Navy Bird Posted December 30, 2014 Author Share Posted December 30, 2014 On 12/29/2014 at 02:59, keefr22 said: I'd guess the long undernose probe is the pitot tube Bill, & the other two look like more antennae - they certainly aren't pitots (unless he's flying backwards!) Hi Keith, They sure do look like pitot tubes for flying backwards! Now I have to add these two whiskers sticking out of the forward observation deck: The fun never ends! Cheers, Bill PS. Not so sure about a three way draw with those JPs. They're quite a bit smaller than a Beaufort, and Fritag started with raw materials that were not as nice as those from Special Hobby. Plus, he built them more than once because he kept dropping them! 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hacker Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Been watching this one with interest. It may inspire me to dig out that frog kit l got in the stash and do it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Now I have to add these two whiskers sticking out of the forward observation deck: The fun never ends! Prickly little beast wasn't she - distant relative of Mr.Procopious maybe....?! Any idea what that bracket was for Bill (the one between the reversing pitot & whisker)? Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hamden Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 Really stunning work Bill, I would never attempt all those airials etc. Not far from the finish line now! Best wishes for the New Year Roger Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted December 30, 2014 Share Posted December 30, 2014 The pitot is the item under the nose on the longish pole. The two items on the sides of the nose are unknown to me. The bracket on the starboard nose is, I believe, a mount for a drift sight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 I'm not convinced the unknown bracket isn't an external field-expedient cupholder, the doughty Australians preferring to feel a bit of a breeze when they reached for a drink. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Would've kept the tinnies nice and cool too...!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 Regarding the two thin whisker antenna poking out of the sides of the forward nose, I have now idea. I asked about them, on a few different forums about ten years ago, but I never got a definitive answer. They are also seen on some Beaufighters. Chris Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted December 31, 2014 Author Share Posted December 31, 2014 On 12/30/2014 at 02:18, keefr22 said: Prickly little beast wasn't she - distant relative of Mr.Procopious maybe....?! That's certainly a possibility. Although as I recall it, Procopius's antennae emerged closer to the top of his head. On 12/30/2014 at 14:50, Hamden said: Really stunning work Bill, I would never attempt all those airials etc. Not far from the finish line now! Thanks! I'm actually glad I added the aerials - I can point to them as proof of my madness. If you're counting, I've only knocked one of them off so far! On 12/30/2014 at 17:50, dogsbody said: The pitot is the item under the nose on the longish pole. The two items on the sides of the nose are unknown to me. The bracket on the starboard nose is, I believe, a mount for a drift sight. I hadn't paid much attention to that bracket until it was pointed out here by Keith. Now that I look through my library of Beaufort photos (which has gotten quite large and may be plotting to take over my hard disk) it seems to be there on almost every shot. I guess that means I have to add it! On 12/30/2014 at 21:57, Procopius said: I'm not convinced the unknown bracket isn't an external field-expedient cupholder, the doughty Australians preferring to feel a bit of a breeze when they reached for a drink. Of course, with a proper length "bendy" straw, the breeze could be avoided. But we can't blame it all on the Aussies, as the cursed bracket is present on RAF Beauforts as well. Nothing can prevent tea time I suppose. On 12/31/2014 at 15:36, dogsbody said: Regarding the two thin whisker antenna poking out of the sides of the forward nose, I have now idea. I asked about them, on a few different forums about ten years ago, but I never got a definitive answer. They are also seen on some Beaufighters. The warning stencil adjacent to each one of the whiskers proclaims "Danger High Voltage." Does that help identify what they are? Cheers, Bill 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted December 31, 2014 Share Posted December 31, 2014 " The warning stencil adjacent to each one of the whiskers proclaims "Danger High Voltage." Does that help identify what they are? " For static discharge? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HOUSTON Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Bill I missed saying a Happy Christmas ..oops... hope it was a good one with your kith and kin. Happy New Year to you and yours as WE say. and your work is SPECTACULAR... Keep it going as NEW YEAR enters this is A work of art and a MASTERCLASS on how to !!! and finally I do like your signature.. there's truth in there ! thanks for a lovely, delightful; fast build.... HOUSTON Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted January 1, 2015 Author Share Posted January 1, 2015 Thanks, everyone! More progress: First, to prepare for the static discharge whiskers (I like that explanation!) Special Hobby actually provide these tiny photoetch pieces that represent a grommet, or insulator, or maybe an insulating grommet! I added these to the side of the forward fuselage at the location where the whiskers will be added later. This grommet is seen here - it's the tiny round, non-painted photoetch part just to the right of the red Danger stencil: Next, I decided it was time to paint the turret. The Montex mask set for this kit has masks for three different styles of turret, this is so the set can be used with any Special Hobby Beaufort kit. This is the main reason I chose the Montex set over the Eduard set - Montex had the masks for the Mk.VE turret. The masks went on very easily and worked well. Then I had one of those "uh-oh" moments. Way back in the beginning of this thread, there was some discussion about the guns in the wings. The late model Mk.VIII Australian Beauforts had Browning machine guns in each wing, and this photo shows the barrels poking out of the leading edge of the wing. As you can see, the guns are slightly above the center of the leading edge. Just to make sure I wasn't looking at a one-off prototype in this picture, I went back and looked at every Beaufort picture I have, and quite a few had the protruding gun barrels. Some seemed to have that location covered up, as if the guns had been removed, but I haven't seen that on the late serial numbers. This photo is A9-700, the last Beaufort built. My model is A9-609, so I think it's fair to assume that it had the guns in the wings. And that means I have to drill some holes, which I should have done a long time ago. Fate was with me. Next, I'll go downtown into center city and see if I can bum a couple of used hypo needles off of some addict in the gutter. Those will work well for the gun barrels. Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, I added a bracket to play the part of the cup holder. And that's it for this year! First thing next year, I have to add the Yagi aerials (they're all ready to go) and those whiskers. Then I'll finish up the turret and some more fiddly stuff and we'll be done. Whew! Cheers, Bill PS. Come to think of it, at some point the props have to go on too! 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Next, I'll go downtown into center city and see if I can bum a couple of used hypo needles off of some addict in the gutter. Those will work well for the gun barrels. This sort of resourcefulness is the hallmark of a true modeller. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keefr22 Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Let's see, what else? Oh yeah, I added a bracket to play the part of the cup holder. Bill Nice cup holder Bill. Sorry for pointing it out...!! Just needs a can of XXXX in there now...!! I have to admit I don't think think those 'things' are static discharges - they tend to be wicks on the trailing edge of flying surfaces. And you do get high voltage antennae - they look more 'radioish' to me - maybe linked in some way with all the other gubbins on the fuselage. But I'm just guessing! Happy New Year! Keith Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 1, 2015 Share Posted January 1, 2015 Happy New Year Bill! Hope 2015 finds you well. Yet more superb progress. Your attention to detail is second to none! Kind regards, Stix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted January 2, 2015 Share Posted January 2, 2015 The 'whisker' and AN-65 (pitot-like aerial) antennae are associated with ASV radar. I think the 'whisker' is the transmitter (hence the high voltage warning) and the AN-65 is the receiver. Similar aerials can be seen on Liberators in the SWPA. It's not a well researched area - if anyone has a full description, please let us know. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 Hi mates, Yes, I'm still working on this model. It's turning into my life's work. So let's catch up and see what today's chapter brings. First, good old Center City never fails. The very first bum I found was more than willing to donate some used hypo needles in return for a bottle of hooch. (No, not really, it's just a joke, I have no idea where the drawer full of hypo needles came from.) Anyway, I think they make nice gun barrels or whatever was sticking out of the leading edge of the wing in that photo. They probably should be a different colour, though. Must think about that one. It was now time to tackle the whiskers. Special Hobby give you three of them, but I got lucky and only needed two. I shall retain the third, as I suspect that somewhere along the way, one of them will go Zing! From the reference photos, it seems that the whiskers are perpendicular to the fuselage surface, which means that they appear to angle forward a bit. Next up were the supports for the underwing Yagi aerials. I decided to use the resin supports after all, and repaired the one that I broke. I painted them up with Foliage Green, and a coat of Alclad Flat Clear on top. I posed them with the photoetch antennae from Special Hobby and my Eurobuck for scale. Something didn't look right though, so I went back to my photos. Like this one: The two uprights on the support should be closer together, especially when you look at the size of the support versus the size of the antenna. The antenna should be longer than the support, and the front end of the antenna should be forward of the angled upright. Assuming that the photoetch antennae are the right size, and I can say right now that I'm going to use them regardless, I have to modify the supports. So I did. Like this: It's not going to be perfect, but I think it will be a closer facsimile than if I used the supports as they came. I suspect the antennae are a bit undersize, and I needed to compensate for that in the supports. The uprights are probably too close together now, but the antennae match better. Now, for some reason the antennae are angled relative to the centreline of the aircraft. According to the drawing supplied with the resin pieces, they "toe out" about 20 degrees. I even used a protractor - I bet you young bucks out there don't even know what that is. And I have two of them - one was a gift from Euclid. Here is how the supports look after attaching them to the wings: The antennae themselves were up next, and they went on easily. I kind of like the way it looks. And that is it for today! I believe that I have everything on the bottom that I need to, so I can turn the ship back upright and finish off the remaining few things topside. What a trip! Cheers, Bill 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Procopius Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 1) I really should get a protractor, if only for getting the angle right on limited-run kit landing gears, and to amaze my future children. "We used to trim our nails with these, son." 2) Should you need more hypodermics, I recommend Cisco Red. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graeme H Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Well it's certainly a prickly thing now, amazed you can still find ways to pick it up, lovely work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 You continue to amaze with this one Bill. Quite frankly I'd be scared witless picking it up, or of it having a 'domestic incident'. How will you display/store this afterwards short of laser beams and flak towers? Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dogsbody Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Regarding the small bracket on the starboard nose, I found this image whilst trawling through the IWM site. http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205218894 Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 Those aerials look amazing! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PlaStix Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 A flying hedgehog! Who knew!? Brilliant work Bill. I can safely say I am never going to attempt to build one of these - all those tiny parts would either be bent, lost or stuck somewhere on me if I tried this! You are going to need a nice glass or Perspex case for it when it's finished, with it securely attached to the base. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sten Ekedahl Posted January 3, 2015 Share Posted January 3, 2015 (edited) Beautiful Bill! But looking at the model and comparing it the the photo of the real thing, I get the impression that the kit mounting brackets make the aerials sit too low. I.e. the vertical supports seem to be too long. Looking at the real aircraft, the aerials look to be at the same level as the engine exhaust. On the model they look to sit lower than the bottom of the engine nacelle. Admittedly neither the photo of the real aircraft, nor the photos of the model, are taken from the perfect angle to judge this. So I might be wrong in my interpretation of them. Edited January 3, 2015 by Sten Ekedahl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navy Bird Posted January 3, 2015 Author Share Posted January 3, 2015 On 1/3/2015 at 13:08, dogsbody said: Regarding the small bracket on the starboard nose, I found this image whilst trawling through the IWM site. http://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/205218894 Chris Good find - what do you think is under that cover? Must be something they didn't want the Queen to see! On 1/3/2015 at 13:49, martin hale said: Those aerials look amazing! Martin It really does seem crazy, doesn't it? They are the very definition of fiddly. On 1/3/2015 at 13:55, PlaStix said: A flying hedgehog! Who knew!? Brilliant work Bill. I can safely say I am never going to attempt to build one of these - all those tiny parts would either be bent, lost or stuck somewhere on me if I tried this! You are going to need a nice glass or Perspex case for it when it's finished, with it securely attached to the base. This will go in my display case, which has hinged glass doors on the front. It will be safe, only coming out for contests and club meetings. It remains to be seen how well it travels! On 1/3/2015 at 14:04, Sten Ekedahl said: Beautiful Bill! But looking at the model and comparing it the the photo of the real thing, I get the impression that the kit mounting brackets make the aerials sit too low. I.e. the vertical supports seem to be too long. Looking at the real aircraft, the aerials look to be at the same level as the engine exhaust. On the model they look to sit lower than the bottom of the engine nacelle. Admittedly neither the photo of the real aircraft, nor the photos of the model, are taken from the perfect angle to judge this. So I might be wrong in my interpretation of them. I think it's just the angle of the photos. Looking square-on from the sides, the aerials at right at the same level as the exhausts. I can take a picture to show that. What I have just realized is that I have the aerials mounted too far forward on the supports, they need to be moved back so that the second rod is aligned to the bottom of the angled support. This should be fun! Maybe... Cheers, Bill Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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