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Drache. A Kreiger flier


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And I'm back again. A new year and a new build. The intention was (note the past tense) to scratchbuild a Fledermaus, which is a rocket propelled kreiger flier.

Our man in Kalamazoo aka @Tzulscha very kindly photographed his, along with a ruler (f'nar) and I was all set to go. But, I don't have the correct rocket nozzles and,

well, once I'd had a look in the model graveyard, the gears started turning in my head. Never a good result for the current plan in mind. Here's a fledermaus anyway....

https://houseofqueeg.files.wordpress.com/2015/03/fm-w042.jpg

 

In the model graveyard I found a Skycrane that I'd built in the seventies. Not common nowadays, but not worth saving as it was, so I set to and dismantled it.

d3gyzIp.jpg

Another of my slightly out of focus pictures. In the foreground is the skycrane. Behind it, some kits that may or may not, donate plastic.

The basic idea (at present) is to build a 1/20th flier that should look something like the lovechild of a Stuka and an Apache. With VTOL. Possibly a two seater. We'll see.

 

vajus7W.jpg

Another blurry pic'. But what you have is the fuselage upside down with a 1/20th seat and pilot body. This should show the basic layout.

 

2JmhRdV.jpg

Ah, that's better. I removed the canopy and boxed in the nose so I can fit 'sensors' etc as on the Apache. The u/c seen here may change, (who am I kidding?, it probably will).

 

Z8JruLG.jpg

The plastic card is 1mm, picked up from Access models in Newark last week (well, I was delivering beer to the pub 2 doors away) it will add strength to the fuselage,

top and bottom. Also, it is around 1mm narrower than the fuselage.

The idea being that it will give me something to glue the sides to. When I figure out what I'm going to use, that is.

So, there we have it. Progress will no doubt be slow due to work and weekend chores, but hopefully it will get there in the end.

Goodness knows what it will look like by then!

And, Drache, BTW, is German for Dragon. I don't think I've used the name before on one of my builds. And I'm sure  Focke Achgelis will forgive me for stealing it.

 

Thanks for dropping by. Comments and offers of leftover Christmas pudding are always welcome.

Pete

 

 

 

 

 

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First comment:  :o:bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce::bounce:

 

I want that skycrane!

I built that back in the '70s. Not a bad kit as I remember.

Well, I want one in 1/32nd scale which I know I'm not gonna get, as a basis for my MaK Locust MkI project.

(which probably won't get built for a while anyway...)

 

Anyway, that looks pretty good upside down. I even kinda like that grasshopper landing gear actually.

 

 

I'll send a fruitcake along shortly. (fruitcake seems somehow appropriate... :coolio:)

The addy was Mr Pete, Lincolnshire, England right?

Should get there sometime next year or so...

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Like these kitbash/scratch-builds of yours! Will certainly be following along! 


Always liked the Fledermaus but it always seemed to me those downward firing thrusters/ engines would be creating horrendous levels of drag!  If your building VTOL - perhaps some tilting nozzles a-la the harrier / F35B ?

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19 hours ago, Tzulscha said:

fruitcake seems somehow appropriate.

With nuts.....

 

3 hours ago, Kushan_Farsight said:

perhaps some tilting nozzles a-la the harrier / F35B

That has passed through what remains of my mind. Although, this is 1/20th scale. The same as my last Falke build, and I still have some table tennis balls left over.

So it may turn out to have anti gravity. We shall see. Those rocket nozzles, @Tzulscha said they'd suck it inside out in less than ten seconds!

I do have something that could be tilting thrusters, the possibilities are endless.

And I may, sometime, build a Fledermaus with sensible thrusters, oh, and the hovertruck is still in my mind, I need to figure out the dimensions though.

Thanks for dropping by, Pete

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On 1/6/2020 at 4:32 PM, Pete in Lincs said:

and I still have some table tennis balls left over.

..is a phrase that  only a thread of yours could have in it Pete! :laugh:

Whatever this Skycrane morphs into here is sure to be compelling. :clap:

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I managed to get an hour or so done this afternoon. Not a huge amount of progress, and it may not work, but...

I used fuselage parts from an old B-58 hustler on my last build, so, to keep close to the Fledermaus, I thought I'd look at the wings for this one.

I've done some measuring and cutting and I still need to do more, hopefully I can get back to it tomorrow. Pictures when something happens!

Cheers, Pete

 

 

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Well, something happened, so I have pictures, as promised. I managed to get time at the bench this morning. I spent it wisely, chopping and cutting on a couple of

old Revell 1/32nd kits I'd built in the seventies! An Me 109 and a 262. Both donated bits of fuselage. Did you know that the curve on the cowl of the 109 in 1/32nd

matches a 1/72nd Skycrane cabin. Weird but true. The Skycrane is wider though so I'll need to insert filler pieces. The bits are held together with tape for now but here are the pics anyway.

 

pb0Rrgj.jpg

You can just make out the Skycrane tail on the left. Underneath is a bit of Me109. Top left is the 109 cockpit section. Behind that a chunk of 262 fuselage.

 

pIEynSr.jpg

Tape hides the junction of the 109 and Skycrane cockpits but they do pretty much line up and may only need a smear of filler on the sides.

Oh, the silver thing? B-58 Hustler wing in 1/72nd. I've sliced off the front to make an intake as on the Fledermaus.

 

AumLryQ.jpg

This may make it clearer. The lower wing is cut further back so as to give a slanted intake. The wing position may go higher or lower.

 

Co8PTIG.jpg

At the rear of the wing. I will have to slice off some of that, the chord is too long or is it deep? I forget. It's also too wide and may get tip tanks.

Any and all of the above is subject to change without notice as the whimsey takes me. Oh and may contain nuts. I think that's covered everything.

Thanks for looking in, Pete

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Ah, Sorry old chap. Last weekend was crazy non stop other stuff and it was late Sunday afternoon before I got any time to myself. Too late to go into the manshed.

This weekend I'll be away from home. Seventy odd miles South seeing the family. However, I'm back home on Monday, and, I have the week off! So, stand by for action!

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4 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

Ah, Sorry old chap. Last weekend was crazy non stop other stuff and it was late Sunday afternoon before I got any time to myself. Too late to go into the manshed.

This weekend I'll be away from home. Seventy odd miles South seeing the family. However, I'm back home on Monday, and, I have the week off! So, stand by for action!

Oh yes, I've heard the "real life" interference lines before.

Feeding your family ought to be secondary to amusing us, the modeling crowd of people you've mostly never met.

You need to get your priorities straight sir!

 

Um, sorry, just the meds kicking in.

Enjoy your week off!

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Right stop the timer @TheBaron, I'm on station with an update. Only got a couple of hours in this afternoon as it was a busy morning, despite my being on holiday!

 

A period of cutting, filing and measuring saw the side panels fettled and fitted. That is 1mm plastic card under them to fill the gap.

7nFSoAX.jpg

These were the cockpit sides from a Revell 1/32nd bf109. Originally built in the early seventies. There's an insert at the front centre which shows how much wider this thing will be.

 

gP00NgE.jpg

All that cutting and shutting means that behind the 109 panels we now have what was the nose of a Revell 1/32nd P-38. But now facing the other way.

Yes, I know they are worth a lot nowadays, but this is one that I acquired ready built some years ago. It then gave up it's engines and booms for my Gulf Falke build.

So this will form the rear of the cockpit and lead down to the tail as seen above. To it's right is another bit of 109, the rear underside.

Only the front 109 panels are glued into place. I need to build up a cockpit & seat assembly to slide into place and a canopy before they see glue.

 

egeoNWh.jpg

I drilled out the guns from the P-38, I'd like to leave these holes as vents if I can. And yes, there is a big step between P-38 and 109 parts but that is what Milliput is for.

All will be filled and smoothed in true kreiger fashion  so that it all blends together nicely.

 

pTjvqSo.jpg

As for the rest of the P-38 cockpit pod, I sawed off the belly section. Guess where that is going to go....

 

7wZII4b.jpg

No, no prize for being a smartypants. Again, some filler here and there and it will all fair in nicely. 

As always, thanks for looking in. Your comments, queries, spare parts and twenty pound notes are always welcome.

Cheers, Pete

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6 hours ago, Pete in Lincs said:

No, no prize for being a smartypants. Again, some filler here and there and it will all fair in nicely. 

As always, thanks for looking in. Your comments, queries, spare parts and twenty pound notes are always welcome.

Cheers, Pete

The sad face was for there being a lack of prizes for smartypants types...

 

It is certainly starting to look like some kind of kreiger fleiger thing, no question.

It certainly doesn't look much like a Fledermaus.

Actually looks a bit sharper... and faster.

Drache is a good name for this mutation of yours.

 

I am curious how you will do a canopy for this monstrosity.

 

Oh, I looked around but I can't find any twenty pound notes lying about. Sorry.

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This time off work lark is brilliant. I got out into the manshed again this afternoon.

 

I promised wings didn't I?

mTe4bLJ.jpg

Et Voila! There are a couple of wooden wingspars at the back of the cockpit about an inch apart. I contoured the wing where it adjoins the fuselage so it's a decent fit.

The wings aren't glued into place here, masking tape is doing it's magic. The headless jockey is just to show how things might end up. I borrowed the seat from a car.

 

fWU4Yir.jpg

Later on, I took a saw to the wingtips and here we see more P-38 bits added on there. The pale blue tanks are from an Airfix 1/24th Typhoon, donated by another BM member.

 

8N1hC3U.jpg

Another view. The Ailerons/Flaperons/whatever, were the elevator from the P-38, cut to size but not glued up yet. I must have used the B-58 ones somewhere else!

 

39XEOGC.jpg

And, I promised an anti gravity unit. So, here it is, and pretty much on the CG as well. The Original 1/20th Falke has three of them but that is a heavily armoured fighter.

This thing is pretty lightweight. Yes, it was a table tennis ball. It took some cunning measuring and cutting to get what I wanted but I amazed myself and got it right first time.

 

4Bgx2lZ.jpg

And of course that means the belly piece had to be cut to fit. It's not that precise, but a dab or three of filler will sort that out.

 

nEYikOJ.jpg

I'm not sure if that aerial is going to make it to the end. We shall see. 

As always, thanks for passing by and I hope you've seen something you like.

Cheers, Pete

 

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I wasn't too sure I was gonna like the Hustler wing you have, but there is just something about those little round wingtips that makes it work.

Kinda like a Convair Pogo.

The fuse sitting on that wing just screams "Snub fighter" to me. 

You know, a tiny parasite fighter carried by a bigger craft.

Low speed lift developed by the grav-ball and high speed lift developed by the delta wing.

Maybe some kind of control jets at the nose, tail and wing tips like Harriers use?

That would let you hover and do low speed maneuvers without needing airflow over your control surfaces.

 

What are you thinking to use this thing for? Interceptor, recon, ground attack or defensive air-to-air?

The more roles you can fill the better obviously, but it usually means a less efficient vehicle than one designed for a specific job.

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Thanks for the comments @Tzulscha. I think the original Fledermaus was a recon machine; it certainly doesn't seem to have armour,

and I can't remember seeing weapons on it.

Having said that I think I saw a modified one with rearward firing guns behind the pilot. OOH! Schräge Musik, there's an idea!

Control jets, yes. I have some small rocket nozzles, certainly smaller than the ones on the original machine! And, when I say rocket nozzles,

I do of course mean the end bits of ball point pens. But they look the part. Harrier style reaction jets would be less obtrusive though. We shall see. 

I knew I'd seen similar wingtips elsewhere. The Pogo. One of the B-58 wingtips was broken off so I had to do something there. I like the parasite idea too.

I also have to figure out some sort of engine mounting yet. Possibly a pair of B-58 engines underslung. I'm still not sure what I'm going to do about a canopy.

Cheers, Pete

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Another day off, another few pictures to drool over (or not). Seemingly not a lot has happened but I've done a fair bit in reality.

TOBbxWl.jpg

This just shows the wing spars, for anyone who was trying to figure out what I was on about. Simple stuff but it has to be done.

 

AmyfBRH.jpg

And here we have splitter plates. These feature on the Fledermaus so I had  to do it. On the right, the intake at the front of the wing.

In the middle, a section of F-15 intake with three splitters. And on the left, where the F-15 bits will go. On top of the wing alongside the fuselage.

Also on the right, the inside of the wing lower half with plastic card covering what was the wheel well. It's now stronger.

This will be hidden because I'll be fitting those Typhoon tanks under there. And those two holes outboard of that are where the engines will hang.

 

FFL6IFi.jpg

And here we have an engine. Fresh from the B-58. I decided to use two of these for the forward thrust. They were 1/72nd but are now on a 1/20th model.

That means their diameter & therefore thrust wouldn't be a lot, but it's not a fast machine, the delta wing just gives more lift area than a plank wing.

I spent some time today using wet & dry on the wings and engine pods so we are now back to bare plastic.

That 50 year old brush painted Humbrol silver took some removing!

The engine pods were taken apart (there is a 'detailed' engine in each one!) and are now clamped waiting for the glue to dry.

I hope to get the wings together tomorrow. Now that I'm putting engines under the wings I'll have to rethink the flaps/Elevons, otherwise they'd get melted when deployed!

Thanks for passing by, Maybe I'll have the kettle on the next time you're here. Two sugars? Until then, Cheers, Pete

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Nice idea but I have the anti gravity pod underneath. I think they'll be okay under the wings and I'll do what I can about the control surfaces.

I've yet to have a good look at landing gear, It may well depend on what I have in the spares box. Though I did find a couple of bits today that may suffice.

I also need to look at a colour scheme for the finished article. I'm leaning towards a desert scheme at the moment.

Cheers, Pete.

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Had a thought about the canopy.

MaK seems to use a lot of VR helmets so you don't actually require a transparent cockpit closure.

Plastic spoons may be your friend there.

 

I also have heard the women make up the greatest number of kreiger pilots since there are far more of them on future Earth...

 

 

df7c183e8fa7b35e7cbf10ad2c933cc7.jpg

And they look good doing it!

 

Side note, If you can hover you won't need wheels on your landing gears...

Edited by Tzulscha
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