Karl Posted April 26, 2015 Author Share Posted April 26, 2015 I've found myself with a bit of spare time so I'm pushing on whilst I can!! The kit has little or no surface detail so I've scribed in the panel lines. There appears to be no definitive guide to what panel lines actually appear on TB1 - even the studio miniatures were different to each other, so I had a look at various models and pictures and just went with the ones I liked best. Scribing the flimsy rocked body was fun.. I also marked out and drilled the underside to accommodate the vertical lift engine. I made the engine bell from the end of a random fuel tank from the spares box and then stuck that in to the hole and blended it in. Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted April 27, 2015 Author Share Posted April 27, 2015 (edited) I was looking at the nose of the craft to see how this was to be attached to the rocket fuselage and noticed a bit of a shape issue. TB1 has a very distinctive nose-cone profile that is certainly not a straight cone shape. So, the part as it comes out of the box: What it needs is a bit of a waist I think: So I attacked it quite aggressively with a motor tool and sanding drum and, after checking around using a profile I'd made from cardboard to make sure the shape was consistent: Much better Karl Edited April 27, 2015 by Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted April 28, 2015 Share Posted April 28, 2015 Nice to see some fresh progress and new pictures there. The nose cone looks just the part now looking forward to seeing this completed John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 Building the Fuselage. I decided to attach the rocket body to the main cylinder fuselage; this would make it much easier to install and align the internal bulkheads and then the wing section later. When the glue had set from the above stage and after a little fettling, the bulkheads were installed in to the fuselage halves. Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 3, 2015 Author Share Posted May 3, 2015 (edited) The wing. Thunderbird one has a variable geometry or swing wing arrangement. The wings and bulkheads are designed in such a way that it would be really it scratch build a simple gear mechanism and drill some pivot points and your are off. However I was displaying my TB.1 with the landing gear down and the wings will not swing much in this configuration. I was also concerned with the strength of the wing so I opted to try and make the wing as rigid as I possibly could. I scratch built a wing-box and drilled out pivot points as if making the swing-wing option, however I glued the wings to the wing-box and installed a couple of braces to stop them from moving. I then glued the upper half of the wing-box to the assembly and left it to set. You'll note the rectangular cut out's in the bottom of the wings; this is to accommodate the white metal landing gear later. Karl Edited May 3, 2015 by Karl 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted May 3, 2015 Share Posted May 3, 2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted May 5, 2015 Share Posted May 5, 2015 looking very good - I hope you will consider setting T1 on a diorama once finished - T1 was my favourite of the 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 5, 2015 Author Share Posted May 5, 2015 (edited) looking very good - I hope you will consider setting T1 on a diorama once finished - T1 was my favourite of the 5 Well, it's going to be landed horizontally so it would probably be out in the field at some disaster site... perhaps on a road with one of the Airfix wrecked Italian Town House kits in the back corner. Mmm.... Look what you've done - you've got me started now!!! Karl Edited May 5, 2015 by Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 11, 2015 Author Share Posted May 11, 2015 (edited) I'm back to work after my week off so progress has slowed down again, however I've been working on the connection between the two main assemblies. I had noticed that when I was balancing the front section at about the point of the main landing leg it was very nose heavy, so I thought I would try and combine the two issues in one fix. I decided on a large Hex bolt epoxied in to the lower half of the main fuselage. I then found a piece of brass tube that would slip over the bolt. this brass tube was then installed in the rear fuselage using epoxy. The brass tube fits over the bolt easily; when I assemble it I will give the bolt a generous coating of epoxy and slide it in to the brass using enough epoxy to fill the small void. The actual contact area of the plastic is almost a perfect fit and in near perfect alignment. Karl Edited May 11, 2015 by Karl 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted May 13, 2015 Share Posted May 13, 2015 Hi Karl Great to see more of Thunderbird 1 once more. You have really gone the extra mile to make this kit more than what it could simply have been built straight from the box. Please PM me if you ever consider selling your completed T1 later on in years to come once you have enjoyed admiring it yourself - I have never bought someone else's work (usually I build requested commissions) but I would love a well made T1 in my collection - I know that if I buy this kit I will never get around to building it. All the best with the remainder of the build. Looking forward to seeing her completed Thunderbirds are Go.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 Hi Karl Great to see more of Thunderbird 1 once more. You have really gone the extra mile to make this kit more than what it could simply have been built straight from the box. Please PM me if you ever consider selling your completed T1 later on in years to come once you have enjoyed admiring it yourself - I have never bought someone else's work (usually I build requested commissions) but I would love a well made T1 in my collection - I know that if I buy this kit I will never get around to building it. All the best with the remainder of the build. Looking forward to seeing her completed Thunderbirds are Go.. Thank you for your kind comments, however I'm not sure I'll ever want to sell it! If I ever do though I'll let you know. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 16, 2015 Author Share Posted May 16, 2015 I have added the little winglets to the rear fuselage. These were originally intended to be attached with a simple 'butt' joint, however I drilled and pinned them with some brass rod to give them a little extra strength, especially given the the lower winglet contains the rear landing foot-pad. This is free standing so I guess I got the balance right. I have also closed up the front fuselage halves and attached the nose cone. The joint wasn't too bad, but it still required a bit of filler at the front. I also skimmed the nose in filler to help eradicate all of the sanding marks from when I re-shaped the nose cone profile. The picture was taken before I attached the rear winglets. Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 17, 2015 Author Share Posted May 17, 2015 (edited) I've sanded back the filler and re-scribed some of the panel lines that had gone astray. I thought it was time for a little dry run so I put all of the sub-assemblies together for a few pictures before painting. As previously mentioned, the landing legs were of differing lengths so I cut off the original foot pads and made some new ones - I was still working on them at the time of these pictures: Karl Edited May 17, 2015 by Karl 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HL-10 Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Great work! You're really turning the model into a masterpiece 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted May 18, 2015 Share Posted May 18, 2015 Great work there - good to see T1 coming along nicely again. Its quite a generous sized kit too - the bigger the better 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted May 27, 2015 Author Share Posted May 27, 2015 (edited) I've used my usual Halfords grey primer on the model as a base coat and to highlight any areas that still need more filling and sanding. I did three or four rounds of filling - sanding - priming until I was happy with the surface. Then I gave the primer a light rub down with 1500 grit wet and dry paper. Then it was out with the old air-brush and I gave everything several coats of Humbrol 56 Aluminium. Next, after the paint has gone fully hard, it will be on with some Blue and Red! Karl Edited May 27, 2015 by Karl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete in Lincs Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 F.A.B.! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Womby Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 Looks superb. David 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sgt.Squarehead Posted May 28, 2015 Share Posted May 28, 2015 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted May 29, 2015 Share Posted May 29, 2015 Great to see T1 getting closer to her final glory - keep up the good work 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 (edited) Made quite a bit more progress but haven't had chance to post it up! After the Aluminium was dry it was time for a bit of colour - namely some blue and red. After some considerable thought and a good look around the paint stash I decide ton Humbrol 174 Signal Red and Humbrol 109 World War 1 Blue. I masked off the nose cone with tape and then a polly bad for the fuselage and did the red and then, when dry did the same thing for the opposite end and sprayed the blue. For the engine section I hand painted the blue strip around the front and then free hand painted both sides of each of the fins with their blue leading edge. When fully dry, I gave everything a couple of coats of Johnsons Klear ready for decaling. Edited June 4, 2015 by Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted June 4, 2015 Author Share Posted June 4, 2015 When the clear was dry, I had a go at the decals. The decal sheet itself was very yellow with age - it's probably about 25 years old by now. The carrier film was very yellow although the white looked OK. As it's the only decal sheet I have to do the job I had to try and use it. I was only going to use the white lettering and black stripe; the blue stripes and fin parts would be painted. I could cut around the carrier film to get rid of most of that yellow but the other worry was that the decals would disintegrate in the water so I gave them all a good coat of Microscale Liquid Decal Film to give them a bit of support. I started with the engine section, and carefully cut around the decals. They kept together in the water really well and I used more Johnsons Klear to glue them to the surface as I expect the adhesive wasn't up to much! Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gimme Shelter Posted June 8, 2015 Share Posted June 8, 2015 nice update there Karl That reminds me, I need to catch up on the latest episode of TAGo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted June 13, 2015 Author Share Posted June 13, 2015 This one is the final picture in the work in progress before I complete the assembly by bringing together all of the components in the picture and giving the model a final over spray with Klear. All of the decals have gone on OK although I was careful to cut out as much of the yellow as I could. The large No. "1" on the drum section broke in half but I still managed to bring it together. Not bad for decals that are a good 25 yeas old. I might do a bit of subtle weathering but not much as I like the way it looks now. Karl 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl Posted June 14, 2015 Author Share Posted June 14, 2015 My Comet Miniatures Thunderbird 1 model is finally finished!! Ready For Inspection - Comet Miniatures 1/72-ish Thunderbird 1 Cheers. Karl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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