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brahman104

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Everything posted by brahman104

  1. Go Tom!!!!! When two great minds get together............ Looks brilliant mate. Craig
  2. Absolutely top notch Jay! Craig
  3. I love this Pat! You are a CAD/printing machine!!!! Craig
  4. Thanks Kev! I hope you've plenty of popcorn Jay Thanks Matt! It's good to be back at it. Thanks Pat! Would love to get this one over the line this year...... we'll see how we go! Thanks very much Tom! Always appreciate you stopping by! Well there's little else to do but settle in to the long hard slog that is skinning the wings. And boy oh boy do the undersides have a lot of rivets!!!! This next effort focuses on the inboard fuel tank access panel, with a blistered fairing for the fuel boost pump. Many a conversation with my late friend Terry (TKB), centred around the presence (or absence) of boost pump fairings for the outboard cells, such as on the E model and later. After scouring many photos we concluded that there wasn't, and so the outer one has been deleted. I used the spare kit I have to shape the blister.... The panel has a complex rivet pattern on the border, so I decided to make the panel up from 3 separate pieces. Disregard the initial rivetting around the outside..... And finally the panel is in place..... Not entirely terrible, although I think there is a hinge on the front of the blister I'll have to add, and there may be a little drain hole as well..... Sooooo many rivets!!!!! Onto the outboard tank access panels next, and they have their own challenges...... Thanks as always for looking in! Craig
  5. Incredible work Pat! The stringers and formers really look the business, as does the Bombardier's control panel and table. Craig
  6. Hey Pat, Rivets look great!!! That part was tough on mine too...... definitely helped to make the piece quite oversize and then trimmed it back. You've got a few rivets to go!!! Awesome stuff, Craig
  7. Thanks Ron! Yep, cyclones and all it's not a bad part of the world to live Yes Sir!!!! Thanks Zac! Just a tad warmer than the Manawatu Thanks Tom! If you can still turn out the masterpieces you do on a kitchen table, then I have absolutely no excuse!!!! Thanks Jim! Yep definitely enjoying the new space! Well the Fort has officially gone through her second Category 3 Cyclone and survived (first one was in a shipping container on a boat bobbing around just off NZ). A couple of weeks ago, Townsville was subjected to a fairly rare one (not sure that's true any more these days!), but it was glad to see the house (which is the best part of 90-100 years old) weathered the storm easily. The only casualties being a few broken palm fronds! The bench setup has advanced enough for my to finally resume work on the B-17. After such a long break I'd almost forgotten the process of making the panels (and I had to find and organise all my tools in the first place!) but I was able to make some very slow progress. Firstly though, I thought I'd show you some of my custom tool holders I made using my table saw and laser cutter. A fun exercise, but in the heat of a North Queensland summer, the laser was struggling a little bit The hardest part is trying to work out what tools you want where...... sometimes you only figure it out by doing, but I'm pretty happy with the overall result. I'll add to them in time with some drawers, but the B-17 was calling...... As I said, the hardest thing was trying to work out where I as at and how to do the panels again. Annoyingly, a lot of my reference photos for the underside of the wing had disappeared off my iPad (apple does weird things sometimes!) but I started with the flap first as it was at the rear most part of the wing. At this point, this was the single biggest piece of skinning on the whole project, and I was worried that I'd stuff up the alignment when applying it, but it all worked out quite well. Once I got back in the groove it was the next panel, rear of the spar. A lot of access panels which took a long time to cut out. I have no idea how Peter (Airscale) does it so quickly!!!!!!!!!!! The flap set a record as the biggest panel on the plane, and then this one knocked it out of the park!!!! I think it took me about 5 hours to do. So many rivets, so many more to come!!!! Just remember each rivet is done 3 times too....... At last my friends, she is back where she belongs..... on the bench! Cheers, Craig
  8. Oh my Peter! I think your skinning work has entered yet another dimension....... those "joggled" overlaps, especially on the floats are just pure perfection! What an incredible feat of craftsmanship. Craig
  9. I've said it before and I'll say it again; incredible, groundbreaking work you are doing here Pat!!!!! Loving every minute of this. Craig
  10. Very much enjoying following your progress and innovation here Jay, especially in regards to the transparencies. I have no doubt that you'll endure and succeed, and by default we'll all be better off from your experience! Love it! Craig
  11. Continuing the brilliance Pat! Can I just clarify that you printed the nose cone? The clarity is incredible!!!!!! Ahhh, I remember that pedestal..... one of my first forays into CAD work...... had gaps EVERYWHERE!!! I'm surprised it printed at all . Needless to say, yours is much better!!!!! How thick is the skin out of interest? Exceptional as always! Craig
  12. HK could definitely learned a thing or two from you!!!! I don't know if it's an optical illusion but does the exterior surface exhibit "ripples/flat spots" from the printing process/skin thickness? It looks as though it's not a smooth continuous contour...... if so, that's a very happy coincidence! Fantastic work Pat! Craig
  13. You are my modelling hero Pat!!!!!! What an epic project! Can't wait to see more Craig
  14. Booo!!! Just when it finally aires we get hit by a cyclone and lose power Looks like I have some catching up to do when I finally get the TV back on......... Just my luck.
  15. So much to digest here!!!! Truely incredible Jay! Craig
  16. I love this solution to a very tricky problem. As always your posts are not just a showcase of your modelling talents, but tutorials in practical thinking and model engineering in its finest form! Loving every update! Craig
  17. Wow Peter! Not only a new build but in no time at all you have pretty much the basis of a whole new airframe! There is literally nothing stopping you except sleep I hope the P-39 gets some more love in time, but this not a bad intermission either! Craig
  18. Man this is really incredible! That nose art is amazing mate . Love the presentation of being mounted on the truck too. Craig
  19. Incredible stuff Jay! You've really taken skinning in your stride! As always, your attention to the smallest details is beyond compare. Craig
  20. Right lads (and ladettes), Last update was July; pretty disgraceful but I have a good excuse...... After 4 years we are finally back in a place to call our own again (was definitely over apartment living!!!!!!). With that comes the joy of having all our stuff (well mainly my tools and machinery) under one roof instead of being stuck in storage. It looks like for the most part everything has survived pretty well, but there's a huge amount of setting up and organising still to go. The great news is that the new house is absolutely epic (a gorgeous Queenslander built pre-war) with so much space underneath it has allowed me to have two separate work areas - one for metal working and general shop stuff and the other specifically for modelling and so after 2 international and one local move the B-17 finally has a permanent home! I actually kind of feel like this model has travelled almost as much as the real Swoose! Anyway here's the "heavy duty" area: And here's a general picture of the WIP new bench setup. Still long way to go, but it's definitely the best workspace I've ever had! Look what's on the bench!!!! Hopefully the 3D printers still work. I've only just found the power leads for them again....... If any of you are following the NMUSAF's restoration of the Swoose, you might find this picture familiar..... Work is still extremely hectic at the moment but I'm chipping away at the setup and hopefully won't be too long before I can recommence work on the big girl again! Thanks for continuing to follow along after all these years!
  21. Thanks Gaz! Hahaha! Hopefully the internet is still around by the time I finish this Thanks Matt, yeah not sure how excited I am about it, but the only way is through right?! Thanks Zac, I see that NZ2423 is getting pretty close to flying, I'm pretty excited about those updates!!!!! Hey Tom! Thanks for keeping me honest . Been a bit happening, but things are moving in the right direction!
  22. Agreed! This is absolutely incredible! Craig
  23. Another incredible journey has just begun! I definitely admire the exacting tolerances you set for yourself Jay, which is just one reason why you're on a very tall pillar way above most of us!!!!! Always inspiring. I know you've had some fit/print issues and given the level of accuracy you're going for there's room for improvement, but when I think back to my first forays with the ABS UpMini and what's inside the my B-17's rear fuselage, it's like Wright Brothers versus walking on the moon! Very excited to watch this one unfold! Craig
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