Jump to content

Whicita East Aircraft and Washing Machine Plant Opens! Wellie and P.1214 off-lined Hawker Fury added


Recommended Posts

By order of the High Chancellor today marks a new era in aviation and household technologies as the Good (and Loyal) Ship Sleeper Service establishes this new facility to build and refurbish machines for the new Museum of Warlike Materials, a separate, secure area will develop improved washing machines for domestic and commercial applications. Information available from your nearest terminal.

 

The first on the line is a Wellington VI in 1/48 from the Trumpeter kit. I've been intending to build one since a school trip to Stanway Zoo aged 11 or 12. In the shop was a folder of 10 by 8 black and white prints among which there was this beast. Alas I never got to buy it as, while getting contributions from my friends a wealthy adult brought the set. I blame this traumatic event for my current mental issues and political views. This is being built as a Buddy Build on FB but, as I'm getting a lot of help from threads here it seems only fair that you get to laugh as well.

 

Like many from the Trumpy/HB range the kit is a curate's egg, good in parts shocking in others. By plundering my friend's library and this site I've found that;

 

The fabric effect on the wings and fin are overdone possibly due to the photo in post #36 HERE from @TheBaron which shows the fabric ballooning up in flight but Trumpy have taken as being sucked into the wing.

 

There is something amiss with the engine nacelles, the same photo also shows the problem area to be the section ahead of the leading edge. On the kit this is parallel but the real thing continues to flare out before curving back in sharply. Taking the rest of the engine into account shows the final diameter to be too small so the whole nacelle needs widening. It is also too short as the rear point should be at the very rear of the wing structure. @tonyot has posted some great shots HERE that show it well and the Haynes Manual for the Welly also confirms it. This means that...

 

The main under carriage bay is narrow and the wheels are too.

 

The wing trailing edge and leading edge frames (part G12 &13) should both be double thickness

 

The cabin/floor/bomb bay roof (G17) and bomb bay beams (G1 &3) are solid slabs with raised detail when they were both lattice work. As the bomb doors were opened by springs and closed by hydraulic pressure they were usually open on the ground. This helps because...

 

The one piece bomb doors (part A2) and the turret blanking plate are both very poor fits.   

 

That's enough negativity though. Have a look at this

 

 spacer.png              

 

and this

 

spacer.png

The first picture certainly shows a Friday Afternoon Pub O'Clock approach. The second shows the nacelle shape well. All doable I think.

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

OK here are pictures of the current state of play;

 

Following a Top Tip I've overemphasised the contrast between the linen and Interior green so it'll look better through the transparencies. After cutting away the nose bit the assembly was as solid as smoke which was worrying. Careful checking showed that the bulkheads barely touched the geodetics especially in the roof. A serious sanding and microstrip session later made a vast improvement. In the foreground the new trailing edge bulkhead is under construction together with the trellis cabin floor. The rebates for the bomb beams are filled with strip as my attempt to open up the slabs provided was taking an age and not looking very good. More evergreen is on order as I type :D I should have shares.

 

spacer.png

 

There is certainly something wrong with the nacelles as I said earlier. After mocking it up as below (well I've been intending to build this since I was 11) I think I have a handle on the issue which starts with carefully removing the nacelle from the top wing and moving it back so the rear end is at the back edge of the wing structure. This will raise the front lip and bring it back a little (about 1.25mm) meaning a disc of thick card can be used to create the sharp down curve apparent on the real beast.

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

 

Once that's done I'll need to modify the lower nacelle to match up and this should allow the wheel wells to be widened. I'm uncertain about whether the rear area of the nacelle needs beefing up a bit in the area covered by tape above both sides and top and bottom. The kit part seems much flatter than photos of the real thing suggest it should be. Any suggestions welcomed.

  • Like 8
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here we are again.

 

Well a bit of a week here at Wichita East but, on the third attempt, I think I've worked out what to do about the nacelles.

 

I was quite happy with my top nacelle position but when the lower nacelle was similarly placed it looked completely wrong. After a couple of attempts to improve it I realised I was on a thrashing to nothing. So off it came and i put my thinking head on. Attempt number 2 was no better so third time lucky?

 

The nacelle drawing in the 4+ book looked to match the photos pretty well so I enlarged them to 1/48th and was happy to find that the upper nacelle was pretty close. However under the wing..... I cut a profile piece out and used part P9 to make two bulkheads one 0.5mm bigger all round the other 1.0mm. The smaller was glued to the upper nacelle after being slotted to take the profile. Cutting the lower nacelle in half front to back and gluing to the disc put the rear in the right place and the under carriage bay edges level. Result.

 

Much scrap plastic to fill the gap with a lot of MEK and, I hope one wing basically sorted. The larger disc was added to the front and, once all solid, it's time for filler. Lots and lots of filler.

 

A big THANK YOU :partytime: to @Heraldcoupe for alerting me to this issue on another thread. You Sir are a diamond.

 

EDIT: There were four images with broken links here. I have no idea what they were so they have been excised in the interest of sanity.

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

1 hour ago, Martian Hale said:

Something wrong with a Trumpeter kit? Surely not! A very interesting project nonetheless.

 

Martian 👽

Thank You Martian :D I know I was shocked too but there you are.

 

Forgot to mention above but I grew up in a town called Clare in Suffolk about as far south of RAF Stradishall as the site of the only one to be lost is from where I sit now. SleeperDad and his fellow grey heads are certain they saw this at the time with the crews being based at Mount Farm well away from the rest of the accommodation. Next visit and I'll be checking the station history very carefully. So interesting in many ways to me at least.

 

How's the Target towing Roc float barn door doing??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...
9 hours ago, Col. said:

Right, this has become essential viewing now I've realised what's going on, good work so far SS :thumbsup:

Taking a back seat while the nacelles get really set :) Also my trapped nerve is back so fiddly stuff is a no-no. However it sits about two feet away and will be resumed ASAP.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thought that shape looked familiar - just looked at my Bill Gunston Aircraft of WW2 that I have had since I was a kid and there it is bottom left

 

Vw4H27TOSXJGbICDdgyEiaFByDuFOHSk3JS21_g_

 

no oil painting, but the Windsor isn’t any better!

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

21 hours ago, bar side said:

What were you doing down at Colchester zoo then? I used to live up the road in Colchester & had a gold card for the zoo

School trip when I was eleven. Getting towards the end of term and the teachers wanted an easy day. Apart from the one fool who managed to get left behind on the trip back. Keith Aldiss IIRC.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We just got taken to the Colchester Castle on school trips.  Back then there were a couple of decent model shops in town - Wass’s bikes & toys and another one whose name I can’t remember

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • SleeperService changed the title to Whicita East Aircraft and Washing Machine Plant Opens! Wellie off-lined P.1214 added

As part of my continuing return to polite society the Wichita East Facility has been taken out of mothballs and re-opened. Hurrah!!

 

The Wellington will need considerable attention to curate all the parts and information so has been off-lined and replaced by the P.1214 3D printed aircraft of Lost British Projects which I purchased at the Hamex '17 show. I builds up into a very nice display model but, being a little whacky, I've decided to see how near I can get to the current build standard.

 

What you get is this:

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

Which should assemble to resemble this

 

spacer.png

 

Originally this was my project for the Anything But Injected GB but it took longer to get to SleeperDad's workshop than I hoped. Note that the fuselage parts fit flawlessly and a very nice desktop model could be built without much difficulty. But I decided otherwise.

 

First thing was to brush on 2-3 coats of MEK to ensure that the filaments stayed in place and the few tip parts that had come loose were reattached. There followed an extended period of violence towards styrene as I removed the internal structure that would interfere with the bays I intended to create for wheels, cockpit, and intakes to the engine. I still need to consider the nozzles....

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Well People Greetings and I hope you are all safe and sound.

Managed to get a good session in on this build yesterday and this morning so without further ado...

 

spacer.png

 

I'm sorry for the scene of destruction but the first image has corrupted. I taped the parts together and can assure anybody who wants one of these in their collection that the fit is very good indeed. I'd say that 90% of the surface texture will be removed by a coat of filler primer and a brief sanding, I just sanded these parts lightly so you can see how easy this is. If you want to dip your toe in the 3D printed pond then this would be an excellent first project and would certainly stand out when built. Rikki Wolfe is also a very helpful guy indeed. If you lack FB where he is 'Lost British Projects' send me a PM and I'll pass his e-mail on.

 

Comparing the model to the limited information available the fuselage rear is from a later P.1216 version of this evolution, as I really want to do the original it will need modifying. The wings appear to be mounted low on the fuselage section to try and resolve the mismatch however it isn't going to be a show stopper by any stretch. So here you can see the main undercarriage areas cut away from the booms - the section on white card is the remains of one removed section after attention from Sushi the Supercat. I separated the wings from the rear fuselage and split them to widen them as you can see 2mm at the outboard end 5mm inboard. I think the designer scale the wing to the reduced length resulting from them being mounted low on a wider part of the fuselage. The air intake and fins were split to make clean up easier and not because I was too rough and partly broke them off :angry: One face of each fin was quite rough so I applied filler the other side was very smooth. Next slide please

 

spacer.png 

 

Side view of the rear fuselage section showing the reshaped and trimmed parsons nose fairing that is the rear of the fuselage and about the middle of the whole aircraft. The two holes are where the integral nozzles were removed. The kit has Harrier type but the three poster Pegasus used Plenum Chamber Burning up front on very different outlets. The rear section has been removed as the designers compromise didn't allow a large enough rear pipe. Last slide...

 

spacer.png

 

Acrylic knifing putty blends in the parsons nose and two areas on the sides where the wing was mounted. The surface is now very smooth indeed and took about twenty minutes work. As I said there really is nothing terrible about 3D printed kits. This one is filament printed plastic and a good coat of MEK made it robust enough for some rough handling. The internal structure was removed almost completely leaving just three layers in most places in all about 90 minutes work in SleeperDad's workshop finishing off with thin nose pliers to literally roll the unwanted layers away. Another good coat of MEK on the inside and done. 

 

The real thing was going to be mostly carbon composite construction with the wing leading edges and intake front easily replaceable if damaged so a minimum of panel lines. It just gets better.

Until next time I bid you a fond farewell. 

  • Like 2
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 4 weeks later...

Bit of a delay People but I'm back!

 

First I need to make clear once again that I'm CONVERTING a 3D-Printed kit of a desktop model and bringing it up to standard kit levels. Most of the cutting and filling is down to that. The kit is an excellent start for this sort of thing and I'm about to order Rikki's 1/48 FD.3 to build later. It's been enjoyable work so far and I'm relearning a lot of stuff I wished I hadn't forgotten.

 

So to the progress

 

spacer.png

 

With the exception of the forward starboard hump side this is square and aligned. I know it doesn't look it but it is...honestly. It's not helped by me using scrap off-cuts to fill in gaps rather than use new sheet, I'm very 'careful' with money tha' knows. The 3D-filament print proved impossible to thin down for trailing edges always ending up like a tiny saw blade. I ended up cutting in styrene round the wing edges and restoring the outline before thinning. The starboard wing is about there the port wing I've left alone to show what I'm trying to explain. The rear edge of the centre section will be done later. I messed up the measurements for the rear parts cutting too much off the inside edge and ending up with everything well out of whack. Hence the outboard additions.

 

spacer.png  

 

Here is the underside with the basic engine loosely in place with one of the forward nozzles attached. The rear bit with filler is the underside of the fuselage and butts up against the rear of the engine which is angled to match the profile of the version I'm building. The plastic sheet around the nozzle is down to the fuselage de-laminating in that area as I worked on it. I have slathered more MEK on the other side to try and avoid a repeat. The transverse white section and the chord widener are both due to the conversion requirements.

 

spacer.png 

 

Finally for today the front end showing the 10deg toe in of the forward nozzles and the bulkhead to locate the engine front in place. Most of the wing LERX additions will be cut away once the forward fuselage is fitted, once thinned to match the wing the slight bend visible will be removed (I hope). It's been cut slightly large all round and will be cut back when the forward parts are filled.

 

Next steps are to get the other nozzle fitted, cut back the engine core and secure it in place, put the lower skin in place and then sand, fill, repeat until it's all smooth. I may get the booms extended and fitted too. Who knows?

 

Thanks for looking. Be back soon.

 

 

 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

Bit later than planned as I made a rather major unavoidable error which has required a rethink. After a bit more work I put the model in the cupboard where the hot water tanks lives to fully harden without stinking up the flat (it vents outside). Forgot about it for a few days until I found it just before Crimble, the front fuselage had twisted very badly and the intake not so much. I was rather irked by this and naughty words may have been muttered.

So a complete change of plan:

  • Start saving for a replacement kit which I shall treat rather better
  • Having the Blue Envoy Press P.1216 book there are drawings of a two-seater which I thought would be good.
  • Out on Crimble Eve the Hospice shop had a book about the Pegasus engine, upon entering to purchase said volume I spotted an Airfix 1/48 Tornado for £10.
  • The 'scrounger' at my local club had got some part-build aircraft going for nowt so I picked up a handful of parts for the same kit.

A few hours got me here

spacer.png

 

spacer.png

 

Based on the Revell cockpit I scratched a new interior after narrowing and lowering the Tornado fuselage. The Airfix kit has a reputation for 'needing care in assembly' however removing the locating pins and the supporting plastic for them made a huge difference and using strips at the back of the joints it was relatively easy to get a good fit. So it'll be going What-If? and I need to work out a story, I have the bare bones of a cunning plan.

Public Service Announcement:

If you have an Airfix 1/48 Tornado then the Revell canopy is a drop fit onto it. Much thinner and clearer and will correct the stretched rear cockpit error in the F3 kit. 

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 1 year later...

Now fully recovered from my madness and with my depression under firm control I've been sorting out my stuff generally and, having been told I'm now retired, I've been sticking bits of plastic together fairly consistently. So it's time to re-open the facility and get some stuff down the production line.

The first thing I came across is my Yugoslav Fury started back in 2014 HERE progressed a little further in 2018 HERE and now, after assessment, back on the bench. 

spacer.png

 

The main issue was the starboard side which completely failed to respond to repair attempts. Seriously I swear that even a good look at it caused something else to go wrong. So I cut the side away completely leaving enough room for 0.5mm card to fit flush. The nose was cleaned up and attached to the port side, finally the floor was extended with 1.0mm card to complete the chassis work.

I wasn't happy with the lower wings which were removed and the profiles altered to be a closer match to the photos I found, the fuselage openings were tidied up and closed with more 0.5mm card.

Along the way I've picked up a cheap Roden Gladiator which will gain floats, and donate it's undercarriage legs to this project.

Going forward I have listened to wise heads and will have one or two projects on the go - no more. The second will only be (re)started when my time on the first is limited as it nears completion. I have been promised gold stars by the shrinks if I can establish the pattern.

As I have a plan for the upcoming B-17 STGB starting 5th August I have a firm completion date for this - I really want my first gold star....   

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

13 hours ago, Space Ranger said:

I like the purple thing. Reminds me of Martian.

The purple thing is a P-1214-6 a design study from the 80s. It will be returning but storage hasn't been kind to it and it needs some TLC and heavy weights to straighten it before I re-start it.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

So here we are again after listening to Download for free from 5 miles away (Metallica were excellent and donated £45k to a local homeless charity. Dudes you are awesome) work has gone well I have pictures

spacer.png

 

With a lot of tape and guidance from THIS THREAD the first stage was carefully removing the scratch-built interior detail plating the starboard side with plastic card and getting the lower wings in better shape structurally and in outline, in the process I found some cold flow faults which were chopped back and rebuilt, one tip was beyond hope.

spacer.png

A couple of days later I went at it again and I'm quietly confident the worst repair is behind me. Gluing the nose together made alignment and finishing details a lot easier. The upper cowling needs work and the joint where the spinner cap fits was eroded seriously. I split the prop and now everything looks a lot better. The control surfaces have been split to give the finished plane a little life.

spacer.png

One of the photos I take to check the finish and such. The cockpit is rough trimmed only at this point but everything seems to line up and is gradually getting smooth where needed. Note the excess scrap inside the cockpit, I always leave the interior finishing until I split the fuselage for interior work, far easier that repeated re-joining and saves tape too.

Finally, I use tumblr for picture hosting. It's free and IMHO pretty good and user friendly, it has editorial swings but model kit porn seems OK.

Until next time Thank You for reading, have a great weekend, and may all your problems be small and easily overcome. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • SleeperService changed the title to Whicita East Aircraft and Washing Machine Plant Opens! Wellie and P.1214 off-lined Hawker Fury added
  • 1 month later...

Greetings People

A bit of a gap due to the fill, sand, check and repeat cycle and working out how to deal with the wing surface detail. I shall let this picture show how they've turned out

spacer.png

 

I've started on the fuselage while I was at it but there's more to do there. 

spacer.png

 

Finally happy with the fuselage for now I've built up the interior structure for the cockpit. Not sure how much will be visible but it's all good practice. Got myself a Yahu IP which is a lovely piece of work.

 

Next is to do the rest of the interior and get the fuselage halves joined. The tail surfaces need some work too and I've got some cocktail sticks to make struts from.

 

Have a great time and I hope your model-making is as enjoyable as this has been so far.

  • 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...