NavyF4s Posted January 11, 2014 Share Posted January 11, 2014 Hey Anthony, I found the site I got the gels from. They sent me a "buy more stuff from us!" email. http://www.stagespot.com/gel-swatch-book.html I think shipped, I got all five books for $20-$25 to my door. They are pretty cool, and you can do a LOT with them and a little imagination. Nav lights, MFD screens, various glass panels and numerous texture effects should be readily possible. Hope that helps some. Thanks Man You're the boss. Your IP is looking great. The greys look very close. Anthony Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted January 11, 2014 Author Share Posted January 11, 2014 (edited) Thanks Man You're the boss. Your IP is looking great. The greys look very close. Anthony The more I look at things, the more I think I may just stick with what I've already got here. I seem to be having much more difficulty with Future as my bonding agent as opposed to the old Krystal Klear glue (or whatever it was called) that I had used before.- to laminate the gel sheets together. This round it's nothing but air bubbles and headache: So I am tempted to just leave well enough alone, and use the single 'grey' film option I've got here. When it all comes together, I think the effect is still more convincing than a decal or coat of paint would otherwise be: I still need to pick out the bezel buttons on the side MFD's and a few other small details, but I think this part is getting close to a close. Does anyone happen to see any glaring things I've missed? I am waiting to install the gear handle till after everything is fitted and permanently fixed into the fuselage. A couple buttons here and there though, and I hope to have this area more or less taken care of once and for all. Edited February 21, 2017 by Uilleann Rdrunner 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 (edited) Surgery begins... Started work today with the newly acquired razor saw and sanding sticks on modifying the Trumpy kit to accept the Aires resin tub and IP. I haven't been able to find any other builds using this update set, so I charged ahead more or less blindly (particularly given that I've never done a resin pit install before.) The kit has the IP cowling and side sills molded to the fuselage, all as a single piece: The IP cowling and most of the side sills need to be removed to allow the Aires set to fit in place. I began with the razor saw: And the (more or less) finished part, ready for the resin: I have a little work here and there to help get everything to settle into place. Getting the fit right on the resin side sills has proven to be a bit tricky, and this is the main area I need to continue to refine. The rear bulkhead fits beautifully with very little gap to fill, and the IP and cowling up front almost as good. Due to the very tight integration of the three main resin parts however, there is a slight gap I've found that's opened up at the front end of the IP section (about 1.5mm) when everything is put together, that I will have to shim with some card most likely. I haven't worked out all the kinks of the fit just yet, but will keep working on the details as time allows, and will add some shots with the resin in place soon enough. One area of note that has given me some trouble, at the rear of the sills as they meet up with the rear bulkhead. One needs to remove the back section of the kit sills in their entirety, as well as a good deal of the remaining wall thickness to get the resin parts to sit in place properly. Also, the cuts along the sills are not straight, but have a very subtle curve inward to them as you move forward towards the IP. If I were to rate the fit and ease of install of this set on a 1-10 scale, with 1 being so poor that massive surgery, shimming and bottles of CA were needed to get everything in place, and a 10 being a perfect fit, dropped into place with no gaps and nary a sanding stick required...I'd give this kit a solid 5 so far. Obviously the modifications required to the kit itself aren't tiny, and some of the fit issues are more than a subtle annoyance. But I remain optimistic that I can make everything fit well enough in the end. Crossing fingers! On a side note, I also opened up the formation/de-icing lights on the sides of the fuselage, and will be building some small reflectors and new lenses for them. Somehow, the solid opaque plastic just wasn't selling it for me that these lights were a good copy of the real deal. Bri~ Edited February 21, 2017 by Uilleann Youngtiger1 and Uncarina 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted January 27, 2014 Share Posted January 27, 2014 This is an epic build, and I truly admire what you've put together so far! Cheers, Tom Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted January 27, 2014 Author Share Posted January 27, 2014 This is an epic build, and I truly admire what you've put together so far! Cheers, Tom Looking sharp bro love the cockpit very clean Thanks guys - sincerely appreciate the motivation to keep moving forward! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 (edited) A step forward... Got around to installing the pipes and vanes in the platypus exhaust. As Eric pointed out in his build, there is no way to see down the length of the pipes from behind, so in reality, painting the ducts at all is something of an exercise in futility. All the same...I did it, because...I dunno. The ducts do add weight, and I certainly concur with the earlier suggestions to leave the engines out to save weight - particularly, if like me, you plan to use the kits plastic gear. The vanes are grossly oversize in their thickness really, but I reached a conclusion that as much as I would like to properly fix them, it wasn't worth the effort at this stage. I am surprised Eduard hasn't included a fix for this in their 'external' PE set for this kit. Oh well - a quick shot with Model Master burnt metal and exhaust metalizer enamels followed by a light polish looks to have a good base with which I can move forward to further detailing down the road: I also went ahead and closed up the bomb bay doors. While I know that this may equate to sacrilege to some, my intention was never to model them open from the outset. Ironically perhaps, I've personally never been one who thrilled at the sight of munitions and weapons hanging down from an aircraft - even if it's purpose was precisely to deliver the same in times of conflict. At any rate, this configuration will allow me more space internally, as well as added weight savings, that will prove useful as the build progresses. The fit of these doors has quite possibly been the highlight of this kit for me so far. It is absolutely flawless. Not a gap anywhere. A quick shot at the seams with some Plaststruct solvent cement, and they're not going anywhere: I haven't yet attached the Aires pit to the upper fuselage...but here are a couple of quick test shots held in with tape and fingers. As mentioned earlier, the IP has some slight fit/gap issues that I will need to figure out. Putty would seem to be the easy and obvious choice, but I am hesitant as there is a good chance of losing/destroying the delicate detail on the front of the IP hood in the process. I'll keep thinking on it and see if I can come up with a viable solution: And the main tub. It also has a few minor (I hope anyway) fit issues, though I remain hopeful they won't prove too difficult to deal with. (Yes, I know I need to fit that bit of PE that peeled away at the top of the rear bulkhead.) Having never worked with resin on this scale before, it's a bit of an adventure into the unknown for me. I'm just thankful I haven't stuffed it all up completely...at least not yet. The wife is out of commission for a few weeks post surgery to repair a detached tendon in one of her fingers. So, I will perform my husbandly duties, and take care of the missus as long as she needs. This only adds to my snails pace here...but progress is progress...even if only at a glacial rate! Edited February 21, 2017 by Uilleann Uncarina 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 That cockpit looks really good. Will those tiny gaps be visible once the canopy goes on? If not, you might need to stress too much about removing them. Matt Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jamme Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 Really nice job on the pit. Cheers, Jamme Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 (edited) Amazing as usual! Makes me want to go out and get one of these kits...I agree with Matt: with the windscreen in place would the gaps be visible? If they are a concern how about using Elmers glue? It works great to fill small gaps without sanding. Cheers, Tom Edited February 9, 2014 by Uncarina Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted February 9, 2014 Author Share Posted February 9, 2014 My intent has always been to model this kit with the canopy open. This highlights all the detail in the pit of course...but also shows any gaps and construction errors equally well. So this is something I will have to tackle as best I can. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 (edited) Speaking of the canopy, I decided to attempt to tackle the missing ventilation duct work along the bottom sill of the frame. Construction began with some .010 x .060 evergreen strip, layered double thick for the thinner forward section, and building up to 4 layers to the rear. Added a panel to thicken the rear wall behind the side windows (with a splash of PE just to add a little interest). A slight kink in the duct, and a transition to a short bit of rod stock. I can't seem to find my bag of little tungsten cones I used for the front end of the ducting, but when i can dig them out of the stack of parts I've collected, I'll attach one to the rod on each side to finish off the back end of the run. Oh yes, can't forget to mention Peter's 1/32 airscale cockpit placard, which replaced the overly thick PE version I originally used on the front sill. Once all is attached and fixed in place, a quick shot of aircraft interior black will tie everything together. Edited February 21, 2017 by Uilleann Uncarina, A-10LOADER and airscale 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Looks very good. You have a great eye for detail. Love it.........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted February 10, 2014 Author Share Posted February 10, 2014 Thanks Harv - in looking at things, I didn't quite get the PE placed as straight as possible, so I'll be sure to fix that. The macro shows ALL doesn't it? This scratch building side of things is turning out to be rather fun... Next up are the main wheel wells, though they're much harder to see, so I may not put as much into them as the nose. We'll see how long my patience holds out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uilleann Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 (edited) Progress on the vents piping. Got the rear side panels in place (removed a bit of the PE...it was just a bit much). Also found my stash of small cone shaped metal thingies and was able to get them properly mounted on the back end of the ducts. A quick dash of superglue to hold everything fast, and it's ready for paint. Rather pleased with the final outcome - as I'm hopeful each of these little side adventures in detail and scratched bits help to lend to a much more convincing bird in the end. Hope to have some time to figure out my current airbrush woes sometime this week or weekend. Once that's all sorted, I should be able to blow some black on, and touch up a few small details. Having lots of fun though! Really liking the way it's coming along so far. Edited February 21, 2017 by Uilleann Uncarina, ghatherly and A-10LOADER 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 The macro reveals all, and in this case that's awe-inspiring detail. Thanks for sharing! Cheers, Tom Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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