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Cambrian Funfighter Spitfire


Graham Davies 3
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Evening all,

My dearest first wife bought me a Cambrian Spitfire kit for Christmas. This was a result of my insistence that a chap should at least once own a Jaguar, and model a spitfire. Combine this with some irrational attachment to what we used to refer to as '25 size' models as they appear to hold less jeopardy for me and so I fly them with more confidence. So we end up with the very traditional foam, balsa and ply kit for a 42" 'fling and flop' package.

Alongside this is Richard Wills' fantastic advice on finishing, and how to make models realistic in easy steps. As such, I felt this was a chance to have a go.

The build is very straightforward, so let's skip straight to the finished article. She's covered in 43micron laminating film and painted using emulsion matchpots. The colours are not great for the 1940 Mk2 I was roughly basing this on, but there's no way I'd paint any of my house in these colours!

So, a coat of matt white emulsion, and then 2 lightly brushed coats of each colour. I used a little roller to remove brush strokes and 400 grit between coats. The edges of the camouflage are softened with a soft bristled brush.

Panel lines are black pen with a white gel pen line in parallel to give the illusion of light. All the white lines are on the 'high' side, depending on which face, so essentially whichever side would be lit. Weathering is done by applying masking tape to the line and rubbing chalk into the tape before smearing it across the panel. I bought a selection of grey chalks and used lighter greys on the darker colours, and darker greys on the lighter colours. I then smeared chalk to the panel lines parallel to the airflow to replicate the accumulation along the panel gaps.

Finally, some judicious application of a silver gel pen to replicate wear through to the aluminium. Across leading edges and various foot contact points. By accident, the masking tape lifted some tiny patches of paint. They looked authentic so I dabbed silver on these too!

I added some cannons from dowel and carbon tube having previously added a radiator to give a bit more 'spitfireness' from front on. I also gave the prop yellow tips for the same reason!

I don't think it looks bad; certainly more scale than my usual 25-ers.

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  • 1 month later...

Hi Martin,

 

It was the Cambrian kit. I understand these have a slightly more forgiving section, but are not quite as fast as the Cambria version. 

 

I've got a 3536 1200kv motor spinning a 10x6 prop from a 3s 2200mah pack. It seems to have plenty,although as yet, this is not fully proven!

 

Maiden was not, er, ideal... First hand launch (solo, as I usually do) resulted in the model rolling sharp left. I gathered it up, but had little height to work with so let her come in into the field. No damage, so I dialled in some trim and went again. It now became clear that my fight to get the C of G far enough forward had failed! After a hairy half circuit, she stalled and spun in. It was quite a realistic crash, to be fair!

 

All damage now repaired and she's ready to try again.

 

Some things to note if you build one of these:

  • It's extremely difficult to find space for ballast up front, and you are likely to need it. The model was clearly designed for IC, and the light electric motors don't put the weight in the right place.
  • It may be wise to replace the kit wood with the lightest you can find for the rear decking and underside sheeting
  • If I did it again, I would fret out some of the lightply fuselage sides at the rear. 
  • Get the servos as far forward as you can. I have re-fitted mine and they are just behind the leading edge now
  • There's hardly any room to fit ballast inside the cowl. Plan to need it, and make some space before closing it all off.
  • I've got some lead washers to fit onto the motor shaft, that seems to work!

I shall report back after the re-maiden.

 

Graham

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