richdlc Posted June 9, 2014 Author Share Posted June 9, 2014 also got the carburetor done, photos to follow.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazyeagle Posted June 9, 2014 Share Posted June 9, 2014 Time for me to throw all my models out, ditch the workbench and watch this master at work..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 *update 10th July 2014* Hi again - time for an update.. I've spent the past few weeks working on the rear of the engine. It's been a frustrating time, as I have tried to get images of this area showing how all the wires and tubes hook up. Most of my photos are like this: Lots of exterior details, but no views of the heart of the accessory compartment. I can see glimpses of certain wires, but have no idea where they begin or terminate - very frustrating. I have enlisted the help of a couple of people who own Skyraiders & requested photos - however they are busy people, and until they get back to me I can only build what I can see. I have used a little guesswork here and there (for example with the carburettor) but there is still a lot of work to do. Here's where I am up to as of last night: Hopefully by the next update I will have been sent the images I requested & finished the rear of the engine. I can then concentrate on the front end! Comments and questions welcomed as always cheers, Rich 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
One-Two Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Mega-cool work. Love the Spad. Thanks for sharing your work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted July 10, 2014 Author Share Posted July 10, 2014 hey thanks, I'm glad you like it. As is often the case, a lot of this will be hidden, but I felt it needed to be added Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harrypotter Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 That is all Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skids Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 One day in the next 500 years maybe just maybe I might gain enough skill to produce something with about a quarter of this talent.......... nah who am I kidding. Superb work there, keep it up Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthemodeller Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 That is all What he said (or didn't say, as the case may be)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dreamcatcher Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 That stressed skin is marvellous - notes duly taken! Tom Jeeee.... i'm speachless That's a wonderfull work you are making... Congratulations ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
general melchett Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 Lovely stuff fella, great attention to detail and I agree with Tom.........the stressed skin really does look the part, (sorely tempted to have a go on my B52F methinks...). Looking forward to progress Melchie... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Crusty one Posted July 10, 2014 Share Posted July 10, 2014 only one word i can use....GOBSMACKED!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted August 15, 2014 Author Share Posted August 15, 2014 *update 15/8/14* Hi guys - a quick update. Whilst waiting for some detail photos of the engine bay to arrive from my contact, I decided to tackle the canopy control system and the rocket motor for the Yankee ejector seat. Here's a couple of pics so you can see what needed to be done: Here you can see the rocket motor on the right hand side - the cables run along a cable guide and disappear into the back of the seat. I'll add the cables at a later date. I made all the necessary parts from plastic sheet, strip and rod, pewter sheet and some fuse wire of various sizes. As usual, everything is made by eye so there may be some parts that are either slightly over or under scale. and a quick check to make sure the canopy still fits over it all! It should be noted that there is usually a canvas boot covering the left side of the entire assembly. I found a photo in Squadron Signal's Walk Around book showing it removed from an A1-H. Although it would probably be unusual to remove it, I couldn't resist showing off the detail. More to come soon - I'm currently experimenting with casting the engine cylinders from resin, all very mysterious but rewarding.. Rich 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spookytooth Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Totally bonkers!!!!!!! Amazing stuff mate. Simon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris W. Balmer Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Insania lol!!! Triffic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Bloody hell this is good stuff. Proper modelling. I doff my hat to you sir. Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
snapper_city Posted August 15, 2014 Share Posted August 15, 2014 Top drawer work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthemodeller Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 That looks superb - keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted August 16, 2014 Author Share Posted August 16, 2014 many thanks guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted August 16, 2014 Share Posted August 16, 2014 Rich, Lovely work. But, You have to wonder who on Earth designed such a thing! Presumably it's an afterthought as there is no room behind the seat for a proper rail system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) *update 21/10/14* Hi again. This will be my final update on the big Spad as it is now FINISHED! I'll talk you through the final stages of construction, painting, decaling and weathering… My last update had the main parts assembled and primed for painting. After that it was a simple case of slapping some colour on the model (or so I thought). I'm still relatively new to airbrushing, but I was quite pleased with how the 3-tone SEA cam came out. At first I was stressing about some touch ups I brush-painted in various places. However, two things helped calm me down - firstly, the extreme fatigue that a tropical climate has on paint schemes (requiring constant touch ups and cleaning) and secondly the fact that a few coats of future helped to even things out considerably. Unfortunately I forgot to check the separate errata sheet that Zotz includes with its decal sheet (my model depicts 'Miss Eileen' of the 1st SOS) - the designers had noticed that some of the tan markings were wrong on the initial instructions. I only realised this much later (doh!) - so some of the tan paint you see on the left rear of the fuselage isn't the correct pattern… I also made a mistake with the commanders stripes on either side of the fuselage. I found the Zotz decals to be pretty thick, requiring lots of setting agent (no disrespect intended to the designers). I also found that the shade of tan didn't quite match the one I used. I decided that it would be easier and look nicer if I painted these markings on, which I duly did. Unfortunately, after masking off stripes on the right hand side, I then removed the wrong masked ones to paint the markings! So the stripes on the right hand side are 3mm further back than those on the left. Oh well! I made yet another mistake when I used the wrong tail codes - Zotz provides replacement codes for erroneous ones on the main decal sheet, again mentioning this on the errata sheet. I simply missed this bit of info! After accidentally screwing up the erroneous codes too (don't ask) I decided to hand-paint the tail codes using home made masks. I think the end result is that they look more realistic (well, to my eye anyway). They are slightly haphazard, and look 'painted on' - which was my intention. They just lack the tan surround that they are supposed to have, and which is correctly shown in Zotz's replacement decals. Again, I decided it wasn't that bad. And if I hadn't mentioned it, you wouldn't know, right? :-0 One final error occurred when I gave the tailplane a coat of dullcote. The left side was fine. The right side frosted horribly. I decided to sand it down with very fine sandpaper, and now it just looks like 'washed out' and faded paint (er, I think) - in fact it's quite a pleasing effect, and if I had more time to experiment I might have tried it elsewhere…. but it's a risky tactic!! Once painting and decaling was complete, I turned to weathering. The Skyraider has distinctive exhaust stains, in some cases this is very extreme and gives the aircraft it's own 'weathering' along the fuselage sides. Add rain streaks and oil spillage (the engine was notorious for leaking oil) and you have a recipe for a very dirty plane. If you recall, I added 'oil canning' to the aircraft. I also riveted the entire airframe where applicable. I therefore had ready made 'troughs and peaks' over which to apply the exhaust / oil stains. On the Skyraider, the stains stayed on the 'peaks' and skipped over the 'troughs' in the fuselage skin. In extreme cases, the whole fuselage side was a mass of black stains. Here's a picture to illustrate what I mean: I started by masking off the 'troughs' and then airbrushing a dirty black / brown mixture on the fuselage sides. Whilst it was still drying, I started to create the streaked effect. Because the masks I used had straight edges, I had to blur them. The whole process involved removing / thinning the exhaust stains until I was happy. At a later stage, pastels were used to feather certain edges. A brush loaded with slightly diluted Raw Umber oil paint was held in from of my airbrush nozzle with the airflow set to about 25 psi. This spattered oil paint all over the place, and it was then blended in as appropriate. The end result is one filthy mess. At first I was concerned I'd overdone it (it's very difficult to get right) and I know it won't be to everyone's taste. However, I know that crew chiefs either kept the aircraft very clean….or they really let it go. Most Skyraiders show exhaust / oil stains somewhere in between the two extremes. It's important to note that the engine wasn't considered to be functioning properly unless it was leaking oil. Coming from an armour background, I couldn't resist making this one dirty, leaky engine. After all, the small vignette I have planned will be called 'An Overdue Overhaul' (I've already ordered the name plaque to be made! ) I found out from my source at the Tennessee Aviation Museum that he often has the Skyraider's dive brakes open whilst performing maintenance. So I can categorically say that Skyraider models with open dive brakes are NOT unrealistic (provided they are shown in context I guess). Unfortunately, I gleaned this information at a very late date, by which time I had already glued the ones on the fuselage sides shut…so all that nice Eduard etched detail is forever entombed inside my Spad… I did manage to leave the lower fuse dive brake off until I'd finished everything else (as the recess makes an excellent place to grip the model) so I depicted it as open. As Skyraiders were originally USN machines, I figured the inside must be red. Even if I'm wrong, it adds a nice touch of colour. Anyway, I'm waffling. Here are some photos of the finished model. The removed wing will be displayed on a small trolley I'm scratching at the moment. There will be one figure on the base to show scale, as well as removed engine panels. I'll update the thread once the vignette is finished. you can see more pics in the ready for inspection forum cheers! Edited October 21, 2014 by richdlc 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 (edited) .. Edited October 21, 2014 by richdlc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brianthemodeller Posted October 21, 2014 Share Posted October 21, 2014 Jeez - that is superb! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted October 21, 2014 Author Share Posted October 21, 2014 thanks mate - I updated the wrong thread with pics - I've moved all the others to the ready for inspection forum thanks very much for the kind words! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now