Mirage IIIO 1/32, Scratchbuild

[Bandsaw Steve]

1 hour ago, B_Bogus said:

Trailing arm from what I recall. 

Keep up the great work!

Change made. Thanks for the input. 

[Bandsaw Steve]

11 hours ago, Vanroon said:

 

Excellent photo BTW. My forward UC leg doesn’t look much like this at the moment but once all the structural stuff is done and secure I will add some surface details to make it look at least a bit more convincing. 

[CH-53D]

Having missed this thread in the past, and encountering it by chance, I ended up reading the entire thing in one go.  Absolutely fascinating!  

While I will never attempt this myself, I do truly enjoy watching a craftsman at work. 

And I am inspired to perhaps attempt making the pointy nose of my Mongoose-powered Irish Avro 621 out of wood, a medium I have not modelled with since my age started with a 1.

 

Cheers

[Bandsaw Steve]

Wonderful!

 

I am very pleased you are enjoying all of this nonsense @CH-53D. Since you have worked with wood before I need hardly remind you that it is generally not as challenging a medium as many seem to think.Good luck with your mongoose-powered Irish flying machine!
 

Bandsaw Steve

[Bandsaw Steve]

Wheels

 

Looking at the photo below it's pretty obvious what the next step is going to be.  This thing needs wheels.

 

 

Wheels can be a bit tricky because: 

• they must be exactly circular
• they must have an axle running dead through the centre of them
• to 'look right' the axle must be the only contact between the wheel and the rest of the undercarrige this can put a torsional ‘lop-sided’ ‘twisting’ force on the axle and the wheel structure which can stress it at the thinnest point.
• they must be able to carry the weight of the model
• they often come in identical sets (here the main wheels are an identical pair) and so must match perfectly
• their shapes - although well known to all - are somewhat more subtle in 3D than we might at first think

For all of these reasons the wheels on this model have caused me some consternation and delay, in fact I've even toyed with the idea of using aftermarket parts! 😱 But in the end I tried various means of making them and have come up with the following, fairly straightforward, methods.

 

For the nosewheel I chose to use the lathe. Starting with a piece of dowel I reduced the diameter down to the correct size and then...

 

Shaped the wheel carefully with small lathing chisels and used a jeweller's saw to add the tyre tread.

 

After adding some surface details, including a wheel rim added by trimming about 1mm off the end of a short piece of aluminum tube, I had this.

 

I then strengthened the trailing arms with some black milliputt and drilled a hole through them to accept the axle as shown. (BTW, later on I tidied up the milliputt so the final job is not quite as rough as it looks here).

 

Here's what it looks like all threaded together. 

 

and dry-fitted in place.

 

 

The main wheels were a bit more challenging. The first thing was to make sure that the main UC legs had the correct hydraulic rams and so forth added to it would be both accurate enough and strong enough in the long run.

 

Each one also needed an axle onto which the wheels would fit. 

 

I found a circular template that was almost exactly the correct size for the wheels (in this case a washer about 0.5mm too big in diameter) and traced it's outline onto a piece of HIPS (High Impact Polystyrene Sheet) plastic which was just the right thickness.

 

Next I used a curved chisel of almost exactly the correct diameter to press-cut out the circle as shown.

 

I then used a centre-finder (not shown in the photos) to find the centre of the circle and drilled a hole the right size for a length of brass tubing that will act as a bearing surface for the axle. 

 

I do not intend these wheels to turn but I think that the bearing surface will be needed as otherwise I fear the narrow axle will, over time, 'cut into' the plastic and cause the whole thing to weaken and wobble.

 

Here's the result so far. She's standing on her wheels and I'm excited! 

 

Here she is from a different angle...

 

And finally, this shot, specifically taken to show-off the 'stance' of the jet, which I think is about right.

 

In these photos the main wheels look a bit too large and that's fair enough because they are about 1mm in diameter over-scale, but I will fix that soon. Furthermore by contouring the shape of the tread into a curve (at the moment the tread surface is dead flat) I think I will reduce the bulky appearance of each wheel. Also once the UC bay covers are added the wheels will be less visually intrusive.

 

At this point I'm happy! I think the trickiest parts of sorting out the undercarriage are behind me, although I’m still not sure what the best way to attach the undercarriage doors might be. Other than that, from now I'm hoping that further undercarriage work will mostly be straightforward detailing.

 

Happy St Patrick's day. ☘️

Bandsaw Steve

 

 

 

 

[SteveMc]

More great work Steve and the Mirage is looking good on its legs.

[ArnoldAmbrose]

       G'day Steve, great job of the undercarriage. Of course, you could have portrayed her 'in flight' but where's the challenge in that? What you've done looks very good.

So, the question on everyone's lips (mine anyway) - will she be ready for WASMEx? 🙂

Regards, Jeff.

[621Andy]

Amazing work!

[Bandsaw Steve]

17 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

      will she be ready for WASMEx? 

 

That’s the goal but -ironically enough- as I am now the Chairman and Secretary of WASMEx (West Australian Scale Model Exposition) I might not have enough spare time to get this over the line. 🤔

[ArnoldAmbrose]

1 hour ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

as I am now the Chairman and Secretary of WASMEx I might not have enough spare time to get this over the line.

I admire anyone who takes on such roles. Well, I can live in hope that she makes it in time. Regards, Jeff.

[Bandsaw Steve]

4 hours ago, ArnoldAmbrose said:

I admire anyone who takes on such roles. Well, I can live in hope that she makes it in time. Regards, Jeff.

It’s certainly a heavy burden and a call to a higher form of service than most will ever know! 🤔 Certainly far beyond risking one’s life fighting bushfires in 40 degree C plus temperatures as volunteer fire-brigade slackers like yourself are sometimes known to do. 
 

🤣

 

[Corsairfoxfouruncle]

We’re getting close there Steve. Not much left to build just paint amd markings. 

[Dmitriy1967]

Steve, why couldn't the main wheels be made the same way on a wood lathe? It's easier.

[woody37]

Incredible skills, another great thread to follow!

[Bandsaw Steve]

4 hours ago, Dmitriy1967 said:

Steve, why couldn't the main wheels be made the same way on a wood lathe? It's easier.

I did try that but had trouble turning two identical units. I also tried casting in resin, which worked OK but the resulting surface detail was a bit soft. So in the end I resorted to using plastic as shown and I think it’s working well. The best answer would be to get a proper metal-working lathe. But for that I would need more space and $$$

[Bandsaw Steve]

8 hours ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said:

We’re getting close there Steve. Not much left to build just paint amd markings. 

It might seem that way, but each time I complete one step I seem to find three more that need to be done. I really can’t wait to get to the ‘proper’ painting phase now as that really will mark the end of this very prolonged construction project.

[Head in the clouds.]

With a title such as "Mirage IIIO 1/32 scratchbuild how could I not be curious and with the author being Bandsaw Steve I thought I should pull up a chair early on into this build and support you...😉

 

As ever Steve I find your builds absolutely fascinating and no matter how much you whittle away it always seems fresh to see, the litho plate work is something new too, great work!

 

I have had a marathon catch up and enjoyed every post but the most satisfying part is seeing that at 2 years your builds are as glacial as mine, we must be kindred spirits....🤪🤣

 

The man cave looks superb, top dollar in fact and a worthy investment.

 

In these days of technology it is good to see that mankind's oldest building material is still kept relevant by people such as yourself in these modern times of 3D printing, PE and resin. 

 

Right, that's my grovelling done for being so tardy, crack on sir, more to do yet..😁

[Bandsaw Steve]

5 hours ago, Head in the clouds. said:

 

Right, that's my grovelling done for being so tardy, crack on sir, more to do yet..😁

Outstanding grovelling young @Head in the clouds.

This is a fine example that others should follow and I would urge all to take careful note! 👍

[heloman1]

Coming along very nicely. Takes me back to the early 1970's, I was working (ha) in the Training Aids Workshop, HMSA Daedalus, Lee-on-Solent. I was tasked with building three 30" long Westlands Sea Kings for the RN Recruiting Team. I scaled up the Airfix kit and then transferred my drawing to three rather large chunks of timer scrounged from the Chippies Shop. With bandsaw and chisels I set about carving the three.

So, I know where you have gone with your project.

 

Colin

[Bandsaw Steve]

1 hour ago, heloman1 said:

Coming along very nicely. Takes me back to the early 1970's, I was working (ha) in the Training Aids Workshop, HMSA Daedalus, Lee-on-Solent. I was tasked with building three 30" long Westlands Sea Kings for the RN Recruiting Team. I scaled up the Airfix kit and then transferred my drawing to three rather large chunks of timer scrounged from the Chippies Shop. With bandsaw and chisels I set about carving the three.

So, I know where you have gone with your project.

 

Colin

Oh wow! How do I get a job like that!?!?

[heloman1]

24 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Oh wow! How do I get a job like that!?!?

Whilst in the RN (FAA), I was medi-vaced home from Singapore. Got put into aircraft holding section after six months light duties. Guy wanted to get out of the workshop. Along came the Sea King job, the CPO in change of the workshop  said, 'can you handle this/" I said certainly.

I'd post a pic of the finished project but, I've mislaid the photo!

 

Colin

[JohnHaa]

Steve,

 

 I admire your scratch-building skills, hats off !...👍 As I see what kind of tools you use, well I have to learn a thing of two...:-)

 

Keep up the good work,

 

Regards

JohnHaa

 

 

[Bandsaw Steve]

7 hours ago, JohnHaa said:

Steve,

 

 I admire your scratch-building skills, hats off !...👍 As I see what kind of tools you use, well I have to learn a thing of two...:-)

 

Hi John,

 

Having seen several of your extraordinary truck models I can assure you that I can learn much more from looking at your work than vice-versa. Thanks for the encouragement though, much appreciated. 👍

[Bandsaw Steve]

Happy Birthday Royal Canadian Air Force

 

Today is the 100th Anniversary of the formation of the Royal Canadian Air Force.  Having built an Avro 504K to mark the 100th anniversary of the RAF and a Mirage III for the RAAF I have decided to do...   absolutely nothing for the RCAF.  Sorry about that to any Canucks here, no offence intended, I'm just going far too slowly and have far too many commitments as is. 

 

Anyway... 

 

It's now the third anniversary of this seemingly interminable project and so I thought I would post a brief update.  At this juncture I had a choice,  whether to continue with the undercarriage, start work on closing up the cockpit or doing other 'bits and bobs'.  In the interests of delaying the difficult stuff I have chosen 'bits and bobs'.

 

Here I am splitting each of the two control surfaces into two pieces, each of which need to be set at different angles in the final assembly. The smaller inboard part I believe is called a 'pitch damper'. When the aircraft is at rest this is typically set at a zero angle. The longer outboard part is a flap and aileron 'flaperon?' assembly which typically rests at a few degrees below zero. The cutting was simply done with a razor blade as shown.

 

They were then held in position as shown using two-part epoxy resin glue which, in my view, is still the best glue available for joining parts securely when there are relatively small joining faces, as in this case.

 

The 'grand canyon' between the wing and joining surfaces is easily filled with my new favourite thing 'Blading Putty'.  This is a fine, almost fluid, single-part pink automotive putty and is just brilliant for this kind of work. It's a fabulous complement to two-part automotive putty which is ideal for filling bigger gaps.

 

It's a bit rough in the photo below but sands beautifully.

 

Now with the control surfaces in place I need to fit four fairings for the hydraulic control surface actuators on the underside.

This is a straightforward job using 'HIPS' (High Impact Polystyrene) plastic. Just mark up the relevant shapes and cut them out with a scalpel...

 

And stick them in position with Superglue.

 

You need to look hard to see the differences but these steps are now complete and from this angle they are discernable.

 

I've made a few steps beyond this over the last few days so this thread is not bang up to date at the moment.  I will try to post another update in the next few days where the cockpit finally gets assembled and the missing cockpit wall gets put in place.

 

Stay with me folks I'm going to get this one finished before August!

 

Best Regards,

Bandsaw Steve

 

 

 

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Nice work Steve, the outer control surfaces are 'Elevons' (elevator/ailerons), Mirage IIIs do not have flaps.

 

You are correct the inboard surfaces are Pitch Dampers. And a fun fact for the day, the Mirage III also has a Yaw Damper which is a built in function of the rudder, so no extra control surface required.