moldmkr78

Hello, Here is another rendition of Tamiya's excellent P-51D. I've always had a liking for the Blue Nose Mustangs, so I thought I would try one and see how i would do. This one took a LOT less time than my B-17!
 
Enjoy!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Hello, Here is another rendition of Tamiya's excellent P-51D. I've always had a liking for the Blue Nose Mustangs, so I thought I would try one and see how i would do. This one took a LOT less time than my B-17!
 
Enjoy!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Thank you all for the great comments! 
 
Kev, of course you can publish it!
 
I finished this on Tuesday and will be brining it to McMinnville this weekend. 

Hello, Here is another rendition of Tamiya's excellent P-51D. I've always had a liking for the Blue Nose Mustangs, so I thought I would try one and see how i would do. This one took a LOT less time than my B-17!
 
Enjoy!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

A couple more....
 

 

 
And a couple period shots...
 

 

 
 
 
 

All done. The decals behaved impeccably as usual. These are Pheon lozenge and the new Jasta 17 decals. My own oil wood grain and bobs buckles with Gaspatch guns. The mat is meadow grass from modelscene.
 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 

 
 

 
 

Hello everybody,
 
Thanks for the great comments! I almost forgot that I had added lights to it in order to show off the interior. So a couple more pictures....
 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for looking!

Thanks for the kind words everyone. This has been an absolute blast to build. I often find myself up till 2AM working on it. The PE is particularly challenging, but I think I'm getting the hang of it.
So far, the fit and finish of the plastic is almost Tamiya quality, however the instructions leave much to be desired. Especially on a kit this size.
 
The woodgrain in the cockpit is an Ushi decal. All of the other woodgrain on the floors, doors and ammo boxes were done with a Modelmaster Wood color enamel with Burnt Umber and Burnt Sienna watercolors and a short, stiff brush. I prefer using watercolors because just a touch of the tip of the brush on my tongue allows me to move the woodgrain patten around until it looks right. Then I spray it with a gloss lacquer clearcoat, then weathering. 
 
Now on to the Radio Compartment
 
Right Side Radio Compartment:

 
Size comparison to a toothpick:

 
Left side Radio Compartment:

 

 

 
 
 

More fun!!!
 
These guys took over an hour per set!

 

 

 
 
The Eduard Bomb and Bomb Bay sets are cool, but very delicate.

 

 

 
 

Greetings,
 
First, I must say that I have never posted a build before. Fortunately, my wife usually makes supportive, positive noises which is usually good enough for me.
 
I've only built 3 other planes (Tamiya Spitfire XVIe, A6M5 Zero and a Trumpy Corsair) since I started back up in the hobby about 2 years ago after about a 38 year hiatus. I was a plastic injection mold maker for almost 30 years and still work as a plastics engineer. I get the same....rush...satisfaction...gratification...whatever you want to call it, out of building large scale models that I used to get when building molds. It's a great feeling of satisfaction to finally close up a mold after 300 hours of blood and sweat working on one or, in the model world, glueing on the last little fiddly bit after months and months of fiddly bits. Unfortunately, I still have months and months of more fiddly bits before I finish this beast, but what fun it's been so far!
 
I must say, this model is going together superbly. If anyone is hesitant because of the shape and detail issues they've heard about, all I would say is go for it! Hey! It's a 1/32 B-17!! Whodathunk we'd ever see one of these? The plastic is fantastic - the directions suck - and the fit and finish is spectacular! I finally closed up the fuselage last week, and it went together so well that in most places on the seams, no filler was needed. I've used a lot of Eduard and other AM on this bird, and boy, is some of that stuff tiny!
 
Anyway, I've taken a few pics along the way and, thought I would share some of the progress thus far. Enjoy!
 
 
First, The Front Office:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
I'll post more tomorrow....
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A few more...

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Thought I would try one in B&W to get a feel for the historical perspective.

 
 
 
I have a couple more things to complete, like the antenna wires and a little more weathering, but I wanted to take advantage of the rare sunny day here in Oregon and get some outdoor shots.
Be sure to have a look at my WIP thread http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=53093 for all of the interior and engine details.
Thanks for looking!!

Have a look at mine.... 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=55650&hl=%2Bd-day+%2Bdoll
 
It took about 10 bottles of various shades of Alclad.

Hey Brian,
 
Looks good so far. Quick question; Are you using a CAD program to design with i.e. Pro/E, Solidworks, Unigraphics, etc? This is necessary for transferring the data to a mold shop. Your 3D program should be able to export one of these types of 3D files; .igs or .stp. An .stl file is only good for rapid prototyping. It won't work for mold design or tool path generation.
 
One tip for plastic part design: Try to keep a constant wall thickness throughout the entire part. You want to avoid going thick to thin or visa-versa. If you do a cross section thru the x axis of the above part, you would see a thick section at the top left. Make it the same wall thickness as the main part of the fuselage. You will get a "sink" condition in the thick areas if you don't.

Hi Brian, 
This seems like a pretty ambitious goal. I admire your desire too bring this to fruition. Sign me up to buy one if it comes to pass.
 
I don't know what your experience is with plastic injection molded parts but I assume that you have experience designing plastic parts for injection molding (not just designing 3D models) or know someone who does? I only ask because it's not a simple or inexpensive process to bring even one plastic part to completion, let alone the 400+ parts in a modern model kit of this size. Just laying out the parts so they are balanced on the tree will present a challenge if you don't know how molds fill with plastic. Among many other details, there are things like wall thicknesses, draft angles and shut offs (two pieces of steel coming together to create a hole in plastic) that need to be designed properly in the plastic so the parts can 1) successfully fill with plastic, and 2) successfully eject from the mold when cooled.
 
I'm sure that the big companies use Moldflow Simulation software (or similar) to simulate mold filling in order to find thick and thin areas in the parts (sink and short shots) and determining gate sizes so there is a balanced fill within each part and within each mold. This process will be crucial to successful development of your kit.
 
Also, just for a reality check, you are looking at probably 10-12 molds needing to be built at a cost of $50,000 - $80,000 each if they are built in China. If you build them in the U.S. they'll cost 20% more. And that's if you give the moldmaker parts that are fully designed for manufacturability. If they have to do any of the stuff I discussed above, your costs can easily triple. The lead time to build molds of this magnitude is going to be in the 8-10 week range each (even in China). So unless you can find a shop or two that can take on and build 10 molds at once, you're probably looking at 30-40 weeks to get all the molds built.
 
I don't mean to be a downer and maybe you've already thought of all this, but if not, be aware that there is a lot more to your project than just designing a model aircraft that satisfies all of the requirements todays modelers will demand of your final product.
 
-Scott

Hi Brian, 
This seems like a pretty ambitious goal. I admire your desire too bring this to fruition. Sign me up to buy one if it comes to pass.
 
I don't know what your experience is with plastic injection molded parts but I assume that you have experience designing plastic parts for injection molding (not just designing 3D models) or know someone who does? I only ask because it's not a simple or inexpensive process to bring even one plastic part to completion, let alone the 400+ parts in a modern model kit of this size. Just laying out the parts so they are balanced on the tree will present a challenge if you don't know how molds fill with plastic. Among many other details, there are things like wall thicknesses, draft angles and shut offs (two pieces of steel coming together to create a hole in plastic) that need to be designed properly in the plastic so the parts can 1) successfully fill with plastic, and 2) successfully eject from the mold when cooled.
 
I'm sure that the big companies use Moldflow Simulation software (or similar) to simulate mold filling in order to find thick and thin areas in the parts (sink and short shots) and determining gate sizes so there is a balanced fill within each part and within each mold. This process will be crucial to successful development of your kit.
 
Also, just for a reality check, you are looking at probably 10-12 molds needing to be built at a cost of $50,000 - $80,000 each if they are built in China. If you build them in the U.S. they'll cost 20% more. And that's if you give the moldmaker parts that are fully designed for manufacturability. If they have to do any of the stuff I discussed above, your costs can easily triple. The lead time to build molds of this magnitude is going to be in the 8-10 week range each (even in China). So unless you can find a shop or two that can take on and build 10 molds at once, you're probably looking at 30-40 weeks to get all the molds built.
 
I don't mean to be a downer and maybe you've already thought of all this, but if not, be aware that there is a lot more to your project than just designing a model aircraft that satisfies all of the requirements todays modelers will demand of your final product.
 
-Scott

Well, I must say that while building the B-17 and bending, folding and gluing a sh*t ton of PE, I thoroughly enjoyed the experience. It was a heck of a lot of work, but the realism and the detail that it offers is unbeatable. And really, I found that once I developed a technique, I stopped watching parts fly across the room and managed to handle them pretty efficiently. As with any skill, it takes practice and patience to perfect.
 
I understand that it may not be everyone's cup of tea, but for me, no model of mine would be complete without the added extra detail offered by companies like RB, HGW and Eduard.

Superb job! Always been one of my favorite aircraft. I've wondered how this model builds up. It's good to see it handled so well by you, Angelo.
I just bought one of these old kits a couple weeks ago. I'm planning on building it and presenting it to my brother. He was in the 1st Air Cavalry Medevac Unit and flew in one of these in Vietnam in 1967/68. I'd like to do it in Medevac Unit markings if I can find some.

A few more...

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Thought I would try one in B&W to get a feel for the historical perspective.

 
 
 
I have a couple more things to complete, like the antenna wires and a little more weathering, but I wanted to take advantage of the rare sunny day here in Oregon and get some outdoor shots.
Be sure to have a look at my WIP thread http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=53093 for all of the interior and engine details.
Thanks for looking!!

Hello! Thanks for looking! This model has been an epic build. I don't think that I am a slow builder, yet I figure I have well over 400 hours in this amazing model. Every Eduard photo etch set was used in the build except for the flaps. I used the Profimodeller landing gear as well as Brassin wheels. KitsWorld stencils and Zotz decals were used for markings. Both are excellent products and laid down very nicely. 
 
The Alclad paint went on very nicely and, to my eye, it looks very much like an aluminum aircraft.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

Hello everybody,
 
Thanks for the great comments! I almost forgot that I had added lights to it in order to show off the interior. So a couple more pictures....
 

 

 

 

 
Thanks for looking!

Thanks for the comments guys!
 
So I got to thinking....I want to take this to Seattle for a show in a couple weeks. This thing is very fragile with lots of things (13 gun barrels!!) sticking out that break off very easily (ask me how I know   ) How do I transport something like this? Well, laying awake pondering this, a custom box is what came to mind. So, when I created the display base, I made it so that it was the bottom of a box. I made 4 walls that could be removed and a lid that slides into place. The box measures 33x33x12 and fits perfectly in the trunk of my wife's car.
 
Have a look and let me know what you think:
 
I made a cradle to keep her off her legs during transit.

 
The sides are held on with 8-32 thumb screws

 

 

 
She fits perfectly!

 
I used velcro to hold down the wings and rear fuse.

 

 

 
All closed up! I hope she's nice and protected in there.

 
 

A few more...

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Thought I would try one in B&W to get a feel for the historical perspective.

 
 
 
I have a couple more things to complete, like the antenna wires and a little more weathering, but I wanted to take advantage of the rare sunny day here in Oregon and get some outdoor shots.
Be sure to have a look at my WIP thread http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=53093 for all of the interior and engine details.
Thanks for looking!!

Hello! Thanks for looking! This model has been an epic build. I don't think that I am a slow builder, yet I figure I have well over 400 hours in this amazing model. Every Eduard photo etch set was used in the build except for the flaps. I used the Profimodeller landing gear as well as Brassin wheels. KitsWorld stencils and Zotz decals were used for markings. Both are excellent products and laid down very nicely. 
 
The Alclad paint went on very nicely and, to my eye, it looks very much like an aluminum aircraft.

 

 

 

 

 

 
 

A few more...

 

 
 
 

 

 

 

 
Thought I would try one in B&W to get a feel for the historical perspective.

 
 
 
I have a couple more things to complete, like the antenna wires and a little more weathering, but I wanted to take advantage of the rare sunny day here in Oregon and get some outdoor shots.
Be sure to have a look at my WIP thread http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=53093 for all of the interior and engine details.
Thanks for looking!!