Brandy Posted September 28, 2017 Author Share Posted September 28, 2017 20 hours ago, TheBaron said: Where would we be without Milliput eh? That should shape up nicely Ian. I'm not sure how I managed for so long without it! I don't use it much, but there are some areas where there it is almost the only option. 17 hours ago, Martian Hale said: Amazing craftsmanship! Martian Thanks Martian, a compliment indeed! 17 hours ago, pheonix said: I agree with The Baron: that should shape well when dry and will look much better. P Thanks P. It's had its first shaping session, and is indeed starting to look far better. 15 hours ago, jrlx said: Good and steady progress, Ian! Great care and attention to detail. Cheers Jaime Thanks Jaime! 5 hours ago, Fritag said: And that's a proper compliment coming from him. (which btw I second) It is indeed Steve! Thanks for the back-up! As stated above, the first rough shaping has been done and a couple of areas have received further treatment. Pics when there's actually something to show! Thanks for all the positive feedback everyone! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 The miliput worked nicely and has now been sanded to shape. Here's its new nose.... I'm happy with that, but I think it's still a little too narrow, so I may yet widen it a tad. That left the rear end to sort out. The top deck is too high, the sides should slope more to an apex. Here I've marked out where the changes are needed.... The tape marks the level of the apex, up to the pencil line, where it starts to slope upwards to the cockpits. The first step was simple enough, out with the big file and file the top down.... Those of a nervous disposition may wish to look away....the sides were attacked with a 6" half round second cut file, (thanks @perdu and @CedB) which made light work of them, but it wasn't pretty..... You can now see why I packed the fuselage with miliput! One small hole at the top front but otherwise ok. That was then refined with sanding sticks, and I have given it a skim of PPP to fill any irregularities. It's now sitting waiting for that to go off before I finalise the shape. Thanks for looking in! Ian 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Ian, That looked a rather dramatic piece of work! Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted September 29, 2017 Author Share Posted September 29, 2017 ...and hot on the heels of that last update, once the PPP had dried I sanded it down and refined the final shape. Here's the outcome.... Word for today is "chuffed", I'm very pleased with that! I'm sure a coat of primer will reveal areas needing a little more work but the shape looks good to me, there's a nice sharp apex down the spine and the compound curves look good, so any touch-ups should be minor ones! Time for a beer! Ian 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted September 29, 2017 Share Posted September 29, 2017 Ian, that's really impressive work! Beautiful shapes in the end! Very well done and very courageous Cheers Jaime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 1, 2017 Author Share Posted October 1, 2017 Thanks Jaime! It was a little scary, but I'm glad I chose that route over reskinning as I don't think I could have got the curves anywhere near correct. I spent some time yesterday making up a little jig to drill the holes for the wing mounting struts. The forward pair meet at the bottom of the bulkhead between the cockpits, and need to be the correct distance apart, at the correct height above the fuselage. I drew up a little card template. The edge is the centre of the cockpit, where the struts meet, I marked the height of the wing spar and the distance from the cockpit centre at which the struts met the spar, then simply drew a line between the two. When the template was slotted over the fuselage and aligned, I could simply mark where the extended line passed through the fuselage and drill the holes. As it turned out, I think the fuselage is a little too shallow. The struts pass through the fuselage in the correct place as measured against the drawings, but to get the correct width at the top, they don't meet at the bottom. Not too desperate as only someone who knows the aircraft intimately (and looks inside!) will know, and it will look wrong if I match the bottom and have the tops too wide. I've also prepared another little jig to help with positioning and trimming the tops of the struts when they are fitted permanently... They have been put to one side now as I want to get the fuselage painted before fitting them. To that end, I have also given it a quick blast of Tamiya White as a primer. As expected, there are a few areas needing a little more attention, but considering the nature and extent of the "surgery" I'm surprised at how well it's turned out! On another note, the engine arrived yesterday too... . What a beauty, I just hope I can put it together without breaking anything! Ian 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Hi Ian Fantastic job mate, I have to admit the work on the fuselage had me hiding behind the sofa wondering whether it was safe to come out yet ! cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted October 1, 2017 Share Posted October 1, 2017 Clever work on the struts and the primed fuselage really looks good. Cheers Jaime Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted October 2, 2017 Share Posted October 2, 2017 12 hours ago, limeypilot said: On another note, the engine arrived yesterday too... . What a beauty, I just hope I can put it together without breaking anything! Ian Ian, that engine looks to be a beaut! No wonder you bit the bullet and ordered one. I am wondering about changing my mind now... The rest of your work is great too, and what a neat solution for aligning your struts, a great idea! Cracking job, Ray 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Elegant lines on this one. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 That Milliput made all the difference! This is shaping up really well - what you achieve with some of these kits is pretty miraculous. I strongly approve of the simple jig - always useful tools which make life so much easier and the model more accurate to look at. PS following your recommendation, my Small Stuff engine(s) arrived today - for other projects in the future! They are truly models in their own right. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 4, 2017 Author Share Posted October 4, 2017 Thanks Ray, John, and P! This is the first time I've seen a Smallstuff engine up close, and it really is a stunning piece of work! I shall be sorely tempted to use them on other models with totally exposed engines! After tidying up those areas that needed further attention, the last job that needed doing before another coat of primer went on was to add the decking between the cockpits and round off the corners. A piece of .010" sheet was cut to length and the corners were added with a round jewelers file. The area between the filed corners was removed with a scalpel and the piece was glued in. Mr Dissolved Putty was added to ensure a good blend, and was also used on the remaining corners. When dry, it was cleaned up with the jewelers file and a sanding stick. I'm happy with that. So another coat of primer..... It's looking good at the moment, I'll check on it again later! Ian 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehed Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Looking good. A very slender fuselage that as you said has definite FBA overtones. Got my attention. Regards, Steve 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted October 4, 2017 Share Posted October 4, 2017 Completely agree with Steve - you are making an excellent job of this one Ian. I am riveted too. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 I agree: beautiful lines and looking good Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted October 5, 2017 Share Posted October 5, 2017 Superb modelling Ian . The reshaping was brave and really transforms the look. The decking is a work of expert micro-filing. The tiny jigs are duly noted; thanks for sharing this technique Looking forward to the next instalment. Best regards TonyT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zebra Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Fantastic work Ian. There's some brilliant modelling going on in this group build! Looking forward to more of this Z 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted October 6, 2017 Share Posted October 6, 2017 Top work on that (re)shaping work there Bravefile. That is looking absolutely lovely now. Very much enjoying your work here Ian. Tony 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 On 10/4/2017 at 2:05 PM, stevehed said: Looking good. A very slender fuselage that as you said has definite FBA overtones. Got my attention. Regards, Steve Thanks Steve. FBA bought the rights to Donnet's designs, so the initial FBA's were in fact licence built Donnet's, and the design was developed from there. Hence the similarities! On 10/4/2017 at 5:52 PM, pheonix said: Completely agree with Steve - you are making an excellent job of this one Ian. I am riveted too. P Many thanks P, I had a feeling this might be "up your street"! On 10/5/2017 at 6:53 AM, jrlx said: I agree: beautiful lines and looking good Cheers Jaime Thanks Jaime! On 10/5/2017 at 1:41 PM, TonyTiger66 said: Superb modelling Ian . The reshaping was brave and really transforms the look. The decking is a work of expert micro-filing. The tiny jigs are duly noted; thanks for sharing this technique Looking forward to the next instalment. Best regards TonyT Cheers TT! Glad you are enjoying it, and it's always nice to know that ideas are useful for others! On 10/6/2017 at 5:33 AM, zebra said: Fantastic work Ian. There's some brilliant modelling going on in this group build! Looking forward to more of this Z Thanks Z, I totally agree about the quality of builds in this group build, it is very impressive! On 10/6/2017 at 10:37 AM, TheBaron said: Top work on that (re)shaping work there Bravefile. That is looking absolutely lovely now. Very much enjoying your work here Ian. Tony Many thanks Tony, glad to have you along! And without further ado, here is the next update! The fuselage has undergone a lot more work since the last update, mainly just cleaning up the last few traces of the surgery, and repriming, then repeating. It's as good as I think I can get it now, so on with the painting! I'm not certain that my usual method of painting wood effect will work on such a large surface, but I'm going to give it a shot - I can always repaint it! I'm also hoping to add a little variation between the ply panels on the sides. First off was a coat of the base colour. I've used Misterkit CDL as usual. I then masked up the panels. the plan is to paint the sides one panel at a time, then mask them off and do the top and bottom surfaces as one piece each. The first panels were then painted with thinned ModelMaster Leather acrylic, using a 15mm flat brush. One stroke over each panel, then after a minute or so, another, until I got the look I wanted. Since I will have to mask those to paint the other panels I'll leave that now, probably until Saturday. The tricky bit is going to be getting the panels similar, but with just enough difference to be noticeable if looking closely. To that end I may leave some of the panels unmasked and do it in stages so that I have a reference to work from. Thanks for looking in, Ian 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 Very nice painting Ian - lets hope that stage 2 of the painting goes well. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TonyTiger66 Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 I like the wood grain approach Ian It reminds me of a ‘Woodgrain Paint Kit’ that I used to make 1:1 kitchen drawers look a little nicer, some 20 years ago. It comprised a base coat; almost exactly the same shade as your CDL; then almost a ‘jelly’ like coat of a leathery orange colour, and the kit also included ‘combs’ with which to create ‘grain’, by dragging creatively over the ‘jelly’ cost. It was quite fun! The Mrs. T of the time was impressed. I was impressed at not having to buy expensive new kitchen drawers ! Back OT, I have a 1:72 Klemm L-25 that needs this kind of effect on most of the fuselage (quite a dense, rosewood/dark grain); so watching with interest to see how yours goes. Very well by the look of it . Best regards TonyT 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 12, 2017 Author Share Posted October 12, 2017 Thanks guys. Those draws sound very interesting Tony, anything that impresses the other half is a good idea! Well, I did the other panels and I'm not too unhappy with how they've come out, especially considering this was more of a proof of concept than anything else.... The front panels look fine, I'm very pleased with those, but the rear ones are not, so I'll probably do those again. A coat of clear orange over the top should tie it all together nicely. Ian 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 I like the wood effect very much! Very well done! Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted October 12, 2017 Share Posted October 12, 2017 That is an interesting technique and certainly quicker than using oil based paints. Clear orange varnish does help to tone things down and give a better overall effect. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted October 14, 2017 Author Share Posted October 14, 2017 Thanks Jaime and P...here's the final "wood" installment..... Today was the day to try to put it right..... I gently sanded down the upper front panel, and the rear three on both sides, and repainted those, then did the underside, which left me with this.... That looks far better to me. The rear panels were done horizontally. I'm not too happy with the underside, but since it's not going to show I'm not going to redo it! Then the final touch, a coat of clear orange to tie it together and give it a more of a varnished wood look.... I'm very happy with that! Could it be better? Absolutely! One of the biggest problems in this scale is getting the wood right. It probably looks a little over scale, but to get it closer would mean virtually no contrast and just a plain orange-brownish colour all over, so I'll settle for what I have. It has also given me a much better idea of what needs to be done to achieve this effect and I will be much more comfortable when I get to doing some of the wooden German two seaters. Thanks for looking in, Ian 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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