Mustang...1/18nth Scale

[Ironwing]

Hello again All,

 

Here is the second part of the update. Yesterdays problems with photo bucket persist but I was able to get these to load.

 

Aside from many hours reshaping the nose, work was begun on the wing. No detailing, just trying to get it apart. Note that it wasnt designed to come apart...ever. I did manage to get it undone with little damage however.

 

The first problem that needs to be confronted is the shape of them, and i dont mean the general plan form. In plan form they arent bad, even though theyre way short in span. This will be covered later. Im speaking of the shape from the root to the tip. They are part warped and part misformed...badly, but remember, its a toy. Also remember this is the Blue Box rendition and not the 21 C. The below photo will better illustrate what im talking about.

 

[Ironwing]

The wing undersurface is ok. The top, well its close to trash bin fodder. I had a look at a friends 21C Mustang and the wings on it were nice and straight. I thought perhaps I could swap a wing set from a 21C rendition to the BB rendition. When I saw the prices on ebay for the 21C I canned that idea quickly. It had to be this wing set or nothing. After disassembly, the upper wing halves were bent, by hand, repeatedly. Show much so, that the panel lines began to appear on the inside of the inside wing surface from the bending and material failure. but they held together. If nothing else, the beefy material thickness makes them tough. But even with all the bending and warming, I still couldnt get them straight.

 

 

 

The next part may seem a bit drastic. But these were desparate times, and no animals were harmed in this exercise. Using 80 grit paper. and the sander on my lap, each upper wing half was sanded into shape and straightened. I dont know how much material was removed. i kept holding the wing half up to the light so see if I was over thininning, but that never occured. I stayed away from the wing seat by about 0.5 inch to avoid ruining the fit until I get to that rework segment.

 

surprisingly, the belt sander worked well. Keeping the part moving and not lingering in one spot kept heating to a minimum, and no melting of material occured.

 

This is how each wing half ended up, after about 1.5 hours of sanding on each side.

 

 

 

Still gobs of work to do, but its going forward as planned.

 

Hope everyone is well...

 

geoff

Edited July 6, 2013 by Ironwing

[scvrobeson]

That is an interesting tool to work on a model with, but as long as it gets the job done. Looks great. The nose looks just like the real Mustang now.

 

 

 

Matt

[Ironwing]

Bigger is always better I love these super size kits. They have such a visual impact.

 

Pity they command such a high price tag It would be nice to jump up a scale.

 

The nose looks super sweet in white primer, 'stang is such a pretty bird.

 

Wings looking much better after a trip to the belt sander. I am intrigued as to how you are going to stretch the span...

 

Thanks for sharing.

 

Dan

Hi Dan,

 

Glad you looked in. To your question; before stretching the span, the wing needs to be lined out. That is, the stations need to be identified so that cord values can be confirmed now that the deformity is pretty much overcome. I haven't yet looked at the wing dimensions, flap/ aileron positioning and so on. I really, taking off the existing wing tip and stretching the span by adding to the end of the wing is then easiest and quickest route. However, because the wing tapers, just adding to the end of it might cause the tip to be undersized. Once I get to that point, I'll post the methodology used.

 

Thanks again for I stopping by...hope all is well.

 

Geoff

[Ironwing]

That is an interesting tool to work on a model with, but as long as it gets the job done. Looks great. The nose looks just like the real Mustang now.

 

 

 

Matt

Matt,

 

Good to here from you. Agreed, a belt sander is a bit out of the ordinary but it worked. These bigger models can take it. I'll probably give the wing another go on the sander to clean up some small deficiencies. I want to first get the nose buttoned down before going off on a new project segment.

 

Glad you looked in...thank you...hope all is well

 

Geoff

[Ironwing]

Greetings All

 

If nothing else, Ive learned that this big jump in scales requires a big jump in the tools used...like a belt sander to do big work, and some of this stuff is big work, and i love every bit of it.

 

Ive gone off and begun working on the masters for the exhaust shrouds. Mind you, this has been going on for a while now. The first two attempts were in wood. Attempt one was an abismal failure but a good learning experience. Attempt two wasnt as bad but still not very good, at least not for use as a vac master. The size of things changes dramatically so that tools used become full size things. A pin vice doesnt work in this scale as is evienced by the tap handle shown. the bit is .156 inch. too big for a pin vice and too big to turn by hand (and painful). The tap handle worke well. Guiding the bit through the material also became an issue. I was unable to maintain a straight line when attempting to use wood for a master. Pilot holes didnt help.

 

I was fortunate to have found pre-drilled square stock. It was unfortunatrely undersize but that could be added to in order to meet the raw material requirement.

 

[Guest]

Just lovely work Geoff. Its great to see your work !.............Harv

[Ironwing]

Keeping the exit holes for the exhaust stacks evenly spaced and in a straight line became problematic. Adding .040 " card stock to the outside of the pre-driled square stock gave me 0.240" thicknes side to side. Once the card stock was added, the bit was run down the center hole to open it accordingly. Surprisingly, it takes quite a bit of torque to turn that big bit throught the material. Fortunately, it guided well through the center hole.

 

[Ironwing]

Keep in mind that the hole is drilled straight, not on an angle. The eliptical hole is formed when the individual sections (8 per side/ 6 exhaust ports & two end caps/L&R) are cut from the main piece. This the view of the surface at 35 degrees, which is square to the surface and the angle at which each piece is cut at on the ends.

 

Edited July 29, 2013 by Ironwing

[Ironwing]

The resultant eliptical opening and the core material with the added exterior is better visualized here. The end pieces will be used to form the front and back of the shroud. Plain square stock could have been used but i didnt have any so i just used what I had. The center hole in the end caps will need to be filled so the ends can be sanded to shape.

 

 

Edited July 28, 2013 by Ironwing

[Ironwing]

Note that what you see here is way over size top to bottom with each sengemt being 0.600" long. Only the top 0.200" will be used. The center to center dim for the eleipse should be 0.338". The centers here, at least as best I can measure are at 0.330". Final shape of the opening will be adjusted after they vac forms are pulled.

 

Edited July 28, 2013 by Ironwing

[Ironwing]

I know its pretty dull stuff, but its all part of the big picture. Ill put up and update once the masters are sanded into final shape.

 

Hope everyone is well.

 

Best

 

Geoff

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

Not dull at all Geoff. Fantastic in fact.

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

Really great work going on here Geoff. Always a pleasure to follow your builds, as I love the imagination and problem solving. Great inspiration!

[Ironwing]

Just lovely work Geoff. Its great to see your work !.............Harv

Harv,

 

Glad you looked in and enjoy what you're seeing. When ya gonna do a big 38? I saw one not long ago. It's outrageous big and with your 38 experience, you could build a gem.

 

Hope you'll keep visiting, it's gonna get crazy all up in here.

 

Best

 

Geoff