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1:32 Lockheed EC-121K Constellation/Warning Star


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Been carefully marking out positions and sizes of fuselage windows:

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Holes so far drilled out to 7mm and 8mm - the latter will be opened out to 10mm diameter. Have used wood drills as these give precision placement on the plastic and a power driver as this turns at far lower speeds than a drill and prevents heat/plastic melting around each hole.

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The nose gear bay all marked out and exactly 2.25 times larger (linear) compared to the Heller 1:72 kit. Need to pour over photos now before I make the cuts to ensure all is good with regard to juxtapositions of windows/doors etc..

More later in the week...

Iain

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Tonight I have mostly been collecting more images of the Wright R-3350 Duplex-Cyclone engines.

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Don't suppose anyone knows where I can find a set of scale drawings for these engines?

Need to keep the enthusiasm going now but it feels like we may just be getting on a roll - hopefully an un-stoppable one.

Iain

Edited by Iain (32SIG)
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Try contacting any of the people who still fly a Connie, i would think they may have something.

Hi Ollie - have made some contacts - was just wondering if anyone had anything lying around :)

That is a monster of a kit. I want to know were will you put it...onces it is complete?

Cheers Mike - live in an old barn and I have a couple of garages with mezzanines - at some point I'll make some deep cabinet space (*very* deep :) ). Alternatively would look nice in a very large glass coffee table (the type that's like a large flat display case) - but would probably be frowned upon by higher authority ;)

iain its the first time ive seen this you are MAD!!!

Awww - you say the nicest things Mark :) (and I prolly have to agree!!)

Does mean that I haven't got much further with my two Hawks in the past week - mia culpa.

Planning some high level plastic chopping tonight when I get home :analintruder:

Iain

Edited by Iain (32SIG)
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Well - I appear to have mislaid a bunch of Constellation books I'd amassed - so need to make some purchases again. But I have found an original service manual for early Connies I had tucked away from when I started - some great drawings in there which will help hugely.

Also found original manual for the R2800 I had stashed away - pity it's the wrong engine! So if anyone out there is rebuilding one? wink.gif

Tonight I've been neatening up the drilled windows and checking the nose gear bay mark out before cutting. Good job I did 'cos I had it marked out 6mm too far forward - so fixing that now.

Hopefully more pix at the weekend.

Iain

Edited by Iain (32SIG)
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Been spending a little time today modding the Tip Tanks, neatening up the nose gear bay opening and cutting away the windshield area to make a master for vaccing:

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Tanks way too long - so marked up and Tamiya tape used to mark straight perpendicular lines. Cut with razor saw and made easier by the foam fill.

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Here you can see the difference

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Edges trued up with the 'T' bar before bonding.

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Thick superglue used to form a strong bond - after ensuring everything straight!

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Canopy area market out with tape prior to cut. Thin superglue run into the joint - just for the length of the joint surface on the area to be removed.

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Out with the razor saw...

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... and Connie's now a convertible! Removed section will be filled with resin and shaped to produce a master pattern.

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Nose gear bay cut out.

More later :)

Iain

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OK - last before bed - all a bit rough - nothing a session with sanding sticks shouldn't cure - but should start to make some more serious progress from now on...

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Crew entry door cut out...

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Lines up nicely with internal floor!

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Foam section under floor - marked out to show nose gear bay cut out. This area will be removed so that the gear bay can be boxed in.

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Start made on canopy pattern - lots of work to be done!

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Pattern filled with resin to provide stable base for shaping.

Maybe some more tomorrow...

Iain

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There's a lot of work, but I'm sure the end result will be spectacular. As the cockpit windows are flat, would it be easier to cut out the window shapes out of flat plasticard and then glue them together for a faceted appearance rather than filing them to shape and get them all symmetrical? You can of course still use filler and Milliput to fair them in to the overhead fuselage and smooth things out...

Jens

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Hi folks - just about to start work again :)

Hopefully you don't mind me flooding the forum with updates - it kinda keeps me going as I feel I have to feed the thread with new stuff. Building something like this it's not individual areas that are difficult - it's keeping overall inspiration/interest up. Hoping this thread will keep fueling progress!

I doubt anyone else out there wants to have a go at the same project - but hopefully it might inspire some to have a go at vacs/scratch building.

Jens - my first plan was to make the windshield with plastic sheet but the moulded shape around this area needs correcting anyway and I was concerned about getting everything perfectly lined-up.

Making a solid pattern gives me the chance to do a lot of fine tuning to get the shape and angles all correct - the cockpit needs to look right as it's such a feature.

Have a share in an industrial grade vac machine - so will make pattern then make a female mould and vac into that so that external edges are sharply defined. On build - one of the panes will be opened up as the Connie had an opening pane on both sides of the cockpit.

Iain

Edited by Iain (32SIG)
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What I meant was to make the windows for your mould from flat plastic to ensure they are the same sizes and shapes between left and right and that the panes end up being sharp while the windows being flat. I always find it difficult to file consistent, flat faces, but maybe that's me:)

Jens

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OK - change of plan today - wanted to start correcting the wings - for span and nacelle spacing.

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First step was to remove the nacelle fairings - each one was a slightly different shape and not a constant fairing into the wing mouldings. Decided to be brave and remove completely so that the wings could be made perfectly smooth and constant section - before going back at some point to the fairings and reshaping before re-fitting. Sounds extreme, but hopefully will make sense.

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Ooops - and the wings are un-equal at the roots!

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Upper wings - nacelle fairings removed.

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Wings marked up (very carefully) and a plan concocted. Will get upper sections sorted first - then worry about undersides which will also need flap areas cutting out. The areas where fairings removed squared off to make it easier to fill the hole with plastic sheet.

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Just working out how much the wings need extending - verdict a nice round 25mm.

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Wing leading edge extended the 25mm with section separated along a line parallel with the leading edge that results in a nice square elongated opening where the nacelle fairing was.

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Both wings extended and drying before I blank off the gaps from behind with more plastic sheet.

More soon...

Iain

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