Courageous Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 Near breaking point...mojo getting low. This is hard work due the varying quality of the vacuform, ranging from sharp to very soft and has proved difficult to know where the demarcation is. Plastic fillets in, filled, sanded a number of times and think I'm nearly their along the top. The bottom was more of the same but its here where the plastic was thinnest, so care had to be taken. Sorry for the quality but this front-on shot of the nose section shows that the profile isn't quite round at the 4-6 O'clock position and sticks out like a sore thumb when the spinner was offered up...more work needed here but that is the least of my problems. Undersides of wings with the wheel bay ribbing added together with a mounting block for the undercarriage. After receiving a nice new set of mini scrapers, the wing mating edges were thinned down accordingly and the halves were joined to achieve a best fit which wasn't very good. In this view, due to the 'soft' profile of the wings. you can see the aileron areas are off and more so for the wing intakes on the leading edge... ...and here's a topside view of the problems and with so many issues with these wings, it's difficult to know where to start. I think I will remove the intake areas on the leading edge, fit some appropriate sized tubing and blend in with some filler/putty. As for the aileron areas, I think I need to make up the ailerons and see what these look like and offer them into position... What a mess, not a happy bunny. Stuart 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Sorry to hear of the issues fella, I am sure you will overcome and get your mojo restored. Great work in getting it to this stage . Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 You are doing well, keep at it, you'll crack it. Milliput is good for such challenges. I had similar issues with the Sedbergh fuselage, which I reckon is now 25% milliput! Terry 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bengalensis Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 I'm sure you will overcome this too, just sit back and consider, then take it piece by piece. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 1 hour ago, bigbadbadge said: Sorry to hear of the issues fella, I am sure you will overcome and get your mojo restored. Great work in getting it to this stage . 37 minutes ago, Terry1954 said: You are doing well, keep at it, you'll crack it. Cheers guys, thanks for the encouragement. Chose the best wing to be the 'master' and that was the port. The aileron was cut out and would you believe it, their was a 1.5mm difference between the top and bottom...what the! Fortunately, the shorter piece was the best to fit, so the halves were joined, tidied up, wing area squared off to match. ...and now fits nicely. Mojo gauge going up. Stuart 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted October 24, 2020 Author Share Posted October 24, 2020 3 minutes ago, Bengalensis said: I'm sure you will overcome this too, just sit back and consider, then take it piece by piece. Thanks Jörgen. Time for some recuperation. Stuart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted October 24, 2020 Share Posted October 24, 2020 Yes, they make you growl and grunt sometimes, and many times the fit and shapes are not perfect... But you have the skill and talent to fix these things. Hey, is this not very much like life itself, where hardly anything is perfect? And yet we make the best we can of it. (Half-asleep cheap morning philosopher) 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted November 2, 2020 Author Share Posted November 2, 2020 Where has the week gone, well it has been hours of whittling plastic. As I've mentioned earlier, different portions of the same Vacuform sheet had different levels of definition on the parts edges causing problem when mating halves then more problems when offering them up their respective places...nightmare. The intakes on the wing leadings were replaced with brass tubing and now being faired-in with Milliput and now drying before sanding. The backend surfaces after much work have been assembled and dry fitted. The first step here will be the fitting of the horizontal stabilizers and I think more swearing will ensue, then the rudder and elevators. Exhaust fairings have been removed and cleaned up and just need their ports opened up, then fitted. Got to delve into the spares box to find suitable propeller blades to fit into spinner. Before the fitting of the wings, I'd better get the canopy cut out and sorted as I believe @Moa had issues with the cockpit opening being to large and needed correcting. Not looking forward to aligning and fitting the wings and haven't even looked at the undercarriage yet. Stuart 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Vac forms can be hard, but you’ll feel all the better for making a decent job of it. For issues like the fuselage I usually make a circle if thin plastic card to act as a form to fill/sand to as it can be difficult to get the geometry right by eye. Take heart this ( in no particular order( was my Caproni Campini and it turned out great. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Making good progress Stuart. As Marklo says, vac forms can be hard work but worth it in the end. The intake solution is neat. Can't beat a bit of brass and milliput! @Marklo, those three pictures sum it all up perfectly! Great job there too. Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted November 2, 2020 Share Posted November 2, 2020 Ah, you are taming that dragon. Excellent corrective work. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted November 3, 2020 Author Share Posted November 3, 2020 On 11/2/2020 at 2:30 PM, Marklo said: Take heart this ( in no particular order( was my Caproni Campini and it turned out great. Cheers Marklo, that looks rather daunting. On 11/2/2020 at 3:22 PM, Terry1954 said: Making good progress Thanks Terry, not sure about the 'good' part but progress nonetheless. 23 hours ago, Moa said: Ah, you are taming that dragon. Excellent corrective work. Thanks Moa, it's kicking and screaming all the way. A little more done today. Horizontals on and level and gaps filled. Rudder on. Area looks a mess but hopefully after a prime/inspect/fill/sand cycle, we should be good. Elevators will go on when it's safe. And now to a problem Here we have the problem. From the drawings I have, the wing sweep should be about 5.5 deg so this was marked on some paper and plonked the model in its correct position. The top/ starboard wing is offered to the fuselage and it can clearly be seen that the sweep is wrong, 10.7 deg to be exact. The lower/ port wing was lined up with the sweep line and there is an obvious gap... ...this much gap! Now I know that the drawings I have are not proper drawings and are more likely to be from RC models(?), I don't have any spec that states sweep, so I'm not sure what to do now. If I assume that the sweep should be 5.5 deg, do I go the easy/ incorrect route and live with the sweep at whatever it is or go the correct route and sort it out. I can't take any plastic off the forward roots as this will shorten the span, so that leaves filling... Mojo gauge going down but as it's my birthday... my good lady got me this, so mojo gauge has gone back up a little. Stuart 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Happy Birthday Stuart, the tailplane area progress is good although it's a shame about the wing to fuselage join. I am afraid I cannot help with the issue other than to offer encouragement and hope it doesn't damage the old Mojo too much. Nice pressie from the Domestic Authorities too. Chris 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Happy birthday Stuart. If it’s not fun give it a break ( this is why I have so many builds on the go) mojo is essential. The first few photos were from the planned stage. The two above were from the getting the paintwork a!?eways phase and were daunting. It was all going well until the various rattle cans chose to react together giving the scabrous appearance above. But a cool head and some wet and dry did eventually fix it 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Happy Birthday! Fana #54 April 1974 has a good plan. Check plans before committing Please send me an email. Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 I would have said to go with the stbd wing sweep, looking at plans and photos. It is looking very good now - there's an aeroplane somewhere on that sheet of plastic! Had to tell admittedly from photos taken on the ground. I guess the shortness of its time in the air explains why there are no "in flight" photos! Regards and Happy Birthday! Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 Happy Birthday indeed Stuart! The Supermarine S-5 looks nice. Quite fancy one of those myself! Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted November 3, 2020 Author Share Posted November 3, 2020 @bigbadbadge, @Marklo, @Moa, @AdrianMF and @Terry1954, Thanks for the birthday wishes and your support in this nightmare. Moa, email sent. Stuart 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted November 3, 2020 Share Posted November 3, 2020 (edited) 59 minutes ago, AdrianMF said: Had to tell admittedly from photos taken on the ground. I guess the shortness of its time in the air explains why there are no "in flight" photos! Happens to us all; I stumbled across this beauty today and although I can find plans for the biplane version can’t find a thing on the triplane. it’s a sablatnig F4 btw, and I really want to make one Edited November 3, 2020 by Marklo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corsaircorp Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 Belated Happy Birthday Stuart !! Fine recovery on the kit !! Have a good old beer on my behalf !! Sincerely. CC 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 20 hours ago, Courageous said: I can't take any plastic off the forward roots as this will shorten the span, so that leaves filling... Hi Stuart, could you maybe file the forward roots to achieve the correct sweep, and then laminate some strips of plastikard across the entire root area to restore the span? You'd have the issue of sanding the laminated-on plastikard to the aerofoil section, of course. Belated Happy Birthday, by the way! Cheers, Mark 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 2 hours ago, corsaircorp said: Belated Happy Birthday Stuart !! Cheers CC, I hope couple last night to have a 'reset' 16 minutes ago, 2996 Victor said: Belated Happy Birthday, by the way! Thanks Mark. The sweep issue has been sorted. I had a ONE drawing among many that I had missed and stated measurements all about the wing, stating that the wing has a sweep of 10 deg. So the kit is right and no corrective action was needed, I've just got to fit the bloody things to the fuselage. Stuart 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2996 Victor Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 40 minutes ago, Courageous said: Thanks Mark. The sweep issue has been sorted. I had a ONE drawing among many that I had missed and stated measurements all about the wing, stating that the wing has a sweep of 10 deg. So the kit is right and no corrective action was needed, I've just got to fit the bloody things to the fuselage. Stuart Excellent! If that had been me, I'd have found the drawing showing 10 deg. sweep after I'd "corrected" it..... Mark 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted November 4, 2020 Author Share Posted November 4, 2020 1 hour ago, 2996 Victor said: after I'd "corrected" it..... That happens to most of us at some stage, some more than others. Stuart 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted November 4, 2020 Share Posted November 4, 2020 That's great news, lucky you found that drawing . Chris 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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