Christoffer Lindelav

Mal,
 
Vad skulle Wallander göra? * 
 
Skål!
 
D.B.
 
( * What would Wallander (Krister Henriksson) do?)

hmmm.. 1/32 Swedish Pilot standing next to a 1/32 Viggen... Ah well I can dream ....!

So it looks like we could get a variety of Mirages from two companies. Cool.
 
It looks like someone chose to render a photo of their CAD design from the perspective of a wingman on the upper left. It appears to match the photo of a Mirage from a similar angle. It may be the same problem that we have with SWMBO if she were to ask, "Do these clothes (or the photo from that angle) make me look fat?" You just can't tell the truth and get away with it unscathed.
 
Had they decided to render the CAD from the side or the top, we might have seen the great arrowhead shape and fantasized about some multicolor camo schemes we just have to have... but we get the view of the big afterburner. Maybe they were just trying to show the power of the engine? They had another rendering of just the engine, so maybe they like that a lot...
 
As for flaws in the CAD, I don't know the plane enough to decide, but it looks nice to me. If there are any, I'd appreciate knowing how to fix them, but I'd appreciate Italerei fixing them first. One would hope that more eyes on their work at an early date could make that possible.
 
Not my favorite plane, but a nice looking one, and it has the same delta shape as a VIggen, giving me hope for one of those in the one true scale. I can see one on my shelf, and hopefully on my bench.
 
Tnarg

What do you mean, "old fashioned modelling skills gradually decline."?
They are all bloody well gone!
Back in the old days if you wanted to make a model you got the plans somewhere and some blocks of wood, preferably balsa, and started carving.
If you were fortunate you had a knife, if not then one's teeth had to suffice.
Back in my day, however, we had to first cut down our own balsa wood tree and strip off its bark, then start carving.
That in itself was a problem since balsa trees are native to southern Brazil and Bolivia and up to southern Mexico.
But we real modelers did not mind, we were real men. We would mount a safari to the deepest, darkest parts of the rain forest to harvest some Balsa trees. 
Unfortunately, on the last safari we lost several members of the group. One got swallowed by a giant snake, one eaten by a tiger and the third was last seen entering a house of ill repute and has never been seen since. All that was left of him was his smile.
Another problem was finding accurate plans. When I started modeling, airplanes had not been invented yet. I had to wait around to 1903 for the Wright Brothers to get off the ground.
And you young whelps complain about injection molded styrene plastic kit accuracy.
In my day....

Yrs truly,
Stephen, the old geezer

Allright.....
 
Postshading is done, this will do just fine for me....first timer for this kind of postshading.....next stop walkways...

 

 
 
/Mal

Armoured glass and gunsight in Place.....For the gunbsight ive used maskol, very veratile to use indeed....
 

 
 
 

 
 
 
More panels in Place...
 

 
Every small step closer to big paintjob...
 
/Mal

Got to love those Saabs.... it's the right thing to do. Tunnan, Draken, Viggen, Lansen, Gripen and 105. I love them all. They are even more attractive with camo colors, airshow colors or national flag colors, and you might even do this one in UN camo colors.
 
Tnarg

Any chance you guys would produce a kit of the Tunnan in 1/32?
 

 
Kev

One of our modeller Mr. Pála have done this "small" project 
 

Ok, i'm jumping in...... need to do something with no rules or rivet counters.... something simply funny.
and maybe weird but very different...

Im starting with this................




and will do my best to make it look like this....




Gonna start my pit tonight and will post some picture soon.
It will be mostly OOB except for the seat and burner can.

But most important, need to find some Swedish decal....oh boy.

Dan.

Thanks Thanks......I were surprised myself, and very honored.
 

 
and this one got a honor prize. my Oob build.
 

 
Big thanks all that did participate at the IPMS Open 08 2015 in Stockholm, those who wonder what the heck 08 meaning, its the regional code for Stockholm.
 
/Mal

Hi !
 
Quick update on the latest progress...
The centre section has been skinned and the rough assembly sanded.
The results are not quite perfect but well, that could have been worst I guess.
 

 

 

 

 

 
Starts to look like a Mirage I suppose

Here are the completed pictures of my First Viggen. 
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Although I still have quite a few unbuilt Trumpeter kits in the stash, I always look forward to their new kits. And continue to hope that they will bring kits of aircraft that haven't been available in 1/32 so far. 
 
Trumpeter has made LSP's popular and probably inspired many other companies to produce big kits. I remember the days that very few kits were available in 1/32 and when guys like Jack built impressive kits out of blops of vacuformed plastic. It made me dream that one day i.m. kits would come of the models built by such talented people.
 
Sure, some Trumpeter models need extra work, but imagine building an F-105 from a vacu kit or modifying the Trumpeter kit. I'm sure most wouldn't even attempt the first option.
 
I have the impression that the rate of new LSP's by Trumpeter has gone down over the last couple of years and I think that's unfortunate. I still would like them to release loads of other kits! Prowler, Rafale, Mohawk, Draken, F-106, F-111, G-91, Defiant, F-102, Fury, Ju-188 and tons of others!
 
And I'll build them too, although I like picking one out of the stash and sitting in front of the tv with the box on my lap, going through the sprues too...
 
Nic

Fun fact: In swedish, "trumpeter" is trumpet in plural.
 
And the dog on my new profile picture wears a funny hat.

Almost done, canopy and winsheald only dryfitted, needing some correction with interior green on edges, also antenna mast, cannon barrels and pitot waiting for epoxy glue which I have run short of. And last but not least the gunsight, which gluing will be quite awkward due to its positioning. After all af this is done, I will make new shots with better light.

Obrigado Hercules 
 
latest progress: I have applied the thrid layer of styren and made a first checkk with primer + sanding and here are the results:
 

 

 

 
Looks quite OK I think... not 100% perfect yet but good enough for now
 
Thanks for following my friends !!

evening folks - hope all are well
 
thanks for stopping by and giving me a boost...
 
 
 
Brian - this build is for you - we are brothers in our adoration for the 'cat. Thanks for hooking me up with Norm Stubbs, he has sent some amazing stuff from the F7F technical manual
 
..also hooked up with the owner of N6178C 'Hello Kitty' and he has been checking in and giving me some guidance - including this rather cool cockpit panoramic..
 
 
 
 
Hi Craig - I feel the same about your early B17 - incredible to watch. The engine is drawn at real size in Rhino though I have a separate file I am working on for the cylinders where I made them bigger so I can scale them down later.. the cocktail stick handle was just shaped with needle files - a round one to create the depression and a flat one to cut into the stick where it would ultimately be cut from the body..
 
so, a few bits done in the last few days.. I wanted to get the rear part of the cockpit switch console finished..
 
..this bit on the right behind the main switchbox... it has some detail and a bunch of wiring & pipework beneath it
 

 
..I made up some of the parts including pipe unions and the mounting for the big handle which is for dropping the landing gear in an emergency..
 

 
..used a spare PE console to make the base this all sits on as it needs to be dropped into the cockpit as one, I can't just mount it onto the floor...
 

 
..a shot of interior green...
 

 
..added the pipework - it all looks a bit pissed (as we say in the UK) now I look at it closely...
 

 
..added some wiring bundles to the switchbox - these were stripped out of an old laptop - I just battered it with a hammer & took some bits I thought might be useful one day - it turns out the bundle that connects the screen to the keyboard is full of ultra small scale wires
 

 
..still need to finish it, but this is where I am at..
 

 

 

 

 
..back soon...
 
TTFN
Peter

I`ve redone exhaust smoke, now to attach cowling, canopy, antennae, undercarriage.........also made position lights on wing of drop of Kristal klear.

Hi folks,
 
I've just finished the HK Models Mosquito test shot and submitted my build article/photos to Brett for next month's Military Illustrated Modeller.
 
Such a nice it to build. Non-fussy, and very tactile. An engineering triumph too
 
Here she is, in her cookie incarnation.
 

Thanks Brian.....
 
 
More to come.....
 
Some weathering process....various techniques....not finnished yet...more weathering later in the build...
 

 

 

 

 
/Mal

Very true, Stoffe- That's why my next scratch project will be something that is better documented than the Viggen. It's been quite difficult so far to obtain reliable information on that bird.
 
WE NEED A "MODERN VIGGEN GUIDE"... or something at least half as good as Jake's books...
 
Cheers
Rainer

@Rainer:
Yes the Tarangus Viggen is a bit flawed but a lot better than the old Esci/Airfix Viggen. I guess some better research could have helped but anyone that has attempted to do a scratch build knows it´s not that easy to get it right.
/Stoffe

Som more crosses...been hard work....yep got spray leaks under them steelmasks...but it is done...next stop..no step line on main wings...then little more chipping...just little...
 

 

 

 

 
/Mal

It lives...though just barely.
 
This project has been very experimental to say the least.  
 
Let me recap the project...no there is too much...let me sum up.
 
So far the I have gone from a hand built master with cast parts so I could make multiple models.  I wasn't happy with the accuracy so I scrapped it.  Thinking CNC one off models was the way to go I tried cutting solid hunks of aluminum.  Successful, accurate, looks dynamite but the process is way too slow and very hard on my machine.  So guess what I have done?  Yep scrapped it.
 
So now I am on the third if not fourth iteration of this jet.  Here is what I have done.
 
I finally found a relatively cheap supplier of machinable foam and wax and I have started over.  I'm still using CNC to cut the shapes of the airplane in a similar fashion to what I have done in aluminum, but I'm not machining so much detail this time.  Now I am machining foam parts that will be sheeted in aluminum, like I did on the first hand built master.  I will then cast parts to make copies of the model.
 
There should be several advantages.  One, the new material cuts MUCH faster and is easier on the machine and tools.  Two, the parts can be more easily fine tuned and mistakes fixed.  Three, I should regain some of the "hand built" look which should capture some of the minor surface variation seen on the real jet.
 
 
So here is where I am as of today.
 
I have completely rebuilt my CNC mill and have increased its accuracy and its machinable area so I can mill larger pieces.  
 
SO NOW THE JAG WILL BE BROUGHT TO YOU IN 1/12th SCALE!!!
 
Here are some of the foam parts:
 
The nose section forward of the cockpit
 

 

 
Vacuum form master for the next section forward, that houses the LRMTS.  This area will start as a vacuum form shell detailed out and should fit a milled lip on the foam parts from the previous photos.
 

 
The change is strategy also required some rework of the CAD model so here some teasers of the cockpit area:
 

 

 
The multi-colors in this shot are coded to the different material I plan to make the individual parts from.
 

 
More later,
 
Timmy!