Iain Ogilvie

Now - back to those wings... Earlier on I'd posted images of the assembled wings - minus the removed flap areas. The flap areas need boxing in - both for neatness - and for strength. I wanted to get these boxed in before smoothing and truing up the wings. Photo below shows the Starboard wing (upper in photo) with new styrene sheet sections added - and Port wing (lower) withe the edges trimmed back to the wing surface/rear edge after allowing the Plastic Weld to dry off for 24 hrs. Vertical section is about 0.5mm thick - horizontal is 1.5mm - wing now a lot stiffer - and straight along the rear edge. Flaps will need to be drawn up in CAD and printed on my 4K resin printer - and will be fitted in the fully up position - so no detail needed inside the flap area. Easier to cut sheet over-size and trim back - note that rear edge is not the trailing edge - that will be formed by the flap sections when eventually fitted. Below is the Port wing - which has had everything trimmed back and a start made on sanding everything flush along the wing surface - in this case using 60 grit Glass Paper on a flat surface - a la vacform... Hopefully get some of the 'low' areas on the wings filled and sanded later in the week. Model on dudes! Iain

More finessing on the nose section - now with a few layers of Filler Primer applied for final shaping. A few blemishes filled with Revell Plasto filler. These parts spend their life in the warm airing cupboard when not being worked on - to ensure that every layer of primer and filler is properly dried off at each stage. As the nose is a very obvious/most looked at section of any model it's important it's as good as I can get it. Back in a mo... Iain

Wasn't aware there was one at Telford Kev - but reassuring to know that it looked good! I'll have to see if I can track down some photos now... Iain

A little more progress on the shaping - slow, but really rewarding! There'll be another coat of grey, followed by some high-build yellow filler primer to follow - but these show where the 'cheeks' have been sanded through the outer print layer - and the area subsequently filled with polyurethane casting resin: Hopefully make a start on the rear 'capping spars' for the wings this evening. Iain

Thanks Anthony, Having slept on it - I might go a different route at some point in the future. Really enjoying seeing this one come together though!! Iain

That looks absolutely stunning! Iain

Thanks for the heads-up on that - order placed! Iain

Wow - just read from start to finish - the Javelin is one of my favourite aeroplanes. Cheeky Q - did you put your designs up on Cults, or similar, for purchase? I'd love to do a Javelin in 1:32 one day - FDM printed main airframe, and resin printed details... Iain

I'm really looking forward to Anthony diving in with his Andover - I blame him for this one Zac! Iain

EDITED: Sorry - just read the "not currently in-production" in the first post - ignore me! Iain

How did I miss this! Great work so far - will look a peach when done. Any more progress? I did express interest in the kit when it was being developed - but I appear to have missed ordering one - I guess I'm too late now... Iain

Thanks for the responses all - I've been waiting on research info for a couple of years - so having most of the photographic material I needed there was no excuse. Let's see if I can keep the momentum going by doing a little each week.... The possibilities offered by 3D Design and Printing technology are really exciting IMHO. Model on dudes! Iain

Building the 1:32 HS.780 Andover at the moment - with the LACI nacelles/engines/props - and really enjoying it! Iain

And that would send the cost skyrocketing - as well as making things a lot heavier and bonds more brittle. FDM is absolutely the right process for the larger kits/scales - with details done on a resin LCD/SLA printer perhaps. I use both an FDM and LCD printers here - playing each to their strengths. I even have a complete 1:32 Boeing P-8A Poseidon I'm working on - airframe parts printed on the FDM printer in HIPS - strong, light and easy to work with. I'll do the detail parts on my resin printer. There's no way on this planet I'd print something that size in resin! The layer lines really are not a big issue - if you have a little patience, a can of primer and some abrasive material to hand. I'm building his 1:32 Andover at present - and really enjoying it - probably the most modelling 'fun' I've had in years. Far easier than a vac, or resin kit - especially for something rather large. The value is very good IMHO - given that you are getting something almost unique that would be almost impossible to justify by any other means. Expect injection moulded quality and you'll be disappointed. Expect a canvas of basic shapes that will need working on and you might be pleasantly surprised - I was. Iain

If you're doing any major sanding with the ABS then 60 grit glass paper works brilliantly - a lot faster than wet and dry - and with more 'ooomph'/'authority' to smooth out high spots. Followed up with 400 grit wet and dry and ready for more primer. Nose shape almost there - have sanded through surface of the prints on either side - leaving holes to be filled - but I expected that - and an indication that the cross section where the two parts are bonded is now closer to the shape on the real aeroplane. From this: To this: Still some finessing of high points/curve blends - but these are to be expected. More when there's more, but hopefully of some use to other Andover builders (in any scale) - and anyone building a model from a 3D Printed set of parts... Iain