1/48 Blue Max Sopwith 7.F-1 "Snipe" - Page 5

bobs_buckles · 29 November 2008, 10:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephenLawson

Excellent Brad! Most impressive!

I second that.

trackpad · 30 November 2008, 07:09 AM

And a "third" from here: Well Done!

Brad Cancian · 7 December 2008, 10:47 PM

Small update to show I am still making some progress. The fuselage is now together and it's starting to look more like a Snipe. Had a few unexpected difficulties trying to get the upper decking on (just as I predicted!) but with the liberal use of superglue and Mr Surfacer, plus some re-scribing (whoops), I managed to get it all on. Also added stitching from the Eduard 1/72 scale stitching set, as well as a few other bits from the spares box.

The cowling needed extensive modification to get it to fit, especially around the upper rounded cutout. I ended up having to glue in some plastic as filler and sand it to the appropriate shape. I also re-fashioned the stiffening strips around the edge.

The keen-eyed will notice the extra hatch under the shell extraction chute. I have scans of the 4AFC war diary, including a technical report from the 4AFC technical officer stating the field modifications the Aussies did to their Snipes - one was the addition of two small access doors on the fuselage sides to gain access to the magazines for re-loading, thus avoiding having to take off the whole fuselage side panel to re-load the guns. These doors are elusive in photos, however the location of the magazines themselves is known, so I decided to use some artistic lisence and add them in the logical position.

Here it is with the cowl and engine dry-fitted to make sure they all fit together - thankfully they do, with only some small gaps (liberal use of glue should fix that when it comes to assembly time).

Next is on to thinning down the flying surfaces - fun.

BC

Brad Cancian · 19 December 2008, 11:55 PM

More progress, although nothing too exciting. She's slowly comin together. Lower wings and talplane are now glued on the fuselage. I separated the elevators and re-attached them to reflect the control column deflections. The rudder was also removed for the same purpose, but will be re-attached after painting. Upper wings are together (these were in three pieces, which I attached with stiff wire to allow the dihedral to be adjusted and to allow for the small gap between the centre section and outer wing sections). Tail skid is done, and main undercarriage legs are together. Here it is with the cowling, main undercarriage, wheels and rudder dry fitted. As you can see I am going for the earlier Snipe which saw service during the last months of the war and shortly thereafter.

Next is onto cutting all of the struts. Joy.

BC

Kofoed · 28 December 2008, 10:56 AM

Excellent work, Brad. Your care for details and internal framework never cease to amaze me!

Thanks,
Kofoed

Brad Cancian · 28 December 2008, 10:43 PM

Spent a little while priming, finishig cleanup and then preshading.

Have started adding the colour coats now (yay!). So far the underside CDL is painted.

BC

Carpo · 29 December 2008, 01:47 PM

Hey Brad - great to see this coming along.
What have you used for rib tapes?
Carpo

Brad Cancian · 29 December 2008, 03:17 PM

G'day Carpo - great to hear from you. Hope you had a good X-mas and everything back in Adelaide is going well!

The rib tapes on the Blue Max kit are slightly raised on both upper and lower surfaces. I did lose 1-2mm of the underside tapes at the leading and trailing edges during clean up, but most of this will be covered by the PC-10 borders on the undersides of the wings. So, all I did in this case was mask the raised rib tapes and paint them. Like you, I am still trying to find a durable alternative to in scale rib tapes other than decals....

Cheers!

BC

Brad Cancian · 29 December 2008, 04:09 PM

I think I have settled on a final colour scheme. I am looking at modelling E8082 "X" of 4SQN Australian Flying Corps. The aircraft arrived at 4AFC on 7 Oct 18. 2 victories were claimed by her, one by 2/Lt E.J. Richards on 26 Oct 18 and one by Capt T.C.R Baker on 29 Oct 18 (one of 4AFCs busiest days with the Snipe). The aircraft survived the war and went with the SQN to Bickendorf for ocupational duties.

I have noticed in the below photos that at some stage after the war, most likely whilst stationed in Germany in early 1919, this aircraft picked up a coloured nose. Judging by the tonality of the photos, it looks as though the nose was coloured blue. I am not sure why this aircraft was chosen for special treatment.

Here she is the second aircraft in the line up (looks like perhaps Nov / Dec 18 before the winter snow, or maybe Apr 19 after the thaw?). THis is at Bicknedorf during occupational duties.

Here she is the first aircraft in the line up (looks like Jan/Feb 19 in the winter). Also at Bickendorf (note the same hangar in the background).

Should make for an interesting paint scheme from the standard "drab" Snipes

BC

Brad Cancian · 2 January 2009, 06:50 PM

Paint, decals, wash and most of the weathering is now done. The Blue Max decals shattered on me so I had to dive into the spares box to find alternatives (and of course I couldn't match any of the colours in the roundels!). All of the markings are a mix of various bits and pieces. Here are some pics.

Here she is with her "legs" dry fitted:

And a close up of the guns.

Next is the fun part - mounting the wing... eek!

BC