airscale

I think you do Don, yes limitations on me really, I should have trimmed it more or used a gloss basecoat - oh well it's done now and was pretty tricky so I might just have to live with it... last update on the weekends activity before the working week crashes the party again.. this panel is next - note the shape, markings and different switch types.. ..started with the PE base parts & laminated one onto plastic to give the pressing depth.. ..I needed to make the little turn switch handles so I made one tiny master and copied it in resin by just using a plasticine mould... ..these were then painted black and the other switchgear & handles made up.. ...then the base part was assembled after painting and the decal prepared by trimming the carrier film.. ..and the unit was assembled with all it's switches.. ..I also added the bomb selector panel at the bottom left of the main panel surround so this is what it looks like all together.. ..thats it for now, hope to be back soon TTFN Peter

Hi Craig, If it helps, I would join aircorps library - they have every drawing of every component for many aircraft including the B17 What I do is find the drawing, copy it into coreldraw then find a measurement given on the drawing- say it''s 4 inches ( even if i find a part within a part drawing to get that from) convert this to mm @ 101. 6mm divide by 32 = 3.175mm then draw a box on your drawing in corel that goes between the two measured points look at the dimensions, say it's 14.933mm tell corel you want that box to be 3.175mm corel than says you have scaled it by 21.2% then finally scale the entire drawing by 21.2% and you end up with a scale version of your part I do this all the time so I can print out something as reference, or find a dimension I need - I did it with your pedestal below - drawing number 65-5690.. If you followed that it's quite a useful process - there are no dimensions on this drawing so I used a control wheel to scale from - hope its accurate All the best Peter

thanks Antonio, I will have to look into that :) I am pretty sure the restored Lopes Hope is green as I have close ups of it finished, but I also have pics of that area before it was restored which look quite original finish so will take a good look at them. Thats a nice colour pic too, thanks for that :) ..another day, another few parts.. ..this time one of my favourite things to do, the Instrument Panel.. ..the PE is in three layers - a backplate to lay the decal instruments on and give it strength, a middle that carries the bezels (as they are inset not proud like most IP's) and the top panel that carries the screws & details.. ..I used the backplate as a template to cut out a sheet of ultra thin plastic 'glass' - this is what I provide in my airscale decal sets.. ..the main panel surround is the same laminate style, but this time just a backplate and a front. The front is slightly bigger at the bottom as these need to be folded to look like the way the real one is.. ..here the folds have been done and the parts assembled.. ..then they were all painted - the bezels in semi-gloss black, the rest in nato black.. ..you might be able to see the difference better here.. ..the panel was carefully assembled with CA - the bezels are a blacker black than the panel.. ..then all the decals were added and a few of the knobs & switches.. ..and dry fitted together.. ..and to give a sense of scale.. that was all over too quickly :) TTFN Peter

Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday to you, Happy Birthday dear MARU, Happy Birthday to YOU If I could send you a card this would be it Have a great day, and thanks for all the happiness you bring to all the folks here Peter & Lorraine

Crikey! you make that look really easy, when I know having tried it is very, very hard to turn a block into a beautiful set of curves just using outside boundary formers. What is the secret? is it just slow & gently or how do you tease the shapes to match the formers? So looking forward to the next update Peter

wow that looks good Craig I looked at thos CAD images & thought there is NO WAY all that complex detail & undercuts will come out in print, but there you go, they look awesome It is such a versatile tool I think I really need to consider a full Rhino license and a printer of some sort. I have loads of parts for my P51 that I need to do so having seen this I think I need to bite the bullet and get some kit.. loving this whole build - it's wonderful to specate TTFN Peter

mistake mɪˈsteɪk/ noun noun: mistake; plural noun: mistakes 1. an act or judgement that is misguided or wrong. "putting those bulkheads there was a mistake" synonyms: error, fault, inaccuracy, omission, slip, blunder, miscalculation, misunderstanding, flaw, oversight, misinterpretation, fallacy, gaffe, faux pas, solecism, misapprehension, misconception, misreading... ..evening ladies thought I would start with how ballsing something up is what makes you stronger... so, I was working on the frame the radios sit on and the scale drawing showed me that the position of the bulkheads behind the 'A' frame was out. I knew this because I decided to move one slightly forward as the jig I built for the cockpit pod was just a bit short, and the one first behind the seat didn't seem to line up with the measurements I had marked out on the longerons but I chose to ignore that and mount them according to that dimension anyway... ..both these events were as defined above... I realised how one mistake compounds another and no matter how hard it is to wind back, sometimes you just have to bite the bullet. If I had left it, I would have had a nice bulkhead running through the curved rear windows at the rear of the cockpit... ..this would have been quite hard to hide had I got that far... imagine... ..as it was, I had to get the slitting disc out and chop off both bulkheads and reposition them (to exactly where they were marked to be on the PE floor - what was I thinking!). This means there are some rather unscale massive blocks of plastic as bracing but they can't be seen with the tank in.. so, lesson learned: pay attention and don't compromise anyways, on with the build.. this is a very useful pic showing the area behind the seat - note the fuel gauge and all the horizontal framework (covered in blue protective tape) the radios that go here sit on.. (..and that there is no bulkhead running through the window...) I thought I would have a stab at the gauge first.. this was a section of tube, a section of rod and a pinhead - I added the decal & glazed it.. ..and painted & mounted on it's extension pole thing.. ..it goes here on the tank (which also needed chopping about to fit now the bulkheads had moved..) ..next the frame the radios sit on was scaled from the plan and details taken from the superb CAD drawings dropped in the thread a few pages back.. parts made up from brass sesction & folded ali.. ..and the part finished - the cross braces gave the clue to the bulkheads true position.. ....now I have to think about painting as I can't thread this part and the fuel tank in here very easily, and certainly not with the tank details in place.. ..so I painted it.. the green mix took some time and I hope it is near enough.. ..I made some other tank bits - the fabric part is an electrical box that mounts on the 'A' frame covered in a canvas push stud cover.. ..also painted the sub-structure - you can see the bracing for the bulkheads here.. ..added some details to the front of the ;A; frame.. ..and this is what it will all look like.. ..so there you go - a disaster narrowly averted - I am sooooo glad I found it and corrected it now and not way down the line... TTFN Peter

oh man that's looking good.. the cockpit is my favourite part Peter

thanks chaps - very kind :) so next in the God knows how many parts I have to make is the fuselage fuel tank - for this I have a few pictures of the actual tank fitted in Lopes Hope and made a few mental notes about what needs to be done in terms off construction. First thing is clear, it is quite an organic shape, being made to sit tightly in among all the formers in the fuselage behind the pilot (more of which later..), second, it has a quite uneven surface where various fittings are added, and lastly it looks like a round pole framework at the top over which the bladder sits.. ..having trouble with photobucket so will add that pic in later.. the first step was to make a balsa blank and add the profiles scaled from the factory drawings - here is the bottom plan.. ..then the top profile with all the fittings added and starting to shape it.. ..then the top was recessed and the tubular frame added.. ..to get the finish I wanted I decided to try tissue - this is at least 30 years old from a Guillows kit.. several layers were applied and washed in with diluted PVA.. ..the fittings had strengthening doublers so these were added from bare metal foil.. ..something I had already worked out was that the complete tank would not fit in the assembled fuselage structure as it has to thread through the fuselage formers, so I cut it in half and then painted it black.. (Tamiya semi-gloss with a drop or two of future..) ...I am quite pleased with the results and I can.now start to add the detailed parts safe in the knowledge it just about squeezes through.. ..and slotted into place .. ..and with the seat mocked up in position.. ..that's it for now - having fun with this one :) TTFN Peter

unbelievably unbelievable.. this is literally the cutting edge of building and so exciting to watch - it means ANYTHING is possible.. such skilful hands - both at the bench & the PC - wonderful, wonderful stuff bravo Peter

thanks chaps little bit more done this weekend, but the little bit was actually quite important (& time consuming) in terms of dictating the success of the cockpit structure.. ..I need to not only get the side walls right, but becuse I want to build up parts like sidewalls, floors etc seperately, I need to make sure I have sub-assemblies that can slot together when it comes to actually completing the cockpit 'pod' one part of this will be the floor where the fuel tank sits and where the 'A' frame and seat will be mounted - this was a laminate of the detail layer, a full thickness PE strengthener and a thick card sub-floor.. ..one thing that soon became obvious was I got the bulkhead positions wrong (the slots in the floor..) - I took them from where they would be not allowing for the slant of the 'A' frame, but given the 'A' frame is at an angle, it moves where these slots should be I used a template to set the angle of the 'A' frame... the upper plastic card bit has an angle at the front... ,,and taped up before adding lots of CA and strengthening bits where they can't be seen under the floor.. ..I had to partially destroy the jig to get the sides out last week, but I figured a way to re-use it and spent hours fettling the parts so the floor sat correctly with the A frame in position and the slots for the bulkheads.. ..the trickiest part is the bulkhead that goes where the big slots are - this is in bits in the real one and bolted together - I made it one piece so need to thread it onto the floor like cotton into a needle and twist it into postion.. ..this means I have some tidying up to do around where the floor & bulkheads meet.. .. this is all now correctly positioned and I can use this when it comes to assembling the second bulkhead permanently to make the floor sub-structure unit.. ..coming together.. ..next I need to think about the fuel tank that sits here - I meant to design it in 3D but didn't get round to it and now my free trial has run out - I might try balsa and tissue or something as it's quite an organic shape & covered in rough self sealing rubber.. until next time.. TTFN Peter

God that is a work of art - your paint finish is second to none.. when I grow up I want to be able to do that Peter

Thanks folks & thanks Troy - that is exactly how I like to see it - one bolt at a time I have made what is listed as the 'Right Switch Box' - it's this bit here.. ..one of the advantages of making your own PE is that you can pre-think how to render shapes. In this case, the actual switch box is a simple rectangle with holes & details, but the circuit breaker cover plate is a structure i decomposed and 'folded flat' so I could try and fold it up in PE.. ..with some folds & bends, I have a scale reproduction with all the angles juts right as they are from the drawing of just this part... ..made a base shape from thick card and assembled the laminate of the switch panel itself. It has a small dial so I added the decal and a sheet of glass to the back structure.. ..then other components were folded or added and the switch handle made from bits.. ..all sprayed with semi gloss black.. ..and with the addition of the custom decals the component is complete.. ..and this is where it will sit.. ..more boxes & bobbins to come to carry on with the sidewall.. TTFN Peter

fabulous to see this back on the bench Brian - takes me back to a certain Tigercat I was working on shame about the nosegear, it is such a landmark part of the airframe it is a devil to get right - I know you will persevere - if you beat down that Extra 330, this is a walk in the park! ..also interesting to see those engine cores in real life - I did all the design for those on my 1/24 F7F and shared wheels, engines etc with HpH so it is nice to see they turned out so well keep it up - we all need an F7F in our lives... Peter

well thanks again rtwpsom2 - very useful guidance :) I have tried to interpret what I see in photo's and the drawings and have now mounted it - hopefully this is near the mark? got a main switchpanel up near the IP to start on next... TTFN Peter