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Mirage IIIO 1/32, Scratchbuild


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4 hours ago, stevehnz said:

 

Sooo, you missed Nelson this time eh, eh? ;) Pity, still looking forward to a natter & a coldie one of these days.  :)

Steve.

Yes, unfortunately we did miss Nelson this time (flew from Ch-Ch directly to Wellington) but my elder daughter is quite interested in walking the Abel Tasman track at some stage so a trip to Marlborough is definitely still on the cards. When that happens you will need to have a couple of coldies ready to go! 👍

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  • 4 weeks later...

More Skinning

 

Another month has passed and most of the progress has been made has just been more skinning.

 

The one little bit of 'non-skinning' work has been extending the central fuselage spine rearwards towards the leading edge of the tail. Somehow when the original spine was carved out, I made it too short by about 1 cm. This block of sappelli has been inserted, glued in place and subsequently carved to the correct shape. The spine now extends to all the way to the tail-fin.

fPyvw9B.jpg

 

It turns out that skinning a model aeroplane is not an especially difficult task, but it involves patience and persistence. 

As previously discussed, first define the area that you want to cut the panel for and mask off areas around it in preparation for spraying glue onto the target area.

St2E5i9.jpg

 

Use a piece of masking tape to define the size and shape piece of lithoplate that you wish to add. 

B1fMs3t.jpg

 

Stick the masking tape onto a piece of litho-plate, cut the plate to size and then glue it in place.  Remove all the tape...

TGwHPUD.jpg

 

and start on the next piece...

WXU6Rpf.jpg

 

and the next piece. Continue until bored. Beware, it's pretty slow going.

PmrvcKe.jpg

 

In some areas, such as on the inboard leading edges, I found it very difficult to get a single sheet of lithoplate to 'do' both the top and the bottom. This left an incorrect panel line on the leading edge that I used panel-beater's bog filler to conceal. This stuff is intended to hide imperfections in metal surfaces and so far - once sanded - it is working very well. 

SRb5uAI.jpg

 

Another trick, learned off the internet, is to make my own rock-hard, home-made filler using baking soda and super glue. This is cheap, quick and very effective, especially on minor imperfections. I will use this method again.

x06aGNN.jpg

 

The whole point of the skinning process it to give this jet a smooth metal surface and to try to give it clean and convincing panel lines. In order to get a sneak preview of whether it's likely to work or not I've jumped ahead and primed the underside.

FoOt1au.jpg

 

I'm fairly happy with this.  😀

 

UnzCeAV.jpg

 

The result could be better but I'm new to this skinning lark and - for a first attempt - I am happy enough. It's certainly a better look than I could have achieved with a wooden surface and as I build experience I'm doing each panel a little quicker and a little better.

I am fully aware that there are still many details to be added to the underside; vents, blisters, pylons, covers and guns for example and there's a lot to be added to the wheel wells. All of that will happen in due course, but for now, I’m happy.

 

Very Best Regards to All,

 

Bandsaw Steve

 

 

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Gidday Steve, I've been watching and waiting for the next installment of this. I think the skinning and panel lines underneath look good. If I do HMS Victory I might do this method for each of the 2500 copper sheets on the underwater hull.

Or maybe not. 🙂       Regards, Jeff.

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3 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

I'm fairly happy with this.  😀

You should be Steve, it looks terrific. The panel lines look exactly like what they are, genuine panel lines. 

 

It must have taken a huge amount of trial and error and of course patience to get the technique working for you. All time well spent though. I have come to the conclusion that scratch building is all about trying new solutions and not being afraid to cock things up now and then. 

 

I have had success filling with superglue mixed with talc before. I might have to try baking soda too. 

 

I'm taking notes btw, a few models down the line I will be needing to do some aluminium skinning.

 

Richie

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9 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

If I do HMS Victory I might do this method for each of the 2500 copper sheets on the underwater hull.

Or maybe not. 🙂     

No need. Just build it waterline! 🤣

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7 hours ago, RichieW said:

 

I'm taking notes btw, a few models down the line I will be needing to do some aluminium skinning.

 

Richie

Before you do make sure you check out @airscale’s work on these pages. He actually knows how all this should be done. I’m only guessing. 

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2 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Before you do make sure you check out @airscale’s work on these pages. He actually knows how all this should be done. I’m only guessing. 

I've been following his work for a few years and I'm still guessing how it should be done! 😂

 

Richie

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9 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

I swear he has ‘special powers’ 🪄 

 

Yes, he has the superpower of modelling awesomeness. Desperately though I try to learn the secret of his powers I seem to be stuck with the not very superpower of modelling averageness! 😔

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  • 2 weeks later...

Yet More Skinning

 

I'm starting to look forward to doing something other than skinning on this project but in the meantime I'm getting valuable practice and seem to be getting the hang of it a little bit better.

After careful annealing with a creme-brulee burner I was finally able to get the largest panels toward the front of the air intakes to conform to the underlying shape without crinkling up like potato chips.

RStVJ6F.jpg

 

 

I've learned that at this stage - while the glue is setting - it's a good idea to remove the surrounding masking so you can clearly see the panel lines that are forming. Use cotton-buds rather than fingers to press the new panel hard into position, fingers are too 'grippy' and tend to move the panel around a little bit. Cotton buds slide around on the top of the masking tape but are still firm enough to apply useful pressure on the gluing surfaces.

nJ4QXZk.jpg

 

Now that I've got a feel for the thinness of the metal sheet I'm becoming more confident to scrape and sand any surface imperfections off the litho. Here I'm using a curved scalpel blade to scrape off a small wrinkle in the litho plate. Medium to very fine grades of sandpaper also work very well on this stuff.

Bif7Vim.jpg

 

Here you can see the effect after panels around the air-intakes and all along the fuselage spine have been skinned. Don't worry about the brass insert in the cockpit, that can be a story for another day.

uR2MTh4.jpg

If you look closely at the image above you can see a significant problem. The lithoplate skin on top of the wing does not abut hard against the fuselage. Similarly, the plate on the top of the rear fuselage does not abut hard against the tail. In each case you can still make out a small strip of unskinned - and in parts unpainted - wood.  On the real aircraft, there is a narrow strip of metal that closes each of these gaps, but the geometry is complex so I decided not to try to skin these long narrow areas.  Instead I've done the following....

 

Carefully mask off each area that you need to fill; here the wing root.

EcUUlPF.jpg

 

Mix up some two-part automotive bog filler with a thin popsicle stick. 

UGEnG2R.jpg

 

Apply the filler to the gap and remove the masking.

dc7zULG.jpg

 

Smooth the filler's surface with a bit of acetone on a paper napkin. The idea of using acetone is entirely my own and, frankly, I'm just hoping does not weaken or damage the putty.  For now though, the 'acetone smoothing' technique seems to have worked quite well.

ekUqyW6.jpg

 

While doing all of this be careful to use good ventilation and to wear a respirator. I'm trying to be a lot more vigilant with my chemical exposure having recently met a New Zealand model builder who claims he has lost his sense of smell due to excessive exposure to model building fumes. 

hw3GD9U.jpg

 

I've also taken my Dremmel, fitted with a grinding bit, to the inside of the jet outlet.  This has thinned the walls down nicely. 

xehCayO.jpg

 

Here's the current state of play.

eYkewKq.jpg

 

As you might be able to see, I've etched one or two panel lines into the bog filler and have made a very preliminary start on the cockpit.

 

I'm not exactly sure where the project will go from here but the cockpit cannot be ignored forever.

 

Best Regards,

Steve 

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Gidday @Bandsaw Steve, I've been wondering how the skinning is going. Pretty good, I can see. A question for you - does that bog filler work on styrene? And it's two part you said? I think I'm going to need heaps of the stuff on my current model, and it might be cheaper than the Tamiya filler I've used to date.

Regards, Jeff.

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Hi Jeff,

 

Definitely much, much cheaper than Tamiya putty. Whether it would work on styrene I’m not sure but I think it’s worth a try. I think the styrene would need to be quite rigid because this stuff sets very firm. I also think you would need to score the styrene first to give the putty something to grip. Tamiya putty chemically melts and binds to the plastic, this stuff is intended for use with metal so I don’t know what it would do with plastic.

 

It is two-part but the second part is a tiny volume for each use and comes in a little tube inside the lid of the big can, so it’s just one purchase. 
 

One drawback is that the stuff smells terrible. 😣 

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Well that is looking in very fine shape. I think mystical secrets of the modelling awesomeness super power have been unlocked and put into practice. Once all of the skinning is complete them you can unleash its full force on the cockpit. Having seen how clever and inventive your work is I know you will solve any problems and produce something very special.

 

Richie

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4 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Thanks Richie!

 

I’m a bit worried about the cockpit as it will require close-up photos! 😱

Don't worry about that mate, if it looks grear to the old Mk 1 eye balls it is great. I had a horror show yesterday looking closely at my project with my optivisor on so I just took it off and felt so much better!

 

Richie

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7 minutes ago, RichieW said:

I had a horror show yesterday looking closely at my project with my optivisor on so I just took it off and felt so much better!

Gidday, I've taken that one step further - I close my eyes and feel terrific!😁 But seriously, yeah, models look better usually when NOT viewed through magnifying mediums. Mine do anyway.

 

And thanks for the quick response @Bandsaw Steve, I've probably got enough Tamiya putty for this model and as I've done quite a bit of work on it (even at this early stage) I might play safe and use what I know. I can try the bog filler on something a little more expendable and sacrificial later.

And I'm inclined to agree with Ritchie, if it looks good through the mk1 eyeball it is good. It's what about 99% of viewers will use to look at it. Regards, Jeff.

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On 16/03/2023 at 14:19, ArnoldAmbrose said:

Gidday, I've taken that one step further - I close my eyes and feel terrific!😁 But seriously, yeah, models look better usually when NOT viewed through magnifying mediums. 

 

And I'm inclined to agree with Ritchie, if it looks good through the mk1 eyeball it is good. It's what about 99% of viewers will use to look at it. Regards, Jeff.

Jeff, that's chapter and verse for me these days. I used to worry what my close up photos would look until I had a moment of clarity. Hardly anybody is interested in looking at scratch built models anyway....even when they occupy the 3 places at the top of the WIP page. Which they briefly might today! 🤣😇

 

Richie

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There's a great another great Aussie scratchbuilder who scratched some astonishing crop dusters a year or so back. I'm old and confused and have forgotten his name. He and @Marklo really should both be in the union too!

 

 

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