HACHETTE SPITFIRE Mk 1A – SUNDAY 29th NOVEMBER 2020

ISSUE 35 – THE MOTOR FOR THE LANDING GEAR

PARTS CHECKLIST – PICTURE 1

35-01 Motor for the Landing Gear
35-02 Cable
35-03 Cable Label

PICTURE 2

We are told to be aware that the 2 plugs on the supplied cable are different sizes.

PICTURE 3

The label is affixed around the cable leading to the larger plug.

PICTURES 4 & 5

We then connect the motor to the lead, and the lead to the test board and battery box to ensure it all works.

Of interest here (Picture 5) is the gearbox attached to the end of the motor.

HACHETTE SPITFIRE Mk 1A – SUNDAY 29th NOVEMBER 2020

ISSUE 37 – ASSEMBLING AND FITTING THE LEFT AILERON

PARTS CHECKLIST – PICTURE 1

37-01 Left Aileron Upper Panel

37-02 Left Aileron Lower Panel

37-03 Left Aileron Hinge (marked 1)

37-04 Left Aileron Hinge (marked 2)

37-05 Two Hinge Pins

37-06 Five PB 1.7 x 3mm Screws (1 spare)

PICTURE 2

As we can see in this picture the pre-printed markings are very clear and well done.

PICTURE 3

Making sure that we identify the hinges correctly (look for the stamped “1” and “2” on the parts, the hinge pins are put in place.

PICTURE 4

We lay these hinge parts into the slots in the upper aileron half.

Superglue is then applied to the indicated areas.

PICTURE 5

We then trap the lower aileron part in place and hold the assembly together with pegs until the glue has dried.

Hi Tony looks great will you be doing any weathering to this when complete keep up your great work mate



Regards Phil

Hi Tony,

This is proceeding very nicely, well done so far.



Always checking in to see how you are getting on. Keep up the good work.


Regards
delboy271155
(Derek)

Hi Tony, great to see you moving this one forward again and as usual, your very high standard of presentation is a joy to read and follow. Look forward to seeing your next update.....

Stay strong, thoughts are with you.....

Regards

Alan

Ok Tony

regards Phil

Hi Tony, very neat and clean work there. Fantastic! You're doing a great job and can't wait to see more progress as this model develops.

Regards,
Phil W.

Many thanks to everyone that looked in on the last update and left comments - always very much appreciated.

ISSUE 40 – FITTING OPTICAL FIBRES TO THE LEFT-WING (Same build parts and sequence is used in ISSUE 42)

PARTS CHECKLIST - PICTURE 6

40-01 Optical Fibres x 2 short

40-02 Optical Fibre Medium

40-03 Optical Fibre Long

40-04 LED and Cable

40-05 Three PWB 2 x 3mm screws (1 spare)

40-06 Cable Label

PICTURE 7

We start by taking the 4 optical fibres plus the optical fibre guide from the previous issue.

PICTURE 8

The 4 holes in the fibre guide form a “square” of 2 holes up and 2 down. As you can see in this picture the sequence in which the fibres need to be inserted is not very easy to see, so it takes a bit of thinking about to get this correct.

PICTURE 9

And here is the guide with the 4 fibres in place. They are not glued in as they need to be adjusted later, plus various brackets will hold them secure later.

You are told NOT to get glue on the fibres as it will affect the light path through the fibre.

PICTURE 10

Next up is the Fibre Optic Grip.

PICTURES 11 & 12

Into this grip we fit the fibre optic guide. This is just a press fit into place.

PICTURES 13 & 14

Here we can see the location in the wing that the Optical Fibre Grip will be fitted.

As we fit this into position, we need to pass each of the fibres under the metal strength beam.

PICTURE 15

Once in place we push each of the fibres forward so that they are all level with the face of the fibre guide.

Even with no additional light (just daylight here) we can see that the ends of the fibres do transmit a good amount of light.

PICTURE 16

Next up we take the cable label and this is wrapped around the supplied LED.

PICTURE 17

We then fit the LED in position behind the fibre guide in the wing.

PICTURE 18

Holding the LED in place (it has a tendency to move) we fit the optical fibre grip top cover and secure this in place with 2 of the supplied screws.

PICTURES 19 & 20

Its then time to “thread” the fibres along the wing and to then secure the barrels in position.

Little bit fiddly this part and needs a little care and patience to get right.

PICTURES 21 & 22

And here we can see the LED illuminated using the test board and battery pack supplied much earlier in the built.

Interesting points people have raised on other build sites have seen some builds either covering the exposed fibre with black tape, or in one example I have seen, using heat shrink along the whole length of each fibre.

I think the concern is “light bleed” and that the path of the fibres may shine through the surface of the top wing.

I am not sure that will be an issue but if it is there is still time to correct this at a later stage.

The other issue people have reported is the fact the barrel ends illuminate white. Some builders have suggested a gun flash would be more yellow and in one instance I have seen a builder post details of using micro crystal clear and Tamiya clear yellow to colour the end of the fibre.

Again, personal choice and at this point I have not decided if I want to modify mine or not.


PICTURES 23 & 24

Here we can see the barrels glued in place and being held firm with planking pegs while the glue sets.

Again, I have opted to use Tamiya extra thin and the final joint is very strong.

PICTURE 25

And this is a final overhead shot of the lower wing with both port and starboard fibres and gun barrels in place.

To be honest the complete build of those 4 issues took a fraction of the time to assemble compared to actually writing up the process.

Next time we have 4 issues with again a symmetrical assembly of fitting the wing landing lights.

Until then, (to coin a phrase) Stay Safe, be good, Make Models.