Ironwing Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 greetings All, Progress has been a bit slow (Jean and I are having a slow race). Learning to work with metal is quite a new experience. I must say however that It is no more difficult ( I mean this ) and am starting to believe its actually easier to shape and grind. OK, I admit it, Im becoming an aluminum addict. It's hard to stop. Just the same, work continues in the pit...pics follow. The state of the pit at the moment. Both side walls have had the major longeron installed. The ABS instrument hood has been replaced with an aluminum component and the windscreen has has the aft canopy edge installed. It was quite a pain in the back pocket to make. Something that needs to be kept in mind when working with aluminum is its structural significance once you begin to add cross members or forms of any type. It has some give but not as much as ABS. This was especially true for the windshield ring. Without the ring, the canopy could be pushed into any shape needed. Once the ring was added, that was no longer possible. The fit of the ring had to be darn near exact to fit both the aft edge of the windscreen and the fuselage. The ABS instrument hood has been replaced with an aluminum piece. I used the ABS part to bend the aluminum around to get the shape. It wasnt as hard as it might look. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 Hood and windscreen by themselves. It took some fiddling with the fit to get the hood right. The windsceen fit was tougher because of the aluminum edge. Ive been toying with the idea (since the real one had this) of adding the armoured front glass pane. It would be very hard to do at this stage. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 The armore plate has had a coat of primer added. No edge clean up was need prior to prime. This clad aluminum takes and holds paint very nicely. The aft former has also been fabricated from aluminum. The inside opening in the former engages the grooves in the side of the fuel tank. Again it takes time to fit the outside to the fuselage and the inside to the tank. This would take time regardless of the material used. The tank in the pic is from the Dragon kit. The more I study the tank, several problems have come up. The first being, it's too tall. The second being, it should taper bottom to top. The Dragon tank it almost a straight rectangle. Some modification will be needed to get the proper shape. The fit of these two parts is important. If they are off, they wont sit in the fuselage properly causing everything to look out of square. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 How and where the former sits...Thew small hole near the upper edge of the former is for the antenae wire which comes in from the dorsal spine mast. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 View looking forward into the pit. armore plate shows up better with primer on it. Ive started work on the ventilation hoses which run up behind the armore plate and will begin making formers for the comparment. Have a look at the next pic and let me know what you think of the hose I made up for the vent lines. Could use the same technique for oxygen hoses too. Thats about it for this visit. Hope you enjoy... As always, hope everyone is well. Cheers, Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 Whatya think? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johng Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Going great, Geoff! Just took a look at Mustang windscreens on the 'net and the armored glass certainly doesn't stand out the way it does on other types. Was thinking that you could cut a piece of .010 clear styrene to match the shape of the front pane on the kit piece and then laminate it to the inside of that part with future. A few posts back you had pics of the windscreen with internal framing but you took that out. If you put it back, it would frame the added inside glass and further accentuate the additional thickness. Just a thought. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Hi Everything is looking really good. That hose is great but just wondering how it is when you bend it into a different shape. Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tourist Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 Beautiful stuff Geoff. I like the hose, that's a lot of work for a part that will be totally invisible in the end! I also think you should try to add the windshield armor glass, it's a noticeable detail. I know it may be tricky but you always come up with clever solutions in the end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted July 12, 2008 Author Share Posted July 12, 2008 Greetings Guys, Many thanks for looking in. John, Thank you for your suggestion. It's good one. The front windshield is actually quite thick on the Mustang and is noticable when you look into the pit. I did, for the time being remove the framing. I often times will use white glue to stick things together if Im unsure of how something should look or just want to experiment. The white glue can be readily removed if I decide to change something. As soon as I settle on a method Ill post it. Dan, I avoid, at all costs, attaching anything to the model until it's absolutey necessary. I also try to make things as sub assemblies that can be added later as well. I did make a rudimentary jib for holding the fuselage but more as a storage thing than a work thing. I find it easier to hold onto the WIP. It's good for checking visual alignments when you need to have you hands free to moce parts around. I break stuff too. Ive broken the top of the fin off three times thus far, once when I dropped the fuselage and twice by catching it on the table edge. Your not alone in this! A pic of the holding fixture is attached. Chris / Tex No doubt Ill add the windscreen. The vent tubes will be somewhat visible (sorta). I was just as interested in developing a technique that could generate a convincing representation of hose in general. I think this method does that and its plain super easy to do. You can use any diameter wire to act as an internal form. The hose size is determined by the wire you use. I used .015 diameter and just wrapped it around the internal wire occasionaly stopping to push the windings together tightly. When done, you just slide the windings off the wire and it leaves you with completely flexible hollow piece of hose. Like I said...super easy. It took less than a minute to make that hose section. Thanks all for looking in. Talk to you later. Cheers, Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrintense Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 The hose size is determined by the wire you use. I used .015 diameter and just wrapped it around the internal wire occasionaly stopping to push the windings together tightly. When done, you just slide the windings off the wire and it leaves you with completely flexible hollow piece of hose. Like I said...super easy. It took less than a minute to make that hose section. Might I add a suggestion for your hose. I've used the technique you mentioned also but added a coating of liquid mask agent afterwards. This helps to hold the wire together and gives the hose a rubber look Carl Smoot Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johng Posted July 12, 2008 Share Posted July 12, 2008 I leave the core wire in. The hose is still flexible and the core prevents kinking or flattening of the coils while bending the hose to shape. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver Dollar Posted July 13, 2008 Share Posted July 13, 2008 That's a great technique for making the hoses. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted July 15, 2008 Share Posted July 15, 2008 Hi Geoff, Great and inventive work, each one of your posts has something noteworthy. What strikes me this time is how crisp everything still looks under a coat of primer. I suspect this may be due in no small part to your use of metal; whatever the reason this crispness aids in overcoming some of the limitations imposed by the scale-effect, where the closer you look the blurrier and softer things appear (not very clear but I think you know what I mean). Best, Jean P.S. Concerning the slow race, I don't mean to belittle your efforts dear boy, but you're up against a pro here with many MANY years experience . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted July 16, 2008 Author Share Posted July 16, 2008 Jean, Thank you for looking in. Your comments are always insightful and kind. I understand what you mean about "scale effect" and agree heartily about the use of metal versus ABS and its impact. It seems to give each component a completely different character. It's certainly much sharper. Corners and edges are also cleaner and dont lose their sharpness, even with sanding. It is a bit less forgiving than ABS in that things must fit. It doesnt give you much "wiggle" room. But once you get things as they should be, they look much better. I wish I had discovered the nerve to try this sooner. Watching your work with metal had a great deal to do with finally giving it a go. Again, thanks for looking in and your comments. Hope you are well... Geoff PS, ...and you think you're slower than me? You might be right Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now