hkshooter Posted January 15, 2011 Share Posted January 15, 2011 Still watching Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tallyho Posted January 17, 2011 Share Posted January 17, 2011 I went ahead and added the complete airfoil shapes to both halves then made a 0.100" shorter chord template to look at the differences. (And painted the wood black for Fred....). bad..... Thanks for lookin' in! Ken Untill I recalled that attempt at tongue-in-cheek I made earlier, I thought this was an abstract referrence to an old Rolling Stones song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foiler Posted January 18, 2011 Author Share Posted January 18, 2011 OK, I think this is one of the steps most everyone was waiting for: molding the fuselage halves. The first one turned out well, but it is only 1/2 done. The part of the mold that I made is the cavity, and the plug will be next once I get some detail work done like hollowing the radiator inlet and exhaust areas. The green piece is what I made the first mold from. I took some time to clean up the areas where the kit plastic will meet the resin parts, and added internal lips to provide gluing surfaces..... I added a thin plastic outline to the back to provide some extra finishing material, and to provide a lip for the plug to rest on..... The form was constructed with foam board (my kids and grandkids didn't have enough Legos), sealed, and sprayed with clear acrylic..... Then came the pour and the overnight wait (queue the Jeopardy theme song)..... The mold turned out really well and was bubble free..... Now if I can just get the plexiglass off the back of the master, I can carve out the plug area and pour the other half of this part's mold. Then I have to wait for my allowance to come in and get clearance from my financial officer (wife) to get more materials. I can't wait to pour some resin! BTW, Fred, the F-6D is being used for the pilots fuselage to commemorate your kind gesture. The other side ain't near as purty..... Thanks for lookin' in on me! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foiler Posted January 21, 2011 Author Share Posted January 21, 2011 I finally got to pour some resin! This is the first test piece that I will use for non-final setups etc. That's not waviness in the piece. Evidently I didn't get the resin mixed completely in the 30 second working time..... Here are the wood master, the mold components, and the first piece right after I separated the mold. I just had to check the part matchup to make sure I didn't have any really bad dimensional changes with the resin. It fits! Here you can see the internal modifications I made to get the radiator inlet/outlet, main gear well, and some random lightening. I didn't want to lighten the part too much and end up with a lot of thin wall warpage. I might take some more out during the build, but for now it is what it is. I never like to see bubbles in resin, but these are to the inside, so I won't worry about them. There were very few on the outside, and I think I can take care of them with the next pour. Hopefully, I can get the outer side done this weekend and actually get some parts I can use to start working with wing and tail matchups. Hope I haven't bored everyone to tears with this, and hopefully it will get a little more interesting as the build starts coming together. Thanks for lookin' in on me! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted January 21, 2011 Share Posted January 21, 2011 Ken, The whole project is really staring to gether some steam! Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hkshooter Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 It's facinating watching the project take shape. Literally. Going to be very cool to see a whole airframe. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Very nice Ken....If you get the project to a point of your final satisfaction, I hope you would consider making a few molds..... Id love to have a 32nd F-82 on my shelf. Cheers, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foiler Posted January 22, 2011 Author Share Posted January 22, 2011 Very nice Ken....If you get the project to a point of your final satisfaction, I hope you would consider making a few molds..... Id love to have a 32nd F-82 on my shelf. Cheers, Brian Hi Brian, This is an oddball build, I know, with a lot of multi-kit bashing and scratch built parts. As such, I was originally making parts for myself without seriously considering making parts for other modelers. The parts you see are obviously not the same high quality as those of a resin kit or aftermarket manufacturer. Some modelers probably wouldn't put up with what I am willing to accept, i.e.; thicker parts and interior bubbles. I have tried to keep the whole build as simple as I can without the aid of manufacturing tools. I have focused on exterior accuracy and haven't had to be constrained by profit margins, etc. like a manufacturer would be. There are still several parts to be created, molded, and poured. I am not going into full production with this, but as long as the molds hold out, and folks understand what they are getting, then I will provide some parts. Once the molds break down, there won't be anymore made. Hopefully, there will be an injection molded one by then! Thanks for the suggestion! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 22, 2011 Share Posted January 22, 2011 Hi Brian, This is an oddball build, I know, with a lot of multi-kit bashing and scratch built parts. As such, I was originally making parts for myself without seriously considering making parts for other modelers. The parts you see are obviously not the same high quality as those of a resin kit or aftermarket manufacturer. Some modelers probably wouldn't put up with what I am willing to accept, i.e.; thicker parts and interior bubbles. I have tried to keep the whole build as simple as I can without the aid of manufacturing tools. I have focused on exterior accuracy and haven't had to be constrained by profit margins, etc. like a manufacturer would be. There are still several parts to be created, molded, and poured. I am not going into full production with this, but as long as the molds hold out, and folks understand what they are getting, then I will provide some parts. Once the molds break down, there won't be anymore made. Hopefully, there will be an injection molded one by then! Thanks for the suggestion! Ken Well from my perspective, it looks great, mulit-kit bashing or not! Like I said, most of us on this site have an understanding of what it takes/what we would be getting if you were generous enough to ship out some of these molded pieces..............I for one would be very happy to get a set. Question though....... How much modification would I have to do to your pieces to end up here: Cheers, Brian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foiler Posted January 23, 2011 Author Share Posted January 23, 2011 Well from my perspective, it looks great, mulit-kit bashing or not! Like I said, most of us on this site have an understanding of what it takes/what we would be getting if you were generous enough to ship out some of these molded pieces..............I for one would be very happy to get a set. Question though....... How much modification would I have to do to your pieces to end up here: Cheers, Brian Hey Brian, Most of the modifications that would be necessary would have to be done to the plastic kit parts if it were built with the same technique I am using. The "B" model that I am making has the Rolls Merlin engines. So, the version shown in the picture (F/G model) would have Allison engines with the flame arrestor exhausts. The noses are straighter across the top, and the chin intake is smaller and further forward. The lower nose contour is slightly different. Mine will represent the NACA birds without armament or the center pickle, so no guns or radar. However, I plan to make the wings from upper and lower pieces, so adding a weapons/equipment bay should not be difficult. The cockpit for the pilot is basically the same for all models except for the armament controls. The co-pilot's cockpit is very stark for the radar operators in the later models, and different from the co-pilot versions. The only difference with my resin parts would be a 4" taller vertical stabilizer that was made larger for a different antennae. It also appears that they used the Aeroproducts props throughout the series. 20% of the F-82's were the same as the later P-51's. Finding those parts has required over a year of research. Your picture shows a couple of those pieces; the canopies. This plane has two different canopies, both of which are interchangeable with the P-51's. It is tempting to say that a resin nose could be added. But without the proper molding tools, I am not sure I could make a good one directly from CAD images. The whole nose section requires very thin walls for engine clearence and fit. But, if someone were to make a single master to mold........... Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foiler Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 I got the mold for the starboard side of the fuselage done, and poured a couple pieces to see how things were lining up. So far, so good..... The resin pieces have come straight from the mold and have only minor flash removal and bubble fills. Now I get to work on the wing sections...... BTW, the headrests are bend backward intentionally. I am assuming the real thing is hinged and can be laid back for ease of entry. The "Betty Jo" F-82 in the Air Force museum is where I first saw this, and I have found several F-82 pictures that show it in this position. It's odd because the early F-82's used the same seat as the P-51D, but I have yet to find a picture of a P-51D with the headrest laid back. Has anybody ever seen one? Thanks again for lookin' in! Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Barry Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 Ken this is really going to be awesome when you're done! Barry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
foiler Posted January 26, 2011 Author Share Posted January 26, 2011 Ken this is really going to be awesome when you're done! Barry Thanks Barry! I hope you are right. I appreciate you guys hanging around during the boring stuff. Things should get more interesting now..... Ken Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
williamj Posted January 26, 2011 Share Posted January 26, 2011 It's starting to look interesting...done a heck of a job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim A. Posted January 28, 2011 Share Posted January 28, 2011 Ken, I can't believe how much (and well) you have done! Well-done. You can include me on the list of those wanting the "extras" you mentioned earlier. You've really come a long way from your initial posts on the P-51 SIG. Can't wait to see the end result. Regards, Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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