airscale

great job Iain, we know there is an A26 in that kit somewhere, it just takes a genius to wring it out.. these are from Aircorps Library if it helps Good luck Peter

hey guys bit more done... ..I felt bad when Jay asked about detailing the engine as I had done such a rudimentary job on it, so even though very little can be seen, I added what I could.. the fuselage formers were bulked out with hard foam and all the template outlines blacked out with a sharpie so I can see the sanding thresholds later.. also added some card formers to help shape the exhaust area around the nose.. I made up a 3D part to lock all the features of the wings together with the spars and dihedral on the outer wing panels and made up ribs from 2mm card.. ..and the wings & airframe start to take shape - it looks like an air racer without the last few ribs and the wingtips.. TTFN Peter

Your jigs are as good as your models Jay! I still can't get my head around finishing sub assemblies and joining them, rather than skinning a whole - it takes an infinate amount of skill to do that - much more than I have Looks so real it's mad Peter

Looks absolutely fantastic Pete It is addictive once you start skinning - there is nothing like it for that realistic metal look Peter

great idea Ester I wish I was going.. these two wouldn't exist without Aircorps Library - will send some pics I know Craig & his B17, Jay and his P51C and I am sure many others use the resources and will be in touch too Have fun & speak soon Peter

just exquisite work Chuck - when I grow up, I want to be able to paint like you ..those F15 cans are Biblical.. Peter

thanks chaps It's all photo interpretation Jay - i have no drawings so it's visual scaling. I have quite a few photo's of some areas and mainly used these from the pilots notes and either resto's or projects for sale online.. ..took about 2 days, and I find the problem is where to stop - I could do the seat and the IP, but I usually do these in metal as they weather so well and give realistic chipping all good fun Peter

Thank you folks - very kind I went to make a basic cockpit tub from 3D and once printed I needed to make some adjustments... while I was at it, I got a bit carried away.. still lots to do, but a great canvas, even if it is cheating a bit TTFN Peter

nearly finished - just flying wires to go.. TTFN Peter

Nope Kev, I went to take some but by the time I finished today the light was rubbish - here it is on my kitchen table ..and it isn't RFI yet - I am waiting for the flying wires to be etched from stainless steel - couple of weeks yet Will get some better shots and update the WIP TTFN Peter

that looks fab Tom, so glad you could make it fit It is so fragile I bet it's been heart in mouth working on it Jay - I used some drawings and photo's I found on the internet so I think it's as close as I could get it Peter

No rest for the wicked they say, so with the paint drying on my S6B it's time for a new project.. I built a Hobbyboss Sea Fury back in the day and added loads to it including a visible engine and I have always wanted to make a large scale one. The problem was (and is) it doesn't fit in my display cabinet. I remeasured it the other day and somehow got my sums wrong and thought it would fit so off I went and started researching.. Turns out I was right the first time, the airfame is a beast and won't fit so will need a home once complete (or I get a bigger cabinet..) My last one was the civil demonstrator G-AKRY, but now I just proved to myself I can paint an aeroplane, this one will be a service machine. Choosing one is harder than I thought - it's got to be RN, but to be honest, they were all painted the same for now I chose this one VX620.. I started with Jumpeii Temma's plans and checked these with Will at DBMK on the one they scanned - they were bang on, so I designed the parts for my cutter.. also made a 3D cowling.. ..the brass bar is to keep the keel rigid.. ..the keel was taped to a flat sheet of acrylic and all the formers added - I also 3D printed a wingroot section to help alignment.. ..I have had problems with plastic card cores flexing during construction so I clamped an ali bar and added the other side, moving the bar as I went.. ..very quickly the fuselage took shape - it is huge.. ..the floor is too high here and had to be chopped out and lowered - this is the problem with not having drawings ..having designed the cowling, I spent some time doing the prop, spinner and a basic engine front.. I think it came out pretty good - it defines the aeroplane so has to be right.. ..starting to look like the brute it is.. ..so thats it - off and running with a new build ..A plea for help - if anyone has any good interior pictures of the cockpit, seat, seat bulkhead, rollover structure, please drop them here or PM me also if there are more unique RN schemes out there I am definately open to a rethink TTFN Peter

I would take a: 1/24 F7F Tigercat 1/24 Firefly 1/32 HP Hastings (for my dad ) but at the mo I am just building what I fancy free of kitmakers plans Peter

Hi Jay I have no real idea actually - i watched a set up video when I got the machine for the best results for detail and after plugging that in all I ever change is the 0.030 and the 0.050 here is the rest.. should definately use 0.030 for detail, it results in near perfection with zero striation good luck! Peter

amazing Jay, truly.. looks so good and we all know every micron is right where it should be Question - when you print the body parts what printer setting do you use? I use 0.030 for detail parts and 0.050 for body parts that will be skinned / covered It literally prints twice as quickly and even big jobs are only a few hours Peter

..teaser... ..the primer was fine when applied over clean fine sanded surfaces and this model has had a LOT of masking so it needed to be getting some stainless steel flying wires etched and a mask for the serial - once thats done it's glamour shot time Now where did I put those Sea Fury drawings... Peter

aaaand the primer is coming off again..... ..I got as far as a topcoat of silver, then the first attempt at masking and the paint just came off with it I think there a couple of reasons for this - my test mule was fine (my 1/18 Fw190), the primer is properly on there and takes tape / fingernails and is pretty hardy, the only difference I can think of is I cleaned that with thinners the moment I painted a spot, wheras the S6B was cleaned with thinners the day before yesterday - I think the aluminium oxidises so quickly that it caused a problem with adhesion. The other thing is the S6B is polished with wire wool so it's like trying to paint a mirror, so I am starting with the floats and stripping all the paint off and giving it a key with very fine sandpaper, then a clean before paint and it should work.. ... this is why I don't paint models... Oh, and Sea Fury - correct! I built a 1/32 one before as my first ever contribution to this forum so have lots of research already and love the aircraft - such a brute trouble is I got my measurements wrong and it does not fit in my cabinet, so it's either wings folded (yuck) or get another cabinet... no idea of the scheme yet.. TTFN Peter

the primer is on! it went flawlessly - which is down to the paint or the prep as it sure isn't down to me highly recomend this stuff for metal, get the thinners though Thank you - I doubt that! but hope to enter it the canopy will be fixed in the open position Close Tom, but no, not this time - I don't think Jay's can be bettered and I want to do something new Smart guesses GW, but no, it's not a P38.. Prop - yes Not enormous - well large for a single engine, but no, not enormous Natural metal - nope, skinned and painted as I was running out of NMF subjects I wanted to do ..they built 864 of them...

thank you all, very kind So, the painting stage is looming.... I needed to get some new etch primer as it only has a 12 month shelf life and frustratingly it is still not here yet.. I have worked out the colour (I think) - some of the original paint is still on S1595 in the Science Museum (it was repainted ages ago in the wrong blue, likely roundel blue) so I did some samples and arrived at what i think is a reasonable match given the limitations of eyeballs, digital sampling and light I took all my similar blues and did a tester, photographed in natural and artificial light and ended up mixing a shade from what I had - this is the analysis.. It is what it is, there are no colour pics so sue me if I am wrong... ..while waiting I busied myself and there is absolutely no construction remaining.. Pitot tube done - complex little thing.. ..cockpit canopy done, another complex little thing - i hate doing transparencies as they are just a huuuuuge opportunity to fu#k up.. also all the beaching gear was made of plastic and wood, and the wire wheels finished.. ..again with no colour photos, I painted them what I thought / interpreted - basically battleship grey as it's likely marine paint.. ..added the petrol cans and trolley.. ..and thats it - the next time I post, it will be all painted.. wish me luck ..in other news, I have decided on my next subject - something I have wanted to do for ages but thought it wouldn't fit in my display cabinet - I measured again and I think I can just squeeze it in - any ideas? TTFN Peter

Yes! All sorted now Thanks Peter

fantastic! enjoy your time off Jay - can't wait to see what is next Peter

thank you chaps, you are all so very kind Well Jay, having just done the wings I do have pains from RSI - it will pass, but yes sometimes I just have to push through the pain Exactly Chuck, it is an adjustable trimming tab, but only on the ground - suits me, as it makes it easier to build So, lots has gone on the last few weeks... ..the propeller was made as a 3D print which I found very hard to do as it's a complex shape which has oblong roots and quite a twist.. - the spinner cap is machined from solid aluminium so it can be polished like the original.. ..I started the wings by filling the plastic frame with foam & filler - this was then refined many times and note they are complete with the ailerons in place so they can be cut out later... ..after a lot of finishing, the ailerons were removed... ..and so to the skinning... I drew out the plans that copied the layout of all the fastners that cover the entire surface.. by the time I finished I selected all objects in the drawing and for the four wing surfaces there were 8,962 rivets... that is bordering on the ridiculous and likely as many as I have done on entire airframes before.. ,,nothing to do but get started, so here is a typical panel - the small dots are one rivet depression, the big dots two, which was even more demoralising.. ..also seen is a template to score out a hatch with a pin in a pin vise.. ..after 3 days and a very sore set of muscles they were done... ..no time to rest though, and the ailerons were completed.. ..the wings were added using JB weld and given a day to set, then I could start the fillets - I have not done the front ones as they need to also cover the forward strut mount.. ..with the wings on, I could add the belly oil cooler assembly - as with the fuselage sides this was a 3D printed buck over which the metal sheet was fomed.. ..in two parts, it stretches all along the lower fuselage.. ..with so much skinning going on, I fancied a change and so started on the beaching trolley - well at least the wire wheels of the trolley.. I 3D printed a hub, a rim and a jig.. ..and then bent a lot of piano wire spokes and started to populate them ..and the finished wheels, along with some Pratts petrol cans I have seen in pictures with the airframe.. ..and so before the painting starts next week, some final shots in all her nakedness... ..time to start thinking about the finish... until next time TTFN Peter

Wonderful work Tom, real master craftmanship and I am glad you overcame it so we can see more soon It is just looking so 'right' now & the transparency work is top class I marvel at how you can work on something delicate like that where you need access to all angles and are constantly handling the model and all the while in the background is 4 feet of wingspan knocking about Peter

what a relief! you must be beside yourself Jay This is a magnum opus in every sense - and such a joy to watch Peter

Hi everyone thank you for your kind comments, really encourages me to do better Hi both - for skinning I exclusively use Evo Stick contact adhesive, which is diluted with it's own brand cleaner to the consistency of single cream - this is then brushed on both surfaces and left for a minute or two to go off before application. Very occasionally, I use thin CA for an errant edge to hold it down.. I finished the floats and detailed the struts, all done with litho - this includes some very long, this one piece multi hundred rivet strips that run the length of each chine.. the struts were detailed as well.. ..next up the tailfeathers... the stabiliser seems to have overlapping panels, with the elevators a joggled but flush panel edge... ..the card formers I made had tiny brass 'L' sections added to the trailing edge and were filled with P38 - then the skinning started with the outer edges as the panels overlap in this direction.. ..tape and dymo tape guides used to make one piece wrap around panels.. ..the elevators were also done and interstingly have a sheet extension at the trailing edge so this was copied by leaving the brass sheet core exposed.. ..the rudder was a sheet brass core with plastic ribs, then covered with scored thin plastic sheet to represent linen - I can't see any evidence of rib tape, but there is a characteristic rib feature i need to add (perhaps this is tape?) ..after covering, I added the Flash Gordon style counter weights.. ..and while not fitted yet, the tail is virtually complete.. ..might do the prop next as it is starting to come together.. TTFN Peter