ICM 1/32 Gloster Gladiator Mk1

[BarryW]

I spent an hour struggling to get the inner pylons into place. Got there in the end, it was a struggle and it made a bit of a mess but some matt varnish will help with that. its a good job I don’t enter competitions though as this kit certainly would not be a winner... during the course of that the axle broke, the u/c is far too fragile. I would recommend a metal set if you can get one. That happened with both builds but on this one it’s worth a repair....



Below you can get a hint of the mess. Matt varnish will help a lot though.



One good thing, I always thought the rigging would be a problem. It is not. I fixed the first two riggin lines in less than a minute, easy with accelerator.

rest of the rigging tonight.

 

[Tim Marlow]

Got past the hard bit then Barry.....it’ll repair nicely......rigging looks good as well.
I wonder if it would be any easier to do the inner struts before the outer ones?

 

[BarryW]

Got past the hard bit then Barry.....it’ll repair nicely......rigging looks good as well.
I wonder if it would be any easier to do the inner struts before the outer ones?

I doubt that as the locations are not very positive. Indeed there is a good reason for them not to be as there would need to be some leeway for adjustments. There is no easy answer on that. The issue being my fat fingers and only having two large hands. Tweezers help but the pylons tend to twist.

 

[Gern]

You're just not happy unless it's perfect are you Barry?!

 

[Gern]

You're just not happy unless it's perfect are you Barry?!

Barry: I wrote this a couple of days ago and forgot to post it - then I posted it before reading your last post. Having seen your struggles with this in your last post, I thought I'd better just say my comment was aimed at your earlier posts showing your excellent paintwork and build to that point. It certainly wasn't intended to be any kind of criticism of either your build or your approach to modelling.

Sorry for excessive use of 'post' but I couldn't think of any other way of saying what I wanted. Now I think I'm just digging myself into a hole so I'd better stop

 

[BarryW]

Barry: I wrote this a couple of days ago and forgot to post it - then I posted it before reading your last post. Having seen your struggles with this in your last post, I thought I'd better just say my comment was aimed at your earlier posts showing your excellent paintwork and build to that point. It certainly wasn't intended to be any kind of criticism of either your build or your approach to modelling.

Sorry for excessive use of 'post' but I couldn't think of any other way of saying what I wanted. Now I think I'm just digging myself into a hole so I'd better stop

LOL, dont worry Dave, I know what you mean and, yes, I do look for perfection but that is something to be strived for and it is always the next model that will be the perfect one!!!

 

[BarryW]

One quick photo of the completed build.... a thread in the appropriate place will follow later.




How can I summarise this one?
ICM cannot be faulted for both the subject choice and the way they have ‘executed’ it. All the problems were of my making largely due to my inexperience with biplanes.

The model sits wobbly on its wheels and they are very fragile so if they are available I recommend a set of metal u/c legs.

Also you will find it easier to fit the outer pylons first to the upper wing to then fit the upper wing the the lower. Also preplan your rigging and proceed with it carefully drilling all holes at an early stage.

The inner pylons were the biggest challenge really, I struggled to get them positioned but I got there in the end.

The thicker EZ Line is ideal for rigging, it has a flat cross section. In the end the rigging went OK but the trauma! That point at which you think it is fixed, you release the tweezers and, for the tenth time, the end pings away.... Then the next time, you are convinced it is fixed solid but find it is glued to the tweezers instead..... you then have to trim the fraying, curling end for the third or fourth time, hoping it will still stretch far enough.... Make sure that you have accelerator ready within easy reach and pointing the right way, make sure the c.a. is fresh, be prepared to, at times, switch between thick and medium c.a. Yes I learned a lot of lessons about rigging.... enough to put me off doing another biplane for a long time.....