1/6th scale scratchbuilt Eurofighter

[waylandsmithy]

Yeah, you did read that right...

 

I help out at an Air Cadet squadron, and didn't move fast enough to avoid volunteering to make some carnival floats. With the theme being 'RAF 100', the call was for a Camel, a Spitfire and a Typhoon, to be pulled through the town on floats.

 

Unfortunately, the deadline was 2 months away. This seemed too little time to make anything convincing, so we had to think outside the box. So now we're making enormous replicas of those cheap foam chuck gliders you can buy, in roughly 1/6th scale of a full-size aircraft.

 

After giving it some thought, it occurred to me that we'd need some foam. So I got hold of some Jablite polystyrene boards, which are 2.4 metres long (for those who prefer Imperial, that's 8 bushels).

 

Using a projector and a laptop, we traced round some plans we found on Aerofred. Then cut these out using a 'foam cutter' from Amazon (a sort of electric wand thing that gets hot).

 

Apparently you can paint this stuff with acrylic paint, but the Vallejo bottles are a bit too small. I need to experiment with some rattle cans.

 

Decals will be in the form of laminated A4 sheets.

 

(If this isn't allowed on here please delete...but I just wanted to share my pain!)

 

 

You can see the Spitfire is already marked out. Definitely a fun project!

[perdu]

This is awesome, I cannot see any reason that it could possibly be wrong for in here

 

Aeromodelling?

 

Its what we do

 

I'm in as you keep us entertained and as an ex ATC PI I have to be onboard with you and the caydets

 

👌

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

Technically its still a model isnt it ?  

Edited June 2, 2018 by Corsairfoxfouruncle

[Bandsaw Steve]

This is great! 👍 

 

I think the more variety of scale, subject, method & materials in here the better. 

 

FYI - I’ve used a lot of a clear liquid resin called ‘EZ Kote’ if I recall correctly. It goes very well over foam imparting a smooth hard sandable paintable surface. It’s  a bit pricey but it’s very good.

[neil5208]

you can use cheap emulsion wall paint to seal foam and polystrene which allows you to use any finish once dry

[waylandsmithy]

Thanks for the tips! I should have bought an offcut home so I could experiment with paint...never mind. Today is 'looking for cheap paint' day. I'll have to watch it dry another day.

 

I think at this scale, I can use black insulation tape to add detail lines.

 

One great tip I found online was that to sand polystyrene, you can use another block of polystyrene. It works a treat, too. And I've also read that joints can be made with cocktail sticks and PVA glue.

[Bandsaw Steve]

Good tips! I might be able to use those one day!

[Head in the clouds.]

Just come across this , thinking outside the box doesn't cover this, I shall be watching with interest.

 

Just one concern waylandsmithy, you will need a Luton van with glass sides to display it when the celebrations are over😲

[waylandsmithy]

Bit of progress! Bought some car paint from Halfords, which is acrylic based. As luck would have it, the Spitfire camouflage is exactly the same colour as a Rover 216 and a Ford Escort, and the canopies are a very good match for a Triumph Acclaim.

 

Sprayed a test piece, and nothing melted.

 

This is the tool being used to cut the polystyrene:

 

And this is the result of tonight's cutting: all the parts done for the Typhoon and the Spitfire. 

 

Next job is to work out the best way to mount the wings, and then paint everything. And then make the Camel (or SE5. Probably going to go for a Camel).

[perdu]

Cut a slot as wide as the widest point and slide in with PVA to stop it moving?

 

Looks good

[Bandsaw Steve]

For polystyrene foam I have found E6000 glue very good.

[waylandsmithy]

2 hours ago, perdu said:

Cut a slot as wide as the widest point and slide in with PVA to stop it moving?

 

Looks good

That was one thought, but for the Typhoon we might just cut a recess and glue the wings from underneath.

 

For cost reasons we're using PVA and cocktail sticks. It'll be interesting to see how that goes...

[perdu]

Might be worth adding kitchen style bamboo skewers to that list for holding on vulnerable bits

There ain't no substitute for cubic inches

 

😀

[Bandsaw Steve]

Yep - full sized kebab skewers I reckon. 

 

Are these models going to be ‘built to last’ or just to hold together for the carnival?

 

BTW - you have to make the WW1 aircraft a Camel. Who could resist a ‘Carnival Camel’? 🐪

 

Besides a Sopwith Camel has no dihedral on the top wing - so much easier to build!

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

16 hours ago, waylandsmithy said:

 

Next job is to work out the best way to mount the wings,

The Bamboo skewers idea is good. Not sure of the flex though? Will the skewers be strong enough? Maybe stiff wire like a coat hanger ? The added benifit of the wire is you can give it a slight bend and get dihedral if needed. 

 

Dennis

[waylandsmithy]

Tonight, we decided to try the 'slot' method of construction, just like a real chuck glider. To make sure the slots were straight, I used a jigsaw (which is great for straight lines, but less good for the curved shapes).

 

After a bit of jiggery pokery, the Spitfire when together. To preserved the amount of material left in the tail, I cut two short, interlocking slots. It all holds together solidly with no glue: it's all a good friction fit:

 

Next job: paint. I wanted a slightly patchy finish so it still looks like foam. Maybe it's a bit too patchy...

 

 

still need to paint the nose and cockpit blue and attach the roundels. And build the other two aircraft, obviously...

[Terry1954]

Awesomely different modelling but modelling none the less!. Anything to support the good old ATC movement gets my vote. 

 

Difficult to opine on the paint finish. Why the desire to still look like foam? A more solid finish would look the business IMHO.

 

Terry

 

 

[waylandsmithy]

It's a good point! I might try another coat. It's quite expensive to paint such a large area though! I've done 15 quid on this first coat...

 

It's all a bit of a compromise. The foam thickness is a bit annoying but anything thinner would be too floppy. 

 

We're planning to sell chuck gliders at the fete afterwards, which should tie everything together a bit (in case people don't know what we were trying to do).

 

Still in two minds on the propellers: either going to attach those large plastic bucket lids, or whittle something from foam. I was going to carve up some drain pipe but I'm put off by the difficulty of cutting it nearly.

[perdu]

I would not bother with spinners, there wont be any on a chuck glider will there

 

Poundland or The Works often sell big tubes of acrylic paints for  very little dosh

 

Watered PVA would roller onto the surface very quickly, certainly worth a go for the Eurotiffie

 

test on offcuts first, natch

[waylandsmithy]

The toys I was thinking of do have spinners. I was toying with making the clear part from foam and painting it blue:

 

 

I've got a lot of PVA glue so may try that suggestion!

[waylandsmithy]

Bit more progress last night: Typhoon is more or less together but had a slight disaster: the section below the slot on the fuselage snapped off. I tried to fix it with a line of cocktail sticks and PVA glue, but it's not holding that well. I think I'll try the suggestion of barbecue skewers: that should work better.

 

 

Started on the Camel too. I decided to include a section above the fuselage to loosely mimic the spars and support the top wing. The plan is to use 2 (or maybe 4) of these between the wings. I'm a little concerned that it might be very wobbly, time to explore Steve's suggestion of E6000 glue...

 

[waylandsmithy]

Nearly there now! Camel went together quite well with barbecue skewers and high grab building adhesive. I also painted the Camel and Typhoon today.

 

 

Decals next. I'm printing these out on paper, and then attaching them with that clear plastic sheet you used to wrap your school books in. 

 

Unfortunately, it doesn't stick to polystyrene! I'll experiment with spray mount next...

 

 

Today was a maintenance day at the squadron, and someone found a frisbee on the roof. This will now be sprayed black and become the Camel's wheel. Still not sure about propellors.

[waylandsmithy]

Well, the models were finished and the carnival was a success! The models weren't terribly accurate but they seemed to go down quite well.

 

The Sopwith Camel met a sticky end. At the end of the carnival, we took it down off the sticks and placed it carefully on the ground. A tiny child suddenly made a beeline for it, jumped in the air, and landed with a leg either side of the fuselage. A look of shock on his face, and then he was off before we really took in what happened. 

 

Never mind, he was probably about 4 and only wanted to get in it. He wasn't to know. 

 

 

 

 

We've been donated the next project: a 1/48 Halifax by Fonderie Miniature. My word, it looks intimidating!

 

Edited July 11, 2018 by waylandsmithy

[rob Lyttle]

Afraid I missed the build and only just found this.

Well done, great effort!

All looks like a great day out for everyone.

 

Though maybe you'll be a bit quicker on your feet the next time somebody has a Great Idea.!😎