nimrod54 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 As a 16 year old apprentice I used to walk through the 748 Wing and Fuselage Major Assembly bays on my way into the Chadderton site training school. Having this in the kit pile and with an option for RAAF marked version, I thought that it would be a good opportunity to add a 748 to the collection and rekindle memories of some of the characters that I served my time with. Here are the usual box and contents shots. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 A nice looking kit and a great personal connection too. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted January 10, 2021 Share Posted January 10, 2021 Good choice sir... I've never seen one of these built up so should be interesting. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 10, 2021 Author Share Posted January 10, 2021 4 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said: A nice looking kit and a great personal connection too. It looks pretty good buddy and the box includes one of Mark 1's card bases. As apprentices we spent our first year making all of the tools that we may need, this included things like screw drivers, die-holders, tap-wrenches, Vee-blocks etc. I remember spending a week on the fitting section filing and scraping six sides of a steel block, making sure that they were flat and square to each other, and at the end of our time on the section the block was placed in our toolbox for a later project. We then spent time on the turning section making various bits and pieces, and when we reached the milling section the block put in its next appearance. Here we took the carefully prepared block and milled all six sides to size and shape , this, along with several other bits made on our journey through the training school, would become a scribing block. Cheers John 4 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Good choice sir... I've never seen one of these built up so should be interesting. Cheers Dennis, I hope that I can do it justice. John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted January 11, 2021 Share Posted January 11, 2021 That description of your time as an apprentice, brings back lots of memories John. I can remember the regular crash of chuck keys hitting the lathe, where people forgot to take them out before restarting ! I think I've still got the toolbox I made. Best of luck with the build. Cheers Pat 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 11, 2021 Author Share Posted January 11, 2021 On 11/01/2021 at 08:18, JOCKNEY said: That description of your time as an apprentice, brings back lots of memories John. I can remember the regular crash of chuck keys hitting the lathe, where people forgot to take them out before restarting ! I think I've still got the toolbox I made. Best of luck with the build. Cheers Pat They were good times Pat, we gained small amounts of experience in each of the trades involved in aircraft production before going on to specialise in our chosen trade from the second year. Every 6 weeks we attended the local technical college which had a specialist aircraft block, and there was a Gloster Meteor in a small hanger below the classrooms on the upper floor, this was where we did our City and Guilds course work. I continued on the Second Year Training Module as a turner, finishing my time on the grinding section, where we did everything from surface grinding to thread grinding. A favourite trick of the shop-floor guys was to stand behind the lathe's splash guard, and when the apprentice was parting-off a part they would bang on the guard, I nearly myself on more than one occasion. Shortly after coming out of my time was when I started suffering with a form of Rheumatoid Arthritis, but tests failed to pick anything up to start with - about 7 years later it was diagnosed as Ankylosing Spondylitis. The joints of the spine become inflamed, bone grows across and eventually fuses the joint. The most important thing with AS is an early diagnosis of the condition, and that you try to stay as mobile as possible, however by the time I was diagnosed I had lost quite a bit of movement and had also developed RA in several peripheral joints, including my knees. In the end I went into the offices and worked in a Production Planning role for the rest of my time at B. Ae. Treatment for AS is much better now, although in some cases a lack of awareness is still leading to late diagnosis, but the Anti-TNF treatment that I have every eight weeks, has meant that I have less pain and as a result I am a lot more active than I was. Cheers John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 John, having worked on the two RAAF 'VIP' versions of this aircraft for about 2 years (they were retired to 32SQN when 34SQN got the Falcon 900s) and spent around 100 hours down the back end of the 'NT' version throwing my guts up as failing as a Navigator trainee, I will be watching with interest One of the 34SQN 748s 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biscuit Posted January 19, 2021 Share Posted January 19, 2021 watching this with interest, I remember working on ex RAN 748's when I was a load controller. Everything had to be trimmed manually absolute pain in the butt 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted January 19, 2021 Author Share Posted January 19, 2021 13 hours ago, Romeo Alpha Yankee said: John, having worked on the two RAAF 'VIP' versions of this aircraft for about 2 years (they were retired to 32SQN when 34SQN got the Falcon 900s) and spent around 100 hours down the back end of the 'NT' version throwing my guts up as failing as a Navigator trainee, I will be watching with interest Ray, I remember having a couple experience flights during my time as a Chadderton employee, one in a B. Ae.146 and the other was in a H.S.748. It was a dull, blustery day for the 748 flight, and the approach to land was quite bumpy, but not as rough as yours sounds. Thanks for posting the photo too. It shows the wing dihedral nicely. Cheers John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 2, 2021 Author Share Posted February 2, 2021 I have spent the last couple of weeks tidying up the model room and putting together these modular storage units for paints and tools etc from @Andy G via his EBMA store. Made from laser cut MDF, they are easy to assemble, you just have to ensure that you keep everything square, and they come with strong magnets to lock the completed units together. The tidy up has certainly pleased Mrs N, now lets see how long it lasts. by John L, on Flickr Anyway, time to start work on the 748 and get down to making some mess. The first task was to assemble the nosewheel bay, I also gave the fuselage join a sand before I fixed that in place. Because there are no locating pins I'll add a few strips of plastic to help line things up and reinforce the join. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CliffB Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Nice to see this one underway John, but I'm even more impressed by your storage solution . I must do something similar! Cheers 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 17 hours ago, nimrod54 said: I have spent the last couple of weeks tidying up the model room and putting together these modular storage units for paints and tools etc from @Andy G via his EBMA store. Made from laser cut MDF, they are easy to assemble, you just have to ensure that you keep everything square, and they come with strong magnets to lock the completed units together. The tidy up has certainly pleased Mrs N, now lets see how long it lasts. by John L, on Flickr Thanks for posting this John, they look great. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajmm Posted February 3, 2021 Share Posted February 3, 2021 Oh interesting. I’ve got one and will be interested to see how it builds up. Im embarking on an imminent home renovation project - your bench picture is much more inspirational in that direction than the various photos of fabric swatches, paint colours and bathroom furniture that I’ve been obliged to peruse lately! I shall look those up. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ray S Posted February 4, 2021 Share Posted February 4, 2021 This aircraft model is on my radar at some point, but there are so many schemes to choose from! I will be watching this progress. All the best, from another Ray 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 4, 2021 Author Share Posted February 4, 2021 Thanks for your interest, and the comments gents. I have added some weight using a mix of fishing weights and Liquid Gravity and glued a few strips of plastic around the fuselage to help with strengthening and alignment of the fuselage joint. I'll get that glued together later. by John L, on Flickr 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 7, 2021 Author Share Posted February 7, 2021 I managed to glue the fuselage together last Thursday and then assemble the wings before fixing those in place. The joins have had an initial tidy and plastic putty was used to fill the gaps that needed it. I have started work on the nacelles, but I have to reinstate the panel lines across the joins and clean the filler out of others which will be easier to do before I fix those in place by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 12, 2021 Author Share Posted February 12, 2021 Following on from information kindly supplied by Ed at Red-Roo Models I was able to make a start on trying to recreate the APU fairing which sits on top of the starboard engine nacelle. I roughed out the shape from a couple of half sections of spare 1/144 scale fuel tanks. Then I filled the gaps with some UV light setting glue/filler, before filing and sanding that to shape. The spare tank sections, the smaller one was used for the rear section and a section of the larger tank was flattened slightly and formed the forward section. by John L, on Flickr After a preliminary sand to shape, by John L, on Flickr it was time for a test fit on the wing. by John L, on Flickr Some further sanding to refine the shape and a couple of vents to cut out and it should be good to go in this scale. Thanks again Ed for your assistance. John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 14, 2021 Author Share Posted February 14, 2021 After opening up the vents in the APU fairing yesterday I primed the starboard engine and tidied up a couple of areas that needed a bit more work. After that I glued both engines in place then added the tailplanes and I also sharpened up some of the panel lines. There are a one or two areas that will need to be filled and sanded where I wandered away from the tape during the rescribe, and then it should be ready for primer. by John L, on Flickr 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 22, 2021 Author Share Posted February 22, 2021 With the weather turning drier and milder, I was able to get out and give the 748 a coat of grey primer. A final check over and a light sanding of the primer coat and it should be ready for some colour top coats. by John L, on Flickr 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 25, 2021 Author Share Posted February 25, 2021 I have made a start on painting the top coats today, spraying the gloss white on the upper fuselage and fin using a rattle can. I'll mask that off in a couple of days time before painting the wings, tailplanes and lower fuselage with a light grey. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted February 27, 2021 Author Share Posted February 27, 2021 I've just finished unmasking the engines after brushing on a couple of coats of Revell Aqua Aluminium, which almost completes the main painting. I still have to sort out the black on the nosecone and the anti reflective panel which is supplied as a decal along with the de-icing boots, but I think that I will paint that - I may use the decals for the de-icing boots though. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hockeyboy76 Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 On break at work catching up on your build. She’s looking great dude. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 6 hours ago, Hockeyboy76 said: On break at work catching up on your build. She’s looking great dude. Cheers buddy. I have been out in the garden for most of the day, tidying up and preparing a bed for moving and replanting a few things, It's turning a bit chilly now that the sun is dropping so I am back indoors now. I will be back at the bench later to sand the gloss white on the nose which should hopefully create a keyed surface for the black acrylic paint, then I can start on the decals. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nimrod54 Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 I made a start on the decals today. I can't say that they were the easiest decals to work with, several of them cracking as they were placed in the water. I tried cutting them into smaller sections but they still cracked and I had to piece them together. I am going to add a clear coat to those that I have added so far before continuing with the roundels and fin markings. by John L, on Flickr by John L, on Flickr 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Romeo Alpha Yankee Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 That is looks rather spiffy John. near the finish line now 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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