Airfix 1/48 Supermarine Walrus

Started by John vd Biggelaar · 141 · 3 years ago · 1/48, Airfix, Supermarine, Walrus
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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    After following many interesting threads, I thought it was time to share my next project with all of you as well.
    I've chosen the Supermarine Walrus, scale 1/48, from Airfix as being my next build.

    Not because of it's beauty, although it does have a special appearance, but because of the fact that so many pilots have been rescued in World War II by this plane.
    It will be my first ever bi-plane so I'm a bit anxious for the rigging.


    I've decided to build it in the colors of 276 squadron.


    Still need to decide if I'm going to build it with the wings folded or unfolded.

    Searching the articles on iModeler I found two very impressive builds of the same kit by John Healy @j-healy and Giannis Asimakos @mfcg. For sure I will use both builds as a reference.
    Ofcourse any kind of help or advise is welcome.

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    Csaba said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    I love this plane, there are many fantastic builds. It will be interesting to see a full build log here!

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    Adrian Starling said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Great choice of aircraft John, both (folded and extended) is my vote in one aircraft! An opportunity to get the scratch building talents unleashed and I will be following the build with interest.

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Wow, your first build thread here, my friend @johnb!

    And what a spectacular entry!

    I have always thought the Walrus is such a cool plane: I just love its looks!

    The Airfix looks to be a great kit; with your skills, an excellent model will come up!

    I have two ancient SMER ones in my stash (reboxed 1958 Merit kit). Compared to them, the Airfix kit looks like it arrived from another Galaxy!

    Looking forward to your build!

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Great that you have decided to join with such a spectacular plane and a very nice kit too. @johnb. I shall be strapped in to follow your journey here. Thank you for sharing!

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    John Healy said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Great choice!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Thanks for this warm welcome, @fiveten, @pikofix, @adrianstarling, @airbum, @j-healy
    Now that the 110 is finished and posted yesterday, I can fully focus on this next project.
    Since this will be my first bi-plane, the building speed might not be that fast.
    Yesterday I bought the rigging wire, fishing line in 0.2mm.
    Preparing the sprues by washing them first, I noticed some (a lot) ejector marks on the fuselage parts.
    I read about those on several builds found on the internet, but they are more visible than I expected.
    So first step will be to at least remove the ones that will otherwise be visible when finishing the interior.

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Oh yes, that is right - they put in a lot of ejectormarks in this kit, but that is the backside of all those details that will make the plastic very hard to remove after pouring it in and cooling. I know its still early days, but I am excited to learn if the wings will be folded or not 🙂

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Yep,quite a few marks are there, my friend @johnb! Some more tedious to remove than others.
    Apart from it, the sprues look really good.
    Looking forward to this one!

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    George Williams said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    This should be great.

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    Jordyn Collier said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    I would like to see it wings folded. Not sure why, bit that looks interesting. Hopefully the build goes smooth!

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    @airbum, @fiveten, besides the ejector marks, inspection of the other parts learn that they do look nice indeed. I'm not expecting any issues from that.

    @1corsair64, @chinesegeorge, thanks. I'm tending towards a build with folded wings. It does save some space on the shelf.

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    John vd Biggelaar said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Removal of the ejector marks has started.
    By using a sharp (as always) knife, the removal of the marks did go pretty.
    When done, the primer will definitely show if additional cleanup is needed.

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    Erik Gjørup said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    Clean canvas - always a good starting point!

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    Spiros Pendedekas said 3 years, 2 months ago:

    In situations like these, all you pray for is for the marks to protrude, and therefore disappear, just by shaving off and sanding, without the dreading need of filling in between those internal bracings, my friend @johnb.
    Looking great so far!