Hubert Boillot

Brian,
 
I understand your point, yet you only stated your opinions, in a proportion to the love you have for the subject, and the frustration in front of avoidable mistakes.
Again, the negatives comments from others was IMHO triggered by Jiri's answer to you, which you reported, and was a case study of bad customer's relations behaviour ... and you are not responsible for this. Business people handle their business the way they want, and have to live with the consequences of their choices ...
 
Just too bad if it means you friend does not go for a brass-cast landing gear AM. On the other hand, I have read so many times that the opinion of LSP members was insignificant in the grand scheme of things, that maybe this is an illustration that in some instances, the LSP community have an influence on business...
 
For myself, I hope (selfishly ) that the comments about the F7-F will motivate HPH to avoid this type of mistakes on the forthcoming DC-3 ...
 
Keep enjoying yourself building the T-Cat...
 
Hubert

From the pics of their various masters, it looks like they develop PE panels, which they glue to the parts to produce the skin surface before molding them.
Jiri's answer may mean that they cannot unglue the PE sheet without destroying the master...
Not really satisfactory admittedly... I hope that, now that they now the pitfall, they will avoid it on future releases.
 
Hubert

Phabulous looking Phantom !
 
I saw in you build thread you mentioned silvering stencil decals. Don’t worry : it happens on the 1:1 ones as well
 
Hubert

He, He, for a "simple" build, this one is getting more involved every day ...
 
Great job throughout. It's good to see an old model being improved without a fortune in AM stuff, and shows how basic modelling skills well applied can achieve wonders.
 
I personally liked the green thunderbold scheme better, but have to say this spinner is really impressive. For sealing printed decals, I use Microscale's own decal film. It dries tough and gloss and is great. My assumption is also that this one at least has to be compatible with Micro Sol and Micro Set. On my Nieuport (Between the wars GB), I finished it off with a coat Tamiya Clear (I always struggle to remember if it is X-22 or X-21 ) to achieve sheen consistency with the rest of the airframe.
 
Keep it coming :popconr:
 
Hubert

Well you know you want to, Richard ...
 
Hubert

Well, since you asked for it, here is me (a part 5 '3 and 20+ st. ) and my wife Patricia earlier this year in a Sicilian restaurant ...
 

 
... and when I am modelling, with the Optivisor riveted on my forefront. Notice the lovely and trendy mustache the light though the lenses is drawing on my (beautiful - of course ) face
 

 
Hubert

See what you are doing to us Peter ? We are starting discussing the accuracy of the rendition of a stencil on a 1/18 throttle quadrant
 
Hubert

You question is like comparing a Mercedes and a Lada, Mark ...
 
The Lada has a trumpet, to be clear ... and it has only 3 wheels and looks like a wheelbarrow on top ...
 
Hubert

So, tell me, do you really LIKE the Harrier ?
 
Nice (and prolific by my own abysmally poor standards) collection
 
Hubert

C'mon, Ernie, it can't be whispering any louder than a double Orenda blow-torch
 
Hubert

I think Roland has a new passion, i.e. moutain trekking and moutain climbing, and he has plenty to keep him occupied in the Swiss Alps .
 
Haven't seen him for a while, but he is OK AFAIK.
 
Hubert

Amazing work with aluminium. Taking notes and learning a lot.
 
Hubert

This is a typical case where you'd have been better off starting with Echelon's vacform kit, were it available...
 
The Lightning is one of the jets I love, and would have jumped on in 1/32 scale...if there was any good-value for money readily available kit. Unfortunately, Echelon's is not available, and Trumpeter's is not good value for money....Don't want to start another round of Trumpeter bashing, but this illustrates where they get the quality/RSP equation all wrong, and that plays against their image
 
Anyway, excellent work Colin, and a pleasure to follow.
 
Hubert.
 
PS: many years ago, I finished the ID models vac-form 1/48 F1 in treble one Squadron markings, long before Airfix released its injection kit. So I'd love to lay a hand on Echelon's offering...

Hi Barry,
 
The Cruse was one of my favorite jets, with the EE Lightning and the Saab Draken, probably because I was born with them ...
 
Anyway, you are doing this one true justice. Aan awesome thread !
 
Hubert.

Hello all,
 
Back from my vacations, with some (little) progress to share, just to up this topic somewaht .
 
Whilst I was away, I received some new blades fro the Silhouette, and some extra white card in 5 thou. I also found that Evergreen have introduced the next best thing since sliced bread : black plastic card ! I got some in 10 thou thickness.
 
I have tweaked the Silhouette settings to cut the plastic card in both thicknesses, without breaking the blade like the first time ( memo to all with this machine : do not forget to adjust the blade's depth, the cutting speed and the 'paper' thickness in the settinhs before launching a cutting. That should help the life of the blade immensely )
 
So the idea is to redo the cylinders' heads by stacking thin (0.13 mm / 5 thou) fins and thicker (0.25 mm / 10 thou), smaller diameter discs for the heads' "bodies" (that's a strange description isn't it ?). To help visualise the work, the thin fins are white, the "body" discs black
 

 

 
I did a first trial. The concept is simple. Stack the cut-out parts until you get the right height. Then the right half of the stack was filed to a bevel. On this bevel, I glued a new smaller diamter stack of fins and "bodies" to represent the finned exhaust valve body. Then the rocker boxes gave been added, in plastic card. Whils studying the pics of the book more closely, I have found out that my interpretation of the position of the exhaust port was wrong. It is not in the middle of the cylinder head, but on the side of the finned exhaust valve body, facing forward.
 
So the cylinder fro the Whirlwinf engine is asymetrcial: the right side of the head (viewed from the front is without cooling fins (bare one at the base), and the intake port is next to it, facing aft. The left side of the hear (the exhaust gases valve/port) is finned for cooling, and the exhaust port is facing forward. Finally, do remember that the rocker arms are behind the cylinders, not in front, like on P&W engines, or later Wroght ones.
 
Here is a side-by-side comparison of a cylinder with my improved head with original Williams' one. The base cylinder is from teh original Williams part.
 

 
It looks a lot better, but there is some fine-tuning to do in the "production run", especially around the rocker boxes covers. Nevertheless, this "production" has begun ...
 

 
More pics when I have made some progress.
 
Hubert

Good point. I tend to overlook that the subject is not as well known as the Spitfire of the Me-109
 
Here is a pic of the original Mystery ship R614K
 

 
Of one flying replice, in color
 

 
As for the engine, a photo of a typical Wright J6-9 Whirlwind
 

 
... compared to a P&W wasp Jr
 

 
As a side comment, please note that the replica, based on the orgiginal R613K, which was built with the inline Chevrolair engine, before being purchased by Pancho Barnes who re-engined it with a Wright Whirlwind, has a different shape for the top fuselage ahead of the windscreen. R614K was built from the start taking into account the need to fair the big radail engine into a fuselage designed initially around a slim in-line engine.
 
To illustrate my point about the "kink" in the fuselage because of this fairing, a pic of Frank Hawk's Texaco type R preserved in Chicago, painted in clear colours, gives a good illustration :
 

 
(above photo found on the net, by John Tamer, Skytamer Archives, http://www.skytamer.com/Travel_Air_R.html ) All the photos in this post gathered from the net, and posted here under the "Fair Use" principle, for illustrative purposes.
 
Hubert

The kit suffers however from some issues, which, whilst solvable, may irrate some.

1. The engine

LSM have manifestly been inspired by the Williams Bros engines. The problem is the engine depicted in the kit is consistent with a Pratt & Whitney design, with the rounded reduction gear crankcase, and the pushrods on the front face of the engine. It is also consistent with Frank Hawk's Travel Air Type R, which was equipped with a P&W R-985 Wasp Junior.



 
BUT

The first Mystery Ship R614K, the one decpicted in the kit, had a Wright J6-9 Whirlwind, characterised by the pushrods behind the cylinders, and the cylinders themselves had the exhaust port on their side, not their back. Conclusion : none of the parts of the kit's engine can be used if you want an accurate Mystery Ship !
 
There is hope however, thanks to Mrs Williams Bros. The J6-9 has been represented by Williams, as it was used on the Curtiss Sparrowhawk. It was also sold individually, and, as far as I am concerned, I had the (good) idea of getting one some time in the past. So problem #1 solved, for me at least !


 
Please note that the engine crankcase in the center of the pic is not from Willimas Bros, but my own scratchbuilt  part, detailed with some Scale Hardware stuff.
 
 
2. The fuselage in plan view

The Mystery Ship was initially designed for an in-line engine, by Chevrolair. When the future of this engine was becoming obscured, Walter Beech and his design team decided to switch to the big Wright radial. The design however had been set around the narrow in-line engine, and the fuselage had to be streamlined from the circular firewall to the rounded rectangle shape of the rear fuselage. This resulted in a distinctive "kink" in plan view, at about the middle of the cockpit.

LSM Mystery Ship displays a smooth continuous fuselage line from the firewal to the tail, without the "kink". It is at this point some 6 mm too wide. The resin, whilst thick (about 2 mm) is not thick enough for this correction.



You can discern some of the lines I have started drawing. The solution will be to saw the fuselage sides, and rebuild them. It should not be too difficult, as the shape here is almost of a rectangular box, with some convex sides.
In the process, the (spurious) interior detail will be lost, but it is not a big deal, as it is not right for the Type R anyway ... which leads me to my issue #3 ...



And whilst we are at it, the fuselage will benefit from some refining of its shape behind the cockpit (headrest area), and at the fin level (wider than the kit's reprsentation)

3. The cockpit detail

The Mystery Ship was built around a welded steel tube box-shaped structure. None of it is represented in the kit, and it will have to be added.

The Instrument panel, whilst good-looking and representing this area quite faithfully, is not right for R614K. It is again based on Frank Hawk's Texaco airplane, fitted with some instruments for long-distance flying, the most significant difference being the rectangular-shaped instrument in the middle of the IP. A new IP with the correct distribution of dials (and Airscale decals) will be a fairly simple fix.



So this will have to be corrected to represent more accurately R614K. Ditto for the seat which is more reminiscent of WWI era seats. The one pic I have found of R613K (the Chevrolair-engined airframe) shows the seat to have a "classical" rectangular shape.

4. The wing-to-fuselage wing-stub joint

The Mystery Ship had a RAF 34 airfoil (used also on the DH-88 Comet of Mc Robertson race fame, and the DH-98 Mosquito). The wings were built with a wing-stub that was an integral part of the fuselage, with the struts and landing gear bolted to this structure. With LSM's kit, we have a significant difference in profile and depth between the wing-stubs and the outer wing. The stub is concave, and 3mm deep when the wing is more like 4 mm deep !

This should not be too difficult to correct however, as the outer wing is correct in depth and profile. Building-up the underside of the fuselage wing-stub with card or Milliput should fix it rapidly.

Conclusion

Overall I am very happy to have this kit. The global shape and dimensions are there and it is unlikely anyone else would have tackled it.

Yet it is a bit annoying to see the problems above. That the IP is wrong can be understood, knowing the scarcity of (good) pics for this part of R614K. But the engine mistake could have been avoided. Ditto for the wing-stub depth and profile.And finally, all good drawings of the Type R show the fuselage kink, and it is hard to understand why it has been missed.

It is probably a typical result of an old-fashioned one-man cottage-industry approach. The good comes with the bad in equal parts.

The good news is that all the issues described above can however be fixed fairly easily (the only major surgery being the fuselage sides). And above all, the decal sheet is great, and alone justifies waiting for the kit.

My own rating : 6 / 10.

The next post will deal with starting the kit, beginning with correcting the engine. I have done some work, but will probably post tomorrow my WIP.

Hubert.

Good evening all,

Time to start a new WIP, and to (at last) live by my chosen monicker and deal with a ... racer !

The Travel Air Mystery Ship created created quite a stir when it was unveiled in 1929. Developed in great secret with the support of the CEO of Travel air Walter Beech, it was built to win the National Air Races, which up to then had been dominated by the fast Army and Navy Curtiss thoroughbreds.`
It featured two characteristics that were to mark durably the design of racers and, beyond that, that of American fighters : a big powerful radial engine (the Wright J6-9 Whirlwind) and the then newly developed NACA cowling, which had demonstrated its tremendous aerodynamic benefits.

The Travel Air type R, dubbed "Mystery Ship" by the Press wondering what was being secretly "cooked" behind veils by the firm, sporting a gleaming beautiful red color with black scalops edged by a green trim line, went on to win the 1929 Thompson trophy, at an average speed above 200 Mph.

I have always loved the stubby little racer, and always wondered why Williams Bros had never released an IM kit of it. I was tempted to scratchbuild one in 1/32, but was held up by the color scheme: not sure if I could manage the green trim line along the black scalops.

Needless to say I was overjoyed when I learnt that Lone Star Models had planned one in 1/32 resin. The waiting lasted somewhat, as the kit was announced in 2013, to be released for the Nats in 2014, when it was not really ready, Mike West, LSM's owner, struggling with the decals apparently.
I placed my order as soon as it was available, in October 2014, together with the then forthcoming Bugatti racer.

LSM is a one-man operation, typical old style "cottage industry", and my order lingered on for some time - but no worry. I was regularly in touch with Mike, and given my kit ouput and the size of my stash, I could wait and knew it would come.

The box finally arrived this week. And, pronto, rather than store in the stash, I have decided to tackle it immediately.

This fist post will constitute a review of what you get.

The review

The kit is a fairly simple one : two fuselage halves, two plain wings, two stabilators, a one-pîece fin and rudder, two plain wheel spats and wheels, a two-part cowling, 4 parts for the cockpit (floor, dashboard, seat and rear bulkhead), 11 parts for the engine (crankcase, and 10 - one extra - cylinder) a vac-form windshield, a propeller, and 7 white metal parts, 6 for the landing gear structure and one for the tail skid. The instructions mention a piece of Plastruct streamlined rod to cut the 4 wing to fuselage struts. Mine did not have any, but this is a porduct I have plenty of in my set of modeling aids. So no problem here, for me at least.
 




Add to that 6 pages of instructions and pictures, and a magnificent decal sheet, incorporating all the black scalops, with the green trim line. This decal sheet is the highlight of the kit, and alone justifies buying it IMHO. Btw, I had a double decal sheet in my box. I think it's not wanted, but it means I can make mistakes with little consequences .




The resin is typical LSM beige, bubble-free, with little flash and significant pour stubs. The surface detail is restraint and rather fine. The Mystery ship was a very smooth airframe, the wings and fuselage being plywood-covered, with just the cowling, psts, and fuselage from the engine mount to the instrumenrt panle metal covered. The kit should present no problem reproducing this smooth glinting surface. The fin and stabilators display a nice rendering of the fabric-covered surfaces





The shape appears good overall, with some caveats described below. The dimensions are good, without any impact of potential resin shrinkage. the wingspan is spot-on for the "long" wing which was brought the wingspan to 29'2", i.e. 27.8 cms. The Travel Air in the 1929 Thompson had a short wing (27'8") which should not be a problem to carve out of the one-piece outer wings. The adjustments of the two fuselage halves are OK, and again, whilst not up to the latest Sliver Wings or Fisher products are a fair effort.





TBC next post ...

Still no spats (yet ...) but a cockpit coaming in place (I know the front part should be opaque, but I am not yet mastering changing materials in renderings for only a part of the component, and finally, maybe I could edit a few mm out of it lengthwise)
 

 

 
Hubert

A uqick update, with a significant, but not visible progress.
 
The more I use Solidworks, the more I find out that my difficulties in achieving certain shapes is a reflection of my lack of mastery of this software. It is incredibly powerful, if you know how to use it. In fairness, the help function is not that helpful, and training to use it with an outside trainer is mandatory if you want to save time and avoid the pitfalls I fell into.
 
Anyway, I have used skills acquired trough trial and error to refine my design, and correct all the "cheatings" I had done previsously. The loftings for the fuselage and rudder are now much better, outside AND inside for the fuselage, and the Karmans are also a lot better, including the small filet at the trailing edge to fuselage junction. Not much to see on the pics, but the work is a lot cleaner from a design point of view, and that makes me a lot happier.
 
Ah yes, as of today, the 3D Mystery Ship has now a rudder and horizontal tail surfaces
 

 

 
Now, on to the wheel spats and their struts ...
 
Hubert

Did you do one of your excellent tweaks list for the -17, Thierry ?
 
Hubert

Beautiful William !
 
What do you mean the pilot was a tight fit ?
Some people manage to squeeze in slightly more details in the same volume
 
http://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?showtopic=45212&page=25
 
Hubert

I just wish you hadn’t mentioned the Scaledecks’ name  ...
 
Now I have two of their decks on their way to home ... and might ask them about doing a 1/200 Mikasa deck !
 
Keep it coming
 
Hubert
 
 
 

To straighten wires, just roll them under a steel ruler on a hard surface. Works like a charm.
 
Hubert

To straighten wires, just roll them under a steel ruler on a hard surface. Works like a charm.
 
Hubert