Airfix 1:72 fairy Swordfish Mk1 Floatplane

Ian M

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This is a great kit! to think it is "only" 1/72 scale is quite something! And I might add that you are doing a great job of it as well!

The 'rigging' on the Swordfish was indeed rod rather than wire. Stainless steel which was more often than not painted, (the degree of how much paint stayed on them is another thing).

I would think that it might be possible to fix the rigging in the fuselage and thread it through the wings, as you build them, then trap them in the ends of the wings as you glue them together at the tips... maybe. :smiling:

Ian M
 

colin m

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Well then, I haven't forgotten about this build, work is progressing, but unfortunately the big computer is broken and whilst we have a 'bank' of laptops ( Collective term for laptops ? I think I made that up) around the house, I can't stand the things. So, the wings are polished, ready for assembly and rigging - here we go.........1:72 rigging...........yeah............
 

colin m

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Thanks for the vote of confidence Dave.

Somewhere above I mentioned the wings are in eight pieces, two pieces for each wing. So I'm going to trap the rigging in between the two halves. Like this.

View attachment 76603


Which looks like this on the other side.

View attachment 76604


Which will then be threaded through the bottom wing.

This update and pics are all being sent from my phone, sorry if it displays badly, it's all a learning curve for me !

1390048578627.jpg

1390048759735.jpg
 
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The rigging should look good when you've done it.Ive got the Tamiya etched rigging set to go with my 1/48 Tamiya Swordfish.But if Laurie's experience is anything to go by I shall probably use thread.
 

Ian M

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Nice one Colin. I look forward to seeing how you get the rigging to look easy.

Ian M
 

yak face

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Great stuff Colin , this is going to look very impressive , cheers tony
 

colin m

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Thanks for the input lads. I've had a bit of a break due to a dodgy computer hence no updates. But I have done a bit, really.

All painted up ready for some decals and a wash. No problems to report to get to this stage. I did pre-shade first which has worked quite well, even through the silver. I used dark grey under the grey bits and black under the silver. Rudder and elevators are both off set, just because the kit allows you to do so if you wish.

View attachment 76969


The top wing, pre-rigged. The ends of the rigging is glued and trapped inside the two wing halves. Which means no unsightly blobs of glue on the wing surfaces.

View attachment 76970


The funny thing is I'm not totally sure how I'm going to line all this up, having built it in this fashion. Hopefully, by the end of the day, I'll have the answer.

Colin M...

Port with floats.jpg

Upper wing pre-rigged.jpg
 

flyjoe180

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Looks good Colin, best of luck with the solution to those lines!
 

colin m

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A bit of slow progress.

After the gloss coat, decals and wash. The large red and blue decal was a bit of a pain. It was well oversized and had to be cut carefully to fit. And yellow bombs, what's not to like about yellow bombs.

View attachment 77299


View attachment 77300


Matt coat done with a hint of grey in the mix. Rigging in 1:72 scale is a bit silly - but doing control wires borders on madness !

Now to fit the upper wing and see if my slightly daft rigging idea is going to work.

Decals and wash.jpg

Matt coat.jpg
 
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That's looking really good Colin.Another masterpiece in the making.
 

yak face

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Its going to look amazing Colin , top work with the wires! cheers tony
 
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