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Sea Vixen FAW.1x2


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What the hell was this diagonal cloud up to?

50866387871_4f7fee0e46_c.jpg

Pillar of cloud by day and all that.

 

13 hours ago, CJP said:

Albion Alloys brass tubing slid over a length of brass wire will produce a reasonable strut.

I see your agreement and raise you some more agreeing CJ! :thumbsup2:

12 hours ago, michaelc said:

I just showed my wife the video of the Lada.  I then told her about the context of this thread.  Her response was ; "Ah a steam powered aircraft".  

:laugh:

I've got your next anniversary present covered I think then Michael:

2751814.jpg

Mr. Schenck wrote some singularly odd stuff at times and this is up there.

(The cover artist a Victor fan obvs.)

 

Nice to have you along btw. :thumbsup2:

11 hours ago, KevinK said:

 

I lived in New Orleans for ten years: whats horrifying is that it's completely authentic, in terms of observed detail. I KNEW some of those characters.

 

Possibly the funniest book I have ever read.

Nice to met you Kevin.

 

Ignatius eh? Think I've been in the Irish version of the Night of Joy on more than one occasion in younger days.... :laugh:

4 hours ago, perdu said:

 

I bought it, no silly, not THAT one, mine arrives next week.

Brilliant Bill. :thumbsup2:

4 hours ago, perdu said:

My electric car (when nature and time conspire against the Focus*) will be sure to suit me just as much as the MGs do.

It's bordering on a human rights issue to see someone having to give up an MG in my book Bill - have you considered just swapping out power sources at a future date?

 

These guys from Holland have an offshoot down in Co. Cork currently doing a raring trade at present converting petrol/diesel/classic motors into EVs - the going rate for something like a top range BMW saloon is I think about €6k at present (expect prices to fall consistently year-on-year as more open source stuff and cheaper batteries become available). There have to be some equivalent outfits over in the UK; given that things in this neck of the woods tend as a rule to be more expensive here , would imagine that price would be shaved down considerably on your side of the pond.

 

 

A visually unexciting morning's work under the belt so will only detain you with a single picture of the parts inventory for XN708:

50865655938_0ea0ac2b63_b.jpg

About 50% larger in number than XJ481 due to undercarriage and radar &etc.

 

Over the course of the week or so I'll start putting these together with supports in Chitubox and begin printing them out for a test assembly.

 

Lunchtime and bacon sarnies beckon to warm the cockles on this cold day.

 

May you keep warm yourselves and if not, may something warming in bottle or pot be close at hand to assist.

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

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I've just caught up with the weeks proceedings Tony, and I'm almost lost for words.  Those piccies on Tuesday of the assembled Vixen are just astounding. 

I have a new (greater) appreciation for your skills as I just started work on a 1/48 Westland Wapiti and the forms on that aircraft are way simpler than the flowing voluptuous curves of the Vixen, yet I am still having trouble with some of them. I am just a basic SolidWorks user though, and it's I've never had need for many of the more "exotic" features within. 

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I need to read back on the designing/printing process to remind myself how chitubox bit fits in. Just bit the bullet and ordered an Elegoo Mercury plus clean/cure station and downloaded Fusion 360 so more designing coming soon!

 

Ian

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I've been watching a TV programme called Vintage Voltage. Based in Wales, they convert cars to electric power.

It's not cheap, and for some reason they are popular with customers from the Emerald Isle.

The results, performance wise, can be outstanding. But one was an MG Midget. Remaining useable space, The seats. No stowage room left at all!

So for thirty odd grand, the owner reduced the usefulness of his car? 

 

As for clouds, who can tell? We Earthbound mortals can only stand and marvel at their majesty. See, I can do profound. (Only by appointment though).

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50 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

As for clouds, who can tell? We Earthbound mortals can only stand and marvel at their majesty. See, I can do profound. (Only by appointment though).

Pete ,You must  let everyone know you'll be here all week, 2 shows daily and to be sure to tip their waiters and waitresses

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2 hours ago, hendie said:

I've just caught up with the weeks proceedings Tony, and I'm almost lost for words.  Those piccies on Tuesday of the assembled Vixen are just astounding. 

I have a new (greater) appreciation for your skills as I just started work on a 1/48 Westland Wapiti and the forms on that aircraft are way simpler than the flowing voluptuous curves of the Vixen, yet I am still having trouble with some of them.

That's remarkably generous of you to say so Alan, considering the amount I've learned from your good self over the past few years. 🤗

 

I had a conversation with somebody through work back in November about a similar issue regarding creative activity that is observational/visual in nature (this was to do with the making of films). We'd both arrived at the same conclusion quite separately regarding the fundamental importance of mental visualization; that, no matter what facility one has with any given equipment/technology, the ability before all else to hold a clear three-dimensional mental image in the mind's eye as a precursor to your intended goal was what enabled you to successfully turn it into a material reality.

 

I remember reading something years ago in an interview with a Japanese dancer talking about teaching herself a particular dance as a series of shapes that she mentally pictured her body in - once she'd taught her body the shapes, it was just a case of selecting these mental images in the correct sequence for her to perform the routine. (Given how I dance it would appear to be a mental image of inebriated hippopotami... :laugh:)

 

In the case of the Vixen (with this being my first proper experience of anything CAD-based) it's a process I'd call mental photogrammetry; assimilating loads of photographs of the aircraft and its details from a range of angles to triangulate a mental model of what you subsequently need to put together (is this making sense...?). The maintenance manuals being a necessary backup to understand the finer points of structure and function...

 

Something like that anyway.... 🤹‍♂️

2 hours ago, Brandy said:

 Just bit the bullet and ordered an Elegoo Mercury plus clean/cure station and downloaded Fusion 360 so more designing coming soon!

Yay! 👍

You certainly won't regret the wash/cure station Ian - it's made the printing process a gazillion times less stressful in terms of cleanup at the end.

2 hours ago, Brandy said:

I need to read back on the designing/printing process to remind myself how chitubox bit fits in.

Once you've completed your design in Fusion, load it into Chitubox to:

hollow it out

add supports

slice the model for printing

The latest version of the software is vastly improved.

 

The nice thing about Fusion is that you can automatically send your design directly from the timeline in Fusion to Chitubox as an .stl without the need to save it out from the former and import it separately into the latter. (Personally I do it the long way round of saving various components out as .stl files into a base folder and only open them up later in Chitubox - this is more to do with the complexity of the project here however so that I can create an inventory - with less complicated projects it's not a necessity.

 

2 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

It's not cheap, and for some reason they are popular with customers from the Emerald Isle.

The first part of that sentence sounds decidedly rum to me Pete -the whole reason the guys down New Electric guys in Arklow are so successful here is that the conversions are practicable and affordable by the average punter. They've a positive community vibe about skills-exchange too, which is a really powerful grass roots way of breaking the reliance on punitive car dealerships.

2 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

So for thirty odd grand, the owner reduced the usefulness of his car? 

30K? Feck me they saw him coming alright.

Let me guess: he went for the full package with leather headlights and a tinted satnav....

1 hour ago, LorenSharp said:

Pete ,You must  let everyone know you'll be here all week, 2 shows daily and to be sure to tip their waiters and waitresses

It was his ball-juggling routine that got us closed down by the council the last time - don't encourage him!

 

 

 

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1 hour ago, TheBaron said:

the ability before all else to hold a clear three-dimensional mental image in the mind's eye as a precursor to your intended goal was what enabled you to successfully turn it into a material reality.

So that's what I've been doing with my scratchbuilds? The picture can be a bit fuzzy at times. I think I have a dodgy vertical hold....

 

Yes, those Electric car prices seemed high to me too. They are using Tesla motors. The results are very impressive performance wise, but to me, as I say, seem to be a 

compromise when it comes to the practical side of using the vehicle. Last nights episode was a Porsche 914. Not noted for it's interior space, I'll report back when I

watch the recording. The best episode used a Land Rover. At least there was some space left in there. 

 

And now I know what Chitubox is for. Thanks. I just need to rid my brain of drunken Hippo's. We're not talking Fantasia here, are we?

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Wow Tony this does look gorgeous in the images showing it together.   I especially likecghe image from the rear between the tail booms, when I first saw that I thought it was real.

Great work,  sorry I have not been around.  

Chris

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49 minutes ago, AdrianMF said:

Due to a modest mental leap, I’ve now got “Elephants on Parade” from Dumbo in my head...

At least it not Hefalumps and Woozzles.

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On 22/01/2021 at 15:40, TheBaron said:

A friend from up North recently sent me a copy of John Kennedy Toole 's A Confederacy of Dunces as a late Christmas present and how did I never read this horrible delight until now?

 

"Ah, my valve is opening."

 

Many years ago, I set myself to the task of generating a screenplay, but despaired at the unavailability of Charles Laughton for the lead role (he's dead you know) and Katherine Hepburn as the Minx (she was badly wrinkled at the time and may have been dead). I thought I would have to resort to Sean Penn and Madonna! Argh!! I would rather consume my weight in Paradise Vendors Inc. wieners.   :)

 

Cheers,

Bill

 

PS. What does any of this have to do with 3-D printing a Sea Vixen?    :drunk:

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18 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

 I just need to rid my brain of drunken Hippo's. We're not talking Fantasia here, are we?

I immediately had a Reggie Perrin flashback......

"She's BACK!!!!!"

 

I didn't get where I am today by having flashbacks...

 

Suuuper!

 

Ian 

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18 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I think I have a dodgy vertical hold....

Have you tried adjusting the knob?

18 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

We're not talking Fantasia here, are we?

 

18 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Due to a modest mental leap, I’ve now got “Elephants on Parade” from Dumbo in my head...

 

17 hours ago, LorenSharp said:

At least it not Hefalumps and Woozzles.

 

35 minutes ago, Brandy said:

I immediately had a Reggie Perrin flashback......

"She's BACK!!!!!"

:laugh:

This thread has now officially passed the Turing test.

 

18 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Great work,  sorry I have not been around.  

Thanks as always Chris - hope that all is ok in your neck of the woods mate. :thumbsup2:

13 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

"Ah, my valve is opening."

:rofl:

One sincerely hopes not Bill!

13 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

PS. What does any of this have to do with 3-D printing a Sea Vixen? 

Ignatius would know.

6 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Page 75 and NOW you ask? 

Is this a record?

*Attempts to contact Norris McWhirter via a spirit medium*

 

Something was bugging me when going through the inventory of parts last evening ad I realized that I'd forgotten to add the refuelling probe to XN708 - or rather, the wing fairing into which the shaft of the probe is mounted:

50869951176_8c79dc3591_b.jpg

Image credit: Richard Flagg, via @71chally

 

The above overhead from Flixton shows a view with the probe itself removed of course but a great image that has helped several times on this build along with James' rich inventory of shots of XJ481.

 

Anyway, the fairing is now added into the leading edge of the port wing:

50869199298_7f46719b5c_b.jpg

As I don't trust a resin cylinder of that length not to warp after curing at this scale, the mounting is intended for some 1mm brass tubing, which should answer nicely for a good strong scale representation of the shaft:

50870191287_427419d0a5_b.jpg

The tip of the probe is within the bounds of printability so I created a resin part for that as well, to be added to the end of the brass during assembly:

50870183687_5924d9ab26_b.jpg

 

I have to stop noticing parts soon....

:bye:

Tony

 

 

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21 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I had a conversation with somebody through work back in November about a similar issue regarding creative activity that is observational/visual in nature (this was to do with the making of films). We'd both arrived at the same conclusion quite separately regarding the fundamental importance of mental visualization; that, no matter what facility one has with any given equipment/technology, the ability before all else to hold a clear three-dimensional mental image in the mind's eye as a precursor to your intended goal was what enabled you to successfully turn it into a material reality.

 

I remember reading something years ago in an interview with a Japanese dancer talking about teaching herself a particular dance as a series of shapes that she mentally pictured her body in - once she'd taught her body the shapes, it was just a case of selecting these mental images in the correct sequence for her to perform the routine. (Given how I dance it would appear to be a mental image of inebriated hippopotami... :laugh:)

 

In the case of the Vixen (with this being my first proper experience of anything CAD-based) it's a process I'd call mental photogrammetry; assimilating loads of photographs of the aircraft and its details from a range of angles to triangulate a mental model of what you subsequently need to put together (is this making sense...?). The maintenance manuals being a necessary backup to understand the finer points of structure and function...

This surely is the absolute minimum requirement for any project, artistic such as scratch building models or sculpting and drawing artwork, or physical such as building a city or putting in drains.

 

Every time I begin a build I am mentally building a framework or structure the finished item sits in from the beginning, so for instance I have a head full of three window horse buses and an absolute need to take in other stuff to avoid becoming fixated.

 

Then all I have to do is fill in the framework with the results.

 

I would love to have been born with the number synapse fitted in the on position but at this late age I also have to accept that it isn't how my head works, and so I can and do take pleasure watching a miracle occur from raw numbers in your Elegoo Tony.

 

Press on dear friend and let us enjoy the sight of online miracules.

 

And roll on Tuesday when my book should arrive.

 

I love that description of the Japanese lady's learning process, poetic.

 

 

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24 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

All good here Tony thanks, except for no Snow unfortunately.   

Chris

Feel free to have some of ours

IMG-20210124-WA0010.jpg

 

IMG-20210124-WA0005.jpg

 

This one was nine o'clock this morning an hour after it started, twenty to four and it hasnt stopped except to get its breath back.

 

:(

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2 hours ago, TheBaron said:

The tip of the probe is within the bounds of printability so I created a resin part for that as well, to be added to the end of the brass during assembly:

No kidding? :gobsmacked:

 

Ciao 

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You're all welcome to the snow. I had enough of that stuff in New England and I don't miss shoveling 3 feet of it off my driveway one little bit!

 

Ian

ps I think Tony's cloud is where all my data has gone to!

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I'll tick the no snow box too, if I may. I'm with @Brandy They used to say that Military service in India (for instance) thins the blood. 

After my adventures in the Middle East, I think the same has happened to me. It's too cold! Roll on the Summer, such as it is. 

 

 

4 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I have to stop noticing parts soon....

F'nar. You really are making this too easy. Or, wait, was it a trap? Wonder if Ced will fall for it.

 

IMG-20210124-WA0005.jpg

And the house across the road has a waggon wheel screwed to the wall! Is that subliminal inspiration?

 

 

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