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453rd BG Museum Build - USAAF Boulton Paul Defiant TT Mk I (from the Airfix 1/48 Mk I) - FINISHED


Fritag

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Quick update as I sit with a coffee at Leeds Bradford Airport waiting for a flight to Geneva.

 

Been a busy week with work seeing as I’m away skiing for a week from today; but I have used some MacBook time on the Defiant.

 

I couldn’t leave the whole fillet-failure-lofted-workaround as it was.  It offended me.  I eventually persuaded Fusion to accept the inevitable and churn out a few fillets:

 

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Renders nice and smooth:

 

y4m11a8Y05RbjOIOKR1ZvcdpqfOvsjXbr_TQoBES

 

 

I got there by dividing the top part of the oil cooler into separate extrudes and Fusion condescended to allow fillets to the individual sections.  It was a case of trial and error and slowly identifying where on the border between the oil  cooler and the nose Fusion was having its hissy fits.

y4mJAtPyfVwWGt6K9oENZrHJCCC8iwJv7QhR_nAQ

 

For example, Fusion just plain refused to calculate any fillet that ran over a small section wither side of the centre line at the front.  Dunno why. 

 

The solution was to divide the oil cooler into separate sections that Fusion would fillet, leaving a small gap where wouldn’t

 

y4maWLeaZbEY6dEIhqbdmzwp0z9dJ9sCidxPK0ol

 

And then bridge/fill those gaps with extrudes from the neighboring section.

 

y4mIM109ollbnx5O_XH7-Hr_kFPqmzpnJJsvdP4V

 

What a palaver.

 

Anyway.  After that I was able to finish all the surface detailing on the nose at odd times over the next few days.

 

Port:

 

 

 

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Starboard:

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Rear quarter view.

y4mohvPjr4-Brm4FO2j3GIwhB_fHYE92ZLGnJ23W

 

And I just had time to print a test at an unfavourable (but quick for printing) orientation - and take a quick photo before heading for the airport and skiing.

 

 

y4m759uskazYG3Xa4SGdB3pPqbRu2SXJjiq-rc46

 

 

The test print/photo doesn’t do it justice - but it’s something corporeal at least.

 

Edited by Fritag
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Well that works, nicely too.

 

Enjoy the snow.

 

Looks like you could have stayed in Yorkshire according to all the dire forecasts, but I don't suppose apres-ski Theakston's has quite the cachet a hard working chap relishes.

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4 hours ago, Fritag said:

What a palaver.

 

Ah, but what a result!

Sounds like perseverance and some added brain work paid off, and although I'm no Fusion expert (barely basic level actually) I think I understood what you did there.

 

Looking very good indeed.

 

So, skiing then. Not done that for a while have you? 🤭 

 

Enjoy the snow!!

 

T.

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/26/2023 at 9:57 AM, AndyL said:

Gradually finding more images for reference.

 

 

Brilliant.  Thanks Andy.  Both really useful pictures and unusually clear, the one of DR972 in particular.  Best photo I’ve seen of the outside of the operator’s cockpit door.

 

In other news, I survived the week’s skiing in Tignes with limbs intact and came straight back to an intense week and a half at work which has left precious little time for modelling.  The workload might also have something to do with being away in Amsterdam next week for Mrs F’s birthday in particular to see the Vermeer exhibition at the Rijksmuseum (well she does have an art history degree).

 

But it’s always possible to pinch some screen time to work on a Fusion file; and I think I have more or less finished the design of the new Merlin XX nose for the Defiant.

 

Fishtail exhausts were needed and so drawn.

 

y4mTq57mWhCD2t8NUmWSUcwQEpnV8B37xt8UI-qZ

 

 

y4mzp6YeQnEp6VY1sEmi1TLfJqMbY5NrAiefAhMD

 

And oil cooler grill detailing - that will probably only be visible with a torch - but hey ho:

 

y4mjXsrPKYUq2DpivzTazKF85PEZRkKnF5JiT4ty

 

And the whole nose ensemble could be brought together:

 

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y4m4njxdsr1AbJNMQCp8T_M92gPiAmX0GosCIc1R

 

And the oil cooler and exhausts had a print to see if they could exist in the real world:

 

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(Had to overexpose the photo to make the grill visible)

 

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y4myhFFcJHrEOBzaRFKSJU0CYATELHcLfTTs8WIw

 

And I printed the nose (split down the middle so that it could be printed flat and thus quickly) to check out the fit and look of the exhausts:

 

y4mZ4TH_Y85VIPxxsWqSckFxsUYiDMG_iPKToKA_

 

I’m modestly pleased with the quality of the surface detailing and the look of the exhausts.

 

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T’other side:

 

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y4mh85VsSJAEsBCjgz1yg0gJRHz3UUa-ABBi35_L

 

We meander forwards.

 

Probably good enough , as we used to say back in the day, for government work.

 

Internals of the rear fuselage next I s’pose.

 

Maybe I should stick some actual plastic together n’all.  Just a thought.

 

Edited by Fritag
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Superb or possibly even stupendous fusioneering and printing Steve. 

 

More holidays? Going away again?

 

 

Perhaps you could reverse your current process and just let us know the odd occasion when you'll be back in-country to do do se actual plastic marauding - could save yourself a lot of typing. 

 

 

Why oh why does this forum software insist on adding a gazillion carriage returns when I use my phone in replies?

 

 

 

Edited by hendie
Edited to remove a gazillion and a half carriage returns
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All limbs intact;  successfully skiing then!  I used to tag along with my wife’s skiing friends but I stuck to the apres ski variety….

 

Perhaps it’s not good to trawl up old issues, but….looking at @AndyL’s beautiful side-on photo of DR972 the shape of the fairing ahead of the operator’s cockpit is clearer to me than before.  To my mind it looks convex at the top, but concave (ie dimpled inwards) at the bottom.  Just an observation!

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Glad to hear you’re back safe and sound. Some lovely Modelling and printing going on.  How is everything so neat in Friday land? When I 3D print I’m feverishly running about with a big old face mask, rubber gloves, arms spinning like windmills and ipa sloshing about with gay abandon.  I’m sure when you print something Steve you simply feed a photographic Polaroid of your modelled  subject into a slot in the top of your Elegoo. A rumble, a whiz, a bang. Maybe a small puff of light sweet smelling smoke and viola you open the small dove tailed draw at the machines base and there’s yer new bit. 🤩.  All washed and ready to go.

 

 

that’s how it happens right. 😍🤫🏝️

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More excellent work on the 3D parts, Steve, this one's really shaping up beautifully. I think for the sake of progress we're going to have to restrict you to no more than 6 holidays per month from now on though ;) 

 

James

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15 hours ago, AndyL said:

And one more for you...

 

 

Whoa!   At first glance I thought I was seeing the operator's feet sticking out of the lower fuselage!  :rofl2:   I presume it's not, but as I'm unfamiliar with the TT version I have no idea what it is I'm seeing. 

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17 hours ago, Fritag said:

I’m modestly pleased

....He's modestly pleased!!!

I'd say I'm modestly impressed by the quality of these parts and modestly envyous by the way you make it look so modestly easy!!!!!

Ciao

Massimo 

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Lovely nose you have there Steve!

Re that last pic, I too thought "why is the operator standing on a step below the fuselage?"

 

Ian

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Bloomin' 'eck. 

 

"Fishtail exhausts were needed and so drawn"

 

Just like that. 

 

I would struggle to draw a circle let alone a comlplex shape like a fishtail exhaust.

 

Crumbs!

 

 

Serious question, how long before you design and print a whole aircraft Steve? Judging by this nose section it can't be far off?

 

Brilliant stuff amd thoroughly enjoyable to follow, keep it up. 

 

Cheers.

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1 hour ago, geedubelyer said:

Serious question, how long before you design and print a whole aircraft Steve? Judging by this nose section it can't be far off?

I'd wondered that as well.   I wonder if he'd need to use glue at all?  :think: 

 

Rob

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2 hours ago, Zephyr91 said:

I'd wondered that as well.   I wonder if he'd need to use glue at all?  :think: 

 

Rob

Well of course he will Rob otherwise he might just as well be on one of those "Extreme Lego" 'places'  :) 

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