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Well done Kev!  A fantastic job on the Merlin, really looks like she could start up at any time (smoke generators!!)  And many thanks for those great photos of the pilot, I've been looking for some good clear pics of the harness arrangement - those are perfect!  Preiser's Luftewaffe here we come! Robin First wooden ship: The Grimsby 12 Gun 'Frigate' by Constructo Second: Bounty DelPrado Part Works Third: HMS Victory DelPrado Part Works 1/100 scale Diorama of the Battle of the Brandywine from the American Revolutionary War Diorama of the Battle of New Falkland (unfinished sci-fi), Great War Centenary Diorama of the Messines Ridge Assault Index for the Victory diary is on page 1
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 Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Many thanks for looking in and your great comments guys, they are very much appreciated - makes it all very worthwhile posting these diaries!! 
@ Derek - Yes, it's a very nice figure, not cheap but well worth it and for what I have planned, it should look stunning next to the smaller scale Spitfire. The figure is in fact 1:9 (200mm) scale not 1:32 scale as you said, which is the scale of the Spitfire?
@ Stevie - Really looking forward to painting this one, lots of nice leather and sheepskin to work on!!
@ Dave - Yes, loads of patience and LOTS of hours spent on research, but like you say, well worth the time and effort!!
@ Alan - such nice comments Alan, thank you very much, I always greatly appreciate your time in commenting.
@ Nemesis - Hi Daran .... where've you been mate, I've missed you and how's your mega build of the Leopold coming on?!! Thanks for the great comments my friend always grateful to have comments like that from a modeller such as yourself, it means a lot to me, thanks!! I'm looking forward to the sculpting as well, not done much in the past but I'm confident that with my skills as an artist it shouldn't be too difficult (he says) .... famous last words. HaHa!!  
@ Robin - Thanks Robin glad you approve, though now you have some reference with my work, I expect to see something similar with the Merlin in your next (1:72!!) Spitfire build!! Glad my pilot figure photos proved helpful to you my friend, if you need any more help then let me know as I have some good reference material that would help you?
Thanks again to all for looking in and commenting.
Kev
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Hello all,
Apologies to anybody who has been following my build and wondering when I was going to update it, I’ve been busier than I have in a long time with work and family commitments and had virtually no serious modelling time since my last update two months ago, but I’ve managed to snatch the odd hour here and there to get some more done, albeit too slowly for my liking!! I wanted to get further along before updating my build but felt I needed to post something to show that I’m still building this model – when I get the chance!!
Anyway, on with the build and as promised at the end of the last update, I’ve been concentrating on adding a lot of scratchbuilt details to the rear half of the engine assembly, namely to the wheelhousing, supercharger and carburettor assemblies. I’m not going to go into detail about how I made each part, except to say that it is all made from plastic card, plastic strip and some stretched sprue along with a bit of copper wire around the corrugated pipework and some stiff floristry wire for the throttle linkage rods. There is STILL even more pipework to be added to what you see below, but I need to mate and glue the two halves of the engine together before I can connect them up as they are fuel and oil lines which run between the two and the length needs to accurate between the connections? I have also made a start on the engine bearer assembly and the firewall as can be seen below and both of these will be getting extra pipe and cable details added further down the assembly line.
The first two photos below show the rear half of the engine assembly as it was in my last update, and the next four photos show how it is now with a ton of extra scratchbuilt details added. It looks a million miles from the standard kit offering!! The thin grey pipes running from bottom to top of the port-side carburettor trunking in the second photo are all made from stretched sprue.
In the next two photos I have just loosely joined the two halves of the engine together to give an idea of where this is going detail wise and it already looks very busy without the remaining oil, coolant and fuel pipes and yet to be added. I am hoping to make this one of the most detailed 1:32 Spitfire engine bays out there!!
Next up was the start of the assembly of the engine bearer framework and the engine firewall. In the photos below, all you see is the basic kit parts and I have yet to add various hydraulic pipes, coolant and oil pipes to these which will be done for the next update. I have scribed and shaped a missing join line down each side of the pressed steel bracket that holds the Supercharger Oil Reservoir to the firewall and drilled the two lightening holes to a bigger size as they didn't look right according to my reference photos. One other alteration I have made was to the engine starter connector, which is the round item in the middle of the engine bearer in the second photo below. The kit part, which is integrally moulded with the starboard engine bearer frame is in the correct location (on the side) for a late Mk. IX, but Johnnie Johnsons’ Spitfire was an early Mk.IX , which had the starter connection fitted centrally below the engine, which is provided as a separate part in the kit and can be seen fitted to the main engine bearer in the third photo below. The original side-mounted item had to be removed with a scalpel and sanding. I have left part of the sprue attached to the firewall to make it easier to hold and paint this assembly without having to handle the plastic too much. Once removed the sprue connection point will be totally hidden within the starboard fuselage half. The only non-standard parts added so far here are some Eduard etched brass strips around the main bearer frame, which contain some missing bolt detail. The two forward most tips of the V-strut which is located underneath the bearer framework aren't yet permanently glued to allow me some leeway and to be able to ease open the framework when I come to fit the engine to the bearer framework.
The photos below show the engine bearer/firewall parts as provided in the kit, the starter connection as provided in the kit (round item in centre) and the new part fitted underneath, starboard of the centreline and just behind the main bearer.
The standard kit part for the engine firewall is shown in the next photo, then the same shown with the various tanks, reservoirs and hydraulic fittings added.
The firewall was then attached (temporarily without glue) to the engine bearer framework and the Eduard etched brass parts fitted to the main engine bearer. There is a small steel plate beneath the brass parts on the two sides which align with some small neo-magnets that are to be fitted inside the engine side covers to allow removal of them to view the engine, but you can’t really see the plates in the photos.
Eventually, the completed engine is to be fixed to the firewall/engine bearer assemblies by means of a steel screw and a nut which has already been fitted and is hidden inside the rear of the carburettor ducting to hold it all securely to the fuselage and take the weight. I thought it would be interesting to see what all my extra scratchbuilt detail looks like when sitting inside the engine bay behind the bearer framework, so I screwed it all together temporarily to have a look? I'm pleased to say that it all fits very snugly, with none of my scratch-built parts fouling the kit parts and it all looks suitably busy behind there? I will be adding a throttle connection through the firewall to the control linkages when it comes to the point of final fixing.
You can see from the size of my fingers in some of the photos how small some of this detail work is and my eyes are still in the process of becoming uncrossed?!
That’s all for this update, next one should see all of the engine assembly painted, joined and final pipework added and hopefully some more scratchbuilding work done to the firewall and engine bearer assemblies. My busy work period looks to be slowing down a bit now so I’ll be hoping to start pushing forward more on this build in the next few weeks as time is ticking and I want to get onto starting the cockpit area and hopefully some work on the 1:9 resin figure soon, so next update will hopefully not be too long coming, or at least not as long as it has been since my last one?!
Thanks for looking and all comments and criticisms welcomed as always.
Kev  ModelMania attached the following image(s):
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 Rank: Super-Elite      Groups: Registered
Joined: 17/12/2013 Posts: 3,982 Points: 11,974 Location: NY, USA
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Looks amazing kev, especially when you see the scale.I would bet once finished it will look like the real thing
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Rank: Pro  Groups: Registered
Joined: 27/06/2011 Posts: 434 Points: 1,309 Location: milton keynes
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Some mighty fine work there Kev this ones gonna be tough to beat imo regards Dan Built - MP4/23, Zero, Deagostini Falcon, Model Airways 1903 Wright Flyer, Senna Mp4/4.
Working - Mclaren M23 1/8th scale to complement the Deagostini MP4/23 & Mp4/4
on the bench, Model Airways Sopwith Camel.
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Fantastic update my friend, your added detail is going to make this an absolute stunner, top work!!! 
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Rank: Super-Elite Groups: Registered
Joined: 27/01/2014 Posts: 5,060 Points: 14,980
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Awesome work Kev, I can fully understand being busy with work, we are gearing up to deliver what you could call a 1:1 diorama at work over the summer holiday, this will be one of the biggest projects on the Great Western railway in over 40 years so things are getting a bit mental ensuring everything is ready 
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Wonderful Kev, inspiring work on your part..... Regards Alan
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 Rank: Master   Groups: Registered
Joined: 20/09/2011 Posts: 1,312 Points: 4,126 Location: Austria
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Amazing detail, Kev!
Love your inspiring work!
WalterGreetings,
Walter
Present builds:
Revell B-24D Liberator 1:48
On the shelf:
Italeri "Fiat Mefistofele", Italeri "Moto Guzzi California", Fokker "Red Baron", Revell Bismarck, Revell Tirpitz, Arab Dow, Stage Coach, .....
Completed builds:
McLaren MP4/4, D-51 Steam Locomotive, HMS Victory, GWH F-15D Eagle, St. Stephen`s Cathedral (cardboard), Solar-powered paddle Steamer (little project with my son), HMS Victory X-section, "Geli" Phantom II (cardboard)
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Thanks for looking in on my build and for the nice comments guys, they are greatly appreciated.
@ Carl – Yeah, the photos always give the impression of the engine being quite sizeable but if you compare them to the square grid on the cutting mat, each square is one centimetre in size, which then makes you realise just how small this really is!!
@ Dan – Thanks for that mate, I think I might find it hard to beat this one myself. I am trying to make it one of my best ever builds!! I could beat it however, if I were to buy the ‘soon to be released’ Tamiya 1:32 Mosquito, simply because then I’d have TWO Merlins to super-detail …. but I could also lose my sanity at the same time!!
@ Daran – Thanks for looking in again my friend and as always I greatly appreciate your comments. I’m looking forward to seeing more of your Leopold build when you get the time mate?
@ Dave – Thanks for your nice comment mate and good luck with your upcoming ‘full scale’ diorama at work – I only hope for your sake that it doesn’t turn into a ‘full scale’ drama!!
@ Alan – Thanks Alan, always appreciate your nice comments and glad that you continue to look in on my work and find it so inspiring, that’s nice to know and certainly makes it all worthwhile, many thanks.
@ Walter – Thanks to you too for your nice comments and I hope as you say that others will find my modelling inspiring and show that scratch-building parts can be quite an easy way to improve a model and not expensive either!!
Cheers guys!!
Kev
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Rank: Super-Elite  Groups: Registered
Joined: 30/01/2013 Posts: 4,604 Points: 13,607 Location: Monmouthshire UK
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Lovely work Kev, will look awesome when complete Steve
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Stunning job Kev lovely work Rgd Martyn Building ?
Completed. Soliei Royal . Sovereign of the Seas . Virginia . Scotland . San Felipe . Corel vasa , Santisima Trinadad X section , Vasa
Next Build ?
When sailors have good wine, They think themselves in heaven for the time. John Baltharpe
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 Rank: Elite  Groups: registriert, Registered Joined: 20/03/2011 Posts: 2,356 Points: 7,122 Location: UK
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Stunning work Kev! Some serious work your doing to that Merlin you must either have eyes like a hawk or you have them locked into Hubble Spence
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Absolutely beautiful work as always Kev. No matter how much PE and aftermarket bits there are out there, there's always something else to be scratch built to take it one step higher (or an entire staircase in this one!) Cable through the fire wall huh? Dammit! I knew there was something I'd left off my Spits!! Keep it coming M8 PS NO I'm not putting real doped fabric over real stringers on the Hurricane! (Though it might have been easier than what I did do!!) Robin First wooden ship: The Grimsby 12 Gun 'Frigate' by Constructo Second: Bounty DelPrado Part Works Third: HMS Victory DelPrado Part Works 1/100 scale Diorama of the Battle of the Brandywine from the American Revolutionary War Diorama of the Battle of New Falkland (unfinished sci-fi), Great War Centenary Diorama of the Messines Ridge Assault Index for the Victory diary is on page 1
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Thanks for the nice comments Steve, Martin, Spence and Robin much appreciated.
@ Spence – No I don’t have eyes like a hawk my friend, how I wish I did as age is starting to take it’s toll, but I do have a very good quality set of ‘Optivisors’ with Japanese optics (my wife works in an Opticians = BIG discounts!!) to compensate which makes tiny things look much bigger!! Still got a very steady hand though which helps!!
@ Robin – Thanks for the 'staircase' comment mate, love it!!
Re the Hurricane, I’ve often thought it would be great fun to take the old Airfix 1:24 Hurricane, chop the fuselage off behind the cockpit but keeping the tail assembly, then rebuild the internals of the missing section from aluminium tubing or soldered brass and then dope some ‘Solartex’ or silk over it - just for the sheer hell of it?!! What a project that would be to superdetail a 1:24 Hurricane and imagine what could be done to the Merlin in a bigger scale?!!
Cheers, and thanks for looking in guys!!
Kev
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Really nice build enjoying it no end. keep the pics comming Jase “Whenever you find yourself on the side of the majority, it is time to pause and reflect.”
-Mark Twain
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Thank you Jase, very kind of you to look in and comment and I'm glad you're enjoying it so much, that makes it all worthwhile!!
I will be trying to increase the flow of updates on this as I want to get it finished before the year is over, so watch this space soon for another update?
Cheers again mate,
Kev
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Rank: Pro Groups: Joined: 24/08/2009 Posts: 48,827 Points: -13,348
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Hello all,
Apologies to anybody who has been following my build and wondering when I was going to update it, I’ve been busier than I have in a long time with an increased work load and various family commitments which has left me with very little serious modelling time since my last update. However, I thought it was about time that I did some more to this build, so I have started doing some more work to the Merlin engine today after clearing and tidying my bench and will be posting an update of my new progress in a few days, so watch this space if this build interests you?
I have just received a couple of new items from the postman which I will be making use of in this build, the first being a very nice little resin casting of a 1:32 WWII RAF Parachute, which I will have laying either on the port wing near the cockpit entry door, or on the ground by the wing when I come to build the diorama?:
The second item I’ve bought is going to save me a fair amount of work!! You may recall I said earlier in this build that I was going to re-sculpt the face on the head that comes with the 200mm (1:9) RAF Fighter Pilot figure that has an anonymous face which I wanted to make look like ‘Johnnie’ Johnson, since this is a tribute to the great man and which will be displayed alongside the diorama on a split level? I bought my figure from ‘Mitches Military Models’ and luckily for me, in the interim since I bought it, he has released a ‘V’ bust of ‘Johnnie’ Johnson along with several other WWII pilots in the same scale, and which can be seen below as a set of three (available individually as well at £19.99 each) and included in the set is Johnnie Johnson (RAF), Joe Foss (USMC) and Adolf Galland (Luftwaffe):
http://www.ebay.co.uk/it...Luftwaffe-/291638102168
.... but better still he has also released a set of three heads from those figures for just £9.99 with free p&p, which I’ve bought and which will now mean I can just substitute the standard head from my figure for that of ‘JJ’ without the need for any time consuming sculpting – now that’s what I call a result and a very timely one indeed!! The only thing that I will have to sculpt now will be a flying helmet which I intend to have in ‘JJ’s left hand and I will be able to carefully remove the necessary fittings from the flying helmet on the standard head to add to my putty sculpted part which will make life a lot easier as well?
The ‘Johnnie’ Johnson head can be seen in more detail below, along with a photo of the great man which shows just how accurately the resin head has been sculpted – a very good likeness I think you will agree?
I am rather hoping that MMM might release a 1:9 ‘Full’ Figure of Adolf Galland in the near future, as the ‘V’ bust he already produces looks just superb!! I am also waiting for a set of 'Montex' paint masks for this Spitfire which means I will be painting the markings on rather than using the kit decals which are a little on the thick side? Why is that a company as good as Tamiya, just can't produce better decals to match the quality of the rest of the parts in their kits?
Back in a few days with an update for the Merlin.
Kev ModelMania attached the following image(s):
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Two nice castings there Kev and should go well with the spit build Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .
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