Sopwith Dolphin - Fuselage Finished

I've just worked out, a bit late, some of the details of the radiator assembly. Dolphins had their radiators mounted each side of the fuselage, and what I've just worked out is that there was a hinged shutter in front of each radiator, which could be extended or retracted to regulate the flow of air through the radiator. The plywood panels were fitted around the shutters, and if you look at the period photos closely, you can see that it wasn't a perfect flush fit. Because I couldn't be bothered to do any research before starting work, I allowed myself to be influenced by the unbuilt kits I have in my possession, and  to consider the shutters as a surface detail. If I had done an adequate amount of research, I would have been able to cut out apertures in the fuselage sides and make the shutters as a separate assembly, and then I could have had them slightly extended.  As it is, I have to leave unarticulated that which could be articulated; to simulate what I could have replicated. Bit of a shame, that.

What I did in the end was scribe the demarcation line between the shutters and the plywood panel. Then I added the triangular fillets at top and bottom (I assume that these prevented air bypassing the shutters). Finally I added the hinges from tiny lengths of stretched sprue. This was a very fiddly job. Even as the fiddly jobs I have undertaken on this project go, this was a fiddly job, and it called for a big magnifying glass. The technique I decided on was to put a blob of thick polystyrene cement in the right place with a suitable applicator, such as a piece of wire (a pin is useless for this job, by the way), and then plonk the tiny piece of stretched sprue on top of it. This is a good technique, I am convinced, but I haven't quite perfected it, and I ended up chasing tiny bits of sprue around with a brush loaded with liquid poly. But I got all 10 hinges into place at last.

The radiators themselves can wait until after painting, because they will straddle a panel line with Battleship Grey one side and PC10 the other, and it would be impossible to mask properly.

I've done a couple of other small jobs since the last post. I've corrected the raised seam between the upper and lower plywood panels. And I've neatened up the ejection ports with a sharp knife and the smallest piece of 600 wet and dry that you could reasonably employ.

So that's the fuselage done. Eventually, I will do an undercoat that will reveal any surface flaws (and I have a feeling there will be plenty). But before that, I'm going to start work on the wings and flight control surfaces. Because, you know, without wings and flight control surfaces I feel that there's something missing from an aircraft.