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Ventura to Lodestar Conversion


DMC

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This is not a completely new thread.  Rob started it back in May and let me tag along adding what I could to help with the conversion.  I won’t be reposting all those build photos I posted but will pick up where we left off when the build(s) stalled somewhat when we encountered a problem and hadn’t decided on what to, or whether to, do about it.

 

The thread is here if the subject interests you and you weren’t following to begin with.  Quite a bit of scratch building experimentation and Rob’s handy work with aluminium sticky tape. 

 

 

This is the donor kit, Revell’s really very nice Lockheed Ventura.  

 

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This is the look we were aiming for, or at least what hoped our build would resemble.

 

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And This was the problem we encountered.  The belly of the Ventura was fairly flat.  Rob recons it eas squared off to accommodate the bomb load and no doubt he is correct.  He’s leaving his model as is since it is closed up and foiled.  Perhaps a modelling nightmare to de-foil and reshape the belly.

 

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The belly should look something like this: not completely a semi circle but not too flat either.

 

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And this is how, after much mulling over, I’ve decided to deal with the problem.  TL: To get the shape I thought I needed a made a template of the top of the nose piece and tacked it to the bottom.  Note the “corners” which will be eliminated.  TR: that piece was removed and a block of balsa carved to match the shape of the template.  BL: male and female moulds were fashioned.  BR:  a new forward piece as plunged out of .040 styrene.  The rest of the belly, right back to the end of the bomb bay opening will be done this way.  

 

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So, that’s it so far.  I welcome any comments, suggestions or criticism.  I will no doubt have do a little editing but just wanted to get this posted.

 

Thanks for lookin in. 

 

Dennis

 

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It looks like a sound plan Dennis. 

 

I would observe that cutting off the whole lower fuselage and replacing it with a vac piece is pretty drastic and would need careful definition of the join, which may not be a straight line.
 

An alternative might be to pack the lower corners of the fuselage with a fillet of Milliput or car filler and file the corners down to a more rounded cross section? That would preserve the integrity of the fuselage halves and the mating surfaces. I’ve had good results with that sort of backing where I’ve had to sand away more than the thickness of the plastic, because the plastic and filler stick together well and are both the same hardness. 

 

Either approach would generate lots of mess on your workbench! Looking forward to it.

 

Regards,

Adrian

 

 

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1 hour ago, AdrianMF said:

It looks like a sound plan Dennis. 

 

Hello Adrian,

 

Thanks for that and thanks for the suggestion.  As you can see in the photo the corners don’t make an appearance until the bay doors are cemented in place so there really is nothing to round off.  Evan as we speak I am fashioning the mould(s) for the bay inserts, there are two.  Could have probably done the bay insert in one piece but I wanted to make use of moulds that I used on another project but now have no use for.

 

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Ignoring the former, which is too rounded, the remaining front piece will be removed and another insert plunged to fit that space. The balsa moulds have all been mated up and faired together so I’m hoping far a smooth transition from one to the other.

I have mulled it over for a while now and think this is the way to go.  I’m Not really enamoured of Milliput and I avoid using it if at all possible.  

 

My workbench? Heck, it’s always a mess.  Every few days I have to make a clean sweep of it or else I can never find anything.  I have tried many times to work “neat” but usually fail miserably. 

 

I appreciate your input Adrian.  I have read through you Hudson build and wondered about backdating the Ventura to a 1:48 Hudson.  I don’t need another project, however.  Time is finite.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

 

 

 

 

Edited by DMC
Removed photo
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9 minutes ago, bigbadbadge said:

Will tag along if I may,

Hello Chris,

 

Well, being very careful and avoiding those that aren’t.  And you?

Tag along certainly, pleased to have you along.  Adding another photo shortly.  Camel on hold for a bit.  Busy with this one and the 747.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

 

 

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Great to see your commitment to the build. Modeling is in great part about solving problems. And you have no doubt the resources, skills and talent to solve them.

7 hours ago, DMC said:

As you can see in the photo the corners don’t make an appearance until the bay doors are cemented in place so there really is nothing to round off.  

May be Adrian meant packing inside, so you can sand outside? But I am not inside Adrian's mind (yet, as he refuses to doff that tinfoil hat) so hard to tell.

 

Anyway, we look forward to great modeling.

 

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30 minutes ago, Moa said:

Great to see your commitment to the build.

Thanks, Moa,  such a handsome airplane, or pretty if a she, I’ done far too much on it just let to it gather dust on a shelf.  I need to finish one for a change.  A healthy dose of your commitments would be useful.

 

 

And with that in mind, I’ve made a little more progress on filling that belly with something more suitable for a Lodestar.  This inset will fill the aft end of the bay. Another, similar to this one, will be in next in line and a smaller one will fit in between it and the nose piece.  Fingers crossed that the transition from one to the other smoothly.  

 

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The coffee stirrer gave me a line to follow when shaping the mould(s).  The styrene is .040 as in the nose piece.

 

Thanks for looking in 

 

Dennis

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All the bits necessary for the belly mods.  Make up and paint the cockpit next.  Then I’ll cement the fuselage halves together start fitting these pieces.

 

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Thanks for looking in 

 

Dennis

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Interesting to follow this build. I did a similar conversion some years ago, basing my model on the Koster vacuform Ventura kit. I wrote an article in Model Aircraft Monthly about my build. I might find it somewhere....

 

Nils

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20 minutes ago, rob Lyttle said:

This is looking good 👍

The ratio of white plastic to the grey is increasing by increments 

Thanks, Rob.

 

😄It is, isn’t it and I have yet to really start on the wings an nacelles.

 

Dennis

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