Out2gtcha Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Ever try some super thin lead wire for such stuff Kev? I have a 6 spool set of lead wire (not sure what similar is available in AUS though) with .020, .025, .030, .035 and two spools of .015 wire. They work really well for this kind of stuff, as long as your careful not to pinch them, they hold their shape and have no normal wire "spring" to them to want to pull away from the glue joint. Volture 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted April 7, 2015 Share Posted April 7, 2015 Looking really good Kev, nice progress over the Easter break, looking foward to seeing more. Regards. Andy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Ever try some super thin lead wire for such stuff Kev? I have a 6 spool set of lead wire (not sure what similar is available in AUS though) with .020, .025, .030, .035 and two spools of .015 wire. They work really well for this kind of stuff, as long as your careful not to pinch them, they hold their shape and have no normal wire "spring" to them to want to pull away from the glue joint. I've been meaning to get hold of some, but so far the only type I've found is the expensive 'modelling' packages from the likes of Plus Model. I've got some solder, which has similar properties, but is generally too thick. In this particular case, I'd worry about the weight of such wire too, as I'm having to butt-join them to the ignition harness. I'm experimenting with gluing them to the bottom of the moulded pips, rather to the ends, just so I've got more bonding area. Most of the butt-joined ones just fall off after a while. If I can't get them all secured properly and looking half-decent, I'll just rip 'em off and leave 'em off. Better no wiring at all than a half-arsed set. Kev Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 Looking really good Kev, nice progress over the Easter break, looking foward to seeing more. Regards. Andy Thanks Andy. There should be many twists and turns in this one! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 7, 2015 Author Share Posted April 7, 2015 I've been touring Google images, looking at photos of R2800s, and have become a bit disenchanted - not only with my efforts, but with Trumpeter's rendition of the engine itself. I also came across a few images of finished R2800 kit builds, and have come to the conclusion that I suck at engines! Man, what some folks can do is truly astounding, though admittedly few seem to use the Trumpeter engine as a starting point. I'm not going to beat myself up over it though, as that's a bit counterproductive. On the positive side, I did come across a few images of restored R2800s that featured dull silver ignition wiring, so perhaps leaving it unpainted isn't so wrong after all (though it probably is for a wartime bird). I'm tempted to break out all my radial-engined LSP kits and build all their engines, just so I can try to improve a few of my techniques and approaches, but I think I need to resist any further distractions from this one for as long as I can! More soon... Kev sandokan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 Trump's R-2800 is lousy Kev. But on a positive note, you don't see a lot of it with the cowl closed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Trump's R-2800 is lousy Kev. But on a positive note, you don't see a lot of it with the cowl closed. Yeah, that's what I'm banking on, Ron. I think when I build their F4U-4 that I have in the stash, I'll go for an aftermarket engine. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Peters Posted April 8, 2015 Share Posted April 8, 2015 One of the big problems with the Trumpeter engine is that it is too long. There is too much space in between the cylinder banks and it makes the front of the engine stick out of the front of the cowl too much. It would help to trim off some of that extra material on the crank case between the front and rear rows. Allan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 8, 2015 Author Share Posted April 8, 2015 Interesting observation Allan. I had wondered about that, as there's a lot of free space between the cylinder banks, as you say. Obviously the Trumpeter engine is missing the baffle/frame thingy that goes between the two banks, but in photos that doesn't appear to take up too much room. I've glued everything together now, unfortunately, so it's probably a bit too late to address this issue. If the engine was worth showing off, I'd leave the cowling off! But it ain't... Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 Still bogged down with the wiring, folks. Gluing them to the undersides of the attachment points is working slightly better, but not so much that they can't be knocked off. So I'm having to attach most of them at least twice, and even then they're a little bit fragile. I reckon I'm about halfway along at this stage. One thing's for certain: I have to find a better approach to engine wiring than this! Kev sandokan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 9, 2015 Author Share Posted April 9, 2015 OK, so I've made a few posts without any photographic evidence, so I thought I'd better provide some. I mentioned in an earlier post that I'd fixed the orientation issue with the engine itself. Basically, I carved off the original locating lug, and replaced it in the required location with some similarly-sized Evergreen strip: I'll post some photos once the wiring (grrr...) is finished. Kev sandokan, Sparzanza, Volture and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Nice fix Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 I sympathise with your woes, Kev ... This engine is really ugly, not because of your efforts, but because of Trumpeter's design. As a general rule, the front row of radial engines always has the #1 cylinder vertical, at the 'top'. Radially opposite to this cylinder, i.e. at the 'bottom', there was usually an oil sump on the early single-row radials, between two cylinders. You'll get there anyway, Kev. Keep up the ! Hubert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
don f Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 Interesting observation Allan. I had wondered about that, as there's a lot of free space between the cylinder banks, as you say. Obviously the Trumpeter engine is missing the baffle/frame thingy that goes between the two banks, but in photos that doesn't appear to take up too much room. I've glued everything together now, unfortunately, so it's probably a bit too late to address this issue. If the engine was worth showing off, I'd leave the cowling off! But it ain't... Kev Yikes. Too late to fix the cylinder spacing. If you decide to build another one, the center-to-center of front row to rear row of cylinders is 10" or 0.313". Don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted April 9, 2015 Share Posted April 9, 2015 This give an idea just how much Trump stretched their R-2800. Its the same deal in their Bearcat and Hellcat kits. sandokan 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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