denders

Thanks, Alain and Troy. I don't have that book, although every time it comes up in conversation, I say "I have that book" until I go look for it. I did it again today. I do have a couple of photos that show that spinner extension and I've added a piece to my printed parts to add it to the AlleyCat spinner. The first picture is the AlleyCat supplied engine and the second picture is the AlleyCat propeller. The 1/8" tube is something I added to be able to handle the propeller for painting, etc. (It's not glued in place.) You can get an idea of how AlleyCat was representing that spinner extension. The rear of the propeller/spinner went into the large opening on the engine. I did my last pre-build parts printing and testing today. Not all the cylinder heads printed correctly because I overlooked some supports that the slicing program didn't automatically add, this time. The front row only has 6 cylinder heads. I shortened all the cylinders, slightly, so they would all fit without having to grind out the inside of the fuselage to fit. Not everything is positioned properly in this photo but it gives the idea of how much will be visible. The printed engine is going to sit on the backs of the exhaust pieces, once they're glued in position. And I'm not sure that they're aligned or if I'll have to add a little to one of them to get the engine to sit properly. I'm also pondering how I'm going to work this out with the exhaust pieces and masking them while I do the fuselage painting. Hmmm. I still need to work out the position of the wing, as mentioned earlier, too. Thanks for looking. Dave

Dan, you need some of this. It's basically lead powder for swing weighting golf clubs. I don't remember where I got it though.

Kev, do you have a MAC valve on the end of your hose? It also serves as the female end of the quick connect. Your comment about the pressure adjustment on your compressor jogged my memory. A while back, I was having problems with an acrylic paint that I was using and took the airbrush I was using apart and cleaned everything. Mostly out of frustration. I don't remember how I eventually figured it out, but somehow in handling the end of the hose, I managed to screw the MAC valve a good ways closed.

Amazon. Search airbrush parts and accessories. It may be included with "Cleaning sets" but I think I found it as a single item too. And, no, it didn't come with my Iwata set, I just have it stored in the case.

It looks like it is a Bump Map for a 3D model and that is how the model is UV unwrapped for texturing.

Well, there's the Iwata grease in the little tubes, Paasche has a light oil, and there's Badger REGDAB Needle Juice. I've actually stopped putting any of that on the needle. I just sort of got the idea that the lubricant was causing problems with the acrylic paint.

Thanks guys. I printed another version last evening with some corrections and spent some time this afternoon working out what to change to get a positive location for it in the fuselage. I have another change that I'm pondering before I print another test. Edit: P.S. I'm not wild about transparent green, it's just what came when I ordered resin with the printer.

Don't draw any blood. It's really pointy. I had edited the post to include the Badger airbrush reamer part number. It makes it really easy to remove a twisted off nozzle, just in case.

Yes, there are online printing services. I haven't any idea what they cost. Or what they require. Edit: I'm going to assume that Fancherello Models is going to supply the STL file. It then would have to be run through a "Slicing" program which would output a file for a specific printer.

Kev, when I said there's an extra screwdriver and the brass-colored thing, I meant that they weren't part of the original kit. Sorry if you misunderstood. I've only been using MRP in my HP-C+. I paint and then pour the remainder back into the MRP bottle. I have a 4 oz. squeeze bottle with hardware store lacquer thinner in it. I squirt some of that lacquer thinner into the airbrush cup, use a cotton bud to clean down the sidewalls, spray some of that through the airbrush. The rest is poured into a jar. I repeat that a second time. I pull the needle and squirt a few drops of lacquer thinner into the cup while holding the trigger down. It sprays out immediately because there isn't a needle in place. (Make sure you have air on otherwise the lacquer thinner could run back into the air valve.) I then wipe off the needle, even if I don't think I see any residue on it. Then put the needle back into the airbrush and spray a couple of drops of lacquer thinner again. I'm not sure when I last did a deep clean on it. BUT, like I said, I only use it for MRP (and SMS) paints. SMS isn't as thinned as MRP, it does take a little more effort to clean it. I don't use the HP-C+ for acrylic paint, I have other airbrushes for those paints.

Kev, I have one of each, I use the HP-C+ most of the time. (There are others too.) 1. The H&S, which needle and tip do you have in it, 0.15, 0.20, or 0.40? I don't have any of the SMS Super Silver, but it sounds like it may be a high particle content paint and there are too many solids for the size of the needle/tip. A possibility? 2. The HPC+, I'm going to throw this parts diagram in here first. When you draw the needle out the front and it's covered with paint, that would suggest that paint is still in the bottom of the cup and perhaps further back. I guess it depends on how much paint you're talking about. Most of the time when I draw the needle out, there's a small amount of paint which I clean off on a paper towel with a drop of thinner on it. But that's after I've run some thinner through the airbrush. I draw mine out the back. So, parts I1257 and I7251 are the rear seal, it keeps paint out of the air valve. How snug is the needle when you slide it in? There should be some resistance there, not a lot, but some to indicate that the seal is going to do its job. Too much resistance and it'll affect how the needle works in flow control. If you look in from the rear, you'll see screwdriver slots in the metal piece. With a screwdriver, you can adjust it. It should only take a small rotation to do the job. I'm talking like at most 30 degrees. I'm going to throw a few more photos here. I'm one of those guys who doesn't mind spending a little money to take care of my tools. The Iwata tool kit has some very useful tools. There is an extra screwdriver in there and the brass-colored thing. The brass-colored thing is a reamer which I think is better than a wire for cleaning out the nozzle. Found on Amazon. The red thing in the tool kit is better for removing and replacing the tip. You're less likely to over torque the tip and twist if off. I've done that with one of those 'cheap' brands and that little wrench that comes with them. And for what it's worth, Badger makes a little 3-flute reamer that can be used to extract the broken off tip. I forget the part number. If I remember it or find it, I'll edit the post. Edit: The Badger part is 50-061. It is probably too large to use as a reamer in the Iwata type nozzles. But as mentioned, it's great for removing a twisted off nozzle. I haven't watched any of the posted videos, but I've sworn off using pipe cleaners for cleaning the airbrush. They leave too many fibers behind in the airbrush. Dave

This one? I've got a lot of stuff like this in a chest of drawers in the closet of my "office". The stash has grown to cover up the chest of drawers. So, you made me dig it out. I've probably had this one for a couple decades. The 'older' set is what I was using to polish the '57. I haven't looked at the bottle of polish to see if it's okay. The bottle from the other set went bad and is long gone.

Have a look on Amazon. I've got this saved in my 'shopping list'. Micro-Mesh 9 Sanding Sheet Introductory Woodworkers Kit with a 2 inch by 3 inch Foam Sanding Block - Sandpaper Sheets - Amazon.com

Well, first assembly, some changes needed. It's raining here, so I don't want to put the paint booth exhaust in the window to put some paint on it. Please ignore the hole for the prop shaft, I didn't leave a sufficient starting point for drilling. The rear part for how I was thinking I was going to mount it inside the fuselage is too small, it passes through the opening. It may be too short too. I've also noticed in the photos that when I combined the crank case and gear housing into one piece, I forgot to copy over some details too. Testing fit, as Thierry mentioned above, I may have to grind out a little inside the fuselage to get the second row of cylinders to fit and be able to close the fuselage. Onward!

Another set of parts. The cylinders look better, but I'm not sure how they'll look with paint on them. All the parts did print successfully, though. I'll work on assembling them tomorrow and see how it goes, what it looks like. I already think the governor is too small. There are extra cylinders and pushrods there. This is the first time with the crankcase and gearbox all in one piece with extra to theoretically touch the back of the open space in the fuselage. Who knows, in the end I may just adapt these pieces to replicate a piece like the AlleyCat part (with 7 cylinders ) to make life simpler. But it's good experience.

Thanks, Thierry. I'm guessing I may have to do that. I'll see once I've got a good set of parts. It's been an experimentation. I had gotten the printer a year ago??? and started working on items, then I let it drop, feeling like I just wanted to build stuff. I've created a piece that, in theory, should sit on the exhaust pieces, once in place to position the engine the right depth in the cowling. I haven't worked out how I'm going to position it yet. But, I'm also learning the support size and positioning as well as making the pieces so they create less stress on the supports, etc. while printing. I've ended up with the beginnings of some parts stuck to the FEP.

So, I printed the parts while I was doing other chores this morning. The crankcase pieces didn't come out. I imagine I need more supports or heavier supports. I lost one cylinder and a couple of the pushrod assemblies. The cylinders are probably acceptable because there won't be much to see inside the cowling, but I'm going to see if I can improve on them.

Tomorrow's project.

Wellllll...... this is where it's at, atm. It's not a thing of beauty and there won't be much visible inside the engine cowling with that spinner that was used on the Ki-100. It's not rally accurate as far as the cylinder head go. It does show the 'different' arrangement of the pushrods. Note, btw, the wireway for the plug wires is in the back of the engine. The wires come through between the cylinders to connect to the spark plugs. I haven't looked at it, maybe there isn't a wireway and it's just a bowl of spaghetti from the distributor. I've not printed anything like this yet. I still need to model something for the governor. I need to break it down into printable pieces, like the cylinders. I'm thinking that the fins on the cylinders in theory have an acceptable thickness, but I'm not sure yet how they'll actually turn out. I'm figuring on having to redo the cooling fins. This is much more (depth) than the AlleyCat piece, so I'll have to work on being able to mount it too. The indent in the front of the gearbox is just there as a 'starter' for drilling a hole for the prop shaft.

I've been blessed with some additional engine information, so I'll see what I can model up that's reasonable and try printing it. Troy, if it matters, I've also had it pointed out that the wing was moved forward 80mm on the real aircraft, but AlleyCat doesn't seem to have accounted for it. That's about 2.5mm in 32nd scale.

Thanks, Chris. There's a breather in the kit, just haven't put it in place. And I've got the firing order in a notebook from way back. I think there's a coil in here too or else I'll make something. I resized the distributor and reprinted it too. Not as tall now.

Troy, thanks, but the problem is that the E&T engine is the type used in the Ki-44 and it's too large in diameter for the Ki-100. So, I imagine the engine from the Ki-44 kit will be too large too. I've actually spent a good part of today working on a 3D model of an engine to try printing. And I've been looking at how to get the 2nd row of cylinders represented and still have an easy way to mount the engine in the AlleyCat fuselage. This unfortunately is the only good photo that I have of the Ha-112-II engine. (MMP "Japanese Aero-Engines" by Goodwin and Starkings) I've since noticed what Loic was mentioning about the pushrods for the second row of cylinders. Anyone have some other decent photos? I'd like to have a better idea of how the gearbox looked too.

That is cool! Really, really nice!

Yeah, I just changed the model to make it shorter. I'll see what damage I do, pulling things apart. I think I'll print the new ones tomorrow.

Well, this came in the mail today. It looks very nice. But.............. There's no way it fits inside the fuselage parts without cutting off, minimum, all the rocker covers. Looks like I need to get a Ki-44 kit to use it in. I guess I should start a 3D model and print it. Time to pull out what info I have, take some measurements, and get to work.