Jump to content

Sea Vixen FAW.1x2


Recommended Posts

  • 2 months later...

Ah.

Good morning all.

And hoping that July finds you well.

 

In my absence I notice that some spheres were kicked around some green rectangles for the last month and that the sea also caught fire at one point, so the news these days is basically all about the laws of physics.

 

Shocked I tell you to see that a couple of months have elapsed since last fingering a qwerty on here -  I missed you all terribly but needs must in the life/work balance sometimes. Work-work has thankfully slowed for the summer at last and with enough drainage and paths now laid in the garden to see us into the next decade we can enjoy the actual and metaphorical fruits of these labours for a bit:

51309379365_5d5b960896_b.jpg

Falling asleep reading in the garden is one of those pleasures you only seem to truly appreciate in your fifth decade isn't it? :rofl:

 

Anyway, my mind has begun to return the the needs of the many XJ481 again.

 

Despite the interregnum, I'd still been making patient progress with an unwanted problem that emerged with the original canopy vacforms back in late April - these if you recall were done with PETg over 3d printed resin bucks - as a consequence this next bit I'll discuss  in enough detail just to help anyone else experiencing a similar problem with using photopolymer resin for such purposes.

 

The initial vacform test that I published the visual results of on here looked optically fine to begin with but over a period of days became what is best described as 'hazy' in a few places, so I did a second test and disconcerted to see that on immediately releasing the buck from the PETg, that this material also was similarly hazed. Not severely, but enough to compromise the optical quality of the part. Much headscratching and reading about vacform problems eventually led me to narrow the problem down to one of chemical outgassing from the UV resin. Baking the bucks in the oven for a couple of hours at about 50-60°C to release said vapours was insufficient to cure the problem - I should add that also  it was clear (or rather, not...🤪) that this problem was centered on the material from which the bucks were made, and not the result of atmospheric conditions as a) the PETg had been similarly baked in the oven to mitigate any hygroscopic effects, and b) (the clincher) only the areas where PETg and buck twere in physical contact was any hazing visible  - the surrounding areas of transparency remaining unclouded. An additional caveat is that I've only isolated this problem as a function of using Elegoo's standard and ABS-like printing resins  for vacforming purposes - I leave it to others to explore if the likes of Siraya &etc. use formulae different enough to avoid such issues.

 

In playing around with different materials (which to be honest is a constant source of fun for me at the best of times), this was never going to be an unsolvable problem, simply one requiring some lateral thinking (or more accurately, in H2G2 terms to sidle up on the problem when it wasn't looking...😁). To all of you more expert in vacforming than myself it was also obvious that the undercuts present on the original forms created an unnecessary PITA when it came to releasing the bucks anyway, so a perfect opportunity to redesign matters of production. Using the original canopy design in Fusion, I turned this from a positive shape into negative moulds for casting purposes:

51309292139_dc0e3583c6_b.jpg

You can see also that I included part of the surrounding fuselage to create a defined boundary in order to a) create a shape with no undercuts that slips easily free of the vacform, and b) to provide an unambiguous edge to trim around later when cutting the canopy shape out of the surrounding vacform plate.

 

As I needed to create bucks that were hard-wearing enough to stand up to repeated use (rather than a one-off for a single model), I played around wit various combinations for hardness, such as adding Portland cement to P of P, before deciding feckit and trying cold casting for the first time using aluminium. The results were, I have to say, rather pleasing in terms of material strength and sharpness/detail:

51308371576_ae5ac7baa3_b.jpg

Although a bit dull when first cast, some earnest attention with the Wet & Dry & Water and you rapidly get a pleasing metallic sheen:

51308571383_d58b696943_b.jpg

I simply used Vaseline as a release agent for the moulds in this instance but should perhaps have used Brylcreem for that authentic period aroma...

 

The results:

51307630907_c873e03e56_b.jpg

The (gold) standard I was aiming for in terms of sharpness and optical clarity was the Falcon Clearvax stuff which for me, is incomparable in quality terms. They're not going to be worried about their customer base any time soon but I think I go close enough to their standard to be satisfied with using this in my own work:

51308371591_d91175a34d_b.jpg

(This is the one for XJ481 btw in case you're wondering about the absence of the 'widow's peak' rain shedding detailing at top of the windshield). This was also dipped in Alcalad Aqua Gloss, which has replaced Klear now in my toolset when it comes to gloss effects.

 

The amount of dust you can see in the above close-up (which stuff like PETg attracts via static electricity like nobody's business during vacforming and varnish drying) has also finally convinced me of the need to create some kind of minor 'clean room' area in the studio for jobs such as painting and varnishing &etc., so I recently managed to pick up a refurbished one of these at a reasonable discount:

51308817883_f99b81ae07_b.jpg

There's an air vent already in the end wall to act as an outlet so a bit of 5" flexible pipe knocking up a movable filter box that can be clipped to the professional quality paint booth* or positioned on the bench for sanding resin should help to eliminate this dust issue.

 

Another issue off the checklist was the paint masking for the canopy. I'd like to pretend that this was the result of an elegant and considered software design process but as the only pattern making application I can see related to Fusion is obscenely priced for non-corporate users, it was indeed the old manual method of marking out framing on the canopy itself with tape and then cutting the masks to fit by hand:

51280684323_b97936c158_b.jpg

These were then scanned into Illustrator as a guide to drawing the required shapes, before being sent across to the Silhouette as an .svg design and cut to Oramask:

51280510416_df4e157973_b.jpg

If memory serves the inner set here are simply a reversed 10% smaller version of the exterior ones - clearly labelled here to avoid idiots like me to subsequently sticking them on in the wrong order....

 

Next task then is to actually mask up '481's canopy and sorting out some paints. Reading Nick Millman as we speak....

 

She's amazing:

 

:bye:

Tony

 

*an old Ikea storage box on its side. :rofl:

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 20
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Beautiful canopyism Tony, beautiful.

 

Casting aluminium now, what's next?

 

As for your little lady friend, not entirely sure that will take off commercially.

 

A lark ascending for one voice maybe...

 

Welcome home.

 

😃

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The work on the canopy moulds is exquisite and the results perfect. Don't worry too much about Falcon canopies. I used their Wyvern offering, when I dropped the kit part into their art, there was no precaval difference!

I'm not a canopy dipper but I like the idea of Vaseline as a release agent. Brylcream, I'll pass on!!!

 

Colin

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I simply used Vaseline as a release agent for the moulds in this instance but should perhaps have used Brylcreem for that authentic period aroma...

 

As the saying goes "A little dab will do ya" Great job on the canopy.I took notes for a future project.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Aha! The master is back, all is good again in the world. Great to hear (and see) from you again Tony, I trust you are suitably rested.

 

Great work on the canopies of course and I do like those masks.

 

4 hours ago, TheBaron said:

As I needed to create bucks that were hard-wearing enough to stand up to repeated use (rather than a one-off for a single model)

 

Hmmm, that sounds like someone thinking through the production of more than just two of these beauties, or am I allowing my excitement run away with me?

 

Terry

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two months? Blimey!

Welcome back Tony, and what a re-entrance - Cast aluminium, perfectly clear canopies, and fresh fruit!

 

Lovely to see you back!

 

Ian

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Aha! The master is back, all is good again in the world.

Yes indeed!

 

Welcome back Tony - great job on those canopies :worthy:  :clap: I'm not clear on how you cast aluminium, though: would you please expand on it? TIA

 

Ciao

  • Like 2
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

19 hours ago, perdu said:

Casting aluminium now, what's next?

Teeth Bill - I reckon there's a small but select niche in the international criminal conspiracy market:

maxresdefault.jpg

18 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

Nice extractor too, that'll come out like a mini gale from the outlet vent !!!

Vent's near the front door Chris so the postman's not going to be happy about getting unexpectedly primed for paint... 🌬️

17 hours ago, heloman1 said:

I like the idea of Vaseline as a release agent.

Not telling you anything you don't already know Colin but be sure to check carefully that there are no thicker smears of release agent hiding away on the surface of your mould prior to pouring the casting material in - my first cast looked lovely until I turned it in the light and saw where a lovely ridge of Vaseline was imprinted. The most reliable mode of application I found at this scale was to brush the V. into the mould with an old paintbrush in order to work it into all the crevices and then wipe smooth with kitchen roll. :thumbsup2:

16 hours ago, LorenSharp said:

Great job on the canopy.I took notes for a future project.

Good luck with this Loren! :thumbsup2:

16 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Hmmm, that sounds like someone thinking through the production of more than just two of these beauties, or am I allowing my excitement run away with me?

It was you that ordered 37 kits wasn't it Terry? 😁

(You're right though: the reason many jobs such as canopy formation have taken so long to work out here is that instead of just a one-off for personal use, I'm having to create a durable workflow in order to be able to offer the FAW.1 as a multimedia kit to others.)

15 hours ago, Brandy said:

Cast aluminium, perfectly clear canopies, and fresh fruit!

Pretty sure that was a Noel Coward song... 🎶

(Nice to be back talking with you Ian. 😄)

14 hours ago, bbudde said:

Hello Tony , good to see you back again. Fine work as ever. Looking forward to see more again.

Good to be back with you too Benedikt! :thumbsup2:

2 hours ago, giemme said:

I'm not clear on how you cast aluminium, though: would you please expand on it? TIA

Hi Giorgio. No worries: as I mentioned above the process is called 'cold-casting' and simply involves adding finely powdered metals to resin, for both strength and (if required) aesthetics.  I'd never heard of the process before but came across it as one of a number of options when looking into various material combinations that would add strength and durability to casting bucks. This is the Polyurethane resin I used for the job shown here - mixed as you would normally - and this is the Aluminium powder used - mixed into the resin at a 1:1 ratio (mix the resin components first, then add the metal powder). The resin still behaves as normal regarding setting times, but I did found the increased density of the material caused by adding metal does require you to vibrate/tap the mould for longer than usual in order to release  any air bubbles. Once cast, it's also dead easy to repair using the same mixture if you do find a stray bubble or accidentally damage the surface during filing/sanding. As regards sanding, at 1/72, I started off on 600 grit W&D before moving on to 2500 grit for final smoothing - I didn't find any need in terms of smoothness to go to a higher grit than that. HTH. :thumbsup2:

2 hours ago, Hamden said:

Love your vac form buck solution as well

Thanks Roger - as usual what started off as an annoyance turned into a rewarding process of discovery! 😁

  • Like 8
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/14/2021 at 10:58 AM, TheBaron said:

the process is called 'cold-casting' and simply involves adding finely powdered metals to resin

 

There you go.  I've had no end of trouble with resin bucks causing discolouration to PETg on vac forming; and wasted lots of PETg sheets until one or two randomly came out perfectly clear.  The problem really wos that I've got too pedestrian a mind to solve the problem and the solution was....Tony.

 

Can I borrow your brain every now and then old chap?  Do you use it every day?  I'll leave mine with you as security if you like - not that you'll find it much use.......

 

 

  • Haha 13
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/14/2021 at 10:58 AM, TheBaron said:

It was you that ordered 37 kits wasn't it Terry?

 

I thought we'd agreed on 38 actually? 😁

 

Of course in all seriousness I'd definitely go for one at the very least. I'm saving up my pocket money for just that opportunity!

 

Terry

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I thought it had been a while since I was properly bouche-smacké (as we say in Wiltshire) by some epic lateral thinking.  But of course, the moment Tiny reappears, that’s remedied instantly.  
 

fan-blimmin-tastic

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Nice to have you back Tony dear boy. I’ll tell you now, I myself can appreciate a nap in the garden holding a good book. Fourth decade I think is the starting point for such pursuits . 🤪 wonderful canopy work my good man, simply wonderful. 🙌

 

 Johnny.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

On 7/13/2021 at 8:17 AM, TheBaron said:

and trying cold casting for the first time using aluminium.

 

thank the lord for small mercies.  For a fleeting moment there I thought I was going to have to teach myself how to smelt aluminum and invest in some new equipment.

 

I wish I had thought of that process for the recent rhinoplasty casting festival - I think it would have been much easier to keep detail throughout the sanding process, though it'll be a right pita to scribe

 

Great re-entrance Tony. 

 

 

 

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Morning all,

 

Despite the heat - we're aaalmost the hottest point in Ireland at present - I thought I should bash out another quick update lest people think I've wilted away again. Let's loosen the sealing wax on a few documents firstly however:

On 15/07/2021 at 16:25, Fritag said:

There you go.  I've had no end of trouble with resin bucks causing discolouration to PETg on vac forming; and wasted lots of PETg sheets until one or two randomly came out perfectly clear. 

If you struggled with such matters Steve then I don't feel quite the dunce I did. I can't and won't claim utter gin-like clarity on the vacform transparencies when they are fresh off the resin buck, but the small remaining, well, clouding is too extreme a description, more like a slight residual mistiness along the top of the canopy visible in one or two places when viewed with strong light behind it - disappears easily after a dip in varnish. To be definitive on the matter, as well as my current favourite Aqua Clear, I did one in the old perennial Klear as well with equably favourable results.

On 15/07/2021 at 16:25, Fritag said:

Can I borrow your brain every now and then old chap?

You sure Steve? I mean it's in pretty used condition at this stage tbh and got all this stuff in the back of it that would give William Burroughs the heebie-jeebies.... 😁

On 15/07/2021 at 16:49, Terry1954 said:

Of course in all seriousness I'd definitely go for one at the very least. I'm saving up my pocket money for just that opportunity!

You're on the list my friend, doubt it not. 😁

On 15/07/2021 at 19:20, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

But of course, the moment Tiny reappears, that’s remedied instantly.  

Only my wife's allowed to call it that Crisp.

 

On 15/07/2021 at 23:52, The Spadgent said:

I’ll tell you now, I myself can appreciate a nap in the garden holding a good book. Fourth decade I think is the starting point for such pursuits .

What was it Cicero said about a man who has a garden and a library needing nothing else Johnny? 🏡 😁

On 16/07/2021 at 00:04, hendie said:

thank the lord for small mercies.  For a fleeting moment there I thought I was going to have to teach myself how to smelt aluminum and invest in some new equipment.

Don't think I hadn't looked into the practicality of  the notion Alan! 🤪

.

 

On 16/07/2021 at 00:04, hendie said:

I wish I had thought of that process for the recent rhinoplasty casting festival - I think it would have been much easier to keep detail throughout the sanding process, though it'll be a right pita to scribe

Isn't that always the way with this game, the avenue that opens up to solve one problem in turn throws up new ones of its own in a kind of fractal-practical progression.... 🙃

 

Although I forgot to take any pics of the work in progress I did spend a few hours over the weekend getting the pilot's canopy masked inside and out, and in the process making a few tweaks to the mask designs along the way. Whilst no perfect at this scale due the tight asymmetrical curvatures of the Vixen, they only need a small sliver of tape in one or two places to hold the Oramask in place around the tighter curves involved. As I've noted on other commercial masks addressing similar problems, a judicious slit in the masking here and there is required to help conform the flat design to a shape curving in three dimensions.

 

Before the heat of the day could build up then this morning to levels impractical for painting, I got out the primer and lashed some around those areas involved in the next phase of building the aircraft:

51323466186_cc73d275cd_b.jpg

With the upper cockpit opening masked, the area around the pilot's side that will be visible under the canopy was attended to:

51322726557_66f11b4682_b.jpg

along with the canopy itself inside:

51324181504_9ef00558b0_b.jpg

and out (I'll add the  PE divider down the middle of the windshield at a later date once the canopy is mounted to the fuselage:

51323466206_a194a40196_b.jpg

You've probably noticed at this point that I'm missing something else in the above shot with regard to XJ481 having one of the early canopies with a much smaller fairing area around the front and port side. Some time back when struggling with the original 3d printed bucks I was using I realized that although I didn't like the trough in the vacform between fariring and windshield (it looked unrealistic), if I kept one or two of the clouded vacforms back I could cut offthe fairing part and mount it separately around the base of the new windshield in order to maintain a more pleasing and accurate-looking gap between the two, hence the primer on the part in question below:

51324181479_6a9f38b052_b.jpg

In terms of planning for paint, I've a decent slew of photographic references for XJ481 on the mood board by this stage; with the diagonal demarcation of the trials colour scheme ensuring that this nose  section (including the cockpit surround under the canopy) is handily entirely black. There are, however, some anomalies with matters like aileron and tailplane colours within the overall scheme that were eventually clarified by a learned colleague sending me a photo of a section of the Alleycat painting notes for '481. These indicated that some control surfaces like those mentioned, along with pilot's canopy and observer's door, had revised (EDSG) colours by 1970. The notation on the paint instructions are so detailed and specific that they must have come from official records and I will accordingly take them as such.

 

As this aircraft was allotted to trials for the TV version of the Martel in September of 1973, I will clearly need to include these modifications to the overall B/W diagonal scheme in  order to be considered authentic for the period.  These paint notes also explicitly identify the purpose of the truncated nose as that of a camera port, confirming that it would have been used for such at some point in the decade prior to 1973 for filming missile trials - the aircraft reported as being employed for such starting in 1963. If this included filming for the radar version of the Martel as well prior to 1973, I've yet to discover historical documentation that would decide the question one way or the other and so it remains currently open to debate more learned than mine as to whether or not this was the case.

 

Myself and Mrs B took yesterday off and went upcountry for a picnic with some old friends from Belfast that we hadn't been able to see for 19 months - I don't know what was more stunning, seeing people again that you really care about or eating in the shade of a lake shore and watching an island castle ripple in the heathaze...

51324192064_1dfd4f2489_b.jpg

 

Stay cool/safe/hydrated until next time all of you.

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

  • Like 20
Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Navy was interested in both versions of Martel, but saw the TV version as specifically an anti-ship weapon, so it would make sense that the early trials focused on that.

 

It’s Sod’s Law, isn’t it?  I am back from holiday (superb) and have a further week off work, so an ideal chance to do some modelling… you’d think.  But my man cave is unbearably hot in this weather, so I am confined to ancillary activities like reading and research.  Fun, but not resulting in any visible progress with P-38s, Ark or anything else

  • Like 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

14 minutes ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

But my man cave is unbearably hot in this weather, so I am confined to ancillary activities like reading and research.  

Likewise.

Drinking pints of tea and after a lunchtime snooze about to embark upon:

2021-07-20_01-31-07

 

  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I seem to have missed your reappearance on this noble site, your Baronship. I humbly apologize and ask for several other offences* to be taken into consideration.

So, moulding and masking at an impressive level. The Aluminium thing, I was collecting old Coke cans for you to use there. I'll bin them then, shall I?

It does ones feelings good to bask in your return. But I may need a lie down now.

 

* No names, no pack drill. This is a family site!

  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

7 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I seem to have missed your reappearance on this noble site, your Baronship. I humbly apologize and ask for several other offences* to be taken into consideration.

Give him …… The Comfy Chair!!!

  • Haha 5
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
×
×
  • Create New...