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1:24 Grumman F7F Tigercat N7654C


airscale

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wow - thanks guys!

 

I hope this lives up to your interest :hmmm:

 

..so, day one, part number one completed - the first of many I suspect. I am learning stuff already, firstly this is a lot more agricultural than cutting a part off the sprue but then thats what I signed up for..

 

..so I got the printing back - I just had it copied in black & white and upscaled 137.5% to get from 1/33 to 1/24 scale - 3 copies of each sheet and the 3-view blown up to full scale cost me £24.50, plus the $30 for the 'kit' so comparable to a low end 1/32 kit (takes cover at this point...)

 

I got these sheets of 1.5mm card at Shoreham Airshow last weekend and thought the main spar structural bulkheads should be this beefy stuff so started there - part 6a. I used a paper glue here in the UK called PrittStick to glue the paper template to the card...

 

WIP12_zpscb156898.jpg

 

..then I used a scalpel and steel rule to score the straight edges and where these met the curved fuselage section - a pair of pliers were used to bend and crack the plastic and lesson one was learnt where care is needed with such thick card not to have the break of the cut 'eat' into the part you are trying to make...

 

WIP13_zpsf146b54e.jpg

 

..ended up with a rough shape - my olfa cutter didn't like cutting through the paper & it tore the template a bit when cutting the circle in the middle, but did enough to leave a score line to work with...

 

WIP14_zpsdd4759f2.jpg

 

..I used a french curve to score the fuselage shape, but soon realised it was easier to do this freehand & leave a mm around the edge to break away the waste...

 

WIP15_zps61d21046.jpg

 

..out with the industrial tools - I used a home sander to finish the edges to the profile - noisy work on a Friday night so I only got one part done tonight - I think I will rough cut a bunch of parts and finish with this at a more sociable hour...

 

WIP16_zpsc371e2cd.jpg

 

..I couldn't break out the circle in the middle so scored it and chain drilled a segment so I could get in with some small pliers & start breaking them out...

 

WIP17_zps520bbf15.jpg

 

..filed & sanded all the edges for a square finish...

 

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..I also scored the centreline of the part before peeling off the template, PrittStick doesn't seem to leave a residue so is ideal for the job...

 

WIP19_zpsb7b01ed9.jpg

 

..and there we have it - one part in about 20 - 25 minutes...

 

WIP20_zpse4cc94ea.jpg

 

only another few hundred days to go...

 

..so far all is going according to plan (ahem, for now) :frantic:

 

..she is a big girl though - here is the plan with a six inch rule & a pot of tamiya paint

 

WIP21_zps7261bc6c.jpg

 

...back soon - hopefully with an assembly of some sort..

 

TTFN

 

Peter

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Looking good Peter.

:goodjob: 

 

I'm sure that cutting plastic card of this thickness is no fun ... and you have to cut all the parts ... Sending you some positive energy to bust up your patience ;)

The role of the hole inside of the former is purely auxiliary. It gives some space to grip the former while inserting it inside the skin (in paper modeling forming and gluing section of fuselage skin is done first, then the former is inserted to support it ). I wouldn't worry too much about ascetics of the hole inside, unless you planning to make it visible ;) Just an idea how to make your life bit easier.

 

I found assembled paper model of this kit (quite good IMHO): click. This should give you some idea what to expect. 

 

 

Tomek,

Just note that computers are not te be taken as gospel. A good draughtsman can do a better job than a CAD-designer.

Just my opinion

Cees

 

 

You're right Cees. There are some hand-drawn paper kits that have great fit, and there are computer-designed ones that suck. But if I can make any generalization, that would be that the use of computers and 3D software made designing less laborious and increased quality of paper kits. Some of them visually become really stunning. 

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The role of the hole inside of the former is purely auxiliary. It gives some space to grip the former while inserting it inside the skin (in paper modeling forming and gluing section of fuselage skin is done first, then the former is inserted to support it ). I wouldn't worry too much about ascetics of the hole inside, unless you planning to make it visible ;) Just an idea how to make your life bit easier.

 

I found assembled paper model of this kit (quite good IMHO): click. This should give you some idea what to expect. 

 

 

 

Thanks all, thanks Tomek - this is really helpful information - you are my bridge between worlds as with your card knowledge I hope you keep an eye on things and keep dropping in with these pearls of wisdom :)

 

I had seen that online build - quite remarkable and inspired me to give this a shot..

 

so, day 2 and more experimenting..

 

..I realised the little plastic stub wing spars on the part I made last night are going to be totally inadequate for two big wings with resin engines, so bulked up with brass square section - these are supposed to be bent forward on the card model to meet angled wing spars, but then I would not be able to slide the smaller square sections into them to mate the wings so have already deviated from the plans :whistle:     I will have to engineer something later..

 

..as it is I bent the dihedral and masked up the part to avoid getting glue where I don't want it and epoxied it in place...

 

WIP28_zps4afea2fc.jpg

 

..I also went to my LHS for some plastic card as I am going to need quite a bit - unfortunately he only had 0.7mm which is pretty thick and 0.15 which is too thin to skin..

 

..I tried with a bit of 0.7mm as I want a solid structure, so forst up was to stick the paper patterns down - the notched part is there to support one fuselage section meeting the next...

 

..as I was experimenting I decided to use the rivet pattern on the printout to add some & see if it was worthwhile. I also scored the white wing areas which proved to be a mistake as will be seen later...

 

WIP22_zps42e11db1.jpg

 

..got some thin card to make the joiner bit...

 

WIP23_zpsc4d3cc33.jpg

 

WIP24_zps60621dff.jpg

 

..no, it's not a Vulcan Bird of Prey, it's the part on my drafting pencil which seems to have the same radius as the bend I needed at the fuselage spine - I taped it on and tried holding it over a boiling kettle to heat the plastic & make the bend...

 

WIP25_zps61b88bb7.jpg

 

..it worked, but I have also been playing about just doing it cold over the edge of my workbench edge so will try that on the next part. I got a round handle and spent 10 mins trying to round the lower sections - thats when the scored wing parts cracked so won't be doing that again...

 

..it's starting to take it's final form and is very rigid so will take handling, sanding, shaping, scribing & riveting when all the sections come together (he says...)...

 

WIP26_zps1acd5554.jpg

 

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..I also checked how it would mate to the next section with a dummy part - learnt it's likely not worth riveting as even as a guide it will be lost in final sanding - the butt joint looks like it will be pretty strong - I just wonder what using such thick skin will do to the pattern parts as they all assume the thickness of paper so stuff is likely to get out of whack from here...

 

WIP29_zps0f0968d5.jpg

 

..still - it's good fun, challenging and likely hugely over ambitious - but then I have always been a bit like that...

 

TTFN

Peter

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thanks chaps :)

 

..I must admit this is good fun and I hope this comes across in my posts - it's nice to be creative and open my mind to something new..

 

anyways a bit more done..

 

because paper is so thin, the pattern parts have tabs you would normally use to join them together, but as I am using 0.7mm plastic to skin the 'cat (and there is more than one way...) I need to add internal tabs like this one...

 

WIP30_zps82e7fb72.jpg

 

..the first skin went onto the former fine - I slotted it for the new brass spars too...

 

WIP32_zps32530581.jpg

 

..I also bulked up the inside faces to give more strength where the wings will meet - I may yet add more... you can see the bottom join is just taped so it would be flexible enough to close in the next section if I get anything wrong in making it - this turned out to be a good idea...

 

WIP31_zpsbc49c939.jpg

 

..onto the next section - this one joins at the fuselage spine and is quite a shape transition from the rounded top of the previous one - I also riveted it as I quite like the reference lines it gives and it only takes a minute while the part is flat..

 

..one thing I did try was pre-flexing the card. Before I stuck the paper pattern on, I pulled it backwards & forwards down over the edge of my bench - this made it much more flexible and saved messing about with heat & kettles...

 

WIP33_zps1a4f677b.jpg

 

..the finished parts - the funny shaped bit is a really clever template for joining the chine atop the fuselage - it allows a straight fold across a curve - hard to explain but maybe understood in a minute...

 

WIP34_zps45d47bfb.jpg

 

..assembling the former & skin - I used tape to hold it while spotting with CA - you can see the curved chine where that support part went at the ytop of the assembly..

 

WIP35_zpsa877511b.jpg

 

..not too shabby, but I ran a section of square stock in the gap & will refine it when I have all the sections together..

 

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so, first two sections complete - actually they are experimental and are really only a few hours work but I must admit I was worried they wouldn't fit together...

 

WIP37_zps3289205e.jpg

 

..YEY - success - glad I only taped the lower joint on the first section earlier as it helps easing them together to have this loose.. so I have a bit of 1/24 Tigercat fuselage...

 

WIP38_zps1677a482.jpg

 

WIP39_zps239ba127.jpg

 

..the theory seems to be working so far and I have to say it's an interesting excercise if I think about where I would be if I were planking a set of formers or something - this way sems to give more immediate results, but alignment may be a problem later on as there is no main known 'keel' or profile you build to

 

anyways, thats it for tonight...

 

TTFN
Peter

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..another section added...

 

..it's started to get so big I had to get a bigger background.. :piliot:

 

WIP41_zpsf724258d.jpg

 

WIP40_zps13090aef.jpg

 

and where we are vs the plan...

 

WIP42_zpsd8124f7b.jpg

 

..should have the fuselage done from the rear cockpit bulkhead to the start of the tail in the next few days...

 

TTFN

Peter

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Hi,

 

I can't believe that a big Tigercat will be born from... Nothing!!

Fantastic work!

Even if it's not a surprise when I see a your other work in progress, this build is simply stunning.

... And this is just the beginning!

You will soon need two big R-2800!!

 

Pascal

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