Mike Robinson Posted May 29, 2011 Author Share Posted May 29, 2011 (edited) Egad I can't believe it's been almost 6 months since I did anything with this turkey. Now that I've gotten the need to finish a couple of models out of my system, I can resume work on this project that has languished a bit. I got the seats under control, now on to my next headache, the cabin side windows. It would be really easy to make one or two and have them turn out OK, but in this case I need to make 7 that are consistent in shape, size and alignment. I fiddled around with plastic strip and sheet stock, but it was impossible to keep the window framing consistent from one window to the next. I finally hit upon an idea, and after planning ahead and thinking it out, I came up wit this solution and it worked like a charm. It starts with a 3/4 inch thick hunk of MDF that I cut to a hair over the width of the window. I used my PE window trim panel for the template, drew it out, then cut it to width and sanded the round corners with a sanding block. I made this buck the exact width of each window. The next step was to take .032" brass strip, anneal it so it bends easy, and form it around the buck as you see here. After removal from the buck I have the basic shape. Pencil lines drawn on the buck served as a guide to where to trim the "legs" off for each window. These were then cleaned, fluxed and then... ...soldered to my PE window trim panel. I made the window frame just a hair larger all the way around. This will give a lip for the window glass to sit against without it being a perfect fit and to compensate for any variations in glass size. The completed left side window frames and trim panel, all soldered and ready for glass. It doesn't look like much but what you see here is 5 days of cutting and forming and soldering brass sheet and bars along with the photoetch I had made. The door is a PE brass blank with PE trim, and I did the window framing the same way I made the main cabin windows, with 3/32 x 1/32 brass bar formed over a wood buck then soldered in place. After that I cut corrugated aluminum for the door top and bottom and epoxied that in place, then sweat soldered the outside window trim and door trim over that, sandwiching it all together. The door frame is PE with 1/16" brass square stock bent to shape and soldered all the way around. The intent is to have a functional cabin door, held closed and in the open positions with magnets similar to what Tamiya uses on their Spitfire cowlings. Next will be to paint the frames Dark Blue for the outside and simulated wood for the window frames, cut the glass and install it, then proceed with the interior. In case some of you have not seen this turkey, here it is in the assembly jig I am starting. Everything is temporarily taped into position, but it gives an idea of the size of the model. With a 28" inch wingspan and an 18" overall length it's not huge, but it's no slouch either. Thanks for stopping by. More updates when the interior is going together. Cheers Mike Edited May 29, 2011 by Mike Robinson Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wolf Buddee Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 This is one of those threads that I look forward to with great anticipation and admiration. The Ford is a masterpiece in the making Mike! Cheers, Wolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 This is one of those threads that I look forward to with great anticipation and admiration. The Ford is a masterpiece in the making Mike! Cheers, Wolf I'll second that. Amazing stuff Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted May 30, 2011 Share Posted May 30, 2011 Glad to see you back in the saddle with this. I look forward to seeing more of your inspiration. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Robinson Posted June 3, 2011 Author Share Posted June 3, 2011 Hi Mark, Ron, Wolf, thank you so much for the comments. Mucho appreciated. Now that the hard stuff is done ( I hope) I can move on to fabricating all the interior bits, and hope I end up with something that looks like this: The first thing I had to make was the wall and ceiling coverings, which are a printed hardboard trimmed with aluminum strips on the real aircraft. After playing around with some painting software, I found the best solution was to mask of a bit of the above image and save it as a smaller image. I kept copy and pasting it all together until I had a matted mural the size I needed. Then some magic tools in Photoshop blended it all together into what you see here. These were printed out in color and sized roughly to the size of my wall and ceiling panels. I made a total of four, even though I only need three, but odds are good I'm going to mess one up along the way. Some photo spray adhesive on the backside and they bonded well with my Renshape wall panels. These were then set in place in the fuselage, the window frames inserted from the outside and with a new sharp #11 blade, I trimmed to the frames for a neat fit. It's difficult to tell from the pictures but the effect is really good and I'm quite happy with the results. Next step was to install the door. I had the frame and door built up from an earlier post. Now it was time to stick it all together. I had PE hinges made that I formed together with a length of .010 piano wire for the hinge pin. These were sweat soldered into place on the door and door frame, and yes Virginia, they do open and close, although I'm not sure how robust they are and won't stress them by opening and closing them too many times. Here it is in the open position. When I display the model it will be flat up against the side of the fuselage so I had to make sure the window on the door lines up with the window in the fuselage. From the front. I'm happy with the way things are lining up. 50% preparation and 50% luck works every time. Next up will be to add all the aluminum strips, the polished aluminum structure covers, seats and other odds and ends. Then I can button this thing up for good and begin assembly. Stay tuned. Cheers Mike Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 Check you out. You bad! Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 breathtaking work Mike, truly awe inspiring am seated comfortably (not on wicker) for the next instalment! Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allok Posted June 3, 2011 Share Posted June 3, 2011 WOW! and again, WOW! Stay tuned. No kidding, I'm glued. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Wow, You are not just a modeler, you are a master craftsman. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Fantastic and inspiring....Good to see you back on this bird ! Hubert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Fantastic scratch building. Great soldering, love the door hinges. Could you please tell us how you made the door hinges??? I love to make set myself for my vac build. Thanks for sharing this build. I find it very inspirational. Kind Regards, Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Fleischmann Posted June 4, 2011 Share Posted June 4, 2011 Yay! Mikes back! Looking awesome Mike! The oval door and frame are particularily gorgeous-Nicely done. Question, what type of spray photo adhesive did you use to fix the wall panels? Regards, Pete Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Robinson Posted June 11, 2011 Author Share Posted June 11, 2011 Thank you everyone for the kind comments, I do appreciate them. Hi Christian. The hinges I had Photo Etched when I did the wicker chairs. Here's the sheet of PE I had done by Foto Cut. As you can see they are simple "barn door" style hinges. All I did was slide them together so the fingers interlaced, laid a length of .010" music wire down for the hinge pin, and folded the fingers over to trap the wire. A quick smear with thin CA seured the fingers in place. Hiya Pete The Photo adhesive is sold by Scotch, and I got it at AC Moore I think. It looks, acts, and smells just like 3M's spray adhesive also, so I'd be willing to bet it's the same stuff. Moving right along with trimming the interior, it's time to add all the fiddly bits and trim it out. Again for reference here's a shot of the actual bird: And the following will show how close I come to replicating it. I carpeted the floor with some left over Royal Blue velour from a cabinet job I did earlier this spring. It was much easier to use the self adhesive sheets than to sprinkle flocking material. Next to make was the polished aluminum covers that go over the bulkheads in the cabin. There's two big honkers right in the middle, and two smaller ones in the next station forward. I began by scribing two circles on a sheet of 1/8" RenShape. I then divided it into quarters and measured the outside dimensions and cut them out with a new #11 blade so they looked like.... ...these guys. After sanding them smooth I "plasticized" them with thin CA so that it makes the RenShape stiffer and a better base for the foil to adhere to. A quick trial fit and they look pretty close to the prototype in dimensions. I didn't have actual drawings or dimensions, so I did it the old fashioned way... by scaling it to other objects, in this case the windows, and giving it the ol' calibrated eyeball technique. Close enough for my requirements. And here they are all blinged out and covered in foil. They look pretty good and really snazzy up the interior. Next to make will be all the aluminum strips you see that trim everything out. I'll make them from .005 or .010 plastic strip and paint them aluminum. They are not polished on the actual aircraft so it'll save me some foiling work. I'll post some shots when that is completed. Thanks for following along, as always questions comments and critiques welcome. Cheers Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christian Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Dear Mike, Great job on the interior; love all the scratch building and the techniques you are using to achieve the interior build. Regards, Christian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted June 11, 2011 Share Posted June 11, 2011 Fantastic work Mike. look forward to more .... :bow: Hubert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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