bzn20 Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 brilliant,as usual! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfpack Posted September 11, 2012 Share Posted September 11, 2012 am I doing it wrong Not if you're ambidextrous! W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 11, 2012 Author Share Posted September 11, 2012 Nope ..Church of England (lapsed).......but thanks for asking. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
James G Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 This is awesome! Love the Bucc and great to see it given a full detail job in 'big-scale'....where are you going to put it Melchie? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RNoAF Aerobatic Team Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 Amazing model that is! Great work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 12, 2012 Author Share Posted September 12, 2012 (edited) Thanks chaps, James.....haven't got a clue !!...I think Lady Melchie will have to go live in the shed....I'll give her an extra duvet to stop her moaning !! After chatting to a lot of folks in the know about this model at the Sutton show at the weekend a recurrent question mentioned was about the shape of the forward fuselage and length of the nose cone and I must admit that I had reservations about the nose area beforehand. The cone just looked too fat and short to me so I measured everything out and compared them to the data I had taken at Bruntingthorpe.and found that the nose cone is approx a scale 10mm too short and a couple of mm too wide at its base . The Buccaneer has an unusually shaped nose cone...to my eyes it almost looks too small for the airframe, almost an after thought and there's an area that steps down from the fuselage to it to add to the effect. I didn't feel that this was quite captured by the model so here's what I did, I cut the nose cone off and then added a 3mm resin disc of the right diameter, and pre cut pieces of scrap resin to build up the extra length. After this was set and squared off it was sanded roughly to shape. The forward fuselage area was then sanded down to shape , (the top panel forward of the windscreen has too steep an angle), the cone was then tacked into place to check alignment and it needed thinning down considerably, the bottom of the fuselage just ahead of the nose gear bay was sanded down too..... After a bit more work I think it's now more representative of the Buccaneers unusual shape. Fine tuning will take place later.......but I think we're getting there... Next it'll be taken apart again and the painted cockpit and details added.... Cheers all, Melchie... Edited September 12, 2012 by general melchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buccymad Posted September 12, 2012 Share Posted September 12, 2012 well spotted ,i must admit ,it was the first thing that i thought looked a bit "off" but i couldnt quite figure it out from the pictures what was wrong ,it now looks bang on!!while we are on the subject,nice catch on the RWR bullet being short,seemed barely noticable to me ,dont you think that the top of the tailplane looks a bit too thin across the top,seems to me it needs to be a bit fatter and flatter across the very top edge? are you folding the wings?if so dont forget that the ailerons canted outwards slighty due to the cables being pulled when the wings folded. ,i consinged my 1/32 scratchbuild to the backbench purely because i wasnt satisfied with getting the complex shape of the buccaneer right,so hats off to scratcher for building such a remarkable kit in the first place!!! watching both builds with great interest Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratcher Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) That's not something I'd noticed at all, even after spending so much time comparing photos. All I'd noticed from my drawings was that the whole nose section, from the spine end forward was a couple of mm too deep. Too much reliance on drawings maybe You've definitely refined it and captured that particularly subtle contour. I agree with Buccy Mad about the edge of the fin above the tailplane too. I hope people will keep posting their thoughts - It'll build a better Bucc! Edited September 13, 2012 by Scratcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 Thanks both of you, Buccy mad, you're right the area does need beefing up a bit also the rwr cone shape needs a bit of work but that's the beauty of resin, it's so easy to work with...taking away or adding bits is fairly straight forward, but as you say hats off to Stuart for producing a really sound basis to work from. I had noticed the aileron thing thanks but to be honest I'm still not sure about the wings, I don't particularly like the look of aircraft with their wings folded as they look deformed but then again as Spence mentioned to be the other day it'll be a darn sight easier boxing it up and lugging it about the shows not to mention finding shelf space for it !! Stuart, thanks, when you've been working on something and staring at photos for so long it sometimes really is hard to see the wood for the trees as I've found out myself on a few occasions. This is all about trying to make the model as accurate as possible not criticising it so thanks for taking it in the way you have. It's a very hard shape to capture, almost a sculpture due to the use of the area rule concept at that time, rather than the modular 'box' design of many other fighters. Hopefully get some more done today, Cheers, Melchie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolfpack Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 You perfectionist you! W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 13, 2012 Author Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) Managed to get a few things done today including the belly tank, fuselage profile and tailplane fin top. Firstly the belly tank. As Stuart himself pointed out it appears to need a bit of lowering as I agree that after looking at a few of his build photos it lacked a bit of depth so I added a 1/4'' resin 'rim' around the sides of the tank before sanding them down to fit flush against the fuselage bomb doors. The front end, (to the left), needs filling which I'll do with Milliput and then the whole thing will be re profied to the correct shape after which it'll be re scribed. It was then glued to the fuselage to check alignment prior to treatment. Engine intakes and forward fuselage were then spot tacked to the mid section to check that everything lined up and give me a chance to sand down the lower fuselage which needed a fair bit of flattening to achieve the correct depth. Holes were drilled in the fuselage and tail fin then brass rods were added to secure it temporarily. The upper fuselage spine behind the cockpit also needs work to bring it down, (it actually bows down wards towards the front rather than raising), The intake trunk top and bottoms need sanding down slightly and flattening along their sides too. The biggest problem that I noticed early on is the fact that the wings are set along the mid line of the intake trunking whereas they should be higher, but that's beyond anything that I'm prepared to do with the model as it would entail MAJOR surgery. The wing section is rather over thick, luckily the top wing position is OK so hopefully heavy sanding of the over thick underside of the lower wing will give me enough room to give the required effect. Lots of little things that all add up to a fair bit... Edited September 13, 2012 by general melchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Ogilvie Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 Looking very good Melchie - shape improvements have worked very well IMHO... Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratcher Posted September 13, 2012 Share Posted September 13, 2012 (edited) That's looking good - I especially like the nose and the tailplane bullets. Hope you don't mind me putting this photo in your thread. The vent behind the intake has been corrected - 3 pairs of holes in the brass bits. Edited September 13, 2012 by Scratcher Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Thanks fellas, appreciate your comments. Stuart, I must admit I hadn't noticed this on your finished model but saw the three 'holer' on the fret....good save, I'll mention it in the review update. ! Once I get the cockpit finished and the forward fuselage on I can really geo to town on the old beast.. Cheers, Melchie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 looking awesome guys! A quick question for scratcher (sorry, don't mean to hijack this thread) will you be making amendments / corrections to your moulds prior to making this available to purchase, based on this & your build threads? I mean, I could easily refer to this thread if I get chance to build one, but I'd rather some of the 'problems' were addressed before I bought the kit.... hope you don't mind me asking, I mean it's an awesome achievement, warts & all Rich Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratcher Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 General, the '3 pairs of holes' was just an aside to pre-empt anyone pointing out the error. The photo was mainly to illustrate what you were saying about the wing root. It does look somewhat lower and blunt in comparison but as you suggest, this could probably be partially alleviated by sharpening the underside at the leading edge. Richdlc, whilst I would like to address all the issues at source, for the amount of time and expense involved, I'm afraid the warts will have to stay meantime. If I get to the point where the silicon moulds need replacing I'll rework the masters before making new moulds. Meantime, I'm afraid it'll be down to the individual to go as far as they want with corrections and adding bells and whistles.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 14, 2012 Author Share Posted September 14, 2012 Rich, I think Stuarts reply makes sense as it would require a certain amount of re engineering of the model which would be very time consuming, costly and possibly a little disheartening, (but knowing Stuart that wouldn't be the case). This is what would be called in the sci-fi/fantasy modelling world a 'garage kit' and as such really forms a strong basis to work from. I can understand people wanting the model to be 100% on release especially bearing in mind the initial outlay but as with a lot of 'homebuilds' of this size and complexity that would be a huge ask, besides half the fun is doing it yourself, it really isn't that difficult. At the end of the build I'll list and describe everything that I've come across in detail to hopefully make things a little easier... Yep Stuart luckily you've added a lot of resin to play with in the wing so thinning it down shouldn't be a big problem. Cheers, Melchie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted September 14, 2012 Share Posted September 14, 2012 thanks guys - this is what I initially thought. Bearing in mind the price outlined by Stuart in his build thread, I think for the money you are still getting a hell of a kit, regardless of any issues that might arise when building it....I've yet to see a 'perfect' kit ! thanks for your replies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duncan B Posted September 15, 2012 Share Posted September 15, 2012 Monster thread for a Monster model. I would never be able to tackle one of these but I am still enjoying watching the build and learning a few things along the way. Looking forward to seeing the completed article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 (edited) Thanks Duncan, hopefully give you some ideas for your own builds. As a break from working on the fuselage I thought I'd tackle the airbrakes. These are nicely done but does require a fair bit of work from the builder as all you get are the outer skins and brass plates so . basically all the white stuff is scratchbuilt again photographic reference is important and hopefully I'll be able to post detailed pictures soon. The drag links and their covers plus the central assembly . The completed drag links, There were quite a few air holes on one airbrake petal so these were duly filled with scrap resin. This is the technique that I use for filling holes and gaps and is why I prefer using resin over plastic any day. It's best to square the hole out then carve a piece of scrap to roughly the right size, ca into place, add kicker then cut to the shape you want followed by careful carving with a sharp scalpel and gentle sanding with medium grit sanding board.Only takes a minute once you get the hang of it and is a lot easier than trying to use filler. At the same time I boxed in the interior slot using Plasticard. carefully measuring where the drag link will end up sitting with the brakes open, The interiors were sprayed grey and then lightening holes were drilled into the end plates after which everything was smoothed off, With the brass facings tacked into place, This is how the assembly will be fitted,...............next detailing the brass plates. Edited September 16, 2012 by general melchett Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
viper-30 Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Hello sir Brilliant build.thanks for taking the time to detail this build it led me to order one.so in the future may be asking you a question or two. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scratcher Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 Sorry to butt in General - just for clarity the supplied airbrake parts consist of: Mounting disc for the whole assembly Side supports and end cap for the jacking mechanism 2 x drag links and brass ends 2 x Airbrake petals 2 x brass plates As you say, there is a lot of detail which can be scratched here - your work appears somewhat neater than mine Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vulcanicity Posted September 16, 2012 Share Posted September 16, 2012 We really are lucky to have two superb threads, by modellers of prodigious talent, on this astonishing looking kit. Keep it up Melchett and Scratcher, it's terrific stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted September 16, 2012 Author Share Posted September 16, 2012 Thanks guys, appreciated as ever, Terry ask away as I'm bound to miss a few things and Phil it's a bit weird having two separate builds of the same kit going on but hopefully the point is to show as much as possible so that folks who intend to buy the model know what they are getting in the package, I'm hoping to take it too my local show, Southwell next month so people will get a chance to see just what they are getting.....it'll defo be at Telford, (though I may need to book a separate table for it !!!). Stuart, yes sorry you're quite right the parts you mention are all there in the kit, I should have made it clear that I was just referring to the two drag links not the whole airbrake assembly.. Cheers all, Melchie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
crobinsonh Posted September 17, 2012 Share Posted September 17, 2012 (edited) I may be wrong but I believe the only model to get the wing line correct is the Aerodynamix 1/32nd Buccaneer. It is a subtle feature and I guess makes it tougher for a natural split line for a model. This is an incredible build and my hats off to both you and Scratcher for putting together in the first place. Who would have though we would ever see the light of day for a 1/24th Buccaneer! Edited September 17, 2012 by crobinsonh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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