Jump to content

Catching Pictures in the Air


Recommended Posts

22 hours ago, Spookytooth said:

Well Tony, at least you are able to rectify it before you added anymore.

Enjoy your Pea and Ham soup dear sir.

 

21 hours ago, perdu said:

OK everybody, round to Tony's for soooop laters

Simon, Bill: I may have bollixed the Boxcar yesterday but at least I ended the day getting one thing right. :lol:

34046933975_d2595868dc_c.jpg

21 hours ago, perdu said:

I look upon THAT kind of thing as NFABB

Quick. Somebody whisper to me what NFABB means quietly without Bill twigging that I don't know what that means...:blink2:

20 hours ago, limeypilot said:

At least you spotted it before trying to fit it in and wondering why it won't go.....

That bit comes later Ian....!:frantic:

18 hours ago, Tomoshenko said:

That groove makes the lathe purchase all worthwhile, even if you never use it again...:P

 

I jest of course it's bound to get loads of use, thinking of purchasing one myself.

Cheers Tomo. I don't think you'd be disappointed by it if you do. It's alredy changed my view of building priorities in the stash, based upon which ones need the most pipework! A North Sea oil rig perhaps?:wacko:

16 hours ago, Cookenbacher said:

Excellent machine work Tony, I can't believe you're doing all this.

Thanks Cookie. I'm tending to believe that  it's actually the result of a bet between two part of my subconscious mind that I have no conscious access to....

12 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

We've all been there! OK, well I have. Good save at an early stage...

I appreciate the moral support Adrian. :thumbsup2: Keep an eye on me when I get to the stage of sticking the wings on won't you sir, in case this becomes an unintentionally experimental prototype...

11 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

Doh! :frantic:

An excellent summary!

10 hours ago, corsaircorp said:

Very nice job, I still follow, it's incredible !

Congratulations.

Thanks Corsaircorp - you've earned yourself another glass of Westmalle for that! :D

1 hour ago, Fritag said:

Well - I'm really - not to mention shamefully - late to realise that this is a must-follow build :blush:  But I'm here now if there's room for a little one?

 

I love this quality, multi-media, top-tip, new tools type stuff.  And who knew there were such things as bead lathes - and for less than 40 quid (and why hasn't Ced bought at least two?).  I feel eBay calling me......

You're most welcome along Steve! :thumbsup2: All hail to hendie for the bead-lathe info on this one I have to say. As far as I can see the motor unit itself seems to be just the engine and chuck of a drill mounted horizontally, so if it gives up the ghost mechanically at a future date it might prove possible to cannibalize a mains-powered drill cheaply enough as a replacement. Personally I'm just a sucker for a new piece of kit of any kind that stretches my skills further, and at this price it's definitely worth a punt. :nodding:

1 hour ago, Fritag said:

BTW - I think you should get yourself some proper casting silicone and pouring resin - you'll find it a doddle and fun and

I'm definitely going to as the next process to try out. I whipped the plasticine of my spruegloop test from earlier in the week just now:

33917314191_cea9226be7_c.jpg

Even at this level or crudity I'm hooked! :D

33917313291_9b414957dc_c.jpg

 

Multicoloured Swap Shop Chop Chop

Ok. Repairs done this morning. Nothing different from what you saw me do previously, only this time stuck on the correct end of the aircraft:

33917313681_d5d10eb737_c.jpg

In the end it proved simpler just to rebuild that whole end structure from scratch, rather than attempt to piece it together from cut-down sections of the previous farce. Viewed from the other end to check that the height of the bracket/roller array is only slightly proud of the cable deck:

34046932935_d9ee01f316_c.jpg

Ooops. I see the hydraulic arm has dropped down from the hook thing. I'll have to tidy that up. I'll also take a look at the rollers later to see what needs doing there once this lot has hardened. As the rollers will need reducing in length, I'm not sure scale-wise that they mightn't also need to be thinner in order to avoid them looking too portly. In that case it might mean getting the lathe out again. Be still my beating heart.....

 

:bye: Tony

 

PS. I just realized that we're on p.17 and only seven kit parts have been removed from their runners so far. That averages out at

<scratchscratchfivecarryonedividebyerrr>

0.41 parts per page.

That means this thread is currently heading for...quite a lot of pages....:wacko:

 

 

 

  • Like 15
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yummy nice looking 1/72 breadcrumb and paprika crusted pork chops Tony :P Only teasing, they'll look sound when cleaned up, but the guys are right though, you won't look back once you get some proper casting gear.

Any further thoughts on voltage regulators for the lathe? I know you've only just bought it and not quite ready to pimp it up yet, but reckon if you could get it to run at low speeds the potential is exponential - scribing treads on wheels etc. I expect Maplins do something, though expect home electronics buffs could knock something up.

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, Tomoshenko said:

the guys are right though, you won't look back once you get some proper casting gear.

Each build I've done has added at least a couple of new techniques to the armoury, so it looks like this one's running true to form.:D

2 hours ago, Tomoshenko said:

Any further thoughts on voltage regulators for the lathe? I know you've only just bought it and not quite ready to pimp it up yet, but reckon if you could get it to run at low speeds the potential is exponential - scribing treads on wheels

If I can pick up a cheap one that could work with both the lathe and the Dremel-clone, why it could almost be considered thrifty. Mrs B's late father used to be a head electrician at a power station and she has the same electrical instinct passed on genetically. I shall quiz her on the matter, obviously without letting on what it's for...:whistle:

 

I'll report back in due course on any developments in this area.

 

Not quite tyre treads, but I did (as expected) have to redo the rollers from scratch as well, in this case down by half a mm to 1.5mm in diameter:

33207329164_06376bd791_c.jpg

Dry-fitted:

33207700504_f6d1feddf4_c.jpg

After some wiggling and filing we can move on from here. Believe it or not, there is what appears to be an additional  - reallyreally tiny -  roller directly beneath that central groove. I neither know what it's for nor care that it'll be absent from this structure - it would have to be about the thickness of a human hair and I'm certainly not ready to go down to your scale of working yet Tomo!

  • Like 15
Link to comment
Share on other sites

5 hours ago, Tomoshenko said:

Any further thoughts on voltage regulators for the lathe? I know you've only just bought it and not quite ready to pimp it up yet, but reckon if you could get it to run at low speeds the potential is exponential - scribing treads on wheels etc. I expect Maplins do something, though expect home electronics buffs could knock something up.

 

It's relatively easy to do on the DC output.  I did it recently when I built my paint booth. You can buy a DC motor speed controller for less than $15 delivered on Amazon (there are cheaper units, but I fancied keeping the house that's built around the paint booth)

No doubt Maplins sells them and probably offers a build your own kit even cheaper

 

Just checked Amazon, and at these prices why would you even bother trying to maker your own.... try this one or something from this selection

 

WARNING:   I am an ex-rigger, therefore I like things with nuts, bolts and rivets, and hitting things with hammers. I do not delve into the black art that is electrickery.  Please consult a qualified witch doctor before proceeding with the following:  Simply cut the DC wire coming from the power supply to the lathe, noting which one is positive and which is negative. One usually has a white stripe along its length

Strip the ends of the wires, and connect the wires coming from the power source to the input on the controller, and the remaining two wires to the output, or motor control. Fire it up and lathe your night away.

 

Caveat:  I have no idea how this will affect available torque. My guess is that you'll see highest torque somewhere below full speed, but torque will drop off rapidly at very low speeds.

 

Edited by hendie
adding some links
  • Like 10
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, hendie said:

You can buy a DC motor speed controller for less than $15 delivered

Or you can check the equipment that came with you lathe more closely - 'what are all those green lights down the side?' - and come away with a very red face indeed.:doh:

34067842975_6338c56fe0_c.jpg

:lol: 

18 hours ago, Miggers said:

Just knew that once Steevo spied that layve.......

 

The adapter supplied with the gear does have a voltage regulator /  speed controller! My apologies for not noticing this sooners Miggers. 6 steps from 12V to 24V, as controlled by that switch on the side.

 

I just tried it between those settings found little appreciable torque difference. That should render this piece of kit even more useful at the price?

12 hours ago, The Spadgent said:

100 page run I tells ya. :lol:

I shall have to work on my prose style a bit better then....:D

 

Ok. Having aced the role of Sub Lt. Philips from The Navy Lark ('Left hand down a bit'), let us draw a veil over these tawdry proceedings and move on to a modest update:

33225629084_5f6d8b3283_c.jpg

I've begun constructing the actuating part of the hydrollix for the pole mount. With these parts having to be load-bearing, I'm taking this part slow to make sure it will be robust enough for the job. There's a downwardly-angled bracket and piston affair to add to to the underside of the above, plus a secure way of mounting the whole sub-assembly to the deck to be found, so I'm feeling my way along here.

33225628274_50096ab501_c.jpg

I've also built up the edging you see here  to match the level in the reference shots, where it steps up above the level of the cable deck.

 

That's likely all for today as we've got my mother over for Easter lunch and I'm doing a beefy banquet and need to get the roast spuds on.

 

One final thing that the communal beehive might have a buzz over. I've been reading more deeply into the crew oral histories for these missions, and absolutely nowhere in the quite specific technical accounts of crew members handling them is there any reference to the retrieval poles having been constructed with any inherent curve in them. There are however frequent and specific mentions of poles being bent (and even broken/snapped) in use and needing repair. Given that @71challys pukka reference shots of the interior show a museum exhibit, I'm wondering as to the possibility that the curvature seen in the poles there is as as result of them being an old left-over pair bent on operational use?

 

The poles themselves are 34ft long and taper, being 4" wide at the outermost end and 6" at the rear. In several accounts they are particularly referred to as flexing 'like a fishing rod' in use, so it is quite conceivable that the weight of the trailing gear in the slipstream could account for any pole-curvature seen when the poles are fully-deployed from the rear of the aircraft.

 

If you've ever had to carry a long scaffold pole on your shoulder you'll (painfully) know just how much flex there is even in steel: trust me, they bounce around at the ends a lot, especially if you're walking over rough ground. It's one of the reasons I have a dodgy back, from working on the sites in my callow youth. 

 

I'm currently revising my views on this matter and erring on the side of straight poles, though I will obviously have to make mine bend to match the deployed curvature, with it snagging the paracheroot in the wires an all.

 

Interestingly, the downward angle of deployment could vary from aircraft to aircraft between 30° and 45°, dependent on the preference of the individual loadmaster concerned (sometimes without the knowledge of the pilot). That and the differing interior details mean you have to beware of assuming a standard interior and exterior appearance between these aircraft in certain matters.

 

Right. The spuds need to go in.

 

I hope you get a pleasant day all of you. Don't make yourselves sick on choccie.

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

  • Like 14
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Recovering nicely following the faux pas, its always better when you do it the right way round! (Cue Ced) You have used seven parts already? That's a Blitzbau by my standards!

 

Martian

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Bugger that you put it round the wrong way Tony, but expertly recovered! 

 

The tiny detialing is looking very nice indeed Tony, and I feel your part count per  page is unfair due to the number of parts you have made yourself from scratch!! 

 

Your scandinavian pea and ham soup looks a delight! I'll order two tins please...

 

Rob

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TheBaron said:

If you've ever had to carry a long scaffold pole on your shoulder you'll (painfully) know just how much flex there is even in steel:

There has to be, else it'll likely fracture...

 

Some more lovely little details being produced here Tony - I thought Mo's 'Cuda would be a hard act  to follow, but this one looks like exceeding it!

 

Keith

 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Very nice Tony, those supports are looking really good :)

The lathe has a speed regulator? Unngghhh resist, resist...

Enjoy the spuds!

 

(Fnaar fnaar for Martian - I hate to disappoint!) 

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Or you can check the equipment that came with you lathe more closely - 'what are all those green lights down the side?'

 

and there was me thinking that with all the research you are doing on this, you'd definitely be a RTFM kind of guy.

 

4 hours ago, rob85 said:

I feel your part count per  page is unfair due to the number of parts you have made yourself from scratch!! 

 

and the number of times he's had to stick them on due to doing it all bass ackwards first time around!

 

 

  • Like 4
Link to comment
Share on other sites

6 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

You have used seven parts already? That's a Blitzbau by my standards!

I know, I know, I'm rushing this....

6 hours ago, rob85 said:

Bugger that you put it round the wrong way Tony, but expertly recovered! 

 

The tiny detialing is looking very nice indeed Tony, and I feel your part count per  page is unfair due to the number of parts you have made yourself from scratch!! 

 

Your scandinavian pea and ham soup looks a delight! I'll order two tins please...

Cheers for that Rob. I also made an Red Enchilada sauce yesterday that contained so much chili that it produced religious visions...

5 hours ago, keefr22 said:

Some more lovely little details being produced here Tony - I thought Mo's 'Cuda would be a hard act  to follow, but this one looks like exceeding it!

Most kind Keith. How's Little T btw? He's very quiet of late...:winkgrin:

4 hours ago, Miggers said:

Good spot wiv the layve my mayn. Superb recovery from the roller faux pas.

My lawyer insists that I enter a plea of temporary competence.

3 hours ago, CedB said:

Unngghhh resist, resist

The Power of Lathe compels you! :lol:

2 hours ago, hendie said:

and there was me thinking that with all the research you are doing on this, you'd definitely be a RTFM kind of guy.

Never take me parachuting or scuba diving.... :frantic:

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

More excellent micro detailing Tony. Those rollers look amazing.

Oh and erm...

 

On ‎4‎/‎12‎/‎2017 at 9:36 PM, TheBaron said:

Buy lathe.

Buy putty.

Then I won't be the only one being bankrupted by this thread! :lol:

 

Yeh I went and ordered one didn't I, says I in a sheepish little boy who knows he's been naughty confessional mode..

 

Note to self and others on here: avoid evilbay after a few beers and a spell on a modelling forum....my excuse, some bloke I met on a modelling internet site made me buy it...

 

 

 

  • Like 7
Link to comment
Share on other sites

31 minutes ago, Tomoshenko said:

More excellent micro detailing Tony. Those rollers look amazing.

Oh and erm...

 

 

Yeh I went and ordered one didn't I, says I in a sheepish little boy who knows he's been naughty confessional mode..

 

Note to self and others on here: avoid evilbay after a few beers and a spell on a modelling forum....my excuse, some bloke I met on a modelling internet site made me buy it

Brilliant! :D 

May it bring you joy Tomo. :thumbsup:

Tony

 

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, TheBaron said:

Cheers for that Rob. I also made an Red Enchilada sauce yesterday that contained so much chili that it produced religious visions...

That made me howl! Sounds a good sauce...

 

Rob

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, rob85 said:

That made me howl! Sounds a good sauce...

 

Rob

Sounds like it'll do the same to him in the morning!

 

Ian

  • Like 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

How's Little T btw? He's very quiet of late...:winkgrin:

 

Oh he's fine Tony, just getting to that age where he's becoming more interested in football & young Miss T's...!! 

 

But I managed to drag him in to say hello....:dinosaur:

 

K

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 hours ago, rob85 said:

That made me howl! Sounds a good sauce...

 

18 hours ago, limeypilot said:

Sounds like it'll do the same to him in the morning!

Water off a duck's back. ;)

18 hours ago, keefr22 said:

 

But I managed to drag him in to say hello....:dinosaur:

Wotcha T.  Been off chasing tail eh? :D

 

Easter Monday

Sounds like a Philip Larkin title.......anyway...some Spring scenery to start. My youngest's hurling team had a championship match first thing so whilst we were waiting for him and his mates to charge forth to totally dominate the opposition play nicely with others, myself and Mrs.B went for a bank holiday wander down the some of the old estate lands behind the pitch:

33283329573_309831a02e_c.jpg

It doesn't come across as vividly in the photo  but you can almost see different tidemarks of green vertically from ground-cover to treetops still bare as the new growth rises up from the ground. Each time I see such new growth it puts me in mind of Dylan Thomas'  'The force that through the green fuse':

The force that through the green fuse drives the flower
Drives my green age; that blasts the roots of trees
Is my destroyer.
And I am dumb to tell the crooked rose
My youth is bent by the same wintry fever.

The force that drives the water through the rocks
Drives my red blood; that dries the mouthing streams
Turns mine to wax.
And I am dumb to mouth unto my veins
How at the mountain spring the same mouth sucks.

The hand that whirls the water in the pool
Stirs the quicksand; that ropes the blowing wind
Hauls my shroud sail.
And I am dumb to tell the hanging man
How of my clay is made the hangman’s lime.

The lips of time leech to the fountain head;
Love drips and gathers, but the fallen blood
Shall calm her sores.
And I am dumb to tell a weather’s wind
How time has ticked a heaven round the stars.

And I am dumb to tell the lover’s tomb
How at my sheet goes the same crooked worm.

At intervals along the edges were clusters of primrose and bluebell:

33252443344_02fdbc63b0_c.jpg

I don't remember the last time I saw these wildflowers together in such proximity. There was some wild garlic as well (which I forgot to gather) that makes superbly fragrant omlettes if cooked with fresh.

 

It being some time since I'd checked for 'scale-creep', the floor and fuselage were temporarily dry-fitted in order to check on how all those sub-assemblies look as a whole. I always get a bit nervous if I realized I haven't checked on such matters for a while and feltit tempting fate to leave it much longer without squint down the tunnel:

33937809512_d603b363d6_c.jpg

I laminated that edging with some extra plastic strip to raise it above the decking along the sides. You can see how 'springy' the cable deck is in places in relation to tha edging halfway down, but I'm hoping that will settle later after painting when it has been glued in place on the actual floor of the aircraft:

34094823195_8b14a52b5c_c.jpg

A peek in through the forward doorway. Gosh. That's childishly pleasing....

33937810352_bfbd42fa29_c.jpg

Mulling over how to build the hydraulic actuators for the retrieval pole mounts I eventually settled upon a plan to use some steel rod - actually part of an old coat hanger cut down - with a channel ground out to accept the lower part of the cylindrical mount:

34094824135_1f4f917e84_c.jpg

This will amalgamate two parts into a single strong piece for the purposes of bracing the poles, cables etc. that will eventually be hanging out of the back. Initially crude, but with some gentle filing, it grips nicely:

34094821785_530e8030bb_c.jpg

The idea is to secure these parts together with epoxy, though I haven't entirely abandoned the idea of drilling out and making a pivot with a metal pin so these can actually rotate vertically intio position like the real thing. Instinct - if not common actual sense - makes me suspect that's a bit optimistic at this scale. Ignore the fact those metal rods aren't cut to the correct height yet, but this gives a rough idea of their eventual placement and angle:

33937808342_c8843c968a_c.jpg

Luckily I'd remembered previously when assembling the mounting brackets,that these parts don't point straight out of the rear of the aircraft, but are slightly angled to assist with spreading the poles to a sufficient width >24ft in order to accommodate the diameter of the parachute. The OH view shows this aspect a bit better:

33252348524_8721fdef52_c.jpg

As to securing those bits of rod under the decking as you see here, I'm considering a plastic block installed under each side, drilled-out for the rods to be epoxied into, the notion being to have 1) the rod mounted securely in a slot for maximum leverage against weight and 2) the plastic block giving a large contact area for the epoxy to adhere to the underside of the decking for a secure fixture. That's the idea anyway, but if you've more graceful solutions to this 'belt and braces' approach, please shout out!

 

Right. I have go dig tufts of grass out of the patio area and barrow round about 1/4 ton of stones to build up the level to the concrete edging again. I never realized that stones could evaporate but each year the same job needs doing. I blame the chickens....

:bye:

Tony

 

Addenda: Forget the rotating mount/hinge idea - I haven't a metal drill bit fine enough for the diameter of the rod and it isn't as if I need to wave those fishing rods up and down like a demented fly fisherman anyway...

 

 

 

 

  • Like 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Country walks, Dylan Thomas, primroses, bluebells & wild garlic. Dainty plastic manipulation and a frisson of danger when thumb & finger are pressed into service as a vice, holding a steel rod inches below a wildly spinning grinding disc.....

 

Where else on an Easter Monday but Britmodeller....?!

 

K, oh & one who's rather tired today, can't think why....:dinosaur:

 

PS did the boy's team win?

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cracking update Tony! Great internals, and with added art. Ace.

 

hope the lad obliterated the opposition! that is, from what I have seen of hurling in my youth, the point of the game??

 

Rob

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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 account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...