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Sea Vixen FAW.1x2


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Hello Tony, No more repetitions from me here anymore. Please show us your finished and painted model soon! Otherwise you drive us all crazy here and we'll have to go in therapy soon🤪.

Cheers

 

Edited by bbudde
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Bloody h***!

This all looked fabulous when you showed us the renders earlier, but now it's printed, and actually fits together as planned, what more can I say?

Spectacular, Tony, absolutely gorgeous!

Top marks for both skills learnt and inspiration!

 

Ian

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Wow. And what they said :) 

Fantastic internals, lovely engines… great to see all the hard work paying off matey.

 

On 23/02/2021 at 20:12, Pete in Lincs said:

Now look here! are you just taunting poor @CedB ? It's widely known that the supply of dried frog pills is running short in this present medical shenanigans.

Thanks Pete, good of you old boy, I've not been feeling myself lately (fnaar!) :D 

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11 hours ago, giemme said:

Now you will probably begin to hear the chant:

 

We Want Paint!

We Want Paint!

We Want Paint!

We Want Paint!

Don’t listen, Tony.  
 

[The longer you hold out, the less time he’ll have to picket my Ark Royal build with the same demands!]
 

Astonishing Foxy-ness.  Every update of yours erodes my resistance to buying a printer...

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I mentioned in the last update about the epic skies here of late - some absolute scenes occurring at the longer wavelengths:

50982818321_34ac79bc31_h.jpg

"Pandemonium"

 

*******************************************************************************

 

On 23/02/2021 at 19:44, David H said:

As Ben Stein would say, "Wowww."

I had to look him up I'm afraid.

On 23/02/2021 at 20:12, Pete in Lincs said:

The Bungee cords would be for vertical seat adjustment. Hence the lever on the RH side. None of yer motorised stuff back then.

Thanks for correcting my enthusiastically erroneous 'catapult theory of bang seats' Pete. :laugh: If memory serve,s one of the differences in the later FAW.2 was indeed the introduction of a seat motor.

On 23/02/2021 at 20:38, 71chally said:

Incredible work Tony, wish I could be more verbose, but simply incredible, kinda looks more impressive (as if that was possible) as the bits are going together.

James: if your happy with the looks, I'm certainly happy with the looks... 😁

On 23/02/2021 at 20:56, kev67 said:

I think you are showing the future for this hobby, what ultimately will happen is more and more will be able to create their own models, especially if you have the knowledge to do it that is

We're in a very interesting time when it comes to working with new material processes aren't we Kev?

 

It's a bit of a cliché to use the overworked analogy of audio recording, but it is a bit like the new opportunities that sampling and hard disk recording provided musicians with back in the 80s/90s  - doing on a small and dispersed scale what used to require expensive industrial premises. I love as much as ever the manual textures of making through processes like metalworking and vacforming, but from the experience of using photochemistry on this build, I'd rather invest now in new tools and processes than manufacturer's kits. 😁 #Icarusstandingtooclosetothehairdryer...

On 23/02/2021 at 20:59, hendie said:

I can only imagine the elation you must feel at getting to this stage Tony, especially as you mentioned, pretty much everything fits as intended or with only the slightest of adjustments.  Those engine details are just astounding aren't they? 

To be frank Alan, I look at those engines with something akin to impostor syndrome - the process of conjuring them into being through light is so beguiling a one that I keep looking at them and wondering who on earth did them...

 

You express it perfectly here of course:

On 23/02/2021 at 20:59, hendie said:

Even though I've printed off literally hundreds of parts on my printer, that feeling you get as you go to remove the build plate and see what's hanging off there makes me feel like a child on Xmas morning every time

Do you get butterflies in your stomach too if you've left a print on overnight and rush downstairs in the morning to see if it came out successfully?

I know I do....:rofl:

On 23/02/2021 at 21:32, AdrianMF said:

Been a fan for 50 years now since seeing "The Great Day of His Wrath" in a colour supplement,

That's a coincidence Adrian - I first discovered him 40 years ago as a book cover, in a detail from his painting Arthur & Aegle! 😁

50983045192_955adadd47_h.jpg

The book has stayed with me ever since.

On 23/02/2021 at 21:32, AdrianMF said:

His brother set fire to York Cathedral, so quite a family!

Goodness! I didn't realize that Adrian. We all have that one family member I suppose....

On 24/02/2021 at 05:27, philp said:

Great update.

Thank you Phil. :thumbsup2:

On 24/02/2021 at 07:38, michaelc said:

to heck with the fumes!

I distinctly heard you say that in a Walter White timbre Michael... 😁

On 24/02/2021 at 08:46, Hamden said:

Outstanding simply OUTSTANDING Tony!

 

On 24/02/2021 at 12:16, perdu said:

Just outstanding.

A least I didn't stick the wings on upside down this time round* Roger & Bill! :laugh:

(Thanks for you kind words both of you - v. much appreciated).

 

* You damn well knew I ran over the the bench after typing that just to check didn't you....

On 24/02/2021 at 14:01, giemme said:

Now you will probably begin to hear the chant:

 

We Want Paint!

We Want Paint!

We Want Paint!

We Want Paint!

You gonna make me use a bold font on yoass Big G?

:rofl2:

On 24/02/2021 at 15:42, bbudde said:

Please show us your finished and painted model soon! Otherwise you drive us all crazy here and we'll have to go in therapy soon

There's still a rake of stuff needs checking in terms of the interaction of parts yet Benedikt before I dare breathe any pigment on it.

These are just some of the adjustments I found needed doing earlier! :shocked:

50982206721_5ebaa1b912_b.jpg

On 24/02/2021 at 17:47, Brandy said:

Spectacular, Tony, absolutely gorgeous!

Top marks for both skills learnt and inspiration!

Kind of you as always Ian.

It's taken just over 12 months to get this far by my counting, but the struggle has been worth it in terms of new possibilities being opened up for future builds. Won't be long before you're doing a whole Merc from scratch I reckon at the rate you're picking it up too! 😁

On 24/02/2021 at 23:58, CedB said:

Fantastic internals, lovely engines… great to see all the hard work paying off matey.

Cheers Ced! :thumbsup2:

It's nice to see a series of tunnel visions join together to form a...oh what am I saying? I've run out of daft metaphors this evening, let's leave it at 'nice'. :laugh:

On 25/02/2021 at 01:53, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

Don’t listen, Tony.  
 

[The longer you hold out, the less time he’ll have to picket my Ark Royal build with the same demands!]

Gotcha! :nodding:

 

Between ourselves Crisp, I'm beginning to suspect that our Giorgio may not be being entirely frank about his pivotal role in a vast international paint cartel that is seeking to control the market in maritime-themed pigments.

On 25/02/2021 at 08:42, Fritag said:

The engines and bang seats are wholly remarkable sub-assemblies, Tony.  The fidelity on the fan blades is game changingly fine.  

The process is infinitely entertaining in terms of possibility Steve. :nodding: Alan makes a cogent point that:

On 23/02/2021 at 20:59, hendie said:

Injection molding is certainly a great medium, but there are some instances where 3D printing just beats it hands down.

There are certain features that I've been able to print as integrated units that I simply don't think could be done by injection moulding, except perhaps by breaking it down into even smaller parts.

 

Pictures to follow in next post....

 

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16 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

50982818321_34ac79bc31_h.jpg

"Pandemonium"

Wow Tony!!!!! What a sky. U2's Red rock's  cover is nothing against this! I'm so happy to live in these  digital high res. days now. What personal/individual prospects now, whenever you like it.

For the Vixen I'll have to wait a bit longer, err? But that's always ok in terms of quality.

Have a nice weekend.

Cheers

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The test fitting procedure has continued, and continued also to throw up some revisions that I need to make to various parts of the aircraft.  Mostly these are just adjustments in the light of interacting with the assemblies as a physical entity but it's not at all surprising that a first draft requires editing in this way.

 

To start with the engines then:

50981500078_03e14f3527_b.jpg

The fit of these within the engine bays could be described as 'snug'; given the respective scale thicknesses required to maintain a robust strength to the various sections I'm pleased that decisions taken at the design stage don't seem to have compromised visual fidelity, although I did have to sand a little from the rear of the Avons so that the exhaust fairings would sit flush up against the fuselage:

50982313922_4c93158c3b_b.jpg

 As far as the joins between all the various parts I'm putting together, I'm leaving these all unfilled here so that you can see the raw 'fit' of the various parts together and assess the accuracy of this for yourselves. Parts here are continuing to be stuck together using resin and laser.

50981500103_77e29f0b40_b.jpg

I didn't glue the engines into place as they are held firmly in place now once the rear fairing are on:

50981500158_3f2d3b1fea_b.jpg Of course it's then harder to see some of the turbine detail:

50981500118_41ef9ef02b_b.jpg

And the intakes'll need small pencil torch shone up inside hem to clearly reveal the faces of the engines:

 

Then it was time for the boom/fin assembly to be added:

50982313992_43992dd35d_b.jpg

From experience with the test fit of XJ481, I knew that there's a minor mismatch between the rear and front sections of the boom (without complicating matters this is to do with the way that different rails tension the profiles differently at the design stage leaving one side of the break slightly more bulged than the other). A brief acquaintance with the sihrsc prior to assembly was the quickest way to correct this - as well as avoiding any damage to surrounding areas by trying to do it after assembly:

50982206646_ddc5fc4200_b.jpg

A quick look so far at all the join lines underneath as well:

50981500238_25b671a355_b.jpg

I'm only goin to bother with doing the wing and fold once (on the port side) for the test fit as the stbd is just a mirror of the same process and I don't want to get bogged down. To this end the  port wing fence was added and sits nicely perpendicular to the wing:

50982314142_819a221113_b.jpg

Leading edge visual of it is ok:

50981500308_27d499b25b_b.jpg

I want to rework the lower profile of the rear section of it however as it doesn't conform as closely to the camber as would like. It could easily be remedied with filler of course  but that kind of inaccuracy rankles with me too much to leave uncorrected.

 

Moving on then to start tricking out the wing fold with 0.3mm brass rod to link the wingfold mechanisms together:

50982206756_6deccaf2d3_b.jpg

The actual holes for this rod needed no drilling as the printer handled them perfectly despite their small size. In brutal closeup you can also see some of the residual laminar artefacts from the printer that will need a light sand prior to primer:

50982314102_c9df00c8d3_b.jpg

I've left the front brass bit of lattice off as I want to modify the design for the etch of that part in order to to make it less chunky than the first version.

 

Next up, the RAT and doors, remembering that the doors are asymmetric and that the larger of the two goes on the port side.

There are also two tiny struts that link from these doors to the turbine itself at the rear that push the doors open when the RAT pops up into the airflow. These could be added at an incredibly awkward angle from 0.3mm rod if  you're a complete masochist.

I'm not:

50982314202_df6556aaaa_b.jpg

Whilst down that end of the aircraft I also fitted the arrestor hook door with with a shaft for the hook:

50982917077_f244e1819b_b.jpg

I haven't got round to trailing a process to build the actual  'stinger'  part itself from brass yet, but even without it I'm pleased with the fidelity of this rather fragile piece:

50982812276_7fcdde5ed5_b.jpg

'Suited and Booted', or rather, 'RATted and Arrested'...

50982812286_b35abb065a_b.jpg

Also visible in the shot above is the fact that we've got the undercarriage on also; having found from experience that touch is the most reliable way of checking that many parts are lined up correctly with each other, this is my Heath-Robinson laser rig to cure the resin whilst I'm  holding the respective parts in place. This is a highly complex and sensitively calibrated apparatus consisting of a laser pen kept on by spring loaded tweezers, balanced on an old tin of tea:

50982107048_78bc8bd69b_b.jpg

Alright, it does also look like a Vixen being shot down by a laser cannon. @Pete in Lincs is that Maschinen Kreiger?

 

Nosegear needed a little file on either side of the rear arm to help it slip down into the narrow bay:

50982314077_b8d706fe0b_b.jpg

Main oleos also needed similar minor fettling to fit into their wells, prior to the wheels being added:

50982812356_b45ff96640_b.jpg

The main wheels by necessity are mirror images of each other due to the brake detailing on the hubs:

50982917207_600c49c229_b.jpg

It's also mandatory to study head-on images of the Vixen on the ground to ensure that  oleo, wheel, and undercarriage door are all at the correct respective angles to each other, and to the aircraft:

spacer.png

Speaking of undercarriage doors - where are they?

W-ellllll...

I screwed up when outputting them from Fusion and included the small centre section on the outer door, rather than it being part of the inner one that stays up. Found out when I tried to attach this and it was far too long! 🙄

50982107268_ea0e581c61_b.jpg

Easily sorted but another example of 'amazing what you miss after staring at the same thing day in day out'....

 

As expected though, once up on her gams, she's a tail-sitter:

50982107098_57d5473189_b.jpg

Careful calculations involving putting bits of old Jurassic fossils onto the nose until one did the trick revealed that about 10g of weight somewhere in the decolletage will keep things on the straight and narrow:

50982107123_a347eb275a_b.jpg

 

50982812346_32f13c8846_b.jpg

 

50982917152_91aa54cb64_b.jpg

Night, night,

Sleep tight.

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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OH MY! Glorious, is a word that popped into my head as I saw these pictures. That is wonderful to behold. What awaits us in the future of printing? 

 

And yes, It's near enough to maschinen kreiger for me. Love it.

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2 hours ago, CedB said:


 

 

 

 

(That’s me being speechless)

I would say that I am speechless but everyone knows that, being me, that would be an utter lie! Fantastic work though.

 

Shrinking Violet of Mars 👽

 

 

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It just gets better and better! I find myself looking forward to each update just to see how much more amazed I can get!

I have a long way to go to get anywhere close to these standards of printing, but it's nice to know it can be done.

 

Ian

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15 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Between ourselves Crisp, I'm beginning to suspect that our Giorgio may not be being entirely frank about his pivotal role in a vast international paint cartel that is seeking to control the market in maritime-themed pigments.

You got me.... :rofl:

 

Back to serious: I'm speechless too,  I'll go with "Glorious " just like @Pete in Lincs !

:worthy:  :worthy: I particularly like the exposed engines and how they blend in properly in the overall view of the model.

 

Ciao

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Rather stunning results coming through here Tony. Love the detail on the engines and wing folds. It's all so splendid.

 

Given you have engineered much internal detail in the forward fuselage, I'm curious as to where you plan to lose your calculated 10 gms of weight?

 

Terry

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