JimHead23 Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 That fuselage looks completely transformed Adrian. I could never work out how I would attempt to correct it but now I know! Thanks for sharing. Regards Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 3, 2018 Share Posted April 3, 2018 Hi Adrian Wow that is some great work. I love this., modelling at its best. Keep up the good work. All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 3, 2018 Author Share Posted April 3, 2018 1 hour ago, JimHead23 said: completely transformed The more I work on it the more I see they got right, strangely enough. They got the bulge in the lower fuselage, which is a major feature, and they also got the rear fuselage with the inverted "v" shape on top to give the guns a better field of fire. 1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said: modelling at its best. Not really! After flooding the wing roots with liquid cement I got a h-uuu-ge gluey thumbprint all over the rear fuselage below the turret. on a normal kit this would be painful, but in this one it will be lost in the sanding... Regards, Adrian 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ed Russell Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 I really like the way you are doing this. I have a soft spot for the Beaufort http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/234974028-172-special-hobby-dap-beaufort-mkviii-snifter/ but yours is the most challenging build I have seen yet. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 Excellent work but remind us why you thought this was a cunning plan that cannot fail or were you just having a Baldrick moment? Martian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 This is Proper Modelling! Trevor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 4, 2018 Author Share Posted April 4, 2018 5 hours ago, Ed Russell said: have a soft spot for the Beaufort Thanks Ed, you gave me some sage advice on another thread a couple of years ago, where I was trying to find out the best plans (this madness has been a long time brewing). I was using the Warpaint ones, but realised that they didn't all scale out consistently. So my "gold standard" GA 3-view is actually from the "Aeroplane", May 2007 and I have collected piles of pilots notes, photos and diagrams from the web. 1 hour ago, Max Headroom said: Proper Modelling! It's Proper Messy with all that sanding! I think I will need a big desk tidy-up session when I've got the shape sorted... 2 hours ago, Martian Hale said: cunning plan Ha! While everyone was distracted by the Beaufort I have taken the remains of the Airfix Beau Fuselage, stuck the Frog Beaufort wings and tail on, and used a couple of cotton bobbins as Hercules cowlings to make myself a new Beaufighter!! 1 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 3 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Ha! While everyone was distracted by the Beaufort I have taken the remains of the Airfix Beau Fuselage, stuck the Frog Beaufort wings and tail on, and used a couple of cotton bobbins as Hercules cowlings to make myself a new Beaufighter!! Why wouldn't I be surprised if you did? Martian 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted April 4, 2018 Share Posted April 4, 2018 4 hours ago, AdrianMF said: Ha! While everyone was distracted by the Beaufort I have taken the remains of the Airfix Beau Fuselage, stuck the Frog Beaufort wings and tail on, and used a couple of cotton bobbins as Hercules cowlings to make myself a new Beaufighter!! Unless there are pictures it didn’t happen............... Trevor 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 6, 2018 Author Share Posted April 6, 2018 Well no pictures of bobbins but I did do some interesting measuring... I measured the Beaufighter cowling diameters at the front and back rings with Vernier calipers. The front ring is 18.2mm, giving 51.5" actual size. The rear ring is 18.5mm, giving 52.5" actual size. Wikipedia gives the diameter of a Taurus as 46.25" and a Hercules as 55". So the cowling is 5.5" wider than the Taurus yet 3" too narrow for a Hercules. Something's not right... If I measure my drawings carefully I get a front ring diameter of 17.5mm, giving 49.5" actual size, or just under 1.5" clearance each side of the Taurus, which seems reasonable. I can live with my cowlings being 0.7mm (2" real) too wide - I'm sure it won't be the largest error in the finished model! Regards, Adrian 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 So, after a lo-o-ong week of this: Trade shows in Vegas are not as much fun as one might imagine, especially when you are providing tech support for several other stands. The good news is that when you get back to your hotel at 11pm, you can still get food and a drink ( or two...). I got back to this: So I'm back on the case. The hatch for the spin-a-prop battery has now been reduced down to 7mm parallel, offset to Port, to represent the torpedo tunnel. I've mashed a bit of stretched sprue into the join with Revell Contacta to reduce the need for filler later. When it dries, I will have to extend this fore and aft, which will take out the last remaining fuselage locating pin. Thanks for looking, Adrian 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CedB Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Welcome back Adrian! LV conferences? Been there, done that, got the sore feet. It's huge, just huge, and I'm pleased my days there are over (but I miss the biscuits and gravy for breakfast) I love the reflection of the reflection of the sunrise in that photo - well done for capturing it. Nice work on the hatches. I must admit I had to go back to the start to see what the 'spin-a-prop' was all about - I thought you were going to motorise it! I now see that this kit version could be motorised... got it (senior moment). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 This is seriously impressive! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheBaron Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Deliriously serious structural work Adrian. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Lovely craftsmanship Adrian but I still think you're mad! Martian 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimHead23 Posted April 19, 2018 Share Posted April 19, 2018 Welcome back Adrian, I am watching you every move in this project and kept checking my settings while you were away to make sure I was 'following'. I'm looking forward to you moulding the canopy. Regards Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 Thanks all for the comments, and of course the vote of confidence from 👽! It's been a messy weekend down here in the lab. Let's start by sticking the wing spars on the cut-down floor from the Beaufighter, back to front and upside down: Then make some holes for the spars to go through: Looks like we've been cutting tails off: As much as to convince myself it might work as to show you, here are all the bits held together with tape and blutak. The extra plastic card spacers are not the result of a cunning plan, just the result of cutting using the wrong line in the drawing. It's a credit to the Airfix engineering that the wings still snap into place with no glue or tape needed: When it is all dry I will be cutting the floor down to represent the raised pilot platform with the lower walkway by the side. You can see that the wing is considerably lower than it was originally: Thanks for looking, Adrian 20 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JimHead23 Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 That's look excellent Adrian. I'm looking forward to the next thrilling instalment! Regards Jim 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cookenbacher Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Just incredible Adrian! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Wow this looks fantastic, great work Adrian. This is wonderful modelling. I wish I was as brave or as mad as you to be able to do this. All the best Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 I see sanding in my future... I need Milliput inside the Beaufighter tail section because I need to sand through the sides to get it to hang together. I am hoping this will be the only use of heavy duty Milliput, but the nacelles might take a different view. Thanks for looking, Adrian 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Seriously impressive stuff! Hat duly doffed. Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 Well I'm working at home today and I took a break to do some sanding. Wings seem to be OK: The fuselage is mostly good. I got the sharp edge and filled out the taper at the back of the hump, and successfully blended the Beaufighter tail in. On the starboard side I got the vertical side/diagonal top divide pretty cleanly, but I need a tiny bit of filler on the port side where I've introduced a bit of a raggedy curve: You can also see that I needed the padding inside the tail pieces. Next time (there won't be!!) I would stick a spacer along the edges of back of the Frog fuselage, even though it still looks OK against the plan view Thanks for looking, Adrian 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 Oh and here's MY file: 7 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
224 Peter Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 That is a seriously aggressive file! Some superb piece of work underway, I'm in awe! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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