airfix dh 88 comet 1/72

[yak face]

Heres one for all you masochists out there, the airfix 1/72 dh 88 comet racer! This fantastic looking machine has just been re-issued with new decals for the black magic comet as flown in the 1934 macrobertson air race by jim and amy mollison (nee johnson) The kit is a real blast from the past (some might say a blast is what it needs!!!) dating from 1957!! and as such is an exercise in kit bashing skills. The kit consists of 23 parts in a light grey soft plastic and one clear.Obviously due to its age the kit is very basic ,ie. no cockpit aperture just heads moulded on each fuselage half, but with a bit of care and extra detailing hopefully it can be made into a reasonable model. The fit and finish of the kit reflects the age of the mouldings with a few poorly formed parts and quite a bit of fettling to be done (not to mention filling!!) I have started by assembling the engine nacelles to the wings and after cleaning up and a lot of dry fitting and filling theyre nearly ok. I have still a bit of filling to be done round the nacelle front/prop area. In the air intake i glued a cut off piece of electrical socket screw to represent the engine cylinder gills and fill the void a bit. Ive also cut out the cockpit opening and started to build bulkheads and floor . More progress as it happens, meanwhile heres the pics.

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[stona]

Quite a project Tony.If you get stuck you could always keep up the torturel with a few moderate electric shocks to a delicate area! I'm sure it'll come out a little cracker.

Cheers

Steve

 

[yak face]

Cheers steve, its such a beautiful looking machine , its got to be worth the hassle just to get the end result. Shame that no one has done a modern moulding of the aircraft, a 1/32 one would be nice!! (although you can get a resin one for about £100!!) come on trumpeter! cheers tony

 

[treyzx10r]

looking good so far Tony,yea it would be a good candidate for a larger scale

 

[Sky Raider]

Nice choice Tony. I bet you will do it justice.

Andy

 

[Ian M]

I used to have the red one many years ago. Its a lovely machine and yes a new and larger one would go well.

Looks like you have gotten the upper hand Tony. I can see a trend here. Have you seen the Aircobra racer?

Interesting to see what you do with the cockpit.

Ian M

 

[Bunkerbarge]

I remember the red one as well, it seems a long time ago now though! It's a shame that such a large cockpit canopy has so little detail inside. Good luck with the build though, I'm sure you will make the most of this model and bring an old moulding to life.

 

[yak face]

A bit more progress today , here you can see ive filled a bit more on the nacelles and also the incorrect rudder hinge line below the elevators. Framework has been added to the cockpit and throttle controls to the port side, along with an instrument panel shroud from lead foil. I thought id use lead foil for the seats too and just by chance happened to have a bottle of buffalo trace bourbon which i unfortunately had to open (just to get the foil of course. Ahem!!) This was great , being quite thick and easily bent to shape yet strong enough to resist handling. The seat cushions and two instrument panels are from plastic card and rudder bars on the raised floor section from brass tubing. Anyway ive come in from the shed now cause its bloody freezing! More news as it happens , bye for now tony p.s. ian ive seen the accurate miniatures airacobra, wicked isnt it? i dont think it was very successful though. cheers tony

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[stona]

. I thought id use lead foil for the seats too and just by chance happened to have a bottle of buffalo trace bourbon which i unfortunately had to open (just to get the foil of course. Ahem!!)

Dreadful the trials and tribulations we are forced to undergo in our quest for the perfect model!

Nice work Tony,the kit looks like it needs it.

Cheers

Steve

 

[yak face]

Itsh a dirty job steve (hic!) but shomebodys got to do it !(hic!)

 

[colin m]

Oh no Tony. I bought two of these for my daughters to have a go at (they already have a skateboard and a scalextric) but by the sound of it, I'll be doing most of the work ! I'll get some extra filler ordered.

Regards

Colin M..........

Congrat's Tony, you get my 200th post

 

[wanna_be_aviator]

Great Job Tony! Awesome scratchbuilding. I will sure try your "Buffalo" detailing technique. Not sure what I going to be able to finish first though. LOL

Cheers!

 

[spanner570]

Tony, great to see this and it brings back a hazy memory for me too.

This was my first ever aircraft model, and judging by the mould dating you mention, that's probably around when my dad and I would have made it!!!!!!!!!!!

I need a drink.... Any chance of a slug of 'Buffalo'?

Ron

 

[yak face]

Cheers chaps, ill probably be getting a bit more done today, so more pics later . Colin , get ready with the filler mate ,its a "challenging" build !! Marcos, hows the jaguar coming on? And ron, i asked about getting you a nip of bourbon sent round but the bouncy nurse said no, itll only get him giddy and that usually means trouble!:nurse::bounce: ,,,cheers tony

 

[sprayman]

Cracking job tony, a detailed piece.....and respect to anyone who tackles an airfix kit, and pulls it off like you have...:xyxthumbs:

 

[wanna_be_aviator]

Hi Tony!

Jaguar is going a bit slowly this week, I'm also working on a Phantom at the same time. Working on some seams and pretty soon some paint. Pics will follow soon. Cheers!

 

[Caledonia]

Hi Tony, Please clarify when you say

QUOTE 'This was great , being quite thick and easily bent to shape yet strong enough to resist handling' are you describing the Comet or the Bourbon?

Great work, glad to see you back in the harness. Cheers Derek

 

[yak face]

Hi all , a bit more progress on the cockpit today.The instrument panels have been fixed to a piece of gloss black painted plastic card with kristal kleer , cut out and fixed in after painting a few generic white lines for the needles etc.Two control columns have been made from fuse wire and put in along with the finished seats and their lap harnesses.The harnesses were made by piercing the bourbon foil along a pencil line (silver side down) then cutting with the scissors either side of the pierced holes to obtain a thin belt with what passes for eyelets in it ,similar to a sutton harness. Once painted and dry the paint can be carefully scraped off the raised piercings to reveal the silver foil underneath ,so you get the effect of a metal eyelet in the belt.Hopefully the pics will make it seem clearer! Anyhoo , the fuselage is about to get glued together (with a bit of persuasion - its not the best of fits!!) and the cockpit should look convincing enough under the canopy (I think im going to crash mould a new one -more on that soon ) I know its not exactly eduard standard but a blind man on a fast horse wont be able to tell the difference! cheers tony

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[yak face]

Phew this is 'exhausting' work ! (ok ,sorry ill get me coat) Heres the latest bit of build, the exhausts. The kit doesnt supply anything , not even the luxury of a shapeless blob! So what to do? I ended up using the inner from a 15 amp lighting cable as it was the right diameter, flexible and already hollow (after i pulled out the copper strands). Holes were drilled in the nacelles , and a shallow groove filed for the exhaust to sit in. Stick in the hole, superglue into the groove and open out the end a bit more,and once its painted it should look ok. heres the pics, cheers tony

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[Bunkerbarge]

There's nothing more satisfying than a bit of scratchbuilding and even better when you can adapt a scrap of some household object. You're really putting some effort into this one and producing a very nicely built model.