DJPFlightpath
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Posts posted by DJPFlightpath
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Hi David,
All valid points and I guess this is just one of those wonderful things about our hobby - different people have different ways of doing things depending upon what they feel comfortable with, what they can afford and skill levels, e.g. how many people do soldering to the required level for PE compared to he superglue brigade. (Why don't you write some articles for SAM/MAM on how people should work with PE?)
There is a place for PE in our hobby, I just prefer not to use it but stretch myself (as well as sprue!) with using the more traditional materials and methods. For me the problem with PE is that it's all too often used as 2D flat section to replicate a rounded or double-D section, e.g. (if I remember correctly) in your 24th SHAR set, despite using a few laminations of PE for each side of the ladder the section on the finished article is a squared rectangle, when the real ladders had what I've called the double-D section (take the first D and rotate it through 180 degrees and bolt it to th second one to get what I mean; it's nothing to do with a certain Ms Price!).
I agree with your points about resin, especially the commercailly available dropped resin Harrier intakes in 24th and 48th scales - you can't see the turbine blades through any of them and should be able to! However, for things like 190 tanks and FA2 radomes, unless people use the old scatch built methods, resin has a place.
BTW, the white metal AIM9 bodies I've seen would certainly have been banned by the EU's straight bananas brigade, which is why I scratched my own 24th scale 9Ls using plastic rod and card in well under 2 days.
As I said before, variety is the spice of life!
Cheers,
Nick
Nick,
We have provided links to soldering advice on other threads - but here is the best one. It relates to soldering of railway kits [mainly our own MMP kits] but is equally applicable to any areas where etched assemblies are made and cast metal parts added to them [such as on our large sets] - http://www.7mmlocomotives.co.uk/index.php?...7&Itemid=45
As regards the Sea Harrier ladder - all the ones that I have photographed are flat with all the side edges chambfered [a very shallow double D!]. That is exactly how I'd assemble our ladder - solder all the sections of each side panel up in register to make each one a rigid assembly and then clean up the edges and chambfer them at the same time - this only takes a few minutes. The beauty of doing it this way is that the unit is incredibly strong and all the detail on both the inner and outer sufaces of the ladder sides are in perfect register and much finer that could be scribed onto a bit of plastikard [which would still need to have chambfered edges anyway] - its just that plastikard is so much more difficult to work with in my opinion, it being easier to make mistakes due to the softness of the material.
As far as resin for tanks, stores and radomes goes, I fully agree - those are exactly the things we use it on - including the resin AIM-9Ls in our current 24th Harrier/Sea Harrier Sets. A warped missile cast in metal though can easily be straightened by rolling it of a hard flat surface for a few minutes, just as a resin one can - though in the latter case, after first placing it in recently boiled water.
Regards,
David Parkins
Flightpath
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IMHO the FP set is over-priced for what it is and isn't as accurate as it could be either. But, that's my personal opinion as I'm not a photo-etc fan; I find it easier to work with plastic scraps and other bits'n'pieces and always end up with superglue everywhere but where it needs to be with PE !
Nick,
I think this does, as you rightly say, in many ways come down to a question of the preference of material.
As you state, you do not like etched metal! The fact that you get superglue over the etched parts is telling. In 24th you should really be using solder for some of the etched sub-assemblies in our sets. Then assembly get easier - and very much quicker.
Now I do not like resin! I only use it where it is absolutely unavoidable - thats because of my model railway background, I suppose. It has no 'true' dimensions, a fault it shares with cast metal, although casting alloys have other redeeming features, in my opinion.
One of the main problems with resin is that it is so often poorly cast and comes on huge blocks [often bigger than the part], due to it being drop cast. Many manufacturers use it because it means that they can make all their patterns [masters] out of mixed media such as re-worked kit parts [naughty!], plastic and odd bits of wire. All our masters are engineered in metal. This removes the sub-master stage, which can mean additional shrinkage, distortion and surface pitting - particularly for cast metal parts. Anyway I wouldn't listen to my ramblings as we've only been manufacturing kits for 34 years.
As regards our Harrier GR3 & Sea Harrier Sets being overpriced at £52.90 each [not £60.00 as stated elsewhere on this forum] - the prices have not changed for years [ten years in the case of the GR3 set].
They certainly cannot appear too overpriced to most modellers given the quantity we have sold over the years! This is particulay true if you use all of each set, including all the display accessories that are also supplied - access ladder, FOD guards, wheel chocks for example - not to mention the weapons. If we split all these components up and sold them for a total of £80 no would question it at all.
Of course, if you regard etched metal parts as peripheral to the cast parts in a detail set, rather than being at the central core of it, then I do agree that such a modeller is much better off working with a box full of resin - but then that is almost a different hobby really.
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath
www.djparkins.com
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Oh dear, at three o'clock in the morning I've made another blue! Anyone know the type of matting I was actually referring to? To be fair, it was more commonly used by the RAF.
Possibly Sommerfeld Tracking? This was used at several Advanced Landing Grounds in the UK during the run-up to D-Day.
We do that too!
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath
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Hi Guys,
Been looking around the net for some PSP Plateing in 48th scale... need it to finish off the base for my B-25.
Found a few options, Fightpath look good but seems a bit of hassle to order from them..
Cheers,
Neil
Its not too difficult really - especially as you can also order by phone! We have it in stock - 42 sections in a pack for £10.90
It clips together like the real thing and you can stagger the individual sections of course, to make it go further.
David Parkins,
Flightpath,
www.djparkins.com
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David please dont think that I purposely singled you out, The only reason that i quoted you was that I had recently purchased your "CPU 123s'" for a project and it had just stuck in my mind that you used this designation.
The guidance on a Paveway is properly called a Computer control group (CCG) and is made up of several components each one marked with its ident and one of them is a CPU123. Additionally it has an assembly designation marked as well, so it is easy to read one of the four stencil markings on it and assume that it is the overall designation.
Have you tried a google search on MAU 169?
Hi Selwyn,
Fully appreciate that. I shall not bother to change all our labelling etc. though as most people know exactly what is mean't by it - as you can see from some of the other links - even though its an error!
Best Wishes,
David
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Pete I am afraid you are wrong on several counts
The picture shows Paveway IV a 500lb bomb new into UK service based on a modified US Mk 82 bomb design, it is similar in plan to a GBU 12 but the main visual difference is the hard back clearly visible between the bomb and pylon.
The UK PW II is based on the British Mk 20 1000lb bomb and is not or has never been designated CPU 123. (whatever the man from flightpath says!) The CPU 123 is actually the power section of the guidance (the part where the forward canards attach) the Guidance is correctly designated as MAU 169
Pete I am afraid you are wrong on several countsThe picture shows Paveway IV a 500lb bomb new into UK service based on a modified US Mk 82 bomb design, it is similar in plan to a GBU 12 but the main visual difference is the hard back clearly visible between the bomb and pylon.
The UK PW II is based on the British Mk 20 1000lb bomb and is not or has never been designated CPU 123. (whatever the man from flightpath says!) The CPU 123 is actually the power section of the guidance (the part where the forward canards attach) the Guidance is correctly designated as MAU 169
I bow to your experience naturally but I'm not sure why you singled me out as the sole culprit - as you can see I'm not the only one using this title:
http://www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk/0_Gulf-missions.html - there are several more including the RAF [RAF Yearbook Special - Air War in The Gulf]
Run a google search for CPU-123B & see what you find!
David Parkins,
Flightpath
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Pete I am afraid you are wrong on several counts
The picture shows Paveway IV a 500lb bomb new into UK service based on a modified US Mk 82 bomb design, it is similar in plan to a GBU 12 but the main visual difference is the hard back clearly visible between the bomb and pylon.
The UK PW II is based on the British Mk 20 1000lb bomb and is not or has never been designated CPU 123. (whatever the man from flightpath says!) The CPU 123 is actually the power section of the guidance (the part where the forward canards attach) the Guidance is correctly designated as MAU 169
Pete,
I bow to your experience naturally but I'm not sure why you singled me out as the sole culprit - as you can see I'm not the only one using this title:
http://www.blackburn-buccaneer.co.uk/0_Gulf-missions.html - there are several more including the RAF [RAF Yearbook Special - Air War in The Gulf]
Run a google search for CPU-123B & see what you find!
David Parkins,
Flightpath
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Thanks for the feedback guys
Hannants are showing them out of stock, so it looks like they are the preverbial 'rocking horse poo'
Cheers for now
Andy
Not here they aren't! We have them in stock - both Mk.1 & 2 Sets. Hannants had a load from us recently but have obviously sold them.
David Parkins,
Flightpath
www.djparkins.com
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Morning all!
It was said to have allegedly been inspired by Pablo Mason!
Andy
Andy -
It was insprired by who? Could you possibly elaborate? I only ask out of interest, as I don't remember anything cropping up about a particular person/s being the basis for these figures when they being sculpted [there were actually two in the set - the other was waering his flying helmet]. Itwas all a very long time ago that we added them to our Firing Line range so I may have just forgot.
With Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath/Firing Line
www.djparkins.com
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WTF! thats a howler!
No way would I buy that ladder for £10 when for a couple more I could get the flightpath set.
Julien
Hello Julien,
Only problem is though that our current Lightning Set is matched to the Airfix F3 & Hasegawa F6 kits. This will continue to be available but as I said in my posting above - we will be introducing several Trumpeter-matched Lightning items in the not too distant future.
Incidentally I note that the 72nd access ladder that the OP links to appears to have flat-faced seps to the ladder, instead of circular rungs.
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath
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Try Flightpath
http://home.clara.net/djparkins/fltpath/fpmaster.htm
The complete set is a little more than the Hannants price but you get alot more, or try talking to him to see if you can get just the ladder, my past dealings have always been quite positive.
Cheers now
Bob
Gentlemen,
If you can just shelve those Lightnings for a few months yet, there will be a whole host of Trumpeter Lightning-specific goodies from us in both 72nd & 32nd Scales - AND an access ladder will cost you a lot less than that pro-rata [although it may be part of a pack with some other very useful Lightning display goodies!.
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath,
www.djparkins.com
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It sold this afternoon, very big thanks to the buyer for supporting Help for Heroes, especially if he posts on BM!
Al
Congratulations Al -
This was indeed a generous gesture on your part.
With Regards,
David Parkins
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Hey guys,
I have finally overcome my most considerable modelling challenge to date.....FP Tornado jet nozzles. Thanks to DJP who bailed me out with new parts, and Al for his sage advice.
Here they are, minus paint:>>
Congratulations James -
You have made a truly excellent job of those pipes. I'm very pleased now that we had a spare fret!
Its also an answer to those who doubt that etching is the way to go with tail pipes. You can get the thin edges to the parts & the separation of the individual leaves of the tail pipes in a way that resin could never give you.
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath,
www.djparkins.com
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I should't wrote this... It shame. Maybe I not deserve, to be here.
I just have one copy of TIALD ( not FLIGHTPATH by the way ) maked by by friend.
Many stuff is just not available on our market. Quality is very poor and I will not use it anyway.
OK then - see my PM to you. What you have posted is a first Gulf War era TIALD Pod - as we used to produce and that is all I have to say on that subject.
However - in an unusual act of generosity [!!!] - if you email me with your postal address I shall send you free a current Flightpath TIALD Pod so you can fit it to your Harrier - How is That?
Only one point - don't pass it on toyour friend - just fit it to your model.
Regards,
David Parkins
Flightpath
www.djparkins.com
djparkins@aol.com
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TIALD on the picture is a home made resin clone
Yes Indeed. It looks VERY famliar to me!
David Parkins,
Flightpath
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[quote My only comment would be that the there instructions for all the etched bits (and there's a lot) are more written text than pictures (I can read it's just not as easy to follow
I don't quite see how you can say that there is more text than pictures. The instructions comprise 2.5 pages of text and 4.5 pages of assembly drawings and photos + a hints & tips page of drawings & notes.
What I think you might be missing is that you are mean't to read through the written instructions step by step as you go and apply the comments in them that relate to that assembly stage to that illustrated in the assembly drawings - in the time-honoured method of railway kits.
I personall dislike all modern plastic kit instructions without any written text [only symbols] - I just cannot get my head around them. I find I need step by step assembly text to guide me through. I liked the original style of Airfix instructions back in 1960s, when they also had step by step text that went with the assembly drawings.
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath,
www.djparkins.com
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On the off chance as well that anyone has spare Flightpath Tornado jet nozzles (long shot I know)......
Thanks
James
Firstly - you are in luck - we do have a slightly over-etched section of sheet with some other parts missing BUT with these sets of parts still on [and before anyone else asks - we only have ONE!!!] - so email us with your address & the fret is yours.
Next time though - some advice!
Do not [if you did] try forming these parts freestyle [like with finger & thumb]. Get yourself something like the Brass Assist Rolling Set [made by Small Shop EU] and available here in the UK from Cammett Ltd. This will enable much easier and regular forming of the rings. Basically you have to 'trap' brass as you form a radius into it. A basic rule is that if you allow it to, sheet metal will always go into the very shapes & in the directions you do not want in to! This tool will assist you in that repect. After that you need to get the different rings inside each other reasonably quickly as the assembly progresses, as this gives strength to the whole thing. Getting the rings 'in register' is helped by the fitting of all the parts 6 [folded to double thickness], as they pass through the slots in the rings.
As regards soldering - you make no mention of flux. Have a read of this link - http://www.7mmlocomotives.co.uk/index.php?...7&Itemid=45 - although it deals with soldering railway models [mainly from our own range] the 'method' remains the same.
You must keep your iron clean and use a good flux and so: if you are in the UK, you could do no better than get a botle of the water-based flux available from the same web site - http://www.7mmlocomotives.co.uk/index.php?...1&Itemid=52
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath,
www.djparkins.com
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Thanks very much for the advice David - a lot of new approaches to PE that I have not considered before (the contact adhesive in particular is very intriguing). You are right; that rolling set is beyond my means but now I have a clear idea of what you are suggesting. Thanks for pointing that out too. I will have a look around to see what I can pull together and have a go with the detail set. Best regards, Jack
Jack -
Short of any rolling bars - that Brass Assist Rolling Set from the Small Shop is a worthwile investment - would help the nose ring & the jet pipe parts on the Lightning set for instance.
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath
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Thanks very much one and all for the informative (and authoritative!) responses. I will give these bits a go - this will be the most complicated work I have ever attempted in the etched metal medium and first ever go with nickel. I'll start with the nose ring as I have the Aeroclub ring for back up if I bugger the job.
Is this the sort of contact adhesive you mention David:
http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_U...ntact-Adhesive/
Do you spray it on or will it brush on evenly enough? As for rolling bars, this is all I could come up with:
http://thesmallshop.com/index.php?main_pag...;products_id=12
Is this what you would consider 'proper rolling bars'? As for folding bars I can only come up with the etch mate type stuff, but I guess a similar collection of square and rectangular bits is what I am after? I think I can scrounge the remaining items you suggest at my local hardware store.
I will use this project as a good excuse to assemble a proper photo etch tool kit; I think it will help move me beyond the level of just laminating flat parts and the like. Thanks for all the input and advice. Thanks for the photos Bill; they helped clarify a question about how hot I need to get the part - red hot! I have annealed in the past but did not get it hot enough apparently! Cheers - Jack
Jack -
The link you provide to the adhesive looks OK - I would try brushing it on.
The Brass assist Rolling set featured in the other link is OK too - I have one and it will probably be adequate for the Lightning nose ring or similar items but this link will show you the type of thing I'm really talking about - http://www.metalsmith.co.uk/rolling-bars.htm
I'm not suggesting that you need anything remotely as heavy duty or expensive as the ones shown but the little animation in the top LH corner of the page shows the basic concept behind geared rolling bars. The metal really has no choice but to move through the bars once gripped, resulting in a neat continous curve. The amount of curvature you put into the metal is controlled by adjusting the third bar at the rear of the unit. I've seen Lightweight units of this kind at model railway shows in the UK but I have not done a thorough search on the web for them tonight.
You can certainly make simple folding bars from bits of ironmongery from a hardware store, as you say.
Regards,
David Parkins
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Nothing against your work David, but the sand filter box has smooth rounded edges and corners, not possible to reproduce in PE no matter how good it is. There are just some things you can't do with PE and some things you can't do with resin...
J
Jennings -
Yes - but the etching has been designed to be formed with rounded edges around metal rod of a suitable radius - that is just my point. These radii have been designed into the etching. Obviously some modellers have been making acute 90 degree folds in the etchings instead.
David Parkins
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Um, I might be wrong, but dipping the annealed part in water immediately after heating is called quenching and quenching is specifically to make the metal harder. I've always thought that the metal was heated and left to cool slowly, resulting in a softer, more malleable metal. No offense intended.
Steve
You are absolutely right - I mean't to say that in my previous post. Do not 'quench'!!! Heat it exactly as Bill describes but then leave it to cool naturally.
David Parkins,
Flightpath
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These sets are produced in Nickel Silver - rather than brass, with the latter I've anhealed the parts - by holding over a flame on a gas ring and been able to bend the parts - to form over canopy's etc., with some success.
I'm not sure that that would be possible with N.S, which seems to be a lot harder. NS of course has the benefit of being silver, so no need to paint, but as Graham says the only way that I could think of getting the 1/32nd scale nose ring on to my Echelon Lightning, was to anheal it. I was scared that it would change colour so never got around to using it.
Graham Parkins of Flightpath posts on here, and he will advocate soldering rather than using superglue on these parts. I've yet to bite that particular bullet - but I've seen a particularly spectacular build of the tail pipe parts for the Tornado on here
Bill -
Having been a builder of etched kits since 1974 I can assure you that you can anneal nickel silver - and then re-polish it with a dremel [with some very interesting effects! - great for tail pipes]. There have been postings of our 32nd F15 Tail Pipe set on one of these type of forums - left unpainted from the effects of annealing. We are only talking .008" material here - its hardly heavy engineering!
With the Lightning nose ring you don't have to anneal it - just put it through a set of miniature rolling bars and it will form into a consistent curve and then stick it on with a contact adhesive. None of this is rocket science.
Rolling Bars are available from many model engineering sources and are a great tool for any serious user of etched parts. Same thing with proper Folding Bars. In my opinion these Hold & Mate [sic] type tools are of limited value for any serious user of metal. What you need are proper folding bars & rolling bars + a long smooth jawed vice, steel rule and some really good smooth jawed pliers.
Bite the bullet on the soldering Bill - Whole new vistas of the hobby will open up for you!!!
To the original poster of this thread my meassage is - Go on give it a try, you'll never know until you do!
David is the name BTW.
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath,
www.djparkins.com
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The one that Flightpath does is all PE, which isn't really a good medium for such a structure.
J
Well that is subjective and might well depend upon how confident you are at working with etchings and [preferably] soldering. I think you would be extremely hard-pushed replicate the filter panel detail in resin in the way in which we have managed to [almost without compromise] in .008" brass.
David Parkins,
Flightpath
www.djparkins.com
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My tailpipe soldering effort ended in failure maily because I was failing to get the heat into the job resulting in a very messy dry and brittle joint.
Perhaps some sort of master class would be in order?
Sorry for the hijack Al .
Hi Phartycr0c
I think the trick is a temperature controlled iron with a really fine 'bit' so that you get a lot of heat very quickly to only a very localised area + a really good water-based flux like the one at this link - http://www.7mmlocomotives.co.uk/index.php?...1&Itemid=52
There is also a good article on soldering techniques on this site - http://www.7mmlocomotives.co.uk/index.php?...7&Itemid=45 Though this is a model railway site - the techniques can be applied to any model soldering.
That will give you more info than a bumbling old cretin like me could ever impart!
Regards,
David Parkins,
Flightpath
No offense intended.
F117 @**tehawk
in Gulf War GB
Posted
You are about to have some good luck - email [not PM] me. You can do this from our web site.
David Parkins,
Flightpath