tomprobert

It's often a case of trial and error and many years of getting it wrong. The key thing is to have a guide for the scribe that doesn't move all over the place, and for that I use Dymo tape. I also only do light passes with the scriber - this way if it does slip it doesn't do too much damage. Each line you see scribed onto the model is approximately 5 to 7 lighter passes with the scriber, rather than just one or two hard passes. Thanks for the link, Paul - I was aware of the Vector set but it'll set me back a hefty sum to all four engines. I think I have a cunning plan to make something passable using the Hercules cylinders and some plastic pipe for the engine core. The reduction gear housing on the Pegasus is smaller than the Hercules but I may just have to use what I've got. It's going to be very dark in the nacelles, and as long as the number of cylinders is correct I think I can 'fudge' the rest. All the best, Tom

Afternoon guys and gals, Another update for you - can you tell I'm a teacher on school holidays? I've been working on the last of the major airframe construction which has been the vertical stabiliser. Here's how it comes in its raw form: As usual, I had to scribe on the surface details and then I set about making some internal reinforcements. Being such a massive fin, I made some beefy spars from plastic card and used some old scrap sprue to reinforce and help the bonding of the leading edge. The spars were made to protrude from the base of the fin, as they would then be attached through the top of the fuselage and secured to the spar for the stabilisers using Araldite Epoxy glue for a really solid joint: The fin was then blended into the upper fuselage with car body filler, polished and then the missing and damaged panel detail reinstated. Unfortunately, the distinctive curved fairing at the lower rear of the fin was missing in the kit, so I fashioned the basic shape of the fillet from plastic card and blended everything in with filler - see the red arrow below. This will still need some more tweaking when I work on the turret as it's actually quite a complex shape at the back end: I've also added some Evergreen ribbing on the rudder in an attempt to match the elevators - this has since been sanded right back and is much more subtle: It's now looking more and more like a Sunderland: It's good to get the main construction done and I've been on a bit of a roll... the next logical step will be the engines so I'm off to do some head-scratching about how I can convert a 14-cylinder Hercules engine (from the Revell 1/32nd Beaufighter) into a 9-cylinder Pegasus. Should be fun! Until next time, Tom

Wow. I’d missed somehow and I’m glad I stopped by. I love watching a master at work - this is already shaping up really well, Ben! All the best, Tom

Hi Tom, this will be finished on beaching gear so this will have to be scratch built. The struts should be relatively straightforward but I may need to explore getting the wheels 3D printed. You’re too kind! With parts this size it’s fine to hold one end whilst you sand the other. However, for smaller parts I make a tab from masking tape and hold it that way - I’ll take a picture at some point and show you as that’ll be easier than trying to explain! That’s kind, thank you! I have seen another built on the Seawings website but I’ve never seen another ‘in the flesh’ as it were.

It's as light as a feather, Kev - there's actually very little to the interior so it really doesn't weigh much at all. Lots of empty voids full of nothing other than fresh air... and a few plastic card bulkheads

Many thanks, Kev. Here's picture of my daughter (she's 5) holding it - as you can see it's a large model! All the best, Tom

Cheers, Rich - and yes I'm a frequent visitor! Howdy folks, I've been busy working on the stabilisers of the big Sunderland of late. As usual, the first job was to scribe on the panel detail: I did contemplate removing and scratch-building the elevators, but there is some really finely moulded rib detail that is actually well worth keeping. I'll need to add the hinges and with a dark wash along the hinge line when painted, I think they will look fine. Each section was cut from the backing sheet and sanded to shape, ensuring the correct depth and thickness. As you can see, the fit was pretty good when test-fitted: Given the fact that the stabilisers are likely to get whacked periodically during the remainder of construction, I wanted them to be nice and sturdy so I have added a plastic card spar, as well as the usual scrap sprue treatment along the leading edges. I've also opted for a brass tube spar system that will fit through the fuselage and offer a really strong set up: The stabilisers were then trimmed carefully and added to the rear of the fuselage - careful consulting of plans ensured they are in the correct position: The careful trimming of the mating surfaces, along with the spar structure ensured only a lick of filler was needed along the fuselage to stabiliser join. She's starting to take shape now: She lacks a bit of stability at the moment, so I better get cracking with the fin... Until next time, Tom

Do you have the Hawk ones to hand to measure? I have an F-4J(UK) on the home straight and decalled so could easily measure the F-4 version for you as a comparison. Tom

Thanks - and yes the white plastic doesn’t show up the scribing particularly well. I may use a white primer for this as the undersides are going to be RAF Sky so I’m hoping it’ll ‘pop’ once the paint goes on. Thank you, Craig. To be fair, when using fillers such as P38, it really isn’t difficult to fill such large gaps and get everything blended in - and as it sands so well it doesn’t take all that long to whip such ugly joins into place. It often looks a lot worse than it actually is - the whole wing area was actually filled, sanded and shaped in under two hours. Tom

Good evening guys and gals... Another Sunderland update for you, which has mainly involved filling, sanding and scribing. But from a good old fashioned vacform, who'd expect anything less? The rather unsightly joins at the wing roots have been taken care of over the course of this this week. The first and most challenging task was to eliminate the nasty step seen in the previous update where the wing profile didn't match that of the wing-mounted root. My go to filler for these sort of tasks, P38, soon made short work of that and after an initial sanding session, you can see the extent of the work having been done at the forward wing root: I've since spent a fair few hours finetuning the shape and profile of the roots, and also added the obliterated panel detail back. The wing and root profile now match perfectly, and I can confidently say, 'job done': The undersides still need some detailing but the join was fine here, and as you can see I've boxed in the bomb runners ready for further detailing in due course: I've also added the openings for the double-landing light set up on the port wing: It's starting to take shape quite nicely now... Next up is making something resembling Sunderland stabilisers from these: Until next time, Tom

Agreed - Sunderlands certainly have that boat-like construction and yes, not too dissimilar hull plates. The upper wing surfaces are now on - before joining upper and lower surfaces I reinforced the leading edges of the wings with thick left over sprues from the HobbyBoss 1/32nd B-24. This not only provides strength, but gives a much larger gluing surface. It's not neat and it's not pretty, but it does the job. The joining surfaces for the nacelles were done in the standard way using plastic card tabs: The fuselage to wing join is not great, especially on the left wing. Mind the gap! However, this will be easily dealt with using filler, but it's always a good idea to pack such large gaps with plastic card: I took a lot of time ensuring the trailing edges are level at the roots, as well as the upper surfaces being as level as possible without leaving any hard to deal with steps. However, the wing root moulded in the fuselage is actually a slightly different shape to the wing - this is not unusual with vacforms but it does leave an awkward step to deal with: This will be a job for my trusty P-38 car body filler... The size of this model is now really apparent - I told the wife we should have bought a bigger sofa! It'll now be a case of some filling and sanding - stay tuned! All the best, Tom

Afternoon all, Progress has lowed a little of late due to work: marking exam papers and end of term reports have, sadly, taken priority! Anyway, I've been slowly getting the upper wing surfaces scribed. Dymo tape is used for the more complex curves, with a flexible metal ruler for the rest: I've also, once again, left the wings in their backing sheet for increased rigidity. Fuel tank covers still to be done, but I'm trying to work out the exact shapes of these as I don't think the plans I have are quite right: The next task will be to get the wings cut out, sanded to shape and added to the lower surfaces already attached to the fuselage... Stay tuned! Tom

I have my grubby little mitts on one, and it is a seriously impressive kit. Looking forward to seeing your sheets, Jennings... Tom

Peter, you are in a different class. In fact, a totally different league. Such an inspirational build and the end result is nothing short of stunning. Thanks for sharing the journey with us! Tom

Evening all, With the lower wings scribed, I have been working on making the internal wing spars this week. The plastic is reasonably thick but due to the sheer size of the wings, they have the structural properties of a windsock on a calm day so much is needed... First it was a case of using the plans to make the central spar from plastic card: With this 'master spar' it was relatively easy to fabricate the rest - and in turn each of these was attached to the stub-spars I'd made earlier and of course to the lower wing skins. I used good old fashioned poly-cement as it dries nice and slowly and allows careful alignment which CA, for example, wouldn't allow. Having each wing's dihedral the same as the other is obviously vital - even the slightest misalignment shows in this scale, so being a believer in the simple things in life I simply cut out a cardboard jig from the plans... ...and used this to align the wings: Here you can see how the main wing spars interlock with the smaller stub-spars that protrude from the fuselage: Now it'll be a case of scribing the upper wing surfaces and these will then slip over the internal spar structure and sandwich everything together, making a nice and solid wing... he says hopefully: Scribing the upper wing surfaces looks as if it's going to be a nightmare of epic proportions... I may be a while. All the best, Tom