airscale

aww thanks chaps - so nice of you to welcome this build so enthusiastically I am really looking forward to it and so far all seems to be going well - I got a bit more done today adding more strength to the fuselage in a jig to keep the spine straight until it's all set.. ..also chopped out the cockpit area and thankfully the brass bracing structure that mirrors the real one (the lower beams are a bit overscale thickness for strength) seem to have worked and it is all quite rigid.. ..even put a mock up IP in it, though the real one is sloped slightly.. having fun TTFN Peter

With apologies to my P39, it is time to nail something new together... I was inspired by the exquisite models on show at Telford to go back to old school model making. My P39 started as an experiment that proved I could make a whole airfame in 3D, but after a long break from any modelmaking as I focused on airscale I found it hard to pick it back up.. Add to that a chance conversation with my friend Torben at SMW about subjects that could inspire me, he mentioned early racers and a bulb in my head went off :). Both he and I like ther S5, but the S6B has so many attributes that suit me - one being it is all metal rather than fabric winged and the other being that the real one is accessible at the Science Museum in London... So here we are... S1595.. ..a beautiful machine.. ..with inspiration in place and many hours of trawling the internet for images, I set off for London to get reference pics - unfortunately it is really badly lit, but 457 pics later I had enough with the disparate plans I found to start drawing out shapes... ..the rear of a float for example.. ..and this aeroplane is covered in a LOT of rivets, especially the wings as the surface doubles as the radiators (which were removed from the slipstream for streamlining).. typical is the float again... ..though where I have been doing complex cockpits in previous models, this one is pretty simple.. ..still room for 3D though, this will become the fuel tank under the instrument panel.. ..with drawings created, I made lots and lots of parts from 1mm card & 2mm cores... I also designed a 3D printed matrix with the bottom of the fuselage and the top of the floats to set the angle and give strength to the struts.. ..the cockpit is going to be tricky as there is just skin and very small thin formers so for now it is part of the core and with brass 'U' channel running down the sides where the real one has a strengthener I hope to cut it all away later ..the 3D core in the fuselage includes holes for the wing spars and you can see on the forward end one of the holes for 3mm brass rod for the strut cores (the other is just visible under the back of the wing).. ..Same for the float tops, though the scars from me getting the angles wrong on the first pass are visible here.. there is also a slot running around it to centre the cores... ..and assembly has started, the fuselage is super slim, literally the size of the engine cross section - the shape will be created by filling the gaps with hard sculpting foam and a skim of P38 filler before skinning.. for now there are just placeholders for the engine blisters as I need to refine the drawings - they are a complex shape.. so that's it - underway with a new project and I am glad to be back at the bench TTFN Peter

Howdy folks, In advance of the Airfix re-release of this fabulous kit, I have spent many happy hours creating a set of parts to take the kit to the next level - it's a huge set, for a huge kit and includes: Pilot's Seat, Gunner's Seat, FuG Vll Radios, Throttle Quadrant, Trim Unit, Pilot's Switch Panel, Control Column, Rudder Pedals, 2 x Oxygen Regulators, Mainwheels & hubs,,Tailwheel & hubs, MG15 Rear Gun, 2 x Fuselage mounted Ammo clips, 4x Rack mounted Ammo clips, Revi 12C Gunsight, Exhausts see if you can spot them all Available here and details of what is included after removing 3D printing supports Hope you like it until next time Peter

have been pushing the envelope a bit and am starting a new airscale Pro range... These sets have everything I can find in the cockpit and fit on my biggest fret, so they are a bit like how I make my models The first in the series is for the new Trumpeter TBD Devastator and will be ready in about 4 - 6 weeks and is available for pre-order @ £26.95 this is the kind of set I wish people made, so hopefully you will check them out So that's the first 'Pro' issue, suggestions welcome on what is next TTFN Peter

evening ladies Well, I got to my favourite part in the build - the cockpit & instrument panel 😍 I don't know why, but I have always enjoyed this the most, I guess thats how airscale started.. I just got in a groove so no in progress pics, but the parts are made from PE, 3D, custom decals scaled up from our own airscale ones (of which I have about 100 sets now eek), wire, plastic, metal, some hiroboy switches and some of our metallic placards ...first up a control box on the left side of the cockpit which includes a bunch of circuit breakers.. ..next, the centre console which includes an RAF radio fit - no idea what it is but its in the Pilots Notes pictures ..the left hand instrument panel switch panel & mount.. ..then the right hand side panel & mount including UK oxygen fit.. ..for the main instrument panel, it sits up and proud under the windshield and I think a lot of gubbins can be seen (unless covered by a canvas boot thing) so I made it as it can be seen.. ..loved doing it and think I could just make these instead of whole areoplanes.. TTFN Peter

evening folks good spot - perhaps I was standing on my head at the time ..it's an easy fix so thanks & will do that.. so a random wander around what has been going on lately... I 3D printed a buck to vacform the windshield, upper canopy and rear glass and then filled the buck, sanded, filled a few more times until I had a master good enough to cast in resin... I will try and get this vacformed as it is too big for my little dental machine.. ..then I made the instrument panel mounting frame and two emergency door release handles.. ..then I built a small house.. ..in fact, it is a jig to hold the cockpit skin as I thinned it so much it was transparent, so with it in place on the airframe, I built a jig around it so I know when I am done it will fit right back into place.. ..then I skinned the inside and started detailing it.. ..on this side is the throttle mount sticking out into the door aperture.. ..and the other side.. ..I rolled out a strip of lead until it was super thin and then stuck down templates for all the seatbelts needed for the RAF sutton harness.. ..these were then assembled with PE hardware.. here seen with maskol on the PE bits.. ..and painted & added to the seat.. ..the seat was added to the rollover bulkhead, and that bulkhead added to the skin in the jig - this gave it enough strength to be able to cut most of the jig away.. ..and finally, these are all the components prepared for the throttle quadrant.. ..and after assembly.. ..and where it sits on the mount.. ..I should get the instrument decals next week, so soon I will get to my favourite bit of any model - the instrument panel TTFN Peter

evening ladies been getting a little more done... ..the rudder pedals and structure is nicely detailed in drawings.. ..and from here a bunch of parts were made up, including pedals, hangars, brake cylinders and the support beam.. ..which were assembled, painted and given some scuffing.. ..that structure then mounts to a forward bulkhead with 'bins' in it for the pedals to traverse into.. ..I also made up the control yoke and cover from brass and thin sheet lead and while the paint was out painted everything what i thought was 'bell green'. I tried the hjairspray thing and had painted everything YZC first but for some reason it didn't make any difference and the MRP paint is well and truly on there... ..the canvas cover was quite hard and sits under a retaining clamp as per the original - when the yoke is installed I will tidy up the join at the stick.. ..painted and scratched up the seat.. ..and the main structure is starting to come together.. lots still to do in there TTFN Peter

Hi folks Beautiful weather here in the UK for a change so I decided to ignore it and spend some time at the bench 😎 modellers are a wierd lot.. Hi Richie - I get it here - I have no idea how to navigate their website, but the stuff I buy is called 12 X 16 X .0055, SC Plates in a box of 100 sheets; Long Run Premium I bought 100 sheets a couple of years ago and have a lifetime supply ..change of tack, I started the nosegear bay... ...the big silver thing in the middle is a chute for the cannon shells, but I had to cut the top off as I need to get a big lead weight in all the remaining space in the nose.. ..and the other wall with a main circuit box.. ..dry fitted.. ..and when complete the whole assembly will slot into the nose.. ..shot it all with MRP zinc chromate.. ..and weathered it a bit.. ..and taped together.. some compromises needed to be made for the nosewheel leg mount which in my model is in the upper fuselage, in the real one it is below the propshaft which travels through the star shaped thing on the right above.. ..will work out fine and no-one will ever know 😎 TTFN Peter

evening ladies thanks for all your kind words I have been busy doing airscale stuff for the new HK A20G so not too much time for building... that said, I have a few bits done - this is a nice shot of the P39 floor and shows the tunnel through which the driveshaft travels. the control yoke has a fitting that also allows this so is a bit complex under that boot.. note the tunnel flares out at the point it meets the column so that needed doing and the big structure next to the column is I think an emergency hand crank for the U/C.. ..I made a buck from brass and P38 and shaped annealed litho for the tunnel.. ..the crank was made from PE with a brass bush and a bit of filler.. ..and the tunnel can be seen here, not that you can see it with the seat in place.. ..other bits that were made include the forward bulkhead that has box like sections for the rudder pedal area and the seat mounting struts, the forward tunnel and the blank for the switch / instrument cluster between the pilots legs.. ..also made the rear deck - again this is why I spend so long making PE as it makes for easy assembly.. ..and the bits sort of where they go.. ..and thats it for now, hopefully get a bit more done soon TTFN Peter

Hi again I was doing an experiment and it got completely out of control... In thinking about what to do next, I am a bit limited in it needs to fit in a 55cm sq display cabinet and I love working from drawings but apart from whats in Aircorps Library they are thin on the ground. I looked at what's in there (which is loads) and went for the, I think much maligned and forgotten P39. Technically advanced and actually an interesting airframe to take on given the mid engine & nosewheel, plus the doors to the cockpit allow all of it to be seen 😎 I sort of got the bug for it.. in preparing & thinking about it, I was worried about the noseweight needed to stop it being a tailsitter so I thought 'what if I 3D print the tail section..' - this seemed straightforward given the fairly consistent oval cross section.. ..well in 2 days I had designed the fuselage based on drawings... now I am no Rhino expert but using some of the most basic shape forming processes got me here as can be seen by the messy 'creativity'.. ..I can't do complex shapes like the fin tip, or fillet, but basics seemed to work.. ..I also needed a subject, and I think you guys and I might be getting a bit bored with bare metal so while it will be skinned, it will also be painted.. My last two models were USAAF so this one will be AH601 of 601 Squadron. They operated the P39 (P400 version) for a short while and actually only completed one combat mission, but nonethelesss, it works for me.. I was also curious about what, if anything the RAF did to lend lease aircraft in order to make sure mine was accurate - I needed look no further than the Air Ministry Pilots notes... embelished with lovely pics of the wireless fit and the sutton harness..they also carried a 20mm instead of the 37mm prop cannon.. ..having got into a bit of 3D design, where I previously did wheels, spinners etc for my other models I thought why not try getting a printer and trying that yourself too, so after watching Youtube a lot I settled on the Elegoo Saturn 2 and 8K resin printer which with all the stuff including a wash & curing station came in at about £800. I think this will open up the world to my model building and actually will be a business tool for airscale as I look to grow it. Its a steep learning curve, but I just made my first print of the spinner, the fishtail exhausts and the 20mm cannon.. ..the detail is incredible and I am very happy with this for my first calibration - just look at the cooling fins on the 20mm - this is about 1.5mm diameter... ..the other thing that has kept me busy is preparing the PE for the model - I have never done such an extensive set and this lot is about 900 parts across three nearly A3 sheets.. every one is from the factory drawings which is what gives me the most satisfaction.. now as for printing the fuselage parts, I was given a Flashforge Adventurer 3 for Xmas by my son in law and the bits were printed in PLA which is horrible to work with - it doesn't sand very easily but is incredibly stable & strong. I have now got some HIPS which I am told is better so will try that. The parts were broken down into substructures which fit within the 15cm x 15cm x 15cm print bed and took about a day to print. I also designed in square holes with 5.3 degrees dihedral to accept brass square spar sections ..the upshot is that in 3-4 days, I got a structure that is strong, light, accurate and represents what would have taken 6 - 8 weeks using traditional methods.. ..enough waffle, I guess you want to see it.. so, after a few days I had had a go at a few other things - mainly learning how to modify shapes - I found a tool in Rhino called 'Cage Edit' which basically allows you to for example create a ball and deform it so much it becomes a wingtip ..any competent designer would have a coronary if they saw what I was doing... I think the problem with 3D is knowing when to stop.. I reprinted a new nose and tail that incorporated a nosewheel mount and keyed & slotted areas to accept a new rudder & stabilisers - also printed these in resin not HIPs ..wings were done in sections to as close as I can get the tips - again with brass mini spars.. ..and a quick skin with P38 and a shot of primer and in a week I had an airframe.. ridiculous really.. ..onto the PE and the floor first which on the real one is many layered panels, so as per the original thats how this was made.. a small plunge moulded bit was made for the nosewheel cap.. ..the seat was next, this had some PE and the rest scratchbuilt - the rolled edge was made of fuse wire.. ..the rollover structure was a laminate of PE onto a 3D resin bulkead and the wholde thing dressed with Meng nuts.. ..the trim control box was again PE and resin parts.. just resting together here.. ..and it's good to be back in the 'pit and thats it for now - about 12,000 more parts to make.. TTFN Peter

thanks all Right - it's done... started 29 December 2021, finished 9th May 2023 so 17 months in the making... there are still a few bits to do - mainly the flaps - jury is out on these as while I spent a lot of time making them, I have not seen one picture with the flaps down at rest so I may just close them up... Max on LSP helped me out with the masks and they were perfect (thanks Max :)) & lots of bits done in the last weeks to get it pretty much done. i really enjoyed the build and learned a lot so here are some pics... so thats it onto the next one - which is a 3D experiment with very few skills that has got totally out of hand.. thanks for coming along for the ride TTFN Peter

howdy folks thanks for all your kind comments - very inspiring after a few weeks getting my next project underway with 3D design & print & huge PE frets, I am back to the P40... it's been lots of little jobs including... ailerons - these were 3D printed blanks then skinned with very thin plastic card scored with a ballpoint for the ribs and then decal ribtapes.. ..the underside is ready for the US ARMY markings when I can get some masks done.. ..wingtips - these are different to ones I have done before in they have an upper and lower panel sandwiching a frame.. stabiliser and fin tips.. ..the unit marking.. ..the nose guns.. ..the mainwheels were 3D printed, painted and a litho hub made up.. ..and the tailwheel & fork.. ..I can't stand it on it's gear yet, as they just rotate on their mounts, but it is nearing the finish line.. all I really need are the masks so i can paint the markings, in the background I am making the gear doors, pitot tube and bomb sway braces, but in terms of construction there is not much more to go.. TTFN Peter

Brilliant - excellent job so far and very interesting to watch bravo Peter

evening ladies thats an interesting question Richie - it's early days so yes, right now it's very rewarding and I cannot get over how quickly things can be made - plus they are super accurate so if I think about how I would make a wing with a core, ribs with the middles missing to allow for the core, add foam, filler & sand, by the time I have finished the rib section bears little resemblance to the original wheras this way it is 100% to the drawing so that is satisfying. I also like there are no real limits - any part could be made this way really and where last week I thought I would make things the old way, now I am looking at them thinking 'do I have to?' i think it is just a different skillset, but the rewards for me at least are the same so, it has been a few days and I have had a go at a few things - mainly learning how to modify shapes - I found a tool in Rhino called 'Cage Edit' which basically allows you to for example create a ball and deform it so much it becomes a wingtip ..any competent designer would have a coronary if they saw what I was doing... I think the problem with 3D is knowing when to stop.. After some great advice not to use PLA but use HIPS, I reprinted a new nose and tail that incorporated a nosewheel mount and keyed & slotted areas to accept a new rudder & stabilisers - also printed these in resin not HIPs ..had a go at the airscoop - you can see the limitations of my skills - I know the cross sections of the scoop are right, but I strugged to blend it into the skin and keep it's correct position - nothing a bit of filler and sanding can't sort out.. ..the tailfeathers had keys to hold position with each other and holes for brass mini spars to ensure location and preserving a perfect crucifix.. ..wings were done in sections to as close as I can get the tips - again with brass mini spars.. ..and a quick skin with P38 and a shot of primer and in a week I have an airframe.. ridiculous really.. ..so much to learn, so many possibilities... Peter

Now don't slap me... I have not shelved the P40.... I was doing an experiment and it got completely out of control... In thinking about what to do next, I am a bit limited in it needs to fit in a 55cm sq display cabinet and I love working from drawings but apart from whats in Aircorps Library they are thin on the ground. I looked at whats in there (which is loads) and went for the I think much maligned and forgotten P39. Technically advanced and actually an interesting airframe to take on given the mid engine & nosewheel, plus the doors to the cockpit allow all of it to be seen 😎 I sort of got the bug for it.. in preparing & thinking about it, I was worried about the noseweight needed to stop it being a tailsitter so I thought 'what if I 3D print the tail section..' - this seemed straightforward given the fairly consistent oval cross section.. ..well in 2 days I had designed the fuselage based on drawings... now I am no Rhino expert but using some of the most basic shape forming processes got me here as can be seen by the messy 'creativity'.. ..I can't do complex shapes like the fin tip, or fillet, but basics seemed to work.. ..I also needed a subject, and I think you guys and I might be getting a bit bored with bare metal so while it will be skinned, it will also be painted.. My last two models were USAAF so this one will be AH601 of 601 Squadron. They operated the P39 (P400 version) for a short while and actually only completed one combat mission, but nonethelesss, it works for me.. I was also curious about what, if anything the RAF did to lend lease aircraft in order to make sure mine was accurate - I needed look no further than the Air Ministry Pilots notes... embelished with lovely pics of the wireless fit and the sutton harness..they also carried a 20mm instead of the 37mm prop cannon.. ..having got into a bit of 3D design, where I previously did wheels, spinners etc for my other models I thought why not try getting a printer and trying that yourself too, so after watching Youtube a lot I settled on the Elegoo Saturn 2 and 8K resin printer which with all the stuff including a wash & curing station came in at about £800. I think this will open up the world to my model building and actually will be a business tool for airscale as I look to grow it. Its a steep learning curve, but I just made my first print of the spinner, the fishtail exhausts and the 20mm cannon.. ..the detail is incredible and I am very happy with this for my first calibration - just look at the cooling fins on the 20mm - this is about 1.5mm diameter.. ..the other thing that has kept me busy is preparing the PE for the model - I have never done such an extensive set and this lot is about 900 parts across three nearly A3 sheets.. every one is from the factory drawings which is what gives me the most satisfaction.. ..they are with PPD being made.. now as for printing the fuselage parts, I was given a Flashforge Adventurer 3 for Xmas by my son in law and the bits were printed in PLA which is horrible to work with - it doesn't sand very easily but is incredibly stable & strong. I haave now got some HIPS which Tim tells me is better so will try that. The parts were broken down into substructures which fit within the 15cm x 15cm x 15cm print bed and took about a day to print. I also designed in square holes with 5.3 degrees dihedral to accept brass square spar sections ..the upshot is that in 3-4 days, I got a structure that is strong, light, accurate and represents what would have taken 6 - 8 weeks using traditional methods.. ..enough waffle, I guess you want to see it.. ..to say I am amazed is an understatement, and I wonder where it will end - I may make the whole thing out of 3D! ..anyways, it's just a side project for now, but thought I would share it TTFN Peter

thanks fellas so... part three of the transparencies - with two done without issue, this canopy hood surely would be the screw up.. ..started by steaming & draping some PETG over a form - the shape is constant so that made it a bit easier, then from drawings determined the shape.. ..also started making framing from litho.. ..spent time scoring the middle of the frames onto the hood.. you might just be able to see it.. ..started with the bottoms and the ends.. ..and then it happened - the inevitable... as I was finishing up for the night, I went to wipe some fingerprints off, and they wouldn't move... I tried CA debonder and acrylic thinner, both of which seemed to leave no mark but these were not shifting - I even tried polywatch which is for polishing scarred watch faces but no luck... ..I still don't know what happened, but it meant the part was scrap and time to start again.. ..I ordered some latex finger cots, but they were a few days away so I experimented by cutting the film from the PETG where the frames were and then CAing parts to it... it seemed if a brand new blade was used i could splash about CA with no weeping or damage to the glass... ..so with that, I made a new one and cut everywhere I had to attach litho.. ..as long as tape wasn't used, or I did anything to lift the edges this should work.. ..then spent a day adding the frames inside & out - there must be 50 parts to it... ..the interior was harder and included the emergency release handle.. ..then I primed & painted it with the blue masks in place.. ..I can tell you it was a twitchy moment pulling the blue stuff off, but thankfully it worked really well.. ..still more to do, including the lower fairings but I am really glad thats all over... TTFN Peter

evening folks Hi PR - no, its very unlikely I will go back to the F7F - it was my first skinned model and I see to many flaws in it now - plus I just can't bring myself to scratch another R2800... Thanks Antonis - always a pleasure to see you drop in my friend I haven't Marklo, but I will look it up now as sounds like something I could really use so, round two of the opportunity to screw up, otherwise known a transparencies.. ..now I have done the windshield, I am two for two so far, so that means I WILL screw up the sliding hood.. I tried vacforming, that failed, then I realised that apart from the top cap of the windshield it is one linear wrap around sheet of perspex, so I tried clamping PETG to some sticks and holding it over a steaming kettle to then drape over the windshield mould... ..by keeping good pressure and pulling down and in, i got it to conform eventually.. ..I started to fettle it to fit the fuselage and built a card jig to ensure it is the right space from the seat bulkhead and at the right jaunty angle.. ..this is my bird, and thankfully it doesn't have the big slanted armoured glass, just two tie rods and a square gunsight thing... ..seing that makes me think I probably should have fitted the floor gunsight projector thing in the cockpit.. ..this is the sight thing mounted straight on the glass.. ..also note the emergency hood release button (the black dot) on the cap of the windshield.. ..you can also see the tie rods either side of the big glass plate I thankfully don't have to make.. I added a vacformed cap to the windshield and the rear frame etch and set out where the sight plate went and took my life in my hands and drilled 4 holes in the glass.. ..I made up the sight from brass and a plate with the tie rods.. ..the rubber grommets in the windshield were just blobs of paint pushed through the holes and cleaned off.. ..and all assembled with the emergency release cable hanging loose.. ..the winsdshield was then added to the airframe carefully with blobs of CA and a constatly running airbrush blowing air to prevent white fogging.. ..the panels were also added, but I have no photos until I masked it up for the anti glare panel (painted MRP super matt black - just about my favourite paint - it's bulletptroof..).. ..and having added the canopy rails & fairings its time for a little tour.. ..probably do the sliding part next... TTFN Peter

evening folks Thanks for all your kind comments, they really inspire me to do my best next up on my model submarine it was time for me to face my nemesis.... ..transparencies - I hate them... they are just a gift wrapped opportunity to screw up in my experience.. thime for the rear vision glass on the fuselage.. ..the panels have a small bit of curvature so I made up a buck from profiles of the airframe I used to build it.. ..filled the gaps with foam and covered in P38.. ..I tried vacforming on this, but as usual got bubbles and distortion so in the end I just used a steaming kettle and pushed the buck into a bit of foam so get the side panels.. ..the riveted former seen here needed to be made to get the right shape where the glass meets the canopy.. ..made a template and bent it from brass, then drilled & added the rivets.. ..then made the outer skins - I had made these in PE, but they were too stiff and slightly off colour so I remade them and painted the insides green.. ..also made the headrest from milliput and the mounting plate / brackets.. ..so the first step was to add the former - I cut a slot in the fuselage to take it - that way I knew the profile was right and the structure looks like it might do that anyway.. ..then the glass was added - the borders edged with a black sharpie as it 'thins' them.. ..then the top fuselage skin was added and here taped ready for glueing, the cockpit sills and lower window panels.. ..then the I spent 2 hours $hitting myself while outer skins and frames were added.. ..oddly, it went quite smoothly, but I have the windshield and canopy to go so I can promise you there will be a senior moment along the way TTFN Peter

Thank you everyone, much appreciated 🙂 thats a project I will go back to at some point, when I have more drawing data and have come to terms with painting my models the next sub component was the prop... ..I started by cutting a brass sheet blank and adding telescoping tube to provide the mount and the strength.. ..this was then filled with P38 and primed & sanded multiple times to get one decent master.. ..that master was used to create an RTV mould - I only had a little bit of plasticine so really I made the mould too small so the castings were not great, plus they had parting lines & holes where there were bubbles.. ..these were then filled & sanded.. .and then after about 4 sessions of filling, sanding & priming I had 3 good blades.. ..they were painted with a mix of alclad steel & aluminium after Waroff (a P40 expert on LSP) confirmed the early P40's had unpainted steel blades.. ..and on the airframe.. ..theey still need the data panel at the root, but I will do that when I get dry transfers made for the rest of the airfame notices.. TTFN Peter

thank you chaps ..back to the undersides and it was time to paint and sort the undercarriage... these had been made in brass months ago.. all shot with alclad matt aluminium... ..since then I added the pinions which I had 3D printed... ..painted, assembled & weathered.. ..there are still many components to make, but a test fit in the airframe.. TTFN Peter

evening ladies Hi Rob - it gets pretty heavy, I would say a kilo or more... next up are the flaps...these were designed in PE a long time ago, so it was time to assemble them.. ..lots and lots of folding.. ..about half the ribs adeed.. ..and then completed - each had the cap strip added which I have to say was about the most horrible modelling experience i have had for a while.. ..then the skins were made - there are 1,800 rivets in both - I know because I drew the layout and counted the objects.. painted and with torque tubes & fittings added.. so thats them done... and while there is still a great deal to do before this is complete, my eye has been wandering like a drunk at a wedding to what I might do next..I have a couple of parameters I think - 1) i need drawings, it's like my little drug..2) It needs to fit in my expensive show cabinet @ 55cm square... happened upon this scheme when the Planes of fame F8F took it's first flight - a bare metal Bearcat.. ..it's got me thinking.. i wanted to do a Sea Fury, but no drawings and its too big, so this might keep me happy for a while longer TTFN Peter

thank you all - very kind Oh yes it will be NMF, I have yet to paint one of my models which kinda limits the ones I can make so i guess the next one will be... I have considered all of those and am thinking about whats next now - the biggest problem is drawings - I would do a Sea Fury in a heartbeat, but I have been quoted £4k to get the drawings! I use Aircorps library as they have access to all drawings of certain aircraft for a small monthly fee, but there I am limited to F6F, F8F, P47, F4U, F4F, P63 & P39 and i have done two american birds on the bounce now so fancy something different so, pressing on, I made the elevators the same way as the rudder and then added all the rib tapes with solid decal - this is about my least favourite job in modelling - it truly sucks... still, got it done and after many washes with micro sol & micro set I was happy the adhesion was as good as I could get it... in some places like where the trim tabs are, there wwas a bit of creasing, and some bubbles, and it took about 3 days to work through all this and get it all fully dry.. ..after priming, the rudder was painted with MRP insignia white and progressively masked to match a scaled version of a photo of the original aircraft.. the masking was all fine, just took a lot of care and 'de-tacked' the tamiya tape by sticking it to the palm of my hand first, also all edges were cut with a fresh scalpel blade.. ..all the mounts & torque tubes were made, plainted & added.. ..same process for the elevators, but these were just shot with alclad... ..and mocked up on the model.. ..not sure whats up next, will have to be a surprise TTFN Peter

thank you chaps ..to conclude the obvious cliffhangar that was making the rudder core, but saving the skinning - I did that today... ..first the drawing was amended to show where the rib score lines were and the visible rivet heads under the fabric - this was then stuck to thin plastic card - I guess it's 0.10 or 0.15 slaters or plastruct.. ..these black lines were then run over with a biro and the rivets a pin in a pin vise.. ..the leading edges were rolled around a tube to make them curve and enough fat left on them to roll around it.. ..then a thin layer of evo stick contact cement on all surfaces - no blobs or it melts the thin plastic.. ..and the skin is laid down & trimmed at the centreline to meet the other side.. ..i plunge moulded the bottom cap as this is metal and added the rivets, then the edges were sanded & blended.. ..the subtle effect of the scoring on the reverse side to make it look like fabric can be seen here.. no need for fabric effect as when the real ones are doped and painted these surfaces are generally smooth.. ..I have some decal sheet on order and will do all the rib tapes & edges with that - it needs to be able to take a lot of masking tape though for the red and white stripes so we will see how it holds up.. TTFN Peter

thanks chaps Had a day off today and with Mrs airscale out & about, I got to start another part - I settled on the rudder as it makes a change from skinning.. ..started by creating a drawing from the plans with profiles & rib sections - although the GA drawing for the ribs is really washed out so I couldn't make much of it out ..this was stuck to brass sheet with Pritt Stick- I like brass as it keeps its shape when working and gets a really nice sharp trailing edge ..you can see on the drawing there is a torque rod right the way through the lower leading edge which also needs to be factored in.. ..it's easy to cut out the shape with a dremel & slitting disc cutting down into a sheet of balsa.. ..all of the rib positions etc were transferred from the drawing to the blank ..you can also see the trim tab has been largely cut out, but not removed, and the little hole at the top where a big rudder horn connects from the fin.. ..the torque tube was added by soldering in a tube (with brass end caps to stop the tube flooding) and then cutting out the gaps afterwards.. ..the known rib sizes and profiles I could determine were added from brass sheet.. ..all the structure was added from plastic stock and a blob of P38 filler.. the trim tab must be done too so it can just be broken away later with exactly the right profile.. ..the structure is then shaped with a sander and files until the profiles are hit.. ..a shot of primer helps get a good feel for how it is shaping up.. ..next up, skinning it with thin plastic sheet, scored with a biro at the rib positions to get a light catenary effect TTFN Peter

afternoon all thanks for your kind comments I managed to get the wing fillets done - I have shown skinning many times so today is just the work as it stands ..also got most of the undersides done.. ..not sure what i will do next - maybe the windshield & upper cockpit skinning, maybe the rear glazing, maybe the control surfaces.... still lots to go TTFN Peter