Meikraft 1:72 SPAD XIII, Frank Luke

[IanB]

It appears I've been remiss and not posted this one for some reason, so here's the build to date....

 I'll be building the 1:72 scale Meikraft SPAD XIII which comes with white metal parts and PE. I have a set of PD Decals, from Australia, and early US cockades in the French blue, all of which I found on e-bay. Not sure if the early cockades are quite right but I can't find anything that says they're not - unless someone can supply that info!








Ian

[IanB]

 Most of the cockpit interior has been scratchbuilt, the kit seat has been cleaned up, and it's all painted. The firewall is just resting in place for the photo, it will be fitted separately after the fuselage and wing assemblies are together. I still have to add the seatbelts and control column and that's about as far as I'll go with interior detail.







Ian

[IanB]

I've made a little more progress today thanks to the storm that's shut down flying for today. We flew yesterday until about 6:30pm, it was a little bumpy with 50 knot headwinds at 600 feet and surface winds gusting near 40knots, so we finally called it a day after I'd done 10 flights - I needed a beer or two after that!

 Anyway, I digress....I've finished off the 'pit interior as far as I'm going to, closed the fuselage and attached the lower wing/cockpit assembly.

 I had to do a little reshaping of the upper rear decking. The headrest fairing was about twice as high as it should have been, but if I'd simply sanded it down so it matched the profile drawings it would have been level with the top of the fuselage, so I had to lower the top of the rear decking too. Fortunately the plastic there was thick enough.

 Did I mention "slight" fit problems? There are gaps around the fuselage/wing joint and I've had to tweak the front end a little to remove some of the twist. The radiator is just sitting in place temporarily to help with the shape of the nose while it dries - I added a small piece of square section rod to the top rear of the radiator to help with the correct spacing of the fuselage sides. Without this spacer it would be impossible to hold the top of the fuselage apart to fit the upper decking accurately. When this is all properly dried I'll tackle the gaps and clean up.





Ian

[IanB]

 Interior engine bearer details have been added and the gaps and missalignments sorted out.  The moulded detail for the radiator has been removed and I've used the PE as a base to add the shutters. Hopefully it will be strong enough to stay put while it's painted and installed in the cowling...
 The control surfaces have all been separated, and the gaps for the aileron actuators have been opened up in the upper wing and made crisper in the lower wings. All rigging holes have also been drilled, except those in the outer struts which I'll do later. One nice thing about the PE is that it negates the need for rigging the inner wing struts and cabanes, making life a whole lot easier!









Thanks for looking in!

Ian

[IanB]

I've made a fair bit of progress recently, but nothing really worth pics until now. The painting is nearly done, I just have to do the blue nose and the wheels, then it's all downhill - apart, maybe, from the struts.... I'm still not too sure about the light green. It looks good in daylight but under lighting it's more "Kawasaki green" - I may tone it down a little with the next French build...
 I also did a little wash over the cooling vents on the nose, my first try at that, and I'm quite pleased with the results.





Ian

[GAJouette]

  Ian,
Outstanding progress to date on your less than shake the box kit. I build up one of these beast back in the early 90's I think,so I know it's not an easy kit to build. Glad to see you meet the challenge head on and come out on top. Keep up the great fight.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[mgunns]

Did I mention "slight" fit problems?

Hello Ian:

A Meikraft kit with "Fit Problems"?  You've got to be kidding me!    You are doing a bang up job on this kit and to date looks pretty spiffy to me.  The green does look a bit amiss, but; as you say, the lighting makes it so. 

I like Luke's markings, too bad there aren't any in 1/32nd.  I would like to do one in that scale, so I will be watching as your build unfolds.

Best of luck

Mark

[Rob Hart]

Nice work on the camo. I have not seen this kit built before.

[pepperman42]

Nice work so far on a little bear of a kit.

Steve

[IanB]

Thanks for the feedback everyone!
I've got a little more done, a bit more on the painting, wheels etc, and fitted my homemade radiator grill assembly. It's a little thick, next time I'll use thinner strip, but I'm happy with it.




Ian

[Des]

She is looking really good Ian, the painting is well done and there is nothing wrong with the radiator grill, this will be an impressive model once completed.

Des.

[GAJouette]

  Ian,
I agree with Des your radiator grill looks just right my old friend. I'm looking forward to seeing her in Luke's marking soon. Beautiful SPAD camouflage as well. Looking forward to the next update.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette

[IanB]

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I last posted on this one! Admittedly I've been sidetracked by other things but still....

I've resurrected this build in the hope of adding it to my entries in a local competition coming up at the end of March. I had added the fuselage decals (PD Decals) but they were very fragile, and when I found a set of Printscale decals for Frank Luke's machine I bought those. They are far superior, and also a better size - the PD fuselage numbers and squadron emblems were a little small. I stripped the PD decals and have applied the Printscale ones - a huge improvement! I have also added the cabane struts and scratchbuilt the exhausts.

 I've ordered some .002" stainless wire to help with the cabane and inner wing strut rigging - not really up to drilling and threading that! So the next update will be when I receive the wire....





Ian

[RAGIII]

Ian,
I remember that kit and it was lacking in many ways! You have done an amazing build so far! Lovely results.
RAGIII

[Ernie]

Wonderful work on a less than ideal kit, Ian.  Your paintwork is terrific and I think
you have done a smashing job on the radiator grill.  I look forward to more updates.

Cheers,
Ernie