p-26luvr Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 This morning I started working on the interior framework. It started out difficultly at first until I figured out an easier way to glue the vertical pieces. I expect to have all 4 frames done by tomorrow afternoon. Then I will make a small jig & add the top & bottom pieces. These 2 pictures show the additional detail that comes with the plan. This one shows the cockpit from both the front & rear, & the instrument panel. This is various other detail. I will take pictures of the framework when I have ons completed. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted August 28, 2012 Author Share Posted August 28, 2012 This is the first of the 4 interior frameworks that I am doing. It fits beautifully in the fuselage half below it. I used the plans above it to make it on. Only 3 more to go. Earlier to day I had these plans enlarged to 1/48th scale to use as a guide in converting a Fury model later on. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airhead Posted August 29, 2012 Share Posted August 29, 2012 You can never have too much reference. Nice progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 I forgot to mention that the framework is made from 20 thousandths Evergreen rod totally. To ease making it & reduce stress & frustration I used pins around the parts as I needed them to keep things aligned & straight. I built the frame right over the plan, & trimmed it off once everything was hardened up. I make several copies of the plan so that I have a clean one for each frame that I build. I will try to take a series of in progress pictures showing how I do it, if I can. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted August 29, 2012 Author Share Posted August 29, 2012 These 3 pictures show how I have made up the framework. This first picture show what I think is the most difficult step. Putting in the rearmost & the one in front of the seat complex. The bottom rod has a slight bend just behind the rear seat vertical rod. I glue the rearmost rod first. The easy way to do this is to cut the vertical rod to length with the correct angle on each end. Apply glue to one end & put it against the top rod. Next take the bottom rod & place it against that vertical's other end, making sure that the angle is right & making sure that the bend is where has to be, & glue the joint. The front vertical is the one in front of the seat area. You can see some of the pins that I use to keep things in place. THis picture shows my method of cutting the vertical pieces. The top plan part is the one I assemble the framework over. The bottom one is where I measure & cut the verticals. I have added this picture to show how I made the X part where the seat will be. Bending 2 small Ls.I use the plan at the bottom to mark off each vertical as I cut it, hence the little black dots. You can also see where I trim the rear ends These 2 pictures show the kit supplied cockpit set-up. Everything is very basic. I hope that this helps. I want to stress.WHEN GLUEING IN THE VERTICALS PUT GLUE ON ONE END ONLY & THEN MOVE THE OTHER END TO WHERE IT NEEDS TO BE & THEN GLUE THAT. The glue sets up very quickly. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 I have been thinking about how I am going to make a reasonably good instument panel for this model & then I remembered that I have a few of the A-Model Fury kits, I will use the one in that kit as a pattern. While I was at it I began to compare the wings & fuselages of the 2 models using the plans in the Mushroom publication book as my guide. The vac-form wing is spot on for span & only a couple of hairs wide on cord. The fury model wing is spot on for the cord, but about a strong 1/32nd inch short in span. The difference in span between the 2 models is just over 1/2 inch, the vac-form being the longer of the two. If the 2 models are accurate in span, then there is a signifigant difference in the appearence of the models when side by side. In comparing the fuselages the vac-form is about 1/16th inch short at the tailpost when everything else is lined up, while the other model is accurate overall. I mention this because this was such a surprise to me. I know about the difference in the span & cord between the two planes. I am planning to convert one of the 1/48th Fury models into a Nimrod, & because of this I will be playing a lot closer attention to the measurments. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted August 31, 2012 Author Share Posted August 31, 2012 I think that this picture will show clearly what I said in the last post. The vac-form parts are on top of tha Amodel parts. I should have taken the picture before the last post. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo Aero Posted September 1, 2012 Share Posted September 1, 2012 Fascinating to see how you are using old time stick and tissue modeling technique to detail your Nimrod. Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted September 1, 2012 Author Share Posted September 1, 2012 Fascinating to see how you are using old time stick and tissue modeling technique to detail your Nimrod. Great work! I will be doing the same on all of these models, except on some I will be using flat strip instead of rod, like with the Dart. It is a lot easier than it looks. A lot of my first models, back in the 1940s, were stick & tissue flying models. They were a lot of fun to build & particularly to fly. Some, when they could no longer be easily repaired, had one last fiery flight from the 3rd floor of the family home.Some spectacular wrecks that way. Carl T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted September 4, 2012 Author Share Posted September 4, 2012 Over the weekend I have been working on 2 of my flying boat models The resin Kora Coronado, & the Rareplanes Mariner. With the exception of the wings on the P2Y-2, I have cut out nearly 2 dozen vac-form models in the last 3 weeks or so.On one the plastic was so thin that I nearly cut right through. Two had plastic that was so hard it was like cutting steel plate. The rest were very easy to cut out using what I call medium pressure & going over the cut about 3 times & then removing the excess plastic sheet. As to having any problems,the only one was caused by my own misuse of a pair of scissors. The 2 that were made of hard plastic just took longer to get cut, nothing else. I mention this for anyone that has not yet tried a vac-form model. I should have taken pictures of the more difficult cuts that might have helped by showing the steps that I took. What I am saying is that cutting the vac-form model is not especially difficult if you go at it methodicaly, slowly, & in pre-thought out steps. Be sure thart you have a black line that is on both the model part & the backing plate. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Giorgio N Posted September 4, 2012 Share Posted September 4, 2012 This is a very fascinating thread and there's a lot to learn for me reading it. These 1/72 fighters are tiny, adding all those details is not necessarily easier than working in a larger scale ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 I have put off working on the Nimrod while I decided just how much detail I want to add inside the fuselage from the firewall to the tailplane area. I have decided to add the stringers & what I can of the formers, I have done this before with an Airfix Hawker Demon about 2 years ago. I will take picturtes as I go along. It really is not that hard to do. Some of the people that look at this series of models will think it is a waste of time & expense to do this extra detail which can not be seen when the model is finished, but I see it as a challenge to duplicate as much as possible of the real plane as I can. It is this about my model that makes it different from most others. Carl T 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted September 5, 2012 Author Share Posted September 5, 2012 These 6 pictures are of my friend Curt's 3 1/48th scale vac-form models that he has made lately. The first is Wing 48's SB2A Buccaneer. Next is his Dynavector DH NF21 Sea Hornet Next is Koster's Japanese Nell. These are the 3 models that have inspired me to get back into doing vac-form models. As you can see they look as good as any regular model, including a Tamigawa variety. The next 2 vac-form models Curt has lined up are the Dynavector Sea Vixen, & the WIngs 48 Curtiss SOC-3, a WW2 US Navy biplane scout. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Don McIntyre Posted September 6, 2012 Share Posted September 6, 2012 Dynavector vacs are supposed to be the apex of vacuform kit development. I've got their Sea Vixen (thanks, Carl) and it is a beauty and other than cleaning up the vac parts, it doesn't look a whole lot more complicated than a regular injection molded kit. Yes, vacuform kits are more difficult than IM kits, but the process is the same, you just need to spend more time on prepping parts than you normally do. It takes patience, which, in my case, tends to be in short supply. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted September 6, 2012 Author Share Posted September 6, 2012 These 2 pictures show how I am adding stringers to the rear half of the fuselages of the Nimrods. In the top picture is the side view plan for the right side of the model. I cut out the area between the black lines & use the cutout section in the right fuselage half. I took this from the left side of the plan. The top fuselage half has the piece of paper in place with the black dots showing where I will add the 15 X20 thousandths plastic strips The lower fuselage half shows the strips in place. I cut the strips to length right over the cutout piece of paper. It all works out very easily. In this picture I have placed the framework I made earlier over the stringers. I will paint the fabric area a dark pink color the stringers wood color, & the framework gloss black. I realize that the contrast is poor, but just now it is the best that I can do. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 This is a very fascinating thread and there's a lot to learn for me reading it. These 1/72 fighters are tiny, adding all those details is not necessarily easier than working in a larger scale ! Giorgio it is not difficult at all once you figure out how you need to do things. All it is is measuring, cutting, placing, & glueing. Of course you need a set of plans with structural detail in them, & reduced or enlarged to the right scale. The way that I face it is to think of the frame as just another bunch of parts that have to be put where they go. Frankly on these little models I think that it is fun doing them. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jessica Posted September 9, 2012 Share Posted September 9, 2012 I've always maintained that a half built vac scares other modellers while a completed vac looks just like any other model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted September 9, 2012 Author Share Posted September 9, 2012 Jessica, One of the things that I understand is what you have to say as being true, but, what I find difficult to accept is why it is true. At my age there is no model that I have in stock that frightens me. The main reason that I am concentrating on these vac-form models now is that over the years I have built a dozen & more each of Spitfires, Hurricanes, P-47s, P-51s, Me 109s, Fw 190s, ad infinitum. Grey/green, OD/NG, RLM colors get boring after a while.The challenge is missing. USAAC,USNAVY, FAA, RAF interwar aircraft are very colorful, & come in an immense variety of types that can be modeled In cutting out the nearly 2 dozen models that I have in the last month I have seen the best laid out patterns for parts that have made cutting out the parts very easy. I wonder if the main reason people fear vac-form models is that they think they have to cut out each individual part directly from the sheet, instead of cutting the sheet into sections with a part in it, & then cutting out each part. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amo Aero Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) ... I wonder if the main reason people fear vac-form models is that they think they have to cut out each individual part directly from the sheet, instead of cutting the sheet into sections with a part in it, & then cutting out each part. Carl T I too have often wondered why there is such a degree of vacuphobia out there. You and Jessica both have valid points. I also have to wonder if part of the problem comes from the reputation of some vacuform kit manufacturers who became known for creating very basic and/or poor quality kits. We've all seen the comments in print and online over the years, usually some variation of "run away screaming from this kit". Comments like that do not exactly build any confidence in the minds of would be vac builders. We also live in a culture of instant gratification, and while modeling can hardly be thought of as "instant", there are many out there who simply do not want to go through the perceived trouble, effort and time to build a vacuform kit. Then too, many people are creatures of habit and tend to shy away from the unknown. Vacuform kits look very different from injection kits, therefore many are instantly suspicious and even fearful of them. I think that is one of the reasons for the increase in popularity of resin kits over vacuforms. Even though resin kits are almost always much more expensive than an equivalent vacuform (and can sometimes be more difficult to build than a good quality vac), resins are more similar in appearance to injection kits, therefore people are more comfortable with them compared to vac kits. Personally, I will take a good quality vacuform kit over a resin kit every time--the vac will be cheaper, easier to build and lighter. Edited September 13, 2012 by BOC262 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted October 2, 2012 Author Share Posted October 2, 2012 Due to getting a new computer & learning again about all of the differences in the 2 of them, I have not been doing any work on my models lately. The new computer & particularly the bigger screen takes up a lot more room so I am still making room for it & putting things away that are in the way now. I will be back at work soon. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted November 8, 2012 Author Share Posted November 8, 2012 After taking a few weeks off from my modeling getting used to this new computer & catching up on my reading, about 2 weeks ago I started on making up the interior for the Martin T4M-1. I have it about 75% finished, with only the instrument panel the major parts to be done. I have taken a few pictures to post here, & will do that when I find the way to on this computer. It has been a lot of fun making this up & so far I am really satisfied with the results. The next major job is making up the wings with the minimal dihedral in them. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pegasus468 Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Carl, Im glad you are back, I'm looking foward to the photos. I have the T4m myself and when work permits will make a start on it. Cheers Duncan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 This is a series of pictures showing various areas of the interior. This first one shows it next to my 6 inch steel ruler, at about 4 inches long. This shows all 3 crew positions overall. The main pilots areas. With the fuel tank under the second seat. I made this from 8 pieces of 1/8th inch square strip, 3 pieces wide X2 pieces top/bottom, + sheet over the top. All of the edges, except the bottom, were sanded round. The 5 straps are HO scale 1X3. The floorboard is sheet plastic with the grooves in it. You can see the radio equipment just back of the 2nd seat. The 3rd cockpit area from the back. A close-up of the chart desk in the rear5 cockpit. I have a lot yet to add to this interior. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
p-26luvr Posted November 9, 2012 Author Share Posted November 9, 2012 I have a few more pictures that will show some of the detail a little better. This first one shows the top of the fuel tank in place in the framework. You can see the 5 straps more clearly. This is the basic framework before any extra is added. These next 2 pictures show the forward 2 cockpits from above. If you look at the first group of pictures, particularly the first one you will see that there is a channel strip with a number of holes drilled in them under the front seats. Those pieces set on their sides on 2 cross pieces of small rod stock on top of the fuel tanks Between those 2 pieces are 2 pieces of channel stock for heel boards under the rudder pedals, which are connected to the back of the insrument panels. The heel boards are set on 2 short pieces of rod stock fed through the holes in the channel stock. The seats are the kit ones trimmed back to look more realistic, & all of them will have seat belts later on. The boxed in area on the front is made up from 7 pieces of sheet stock plastic, & is hollow not solid. Carl T Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Bittner Posted November 9, 2012 Share Posted November 9, 2012 Awesome job! I'll definitely be using your pictures for whenever I get to mine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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