Chaotic Mike Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 Yep. How stupid do I feel, having muffled up the photoetch. Never mind, that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gunpowder17 Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Yup if you dont make mistakes you wont learn from them After 40 years i still make mistakes , and i still learn new things! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 Starting to build up steam now. I have been working on radios. The sundry black boxes have connectors moulded on to them, so I got the micro drills out to enable rioja-wire (my go-to cheapskate solution for cabling) to be inserted... Like this.... I also painted the main radio unit. The semi-circular tuning scale is tricky to hand paint... it could use a decal. Are you listening, @airscale?! Having attached the wiring, I'll be in the lookout for good interior pictures that tell me where I can run them. As usual, all suggestions gratefully received! I think I'll connect that morse key (because I think that's what it is) to something. The radio unit perhaps? That's it for the winterval. If you thought progress was slow before, you ain't seen nothin' yet (b-b-b-baby) (edit) ...and then I Googled for 'Lancaster bomber radio operator's position', and clicked on 'Images'. Henceforth I shall stop asking stupid questions of the hive mind! 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 1, 2019 Author Share Posted January 1, 2019 And then I went out for another 90 minutes, most of which was spent drilling holes and plugging in bits of wire to dress the black boxes... They look nice as brass, but unfortunately I'm going to paint them black. I suspect painting things black is going to be a bit of a theme for this kit! Also, a few posts back I said I was going to 'distress' the pilot's seat. Here it is, sans head armour and waiting some RB seatbelts (or maybe those impossible paper ones. We'll see). Does it look like worn leather? I can't tell, any more! The magnification makes me want to address the overpaint at the front. However, when I'm looking at it in the flesh - and particularly if I'm not wearing my head magnifier - you can't see it. Note I also drilled out the holes at the front of the seat, because I could. I hope they are holes.... they looked like they should be! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graham Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Hi Mike, a question about the seat as it looks too long in the pan ( bottom) or is it just the way the photo has been taken. Cheers Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 Graham You are right with your observations . . . The seat was SQUARE and there wasnt a cushion in the seat base either as that was where the pilots 'Seat Type' parachute was positioned, the pilot wore his 'chute all the time he was flying. (Other crew members had a 'Chest type' parachute and they were stowed away close to their positions ). Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 2, 2019 Author Share Posted January 2, 2019 (edited) Removing the seat squab isn't beyond the whit of man, but correcting the over-length will be tricky because of how it is mounted. I'll take a look if the mood takes me! Does anyone do 1/32 parachutes? Although I reckon the crew would have checked them out from stores before each mission rather than leaving them in the airframe... Mike Edited January 2, 2019 by Chaotic Mike Update Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whofan Posted January 2, 2019 Share Posted January 2, 2019 On 12/27/2018 at 10:51 AM, Chaotic Mike said: I combined eBay, a tame luthier and about £500 in total and thus was born the Frankenbass Mike, notwithstanding the delights of your build, it also made a bittersweet connection with me as I saw John Entwistle's Frankenstein bass, said to have been made from parts from a '65 precision, a jazz, and 3 separate slab precision basses. It was at the showing at Sotheby's before his collection was auctioned off, and somewhere I have a photo of it. No one was allowed to touch it, but I do have a photo of me holding one of his Warwick buzzard basses. I certainly couldn't afford to have bought any of the guitars in the auction, but I confess, I would have loved to have been able to. Err .... sorry for the digression, back to the Lancet! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 11 hours ago, Whofan said: .. sorry for the digression, back to the Lancet! You're a doctor as well as a bass player and modeller? 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Loving this! If it’s any help, I’ve dug out my IWM photos of their Lancaster nose from my visit in 2011.... Trevor 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whofan Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 2 hours ago, Chaotic Mike said: You're a doctor as well as a bass player and modeller? 😂 I'm off to the grump thread ......... subject .... Damn predictive text! I'm sure you knew I meant the Lanc! Incidentally, I'm not a bass player, in fact not a player of any instrument, but I do love bass guitar. I think this stems from My Generation, then cemented by Substitute, where the lead instrument (not by any intention of Townshend) ended up being the bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bootneck Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 If my dear Mum was still with us then I would have bought one of those and built it for her. She used to work as a riveter on bombers during the war. Mike 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mancunian airman Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 Why has there never been any artwork decals for 'old Fred' ?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 1 hour ago, Mancunian airman said: Why has there never been any artwork decals for 'old Fred' ?? Here she is before being chopped! https://goo.gl/images/ppZX7R Trevor 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GordonD Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 On 12/28/2018 at 4:46 AM, Bigdave22014 said: Did you wipe down with IPA before you sprayed? That can cause the paint to pool like that if it hasn't dried thoroughly. I'm confused. Why would you wipe down with this? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Avereda Posted January 3, 2019 Share Posted January 3, 2019 4 hours ago, Whofan said: I think this stems from My Generation, then cemented by Substitute, where the lead instrument (not by any intention of Townshend) ended up being the bass. Strangely enough that’s how I got started on the bass guitar 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Der der-de-der, der, diddleee-der-der-der Der, diddlee-der der der der-de-der der der... Who needs tab? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 3, 2019 Author Share Posted January 3, 2019 Well, since you mentioned it, @Mancunian airman, here is a truncated seat with no squab... I will be cursing you later when I adjust the seat support rails... 🙂 And a big thank you to @Max Headroom for the pictures, too! Mike 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 4, 2019 Author Share Posted January 4, 2019 Yep, trying to sort out the rails was indeed a pain in the derriere... I will make it look better, when the glues have set enough for the plastic to be workable. Applying wire onto panels hasn't grown old yet... but I'm sure it will! The extreme magnification courtesy of the camera phone makes me cringe... but it'll be fine IRL. At least, that's what I keep telling myself. There is a large pipe on a couple of oxygen tanks coming soon that looks pretty poor as a moulding but looks like it *might* be easily ground down and replaced. Stay tuned for further thrills! Mike 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 5, 2019 Author Share Posted January 5, 2019 14 hours ago, Chaotic Mike said: Yep, trying to sort out the rails was indeed a pain in the derriere... I will make it look better, when the glues have set enough for the plastic to be workable. It's funny how the camera distortion makes it look like ithe squab is sretched out again... Luckily, the previous shot shows it to be pretty much square! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted January 5, 2019 Share Posted January 5, 2019 That’s a great tip with the Rioja wire (Pity I only usually drink white wine!) Thanks for thumbs up with the pix. I’ve found one more. This is the IWM’s Mk.X about 1988 before re assembly. Trevor 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 Hmm... How much rioja am I going to need to scarf down to replicate that? 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Max Headroom Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷🍷? Trevor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 7, 2019 Author Share Posted January 7, 2019 This is the rudder bar. It looks a bit crude to me, but the primary issue I have with it is that the pedals are at different heights. I couldn't have got it wrong, because the pieces are engineered to be Murphy-proof. Any experts going to tell me that all Lanc pilots had oddly shaped legs, before I indulge in a little slicing? https://1drv.ms/u/s!Ak5GPbYRVwab0Ht_Z-XM5df479RB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chaotic Mike Posted January 9, 2019 Author Share Posted January 9, 2019 Moving on. Thought I'd dress up the cockpit with snazzy HGW fabric+etch belts. You would think I'd have learned, after my Tempest, but noooo… So anyway, I acquired me some Spitfire IX harnesses, representing RAF equipment from the same time period. Here is a picture of the instructions, and the belts: Observe what the instructions suggest you do with fabric part 3, and also what fabric part 3 looks like. Has anyone actually ever built these things, and if so, how? 🙂I'm capable of slicing part 3 down the middle - if that's what they mean - but I don't think the pieces are remotely long enough to fold the attachment point into it. Comparing the relative proportions of what is in the picture to what is on the fabric fret, it just doesn't look possible! Any experience you'd like to spare? Cheers then, Mike 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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