29(F) Squadron XXX - **2 out of 3 FINISHED**

[TeeELL]

I have to devise a way of making the nav lights which are quite promenent sitting on stalks above the upper wing out edges. Acupuncture needle springs to mind, especially as it will be tough.

[MDT]

Great work on the Siskin! Those wheels look great. Has this ever been released by Revell? If not it's one they need to issue as MB did a good job of this like all their biplanes.

[TeeELL]

MDT,
You are quite right - the quality of this kit, in general, belies it's age and the 'Matchbox' label. The only down side is the brittle plastic which makes some components rather delicate. I am really hoping that I can wrap this build up by mid-week. Perhaps the Bulldog will go together a little quicker now I have some idea about constructing a bi-plane.

[DavidWomby]

Some incredibly lovely, detailed work going on here. Well done.

David

[SouthEast Aviation99]

Very impressed, the detail is great! I'm going to have a go at the Bulldog too, should be a nice little kit.

[TeeELL]

I've had a frustrating couple of days trying to rid the model of the seam along the spine, filling, sanding and priming all looked good but the Alcad revealed it to be still there, so it all had to be done again. I have become very adept at masking the fuselage for spraying. Decals have been added where it would be difficult to get too or where it has proved expediceous so to do so the Siskin continues to move towards completion.



I have chosen to use my own decals, the only down side is that the clear decals are a little more translucent than I would like. In addition I have made the 29(F) Sqn emblem that appears on the tail fins in some photographs - no idea what colour the background might have been though, so I chose a grey that would contrast with the 'Eagle preying on a Buzzard'.




I have washed the parts for the Bulldog in anticipation of starting soon.

[TeeELL]

I have managed to move on sufficiently to start the rigging! I use a couple of tweezers as weights to hols the thread in tension whilst the super glue dries.



Has a bit of a panic when I somehow managed to catch one of the threads in my scissors and remove half the length, by a stroke of good fortune it is not one that has to route back to the under carriage. So I got away with that - still wondering how I managed to cut it though. There was a panic moment when everything collapsed whilst I was hold one strut waiting for the glue to set - it took about half an hour to re-construct and ensure the rigging lines were correctly routed. I think this model is held together with the rigging!!!

[iggie]

It's starting to look the part!

[fredk]

T'is looking well

[TeeELL]

The rigging for the main planes completed, bit of a mare with the tail plane as I had not put enough rigging wire in. The math, geometry of the rigging caused a real head ache and I thought I had it sorted............ Trouble is I had been a bit impatient with the back end and the glue hadn't dried. So, all in all I made a significantly bigger job of it than I needed too - will I never learn?

[MarkyM607]

The rigging for the main planes completed, bit of a mare with the tail plane as I had not put enough rigging wire in. The math, geometry of the rigging caused a real head ache and I thought I had it sorted............ Trouble is I had been a bit impatient with the back end and the glue hadn't dried. So, all in all I made a significantly bigger job of it than I needed too - will I never learn?

Probably not!! (same as the rest of us!).

[TeeELL]

Lol, you are so right Marky! I have finished all I can with the rigging until I get the undercarriage fitted. In the meantime, the exhausts have been fitted - they are great, about .5mm too short so they don't connect to the engine, tried a little bit of plastic rod - it nearly worked, so instead I have opted for a dollop of PVA, which 'blends' nicely as well.

The carpet monster tried to have a massive meal! I planned to fit the Siskin undercarriage this afternoon, could I find the sprue with all the undercarriage parts - no, of course not. I went through to Bulldog parts in case, tided the table, searched the various storage boxes (or ice cream tubs as they are sometimes known) - nothing, nada! In the end I decided to check the floor, well there was nowhere else to look and there was the sprue, of course that had wasted half an hour.

Anyway, with the sprue safely in the Siskin storage facility I decided to blacken the brass rod undercarriage parts - Carrs chemical blacking for brass did the job swiftly and easily and, of course, didn't leave a 'thick' deposit of paint on the brass. As I started to assemble the undercarriage I realised that it would be a much better idea to finish the painting of the top wing upper surface and bottom wing lower surface.

The top wing upper surface had all the little rigging troughs filled so a rub down to smooth was all it required.





The loose threads are the 2 required to attach to the undercarriage bracing legs.

Off to do some spraying now.

[TeeELL]

The re-spray is complete and so far (touch wood) everything is still hanging together. I have become highly skilled at masking, had to mask the wings for the primer/filler, remove same for the rubbing down and then re-apply for the aluminium coat.

Upper wing after the final coat of Alclad. Despite checking that I had smoothed down the filler - the Alclad says otherwise! But It'll do.




Lower wing masked and primed




Starting to carefully remove the masking



I am going to construct a template to get the undercarriage bracing struts set at the right position - there are no locating points for the rear most struts - they just sit on the bottom of the fuselage, but as they need bracing wires, I will need to secure them properly on the fuselage.

[TeeELL]

The brittle plastic used for this kit is causing me a real headache. The undercarriage is proving to be particularly problematic, so much so that I have now to break out the soldering iron to create a replacement set of lower struts! I've considered going styrene - but I think that is too soft. So much for finishing yesterday!

[TeeELL]

A bit of relief for the undercarriage problem. My model is an 'on the ground' aircraft and the Matchbox Siskin is modelled 'air borne' thus the gear is modelled in the fully extended position. On the ground the gear is about 2-3mm shorter. I shall drill out the suspension unit and set the broken part within.

I have re-done the brass parts I made for the undercarriage but used 0.8mm brass tube for the main axle and 0.7mm tube for the cross piece of the bracing unit. The bracing wires have been set in the rear of the undercarriage and will be strung through the various components to the main axle. Once everything is glued in place I should be able to tighten up the thread.