Darren Rhodes Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Hi Folks, I thought seeing as I posted an In Box Review earlier this year it was about time I posted some progress in this forum after many years as a lurker. Please be gentle. As a reminder, the In Box Review can be found here First up was to remove the vertical tail as this passes over the rearmost cut line. Here's the end result overlaid with the cut lines: I then traced an outline of both fuselage halves onto paper as suggested to act as a template for getting all the pieces straight when joining. Now cutting of the wonderful Revell kit could begin. Actually my example had lots of flash and pronounced sink marks at each join pin. This is where Murphy's Law struck straight away and I knew this was not going to be a straight forward build. Instead of cutting at the rearmost cut line, I cut further forward where Bra.Z marked on the instructions another vertical line indicating the new position of the vertical tail. Not to worry it's all just styrene at this stage so a bit of plastic weld and off we go again. What's the phrase measure twice, cut once??? At this point, sorry no photos, but I confirmed what others have reported, the resin Bra.Z fuselage insert in noticeably narrower in diameter than the Revell fuselage. This is compounded by the fact the Revell pieces once cut start to expand a little. I decided to opt for what I thought was the easier, but probably less accurate option and narrow the Revell fuselage pieces to match the Bra.Z center section. However, despite copious amounts of sand, test, sand, test etc., I went too far when it came to gluing the pieces all together. Murphy's Law for the second time! I wasn't going to show this but it's self evident in this taped together shot for a balance test: The Bra.Z fuselage is actually tight together at this point but also exhibits significant gaps along the top. I was especially worried about all the resin at the tail, but it didn't need nearly as much nose weight as I expected. It's still going to be heavy and will only sit on the styrene Revell gear.... Here's a shot with the fuselage all stuck together, complete with the central insert in place underneath. This took a couple of hours to get a good fit, but it really is quite a good fit, considering the large resin centre section. Note there aren't too many pin holes in the resin, certainly an improvement on a Bra.Z IL-62 I tried several years ago that ended up in the bin. Looks OK from that angle, but side on, there are obvious problems: The fuselage is slightly bulged at join points and then tapers slightly to the centre. Not sure whether to leave or attempt a fix, what with Murphy waiting to pounce... Moving swiftly on, the wings are pretty clean castings, with just a little resin waste to remove from the leading edge, which then exposes a few pin holes. Test fitting showed a few gaps on the top side of the wing root join, which I've tackled with some styrene strip. I was hoping I might be able to paint the fuselage and wings separately and get a near seamless join but that isn't going to happen, so this will have to be masked. Just done the first primer coat tonight and well the fuselage looks very disappointing. Though largely smooth lots of undulating contours at the joins, both between the resin and styrene and along the top where the styrene sections were filled. Photos to follow, time for rest. Darren Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 That fuselage looks like a tricky fix... I'd say you're gonna have to try though, as you'll only regret it later Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPNGROATS Posted August 4, 2009 Share Posted August 4, 2009 Good Grief!!! another "plastic surgeon" at work....that is a cool s t r e t c h build... Cheers. ggc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Darren Rhodes Posted August 5, 2009 Author Share Posted August 5, 2009 (edited) Hi folks, here are shots after first check prime. Looks more like one piece of plastic (or resin) now: The wing needs a rub down, but the panel lines don't look too bad actually: Now as for the fuselage, think I might have an idea for a fix. What about using the off cut centre section from the Revell kit to sleeve the centre fuselage? I know it's already larger diameter and if I cut it say just above the window line and stick over the top it would just, ahem, need a bit 'blending in'. Might this work?? Darren Edited August 5, 2009 by Darren Rhodes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted August 5, 2009 Share Posted August 5, 2009 personally I'd rather buy two kits and stretch the fuse using plugs from kit 2...that overcomes the diff in diameter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
propfan Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Darren, This looks very good to me, looking forward to the end result. regards Bert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Great bit of cut and shutting so far, shame about those Braz parts, with regards to your idea, I would think that the plastic from the Revell kit would be a little too thick, but you might just try skinning it with thinner plastic card. Kev1n's idea about 2 kits could work using just the lower fuselage and wing box from the Braz kit, but then you're almost back to square one. Let us know how it works out. Ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 "...from the Braz kit..." I've never tried this conversion but why would I need anything from the braz kit? apart from engines that is... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Having seen the problems with this conversion Id agree with Ants idea. Id chop the top, above the wing box off the Braz fuse plug and rebuild the upper fuselage. Shame as it should be a good conversion. Im tring to plan how to do this without the resin kit. Ive seen a "how to" some where but cant find it again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 "...from the Braz kit..."I've never tried this conversion but why would I need anything from the braz kit? apart from engines that is... Because the wing is substantially different, both in area, chord and sweepback angle, I'm not sure but I think the fuselage wing box is bulkier too, from the Airbus website: Variant A340-300 A340-600 Overall length 63.6 m. 75.3 m. Height 16.85 m. 17.3 m. Fuselage Ø 5.64 m. 5.64 m. Max. cabin width 5.28 m. 5.28 m. Cabin length 50.35 m. 60.98 m. Wingspan (geometric) 60.3 m. 63.45 m. Wing area (reference) 361.6 m2 439.4 m2 Wing sweep (25% chord) 30 degrees 31.1 degrees Wheelbase 25.60 m. 32.89 m. Wheel track 10.69 m. 10.69 m. Engines 4 x CFM56-5C4/P 4 x RR Trent 500 I seem to remember reading that you would need to split the wing spanwise and insert a triangular fillet in the region of the main spar to get the increased area, the wing chord is longer at the root, maybe Braz should have just done the engines, wings and wing box and left it to the modeller to use 2 kits to stretch the fuselage. I suppose it's stretching the limitations of resin casting to produce such big sections. Happy modelling Ant Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atdb27 Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Looks Good Darren, Not cheap either. Just how much can you 'stretch' an airframe? Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xvtonker Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Believe it or not when the aircraft enters a turn the fuselage physically bends!!! A number of people who flew on MSN001 (no interior trimmings just an empty fuselage with water ballast tanks & test flight equipment) said that you could physically see the beding action whenever the aircraft entered a turn. XVTonker Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atdb27 Posted February 15, 2010 Share Posted February 15, 2010 Believe it or not when the aircraft enters a turn the fuselage physically bends!!!A number of people who flew on MSN001 (no interior trimmings just an empty fuselage with water ballast tanks & test flight equipment) said that you could physically see the beding action whenever the aircraft entered a turn. XVTonker A real Bendy(Air)bus then! Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted February 16, 2010 Share Posted February 16, 2010 "...Because the wing is substantially different, both in area, chord and sweepback angle, I'm not sure but I think the fuselage wing box is bulkier too..." oh, ok then Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 It can be done, with out the resin but its a lot of work. I do want to do the conversion but for the cost, and the work that needs to be done.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Personally I think this version of the airbus is the best looking so I want to have a go at one someday (!) but I think I'll go for using two kits for the fuse...as for the rest, cost is the thing. I can't afford all that resin stuff so if I can get the engines, I'll scratchbuild the rest. On the other hand I might not worry too much about the wing chord and struff like that - stretch the fuselage, add the engines and it will look like an A340-600. Only the purist wil notice..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richellis Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 You need to add a lot to the wings so it may look odd if you dont. I THINK with out checking through all my info you can use the engines off the Ruslan (or the Beluga cant remember for sure) use the 2 fuselages to increase the wing box length and add to the wings, and tail. Although when you look at the 3 or 4 kits you will need to buy to rob parts from the cost of the resin doesnt look that bad! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stringbag Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 It can be done, with out the resin but its a lot of work. I do want to do the conversion but for the cost, and the work that needs to be done.... Says the man scratch building a BAe 146 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woody37 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 I don't know, that 146 is taking longer than your 732 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AntPhillips Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 Although when you look at the 3 or 4 kits you will need to buy to rob parts from the cost of the resin doesnt look that bad! The annoying thing is Ivo at Braz, realises this, there is a specific comment on his website that he will not supply the engines, wings etc. as seperates, you either have to buy the full kit or go it alone. Personally I think it would be worth his while to make the wings and engines available at a reduced cost, he's likely to sell more that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atdb27 Posted February 22, 2010 Share Posted February 22, 2010 The annoying thing is Ivo at Braz, realises this, there is a specific comment on his website that he will not supply the engines, wings etc. as seperates, you either have to buy the full kit or go it alone.Personally I think it would be worth his while to make the wings and engines available at a reduced cost, he's likely to sell more that way. Wonder how much 'Trade' he is loosing through that 'stance'? Wonder if Ali has thought of venturing into Airliner conv sets? Adrian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCA333 Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 I've 'lobbied' Ivo for a separate engine set, but have had no luck. From what I hear, the An-124 engines are closest in diameter for the Trent 500's, and parts of the A380 hot section can be added in. It can be done, but at a cost that makes the resin look acceptable. (I am still hoping Revell will produce one themselves!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 "...(I am still hoping Revell will produce one themselves!)..." That would solve the problem - since the differences between the existing rv kit and the -600 are so noticeable and rv and airbus seem to have a decent working relationship, maybe they will Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GCA333 Posted February 23, 2010 Share Posted February 23, 2010 From what I hear, the classic Revell/Airbus relationship is over. Airbus used to partner with Revell to make the kits (and share some of the cost, or something along those lines), which ended with the A380. If only Aeroflot ordered the A340-600, then Zvezda would possibly produce one (with excellent engines, no doubt!). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev1n Posted February 24, 2010 Share Posted February 24, 2010 "...From what I hear, the classic Revell/Airbus relationship is over..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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