Sea Vixen FAW.1x2

[TheBaron]

Almost all the resin bits done now now for XJ481 on new year's day and ready to send across for preparation  to print.

More on that after dealing with callers-in to the show.....

 

On 30/12/2020 at 14:33, Hamden said:

Another great update Tony you are certainly raising the bar with every post.

Hope you had a good festive season and are staying safe from the plague

 

Thanks to you on all counts Roger and the same best wishes to yourself.

On 30/12/2020 at 15:48, giemme said:

So, when you said are you going to print this?

I believe the phrase 'before January is out' was uttered a few pages back G and looks like we're still on schedule.

On 30/12/2020 at 16:29, CedB said:

More great stuff Tony

Ta Ced: I definitely started getting rusty after a week or two off the pace but back in trim now!

On 30/12/2020 at 19:10, Pete in Lincs said:

It's also good that the T's are getting dotted and the I's crossed on the way to actually printing bits of Aeroplane.

This process of making an entire kit is such new process to me Pete that I'm having to learn the discipline of organizing workflows and assembly steps for putting it all together as a physical whole. Not until being in this position do you realize that it's a whole new ball game  that you don't encounter when building pre-existing kits!

On 30/12/2020 at 19:10, Pete in Lincs said:

Did I mention that somewhere in Germany, they are using cement to actually print a house!

I saw that! Germany now available in kit form!

There's a couple of short docs online about the process though not much on how the services are all integrated. I can't see this being anything but a positive growth area, esp. if it gets rid of the rectangular cancer of bungalows that has killed the Irish landscape over the last 50 years or so...

On 30/12/2020 at 21:29, bbudde said:

hopefully great new year for you and yours with a pleasing and a satisfying "Guten Rutsch" into the new year. I see you there for sure, I guess

Wishing you a swift vaccination in the year to come Benedikt!

On 31/12/2020 at 08:29, The Spadgent said:

Lovely work kid. Happy new year. 🤗🙌

Thanks for the former Johnny and the same to you and yours for the latter mate! 🤗

On 31/12/2020 at 14:00, hendie said:

a) I'm not liking your chosen color scheme much - your research is definitely sub par in this particular area,

It's an 'omage to the upper wing of the Audax...

On 31/12/2020 at 14:00, hendie said:

b) You're not very good at staying inside the lines with your coloring in.  I hope you sharpen your crayons for the final coloring in job.

I must proffer sincere apologies with regard to such a slipping of standards Alan - truth be told a year of CADding Vixens has taken its toll:

On 31/12/2020 at 14:00, hendie said:

 

Oh, last thing... Speaking with absolutely no relevant or practical experience whatsoever, I feel confident that the printed bucks will perform admirably as molding bucks - at least after a good polish

I remain incautiously optimistic myself.

On 31/12/2020 at 14:00, hendie said:

tentative date for printing???

I hope to spend some time over the weekend putting the various .stls up on supports in Chitubox (now where did I put my note of print settings since installing the new version...?) Alan; given the number of parts even for the simpler proposition of '481 I reckon it will take about 2-3 overnight print  runs to get the first test airfame and parts don,e so would hope by this time next week to be waving solid objects around in front of the camera....

On 31/12/2020 at 14:47, Brandy said:

Impressive insight into the thought processes involved in creating not only a bunch of printed parts, but also the means to ensure that they can be put together accurately.

I'm as impatient as anyone to get prints out the other side Ian but am learning a lot of respect for kit designers when it comes to carefully working out what parts are needed and how they will necessarily have go together in a specific order inside and out.

On 31/12/2020 at 14:47, Brandy said:

Ps I agree with Hendie about the colouring in. Please keep the crayons away from anyone likely to eat them.

I was working without adult supervision....

On 31/12/2020 at 20:10, Pete in Lincs said:

Mind you, back in the day, almost anyone in the NAAFI pigs bar did the same.

Are you sure you weren't in a band with Chas & Dave?

23 hours ago, giemme said:

  Do I win anything?

A badly coloured-in self-portait of me at the bench Giorgio, finger-painted in tempera... 😁

 

As Adrian Balch's Testing Colours contains the only revealing shot of the TV Martel test body, I was ogling this last evening in preparation for today's session. A closer reading of the accompanying text reveals a nuance of language that I think is significant:

 

'It (XJ481) was back with the A&AEE for further trials on 6 November 1968 and served with 'C' squadron on missile trials, ending with the Martel. A camera was fitted in the normally-pointed nose to film the trials.'

 

Although there's an obvious ambiguity of phrasing here, I think it's a fair assumption that he means that the nose was not modified specifically for the Martel trials, but was modified prior to this for previous missile tests. Makes sense to film the track of a missile that's been launched ahead of an aircraft to follow it to target, but by the time of the Martel tests, reasonable  to assume I think that the nose mod. was perhaps a legacy item from previous tests.

 

The geek in me though would still love to know the resolution of the TV picture from the seeker head; this graphic is the closest I've found in an excerpt from an (obscenely priced) academic article regarding technical arrangements for the operational version:

 

From squinting at comparison images from my stores references, the outline of the seeker head in the test version illustrated in Balch doesn't seem to entirely match the front profile of either the actual operational TV missile, or indeed the training pod version:

 

Both the head and rear fairing therefore were designed 'by eye', based on modified dimensions of the operational TV Martel.

 

Firstly though I got loosened up for this task by working on the 150 gall tanks on the outer pylons - a working radius for which (14") was provided elsewhere on the site by the ever-generous @canberra kid:

 

 

With a couple of decent side photos to help with establishing the correct profiles - tankage of accurate scale-radius was not long emerging:

Also added was the mounting plate along the top of the tank and a couple of 0.6mm holes in pylon and tank which can house brass pins for mounting purposes:

 

Prior to building the Martel test bed, I added the additional framing  inboard of the inner pylons:

As in previous instances, those struts won't be printed in resin but are used here as cutting tools to punch slots into wing and pylon to house brass struts later on.

 

As a starting point for the Martel unit, I build an actual TV Martel boy to scale dimensions:

This was then modified at the front to match the shapes visible in the reference  photograph from Balch, the rear cut off and a new fairing added to similarly match what could be seen in the same image:

As with the fuel tanks, two 0.6mm holes were added either side of interface to accept brass mounting pins during final assembly. Also visible is the glass nose (to be vacformed) and some representative but basic detailing for the tv camera inside the nose:

Roughly the same viewing angle as the Blach photograph then and things not looking too shabby:

 

Missing the stbd fuselage but you get the idea:

Stores accounted for:

 

 - and with the booms and tail output as a single section for printing as well, a few days of putting all this up on stilts in Chitubox beckons.

 

Didn't get to see the conjunction the other week due to overcast but M42 is a glinting ghost over a frosted garden these nights:

 

Onwards into the Twenties (Roaring or not...)!

Tony

 

[Pete in Lincs]

Tony, A riproaring and safe new year to you and yours. A great catch up post, thank you, and I hope you've quelled the impatience in the ranks.

Chas n Dave? not me Guv'. Some other geezer. I have the musical talent of a Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit.....

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

10 minutes ago, TheBaron said:

 

 

 

The influence of the DH108 Swallow on the design of the DH110 clear to see in that shot.

 

Happy New Year; the Vixenry continues to be epic.

 

Crisp

[Spookytooth]

Great to see that you have survived the winter festivities.

 

More "Black Arts" ahead......

 

Simon.

[CedB]

Happy new year Tony! Let’s hope 2021 is a healthier one. 
 

More great modelling design - impressive stuff. 

Excited to see you’re planning the print  

[Navy Bird]

You're ready to print and I'm ready to build! Send me an invoice.  

 

Cheers,

Bill

[Terry1954]

19 minutes ago, Navy Bird said:

You're ready to print and I'm ready to build! Send me an invoice.  

 

Cheers,

Bill

Ooh. Looks like a queue could be forming.......count me in!

 

Terry

[perdu]

Happy New Year Tony, thanks for the skyshot.

 

Beautiful as per usual.

 

My impatience for results is assuaged by the realisation we are getting there ASAP.

 

yeehah

[Brandy]

Those tanks and missile look excellent, but I couldn't help noticing that the rear end of the Martel crosses the front of the landing gear doors. Would this foul the doors (ie something is amiss) or do they angle back as they are extended and therefore clear the rear of the missile in its current position?

 

Ian

[giemme]

Happy New Year, Tony!

 

Glad to see you're heading swiftly towards global printout 

 

Ciao 

[TheBaron]

14 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I hope you've quelled the impatience in the ranks.

Granted they're a rum bunch on here Pete, but a trifle strong referring to them as actually 'rank'... 😉

14 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

I have the musical talent of a Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit Rabbit.....

Indisputedly more than Sainsburys....

14 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

The influence of the DH108 Swallow on the design of the DH110 clear to see in that shot.

 

De Havilland gene sequencing! 😁

14 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

the Vixenry continues to be epic.

'Little did I think when opening the Frog boxing a year ago'....

14 hours ago, Spookytooth said:

Great to see that you have survived the winter festivities.

It most certainly is good that we've all survived Simon; tempered by heartache though for all those in the medical profession, already exhausted in a rising storm.

14 hours ago, CedB said:

Excited to see you’re planning the print

None could be more excited than myself at the prospect Ced - am like a big kid about the magic of 'making shapes' in this way....

 

13 hours ago, Navy Bird said:

You're ready to print and I'm ready to build! Send me an invoice.  

Who said Ireland was a tax haven?

12 hours ago, Terry1954 said:

Ooh. Looks like a queue could be forming.......count me in!

Consider your name in the pot dear heart.

12 hours ago, perdu said:

My impatience for results is assuaged by the realisation we are getting there ASAP.

 No-one can be keener than I to wave my parts around in front of the assembled throng Bill. 😁

4 hours ago, Brandy said:

Would this foul the doors (ie something is amiss) or do they angle back as they are extended and therefore clear the rear of the missile in its current position?

Well observed Ian - I need to go and check as I fear you may indeed be correct and will need to revise the length of that rear fairing slightly as a consequence.

 

'I wondered when you were going to notice that Wilson' &etc.etc...

56 minutes ago, giemme said:

Happy New Year, Tony

You too Giorgio!

 

Let's hope that 2021...wait...I don't know what to hope for it's such a weird time.

 

Let's just say I hope for peace in whatever form most pleases the individual concerned.

 

No Vixenry today chaps as I have to spend it outside with the lads and a chain saw  coppicing willows down the end of the garden.

 

More from the Vixen Support Group when it happens...

Tony

 

 

[hendie]

18 hours ago, TheBaron said:

The geek in me though would still love to know the resolution of the TV picture from the seeker head;

 

I'd be surprised if the mission wasn't over by the time the TV screen warmed up.  I can just imagine the poor observer with his arms up through the open hatch waving the aerial about trying to get a decent reception.  "If you'd just fly in a straight line dammit. We'd get a much better picture y'know"

 

 

This really is taking shape now Tony and has been a wonderful journey.  I'm sure the next stages will be equally as impressive

 

[Pete in Lincs]

3 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Let's just say I hope for peace in whatever form most pleases the individual concerned.

Or, in the words of one of my comedy heroes, "Goodnight, and may your God go with you".

[Brandy]

37 minutes ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Or, in the words of one of my comedy heroes, "Goodnight, and may your God go with you".

Thank you Dave Allen, much missed!

 

Ian

[TheBaron]

Rave on Dave, rave  on...

 

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

I miss Dave Allen his was one of my favorite shows growing up. 

[TheBaron]

 

An Ice Age morning has broken today and the printing has begun.

 

It took a while to get all the parts supported and rationalized in terms of printing but the first section (wings & pylons) are emerging slowly as we speak:

These are the tallest sections:

 - so print time here is 25 hrs (they went on about 9pm last night). This length of time is partly accounted for by the fact that I've got the build height down to 0.03mm; in the past I've used the default of 0.05 and will be using that on some of the other test prints here as well, but want to have some good large parts available to compare with each other in order to see if there is any significant visible difference in quality at 1/72 before committing one way or the other. I see also that the Mars 2 Pro printer is out now - even if I could afford to upgrade, the difference in print quality seems to be minimal so the only reason to buy at present is that it would halve print times. Useful for doing reproductions in volume of course, but out of my means at present.

 

Hopefully I can run a day/night production line over the next couple of days printing and curing the 3 other sets making up the parts inventory for XJ481 one after the other:

 

 

 The Mercury washing/curing station will speed the process up immensely in terms of preparing each set of  prints after they emerge from the resin and so reduce the change over time between finishing one set and getting the next lot on to about 30 mins max. I probs. should have bought a second build plate back when @hendie recommended it some time ago but they were a bit pricey when I looked at non-US sellers.

 

For anyone else doing 3d printing, the latest update to Chitubox is performing better than ever. Despite v1.8.0 being in beta, it's working very smoothly: both the automatic building of supports and (now) inbuilt island detection look very promising: I'm gambling by testing out the automatic functions here to see how good they are as having to export from Chitubox to Validator is a ridiculously irritating and time consuming process. Unnecessarily so. Let's hope the Chitubox programmers have now eliminated this need - we'll soon see (in about 12 hours...) 😁

 

Usability and visual feedback in the interface have also been expanded well, though frustratingly still no hotkeys for menu functions like hollowing, digging drainage holes & etc that still make it feel clunky compared to what a human/machine interface should be these days.

 

More likely Saturday before objects to wave at you remotely as matters complicated at present by having to buy a new (2nd hand) car during national lockdown. Short of a planet-burning SUV, the safest bet on the roads in this neck of the woods was an Octavia estate - our current one doing us 12 years of hard going before the ECU on it went all Apollo 13 before Christmas: the newer version seems to have been turned into a computerized camera system on wheels however!

 

Hopefully I can collect it on Friday as it's an import and all the usual paperwork takes longer nowadays.

 

In the meantime, be safe all of you and hope to be able to share some '481 by the weekend.

M'wah.

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

[giemme]

   

 

Awaiting impatiently! (Can you tell?  )

 

Ciao 

[perdu]

Waiting patiently, like perhaps the old bull in the parable, so we can enjoy this together.

 

That red box thing is very interesting, is it the same as the one Sir Anthony uses in Westworld?

 

[Pete in Lincs]

So happy to see printing has started! Is it Saturday yet?

I think I will leave the obvious double entendre for @CedB to point out, in case I spook the printer.

(But, F'nar, anyway).

[Terry1954]

Great to see a prodution printing run has started Tony. A 3D Havilland moment perhaps?

 

Happy New Year!

 

Terry

[keefr22]

52 minutes ago, Terry1954 said:

A 3D Havilland moment perhaps?

 

 

Groan......

 

And after all this time an aeroplane is born.....!!

 

Keith

[heloman1]

I like it, the renders look amazing and your machine now that is a piece of kit!

 

Colin

[Gondor44]

WoW

 

 

Gondor

[CedB]

Is it Saturday yet?

What day IS it then? No idea anymore... even my usual ‘bin day, must be Monday’ has been disrupted...