Thrust2

[Alan R]

1 hour ago, harveyb258 said:

Much like the smell of a new album by your favourite band, back in the day

Not "Wish you were here". The smell of the black plastic wrapper EMI used was evil!

Soon forgotten when I played the LP for the first time (73/74?). Still one of my favourite albums!

 

Sorry for the digression.

 

Cheers,

Alan.

[Bengalensis]

4 hours ago, harveyb258 said:

Much like the smell of a new album by your favourite band, back in the day.... happy memories!

Which of course made the albums a lot better as well 😎

[Bengalensis]

The start of today's work session proved the value of a spare decal sheet.

 

 

Apart from that the applications today were a lot easier than yesterday's excursion. I'm not using the decal provided for the air bleed valve. The plan is to make the flaps from 0,10 mm sheet plastic. We'll see what happens with that later.

 

 

 

The rear panel is difficult to get right. As the car stands in the museum today some stickers have changed and/or been added while others are gone. There are few clear images from the active days, and those that exist vary a lot and it's not easy knowing for sure which was taken at what date. The same goes for videos. I just decided on a reference that seemed plausible. The decal sheet provides various decals seen at different times, but not all of them and those missing are often impossible to see clearly exactly what they are. I'm using some from the sheet, something from my spare collection, and some will be printed. This is a start.

 

 

Then I had to make some quick artwork for my own prints of some smaller missing items, and some scribbles for the rear panel, and print them out.

 

 

Here the jack points, cutting marks and the tiny Trimite Paint text have been applied. It's also clear to see how much touching up that will be necessary.

 

 

The finished rear panel. Much of this is not perfectly correct, but it will do.

 

 

The last decals were applied to the shock absorbers and suspension arms. Again it took some persuasion to make the decals conform to the small diameter parts, but now they are sitting there.

 

 

Next I will have to start touching up all the damaged edges and cracks that are too obvious and too much. I will have to work up some inspiration for that though, so not right now.

 

[Schwarz-Brot]

The car itself looks quite beautiful, elegant and futuristic. I think it sports some beautiful lines. The gold colour compliments this really well. Just the red line from front to back would have been perfect for me, though. I understand the need for sponsors very well, but as usually I dislike the stickeralbum look we see here. Liverys are perfect if done as an one-piece artwork in my book.

 

Good luck with your touching up. Lots of room for disaster. I can see why you're not looking forward to it.

 

Jan

[johnlambert]

I've enjoyed this build thread; I'm familiar with Thrust 2 having seen it in Coventry Transport Museum many times but it's hard to take in the look of the whole car in a relatively confined space.  A well made model (like this) is a great way to take in the design of the car.

[Sabrejet]

Better and better by the day!

[Bengalensis]

Thanks a lot gentlemen, you are most kind.

 

The other day I made a start on that air bleed valve, cutting and shaping four separate flaps. I ended up using 0,2 mm plastic. They were also given a slightly rolled shape to better match the curvature of the body, but it's hardly noticeable.

 

 

The finished flaps were sprayed with Alclad Steel and set aside until I would find some time to continue.

 

 

This afternoon a thunderstorm rolled in, and with flashes nearby I had to pull all data equipment off line and off power to be safe, which effectively paused my work. So I quickly moved to the modeling room and continued working there, gluing the bleed valve flaps with small amounts of Kristal Klear. It may be a simplified solution and possibly not exactly correct, but I feel it looks better than just a decal.

 

 

It was obvious the thunder and lightning would last longer, so I took the opportunity to start matching paint and touch up the decaling. I'm not any good at paint matching, never understanding exactly what to add to move a shade in the direction I want, so it's not a favourite pastime, but must be done...

 

 

I thought I'd do the red areas at least. This went smoother than I expected, and then I did white, and black.  So I might as well just get it done over with, even though the weather cleared in the end. My paint matching leaves something to be desired and the work is by no means perfect, but the differences are a lot more visible in the photos than to a naked eye.  It turned out better than expected so I'm happy with that. With this step over and done with I can continue the assembly.

 

 

 

 

[JeroenS]

I don't see anything wrong with this at all. 

[Spiny]

You might have to guide us in the direction of where the alleged mismatched paint is as I for one can't see it. Which means it must be a good job...

[Bengalensis]

Thanks a lot guys, you are most kind.

 

It's been a very busy few days, but yesterday I got a bit more done. The windscreens were fitted with Kristal Klear.

 

 

When dry this was followed by the two cockpits. All gaps between the cockpits and the inside of the body were filled with Kristal Klear and painted black.

 

 

The conduit for the air starter was fitted with Kristal Klear to make the work a little more forgiving as I had no locating points.

 

 

The fins were tacked with CA, then the grooves were filled with epoxy from the inside.

 

 

When the fin glue joints had been painted black on the inside the reheater could be glued permanently.

 

 

With the body placed at ride height I then started fitting the rear suspension, trial fitting with the wheels to ensure the alignment of the parts. With the basic parts fitted it was left over night to settle.

 

 

This morning work resumed, first fitting the shock absorbers.

 

 

With everything dried solid the body was again rigged at ride height and the rear wheels were glued with epoxy and aligned while drying.

 

 

Here is a detail I had left to fix. There should be centre hub caps at the rear wheels fixed with six screws, but I only have the somewhat imprecise axle stubs a few 0,10's back. This will not do.

 

 

First I drew the pattern of the cap and screws in AutoCAD and loaded the digital cutter with 0,25 sheet styrene. It didn't work very well. The screw marks are close to the circumference and I got oval parts with no precision. It's OK, the cutter isn't really meant to handle that material.

 

 

I resorted to a good old hole punch and actually got roundels with a perfect diameter. I printed out a pattern alignment from AutoCAD and marked the six screws with a needle.

 

 

Here we have the painted caps.

 

 

I should have looked closer to this detail before I printed the decals, as there is the small "wolfrace" text in white placed off centre on the caps. So I had to create that and drag out the decal printer once again to get it done.

 

 

While the paint on the caps dried I glued and aligned the front wheels with epoxy, with the nose rigged at ride height while the glue cured.

 

 

The floor panel is screwed in place.

 

 

The tow hook, lifting lugs and antenna were then glued, now that I shouldn't have to rest the car on its roof anymore.

 

 

 

 

The lines for the parachutes were then fitted. A bit simplified perhaps, but will do.

 

 

With the paint dry the rear wheel hub caps could be fitted at last and the small decals placed. This looks much better.

 

 

That should be the last job; I think this one might be finished now...

[harveyb258]

Excellent job.

[Hamden]

 

A really stunning result, great craftsmanship and superb paintwork!

Outstanding attention to detail as we have come to expect with your work

 

  Stay safe        Roger

[fjaweijfopi4j48]

Fantastic.

The result of you incredible level of commitment and high skills is outstanding.

A golden jewel that you took to the highest level.

Congratulations, Jörgen!

[Sabrejet]

Thrust 2 is basically a featureless brick with the corners rounded off but you have managed to turn it into a thing of beauty and show its subtle details to perfect effect. Love it!

[Kitkent]

I agree with the above two! I think your paint job is also better than the real car! I remember this being in the news all the time when it was being built and run. Chris.

[klubman01]

Another tour-de-force!  Well done.

Trevor

[Bengalensis]

Thank you very much gentlemen, you are as always most kind. I'm very happy you like the build.

 

It has been an interesting and rewarding project that very much changed my view on this car. Where I used to think of it as a bit of an uninspiring blob or brick, I now find it an interesting and awesome piece of engineering with an effective design to get the job done.

 

I have now placed a few photos of the finished model in the RFI-section here.