bar side Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 My very primitive scratch extension of the wheel well clears the Italeri cockpit tub, although the tub extends some way back past the rear seat & cockpit back wall 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 2 minutes ago, bar side said: My very primitive scratch extension of the wheel well clears the Italeri cockpit tub, although the tub extends some way back past the rear seat & cockpit back wall I am afraid the wheel well should be rotated 180 degrees... 🙃 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 9 minutes ago, Serkan Sen said: I am afraid the wheel well should be rotated 180 degrees... 🙃 Ah, but what I did was the deeper section for the front wheels & a shallow section with just the curves of the nitrogen bottles. Really just giving the appearance as the kit was just flat. Even the wheel recess was only about 5mm deep on the kit. Incidentally the tyres on the Italeri kit are too wide & wouldn’t fit through the doors if retracted! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 7, 2022 Author Share Posted January 7, 2022 18 minutes ago, bar side said: Ah, but what I did was the deeper section for the front wheels & a shallow section with just the curves of the nitrogen bottles. Really just giving the appearance as the kit was just flat. Even the wheel recess was only about 5mm deep on the kit. Incidentally the tyres on the Italeri kit are too wide & wouldn’t fit through the doors if retracted! I did such modification in my Oxcart build: 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tomjw Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Your printed nose gear bay is incredibly impressive!!! Cheers, Tom 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
billn53 Posted January 7, 2022 Share Posted January 7, 2022 Here's the nose gear bay I scratched for my 1/72 Academy build (with a little help from Eduard): Not as fancy as 3D printing, but then I'm "old school". 👴 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Bob Posted January 8, 2022 Share Posted January 8, 2022 15 hours ago, bar side said: Yep those wheel well prints look great. It’s not like there isn’t room inside the kit to fit the proper depth I totally agree, the 3D printing of the nose wheel bay and intakes looks really good. I have just received my 3D printed Mk.5 ejection seats for the Tamiya F-4B Phantom, they are by Eduard and are really nicely done and unlike resin seats there is no pouring stub to carve off. 3D printing is definitely the way forward. Back to the SR-71, the nose wheel bay being positioned to the rear of the cockpit is the reason the nose wheel tyres were ordinary rubber, not like the aluminum impregnated main tyres, because they were kept cool by the air conditioned cockpit air venting through the nose wheel bay 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 9, 2022 Author Share Posted January 9, 2022 Here are the comparison of the spikes (Black: Testors/Italeri, Light Gray:Revell, Gray: Printed): And the comparison of nozzle parts: The printed and Revell nozzle assemblies side by side: Note that the Revell afterburner can has been modeled as tapered cone form to give a depth feeling. Therefore the afterburner rings are undersized too. Also as I mentioned before the real J-58 engine has a length of 5440mm which leads 113.35mm in 1:48 scale whereas the kit engine has a length of 104mm. Serkan 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 To be able to place the printed nozzle parts the following fairings have to be removed: The supporting frame was enlarged to fit new afterburner can (also 3D models have been created both for printed intake and nozzle assemblies): Here are both assemblies placed: Serkan 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 Here are some pictures with closed engine cowling: Now it looks better than the original... Serkan 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David H Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 Serkan, how good is the joint between the engine nacelle and the inboard wing? Cross sections are such that a carry thru spar doesn't look practical. -d- Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 10, 2022 Author Share Posted January 10, 2022 52 minutes ago, David H said: Serkan, how good is the joint between the engine nacelle and the inboard wing? Cross sections are such that a carry thru spar doesn't look practical. -d- That should be ok when glued together with polystyrene glue. At least @Alan P had no issue during his build. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 10, 2022 Share Posted January 10, 2022 51 minutes ago, Serkan Sen said: At least @Alan P had no issue during his build. Correct, I filed the mating surfaces to get the best fit possible, I covered any remaining seam on the upper side with thin strip of Tamiya tape and the underside with basic putty. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 The parts were taped together with masking tape for dry fit: The nozzle assembly needs an extension part around 10mm to bring the exhaust to correct position. Serkan 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikolay Polyakov Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 Hello Serkan, I was offline for some time (whole last year, I think 😬) and skipped the Revell’s Blackbird release... You’ve done a perfect job with printed parts and your sub assemblies looks fantastic, as always! I’m a bit disappointed by Revell sprues and the parts you’re showing us are way ahead. Watching with interest! 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 Here is the comparison of the new Revell and the old Italeri/Testors with printed parts: Next step is to add wing/nozzle blended area which was removed to fit the exhaust assembly. Serkan 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 11, 2022 Author Share Posted January 11, 2022 5 minutes ago, Nikolay Polyakov said: Hello Serkan, I was offline for some time (whole last year, I think 😬) and skipped the Revell’s Blackbird release... You’ve done a perfect job with printed parts and your sub assemblies looks fantastic, as always! I’m a bit disappointed by Revell sprues and the parts you’re showing us are way ahead. Watching with interest! Dear Nikolay, I was really wondering if everything was ok with you as I haven't seen you here for a long time. I am very happy that you are here back again 😀 Serkan 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nikolay Polyakov Posted January 11, 2022 Share Posted January 11, 2022 (edited) 27 minutes ago, Serkan Sen said: I was really wondering if everything was ok with you as I haven't seen you here for a long time. Ah, after some intensive modelling I switched to music writing and spend some time trying to reconsider my approach to it... I made a few attempts, abandon (or shelve) nearly-finished single and finished two another arrangements that I really like. Not a bad results, but I wanted a bit more... I’m not ready for modelling yet, but I missed our conversations here on the forum. 🤝 27 minutes ago, Serkan Sen said: I am very happy that you are here back again 😀 Thank you so much, I’m happy too! ☺️ Edited January 11, 2022 by Nikolay Polyakov Oops, I’m out of practice! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 On 1/6/2022 at 5:54 PM, Serkan Sen said: One of the J-58 engine parts were brought together to check the dimensions: According to the reference the actual length of the J-58 engine is 5440 mm which gives 113.35 mm in 1:48 scale. But my digital caliper shows something different... Nearly 10 mm undersized engine is a bit much difference!.. That also explains why assembled exhaust interior looks so strange. I think Revell engineers have decided to give a depth feeling to afterburner can by undersizing the dimensions and using a tapered afterburner can... 🤔😁🙃 Serkan Finally I figured out why the Revell engine is around 10mm short and still fits well to the cowling. Because the wing trailing sweep is not correct, shortened cowling length and shift in tertiary doors, flap hinge lines etc... The IFR port should be moved a little forward and the fillet at inboard wing leading edge and engine cowling junction has to be enlarged but these are minor modifications compared to trailing edge relevant issues... Serkan 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bar side Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Well that does explain the engine length. It’s quite noticeable in your split picture 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alan P Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Good detective work! A little short at the front and more so at the back of the engine nacelle makes quite a difference. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tony.t Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Yikes! Thanks for the thorough forensics. However, I think I can live with the errors on mine. Tony 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 16 hours ago, Serkan Sen said: Finally I figured out why the Revell engine is around 10mm short and still fits well to the cowling. Because the wing trailing sweep is not correct and that leads shortened cowling length and shift in tertiary doors, flap hinge lines etc... The IFR port should be moved a little forward and the fillet at inboard wing leading edge and engine cowling junction has to be enlarged but these are minor modifications compared to trailing edge relevant issues... Serkan Good catch but that’s not nearly all I’m afraid.😯 J 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Serkan Sen Posted January 14, 2022 Author Share Posted January 14, 2022 22 hours ago, JeffreyK said: Good catch but that’s not nearly all I’m afraid.😯 Have you identified any other significant issue or preferably keep as company confidential? 😁 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeffreyK Posted January 14, 2022 Share Posted January 14, 2022 2 hours ago, Serkan Sen said: Have you identified any other significant issue or preferably keep as company confidential? 😁 I have some detail sets in the works but will refrain from large "correction" sets, not only will they be unviable I think, also of course we are working on a kit that will be (I hope) as accurate as possible. Very briefly: Revell's cockpits (both fore and aft) are too short, to narrow and too shallow (canopy height and tub depth) by a few mm each, with the length being the biggest shortfall. Visually, most noticeable is the lack of width, with the lateral bulge around the cockpit section completely missing. Also, the bulge around the ANS window is missing (although that is rather subtle). The IFR door is way oversize and slightly in the wrong place, the nose is too long while the whole fuselage (nose joint to tip of tail) is too short. Joint 715 is way too far forward (12mm!) and the wing/fuselage join/transition a little as well, hence the inboard RAW panel scribing is quite skewed. Other problems are the rudders - too long but too thin, the cross section of the aft nacelles (on the underside in particular), position and shape of the chute bay door, quite a number of panel lines, as you said the wing plan form and size of the elevons, the position and size of the tail cone. The red (walkways etc.) used on the decals is quite a bit brighter than on all other AM decals I have or have seen as well. I expected the kit to be a bit low on detail, with some simplifications and perhaps soft surface detail. But I did expect them to get the basic dimensions and shapes right. I can't and won't claim my CAD is 100% correct, that will never happen. But I have a high degree of confidence in it and yes, I was and am still surprised by what I found on the Revell kit...it looks to me that Revell have made no use of drawings and dimensions whatsoever, otherwise key positions wouldn't be so off. I understood they had a couple of days measuring up Duxford's airframe (so did I) but it seems they left it at that and didn't dig out all the Lockheed manuals that can still be found if you look in the right places or ask the right people. That said, the finished model still looks like an SR-71 and is in many ways ahead of the Italeri kit. But... I really do hope this is not understood as slander of a competitor - nothing here is made up or drawn from thin air, just hard and cold measurements. Cheers, J 1 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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