K7 bluebird 1/43 scale build

[Keith-7]

Here is a 1/43 K7 Bluebird I've recently started building.
It's an original Replicast kit from many years ago.
A company named Touchwood later took over production of this kit and offered a much more refined version of it, but they are no longer in production either.

I had only just received the model in this photo and dry fitted a few parts for the pic.
Straight away I noticed that the angle at the bottom rear end of the sponsons was wrong.

 

[Keith-7]

I made a couple of cuts here to one of the sponsons, in preparation for correcting the angle at the back

 

[Keith-7]

Both sponsons with the angle corrected.
However, I noticed that the side panels that run along the bottom of the hull were incorrect. They are too curved and way too thin.

 

[Keith-7]

I used automotive body filler to fill in the recess in the side panels and then resculpt them into the correct shape.

 

[Keith-7]

I don't like permanently glueing parts to models if it can be avoided.
The tail fin would have had to have been glued in from the inside ideally, so it would have been at risk of being damaged throughout the rest of the build.
Also, if the tail fin was ever damaged, the whole model would probably be ruined and need a full repaint, so I decided to make it removable.
Here is the idea I came up with for a removable tail fin.

 

[Keith-7]

I added a tab to the base of the tail fin. This tab fits snuggly inside the plastic housing I built inside the model. This housing holds the tail fin perfectly straight. It's impossible for the fin to lean to one side.
At the bottom of the tab attached to the fin, there is a steel rod added.

 

[Keith-7]

Here is the tail fin fitted into position.
You can just see the metal rod Showing through the slot in the housing.

 

[Keith-7]

I built a plastic box to contain a magnet and filled it with epoxy resin, so the magnet will never get wet, should I ever need to wash the model.
The box is glued onto the bottom of the tail fin housing and the metal rod at the bottom of the tail fin tab is pulled by the magnet inside.
Fitting the tail is quite enjoyable, as it only takes a second to fit and as soon as you slide the tab into the slot, the tail fin just leaps into a perfect position on its own.

 

[Keith-7]

Here is the cockpit I've been scratch building.
This cockpit section will also be removable.
The two magnets seen here at the back of the cockpit, meet up with two tiny magnets built into the model.
In the previous posts photo, you can see the main spar has a plastic strip covering it. The magnets are under this plastic, glued into holes drilled into the spar.

The large round magnet on the cockpit floor doesn't do anything. It is only used as a cockpit removal tool, so I can extract the cockpit out of the bottom of the model using anything made from metal

 

[Keith-7]

I replaced the resin engines tailpipe with a thin brass one. This also attaches with a magnet to a metal bulkhead inside the model.

 

[urumomo]

Nice Work !

And Welcome to SMA !

 

[Keith-7]

The bottom of the hull was very rough, so I made a new one of our thick plastic sheet.
Before fitting the new bottom, I built another housing for a more powerful 20mm x 3mm magnet and then filled with epoxy resin.
This magnet will hold the model to a display base.

 

[Keith-7]

Nice Work !

And Welcome to SMA !

Thank you

 

[Keith-7]

Here is the new bottom of the hull glued into place and the removable cockpit fitted.
The steering wheel has a metal column and can turn as well as be removed for painting.
The instrument panel still needs some more detail adding.

 

[Keith-7]

The antenna base has a tiny metal tube to hold the antenna itself. The antenna will just slot into the hole and the tube will represent the ticker part of the antenna.
I scratch built the little dome using an offcut of resin from the unused hull bottom.

 

[Keith-7]

I made the pilots seat and also fitted the "dragons teeth" panel at the front.

 

[Keith-7]

The model will have two optional display bases. One will be a rock I got out of Coniston lake last weekend.
I found the same spot where the footage of Bluebird crashing was filmed from and where they measured the speed from and got a nice flat rock out of the water there, close to where Bluebird went down.
I took this "Then & Now" photo while I was there (another hobby of mine).

 

[Keith-7]

The hydrofoil at the bottom of the hull.
I've been putting off this part for a while, as the casting was pretty rough and I wasn't looking forward to gluing it on and trying to get it perfectly straight.
After spending a lot of time getting the hydrofoil to sit perfectly flat against the bottom of the hull, I decided to add a couple of locating poles and make it removable.
One pole has a magnet in it, which connects to the box inside the model with the magnet that holds the tail fin in place. The other pole is just to make sure the hydrofoil runs straight can't rotate.

 

[Keith-7]

Using photos I took of Bluebird for reference last weekend at Coniston, I added the panel seen here behind the speed break to the back of the hydrofoil.

 

[Pantherman]

Here is a 1/43 K7 Bluebird I've recently started building.
It's an original Replicast kit from many years ago.
A company named Touchwood later took over production of this kit and offered a much more refined version of it, but they are no longer in production either.

I had only just received the model in this photo and dry fitted a few parts for the pic.
Straight away I noticed that the angle at the bottom rear end of the sponsons was wrong.

View attachment 123776

Hi and welcome to the forum. Pantherman