Roden Felixstowe F2A (early) build

[jamo]

Greetings All
A few short notes and progress pics of my next diorama. I wanted to try for something that would have a sense of movement, combining some water effects and crew figures, so the plan is to have the Felixstowe taking off, 'up on the step' with only the very smallest part of the central keel in contact with the water. To mount the model I bent a length of brass strip into an 'I' shape (see pic) which would be attached inside the fuselage, to the underneath of the floor and protrude through the keel centreline to form a base under the tinfoil waves.

I am using the Part photoetched set and the crew are from PJ Productions (the pilot) and Preiser 1/72 1925 set (three other crew figures).

The PE set provides a lot of interior detail including fuel tanks, floor boards, side framing for the fuselage, wire bracing for the rear section, radiators, bomb fins, Scarff rings, control horns and aileron control wheels.

A good reference, apart from the Datafile, is the article in Scale Models December 1977, by C. Rupert Moore. It has some excellent plans which show interesting details of the cockpit area and engines (see pics). The seats look quite different to the armchairs provided in the kit. The side view shows the crew in action which is useful to get a sense of how high they sat in the fuselage.

The front gunner's seat is way too high in the fuselage and there shouldn't be a floor in this area - but of course I didn't work this out until it was all finished and I tried to fit in the gunner figure. To get him he has had some serious liposuction around his bottom. Just as well it won't visible when he's sitting in there. The standing figures have both been converted from sitting figures, cut in half and mated to pairs of legs from other figures in the Preiser set. I also extended their jackets into flying coats using some Miliput epoxy filler. First time I have used this stuff and very good it is to! I cut and repositioned the arms of the chap firing the gun so that his hands were in the right place. The Preiser figures are made of hard white plastic which is able to be cut and glued very easily not like soft plastic that so many 1/72 figures are made of. They are also quite slender which is important for fitting into the plane without crowding it too much. By contrast, the nice Airfix crew figures from the Roland CII are much bulkier and didn't look right in the Felixstowe.

The roof isn't glued yet, thats the next step. More to come soon.
Cheers
James

[jamo]

Most of the interior probably won't be visible (modelling for God). The brass mount is my first effort which wasn't straight enough to use (non-existant metalwork skills), but it gives the general idea. The instrument panel is from the Part set and is very nicely done. The idea is to paint the rear side with white paint so that dials 'come alive'. The canopy is rather too thick.

I modelled the co-pilots seat folded back as per the Scale Models plan. The seat back is swung backwards, whereas the seat bottom folds upwards against the side of the fuselage. The Part set comes with some odd boxes mounted against the port fuselage side, but not only do these not show in the interior photos from the Datafile, some of them get in the way of the folding seat and elevator controls, so I moved the red cross box to the rear.

[Sreiko]

This is my favorite WW1 float plane. Nice build

[RAGIII]

Looks great so far! Who makes the figures?
RAGIII

[efmen]

Wow great work! I have the same kit and Part etch set in my stash and now I'm tempted to start even though I still have a few waiting to be finished on my work table. The Seawings website has a nice rigging diagram that maybe of help to those who are looking for a reference. Great build and can't wait for the next batch of photos.

[Zabu]

Hi, Jamo. Great Build, and along with the Part PE it will be a great model. Keep on going with the build and with the photos... and thanks for posting!

[MerlinV]

Great Stuff Jamo.
I love the Felixstowe. And I love the idea of having it taking off.
Looking forward to seeing more.

Cheers,

Hugh

[jamo]

is Lance Krieg's build article over at Internetmodeler.com:

1/48 Felixstowe F2a

Lance's model is in 1/48 and is one of the very best I have ever seen, with lots of detail around the internal fittings.

Cheers
James

[jamo]

The control surfaces had holes moulded in for rigging attachment, but the holes were too large. Much filling and sanding later and everything was ready for painting. I used a clear doped linen from Xtracolour with rib tapes from Americal Gryphon decals. Some of the rib tape decals didn't settle down as nicely as I wanted, though I used a clear undercoat of Future/Klear and Micro Set/Sol. The Roden decals went down without any problems - something I was nervous about. The white is a bit translucent, faintly showing the rib tapes underneath, which I quite like. The wings and tail need another satin clear coat to standardise the finish. The dark spots on the photo are the pulleys for the control wires, made from brass rod cut slightly longer than the thickness of the wing so that it protudes on both sides.

Next step is a little more weathering. I am thinking of trying a little pale brown/grey added to clear varnish. Is that what some modellers are calling a 'filter'?

The hull is meant to be dark wood with marine varnish. I used 'Vermin Fur' from the Citadel acrylic range, lightly sanded between coats (I hand paint) and then some Burnt Umber oil paint brushed on and wiped off to give a vague impression of wood grain.

You can see the stand coming out of the bottom of the hull - it's glued to the underside of the floor.

Next step is painting the tapes on the struts and fitting the radiator shutters. Then undercoating the fuselage ready for the red coat.

Happy modelling!

[BuzPezold]

James,

Your Felixstowe is looking great! Your build articles are truely an inspiration for modelers like me to get the creative juices flowing and providing "Food For Thought" concerning tricky areas that each model build always includes. Keep up the great work.

Buz