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Fairey IIIF 1/48


wellsprop

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Fellow Britmodellers,

 

I proudly present my 1/48 Fairey IIIF Mk. IVC (Floats), CAD and 3D print kit - not currently in-production.

 

This kit comes with 52 parts, including wing struts, float struts and float trestles and wheels. It is detailed to cockpit level, including instrument panels and a basic seat/stick - in addition, it includes a plunge molded windshield and windshield mold part.

 

Instructions are provided, showing assembly and dimensions/locations for the metal rod (not included) required to complete the struts. A suggested colour scheme is also included (decals need to be sourced by the builder).

 

This is my first attempt at a model kit (I'm not a model kit designer, just a CAD engineer in the aerospace industry with an interest in aircraft and model planes!), so I wouldn't suggest this kit for beginners. That said, I have been very pleasantly surprised at how well this kit goes together and the prototype built up quickly and fairly easily.

 

Fairey IIIF box art

 

GSE2

 

GSE1

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

1/48 Fairey IIIF - CAD & 3D Print - Complete Kit

 

Fairey IIIF J9060

 

Fairey IIIF Instructions Sheet 1

 

Fairey IIIF Instructions Sheet 2

Wheeled version

Fairey Wheeled 2 Fairey Wheeled 1

Greek / New Zealand / FAA version

 

FaireyComplete5

Thanks too to @mahavelona for inspiring this build and providing research, images and the lovely box art, colour scheme and logo above.

 

The model took 150 hours to CAD model and prepare for printing (most that time was on the CAD modelling) and takes 60 hours to print (+ further time cleaning and curing).

 

Thanks!

Ben

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So having mostly completed the overall design of my Wapiti, using the lessons learned (many), I have decided to give the Fairey IIIF a bash.

 

The Fairey IIIF is harder to model as it doesn't have a consistent "spine" centre, which means all the sections have to be joined at their thickest sections by project the top down view onto an extruded horizontal centre spine. These project lines can then be used (with the upper and lower profiles) as guide curves.

 

I also decided to make greater use of CATIAs Generative Shape Design workbench and the whole fuselage was modelled as surfaces before being converted into a homogeneous solid.

 

F1

 

F2

 

F3

 

The final image shows where I'm at now, I have added (well, removed) the open cockpit and gun port as well as added the gun fairing.

 

More to follow,

Ben

 

-

 

The vertical tail is complete!

 

F4

 

Hopefully, by the end of the week, I will have the wings and horizontal tail surfaces complete.

 

The total design time so far for the fuselage and vertical tail is 10 hours. I'm hoping to complete the remaining wings and horizontal tail within 10 hours. I am unsure how long the remaining parts (undercarriage, propeller, struts, etc) will take to design, but I will guess approximately 10 hours.

 

I think for a fairly simple, but complete, kit, the design time should be 30-50 hours.

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Wings on! These took a while...

 

F5

 

The lower wing fillet was a pain to add. I have also added the steps in the side of the fuselage as well as the machine gun barrel.

 

F6

 

Just the tail to go now :)

 

Ben

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1 hour ago, Mattlow said:

Ben

 

Looks like you're already a bit of a dab hand at this 3D stuff.. :)

 

You make it look 'simple'... You do this sort of work as the day job now..?

 

Matt

 

Thanks Matt, still trying to get the hang of it, but I think I'm getting there slowly. I'm finding it much easier to use surface modelling tools and convert everything to solid bodies at the end.

 

And yep, I do 3D design (as well as a bit of FEA) for 1:1 aircraft for a living 🚁

 

I'm pretty happy with the result now...

 

F7

 

Still to go on the "main" bits are the propeller and I need to add panel lines and exhausts to the surfaces.

 

After that, there's all the smaller bits to add, cockpit detail and undercarriage.

 

Cheers!

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1 hour ago, Mattlow said:

I have to remind myself I've only been doing this for a few weeks...  :)

 

Just like plastic modelling! Takes years to get any good - I've been making plastic models for 10 years and I think my latest models are fairly good...

 

I still have much to learn CAD modelling and plastic modelling :D

 

I tackled the propellers (I was very concerned they would be difficult). The way I approached them was by sketch the front and side profiles and the profiles in the viewing direction. These extrudes were then intersected to give the "correct" 3D profile. I used these extrudes as guides for the upper and lower blade sections which were lofted together.

 

F8

 

They certainly aren't perfect, but they look about right :)

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32 minutes ago, wellsprop said:

I tackled the propellers (I was very concerned they would be difficult). The way I approached them was by sketch the front and side profiles and the profiles in the viewing direction. These extrudes were then intersected to give the "correct" 3D profile. I used these extrudes as guides for the upper and lower blade sections which were lofted together.

 

I didn’t quite follow how that worked (despite a few read throughs) 

 

You didn’t happen to take step by step exhaustively annotated screenshots did you?

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33 minutes ago, LostCosmonauts said:

I didn’t quite follow how that worked (despite a few read throughs) 

 

You didn’t happen to take step by step exhaustively annotated screenshots did you?

Hi LostCosmonauts,

 

Apologies, I'm not amazing at explaining!  I've taken some screenshots and I'll do my best to explain what is a fairly difficult process for those not familiar with surface/line modelling.

 

F9
  1. Sketched the profile of the front of the blade - these lines were extruded (as surfaces) in the direction of view.
  2. Sketched the profile of the side of the blade - these lines were intersected with the surface (created in 1), by extruding in the direction of view.
  3. This shows the resultant intersected profile (2) on the extruded profile (1).
  4. I have now hidden the surfaces and intersects that were not required, leaving just the leading and trailing edges of the prop. Upper and lower planes have been added which intersect the end of the profile guides.
  5. I created a blade profile on each plane, intersecting the guide lines at the leading and trailing edges (I just used an elliptical cross section for ease of design and manufacture).
  6. I used a Multi-Section Surface to connect the lower and upper blade sections using the the leading and trailing edge intersected lines (the near vertical ones) as leading and trailing guides.
  7. I capped off the top with a multi section surface using a simple elliptical guide.

I hope this makes some sort of sense! To be honest, I'm learning as I go along. Whilst I have used all these methods previously, I've never combined them all to make a model plane!

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1 minute ago, wellsprop said:

Hi LostCosmonauts,

 

Apologies, I'm not amazing at explaining!  I've taken some screenshots and I'll do my best to explain what is a fairly difficult process for those not familiar with surface/line modelling.

 

F9

  1. Sketched the profile of the front of the blade - these lines were extruded (as surfaces) in the direction of view.
  2. Sketched the profile of the side of the blade - these lines were intersected with the surface (created in 1), by extruding in the direction of view.
  3. This shows the resultant intersected profile (2) on the extruded profile (1).
  4. I have now hidden the surfaces and intersects that were not required, leaving just the leading and trailing edges of the prop. Upper and lower planes have been added which intersect the end of the profile guides.
  5. I created a blade profile on each plane, intersecting the guide lines at the leading and trailing edges (I just used an elliptical cross section for ease of design and manufacture).
  6. I used a Multi-Section Surface to connect the lower and upper blade sections using the the leading and trailing edge intersected lines (the near vertical ones) as leading and trailing guides.
  7. I capped off the top with a multi section surface using a simple elliptical guide.

I hope this makes some sort of sense! To be honest, I'm learning as I go along. Whilst I have used all these methods previously, I've never combined them all to make a model plane!

Neat, thanks! I’ve a 1/200 Tupolev Bear that I inherited part built with a couple of broken props. Might try following along these lines (albeit in Fusion) to make replacements

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@LostCosmonauts

 

I'll be keen to hear how you get on! I'm not at all familiar with fusion360, though it appears to have a similar GUI to Solidworks. I'm guessing it's more friendly an possibly quicker than CATIA for making non-engineering models.

 

I don't know what the surfacing capability of fusion is like, but I assume it can be done. I can't think of how to make a blade without surfacing tools.

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@wellsprop Ben

 

What I like about your explanation is the way it shows that 3D is very similar to physical engineering in that you may have to create 'tools' to achieve the end result. I'm beginning (I think) to realise that achieving forms is rarely a single stage process and you have to develop a mindset that understands how to use the software to achieve the result via more than one process.

 

Matt

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As someone whos generally stayed away from surface/nurbs modelling - im still confused how you incorporated the 'twist' of the prop from the sketches provided, but i think its by using the sketches/surfaces as guides to a lofting process? Lofts & Guides still feels like a bit of 'dark art' of 3d modelling to me!

 

Great work and you really seem to be tearing through these biplanes :) 

 

Are you modelling 'to scale' or building at a 1:1 level and will then scale down - either way how are you determining part/wall thickness?

 

 

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2 hours ago, Kushan_Farsight said:

As someone whos generally stayed away from surface/nurbs modelling - im still confused how you incorporated the 'twist' of the prop from the sketches provided, but i think its by using the sketches/surfaces as guides to a lofting process? Lofts & Guides still feels like a bit of 'dark art' of 3d modelling to me!

 

Great work and you really seem to be tearing through these biplanes :) 

 

Are you modelling 'to scale' or building at a 1:1 level and will then scale down - either way how are you determining part/wall thickness?

 

 

 

NURBS is the way to go :) 

 

Thanks, I really appreciate the nice words - particularly as this is the first attempt I've made!

 

I'm building them at 48th scale, because I want to have direct parametric control over what I am going to print. The wall thickness is generally whatever number you fancy, that's easy and looks right (honestly, it's the same as what real world engineers do) - obviously, one has to consider manufacturing requirements. I'm using a 1mm wall thickness on the main parts - I stuck my vernier caliper on my Airfix Meteor and Airfix Spitfire, the wall thickness is 1mm. The panel lines are 0.3mm wide and 0.3mm deep, becuase someone I messaged on instagram told me that's how they did it for their print and it looked good.

 

Much the same as "real world" engineering, a vast amount of design is up to judgement - but it's always good to be conservative in your design. Almost all design ideas are developed from previous designs or rival designs - it's very unusual (nowadays) to see truly new concepts.

 

 

 

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Alright, we're getting somewhere!

 

I've added all the panel lines (and control surfaces) as well as various detail bits like steps... Total design time is currently around 30 hours.

 

Here's a quick render (first time using renders too!)

Fairey4

 

Still to do;

  • Add exhausts to the fuselage
  • CAD the undercarriage (both floats and wheels)
  • CAD the interior

Not too long to go now!

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2 hours ago, Anthony in NZ said:

That's beautiful, I would buy one off you in 1/32....

 

Keep up the great work

 

Cheers Anthony :D

 

There's is no theoretical reason why I couldn't scale up the 3D printing parts to 1/32 scale. If it is possible to print or not.... Who knows?

 

Hopefully I can get the 1/48 kit working, then I'm open to other scales :)

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8 hours ago, wellsprop said:

 

Cheers Anthony :D

 

There's is no theoretical reason why I couldn't scale up the 3D printing parts to 1/32 scale. If it is possible to print or not.... Who knows?

 

Hopefully I can get the 1/48 kit working, then I'm open to other scales :)

That would be awesome!

In the meantime, I shall enjoy watching your skills at work.  It's the first thread on BM I go to in the mornings with my cuppa....so thanks for taking the time to post

 

Cheers Anthony

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@Anthony in NZ it might not be the cheapest... Even in 1/48 I think it's going of use around 1L of printing resin (that's about £30)!

 

Here's a few more photos - I've added the exhaust detailing (my gosh, it was difficult! Lots of fancy surface modelling required) and I've mocked up some floats.

 

F10

 

F11 F12

 

I'm happy that the fuselage (aside from a couple detail bits), wings and tail surfaces are complete.

 

Hopefully, the floats won't require too much more work to make look half decent!

 

Ben

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Well, I'm nearly ready to call this one done!

 

FF1 FF2

 

Still to do are the cockpit, interior and a few little detail bits on the fuselage, wings and floats.

 

Getting there slowly - at about 45 hours design time now!

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