
this scale.
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Even
though the cockpit appears dark in the photo, it does however give you a good
indication as to just how good the Hasegawa detail looks once the fuselage is
together. It’s
most unfortunate that Hasegawa decided
not to include a separate cockpit door as the kits detail begs to be
viewed. This
won’t present a problem to those of you who want to add additional details to
the cockpit but if your goal is to build this kit OTB ( like me ) the door must
stay in the closed position.
Section
#8
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These
two final views show just how good the basic outline shape is.
It sure does look like a SPIT.
To further enhance the outline shape of the model, I attached the pointed
rudder with white glue just prior to taking the pictures.
CONCLUSION
To
say that I’m impressed with this kit is an understatement.
The level of detail is exquisite and so far, everything fits like a
glove. I
look forward to completing this project and I’ll be sure to send some pictures
to Steve if he so desires. This kit is so simple to build I can understand why
more and more modelers are building these types.
Unlike the complicated and poorly fitting jet models that I prefer, this
was the therapy I needed to recharge my dead batteries.
You WWII guys have it so easy.
Please Mr.Hasegawa, where is my new F-105D that I’ve been begging you
for for almost twenty years.
Paul
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