airscale

even when we made something beautiful, we didn't hang around for long admiring it before we whacked it with the ugly stick... ..gotta love these guys for keeping things interesting... Peter

evening all and Happy New Year so... it's been a good 3 weeks away from the bench what with spending the holidays in the US - wild weather too, 80 degrees one day 40 degrees the next...still a great time had by all but now I am back I need to re-orientate myself with what I was doing on the Hornet.... ..I was trying to work out how to do the cockpit as HpH have not chosen the traditional route - you have to assemble the fuselage sides, put the cockpit in from the top and slide the wings through the slot in the middle... ..this doesn't suit what I want to do as I have lots of detail to add to the cockpit so want full and easy access to it in both fuselage halves before assembly - I needed to work out if I can insert the wings afterwards from each side and whether the geometry stacks up.. ..first a look at the wings taped up with the spar parts - these ensure correct dihedral so I will have to watch out in the future when I get to that.. ...this is how it should be assembled... ..the spar position is where it should be in real life when slipped through the fuselage... ..I mocked up where the headrest goes - this is not a full bulkhead, it is half the depth of the fuselage and sort of hangs in the air so the cockpit is all pretty open around the seat... (this is not how HpH have it though...) ...I added a floor and now I can see how it all goes together I will probably put false walls on the fuselage halves covering the front of the wing slots so I can assemble the fuselage in two halves - then I can insert the wings separately later...(much later...) ...I see lots of complicated cockpit scratchbuilding in my future and apologise in advance to anyone tuning in for an HpH Hornet build all the best everyone.. TTFN Peter

understand the IP needs a bit of help - will send you over some Early Allied Jets instruments today Kev the Xmas post surge may be a killer so don't wait on them! Peter

that is top class thanks for posting

evening ladies ..bit more done before we leave for the US for Christmas.. ..Wolf was right - the ignition leads don't fit - and not only that, they are buried under and behind the exhaust pipes... so, never mind I can either rob the bits back, or use them in othe places around the engine.. ..I started by making the ignition conduit and just added the ignition leads to this... carefully drilled the holes at an angle & threaded lead wire into them... ..also cast all the exhaust pipes for one side of the merlin, and the same side for the nacelle that won't have an exposed engine...these were sprayed with alclad and then a mix made up to discolour the pipe tips.. ..a bit of sooty weathering and I dry fitted them to the cylinder head - as you can see the ignition wires are now barely visible... ..the weld beads became visible with some careful painting... ..and dry fitted to the engine... ..pretty happy how they turned out, but then they do represent about 8 hours at the bench... ..just need to repeat the whole process to make the pipes for the other cylinder bank - jeesh will do that when I am back after New Year thats it for now my friends.. TTFN Peter

what Peter said... it's a B17 lets move on.. all kits have issues, if we debated and got heated about all of them I don't think anyone would build anything.. ..this place is about history, people, models, friends and a nice place to hang out - lets not change a thing, just add a little perspective to what has become what seems like dominant nonsense Peter

think you are right Wolf - when I offered them up I don't think they will fit I will have to make the engine bearer and see what I can play with.. me too - the ones in the pics are 0.5mm at the spark plug and 0.8mm where the connector is joined to the ignition wire - these are the sizes with the most applications I also stuck some of the bolt heads into plasticine to make moulds as I use so many I tried casting a few in resin - seems to work but are ultra fiddly as they don't have the 'shank' to hold on to Peter

call Ann at PPD - they are brilliant and do one-offs no problem just need layered artwork in Corel or Illustrator I paid £29 for a one-off set for my Sea Fury to give you some idea of price ..they do all our stock and the finesse and service is second to none Peter

evening folks & thanks for stopping by ..been going slowly nuts here trying to sort the Merlin ingnition harness and the exhaust pipes... repetitive and tiny microscopic stuff.. ..first up the spark plug leads that feed into the ignition conduit - you can see they are an angled assembly with hexagonal fastenings and a ball shape at the axis... ..I bent some micro tube and made the ball from a drop of thick CA - micro nuts from scale hardware act as the fastenings... ..with some lead wire and assembled.. ..I added some Taurus spark plugs and laft the finish apart from painting the balls - have done 12 thinking the ones on the inner faces of the 'V' cylinder banks would be hidden - no such luck, I will need to make 12 more sometime... ..I also made a mould to cast the R/H exhaust pipes from resin... ..I had refined the master and re-did the weld beads - I was worried the tube end would be too fragile, but they turned out ok.. ..then I needed to make the 'siamese' rear pipe - I used the base of a failed casting and made the rest with card and big blobs of CA to fair it in - after quite a bit of shaping I had one finished... this one is in a mould now and it may be a problem getting it out due to the bridge between the pipes.. ..this is how they look with a dry fit.. ..thats all for now.. TTFN Peter

wow - I go away for a week and come back to these kind reviews - thanks Nige ..the close up is great - I always marvel at how Ray at Fantasy Printshop does it - indeed a testament to his skills Hi Tony - no plans for the instruments you mention, but early next year will be a comprehensive (but generic) modern jet set for ejection seats, undercarriage placards and weapon placards - it's just taking time to research, as my thing is props so I haven't got the same level of reference sources to draw upon for jets ..anyways, thanks again Nige - hope you enjoy using them.. Peter

thank you chaps thanks for dropping in Radleigh - yes, I guess I will bring it along to SMW next year - that and a finished Sea Fury been away for a week so not much done - just a little spell tonight.. ..started looking at the exhausts - the kit ones are pretty good, but miss a few subtle shapes and are not suitable to attatch to an exposed engine. As I am using a Tamiya merlin from the P51 kit, I do wonder what the exhausts in that kit are like - they may be suitable? anyways, as I don't know, I thought I would modify the kit ones and cast copies in resin - this is a bit of a burden as I need to do two handed pipes for each side, and the 'siamese' pipe that covers both the the rear outlets..quite an excercise actually... ..these are the real ones and the kit ones - now I look at them they may be from 3D printing as they are sort of ribbed. The difference I want to capture are the flats where they meet the cylinder head, the weld beads, and the welded tube exhaust tip... ..started by cutting off a kit stub.. ..reshaped it, added the fixing plate and the tip from copper pipe.. ..primed and added the weld beads... ..they are a little heavy for my liking, so more work needed... ..will try casting one and see how they turn out - the tips are going to be too fragile I expect to I may fatten the inside with CA before making the mould.. ..I better get on the internet & see what the Tamiya ones are like, as doing four of these and casting them is going to take a while.. until next time.. TTFN Peter

thank you chaps ..didn't have too much time today but managed to get the seat mounting frame and adjustment lever done... ..this is what I needed to build and is common to the Hornet (ahem...) - you can see quite a chunky milled, angled arm with a recess, a handle & grip and another curved casting mounting the handle to the frame... ..this is how the kit represents the seat, mounting frame and lever... ..first up I started to make the angled arm by bending some stock, drilling the holes, and part drilling some rounded ends of the recess... ..worked the part up and fixed it to the ratchet bit I made yesterday... ..turned the handle in a drill, made up the handle casting and the other side and assembled it all together... ..ran out of time before painting it... until next time my friends.. TTFN Peter

..I got an email form David Collins (who has been helping me with research) that pointed out that I had made a schoolboy error and modelled the seat incorrectly - not sure how as I was looking at references all the time, but the seat I based mine on is from a Firefly or something - the DH Hornet has a cut-down back as the seatbelts come via a tensioning wire through the armoured seat back. Not a problem as I just remodelled the seat, but I did also make a cushion which can't be changed so wasted a bit of time there... ..here is the modified version with the lap belt mountings added ... ..also started making the big seat adjustment ratchet that goes on the side - I make parts in brass - drill any holes first and then cut out, then work the part by clamping it in a folding tool.. ..this is the mounting and actually uses the first kit part in the cockpit - the PE ratchet. This bit is all wrong in the kit as it has a ratchet both sides and a very thin needle like lever when the real one has a bloody great torque arm and handle (maybe post that when I have made it and the seat mounting later..) TTFN Peter

sure Nige.. it's really simple and very useful for all sorts of shapes.. ..first you need a male former of the shape you want to make - it needs to be slightly smaller than the finished part in all dimensions just by the thickness of the card. Another rule is there can be no undercuts - imagine draping a blanket over something, it won't 'pull' under any edge but just hang vertically from the object - the same is true for plunge moulding. This means sometimes you need to think about how best to form the shape, or mould in two parts.. anyways, this was the mould of the seat back - cleaned up and primed... ..once the former is finished it needs to be mounted so it stands proud and on a stable platform - this is because we are going to pull the plastic well down over it. Here the seat former is just CA'd to a bit of rod and an upside down throwaway shot glass (for mixing paint dontcha know ..) ..the last part is making the moulding - for this I just CA the edges of a square of plastic card (about 0.4mm I think) to a couple of stiff rods - these can be anything - pencils, knitting needles, whatever. ..place the former made earlier next to the cooker; take the card by the rods and then wave it about carefully about 10 - 15cm over a gas ring until the plastic softens and the rods can be moved independently.. .as soon as this happens, pull the two rods down over the former and sort of wiggle them gently front to back while keeping downward pressure ..lo and behold you will have a shape - may not work first time, but you soon get the hang of it ..then just carefully trim it - I cut the part off the rods with scissors and then trim with a scalpel.. give it a try - take a tamiya paint pot and pull a mould - you will learn lots and see how for example the inner part of the pull will pick up the lid detail and the outer part a much reduced version of it - you can use moulds using either the inner or outer face.. hope that helps.. Peter

ahhh - I sit here in ignorant bliss... ..I don't have a stash (just a lonely Revell Mossie) and take about 2 years to build a model so the economics for me are... well...umm.. comfortable... ..if I lost my discipline I would be in trouble though - so much temptation ..I feel for you guys.. Peter

evening all ..so tonight's episode is a story about a seat... the kit has one of course, but unfortunately it is not as detailed as I would like, so again it's time for some home brew... ..first up are references I found on the web - this is the seat a Hornet has (though this isn't from one) - really nice pictures showing the shape, details and colours - you can see it's actually made from bakelite(?) mouldings rivetted together... ..I also had a drawing David Collins kindly sent me, so could try and work out the complex shapes of the mouldings... I started with the bucket, sides and flanges.. ..to make the curved back, I cut a section from an aerosol lid... ..the seat back actually has a big moulded depression in it which while you can't see with the cushion on, it can be seen from the back. This is more obvious as the Hornet does not have a bulkhead behind the seat (which the kit incorrectly has) but the seat is sort of suspended and is only attached to the floor and armoured seat back - the whole area is very open so it had to be depicted.. ..I stuck a thick bit of card to the bit of lid, shaped it and made a male mould - from that I just plunge moulded the full seat back... ...detailed the back and started to make the 'wings' that feature on the seat sides - these are just bent card and some round rod scraped to a half round and stuck on... ...added the rivets from sprue and other details from brass - the rivets sticking out will be the mounting points for the seat belts... ...primed with mr surfacer... ..the colour is difficult (for me anyway) so I made a start & will try and get the lighter textures as I go... ..will make the cushion from milliput, and the kit includes some lovely, accurate HGW belts so soon have it finished... TTFN Peter

looks like it needs a little bit of work, but what kit doesn't? ...I was expecting it to be a biplane.. Peter

beautiful photo's - thanks for posting Radleigh ..reminds me of all the wonderful builds I missed - with these, it's like paying the tables a visit.. ..spotted one I recognise in there so thanks for that too TTFN Peter

great news, well done Iain you deserve it for your contribution to the hobby and for being a bloody nice chap.. my spiritual home just got even better! Peter

thanks guys been fiddling about making up the instrument panel - on the Hornet the panel is at about a 15 degree angle to the Blind Flying Panel (the cluster of six main instruments). As a result some of the instrument casings and other gubbins can be seen through the gap... ..I started making these from rod and more airscale bits and bobs - also added some of the wiring and a ribbed hose from guitar string... ..there is also a cross-brace so I made this from rod too... ..then I made up the panel proper and detailed it - used instruments and placards. The four dials at the top had to be glazed with future as I when I glazed them the dial face looked too deep inside - I just wish my painting was better... ..going to move on from the fiddly bits and start making up the cockpit cell and seat next... TTFN Peter

thanks folks - you are too kind.. I must admit i do love this part - I have been tempted in the past just to build cockpits from everything I like in 1/24 scale and just forget about the aeroplane! anyways, got a bit more done.. first up I made the Blind Flying Panel - just a card blank with punched out holes and more of our bezels - I drilled tiny holes and threaded sprue for the tiny screws... ..and once finished... ..also made the engine instruments found in a binnacle where the gunsight is on a Sea Hornet - these will be in blue & yellow to bring a bit of colour... ..finished detailing the surrounding panel and sanded down the back so I can put a backplate on it with the instruments... ..soon had the final panel ready for paint... ..I started to lay out the instruments for the Blind Flying Panel from our airscale 1/32 RAF instrument set - these are individually printed so it is just a matter of lining them up on a dark bit of card. Once laid out I wash them in future to secure them... ..they still need glazing and the bezels finishing in a different black, but you get the idea... ..and I have something to work with... ..haven't even looked at the kit parts - sorry - I always build my own! TTFN Peter

thank you chaps for dropping in been fiddling about making the instrument panel for the Hornet - I had made a start but afeter some guidance from David Collins, I found the Sea Hornet IP is slightly different to the one I modelled - he also sent 2 pics of TT202's cockpit which is incredible as now I can build it exactly as it was ..this is the cockpit section David is restoring - quite amazing... thanks and full credit to his website for the image and for all his help - this would all be guesswork otherwise.. ..having scaled a diagram of the Sea Hornet panel, I started the same process as before, punching out the dial apertures.. the duff one is on the right.. ..I detailed the new one with airscale bezels and PE details - I have some seconds that were bent in production or damaged in some way so I use those.. ...built up the structures as best as I could from the photo's I have.. ..still more to do on this, then it's the Blind Flying Panel and then I will glaze and put our instruments in ..love this bit! TTFN Peter

evening folks ..little bit more done and my favourite part - getting the cockpit together... ..started by scaling and printing an image of the panel to 1/32 dimensions and using paper adhesive to stick it to some card.. ...punched out the appropriate apertures and carefully scored the outline... ...broke away the waste... ...and after peeling off the printout, cleaned up the part.. ..started adding details - so far only the engine start buttons and a couple of those brilliant airscale bezels ...also started to make the armoured seat back - I stuck an old bit of a pen into a drill to shape the headrest... ..thats all for now TTFN Peter ...

another 'must read' Jamie - superb job ..I really like the Gekko and the whole idea of modelling end of days like that congrats on the cover too - 'bout bloody time! Peter

thanks chaps - back again... ..a few more mods are needed at the rear of the cockpit opening - the fuselage cut-out is further forward than in the kit and shaped differently to the real one.. the kit has a sloped, radiused shape that needs fairing in with the fuselage as the opening follows it's lines.. I cut a clear template to show what I mean.. ..I used simple 'wands' on a bit of thick card held over the cooker and draped over the fuselage shape.. ..cut, fitted, smothered in CA and sanded... ..after careful measurement I cut it to shape.. ..getting the basic shapes so I am happy before cutting the fuselage in half again to fit out the cockpit.. ...speaking of measurements - thanks to David Collins and John Adams I managed to dimesion the cockpit elements I needed - hopefully of help if anyone is as barmy as me ..they are just my 1/32 version of the info I now have so don't sue me but then the info is first hand ..thats it for today.. TTFN Peter