Second Attempt at HKM B-17G With Some Minor Improvements.

[Loic]

Thanks

[patricksparks]

Great stuff !!!

Pat

[Silver Dollar]

Thanks Pat.  

Tonight was micro night. I decided to remake the levers for the throttle quadrant.  They look too thick and unnatural and the plastic is so soft that I had trouble eliminating the mold lines without bending the things.  I remade them out of brass so they should be a lot stronger and more natural looking.  I also did the throttle levers but they're still not finish yet.  I see I still need a little touch up here and there.  That's the benefit of taking close up shots.  

 

I left the last lever unpainted so you can see the construction.  It definitely won't be left that way.  

These need a little finishing.  They'll look a lot better when painted and not so shiny.

[Loic]

Beautifull work !

[Ferry NL]

Nice SD!!!

[Silver Dollar]

Here's the culmination of about 8 hours of work.  The throttle quadrant is finally finished.  If the throttles look a bit different in size, it's because they are each at slightly different levels to show that they are separate.  This drove me a little nuts so tomorrow, it's back to kit #1 and the completion of the exhaust system.  Then, on to wing #2

 

Don't try this at home.  It can cause brain damage.  

Edited January 6, 2014 by Silver Dollar

[brahman104]

Wow, excellent work there SD! I just made a control column for my vampire in brass and it does give a great result, just a bit more time consuming! I can imagine how small that pedestal really is. That's a lot of detail happening there..

 

Well done! 

 

Craig

[Jamme]

Great job !

Congrats.

Jamme

[Guest Peterpools]

Awesome work on the throttle quadrant - looks fantastic

Keep 'em coming

Peter

[Ironwing]

Dollar,

 

Really nice detail work. If you like, I'll send down some of the tablets I take. You might need them soon. Soldier on Bud, you're doing great here.

 

Best

 

Geoff

[Silver Dollar]

Thanks again, guys.  I really would not be able to do this without all of your encouragement.   Fortunately, I've been able to learn so much from all of your work and the models you guys have built.  

 

 Hey Geoff, I think I'll need those tablets now.  Mine don't seem to work anymore against this kind of thing.  The next big step is going to be the instrument panel.  I've got a few ideas for that and I hope they work.  

[geedubelyer]

That is some serious detail painting.

It's terrific to see a representation of the stencilling around the knobs and switches. Certainly looks busy.

[Silver Dollar]

Thanks, geedubelyer.  I just hope it doesn't look too busy.  From a non magnified distance, it looks much better.  You'll see the difference when I take shots of the completed cockpit.  I'll be making a digital scrap book of the innards so that when the whole thing is buttoned up, you'll still be able to see what goes inside.  

[Silver Dollar]

I tackled the instrument panel tonight.  This is one area HK really didn't do very well with the detail here.  Those who have the kit know what the trouble with this piece is but for those who haven't yet bought it,  the instrument panel is way too thick, the bezels are way out of scale and the panel sits too low in the bulkhead.  I started to deal with this problem like I did with the other kit, i.e. I cut out the center of the panel, trimmed it on top and then recemented it to the two side pieces.  This time, I didn't want to stay with the original pice because it was a pain to thin out the panel and mess with the bezels.  Instead, I was going to scratch build the panel out of .005 styrene and do the sandwich technique but it was so floppy, it was hard not to over cut the instrument holes.  Instead, I found a piece of .008 tin that I had in my stash, cut off the right side where the control box is, copied the back side of the panel on my printer, double stick taped it to the tin and used it to drill the holes.  Then one by one, I trimmed the holes to the right size and position using small drill bits and a bead reamer.  I used the instrument decals to line up and size all the holes.  Lastly, I rough trimmed it to fit the bulkhead.  Next, I'll be finalizing the fit and begin to paint the panel and add all the little doo-dads that go onto it.  It's a very easy thing to do but it is a bit labor intensive.  It should be well worth the effort in the end. Here's what it looks like.  

 

I first cut off the starboard side so the rest will sit flat in the printer.  

 

I refitted the piece to make sure I didn't overcut

 

Then I cut all the holes.  It was hard to get a good shot of this piece because of the shine.  It's actually flat and not wavy. 

 

Here's the piece trimmed and then rough fitted.

 

 

The next step will be to cut out a piece of 1/16 inch thick styrene the same shape as the original panel, then place the instrument decal face down on a piece of .010 clear acetate, then sandwich and glue the acetate between the metal facade and the styrene lining up all the instruments.  After that, it's about adding the doodads.  Hopefully, it'll look totally natural.  

[Roy vd M.]

Looks great, nice to read how you are tackling this.