spacewolf Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Working on the main gear doors I realized the work I'd done previously was not going to work...it just didn't suit the way the model looked so I had to scrap what I'd done...which of course means new ones...seems I keep making work for myself ! (warning..this is what anal retentedness leads to..more work !) Needing new blisters for the area meant I had to finish my old vacu-former I'd started some time ago. For those who might not have seen it before, this was a small wooden box picked up at a thrift store. A bit of 1/8th sheet was cut from the bottom of a trashed drawer and glued on the top. It overhangs the edge by about 3/4 in. 1/16th holes were drilled into the surface every 1/4 in using graph paper as a guide. A standard bathroom sink fitting was purchased, the opening cut in the side and the fitting glued in with silicon. Finally, self adhesive rubber strips were added to the edge and it was ready to use....but now we need a plastic holder. The holder was made by cutting parts from 1/8th plywood. The openings conforms to the vacume bed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Strips of course sandpaper were glued around the opening of both parts to help keep the plastic in place. Squares of 1/8th ply were glued on at each center side point with an added bit of 1/16th on top to allow for the thickness of the sheet. More sections of 1/8th were cut to form tabs. Holes were drilled through these into the raised sections and then attached with 3/8th wood screws. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 Add your sheet plastic and you are all set. If you are using thinner sheet (I'm using 1/16th here) just use wedges under the tabs to keep some pressure on the edges of the sheet. Attach your vacume and you are ready to go. Keep the part raised off the bed with spacers as you want the plastic to draw past the edge. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 18, 2011 Author Share Posted September 18, 2011 (edited) I use the burner on the stove top, holding the plastic holder about 5 inches above the burner on medium heat. (this is electric..DON'T do this with gas stoves ! and use protective gloves. As well have ventilation, hot plastic gives of toxic fumes.) Now, this is where the work becomes a true craft as you have to judge when the plastic is ready. You'll ruin some plastic learning but it's worth it. First the plastic will ripple and distort, then smooth out again. Then it will slowly begin to sag and everything has to happen at once. You have to judge the amount of sag..too little and the plastic will not conform properly..too much and the part will be too thin. Have your vacume running or turn it on after the plastic smoothes out..(a foot switch is nice) Judge your time and move the holder from the burner and place it over the former. The vacume sucks the hot plastic down over the part. Cut the part from the carrier sheet, remove the master and you are ready to trim out and finish making your part. I hope this has been informative. Cheers Vaughn Edited September 18, 2011 by spacewolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 The end is coming !.... Of the build that is ! I've been working away and the last major parts are done. As I'd said earlier I'd built one set of main gear doors but they just didn't suit, so after vacuforming new blisters I set about making new parts. The inner doors were made, you can see the old version beside it... The main doors were made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 Doing the dimples on the curved inner surface wasn't fun, but it sure looks cool ! After that the small outer doors were easy ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 25, 2011 Author Share Posted September 25, 2011 The difference is quite amazing, I'm MUCH happier with these. Paint is the same as the nose gear. All thats left is to attach the vertical fin, paint the model, put the gear doors on and a few other little details and she's gonna be done !...Did I mention I HATE painting ?..hope I don't screw up the model this close to the finish ! Wish me luck guys ! Cheers Vaughn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 (edited) While finishing up detailing the gear bays I turned to the drop tanks to try out my idea's for painting the ship. There are several paint schemes but the original was I think a nod to the Japanese Navy. The artist, being japanese and very much influenced by WW II aircraft had it a green over gray...not the IJN colors but close. I've played with varying the colors and came up with a blend that is actually a 50/50 mix of IJN topside green with the underside gray. I first painted the tanks MM chrome silver, then the Mr. Surfacer gray primer which will be the underside gray. The green blend was sprayed on the top. Testors red was used for the filler cap. Several washes of tamyia flat black were applied. Edited September 27, 2011 by spacewolf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 I'm going for a well used look on the tanks as they tend to get beat up more. After the paint was dry I went at the tank with sandpaper, scuffing through to the silver. More paint was dabbed on, and more washes added to dull down and dirty things up. The FW theme got another nod with the fuel triangle from a decal sheet. The mounts are picked out in oily steel. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 27, 2011 Author Share Posted September 27, 2011 Test fit....I think it looks pretty good. What do you guys think ?..too much wear ? Cheers Vaughn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Touch ups, painting and detailing the wheel wells. The brake line is twist tie wire. The wire bundle is strands of copper wire stripped from an old bit of electrical wire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted September 29, 2011 Author Share Posted September 29, 2011 Cheers Vaughn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 29, 2011 Share Posted September 29, 2011 Great work my friend. This one is really coming to life now! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PhilB Posted September 30, 2011 Share Posted September 30, 2011 Keep going Vaughn! Lovely detailing work! Phil Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spacewolf Posted October 2, 2011 Author Share Posted October 2, 2011 Great work my friend. This one is really coming to life now! Kev Thanks Kev, It's a war of nerves..but I can see the end in sight. Cheers Vaughn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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