Very nice looking Gladiator.
A quick Q if I may. I can see that the wires (I presume tensioner for the wings ?) look like some have been threaded through holes drilled into the wing. Is this the norm and how it would of been done.
And is it some sort of filament you use for the wire ?
The intricate wing wires always put me off biplanes in the past … But as I said, yours looks splendid
Excellent work Russell! That rigging would have been the death of me, especially at 1/72 scale.
Hi John
I used to feel the same way about bi-planes and rigging but then I discovered a product called Ezy Line
Original it was developed for rail road modellers to recreate power lines, but it works beautifully on ships and aircraft as well
At 1/72 I don’t worry about trying to represent cable ties. I simple drill a very small hole in the surface (#78 or finer) at each end of the line, then using a tiny amount of super glue, I fix the Ezy Line to the model into the prepared holes.
The holes provide a good location point for the Ezy Line and since it is stretchy, by cutting it slightly shorter than the actual length, the line is tensioned when you’ve applied it to both ends.
I use Ezyline on all my models (ships included) and wouldn’t try rigging any other way
Hi Rory! Thankyou for your kind words.
Ezyline makes the rigging a lot easier than it looks: highly recommend it for any application and worth a try
I have some of the ultrafine to try some ship rigging but its actually too fine. Its likely in scale but its so fine you can barely see it on the ship. Need to get some thicker stuff.
Yep, I only use the regular Ezyline, Rory
A beautiful Gladiator Russell! I see that you got hold of the correct boxing with the three-bladed prop, I didn’t so I had to source an old Heller prop for mine !
Magnus
@magnusf thankyou Magnus
I’m really pleased with how the build turned out: one of the most pleasant kits I’ve built in recent memory.
Yes, that extra sprue contained not just skis but also the three bladed prop. I’m not 100% certain the paint is accurate, but I’m really happy I found a masking medium I can use thanks to help from Mal at Miracle Masks
Hi Russell,
I just stumbled about your hangar collection
A very impressing gallery so far and no reason to be embarrassed!
I like the Spitfire Mk.22 and the PR most, they were nice kits by Airfix and a pleasure to build and look at afterwards.
The Gladiator looks excellent, I’d never try to conquer the rigging of these biplanes, though.
Great job, mate!
@B-17-peter Hi Peter,
Thankyou for your kind words of praise and stopping by to check out my hangar collection
Yes, the Spitfire MK 22 is a thing of beauty without a doubt
The Gladiator whilst not my first bi-plane was definitely the easiest to build-hopefully the others in my stash are just as good
Hope to add a few more this year to the collection
Well, it’s been sometime since I have posted on my Hangar Collection.
So to rectify the situation I present to you Airfix’s 1/72 Bf109 E-4!
I started this kit around February 2020 for the big 3 campaign over on the old site and have been battling it ever since Discovering the state of the kit I abandoned the notion of building it for the big 3 campaign as I just wouldn’t have finished it in time.
With 5 finishes under my belt for last year, I thought I’d better put in the effort to get it finished this year, so with no further waffling on my behalf, here’s the pics!
Fingers crossed, I may squeeze off one more before the end of the year!
Very nice work on all Russell - thanks for sharing .
Kudos to you guys ( and gals ) who can work in the Braille scale .
Well despite the struggles with the kit Russell, it looks damn good
Russell beautiful work and for all the problems you’ve had with the 109 I sure would be proud to have it on display.
Favourites are the Mk.22 Spit and the 109.
Russ, your Airfix 109 looks great to me!
It is interesting how our understanding evolves. I also did von Werra’s aircraft but using Airfix’s old 1975 rivet monster:
Not only is their newer kit much more accurate, but the more subtle nose, wingtip, and rudder colors are probably more correct as well.
I like yours so much better!
Thanks so much everyone for checking out my latest addition to the hangar and all your kind words!
Hoping to finish another by year’s end!
Beautiful 109, Russell!..great paint job.
Cheers,
More Wallace and Grommet!!
Hehe, yes! Totally agree Greg!
(Just need Airfix to come to the party and re-release the kits as they’ve got crazy prices on the 2nd hand auction market!)
@Russelle Just beautiful! You told me about all the trouble you had with it but it left no marks on the final result!
Magnus