Building a HAS

[bar side]

Paint my wagon.  Or something like that!  A green trolley that still needs the wheels painting & a yellow strip on the frame.  Plus aluminium tanks that need pipes to the control box.  Otherwise we’ll in the way 

 

[bar side]

Got reflective strips on the trolley and the wheels painted.  The tanks are aluminium but need a black band the top.

 

Then the wire is to make the pipes to connect to the control box

 

 

So nearly done

[bar side]

And pipes painted and tanks fitted.  Here with my scratch built US covered trailer.  Think that will look at home with the HAS

 

[bar side]

Quick set up outside with the Lightning.  Always thought that I needed a nitrogen trolley.  It looks right at home

 

 

 

[bar side]

 Ow with most of the ground equipment out of the way - more still on the Mack articulated tanker though - so back to thinking about building an aircraft.  I talked about a long nose Phantom double build (G and E models) and the Bucc is nagging away at me.  But thoughts are turning to the Blackbird.  So I got it out again.  Now this kit was an eBay buy so never entirely sure what you are going to get.  I can only think the person selling this had previously built at least one other kit.  So I now have all the parts for a Blacbird and spares!  Like two extra engines & outer wings.  A couple of noses.  Extra canopies and wheels.  Quite a lot really

 

 

 

 

there is something very cool about a moody low light shot of a Blackbird.  Since I have a purpose built hangar (well half of it & the frames and walls for the other half) with lighting I thought a little lighting in the jet would look good.  Now spy planes don’t tend to be lit up.  Bit counter productive really.  But a little glow from the open cockpit, top & bottom anti collision and taxi light on the nose wheel are all options.  Trouble is the anti collisions need to pulse so would need a different power feed & I could do with keeping wires coming out of it to a minimum.  I will have a think about that.  But scratch building a start cart is on the plan

[bar side]

When you are thinking about putting lights inside a build and you realise there is enough room for the whole torch plus the battery pack

 

 

 

Not many lights on a Blackbird though - logically for a spy plane!  But a cabin light glow, taxi light on the front nose wheel and anti collision top & bottom.  The idea of putting batteries inside does appeal too.  Engine lights?  Maybe a glow at start up but you can’t have canopies open & afterburners lit!

[bar side]

Got some tiny leds in the post tonight.  These are a LOT smaller than previous leds so open up some possibilities.  The smallest are simple lights, the larger one is a flashing set

 

 

using 2 AA batteries

 

 

and having more problems getting these going but anti collision lights anyone?

 

 

The thought include a Blackbird with anti collision lights and a nose wheel taxi light

 

 

And the tiny ones were for the small tail lights on an Eagle

 

[bar side]

So Blackbird anti collision lights.  Not often seen but this is the best I can find

 

 

I wonder about a length of clear sprue with a cap on it, red pant and a flashing led attached to the base inside.  I presume to top light is the same

[bar side]

Got the bits out today for the Blackbird set up.  Something like this

 

I am going to need some new steps and a Blackbird start cart, but the basics are there.  Oh, and a back end to the shed.  So of course rather than starting the kit I started on the back end of the shed.

 

 

I did the side walls before and the roof steels.  So I painted them today and made up the roof

 

 

 

So this should have a front door and a back door.  At the moment there is a plain back wall but it will work for now and I may make another door end up.  So for now it looks like this

 

 

No lights in the back half and more detail needed but it’s getting there.  The outside needs some work.  Well it’s plain card at the moment

 

 

But once it’s got a base it will work to pose the Blackbird.  Here is a Viper for scale

 

 

So some progress.   More to do but back on it

[bar side]

I did some more done on the second half of the shed today.  Basically internally there l needs the outside doing and needs an opening end door to match the front is needed. But it occurred to me that the inside looks like a QRA shed.  So here it is with a Lightning in

 

 

[bar side]

Seem to keep hitting the buffers when it comes to cutting plastic.  Something to do with full time work, teenage daughter and trying to resurrect a social life after the last two years.  But maybe get some time this week.  Until then but more done on the Habu Hut.  One side prepared for painting 

 

 

Both halves have the inside done.  One has lights one doesn’t - not sure if I will change that

 

 

The second half needs a door eventually as the shed opens at both ends.  The second half has a temporary back wall that allows the shed to be posed as half length.  Door something like this from my first mock up

 

 

When done I can have it as one long double open ended shed or two half length closed end sheds.  Well that is the plan anyway.

As to the Habu itself, I have the lights for the nose wheel and anti collision beacons.  Plus the resin seats.  So just need to time for a mammoth rescribe job

[bar side]

Started on the paint last night - got first coat on both but this was at half way.  At least a couple more coats before these are done.  They dried under a load of tins of beans and the like to keep them lol at and stop curling.  Make sure the paint is reasonably dry on the surface first though!

 

[bar side]

Both sides painted.  Think I have gone a bit darker this time but that is fine

 

 

So the two halves together - please excuse the lights power pack.  I might knock up a hut to cover that up.

 

 

I

 

To make the double shed I still need a second front and a second back

 

 

 

But for the purposes of the planned diorama it’s about there.  So need plastic modelling not more of the shed!  Well maybe some more shed….

[Pete in Lincs]

On 10/23/2021 at 1:19 PM, bar side said:

trying to resurrect a social life

What's one of those then? Good luck (and with a teenage Daughter).

Nice shed work. The wood painting has gone well, and the lighting looks good too.

[bar side]

Yes indeed @Pete in Lincs!  We had a couple of comedy show tickets that were postponed for about 2 years - Chris Ramsey and John Bishop plus seeing people who we just haven’t been able to have over.

 

I started doing the wood effect & then found the sheds are metal clad.  But I quite like the effect and it works for a shed that looks agricultural in East Anglia. And I think the effect will work in the posed pictures

[bar side]

Busy day today but had enough time for some more card cutting.  Both halves now have removable rear walls and I have framed up a quick box to hide the lights battery pack

 

 

Started on the second door too

 

 

Just got to clad it and build the steels inside and the bi-fold door

[bar side]

The front is now clad & painted and I have started the build of the front doors.  They will be open the same as the other shed front.

 

 

The doors will get cut in two, edged and the hinges and remaining fixing points added.  Then a few finishing bits and the second shed can get fixed together

[bar side]

Doors now cut in two and edged ready for painting.  Then hinges & attach to the front of the shed.  Then the whole shed can get put together

 

 

The wires will pull through the front and then bend over at 90 degrees to hold the top door & the bottom door will hang below that, pinned against the frame top

[bar side]

Painting doors seems to be my thing today - that and getting the heater fan to work in my car.  First the barn doors have a first coat of paint

 

 

And second my garage door has a nice new coat of paint

 

[Pete in Lincs]

15 minutes ago, bar side said:

And second my garage door has a nice new coat of paint

Shiny, but it doesn't hide a Blackbird in there. Does it?

[bar side]

1 minute ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Shiny, but it doesn't hide a Blackbird in there. Does it?

Well the Blackbird, the Shackelton and the rest of the unbuilt stash are in there…. In fact the HAS and the two barns are as well

[Pete in Lincs]

I've seen garages in barn finds before now, but this is the other way around!

[bar side]

Second doorway now painted and assembled

 

 

only missing the front light compared to the other doorway, but as this end has no lights fitted it didnt seem worth the effort!

 

So that let me put the second half together.  Both halves now done but with the false ends fitted.  So I ran out of daylight to put the two halves together and make up the full barn.  But I did put them next to each other for a quick pic using two jets that happened to be downstairs 

 

 

 

Edited October 31, 2021 by bar side

[bar side]

I tucked the two barns and the HAS away in the loft as the garage is getting a bit cold & damp at this time of year.  So a last chance to see them together.  Yep that is most of my kitchen floor and my 1/48 G-FIRE for scale

 

 

Anyway that has left space to get the Habu in & get back in to mangling some plastic.  First couple of bits together

 

 

The resin seats are sitting in to see how they look.  This pic needed rotating

 

 

There are front & back instrument panels and partitions to go in

 

 

There is not a lot to be seen through the open canopies

 

 

I am wondering about putting in an led between the rear bulkhead of the front cockpit and the rear cockpit instrument panel.  I am sure the cockpits would be dark in flight but in pre flight prep I am sure there would be some light in there.  Blurry shot of an led in there I am afraid

 

[bar side]

Getting some rescribed panel lines on, glueing bits in the cockpit, getting some advice on another thread.  Looks like the nose needs the camera aperture plated over and bulging it down a bit.  All in all learning as I go.  Kind of think that part of the fun of a build like this!

 

This is the nose top section and the next body section together & scribed.  The nose(s) are in front

 

 

Test fitting the canopies, resin seats, IPs etc

 

 

There are not a huge number of parts in the kit so it would be easy to rush on but I want to get a few bits right while I am at this stage