AnonymousAA74 Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 (edited) Hi guys, Despite the fact that I'll be doing this for publication, I thought I'd create a build of this here on BM. Please excuse the following 3 pictures in their quality as I did them this evening without any prep. The model comprises the Revell Ju 88A-1 which will be converted to the G-1 version, and atop will sit the new tool Hasegawa Fw 190F-8. With the Ju 88, I have so far removed the entire nose section, and just for fun, assembled it to sit alongside the conversion, just to show what I have sacrificed! The Mistel 2 warhead actually fits very well to the Revell kit, with just a few tweaks needed to fair everything in, such as wing root filleting. I have also removed the vertical tail tabs so you can see just how much bigger the G-1 vertical tail is to the A-1 variant. Once I have pinned and glued the warhead and vertical tail fin, and filled where necessary, I will prime the fuse assembly and flush rivet everything before I add further detail. I want the warhead etc to appear to be one homogeneous item when completed. In all, the AIMS set is pretty damn good. I have already removed the casting blocks from the engine parts and popped everything in the ultrasonic bath to remove any mould release agent. So far, so good. I have a degree of initial construction to complete before I refer to the book I ordered; Mistel by John Forsyth. This is a pretty exciting project for me. I don't think the missus is impressed though!! Jim I thought I'd add some fresh photos in here to make up for the dire last ones Since the last post, the rear of the BMW's are now hollowed out and the side wall faired out to a fraction of a millimetre. This is to simulate the edge of the metal at this point where it shrouds the exhausts and almost meets the rear mounting. There are a few tiny air bubbles here which will be filled in with some Mr Surfacer and rubbed back. That should pretty much hide any imperfection. The engines were initially hollowed out by turning them on a Boxford lathe to a depth of about 6mm (1/4 inch to the colonists). The distance between the rear of the BMW exhaust flange and the circumferential panel line on the rear mount should be around 4.5mm, and where the engine recess needed packing out to achieve this, a disc of plasticard was inserted so a good joint between the rear mount and engine recess, could be maintained. The sloping exhaust channels on the rear mounts were also steepened a little to make the ports more prominent as they slide under the engine flange. A little light sanding with some sponges and then a polishing was needed on all parts to make them good for paint. I rescribed a few areas too with my new Mr Creos scribing tool. You'll see from the pictures how the interior of the wing, around the landing gear point, has been fitted with strut to simulate the stringers. Holes have also been drilled in the forward bulkhead for the hydraulics and engine services etc. The next aim is to alter the fuselage bulkheads around the tail wheel so they resemble the real thing, and then stringer this area and also fit out with services for the hydraulics etc. The interior skin will be painted in the pre-requisite RLM02, with the stringers and bulkheads being finished in the electrolytic yellow that we've seen in reference pictures. A BIG thanks goes to Guttorm for his help with this area. To prove I do actually do a little modelling in between my irregular posts, here is some (yet still to be tidied) work I've done over a few evenings. As previously mentioned, I had to alter the internal profile of the rear fuselage bulkhead, as Revell had made this too shallow at the bottom. This was packed out with plasticard and Magic Sculp putty. I used some HGW rivet decals to create the ones on the bulkheads. I still need to decal the middle bulkhead yet. The forward bulkhead also has a hydraulics connection 'T' piece in place. I know I haven't exactly replicated the exact number of internal stringers, but I have emulated the photos Guttorm sent to me as closely as possibly without becoming all anal about everything. There is, of course, still plumbing and wiring to do, plus adding the fuel dump pipe through the bulkheads also. Please bear with me! Where is bloody Aires when you need them!? I still have a lot to do here as you can see, but so far, I'm relatively happy with the work. Again, sorry for the poor photos, but these were a spare of the moment thing. Ok, I've now taken some of the height from the stringers as they were grossly disproportionate. I still have an amount of tidying to do, but these pictures show the solution to the obtrusive tailplane spars. These are now cut out, and only about 1mm to 2 mm were kept internally, to create a sort of plug in external spar. The part of the external spar where it meets the fuse has also been slightly packed out with thin plasticard shim so it sits tightly in the fuse. There should be no loss in strength with the spar being cut. It seems that the real strength lies in the area glues internally, which I have kept. These can now we dressed up a little and nothing will sit in the way of the fuel dump pipe and other plumbing. Please excuse the mess with this at the moment. Edited February 20, 2011 by James H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mentalguru Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Seriously nice stuff going on here... I like your style. Tell me, I assume they are PCB drills you have there? I used mine up a while back (broke) and need to get some more. Any ideas? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 I buy mine from a guy called Allan Sidney. He does the sets for £25 delivered (free delivery at the moment). Check THIS link for ordering details and review. All this and I can't believe I'm still fiddling with a tail wheel well! I've now sprayed the internal skin with Gunze RLM02 and after much soul searching about that electrolised finish on the structural parts, I settled on Alclad Pale Burnt Metal, which in most light gives a metal finish which imparts with a yellowish tinge. I think this was probably a good compromise when you bear in mind most of this will be in shade when complete. I still have the plumbing and wiring to add, but until then, here are some better pics which you deserve after the last ones Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jimbuna Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Seriously nice stuff going on here... I like your style.Tell me, I assume they are PCB drills you have there? I used mine up a while back (broke) and need to get some more. Any ideas? I've purchased them from this UK supplier in the past: http://www.crownhill.co.uk/level3.php?cat=36 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Srecko Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 You are doing very complex build, this will be definitely great build once when complete it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 VERY smart I'd like a set of those drills myself How're you going to hide the fuselage internal join in the "roof"? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 VERY smart I'd like a set of those drills myself How're you going to hide the fuselage internal join in the "roof"? er, I miscalculated! You'll not see it when it situ I rely on indifference mostly Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pilgrim_UK Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 You spend all that time/work and everybody goes away saying "wouldnt mind a set of those drills". By the way i like your compass cutter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz greenwood Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Superb work so far James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Thanks guys. I'm looking at around 6 months work here, possibly. I got the same reaction on LSP regarding the drills....I should've made a separate post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndrewE Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Fantastic work. I take it you are using the AIMS conversion? Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Fantastic work. I take it you are using the AIMS conversion?Andrew Hi Andrew, yes, this is the new AIMS Mistel 2 conversion, priced at £60 currently. There is a LOT of work to do and it's not for the faint-hearted, but it should make a corking Mistel when complete! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I got the same reaction on LSP regarding the drills....I should've made a separate post Maybe you shouldn't have been showing off in the first place Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted February 20, 2011 Author Share Posted February 20, 2011 Maybe you shouldn't have been showing off in the first place Tw@t!! These are for a mag, hence the pics! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 Language Timothy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy K Posted February 20, 2011 Share Posted February 20, 2011 I love the detailing James, very well done. Nice drills btw Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
_H_ Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Hi James, I'm very interested in the very sharp looking pencil on pic 8. Could you tell me where you got it from and what sharpener you use please? Joking aside, I love those Mistel composites and you won't be dissapointed with the forsyth book. Really looking forward to seeing more. Howard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brewerjerry Posted February 21, 2011 Share Posted February 21, 2011 Hi James, I'm very interested in the very sharp looking pencil on pic 8. Could you tell me where you got it from and what sharpener you use please? Hi Now I like the RS rule, reminds me of working in the UK. Nice build. cheers Jerry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted February 24, 2011 Author Share Posted February 24, 2011 Hi all, Sorry for the delays, but the tail wheel well is now complete. Yes, there's loads more I could have stuck in there, but I plan on finishing this at some stage. This work is by no means 100% to the information I have, but it's more than representative and all the main players are in there. Perhaps now I can stitch up the fuselage Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 I've tried to fit a little more work in around everything else that seems to be going on for me at the moment! The fuselage is now glued together. As per usual, I use coloured CA for this, leaving a little ridge standing proud from the joint. This is ground down with successive sticks and sponges until the join is removed, then I used a Mr Creos scriber to replace the detail lost. The result is nice and clean and the Creos scriber leaves no debris. Also scribed in was the extra access panel on the rear port fuselage. I decided not to use the vac form spine, and there was a possibility that I couldn't have made it match the rest of the styrene parts. Instead, I chose to modify the plastic spine. Doing this was easy and just required a little patience. The square panel mid spine needed to be removed so I could fit the Funkgerät DF loop in there. With the hole neatly cleaned out, the vac spine was placed on top of this so the DF window was seated nicely in the middle of the hole, then this was carefully taped into position. A sharp blade was then used to scribe the vac plastic through the nee spine aperture. The result just needed a tickle or two with a sanding stick and the fit was practically a 'drop fit'. I couldn't get my Tamiya cement to stick this, so I risked it and used gel CA and then activator to set it before it gassed into the clear part The Funkgerät DF loop was painted Alclad Pale Gold, and sealed with Mr Super Clear. A subtle wash was added to highlight it a little, then this was placed into the underside of the spine and gel CA used again, and activator immediately afterward to prevent fuming. The spine also needed a little extra work in terms of removing some panel lines and scribing new ones. The old vac spine was used as reference. The spine and underbelly portion were now added. At this point, there is no forward fuselage bulkhead added. Before I tackled how to best fit the warhead so that is would be a strong and hassle-free fit, I extended the stabiliser and elevator extensions and shaped them into the styrene. I found one extension about 1mm shorted than the other, and the shorter one didn't seem to profile properly with the stabiliser, but a shim of 1mm plasticard fixed that easily. Just a little profiling to do now here..... For this entire build, I've been working out the best way to get the warhead to fit so that I would have time to manoeuvre it into position before it set fully. I didn't relish having the whole warhead slightly out of line and either having to compensate with putty, or to try and saw it off again, possibly ballsing it up. I also needed this to be LIGHT and not really add anything to the model weight. I took a 10mm strip of plasticard and lined it into the hollow in the rear of the warhead, then marked it out so I had a fairly good fit. I then traced the internal hollow shape onto paper and transferred it to plasticard to make the drum forward and rear faces. With these glued to the strip, the drum was then complete and sanded so that when it fit into the warhead, it squeaked! This was pushed down flush with the rear of the warhead and then wicking grade CA was run around the slight gap to set it. The fuselage forward bulkhead now had any slight moulded hollow filled with putty and the face sanded smooth. I now had two smooth flat faces that I could now use slow cure CA to bond the fuse and warhead together. This hasn't yet been done, but test fitting of the warhead at this stage shows that I have about 0.5mm shim to add to one wingroot, and a very slight amount of putty to add to the underside. The upper rear part of the warhead is a little bulged, and will take about 10 minutes to get a good homgeneous connection to the fuse. Despite that resin bit being large, the overall fit is very good. You don't need a Degree in AM to be able to fit it, so fear not! More insanity soon... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 That's looking tidy James, one very large casting for the warhead, not seen resin that large for a while ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted March 1, 2011 Author Share Posted March 1, 2011 ....not seen resin that large for a while ! That's what the missus said! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dads203 Posted March 1, 2011 Share Posted March 1, 2011 That's what the missus said! :frantic: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonymousAA74 Posted March 6, 2011 Author Share Posted March 6, 2011 Just in case anybody is still reading this, The warhead is now permanently fitted and you can see from the photos just how little filler was needed to fair things together. The upper rear of the warhead needed sanding down by less than 1mm to fair it to the fuselage spine. It took about 30 mins of work to finish this area. I decided only to add a little perfunctory detail into the aperture in each wheel bay. The wing internal skin is painted in Gunze Stainless Steel, then buffed, and the stringers again sprayed in Alclad Pale Burnt Metal. I added a couple of hoses into there, made from white metal, and painted these in black, and dry-brushed with Vallejo German Grey. Apart from the removal of the Ju 88 nose, perhaps the most radical surgery to be done on the host kit is the cutting of the forward engine nacelles. This is cut level with the flush front of the engine bay on the bare wing.The nacelles were chain drilled and cut/sanded to complete this area, and I still need to scribe the extra detail to them yet. These loose forward nacelle parts were then glued to the nacelle rear to make the job of alignment with the new resin engine mounts, a little easier.The mating edge of the resin mount to the butchered kit parts is perfect. I've also dug out an Eduard set for this area so I can detail the interior of these huge bays further, with some added scratch work. The undercarriage doors will be made from resin ones which Pastor John is preparing for the Ju 188 set. Cheers for that John! The extended wing tips and flaps are now prepared for fitting too. The resin outer ailerons had a slight 'banana' in them which easily came out with some hot water. My next task will be to fit the tips and fill/scribe where necessary. The stabilisers have already been finished and re-scribed where needed. The rudder and tailplane/rear fuse, now have holes drilled to accept pinning. I hate to say this, but apart from a little grinding of some surfaces to get an even better fit, the next big job is to flush rivet this bird. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daz greenwood Posted March 6, 2011 Share Posted March 6, 2011 Fantastic work there James. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now