lazyeagle Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Remember that Dornier Flying Pencil found languishing in the Channel? Well this was found next to it. Thunderbird 2 studio scale fibreglass halves that I snagged from a friend back in 2004. Just used the fuselage fibre glass carapace halves as a blank canvas. The wings, tailplane, pod, hydraulic stilts, greeblies and all other components all scratched. Pod panels were cut out and reinforced with walls formed from fibre glass and skimmed with filler. Used ¼ inch brass to allow me to raise/lower ‘roof’ to make it flush with the lifting body. I started in Feb 2013, gave up mid-year because of work only to drag myself back into the Danger Zone a few weeks ago. This is an almost impossible model to get right as the fuselage cross section was way, way off– wanted to make it as close to the first ‘launch sequence’ 32 inch version so the shape was modified/filled/ extended/ skimmed/ re-fibreglassed several times that I managed to get a Christmas card from Halfords. Anyway loads of photos will post representative group of images at a time so as not to overwhelm – currently making detailed parts and heat forming the windows etc. Excuse the mess in back garden – clearing up after major house renovations. From this: To This......although she nearly ended up skipped several times..... Re-shaping and sanding and cutting out pod panels… 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rodders154 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 WOW Rodders Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigel Heath Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Great project. Good luck with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Jinkies! That looks to be one hell of an undertaking, and you need a serious pat on the back for getting it thus far. More akin to car bodywork renovation than modelling! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 WOW! WANT ONE! I will be watching this project with great interest Good luck, and happy modelling, I can't wait to see this finished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carts Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Modelling(Heavy construction) on an epic scale,bet your glad you didn't "skip" it now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyeagle Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Thanks all for your kind an encouraging comments. Grateful to girlfriend who stopped me from bouncing it into the local land fill...anyway Here’s how I did the pod- Fibreglass and meshed up Filler…..sand…filler…sand…filler…sand….. It Fits! First primer coat 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyeagle Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 Air intakes profiled…but needed a lot of work to get right…....also garden/patio has been cleared now- these images are 2013. Wing/ tailfins all cut from mdf sanded to form aerofoil profiles- wings were a bit too long…well what I thought was too long. Mdf had eventual brush on resin treatment to seal everything – sanded and then re applied resin. Took 4 applications but still required filler treatment to get coveted ultra smooth surfaces. This took longer than expected – 2 weeks….grrrr! More to come... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin @ RAM Models Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 I've looked at purchasing one of these many times but the online reviews always manage to make me put my cash back in my wallet. Brave for starting the challenge but hats of that you have not given up and managed to get something so good looking from it. Cant wait to see the finished model. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Clever fix for the pod! Which pod are you going to do? Then you can scratch build the contents Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyeagle Posted May 15, 2014 Author Share Posted May 15, 2014 I've looked at purchasing one of these many times but the online reviews always manage to make me put my cash back in my wallet. Brave for starting the challenge but hats of that you have not given up and managed to get something so good looking from it. Cant wait to see the finished model. I know of the kit you mean - that's a different one mastered by a guy in the US, this was done by fellow here in the UK. There is a hard to find fibre glass version made by another Brit that is reputedly spot one but could never find a copy. In all honesty given the amount of work this has been I should have attempted a scratchbuild intsead. Still kudos to the fella for producing one. Clever fix for the pod! Which pod are you going to do? Then you can scratch build the contents Can't decide between pod 4 or 6....yes hope to have an interior of sorts....but my skills fall short of building Pod vehicles although always liked the Firefly. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rickpadwick1801 Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 This is unbelievable. I love the Thunderbird craft. I will be watching this closely. Keep up the good work. Rick Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Plastic Bonsai Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Oh nice save! I just got the much smaller Imex TB2 container dock and fancy expanding it. You might be able to scale these up for vehicles: http://www.bekkoame.ne.jp/~ijoy/information.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kallisti Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 There is the Imai Firefly but that is a very inaccurate kit: but can be made good: which is 12cm long, but none of my references say how long the original is supposed to be so can't get a good scale, however looking at the size of your pod and comparing it to this, it seems a reasonable match. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Niall Posted May 15, 2014 Share Posted May 15, 2014 Check the Thunderbirds pages in the link below - http://www.martinbowersmodelworld.com/ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Nice one. Have your fingerprints grown back yet? A bank job would pay for all that filler! Now, about the correct shade of green..... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitestar12chris Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 Great job, always my favourite thunderbird, your girlfriend needs a big thank you on this one All the best Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyeagle Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 That's a nice Firefly you've conjured up there Plastic Bonsai. I've always been put off by the very toy like dimensions of the imai offerings, but suppose with a bit of effort they can be made to look good. Nice one. Have your fingerprints grown back yet? A bank job would pay for all that filler! Now, about the correct shade of green..... Fingerprints never came back after my stint with the Men in Black. No bank job...just fingers crossed for the Euromillions pot today. The green.......I have mixed a concoction of yellow green and emerald green- bit premature as this could all go Pete Tong......but hoping with the final weathering it'll even out. Jinkies! That looks to be one hell of an undertaking, and you need a serious pat on the back for getting it thus far. More akin to car bodywork renovation than modelling! Thanks for that - I can always get a job fixing dents and smoothing dinged alloy wheels! Great job, always my favourite thunderbird, your girlfriend needs a big thank you on this one All the best Chris Thanks - girlfriend got a Airfix Dambuster Lancaster that I managed to cobble together for her- she's a big WW2 aviation fan so off to Duxford next weekend...sigh. More photos on TB2 later, thanks for all the encouraging comments, it does spur you on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyeagle Posted May 16, 2014 Author Share Posted May 16, 2014 Roll on March 2014 when I returned to the hanger to resume the build…the story so far… Idea here is to mould clear plastic to around nose contours to form windows and the twin side portals (used heat gun). Used heated PTFE as a test – now switched to clear plasticard as PTFE will not stick to anything. Will create window shaped masks then eventually spray filler and primer to form the thin look of the frames thus giving that scale realistic effect. Well that’s the plan anyway and I’d love it if it came together. As per photos intakes were so off that I re-did them…. It looks like a mess…and it was/still is, but intakes are easy on the eye, however a bit Technicolor with all the varieties of filler..Joseph would be proud Detailed parts, engines, rear tail stack. The tail box was created using Rexel plastic document intrays with a wood core- then clad in plasticard and finally sanded to shape. Airfix girder bridge (now made by Dapol) features a lot on TB2– like the ‘X’ in the rear engine bulkhead recess. Assorted kit parts from Tamiya tanks grace the recess- artistic licence here. Mastered the hydraulic leg blister in mdf – resin coated still working on it. The small side intakes on the tail are thanks to B&Q cable trunking covered in plasticcard laminations and sanded to shape. Dry fit…could not resist... Looking lonely without TB-1 Filler primered and how she looks today… Now filler, sand, filler and casting the leg blisters in resin and building the legs, interiors, cockpit (not sure)…ad infinitum…bitten too much here....more soon. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tarkas Posted May 16, 2014 Share Posted May 16, 2014 I think I'm disappointed . You're doing a terrific job recreating the original 32-inch filming model, and more power to you for that; it's always been the "real" TB2 IMO, all the other ones being sort of squashed by comparison -- too short, not broad enough, and generally losing the elegant lines of the 'bird as we see her in the launch sequence -- but then you go and cover one of the hatch openings under the cockpit! You're not going to really recreate the original as we see it taxiing down the runway from the Cliff House to the launch ramp, with both sets of hatches obviously open, showing light shining through the fuselage? What a shame. <Removes tongue from cheek with retractable crowbar > Seriously, I'm joking. This is a brilliant job and I look forward to watching it progress -- but TB2 does have those hatches missing in that sequence, and I've always wondered why. Was that where the strings went to pull her along the runway? A surprising lapse on the part of Derek and co., but it was a very early shot, so perhaps they weren't quite up to speed yet, and didn't realise that their little gaffe would be seen so often. Kind of like TB1 rotating through 90 degrees coming down the ramp as it moves to its launch pad. Interestingly, I just checked my DVD of Thunderbirds Are Go!, for which they re-shot all the launches, and both those bloopers are fixed: TB1 no longer turns as she goes down the ramp, and TB2 has the hatches on both sides covered over with what looks not too different to your clear plasticard -- or it might have been painted a light grey. So keep up the good work in the knowledge that you're improving on what even the original SFX team did the first time! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Tarkas, the "side Hatches" are marked in most cutaways, such as the Haines Manual, as observation windows. In miniature filming they tried to avoid glazing windows as they could cause unwanted reflections, in the original Star Wars episode IV, none of the filming miniatures had glazing and in the Dam Busters, they removed the lenses from the goggles to avoid such unwanted reflections. The TB2 in the launch sequence is the definitive version and Derek Meddings states she was a swine to "fly" so they had smaller, lighter models made which didn't really match the original, not just in shape but in colour and markings, the size of the number 2 is a big give away! I love TB2, she's one of my favourite Anderson machines. This project is really exciting, and I am watching it intently! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Foghorn Leghorn Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Stunning work. You're as mad as a box of frogs though 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ex-FAAWAFU Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Gordon Bennett! Sci-Fi not my bag in modelling terms, but I was (am!) a huge TB fan - and this is superb work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
little-cars Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 Are you thinking of bringing it along for the Britmodeller stand at the smallspace show in July ???? Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anthony Kesterton Posted May 17, 2014 Share Posted May 17, 2014 This looks fantastic - please keep us all posted with your progress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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