Airfix Sea Vixen build - part four

I feel a little guilty having started these few blog pages to cover my Sea Vixen build only to have raced ahead somewhat without posting any updates. Actually raced is probably not the right word. Since I put the fuselage halves together after completing the cockpit I have spent some time getting to know Mr Surfacer products.

I used Mr Surfacer 500 as a filler for the few tiny gaps and imperfections I had to deal with. In fact the most notable was the one along the side of the nose which did not take much to eradicate. The Mr Surfacer product is great. Its easy to apply with a brush, dries within an hour or so and is made of such a fine compound that sanding it to shape is so very easy.

Anyway I took my time and then followed up with attaching the wings, tail booms etc and finishing off any imperfections resulting. Once done I gave the whole model a spray with Mr Surfacer 1200. This stuff is outstanding as a primer. It is so smooth especially after a light polish with some Micro-Mesh 6000 from Revell.

So here are a few pictures of where I am up to right now. I have already sprayed the underside white and applied Tamiya masking tape over the white in preparation for the Dark Sea Grey upper surface color. I love this tape. I generally just use the 10mm variety and a very sharp knife to cut edges around shapes. Couldn't be easier.

I am using Vallejo Air spray paints which go straight from bottle to air brush with no thinning - good for me! I am not an expert with an air brush this being only my third model where I have actually used on in anger however I learned the importance of keeping your brush clean with this project. After dragging out my basic Testors brush to do the white I found it was past redemption so went out and bought a new Badger 350 that was on clearance at my local Michael's store. This is a basic brush but its is just fine for painting large surfaces such as aircraft fuselages AND its way easier to keep clean than the Testor brush I had.

A first for me on this model was pre shading some of the panel lines on the underside before applying the white. Works a treat so hopefully will show that off when I get to the finish.

Airfix Sea Vixen build - part three

With the seat finally finished off I began putting the fuselage together. The fit of the parts is really good. Judicious use of clamps and elastic bands ensures everything sets up tight with no gaps. The join line between the two halves forward of the cockpit will need some sanding and maybe a little cyanoacrylate to make it disappear but nothing horrendous.

I have continued to use the Eduard etch components where I felt comfortable. This included the air brake and the arrestor hook area.

Here are some pictures of the cockpit after the fuselage halves have been joined.

A few points worth noting. I am using this web site as a color reference for the airframe Thunder & Lightnings so the wheel wells, airbrake inner area and arrestor hook inner area got a coat of light grey before going into the fuselage halves. The air brake door, arrestor hook door and the area of the wings which are under the flaps all got a coat of white.

Following this the areas got some weathering with a very thin black ink wash.