Alecras' Workbench

[alecras234]

can i take the undercarrage of the plane even though they are glued on, and then re attach them, but how do i get them in line?

[JohnRatzenberger]

Here's our more current info on posting photos http://www.uamf.org.uk/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=237;

As Andrew said, you have to have your own photo hosting account, there are many free ones.

[AndrewR]

can i take the undercarrage of the plane even though they are glued on, and then re attach them, but how do i get them in line?

It's best to "dry fit" things before gluing. Usually you have some "wiggle" room when you push the undercarriage into the locating holes, so you can align them. Once aligned then you apply glue sparingly to where the u/c fits into the rest of the model.

If you've glued them in very firmly, then they probably won't come out easily, and might snap off. If you have a drill, you can bore out the hole and try again with a replacement set of u/c legs. I've got lots of spares in my workshop, so I can send some, but there are probably forum members closer to you who can donate spares which will get there faster.

The other option is to build it "in flight", where you will need some sort of stand. Again people probably have spares (I do!).

Cheers

Andrew

[BlohmWolf]

Or if you don't want to make an account, simply use imgur. Where you can upload images without an account, and edit them later.

[alecras234]

I've started building a spitfire mk1a which is a little more fiddly to build than the mk1 but im getting there. i have put together the cockpit and the propeller. in the instruction sheet in each step there are numbers with arrows pointing to the piece im building in different areas, what are these numbers please? For example for step one, its says B24, the piolt which is num24 on the B sprue, but then there a line pointing to the pilots head with 61 and 24 pointing to his body. When i ordered the kit, there wasn't paint included if it means this.

Ash

[jssel]

Hi Ash. If I am not mistaken, if the number is not circled it indicates the Humbrol paint color. A quick check at the opening page of the instruction sheet shows a key as to what is what.

Hope this helps.

[Ian]

Jeff is right. Numbers without circles (or squares) around them are Humbrol paint numbers.
H61 is flesh and H24 is yellow (for the life jacket).
On the side of the box lid you will find a list of all paints that you will need to complete the model. You can also find the info on the Airfix website.

[alecras234]

I'm a beginner and im building a spitfire mk1a. im pleased with it so far eventhough i have only glued the pilot to his seat and put the cockpit and propeller together. im confused though, do i paint the pieces before assembly or after? my brother says paint after assembly because i have something to hold while im painting. i have difficulty with my hands, im disabled. ive seen on youtube builds where people paint parts first but then dont you need to scrape the paint off for the glue to stick, so whats the point?

ash

[fredk]

Everyone has their own way which suits their needs.
Many favour painting some parts whilst they are on the frames - parts such as the pilot. Or even the cockpit pieces, as they will be difficult to paint once glued in place.
The main parts of the model, in your case the fuselage, main and tail wings, undercarriage legs and propeller could wait till it is build up before painting. A few modellers do paint these pieces before putting together, thats their way and it suits them to do it that way.

[Saxon]

I think it depends on your own style and the scale. 1/72 scale a lot of detail isn't seen anyway so you can paint a cockpit once the fuselage halves are joined, although I wouldn't recommend painting the pilot in the same way. I also like to build as much as possible first before painting as sometimes parts don't go together so well and you end up losing some of that paint work in the gluing and sanding process.

[JamesPerrin]

Do whatever you find easiest. Small parts are easiest to paint while still on the sprue though remember to scrap the paint off where two parts join to get a good bond. Study the instructions, if there are several parts that form a sub assembly and are the same colour, glue them together first and then paint them. Use things like cocktail sticks, coffee stirrers with blue tack and clothes pegs to holds parts to make the easier to handle while painting. Most importantly take your time, if you need to hold one wing while painting the other wait until the paint had properly dried and then swap over.

[Ian]

Hi Ash,

Don't know if this is any use to you but I did a demonstration build of a Bf-109 a few years ago. Whilst it's not a spitfire it does go through how I build my models from start to finish.
http://gregers.fr.yuku.com/topic/9852/I ... ild?page=1;

[AndrewR]

A Spitfire has a very narrow cockpit, so if you're going to paint it, do that before you put the fuselage together. The pilot would also need to go in before closing up the fuselage too.
What I often do is paint the small parts on the sprue, but I partly detach each part, leaving them hanging from just one attachment point. That way you have fewer arrangement points to touch up at the end.

For Spitfires I paint pilot and interior, stick fuselage together, add wings and horizontal stabilizers, and the various air scoops and radiators under the wings. That assembly can then be painted. While that's drying, paint the wheels, undercarriage, aerial, pitot tube and exhausts.
Then put the decals on before final assembly (I tend to break delicate bits while decalling )
Once the decals are on, then varnish them to toughen them up a bit, assemble the other bits. Check for bits which need paint touch-ups, varnish again, and it should be finished.

Cheers

Andrew

[alecras234]

Hi im Ash from north wales. im disabled and i have trouble with my hands so i thought id try airfix modelling to see how things go and hopefully have something i can be proud of at the end. i bought a level 1 spitfire mk1a, i glued the fuselage and put the wings on, i had it all glued together and i was happy with what i'd achieved so far until i glued the undercarriage on. I decided to have the wheels down so firstly i glued the leg things on to line them up and made sure they were level, i had them pretty spot on i was pleased with myself. After i did all that i glued the tyres in but they wouldnt click, i tried lining the hole at the back of the wheel with the undercarriage leg to get them to click in place, it was hard to see and the more i tried the legs came off. Now, i have a build up of glue and cant put the legs back in place. i have ruined my build. can i easily fix things please? im using revell liquid poly.

[Ian]

Probably not easily, Ash.
It sounds like you didn't wait for the glue on the legs to dry fully before trying to add the wheels. Always best to let glue dry fully.

I think you're going to have to build this one wheels up.