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Sea Vixen FAW.1x2


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Looking fabulous Tony - wing fold looks very fine - another suggestion to add strength could be that pair of tubes mid-wing directly above the main gear location, made from some copper wire?

CJP

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Before this point I had greatly admired all your work on this model replica. However, these last few days I have started a couple of tutorials in Fusion 360 in earnest, and in that time, I am now bowled over by what you have achieved here Tony. It always did look rather awesome, but now I can appreciate what you have actually been through to learn this stuff. It has taken all my concentration to just create a 3D sketch of a rectangle, subsequently extruded with some fillets on the top edges, a semi circular cut out and a threaded hole through the middle - a wonderful yet entirely useless item that attracted an "interesting, but how will that help you" comment from Mrs T. Still, I've printed it off (the paper screen shot from Fusion!) and it sits proudly next to the work bench. Much to learn............

 

What is very helpful here is that when I spot some jargon (slicing software being an example) I can go away, look it up, and become even more full of Fusion and 3D wisdom, than before.

 

Your thread has now become the practical tutorial for me!

 

Terry

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I've just caught up on this (busy work wise, which is a good thing) and as usual am blown away by:

A) the quality of work 

B ) the photography 

C) the humour

D) the educashunal value 

 

Learning lots of technical stuff re 3d printing and curing which I would never have thought of myself (although I do cure my parts in short sessions) 

....Ced?

 

Ian

 

 

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Hi Tony,

 

Just expanding on Pete in Lincs comments about the ailerons.

 

As a general rule, ailerons usually have a system of self centering springs that return the ailerons to neutral, or close to neutral position. This is kind of a constant on planes throughout the ages, be they jet, recip, metal, or fabric covered.

 

Now having said that, there are some exceptions that can creep in, but mainly due to the system design. If the plane has manually-actuated ailerons with a hydraulic boost, they tend to center. If the ailerons are fullly powered, and non-reversible, it's not uncommon for them to droop while parked for extended periods as the hydraulic seals age. The only other exception might be if extreme roll trim were dialed in one way or the other. In modern jets, it usually involved a torque tube that lengthens the aileron pushrod/bellcrank linkage, which causes the aileron to deflect.

 

I know next to nothing about the controls in the Sea Vixen, aside from the fact they were reportedly heavy. Not sure if this was a precautionary measure in response to the 1952 crash, or not.

 

I will check my Sea Vixen books when i get home to see if i detect a pattern.

 

-d-

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  • 2 weeks later...

Incredible double  rainbow just as the sun was rising one day during the week:

51836016864_19dc7bf68f_b.jpg

(A composite of two frames that didn't quite match up due to the wide angle lens used)

The gold was on the opposite side of the sky though...

51836397375_d5d5af1f56_b.jpg

 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

 

Can confirm not involved....

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

After one of those bitty weeks that contained too much in the way of peripheral distractions at work, the composure never had much chance to settle on anything creative in the evenings so I bowed to the inevitable and did some manual improvements to workroom facilities here instead, with a view to equipping the place more suitably for future projects.

 

More on that in a sec, after responding to the emotional support group:

On 11/01/2022 at 18:08, Anthony in NZ said:

Anyhoo....I am so addicted to this build.

Caution is required as although the thread is largely made up of natural ingredients Anthony, it does contain nuts.... 😁

On 11/01/2022 at 18:28, Spookytooth said:

I agree about the wing fixings, better made from brass for strength.

Thanks Simon; I need to rifle through the brass drawer to see what I've got in the way of strip thicknesses in order to test bend a shape for that tray.

On 11/01/2022 at 18:29, Pete in Lincs said:

Ailerons. Now, these would be powered flying controls. Hydraulics donchaknow. Designed to self centre unless an input is made via the stick.

Plus it's part of the Pilots job to 'tidy up' the Airframe by centering everything (flaps up etc) & in this case, folding the wings, before shutting down.

In addition, on a lot of Aircraft a mechanical lock would be fitted to stop the wind making things flap around. 

On powered controls there would be a hydraulic lock (pressure) to keep things in place

On 14/01/2022 at 09:58, 71chally said:

Wings folded?  The ailerons tend to lock centre.

:thanks: Pete and James.

As you both well know by now, whatever ability I have to interpret visual information from photos and drawings always falters at operational questions such as this, so I'm most grateful to you.:thumbsup2:

On 11/01/2022 at 18:43, Learstang said:

Speaking of Gothic, that wing does look positively Gothic straight out of the printer with all the flying buttresses!

Indeed Jason. :nodding:

The windshield of this aircraft has long reminded me of a medieval knights helm as well!

images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQEwewGDpX6N6oRF9v4CzA

On 11/01/2022 at 22:04, CJP said:

Looking fabulous Tony - wing fold looks very fine - another suggestion to add strength could be that pair of tubes mid-wing directly above the main gear location, made from some copper wire?

CJP

Spot on CJ. :thumbsup2:

When I was playing around with a mockup a year or so back working out those kinds of support details I noticed there's a handy bunch of cables 2/3 of the way back also that can work at this scale for added bracing:

51836068734_d359d34e64_b.jpg

(Ignore the grotty paint finish there, I'd been testing out a silver artist's pigment that airbrushed, well...just plain grotty... :laugh:)

On 12/01/2022 at 07:35, Hamden said:

Another stunning update Tony, superb workmanship and attention to detail as always!

I have to say Roger that the support you guys give on here is such a godsend when things get tough or dispiriting on a build. I never take it for granted. :thumbsup2:

On 12/01/2022 at 11:45, giemme said:

Wing and wingfold mechanism looking magnificent, Tony!

Painting those areas gonna be a lot of fun/headaches Giorgio! 😁

On 12/01/2022 at 13:32, Terry1954 said:

Much to learn............

There is indeed Terry you old flatterer. 😁

I'm very much looking forward to seeing what emerges from this process into your own builds.

Can we expect to see any custom Vosper fittings in the futures? :hmmm:

On 12/01/2022 at 16:48, Brandy said:

I've just caught up on this (busy work wise, which is a good thing) and as usual am blown away by:

A) the quality of work 

B ) the photography 

C) the humour

D) the educashunal value

All downhill from here on in then... 😁

( :thanks: mate.)

On 12/01/2022 at 18:40, bigbadbadge said:

As there are no more Vixen bits does this mean paint ???

SSHHHH!  🤫

I saw @giemme around here earlier Chris and you know what he's like....mad for the pigment so he is.

On 12/01/2022 at 21:04, David H said:

As a general rule, ailerons usually have a system of self centering springs that return the ailerons to neutral, or close to neutral position. This is kind of a constant on planes throughout the ages, be they jet, recip, metal, or fabric covered.

 

Now having said that, there are some exceptions that can creep in, but mainly due to the system design. If the plane has manually-actuated ailerons with a hydraulic boost, they tend to center. If the ailerons are fullly powered, and non-reversible, it's not uncommon for them to droop while parked for extended periods as the hydraulic seals age. The only other exception might be if extreme roll trim were dialed in one way or the other. In modern jets, it usually involved a torque tube that lengthens the aileron pushrod/bellcrank linkage, which causes the aileron to deflect.

Genuinely useful info David. My thanks for that.

 

To matters of the bench then.

 

It won't surprise you to learn that over the last year or two my rarely serene workspace at home has become increasingly disorganized with the influx of printing and related gear, With two printers and a curing station it had become a irritating game of chess moving them around various workspaces, allied to the additional heating costs of keeping the room at resin-friendly temperatures during the cold months. After a while the constant need to re-organize everything each time you want to do a new job is just a frustration too far for an impatient git like me.

 

Any quick search around Pinterest quickly reveals a male fetish which I was blissfully unaware of until recently (no, not that one...) namely the construction of elaborate cabinets to house 3d printing rigs. Many of them indeed appear large enough for the owner to keep their gimp in at the weekends, but then being a modeller, who am I to judge others. Not wishing to add furniture making to the the already onerous set of things I've had to learn this time around - though I'd be prepared to make an exception in the case of George Gershwin's day bed - I'd been keeping an eye out for the last few months until finally last week finding a damaged cabinet that I could salvage. Somebody had smashed off the top (due presumably to losing the keys to the lock) but after re-drilling and gluing/screwing the carcass back together, a viable printing cabinet emerged:

51836450160_26ddf7b57f_b.jpg

The idea is that this now gives a small easily heated space to print - whatever the season - as well as containing resin fumes. Mike (@bootneck) had previously recommended one of those reptile tank heating mats for such a task, whilst the missing lock on the left hand door gives a convenient opening to slip a thermocouple through to monitor the cabinet temperature.

 

Another problem (potentially) solved is to help with photoetching brass. My previous forays into this area on the thread were (messily) conducted using various items of Tupperware and the like with lashed-together wire cradles for holding the brass sheets in situ during etching - alright for one-off jobs perhaps but not if you want to do several pieces at once. Yonks back we'd succumbed to The Curse of the Middle Aisle in Lidl and bought one of those designer-y teapots with a diffuser suspended in the centre: equally annoying both to use and to clean up after a brew, it had sat for years in a cupboard until the lightbulb went off and I realized it could form the basis of a handy and safe etchant chamber by drilling out the rivet holding the diffuser:

51836397380_6a1675d1ca_b.jpg

Once back in place on the teapot:

51836016849_cfb0670169_b.jpg

 -  it gives a handy support from which to suspend a cradle holding the brass sheets. As the central spindle can be rotated it means being able to swirl the sheets around in the etchant without having to take the lid off whilst the lip of the pot gives room to pop a fish tank aerator in to keep the hellbrew mixing. That's the plan: in spare moments I need to knock up a cradle design in F360 to 3d print....

 

I did get a little done of the aircraft in the form of removing the 150gall. tanks from their supports and tidying them up, filling the drain holes &etc. Both the tanks and wing pylons were then drilled out and some brass rods glued into the tanks for me to snap off in due course to help with aligning them on their respective pylons later:

51836016839_fbf9eabcfb_b.jpg

Also another vote for the Dremel bench stand as a multi-talented tool in its own right.

 

Since some of you so cruelly mocked the 'Crazy Cat Lady' cushion that I used to support XJ481 during construction, I went for Total-Manliness™ this time around on XN708 and bought a proper aircraft stand:

51836016869_e3e90c385b_b.jpg

I'd looked at sseveral different kinds of stand but hadn't seen these ones from ZEP until very recently. What I liked most was that rather than being designed for a single scale, their medium one will work quite happily I reckon from 1/72 here:

51836397400_66f584a718_b.jpg

 - all the way up to 1/32 in many cases. The combination of butterfly nuts and design of the vertical supports are well thought out (making altering  position and height a doddle) whilst being 3d printed gives you the idea that you could easily print up your own replacement parts if anything gets worn out - or indeed add your own extensions to the system if you need something to support a specific subject.

 

I've run out of nonsense now but hope this finds you all well and in good form.

Enjoy your weekends!

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Even watching you sorting your working area, there are valuable lessons to be learnt! :worthy:

 

59 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

I saw @giemme around here earlier Chris and you know what he's like....mad for the pigment so he is.

Who, moi? What made you think that? :shrug:

 

:rofl:

 

Ciao 

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3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

 

Can confirm not involved....

 

Not funny if it's a suspicious death, but that sounded like something straight out of Father Ted....!! :)

 

Nicely re-organised workspace there Tony, it really annoys me when I have to empty the junk out of my spray booth before I can paint anything! My fault for putting it in there of course, but any empty space in my cave doesn't stay that way for long!

 

Keith

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7 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I've run out of nonsense now

I wouldn't bet money on that....

I did a bit of a move around in my mancave too, and it's worked out nicely. I just have to keep remembering where I put stuff.

Nice cradle, I hope the Vixen sleeps soundly there.

Always glad to give technical advice, with the caveat that I have a lousy memory. Turns out that the Lady on the other couch is my wife! Who knew?

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21 hours ago, TheBaron said:

I'm very much looking forward to seeing what emerges from this process into your own builds.

Can we expect to see any custom Vosper fittings in the futures?

 

Early days for me on the 3D front, and nothing springs to mind for that "old" Vosper build, other than getting my fingers out and getting on with it!

However I have imported some plans into Fusion for various slingsby glider wings, so that probably shows you where the thought process is heading!

 

Nice adaptation of the designer tea pot for etching purposes, I like that a lot!

 

Terry

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You mention "proper aircraft" but I don't see anywhere to support the rotor blades? 

- confused of the colonies

 

Good find with the cabinet - do those bottom shelves slide out or do you have to lift the Elegoos out to remove the top covers?   

Come to think of it... if your Elegii live in that stately cabinet, is there even a need for the top covers anymore?  The cabinet itself should provide enough protection from any unwanted elements such as dust and cats.

 

 

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Good evening all.

Sunday of course but without the comforts these days of a high tea round yer Nan's and Lovejoy on at 8pm to make you forget about imminence of Monday morning.

This made me giggle earlier though....

 

On 22/01/2022 at 15:31, giemme said:

Even watching you sorting your working area, there are valuable lessons to be learnt!

😁 I'd like to say that it's entirely due to having a tidy mind G., but truth be told I'm getting clumsier these days so have find a way to keep things away from where I'm likely to trip/drop/fall over and/or spill tea/coffee/Irn Bru/paint on them...

On 22/01/2022 at 15:31, giemme said:

Who, moi? What made you think that?

It was the headline and picture of you in La Stampa: 'Pazzo per la vernice!!'... :laugh:

On 22/01/2022 at 16:25, perdu said:

Damned fine cubby hole too Tony

In my late 50s and still skip-diving Bill. I've no dignity... 😁

On 22/01/2022 at 17:29, Spookytooth said:

You cannot beat a bit of brass rod for reinforcement.

My year tutor at school used just that phrase, before his arrest... 

On 22/01/2022 at 17:57, keefr22 said:

that sounded like something straight out of Father Ted....!

People still misinterpret that documentary series as a comedy.

23 hours ago, bigbadbadge said:

nice idea for the gimp, I mean printer cabinet.  

Never confuse the two when pouring in fresh resin Chris...

6 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

However I have imported some plans into Fusion for various slingsby glider wings, so that probably shows you where the thought process is heading!

Excellent: plenty of fun with those long slender wings Terry! 😁

6 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Nice adaptation of the designer tea pot for etching purposes, I like that a lot

Always check what's in your mug when you're round at mine from now on... 🫖

5 hours ago, hendie said:

You mention "proper aircraft" but I don't see anywhere to support the rotor blades? 

- confused of the colonies

:rofl:

Helicopters are the product of occult physics and therefore not technically aircraft at all.

As for those who maintain and repair them....

5 hours ago, hendie said:

Good find with the cabinet - do those bottom shelves slide out or do you have to lift the Elegoos out to remove the top covers?   

The shelf is fixed Alan so I'll still have to slide the printers out to take their lids off - I'm sure there'll be a spillage at some point...

 

Loathing the phase of any build that involves working with transparencies means that I'd been putting off this task until it couldn't be delayed any further. This time around I'd tidied up a spare buck jut enough so that I could use it as an opaque template to help cut the required section of vacform free of its surroundings more accurately:

51837403737_3378ecd606_b.jpg

In he past I'd always used a scalpel for such jobs but found the flexibility of the blade too risky when applying any pressure so this time around used an angled Xacto knife and the extra rigidity let me make a much neater job; only some minor sanding required to smooth the cut line in a couple of places.

 

Once that part was free, the real fun commenced in cutting the forward windshield section free of the sliding rear canopy:

51837403742_cd3159f7c5_b.jpg

There's just enough raised detail on the vacform to indicate the required cut line across the top, whilst a couple of strips of washi tape extending the demarcation line down to the bottom edges on either side is enough to guide a reliable cut in its entirety. A big concern was always going to be if there would there be enough space for the windshield section to fit into the front fairing of the rain shedding/demisting gear - resin shrinkage is always a concern in such instance but it was pleasing to find that only a minor bit of sanding was required for it to settle into place:

51838709939_ae0944576c_b.jpg

The cross section of the rear canopy is such a prominent feature when the canopy is slid back that if the shape is wrong it'll stand out a mile:  I think this pretty much nails it though:

51839091210_931fc7a4a2_b.jpg

Both parts in situ for a combined dry fit:

51837403757_8a0389d4d4_b.jpg

The rear frame of the windshield (that the canopy slides home against) is a surprisingly detailed and robust feature when viewed looking forward, so I'm going to manually add a little more detailing in there for the framing and demisting fairings that were too fine for the vacforming process to be able reproduce at this scale.

 

I wasn't overly impressed with my canopy masks last time around, so this time out I made a series of tweaks in Silhouette Design to both the internal and external sets:

51839091255_c8322a9868_z.jpg

Much better now in conforming to the mixture of flats and compound curves that give this part of the aircraft such a characteristic appearance:

51839091220_69bd5dea62_b.jpg

Lines up fine at the front:

51838355411_2484f3908e_b.jpg

Frame widths looking ok from the port quarter too:

51838467088_235b738ccd_b.jpg

There's still a PE piece to add down the middle of windshield for the centre beam heating duct, but that'll go on at the end of the build due to it's fragility. Next session then will be doing the same mask design tweaks for the rear canopy and then gussy up some frame detailing. Need to have a  think whether brass or plastic the best medium for such small features...

 

Night all.

:bye:

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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14 hours ago, TheBaron said:

It was the headline and picture of you in La Stampa: 'Pazzo per la vernice!!'... :laugh:

Why would I be on a Turin's newspaper? :hmmm:   :rofl2:

 

Impressive work on the canopy, very neat! :worthy: :clap: :clap: 

 

Ciao

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18 hours ago, Spookytooth said:

It was usually the blackboard rubber being thrown at me!!!!

I wasn't the only one then! That or a huge t-square. THAT hurt!

 

Oh, sorry Tony, got distracted. The canopy looks the dog's whatsits, home vac forming doesn't get much better!

 

Ian

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6 minutes ago, Space Ranger said:

The Dallas Cowboys could have benefited from something similar in their last playoff game.

The who? What game do they play?

 

Ian ;)

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3 minutes ago, Brandy said:

The who? What game do they play?

 

Ian ;)

For the benefit of my isolated British cousins, the Dallas Cowboys are a  popular U.S. National Football League team, sometimes called “America’s Team.” This year they made it into the playoffs but lost their last game in a pitiful performance, so their season is over.

 

 

Edited by Space Ranger
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Winding you up. I'm a US citizen. But you did say Cowboys so you asked for it!

I lived in Florida for 7 years (Bucs) and Cape Cod for 10 (Pats) so I probably have more superbowls under my belt than you! 

 

Ian

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