CliffB Posted August 29, 2011 Posted August 29, 2011 (edited) Here's my entry for the GB. The kit has two decal options - one Italian and one Paraguayan. The Paraguayan version is an air ambulance from the Gran Chaco War (1928 - 1935), and will be the seventh Chaco warrior in my slowly growing collection. As you can see from the instructions, the Paraguayan version has a distinctive glazed roof over the cockpit. Unfortunately, the kit's fuselage and vac-formed transparencies only allow for the solid-roofed Italian version! Nevertheless, I am looking forward to this GB - there should be some interesting (and hopefully colourful) models. Cliff Edited December 31, 2011 by CliffB
Fifer54 Posted September 5, 2011 Posted September 5, 2011 Wow, that looks like an interesting build! Should produce an unusual model that will make de Havilland fans do a double-take when they realise it's NOT a Dragon!.
splinter Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 As you can see from the instructions, the Paraguayan version has a distinctive glazed roof over the cockpit. Unfortunately, the kit's fuselage and vac-formed transparencies only allow for the solid-roofed Italian version! Hey Cliff, why don't you try to vacform complete canopy for Paraguayan version by yourself? It's not such a big headache at all..
CliffB Posted September 6, 2011 Author Posted September 6, 2011 Should produce an unusual model that will make de Havilland fans do a double-takewhen they realise it's NOT a Dragon!. Hi Gaz, yes it's often referred to as a Dragon lookalike - a Dragon that's been hit with an ugly stick though (to my eyes)! Hey Cliff, why don't you try to vacform complete canopy for Paraguayan version by yourself? It's not such a big headache at all.. Hi Splinter, I'm reluctantly coming to that conclusion. I've a friend with a vacforming machine - or I could try plunge moulding. Either way it will be a first for me, so I may be coming back to you for tips! Cheers Cliff
splinter Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 I've a friend with a vacforming machine - or I could try plunge moulding. Either way it will be a first for me, so I may be coming back to you for tips! I'll be quite happy to share my experience - I don't have a machine but made everything by myself... I'm preparing some photos and drawings so if you're interested, I'll post 'em here. In that case it would be easier for me if you could sent me a scan of those instructions of a flat photo via PM or here. I'm interested in 3-view drawings, so I can make some sketches for you.
splinter Posted September 6, 2011 Posted September 6, 2011 (edited) Oops! Double post! Edited September 6, 2011 by splinter
CliffB Posted September 11, 2011 Author Posted September 11, 2011 Hi Splinter Many thanks for the offer. My scanner is U/S at the moment, but I'll PM you later in the week once everything's sorted. Cheers Cliff
CliffB Posted October 3, 2011 Author Posted October 3, 2011 Cliff, check your email inbox. Thanks Splinter - fantastic stuff. No excuses for me not to try vac forming now! Cliff
CliffB Posted October 20, 2011 Author Posted October 20, 2011 A start at last First step: remove the fuselage halves from their pouring blocks and generally tidy them up. Second step: cut slots in the sides to accept the vac-formed windows. Third step: cut off the cockpit roof. So far, no dramas! Cliff
Killingholme Posted October 22, 2011 Posted October 22, 2011 Eek, that's a lot of glass! (glass-to-glass joints never go well for me). Look forward to seeing what you do with this one Cliff, Will
CliffB Posted October 22, 2011 Author Posted October 22, 2011 Thank you for your support guys. I must admit Will, that thinking about the glazing is stressing me out a bit (and this is supposed to be an enjoyable hobby!). A minor landmark today though, as I managed to get the side windows in OK. Fortunately the vac-formed transparencies are moulded with with some fairly hefty framing which gives you some margin for glue. I used a combination of thin superglue (to tack the glazing in place), followed up with a bead of gap-filling, thick superglue all round. I masked the windows inside and out to protect them from damage/fogging. I was worried that the joints would be flimsy, but in fact they are really strong - result!. I will hopefully be able to make a start on the interior tomorrow (work permitting). Cliff
CliffB Posted October 23, 2011 Author Posted October 23, 2011 My last update for the weekend. Unfortunately the cold light of day showed that my surgery on the cockpit roof had not been as accurtate as I had thought. Out with the plastic card therefore, for some slight adjustments... I then fitted the bulkheads and cockpit floor. The outside of the fuselage is beautifully moulded, but the inside is pretty random and assymetric. It took quite a while to gently sand the bulkheads to make them fit. It doesn't look too bad now and the bulkheads make it much easier to align the two fuselage halves. Cheers Cliff
CarLos Posted October 23, 2011 Posted October 23, 2011 Very nice! I am following with interest. Carlos
Giorgio N Posted October 24, 2011 Posted October 24, 2011 Nice project, looking forward to watching this being built ! Have to say that I had never heard of the Ba.44 before...
CliffB Posted November 14, 2011 Author Posted November 14, 2011 Thank you all for your interest. Sorry that things are progressing rather slowly! I've finally finished making a first 'master' for the new canopy. I started by filling the kit's vac-formed canopy with Magic Sculp, then topped it off with the resin roof that I'd cut off earlier. The whole lot was then sanded down to be undersize. I have to say it seemed to take ages and was a real chore. My intention was to use this master to create profiles, which I would use to create a further master from 100% Magic Sculp (the photo below shows the large 'ingot' I've created for that purpose), as I was worried that the resin may melt or deform, when subjected to hot acetate. I can hardly face the prospect of more carving and sanding though Does anyone know whether it is in fact possible to use a resin master to vac or plunge mould? Also, I've come back from Telford with sheets of clear polystyrene, rather than acetate - is that a good or bad thing? Any help would be gratefully received! Cheers Cliff
Giorgio N Posted November 14, 2011 Posted November 14, 2011 Does anyone know whether it is in fact possible to use a resin master to vac or plunge mould? Depends on the resin and on the temperature at which you'll perform the process. If you vacforming with a heated plastic sheet and the master is not heated, then I believe there's no problem. Different story with plung-forming, as in that case the master would be subjet to high temperature for longer. Guess the best option is doing a test using any unused bit of resin from the same kit. Alternatively you can use your resin part an make copies of it using a silicon rubber mould. Then make the copies with a high temperature resin and use these for the vacforming process.
CliffB Posted November 14, 2011 Author Posted November 14, 2011 Guess the best option is doing a test using any unused bit of resin from the same kit. Thank you for stating the obvious Giorgio. Somebody had to! So I've tried it and it's fine, both the acetate and the polystyrene melt easily over the master using the heat of a paint stripping gun. No damage to the master... The only problem I have is that the master has too many sharp edges and it just cuts through the acetate at the top corners. I obviously need to soften the mould with some extra Magic Sculp at the back (just like all vac-formed canopies have in fact!). My mood is generally much brighter than it was an hour ago Thanks again Cliff
Giorgio N Posted November 14, 2011 Posted November 14, 2011 Good to hear your plan is working Cliff, it's a very inteesting subject the one you're building ! From my (limited) experience in vacforming, I wonder if the problem is more the fact that on the rear of the master the acetate is really pulled a lot because of the shape. Maybe just adding some material a couple of mm inside the edge will solve the problem while keeping it easy to separate the part from the unwanted acetate/plastic ?
It'sAllGoneHorriblyWrong Posted November 15, 2011 Posted November 15, 2011 Good to hear your plan is working Cliff, it's a very inteesting subject the one you're building !From my (limited) experience in vacforming, I wonder if the problem is more the fact that on the rear of the master the acetate is really pulled a lot because of the shape. Maybe just adding some material a couple of mm inside the edge will solve the problem while keeping it easy to separate the part from the unwanted acetate/plastic ? I agree with Giorgio. You're pulling the plastic a long way down at the back and it's going to stretch very thin, so it's no surprise if it fails at the weakest point. Adding some material at the back will at least move the plunge away from the working edges. Keep up the good work; I'm looking forward to seeing this one finished. Cheers Andy
CliffB Posted December 10, 2011 Author Posted December 10, 2011 Thank you guys for your advice on the mould. I did as you said and extended the mould so that it now looks like this. I actually did this a couple of weeks ago and then a friend offered to run it through his vac-forming machine (an offer that was too good to turn down!). I picked up a couple of canopies from him last night and they look BRILLIANT (think 'Falconesque' quality) . So clear, the camera can't focus on it! The Breda is now the only active project on my workbench, so there is an (outside) chance that I might get it finished by the deadline. Cheers Cliff
CliffB Posted December 13, 2011 Author Posted December 13, 2011 Thanks Gaz. I cut the canopy out last night and here it is in situ.. The fit is not perfect, but I think I can adjust the shape of the fuselage to improve things. The only problem now is that I feel duty bound to add a bit of extra detailing to the cockpit! Cheers Cliff
Giorgio N Posted December 13, 2011 Posted December 13, 2011 Looks great ! I'm impressed by the clarity of that canopy, I never achieved such a result with my "equipment". Anyway, glad to see the canopy is sorted (and brilliantly so)
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