Cicchino Posted March 26 Author Posted March 26 (edited) Oops meant to say all the Meteors sent to Belgium appear to be Welland powered - corrected. Regards, John Edited March 26 by Cicchino correction MikeC 1
Cicchino Posted March 27 Author Posted March 27 Guys, One more pic I forgot to upload - I think this illustrates the bulbous F3 look; exhaust is not pushed in all the way, and there will be Derwant and Welland options. Again, the big gap has subsequently been addressed in the design, as is a way to protect the nacelle/exhaust training edge during the build. I just retired and I've felt I needed to be 'new'; 3d design and printing is doing just that. I'm really having fun with it and not finding it too too difficult to adapt to what I learned from Mr Walker and Mr Decker way back in 1970s drafting classes at Kearny High School, NJ. . Finalizing the wing is next Thanks for dropping by John Uncarina, AngryJazz_Models, geedubelyer and 10 others 13
Cicchino Posted March 29 Author Posted March 29 (edited) On 3/27/2026 at 11:54 PM, Uncarina said: Really impressive work! Cheers, Tom Thanks Tom! I'm pleasantly surprised I've got the nacelles progressed this far, and I'm absolutely certain that they are not designed as efficiently as they could have been. I do feel I'm seeing the end of a tunnel that I have been muddling my way to. Thanks again John Edited March 29 by Cicchino spell check Uncarina and Kagemusha 2
Cicchino Posted April 6 Author Posted April 6 Guys, Made what for me was a significant step forward - test printed some wings with some of the panel lines included. These were printed at 50mil so smaller rivets in the pattern haven't shown up. I need to tweak the inner wall a touch to allow a less forced mount onto the tab on the nacelle, but generally pleased with progress. The wing tip is solid, but the rest of the wing is hollow to save weight; the deformed leading edge at the tip will be sorted with better supports and/or orientation in the slicing as the design is sound. I think the strap like panel at the inner edge might stand a little too proud, and I have about a millimeter mismatch on alignment which I will correct. I've added some bevels to the front edge of the aileron hinges since these were printed. Focusing on getting the final rivet, panels lines sorted and hatch details added before final tests. I'm feeling close enough now that I've started building the cockpit in earnest, and I can hopefully get the fuselage assembled as well. We're heading out on holiday on Sunday for a few weeks; my goal is to get another set of updated prints completed before we leave. Thanks for watching me muddle through the Fusion360/3d printing learning curve! Oh, the pile of HVARs is a story for another day... Thanks for dropping by John geedubelyer, Mal_Belford, Kagemusha and 10 others 13
Cicchino Posted April 6 Author Posted April 6 (edited) Guys, Threw some color on the wings, and it's amazing the things you notice. I just realized the aileron edges are not there; they are visible is the design, but I totally forgot to set them up to appear as a panel line. Camo was done freehand using a relatively new Creos airbrush that I've never felt comfortable with compared to my Eclipse. As much as the paint is to help me visualize where to go next, it's also an exercise in forcing me to become familiar with the Creos. I may just paint some roundels on as well. Thanks for dropping by John Edited April 6 by Cicchino Spell Check patricksparks, MikeC, AngryJazz_Models and 10 others 13
Aerophile Posted May 13 Posted May 13 Things are coming along well John. Do you intend to produce some copies for sale to your fellow modelers? If so I’m interested for certain. keep up the good work! Gerald CRAZY IVAN5 1
Cicchino Posted May 13 Author Posted May 13 4 hours ago, Aerophile said: Things are coming along well John. Do you intend to produce some copies for sale to your fellow modelers? If so I’m interested for certain. keep up the good work! Gerald Hey Gerald, Thanks for the encouragement I'm just back from 3 week holiday in Europe, so starting to crank things up again. I have made some progress which I think I can post before week's end - namely finalizing the Welland exhausts (I'm planning my initial build as WWII, probably white aircraft) although I am making allowances to build a Derwent powered airframe as well. I've also fixed the tolerances between the forward and rear nacelle halves, so they sit nicely together, and I'm currently working on the rivets/scribing on the outer wing. All in all it's progressing steadily if not quickly. I am however close enough that I've started to build the HKM cockpit in preparation for getting the fuselage halves together and ready for the finished nacelles and wing. To answer your question, once I've gotten a set I'm (and y'all would be) happy with, I will look at options for making it available. I'm just not sure I want to be in the 'production' business, although I do have a couple of other things percolating 😉 More to come, John Anthony in NZ, LSP_Kevin and Kagemusha 3
Aerophile Posted May 13 Posted May 13 2 hours ago, Cicchino said: Hey Gerald, Thanks for the encouragement I'm just back from 3 week holiday in Europe, so starting to crank things up again. I have made some progress which I think I can post before week's end - namely finalizing the Welland exhausts (I'm planning my initial build as WWII, probably white aircraft) although I am making allowances to build a Derwent powered airframe as well. I've also fixed the tolerances between the forward and rear nacelle halves, so they sit nicely together, and I'm currently working on the rivets/scribing on the outer wing. All in all it's progressing steadily if not quickly. I am however close enough that I've started to build the HKM cockpit in preparation for getting the fuselage halves together and ready for the finished nacelles and wing. To answer your question, once I've gotten a set I'm (and y'all would be) happy with, I will look at options for making it available. I'm just not sure I want to be in the 'production' business, although I do have a couple of other things percolating 😉 More to come, John Totally understand. If you do decide to kick out a few extra please let me know. I’d like to make this conversion as well and it looks like you’ve got it well in hand. Thank you!
Rob Colvin Posted May 14 Posted May 14 Brilliant work! Should you make the conversion available, im in for 1 or 2...... Rob
Cicchino Posted May 14 Author Posted May 14 Not the Meteor just yet, but a tease of some noodling I've been doing Thanks for dropping by John
bobster Posted May 14 Posted May 14 Your job on the F-3 looks amazing. I am mostly a wwII modeler, and have thought of tackling this conversion by old fashion drawings and putty, but your CAD work is beyond what I could ever accomplish. I hope you do make this available to us lowly old schoolers at some point. If you do...please count me in!...Bob.
Cicchino Posted May 15 Author Posted May 15 (edited) Guys, The conversion has progressed to a point where I feel safe in starting to build the legacy HKM kit - attached are some pics of the cockpit which I dolled up a bit. It's more like a F.3/F.4 hybrid with some prototype thrown in, but it busies it up a bit. A couple of more details to add (like a firing button on the control column, an Airscale Sutton harness, etc) but enough done to tape it together for an in progress shot. wash, dry brush and flatboat to follow. Sorry for the hurried pics. More pics of the conversion over the next few days. Thanks for dropping by John Edited May 15 by Cicchino grammar patricksparks, Anthony in NZ, Uncarina and 6 others 9
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