Iconicair 1/32 Supermarine Attacker

[GusMac]

So this is the next project on the bench, continuing my adventures in resin courtesy of Ernie.

Construction starts with the wings which went together pretty easily. The spar and wheel well parts snap into place very nicely. The resin is quite hard and sands well without scarring the surface, so clean up is straightforward. The casting blocks are easily removed and cleverly placed.

Small amount of filler needed but rescribing was straightforward. Next up is the cockpit which is mainly black, so not the most exciting.

[Martinnfb]

Really nice! Will follow with interest .

Cheers

Martin

[Martinnfb]

[GusMac]

The seat in my kit is 3D printed rather than cast and it's missing the ejection handle, so quick bit of work with some 0.6mm lead wire.

There is also supposed to be a PE fret looking at reviews online but this is missing from mine, so no seatbelts and no instrument panel coaming. The belts on the MB Mk2 seat look pretty simple so I'm hoping to use the buckles from this and some lead foil to knock something up. To be honest most reviews say the PE is very thick so this might be a better bet anyway.

 

The coaming I'm hoping the make with some 0.5mm plastic card but I'll wait until the cockpit is ready to fit so I can get the shape correct. All the cockpit pieces have been primed and have had a coat of rubber black as a base. Everything in the cockpit is black so it's going to be hard to detail and weather but I suspect when it's closed up you're not going to see too much anyway. 

[PanzerWomble]

Looking good . 

[GusMac]

So, on with the cockpit and interior.

Given how short the operational life of these airframes was these pieces are almost certainly over-weathered but it was just going to a black coalhole otherwise, so artistic licence applied.

The belts are made of lead foil from a wine bottle and the PE buckles from an HGW set so definitely not completely accurate but close enough to what I've found in pictures of the MB Mk2 for me. Not a lot is going to be visible once the front fuselage is closed up so FICE applies.

Just waiting for the instrument panel decals to dry and then we can get this all assembled although that might be easier said than done - the locating tabs for the cockpit floor are vague at best so I foresee a good bit of fiddling about and cursing ahead!

[GusMac]

After some test fitting and checking of pictures online I decided not to follow the assembly sequence in the instructions.

The instructions state, and pictures confirm, that the intake lips sit proud of the fuselage sides and after much fiddling around I just couldn't see how that could be achieved if I followed the instructions and assembled the nose halves first and then attached that to the joined rear fuselage.

So,

So, the nose sections have been joined to their respective fuselage halves and the whole thing will be joined conventionally. There looks like there will be a slight gap in the upper nose just in front of the windscreen but nothing that a little filler won't sort. Compared to some of the gaps on the Viggen this will be a cinch.

The improvised holder was just to let the 5-minute epoxy cure fully before proceeding. I think I'll also add some tabs to the inside of the nose to help with getting the cockpit floor to sit level.

[PanzerWomble]

Destructions are for beginners !

I've never built a resin model beyond the odd few figures and a rather monolithic German armoured car, this is v interesting . 

 

Also  - I think your seat belts turn out well , my attempts at foil belts always look hokey. 🫤

[belugawhaleman]

Nice work! Interesting subject..A carrier based jet aircraft that had a tail

wheel. Cool.

[GusMac]

Yes, from what I've read the handling issues with this were what confirmed that tail draggers just weren't a viable option for carrier jets.

[GusMac]

Had a slight panic tonight when I thought that I'd screwed things up by attaching the nose before installing the splitter plates and they wouldn't fit. Thankfully after cleaning them up fully and test fitting them properly they actually pop right into place and give the cockpit floor a far more positive fit.

It's looking like everything should fit together really nicely, well until I find a way to foul it up. 🤪

[Spitfire]

Nice work, I have their Seafang and Spiteful in the stash so will follow with Interest.

Cheers

Dennis

 

[GusMac]

Bit of significant progress today. Got the cockpit floor and instrument panel glued in and dropped the splitter plates in. They are unglued and centre themselves when the fuselage is glued together.

Thankfully then remembered to glue the tail wheel well in before I joined the fuselage. Would have been a bugger to fit after the fact as it's wider than the hole in the rear of the fuselage and would have meant trying to burst the epoxy joints.

Just some tape to keep things tight while the epoxy cures fully but everything fitted in nice and snug and there's only going to be a little bit of filler and sanding needed which is a relief.

[HubertB]

Great progress. A question though : is it just an optical illusion, or does the front end seem misaligned with the main fuselage, judging by the cockpit opening which looks « staggered » or offset to the right ?

Hubert

PS edit : looked again at the last pic, and it is an illusion created by the canopy rail. Sorry about it.

[GusMac]

Hi Hubert, yes I did a double take myself when I uploaded that picture. I think because everything is black the rail on the right isn't very visible, certainly not in my usual half-baked pictures. 😁

[GusMac]

Midway through the first iteration of the sand and fill loop, so nothing much to show. Hopefully, it looks like it won't take too many trips around the loop to get everything smooth.

Unfortunately, that is then followed by rescribing which is definitely not my favourite pastime.

[PanzerWomble]

I hear that ....sand and fill is not a hobby just a chore . 

[Peterpools]

Gus

Just back and picking up following your progress. Looking mighty good.

[GusMac]

Thankfully the fill and sand loop is done for the main fuselage I think, although primer will be the final arbiter of that!

Anyway the next thing was to add the front windshield and then the wings. 

Both fit pretty well although there is a bit of a step between the rear of the wing and the fillet but should be fixed with some sanding and then filler.

It's a surprisingly big airframe now the wings are on. 

Plan is to get the wings sorted and then throw some primer at all the joints to check for further work before adding the tail fins.

[Martinnfb]

Great progress. I've never seen one of these built, such an odd looking thing. 

[Spitfire]

Looking good, bodes well for my two when I finally get round to building them.

Cheers

Dennis

 

[GusMac]

10 hours ago, Martinnfb said:

Great progress. I've never seen one of these built, such an odd looking thing. 

It is an odd hybrid with a relatively 'modern' looking fuselage with a pair of WW2 wings attached.

[GusMac]

23 minutes ago, Spitfire said:

Looking good, bodes well for my two when I finally get round to building them.

Cheers

Dennis

 

Yes, it's been a pleasant build so far and the fit quality is very good.

[GusMac]

Ready for primer I think. We'll see then how good the filling and sanding has been.

[DocRob]

Fantastic progress on that odd looking But therefore interesting plane, Gus. Your patience with filling and sanding will pay off.

Cheers Rob