Matchbox Tempest II with enhancements

[Flamingo]

Great fun to watch your progress, always like to see old kits being worked on.

 

Joachim

[perdu]

Very good to see you there Tony, thanks for the intake units

 

I always thought that the Matchbox Tempest did good job to provide options, you are proving me right.

 

[TeeELL]

Thanks @Flamingo

 

As I’ve said, you were more than welcome @perdu.  Matchbox did choose their Tempest options wisely and did a pretty good job of crafting an accurate model - given that they had no LIDAR or computer CAD available; all done ‘old school’.

[TeeELL]

Tomorrow (Monday) will see me back at the modelling bench.  I am going to focus on the U/C as I am waiting on some aftermarket barrels and pitot tube.  I printed some 3D U/C legs and will investigate the possibility of integrating them into the Matchbox kit although they are quite fragile.

[TeeELL]

The hole in the upper section of the 3D printed U/C leg has been checked clear with a 0.5mm drill and I will shortly see how well it can be integrated with the Matchbox mounting point.  Fortunately the file I downloaded id the native Fusion 360 one so I can make changes to the mounting point very (relatively) easily.  The upper sevtion of the leg will be reinforced with a fine hypodermic needle suitably blunted the bottom section of the leg abuts the door so I will ensure they connect positively, for added strength.

[Brandy]

I designed and printed 3d main landing gear for my Fairey Battle. It's been in the display cabinet for over 2 years with no sign of bending yet.

 

Ian

[TeeELL]

The 3D printed U/C legs compare well to both the new Airfix Tempest parts and those of the Matchbox kit (albeit with detail lacking in the latter).  The Matchbox fixing points need reworking - they need reworking even if the original parts are used because the diameter of the fixing hole is far greater than that of the U/C and it needs to be filled and re-drilled further outboard.  For my planned U/C legs, I will be removing 50% of the wing attachment point (the inboard 50%) then building that up with styrene to a little below the wing surface.  That will be drilled out with a 0.5mm bit to accept the insert in the U/C leg.  Getting the angles right might be a challenge.  
I’ve also found that the set of smaller wheel/tyres provided in the Airfix model are correct for the Tempest II.

[TeeELL]

I’ve filled the over large fitting holes for the U/C legs but have decided not to do any more than build the level on the outer halves.  I test fitted one of the 3D U/C legs and found that it would sit in place so I’ve also temporarily fitted the retraction/extension mechanism.

to the rear are the reinforced U/C legs, the upper legs were drilled out 0.65mm and blunted 23D hypodermic needles inserted, these will be superglued into the leg.

On the wing is the original Matchbox combined U/C and door with a 3D printed leg next to it.  On the PC I have a replacement door which I will look to print tomorrow.

 

[Galligraphics]

Nice legs, Tony...

[Robin-42]

The Matchbox leg looks pretty good for the time. 

[k5054nz]

This is a fantastic project. I've built this kit twice and would love to see it being brought to this kind of standard. You're doing terrific work Tony and I'm excited for the next updates.

[Listel]

Great job on this old kit, congratulations!

[TeeELL]

7 hours ago, Robin-42 said:

The Matchbox leg looks pretty good for the time. 

Robin,

  I have to agree with you.  All in all Matchbox did a pretty good job on this kit.

 

Listel,

  thank you.

 

I am not going to be able to make any further significant progress on this build until the parts I’ve ordered from Hannants are back in stock.  I’ve a few items I can work on, eg: the U/C doors and an additional piece for the U/C bays - I also need to work on drilling the fixing holes to set the U/Cs at the correct angles.

[kev67]

Love this, coming together really well, with all the 3D printed stuff

[TeeELL]

Following a good look at the `Granger’ drawings and photographs, I have made it 2 parts.  The trapezoid that connects to the U/C leg and the operating jack, I’ve not printed them as yet.  I also need to adjust a part of the U/C door and print them again.

[TeeELL]

I’ve spent some time revising the various parts of the U/C bay components.  The cross member I designed has had a minor modification but importantly I’ve changed the U/C operating mechanism to better match the Granger drawing.  I now have an outer section ‘mechanism’ and a inner section ‘operating jack’.  Last night I printed the prototype components and dry fitted them this morning:

 

on the left is the operating jack, at center the cross member and to the right the extend/retract mechanism.  Lying onnthe wing is the revised U/C door with details as per the Granger drawing (rather than copying the Airfix unit).

having dry fitted the parts I identified a couple of areas that needed to be improved/corrected;  these have been done and the revised parts are printing.  There are a couple of other major components (bracing) in the bay but some styrene rod will sort those.  Not really sure why I am detailing the U/C bays - I din’t display my models upside down

[TeeELL]

The 3D printed operating jack will certainly be useful when I build the Airfix Tempest V and Typhoon 1B and, probably, the special Hobby Tempest and Sea Fury.

[Johnson]

3 hours ago, TeeELL said:

Not really sure why I am detailing the U/C bays - I din’t display my models upside down

 

I sometimes wonder why I'm adding detail that no one will see, but half the fun (for me) is researching these minor details and trying to get it as right as possible.

 

Your U/C components look excellent. I'll be adding the retraction jack to mine, but cobbled together from stretched sprue.

 

Charlie

[TeeELL]

I’ve done some minor revision to the U/C components, these should be the final tweaks.  In addition, I fitted a couple of stubs to the outer side of the main U/C legs that should fit the depressions in the U/C door.  Photos later or poss tomorrow - I am off to Air Cadets for a couple of hours.

 

[TeeELL]

This doesn’t look very different from my earlier photo however, the U/C legs and associated doors now fit together (almost clip together) and the other components within the wheel bay fit correctly.  The main leg does need to be pushed in about 1mm to get the ‘on the ground’ dimensions correct - this, in fact, puts it in contact with the top of the original Matchbox U/C support.  I’ve just designed a drill bit holder that will allow me to create the hole for the top of the hypodermic needle to sit at the correct angle forward (15deg 48’) and outward (5deg 13’) - bit of compromise though, I have gone for 15 deg and 4 deg.

 

There is a rod from adjacent the jack to the mid section, I’ll make that from a length of styrene rod.

[Galligraphics]

Amazing detail, Tony

[TeeELL]

Slow but steady progress Galli.  Tweaking the CAD drawings is straight forward and takes very little time, the printing process is an altogether different matter though.  The various components for the U/C bay take around an hour to print (whether it is one set or a full print plate) the U/C legs, because of their print orientation, take about an hour and half.  I tend to make 6 or 8 copies each time mostly because, if someone else wants copies, I know they will go together correctly.

[Johnson]

8 hours ago, TeeELL said:

The main leg does need to be pushed in about 1mm to get the ‘on the ground’ dimensions correct

 

I'm having trouble deciding whether to chop some of my leg off (Tempest that is 😳).

 

What distance between the wheel axle stub and the underside of the wing did you end up with?

 

The Bentley plans give 17.30mm;

 

 

The KP kit measures 20.50mm!

Which seems a bit excessive?

 

Would you be able to give me a dimension?

 

Thanks,

 

Charlie

[TeeELL]

Charlie,

  I used the image on the drawing, above the one you have included, which shows the extended and ‘weight on’ positions.  I am going for about 17-17.5mm from the skin of the wing to the centre of the hub.   I think 20.5mm does, indeed seem excessive - too long, even, for an aircraft in flight with the gear down!

  

[TeeELL]

I designed and printed the drill jigs for the support hole for the U/C legs.  It is excellent and the specific drill bit it was designed for fits perfectly, there is only one tiny issue -  if I use it the U/C will slope rearwards!!!  A bit of redesign is necessary.