Old Man Posted February 10, 2015 Author Share Posted February 10, 2015 It's looking positively soviet in that white primer. Also looking very good! K It does bear a certain resemblance to an MiG 3, Sir, no question. By the end, when it is under a coating of aluminum foil, I expect it will not have quite such a 'back in the U.S.S.R.' air about it.... Hard work is paying off. Nice work Thank you, Sir. Cockpit area is going to need work, and incidence of the tail-plane pieces is looking pretty dodgy, too. Not much left after that.... One of the weirder ones from my Macdonalds Fighter vol 4 ( & oh boy, the US did do some weird stuff ) so its a real treat seeing this take shape. Looking on with interest. Steve. It is an odd-looking beast, Sir, no question. That is its charm, to my eyes. It is not so weird as some of the early VTOL types that came later, of the Goblin parasite fighter, but can hold its own in mixed company, certainly.... Some kits are more an aid to scratchbuilding than models in themselves. Your attention to detail shows well. Very true, Sir. I do scratch-builds routinely, Great War types, with a few excursions into the inter-war period (though still biplanes). Never tried doing a whole 'modern' type from scratch. The experience leaves me fairly tolerant of of 'craft' efforts that do not come ouit perfect, but this one I feel abuses the indulgence: he could have done a better job before going to mould with this. I rather like it. It would make a great Reno Racer! just think of all those colour schemes that could be invented to suit the long nose. It does have the look, Sir, but lacked the performance. Since it was mostly a test vehicle for a two-stage super-charger with an Allison, its best speed was up high --- it was comparatively slow near the ground. You would have to shoe-horn something serious into it to get racing speeds at pylon heights. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted February 23, 2015 Author Share Posted February 23, 2015 Moving forward here, Gentlemen. First bit was correcting shape of the cockpit opening. This picture from the previous up-date should give some idea of the problem" The sides of the cockpit as supplied taper towards the rear, rather drastically, and they should not; they should be parallel. They also go down too deep in the fuselage. This, combined with a section contour error in the fuselage, opens a way to fix the opening that was relatively simple and easy to manage. The fuselage section of the kit pieces is much too slab-sided and flat-topped. It is pretty nearly a rectangle with rounded corners. The actual section was much more of an oval. By putting broad billets of thick sheet in the recesses of the cockpit sides, it became possible, by sanding the fuselage to something closer to proper section, to get the outer edges of the cockpit opening straight and parallel. The interior edges were trimmed to match. At this point I cut out one of the vacu-formed windscreen/hood transparencies, and with some trimming of the cockpit front, and removal of a good deal of material from the bottom edges of the piece, got it into a shape that can be made to pit. It has to be pressed down to do so, though, it does not simply rest there properly, so I do not have a picture as yet. At this point I decided to proceed to the tail surfaces, figuring their joints would need some heavy primering, and that it would be best to get that done before installing the clear bits. Doing the tail surfaces was, at least by standards of this build, reasonably straightforward. The fillets needed building up a little in at their fronts (done by spots of CA gel), mating surfaces needed some careful custom trimming, but nothing outlandish. Here is the state of play after two coats of primer.... A couple of spots still need a bit of sanding, but nothing serious. Doing the rear transparencies, the next step, will be the real tricky bit of the build, and is going to require some combination of fabricating or seriously altering clear plastic pieces. On the bright side, this is the last major hurdle to the kit, and after this, putting together externals of the super-charger, and scribing/surface prep, will be all that stands in the way of getting this under foil.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 This is superb modelling. I can't wait to see more Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Yes, lots of skill going into this one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 This is superb modelling. I can't wait to see more Yes, lots of skill going into this one. Thanks, guys. More coming now... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 2, 2015 Author Share Posted March 2, 2015 Much thunder, much lightening, little rain...but rain that was very necessary to a particular spot.... Getting the cockpit area into proper shape on this requires a lot of small, niggling work, that unfortunately cannot really be shirked. This is an area where the maker falls off the mark considerably, and aggravatingly. First, the 'shelf' behind the seat is too long, the vertical riser needs to be brought forward by two millimeters or so (this is very obvious in photographs). This requires a piece of thick sheet to be cut to fit in, and then shaped.... Once this was done, I went ahead and made the surfaces of the backings for the side windows better. They should have a 'scallop' shape and need to be smooth, since they need a bare metal finish (the quality of the kit elements here was quite poor, particularly on the starboard side). I cut pieces of thin sheet and fastened them in (one on port-side, two on starboard). I also, as I was doing all this, got the shape of the cut-outs a little more accurate. And now for the seriously fun bit.... The kit has the bit projecting forward over the shelf solid, and it was not, it was glazed (again, very clear from photographs). This was rather tricky. I wound up trimming the whole thing back, facing it with a bit of styrene sheet (I do not wholly trust the resin, it tended to crumble), and putting in projecting prongs of 1mm square rod, which I trimmed and sanded, to serve as frames (fortunately there was a frame here dividing this from the side-pieces). I then cut and bent a small piece of 30 thou clear sheet, and spent some time trimming and sanding it till it slid in between the projecting frames.... Polishing will be completed by dunking this several times in a bottle cap of Future. It is far and away the most delicate and irritating thing necessary on this model, and I was not sure I would be able to make it work acceptably. Making new side-windows will be comparatively straightforward, and taken together, this is the last real hump to be got over before I can begin work on finishing this (getting the surface in final shape, and putting on the foil). I am beginning to figure I will put a pilot in the cockpit to 'plug the hole' before I put on the windscreen and hood piece.... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Good stuff it's taking shape nicely Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted March 3, 2015 Share Posted March 3, 2015 Epic! A masterpiece in getting the best out of a dodgy number. Christian the Married and exiled to africa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Yes, very good progress. This will be something unique. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted March 4, 2015 Share Posted March 4, 2015 Very nice build , it looks good Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 8, 2015 Author Share Posted March 8, 2015 (edited) Thanks, guys. A good deal more progress made this week. I am about where I intended/expected to be, though I swapped the order around a bit: before doing the side windows, I did some re-scribing, aged some foil, and applied some to the under-surface of the wings, and before attaching the windscreen and hood piece I painted and inserted a pilot figure.... The side windows gave no trouble. I made templates out of white sheet, and once these fit, I attached them to clear sheet with double face tape and trimmed the clear to match. The 'scallop' behind them is covered in aged foil. The windscreen and hood piece is from the kit, with a good deal trimmed off its bottom. It does not rest on the cockpit sides, but laps over them, and goes down a bit beyond them, though it rests well enough at the cockpit front. It has to be pressed down to do this, and the first try, with glue on the piece, did not go so well, as it was hard to both set it in and see how it aligned. I pulled it off, cleaned it up, and next morning, pressed it into place without glue on either mating surface, managing while it was in place to put a few little dabs of glue in to hold it as it was. Once this had been set with accelerator I ran more in along the sides and at the front to get all secure. The rather ragged green showing through at the sides will be covered by framing (first green paint, then foil strip). The pilot was kind of fun. He comes from a new Airfix Gladiator, and though it does not really show, I gave him a new right forearm and hand, in position of gripping the control column. The feet match up well with the pedals I put in earlier. I re-scribed only the upper wings and the nose, figuring I should wait till the clear pieces were settled before getting into detail on the rear elements. The undersurfaces of the wing, not having had so many coats of primer, did not need re-scribing. The foil is cheap kitchen foil, aged by boiling with water in which eggshells have been boiled for a while. I use the dull side, with the 'shiny side worked over with steel wool to get a good bite from the adhesive (MicroScale Foil Adhesive). I prepared about one and a half square feet; about a square foot is usually required for a single engined machine. I expect next week I will get a bit more detailing done, and have the whole thing foiled over. Edited March 8, 2015 by Old Man 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 That looks awesome mate I like the idea with the foil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Lloyd Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 That's great. I am interested in trying the foil technique but I'm just not brave enough. Great tips regarding boiling it, may I ask what effect this creates over using straight foil ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted March 8, 2015 Share Posted March 8, 2015 This is fascinating - lots of techniques that are new to me. This is going to end up looking great. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 A great build too follow , look forward to the finish !!! Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 14, 2015 Author Share Posted March 14, 2015 Thanks a lot, guys. Boiling the foil with eggshells takes the shine off, and greys it down in varying degrees, giving it a more 'been in use outdoors' air than it would have straight off the roll. Technique bit me a little this time, unfortunately. One of the things that can happen is a cloudy residue being left on the foil. I rinse the stuff thoroughly when I take it out of the boil, but on one of the sheets I did for this, some remained, and of course ithat was the one I chose to start this last session using (the residue, if it remains, is not always apparent until you have burnished down a little). Also, since I cut with the glue side up and intended surface side down, I can't see the surface of a cut piece till it is on the model. I wasted a good deal of time trying to fix pieces (you can work the foil a little once it is on, but can't work it much, and I over-worked these pieces), and discarding others, before I just scrapped that sheet and took up another one. I had to cover the pieces from the first sheet on the model with a second piece, which is not a problem in appearance but doubles time spent. At any rate, here is how the thing stands now; a bit short of where I had hoped, but squared away and still well on track for finishing before the deadline.... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted March 14, 2015 Share Posted March 14, 2015 Now that is an idea I like old man I may have to try that Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rotorheadtx Posted March 15, 2015 Share Posted March 15, 2015 'Old Man' you're an animal!! Great job knocking out a kit that most people would bin out of frustration. It looks marvelous; kudos for going the extra miles! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Now that is an idea I like old man I may have to try that I highly recommend the technique, Sir: nothing looks quite so much like metal as metal, and while foil is said to be unforgiving of surface flaws (and rightly so), spray metalizers require an even higher standard of smoothness for good effect. 'Old Man' you're an animal!! Great job knocking out a kit that most people would bin out of frustration. It looks marvelous; kudos for going the extra miles! Thank you, Sir. I can get a bit bloody-minded about these things.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 22, 2015 Author Share Posted March 22, 2015 Closing in on the finish as the deadline nears, Gentlemen. Came back with a new batch of foil, and here is how the things stands at present.... Decals are from the kit, and I must say they went down very well, and the outline of the rudder decals was spot on. Wheel wells are in khaki to represent the fabric liners employed, the rest is yellow chromate. Designators remain to be applied, they will be home-made, with dry transfer on clear film. I am going to change subject, to PH102 (8th Pursuit Group HQ section) rather than the 10 ABS subject. I expect I will use undercarriage elements from a Monogram P-36; it will be quicker and easier than the resin parts in the kit. Spinner and prop will be from an Academy Tomahawk kit. With kind regard from the modelling gods, this ought to be done by next weekend.... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wellzy Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Looking real nice ,like the natural metal finish Les Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dazdot Posted March 22, 2015 Share Posted March 22, 2015 Nice work!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Man Posted March 25, 2015 Author Share Posted March 25, 2015 Looking real nice ,like the natural metal finish Les Nice work!!!! Thanks, guys! I will be getting to the bench this afternoon.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted March 29, 2015 Share Posted March 29, 2015 That is a wonderful metal finish. I recently saw a NMF B-24 at a museum and was struck by how much it looked like the finish you've achieved here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skids Posted March 30, 2015 Share Posted March 30, 2015 That is looking great, really like the metal finish Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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