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Short Sunderland in 1/32nd scale


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23 hours ago, bentwaters81tfw said:

You could have just made it out of Lego :whistle:

 

It certainly does have that look about it - I was thinking it was rather like the hull planking on the Titanic!

 

22 hours ago, Snafu35 said:

Hello, Tom,

 

reassure us: when do you sleep? :sleeping:  🤪 😂

It's a fantastic job, and a fantasy as this "shoe" is big!

The mishap of the fall is a memory now, and there is no apparent trace.

I admire the regularity of the portholes that you have dug.

Do you think the dewclaws will hold the wings well, or are you going to add stems, like knitting needles?

 

Regards,

Eric-Snafu35

 

The spars here are just stubs - when I construct the wings these will have larger spars that will attach the these protrusions from the fuselage.

 

22 hours ago, Alan P said:

Very glad to see you back at work with this after the morale-crushing drop 😔

 

I shall be following!

 

Alan

 

Thanks, Alan - a break was much needed as morale and the mojo was at an all-time low after the fall from the table.

 

22 hours ago, TempestV said:

Great to see this getting some fuss again. In case no-one has already asked, can you go sailing in it?

 

Probably. The kids' paddling pool is up in the garden at the moment. I'll get my trunks on tonight and give it a go!

 

22 hours ago, Putty Animal said:

Outstanding.  Every line is worth it.  ♥️

 

Many thanks!

 

20 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Nice scribing work Tom are you adding all the rivets too?

I'll get my coat 🧥

Great work 

Chris

 

I have seriously thought about it - not sure I can face it at this moment in time but I may add some rivetting in due course if I can summon the motivation.

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 Taking a break from the tedium of scribing, I've had a look at the mid-upper that was fitted to the MkII Sunderland. 

 

You get the basic shape of the fairing which is mounted off-set of the centreline (to starboard) on the upper fuselage, and the turret glazing itself (which still has its protective coating on):

 

51240615749_895b59c0fb_b.jpg

 

The fairing was trimmed to the correct size using the plans I have, and turret itself has also been trimmed and test fitted after its aperture was opened up:

 

51240047538_76a9940665_b.jpg

 

Once the remaining scribing is done on the upper fuse, this will be ready to install.

 

Take care all,

Tom

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Evening all,

 

I've now completed the scribing of the main fuselage panel lines, and given the whole airframe a gentle rub-down with fine sandpaper to make the surface completely uniform.

 

The detail doesn't show up as well as I'd like in the pictures, but hopefully they'll give you the general idea.

 

Forward nose section:

 

DSC_0167

 

DSC_0157

 

Mid-sections:

 

DSC_0169

 

DSC_0165

 

DSC_0159

 

DSC_0170

 

And the rear fuselage:

 

DSC_0158

 

The mid-upper fairing has been completed and added, the the turret itself test fitted:

 

DSC_0172

 

So... here's the state of play. Fuselage as complete as it needs to be at this stage, so I may have a look at the wings next:

 

DSC_0154

 

DSC_0161

 

Until next time,

Tom

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Lovely work Tom, this is really looking the part already. The scribed lines show up fine to me. Nice and subtle as they should be.

 

Richie

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10 hours ago, RichieW said:

Lovely work Tom, this is really looking the part already. The scribed lines show up fine to me. Nice and subtle as they should be.

 

Richie

Thanks, Richie. I’ve tried to keep them as subtle as possible, whilst still being visible when you look for them. I simply cannot stand ‘in your face’ panel lines that have no resemblance when compared to the real thing. 
 

9 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Oh my.....

Quote, Benny Hill, in the Italian Job "I like 'em big"

Ha ha! I’ve just got the wings out to do some work on them, and my word... it’s going to be large!

 

Tom

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Morning all,

 

I dug the wings out over the weekend in preparation for work to commence - as you can see the Sunderland is one LARGE aeroplane. The wife isn't overly impressed. Never mind.

 

51246091723_92acfabaed_b.jpg

 

51245176717_03848336fa_b.jpg

 

Lots of scribing and reinforcing work ahead...

 

Tom

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7 hours ago, tomprobert said:

The wife isn't overly impressed. Never mind.

😂

Quote of the year so far!

Impressive work on the fuselage Tom, looking forward to the wings.

 

Ian

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Crikey Tom, I built a pair of the old Airfix 1/72 Sunderlands and thought they were massive. How wrong I was! I bet your wife secretly brags about your awesome project to her friends over a coffee. ;)

 

Richie

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Brilliant work as ever Tom. Will be glad to see this at a show in the future................. when ever that will be.  Have you had a word with Chatham Dock Yard about mooring costs and availability ?? Will help keep SWMBO happy.:whistle:

 

Dick

Edited by jenko
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On 6/17/2021 at 10:13 PM, RichieW said:

Crikey Tom, I built a pair of the old Airfix 1/72 Sunderlands and thought they were massive. How wrong I was! I bet your wife secretly brags about your awesome project to her friends over a coffee. ;)

 

Richie

 

That's not the only large thing she brags about :winkgrin:

 

On 6/18/2021 at 8:02 AM, jenko said:

Brilliant work as ever Tom. Will be glad to see this at a show in the future................. when ever that will be.  Have you had a word with Chatham Dock Yard about mooring costs and availability ?? Will help keep SWMBO happy.:whistle:

 

Dick

 

That's a great idea, Dick - I'll get on the blower. Will be good to catch up when the time comes...

 

On 6/18/2021 at 8:11 AM, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Needs rivets…

 

Stop it... :banghead:

 

I've had a few pleasant evenings watching Euro 2020 and scribing the wings at the same time - certainly makes a rather boring task more entertaining - unless you're watching England of course...

 

I don't think the pictures show the panel detail all that well, but you get the general idea from these shots. I scribe the wings whilst still on the backing sheet as this reduces flex and makes the task much easier - here they are with the main lines done:

 

51253945798_49676889a1_b.jpg

 

51253013912_32c12389b3_b.jpg

 

51253744241_03779ef396_b.jpg

 

I've since removed them from the backing sheet and removed the bomb runners and landing lights on the leading edge of the port wing. I need to give the mating surfaces a final sand and then I'll be adding the lower wings to the fuselage and construct the spars before sandwiching them with the upper wing surfaces.

 

51253945993_72e1694abc_b.jpg

 

Stay tuned...

 

Tom

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Fabulous Tom. I do think a ‘big un’ beats a ‘ ‘little un’ every time 

 

If Mrs Tom complains about the size just look thoughtful and say “Well maybe you are right, it should be in 1/24th after all”. She might then  decide discretion is better than pressing the point. 
 

Like your panel lines and am with you on models that have scale spacing of several inches. Definitely a case of less is more. 
 

Ive got one in 1/48 by the way and that’s a biggie. Can only imagine what working in 1/32 must be like and enjoying watching

 

Of course now you are well into it someone at HK Models will be saying “How far along are the CAD drawings for our Sunderland ?” :D

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Looking at the photo with the tape measure the two wings span 40", so overall plus the fuselage that is 44 to 45": one large model.

The lancaster has a 112ft wingspan, the Sunderland a 101ft wingspan, so almost as big as the HKM 1/32 scale Lancaster. 

 

In 1/24th scale it would be 50 inches span...... 

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On 6/19/2021 at 12:19 PM, JohnT said:

Fabulous Tom. I do think a ‘big un’ beats a ‘ ‘little un’ every time 

 

If Mrs Tom complains about the size just look thoughtful and say “Well maybe you are right, it should be in 1/24th after all”. She might then  decide discretion is better than pressing the point. 
 

Like your panel lines and am with you on models that have scale spacing of several inches. Definitely a case of less is more. 
 

Ive got one in 1/48 by the way and that’s a biggie. Can only imagine what working in 1/32 must be like and enjoying watching

 

Of course now you are well into it someone at HK Models will be saying “How far along are the CAD drawings for our Sunderland ?” :D

Me building a big vac and then an injection one being released is the story of my life... I did a ID models 1/32 Lanc, B-17, B-25 and B-24 and low and behold, along comes a 21st Century super-kit. So Sunderland fans can relax as there'll be a 1/32nd one along shortly...

 

On 6/20/2021 at 11:22 AM, 224 Peter said:

Looking at the photo with the tape measure the two wings span 40", so overall plus the fuselage that is 44 to 45": one large model.

The lancaster has a 112ft wingspan, the Sunderland a 101ft wingspan, so almost as big as the HKM 1/32 scale Lancaster. 

 

In 1/24th scale it would be 50 inches span...... 

I think the Lac has a span of 102ft... and the Sunderland 112ft. Either way, they're both monsters!

Edited by tomprobert
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 Evening all,

 

With the lower wings scribed, I have been working on making the internal wing spars this week. The plastic is reasonably thick but due to the sheer size of the wings, they have the structural properties of a windsock on a calm day so much is needed...

 

First it was a case of using the plans to make the central spar from plastic card:

 

51266578958_de7e5406dd_b.jpg

 

With this 'master spar' it was relatively easy to fabricate the rest - and in turn each of these was attached to the stub-spars I'd made earlier and of course to the lower wing skins. I used good old fashioned poly-cement as it dries nice and slowly and allows careful alignment which CA, for example, wouldn't allow. 

 

Having each wing's dihedral the same as the other is obviously vital - even the slightest misalignment shows in this scale, so being a believer in the simple things in life I simply cut out a cardboard jig from the plans...

 

51266579063_76d77e7ff5_b.jpg

 

...and used this to align the wings:

 

51266578798_da29dc8248_b.jpg

 

Here you can see how the main wing spars interlock with the smaller stub-spars that protrude from the fuselage:

 

DSC_0179

 

DSC_0175

 

Now it'll be a case of scribing the upper wing surfaces and these will then slip over the internal spar structure and sandwich everything together, making a nice and solid wing... he says hopefully:

 

DSC_0178

 

DSC_0176

 

Scribing the upper wing surfaces looks as if it's going to be a nightmare of epic proportions... I may be a while.

 

All the best,

Tom

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