Dandiego

So today I am working on the engine exhaust area. I have painted and installed the interior exhaust portions. I have had a problem with the nozzles themselves. As printed, in one piece they will not slide into place they are too big. So I have cut them into 2 pieces. This allows the units to be fit into place and then glued back together. Still lots to do before I can call this area done. Dan

I have been refining the paint work. I have cleaned up all of the camo edges and have added a black walkway stripe along with a light gray border along the flying surfaces. The control surfaces have been painted and will be added next. I will be fading the paint on the top surface and will be adding drawn in panel lines top and bottom. Next will be the engine nozzles and exhaust area. The F-23 had heat absorbing/diffusing tiles in the exhaust area. I will be trying to replicate this feature. Dan

David, thanks for the info. I used photos of the old model as my research for the launch vehicle. It was the best info I could find. Dan

Oct 1, Saturday. 7000 Beach Blvd, Buena Park. Dan

Well I know what you mean. When I got the files from Chad I just started printing and gluing. I had the front end of the F-103 all glued up with filler and primer before I printed up the back half. Got myself into a pickle or two by being too excited. Only after building it did I understand what the build sequence should be. I think everyone here only kinda read the instructions with a kit. We know what we are doing! I've done this before! Sounds good until you have a collection of parts but no instructions. Makes for an interesting build. I am sure you will figure it out. My suggestion, print out all of the parts before you start gluing. Wish someone had told me that. Dan

Looks awesome Kev. Kudos to you and Pat. Will be following. Dan

Dennis when you scan a part it is just a cloud of dots in your computer. While manipulating it you can assign any dimensions that you want. Dan

I hope to bring this to Orangecon. See you there. Dan

Ok, so the basic camo has been applied to the top of the aircraft. I thought that the F-16 Blizzard scheme might look nice on the FB-23. And I was right! Lots of touch ups still to go. Dan

Camo work has started. Does it feel cold? Grab a jacket, Blizzard warning. Brrrrrrrr Dan

Ok it is white, But there is a story..... Bought a can of spray white to prepare for the camo. Half way through the spray I realized that it was gloss white, and I wanted flat. Well crap. So I gave it an overall coat of gloss white. This turned out ok because it highlighted many flaws in the surface prep. Also being a thicker paint it acted like a primer and filled in a lot of scratch marks. Anyway out with the filler and sandpaper. Long story short, I recoated with flat white and all is well. Glossy. Flat. Even though it is late July I feel a Blizzard coming on. Dan

Well Kev and Tim, lately I have been riding Chad's coat tails. Both the F-103 and the FB-23 are his designs. Dan

Well Kev, it has been a journey. Got my first FDM printer 4 years ago. Started working with cad about 3 years ago. Designed the Vigilante about 18 months ago. I am proud of the Vigilante but others are so much better than I am at cad design. Now that I have a resin printer the prints are so much better. But there is still a learning curve. Resin printing still has its challenges. However the ability to produce one of a kind models is the reward. Traditional scratch building has gone the way of the dodo bird. Dan

Aft and forward fuselage sections have been joined. Oh my. Dan

Cockpits painted and installed. Forward fuselage halves glued together. Dan

Hey today is paint day. Got some flat white into the forward weapons bay and front gear bay. Final color will be gloss white. Some paint on the cockpit IPs. And last for today are the jet nozzles. These were a little hard to fit. They did not want to slide into place. So I had to cut a slot into the nozzle, pinch it in a little before it would fit. Dan

Cockpit work continues. Here is where I am now. Most components have been printed. Both seats have been modified to fit the cockpit tub. Front IP. This is just a second rear IP cut up and rearranged to fit the smaller front cockpit. Didn't want to design a whole new part. A few more details still to install, but paint is near. Dan

Kev, I am no expert, of that I am certain, but I always use the automatic supports generated by the slicer. I have not had a perfect record when doing prints, but 95% I would say. Dan

As I am working on the cockpit I am also adding detail to the forward weapons bay. I have designed some generic panels that will fit between the ribs in Chad's weapons bay. And a few in place. And the final rear IP. Dan

Time to get the cockpit sorted out so that I can close up the fuselage. Here are the side panels and rear IP. I am happy with the result. I will make a few improvements. Rear IP definitely needs some more details. This one was to check the fit into the pit. And a few pieces in place. Since there never was an FB-23 I have had to guess what it would look like. The front cockpit is based on actual photos of an F-23. The rear pit will be based on an FA-18F. Hopefully a semi-close match as I am guessing that they were conceived in the same basic timeframe and therefore might share basic layout and components. Lots o fun. Stay tuned. Dan

Ok both tails on, puttied and primed. Canopy blanks have been filled with Bondo in prep for vacforming. And I have started to detail the forward weapons bay. Lots more to do. Dan

Kev, I share your quest for 3d printing knowledge. For me, resin is semi- expensive. If there is a problem with a print I will try to salvage what I can and fix whatever didn't print well. Those outer wing segments look problematic. I would think that if they were separate pieces the overall print would be easier to print. Also the more complex the print the more problems will arise. Pats design is amazing. Far nicer than anything I can do. For me, I have found that the simpler the shape the easier the print. The engine nacelles could also be separate, making a simpler piece to print and therefore less waste if something goes wrong. Just my 2 cents. Still learning. Dan

Here are the nuts and bolts of how I attach the tails. There is a metal rod and a sheet metal tab. Simple really but this adds so much strength to the joint. Dan

X-3......hmmmm. I have thought about an X-3. Smooth simple lines. But that is the rub. You have to really nail the shape, those simple lines have to be right on or it just doesn't look right. Dan

First tail. This has a long metal rod and a sheet metal tab to increase the strength of the joint. 5 min epoxy was the glue of choice. Dan