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Short Sunderland in 1/32nd scale


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Really enjoyed falling upon this build.  I didn't know anything about VacForm builds until last week.  It must have been devastating dropping this one!  been there done that.

I would like to have a go but never had to scratch build anything, and haven't even used a scribing tool for panel lines.

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25 minutes ago, Andy350 said:

Really enjoyed falling upon this build.  I didn't know anything about VacForm builds until last week.  It must have been devastating dropping this one!  been there done that.

I would like to have a go but never had to scratch build anything, and haven't even used a scribing tool for panel lines.

Many thanks - and I can assure you this sort of model is nowhere near as difficult as many perceive them to be. My advice would be to start on a simple vacform to get the feel, and once the bug has got you, you’ll never look back!

Lots will go wrong (you should see my pile of discarded parts after a session of scratch-building!) but that’s all part of the fun. There’ll be plenty of very experienced vacform builders able to offer advice and guidance on here when you decide to take the plunge...

 

 In other news... I have a set of HK models 1/32 B-17 engines in their way - thanks, Mark - so I can get modifying them into the Bristol Pegasus as soon as they arrive. 
 

I have also done some test fitting of the Revell 1/32 Beaufighter cowl flaps and exhaust collector ring and it appears that they will fit perfectly - they are almost identical between the Hercules and Pegasus so that’s good news. 
 

Hopefully another more in-depth update soon!

Tom

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  • 2 weeks later...

Greetings ladies and gentlemen :)

 

Another Sunderland update for you - lots of time has been spent at the bench but unfortunately there's not a lot to show for it... just four engine cowlings that have taken a while to make.

 

The parts supplied in the kit are very basic indeed (see picture below) and to be honest wouldn't cut it if I used them as they came. There has been an effort to mold the exhausts, cowl flaps and carburetor intake but the details are very soft and not to a standard I'm aiming for. Therefore, they'd have to go.

 

Over the years I've amassed a good collection of Revell 1/32nd Beaufighter engine parts as they always come in useful for builds such as these - originally I had intended to use them for a 1/32nd Stirling (a project that's stalled) but they have also come in very useful for this build. The Sunderland's Bristol Pegasus engine cowling is very similar to the Hercules in the fact that is uses the same forward exhaust collector ring and cowl flap set up. The cowling itself is slightly shorter front-rear due to the Pegasus being single row and the Hercules twin-row, but other than that there's lots that is interchangeable. 

 

I've also now got a set of 1/32nd Wright Cyclone cylinders (thanks, Mark!) that will form the basis for a Pegasus conversion - as well as the Beaufighter parts mentioned above. Pictured too are the kit cowlings...

 

51373950599_659bb20e6c_b.jpg

 

The first, and rather brutal task, was to remove the centre-section of cowling from the kit parts. This will ensure the engine is the correct length front-rear, and was simply done with a hacksaw. The kit exhaust and intakes will also be removed as I will make replacements for these myself:

 

51373448048_eabf8db7e7_b.jpg

 

I then carefully trimmed all of the cowling parts to ensure they were all of identical size, and glued them to the Revell cowl flap parts, bit by bit:

 

51372458267_16fe6bc980_b.jpg

 

I then replaced the missing parts where the exhaust and intakes were molded with plastic card, heated slightly and curved to match the cowling parts, and then added the Revell collector ring which fitted almost perfectly:

 

51373447863_d2068218f5_b.jpg

 

All the joins were then made good with White Milliput, and some raised detail such as the hinges for the cowling covers were added from Evergreen strip. After about five hours of graft some decent-looking cowlings began to emerge:

 

51372457927_21cf32b896_b.jpg

 

You may notice that the engine second from right has its exhaust positioned at 9 o'clock rather than 12 o'clock as the others do - this is because the number 2 engine's exhaust goes into the leading edge of the wing before changing direction and leaving the upper surface of the wing vertically. I believe this is something to do with a heat-exchange system for the cabin heating - but those more in the know about Sunderlands may be able to correct me on that!

 

With the basic structure of the nacelles complete, I decided to give them a quick splash of primer. Finding some way of holding them whilst spraying is often a challenge, but then I stumbled upon an idea:

 

51373950654_b09972d548_b.jpg

 

Sometimes I even amaze myself at my own genius :D

 

Here we have all four nacelles primed:

 

DSC_0311

 

And here is how they'll look once installed on the wing:

 

DSC_0312

 

DSC_0317

 

DSC_0316

 

Well 'appy with that!

 

I now need to tackle the engines themselves, as well as paint the interiors of the nacelles before I can install them permanently.

 

Until next time,

Tom

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1 hour ago, tomprobert said:

!

 

With the basic structure of the nacelles complete, I decided to give them a quick splash of primer. Finding some way of holding them whilst spraying is often a challenge, but then I stumbled upon an idea:

 

51373950654_b09972d548_b.jpg

 

Sometimes I even amaze myself at my own genius :D


 

Until next time,

Tom

And that after only four beers!

 

cheers, Tom you are doing a great job👍

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Very impressive! If only they made 1:72 scale beer bottles. On second thoughts, I'll stick with full scale, nothing worse than a short measure!

 

Ian

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On 14/07/2021 at 15:35, LorenSharp said:

Its a shame you can't get P38 here in the States.

 

Is it this stuff:

 

"U-Pol P38 Easy Sanding Body Filler"

 

You can get it on Amazon.

 

Cheers,

Bill

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On 8/12/2021 at 4:21 PM, Spookytooth said:

Nice thinking out of the box there Tom.

And yes, the inner port`s exhaust does go to the heat exchanger.

 

Simon.

 

Thanks for confirming, Simon. I net it would have been chilly on a North Atlantic patrol is number 2 went unserviceable!

 

On 8/12/2021 at 4:32 PM, janneman36 said:

And that after only four beers!

 

cheers, Tom you are doing a great job👍

 

There may have been a few more... but ask no questions and I'll tell no lies.... 

 

On 8/12/2021 at 11:09 PM, RichieW said:

Aaahh, Doombar! What a thoroughly splendid tipple. The Sunderland looks good too! ;)

 

Richie

 

I love the stuff - it's just that one is never enough!

 

11 hours ago, Alan P said:

Missed loads of this build Tom, sorry! Great progress, and the genius of the beer bottles is something I will be stealing forthwith! 👏👏👏

 

I always aim to be of service, Alan!

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On 8/13/2021 at 1:33 AM, tomprobert said:

I believe this is something to do with a heat-exchange system for the cabin heating - but those more in the know about Sunderlands may be able to correct me on that!

 

HI Tom,

 

The Inner Port Exhaust going into the wing leading edge, actually passes through

a "wrap around Boiler system"  and exits above the wing.

 The exhaust heats up the water in the boiler,  and then the heat from there is piped through to a heat mixer

to mix with cool air to warm up and pump around the cockpit/ flight deck.

The Heat mixer as see in this IWM photo link, is located directly behind the Wireless Operators position (Portside) ( just across from

the Flight Engineers position).

Sunderland Mk I/II Flight Deck Heat Mixer

 

Hope that helps answer your query?

 

Alan

Edited by LDSModeller
Replaced IWM Photo link
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17 hours ago, LDSModeller said:

 

HI Tom,

 

The Inner Port Exhaust going into the wing leading edge, actually passes through

a "wrap around Boiler system"  and exits above the wing.

 The exhaust heats up the water in the boiler,  and then the heat from there is piped through to a heat mixer

to mix with cool air to warm up and pump around the cockpit/ flight deck.

The Heat mixer as see in this IWM photo link, is located directly behind the Wireless Operators position (Portside) ( just across from

the Flight Engineers position).

Sunderland Mk I/II Flight Deck Heat Mixer

 

Hope that helps answer your query?

 

Alan

Thanks, Alan - really helpful and I’m pleased that I didn’t dream that somewhere and it actually was part of the cabin heating system. Appreciated!

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  • 3 weeks later...

Morning all,

 

A little more progress to share on the Sunderland - I've been working on the engines of late which has not been the most fun (I hate engines and cockpits!) but I'm at a stage where they are ready for installation to the airframe.

 

Sunderland IIs were powered by the Bristol Pegasus, of which aftermarket options were very expensive and to fit four to model would have cost me nearly £100! Therefore I did originally plan to modify the Revell 1/32nd Hercules engines from a Beaufighter, but being two row seven cylinder engines, that was going to be quite a challenge.

 

With the Pegasus being a single row nine cylinder set up, a better starting point would have been a Wright Cyclone and thankfully a fellow forum member came to the rescue (thanks, Mark!) and sent me a set of his unused HK Models' B-17 engines. The reduction gear housing more closely resembles the Hercules set up, however, so I used the HK cylinders and the Revell Hercules reduction gear - not perfectly correct but close enough...

 

The Pegasus is actually, at least at first glance, a quite simple engine to replicate (used for illustration purposes only):

 

51419000806_ac62bd3a50_b.jpg

 

I won't have to worry about detailing the cylinder heads as these will all be hidden by the cowling, so it would just be a case of adding the single push-rods.

 

First up I sprayed the inside of the cowlings black and then I needed to check the cylinders fitted inside the cowlings properly - in the picture below you can see they sit quite happily in the correct position and actually needed no glue to hold them there. The reduction gear housing is just sitting on the cylinders to get the 'sit' of the engine correct in regard to clearance for the propeller:

 

51419260518_90b2d4ab27_b.jpg

 

I then painted the cylinders and reduction housing, and made the pushrods from Evergreen before adding and painting:

 

51419260523_1045fee902_b.jpg

 

A final test fit in the cowling - as you can see not much can actually be seen so the detail I've added is quite adequate:

 

51419000841_688b73331d_b.jpg

 

All four 'power eggs' are now complete, with the engines secured with Araldite Epoxy to ensure they don't fall into the nacelle:

 

51418259867_dd46af6eca_b.jpg

 

Next up will be installing these onto the wing... stay tuned.

 

All the best,

Tom

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On 02/08/2021 at 15:26, Andy350 said:

 

I would like to have a go but never had to scratch build anything, and haven't even used a scribing tool for panel lines.

FWIW I completely agree with @tomprobert ‘s comments above on this. Scratchbuilding is not as difficult as most seem to think and we all start with zero experience. If you want to have a crack at it just go for it. Start with something simple, don’t aim for perfection and get stuck in. 

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The engines look great Tom, although you found it a bit of a chore it was well worth the effort. Looking forward to seeing them mounted too the wings, I'm staying tuned!

 

 

1 hour ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

FWIW I completely agree with @tomprobert ‘s comments above on this. Scratchbuilding is not as difficult as most seem to think and we all start with zero experience. If you want to have a crack at it just go for it. Start with something simple, don’t aim for perfection and get stuck in. 

 

Having recently completed my first ever scratchbuild I can safely say I agree 100% with this. I'd never scribed panel lines, or done even the most basic kit bashing before but got it done in the end. 

 

Richie

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On 9/2/2021 at 12:05 PM, Bandsaw Steve said:

FWIW I completely agree with @tomprobert ‘s comments above on this. Scratchbuilding is not as difficult as most seem to think and we all start with zero experience. If you want to have a crack at it just go for it. Start with something simple, don’t aim for perfection and get stuck in. 

 

On 9/2/2021 at 1:57 PM, RichieW said:

Having recently completed my first ever scratchbuild I can safely say I agree 100% with this. I'd never scribed panel lines, or done even the most basic kit bashing before but got it done in the end. 

 

Richie

Well said, chaps! Throw caution to the wind and crack on!

 

The engines were fitted to the wings last night... some pictures over the weekend, all being well.

 

Tom

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I agree the trick with scratchbuilding is to break objects down into simple shapes that can be fabricated and assembled to get the desired object.  Now I must admit I mostly scratch early aircraft and they tend to be much simpler shapes. But with practice even the most modern planes can be broken down into simpler shapes e.g the Ahrlac I’m currently working on.


273b202d-62f5-40f9-8af0-db49e7fdbf5a.jpe

Thus this breaks down..


resized_5c13ebb3-f653-465b-aa52-62cdf250

Into this 

 

resized_2e2cc16c-1128-45b5-a628-24732985

And this.

Edited by Marklo
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@Marklo that's taking it to a whole new level... what a fascinating project. Have you got a build thread running for this? I, and I'm sure many others, would love to see more as it unfolds. 

 

And what a strange aeroplane - one I wasn't aware even existed!

 

Tom

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