EmperorKai Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 Thanks Mal- looks like we were posting at the same time Doing some work with a paint drone today to work out the process for paint and finish, so should have another post later. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal_Belford Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 GEEEEZ This looks great, just lovit That tool that you use.....looks something my dentist use... what the heck is that one... please explain.. i understand the way you did it.... /Mal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 (edited) Hey Mal- I have a Dremel rotary tool that takes various bits for carving, routing, drilling etc and is a commercial, hobby version of the same thing that dentists use. I found that the bits for this tool also fit in my pin vise. The Dremel turns at 5000 rpm minimum which is fine for working with resin or wood, but much too fast for detail work. Using the bit in my pin vise provides the ability to use the bits with finesse and very tight control. Here's a link to the bit itself- there are quite a few others that could provide option for detail work, such as recessing circular panels, etc. http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/ProductDetail.aspx?pid=134 and a list of some of other bits that Dremel offers http://www.dremel.com/en-us/Accessories/Pages/SubCategories.aspx?catid=2070&catname=High+Speed+Cutters They're pretty inexpensive and can be obtained from Amazon, etc. I used a couple of different ones on the tail wheel Hope this helps Kai Edited April 11, 2014 by EmperorKai Mal_Belford 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 Fantastic work on the tail wheel Kai! Most impressive, and a great result. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 11, 2014 Author Share Posted April 11, 2014 (edited) Thanks Kev! A quick post here on some testing I did with a paint drone today for the winter finish. Winter finishes can be tough to pull off, so I wanted to walk through the steps before committing and share here to serve as future reference. From the spare parts bin- the back side of an Academy 1/48 F-15 Eagle. With recessed panel lines and lots of surface, this was a good candidate. Here, the summer camouflage scheme is represented with MM Russian Topside Green and a mix made from Testors Flat Black with a bit of Russian Topside Green added. Since this will serve as a background to any chipping, the pattern was airbrush freehand with a soft demarcation between colors. Once this was dry, a single coat of AKI Chipping Fluid was airbrushed neat. I understand that the winter camouflage schemes were applied to the Sturmoviks with a Nitro based paint at the factory for a long lasting finish, or in the field with a soluble paint that was applied by whatever means (usually brushed or mopped) that was not only uneven, but would show considerably more wear over time from use in combat and maintenance. To simulate the uneven finish of Zoob's aircraft, I mixed Tamiya XF-2 with a tiny dab of Tamiya XF-58 Olive Green and thinned about 25% with water. The mix was then brushed with a medium sized brush in a randomized pattern that somewhat simulated the strokes that might be taken by ground crew during application. A few variations on applying the whitewash were tried as well, such as dabbing with an artist's sponge, reapplying a second time in some spots and leaving part of the summer colors unpainted. The mix was thinned a bit more and then airbrushed over the top to smooth out the application just a bit, but being careful not to over-normalize the finish. A close up of the mottling and aesthetically rough finish that resulted. The paint thickness was for the most part still smooth to the touch. Once the whitewash had dried, small sections were wetted with water and chipped using a small pointed detail brush and a round toothpick. A number 4 brush was used to remove larger areas. To get a sense of the net effect, a hasty pin wash was applied to pick out the panel lines. Normally a gloss coat should go down first before the pin wash. I only did a small area for now, and still have lots of room on the piece to try a few variations and affects. A historical image for comparison. Note that the propeller blades were often white washed as well. At this point, while not completely documented here, and with a few minor tweaks, I am satisfied with the process. Thanks for looking! Kai Edited April 11, 2014 by EmperorKai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted April 11, 2014 Share Posted April 11, 2014 wow - i just had to double my popcorn subscription :popcorn: :popcorn: what you are doing here is incredible - and I very much appreciate learning about the difficult finish - 'aesthetically rough' is one you can't buy in a bottle cracking job.. Peter EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 (edited) LOL- thanks Peter Quick post here to show the grab handles on the side of the fuselage mentioned previously. First, a picture of a single seater in which the grab handle can be seen on the side of the fuselage just behind the cockpit. Another picture, but of a 2 seater with a slightly better view of the grab handle. The handle itself was made from 28 gauge bead wire, which is very pliable, but stiffer than lead wire or solder. 2 holes were drilled in the fuselage... The distance between the holes was then measured, marked and drilled. This can go the other way around as well, in which the holes are drilled in the tongue depressor and used as a guide to mark and drill the holes. A small length of wire is then inserted in the holes and pulled taught from the backside. The flat side of an xacto blade was used to tighten up the angles. Excess wire was clipped on the backside. This results in what basically looks like a staple. The staple shaped handle is then inserted to the correct depth and glued into place. This was done on both sides. I'll post more in a bit Kai Edited April 12, 2014 by EmperorKai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 12, 2014 Author Share Posted April 12, 2014 The project is now at the point where final details are being added to the airframe. In doing so, I'm finding that some of these details can use some improvement or even replacement. The kit pitot tube looks too thick to me, so I located some appropriately sized thin-walled brass tube (not rod). The hole in the leading edge of the wing was even more oversized and way too big for the replacement pitot tube. Appropriately sized aluminum tube was used as a sleeve for the pitot tube. The hole in the wing leading edge was drilled out for the sleeve, and the sleeve glued into place The aluminum sleeve, which is pretty soft, was carefully sanded flush. The rivets and panel lines will also need to be replace along the leading edge. The finished pitot tube ... and from the top to show its length in relation to the VYa-23 cannon barrel Thanks for looking! Kai Mal_Belford 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mal_Belford Posted April 12, 2014 Share Posted April 12, 2014 Oh dear..... Elegant and the right way..... This is building in my taste for shure.....no fuzz, just think...fix it....voila... Just lovit, just lovit... /Mal EmperorKai 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 14, 2014 Author Share Posted April 14, 2014 (edited) Here's some detail work that was done on the trim tab controls A good view of the trim tab control on the rudder and stabilizer of a damaged aircraft. Note that the trim tab control on the rudder extends from the fin itself to the trim tab, rather than from the rudder to trim tab Another similar view. Both of these also show the relative thickness of the control rods, which are a little heavy in the kit. The kit out of the box needed a little clean up in preparation for the Eduard photo-etch. The raised rectangular area was removed, holes filled and the shroud for the control rod was drilled out. Close up of the control rod on the stabilizer which compares well to the photos above. The tail assembly completed A great photo of the aileron trim control rod on a metal winged Sturmovik. The aileron mass balance is also clearly seen here. The Eduard set did not include parts for the ailerons, so these were scratchbuilt in similar fashion from .005 sheet plastic, photo-etch fret, brass rod and lead foil for the shroud on the wing. This is a still from a Russian WW2 training film for IL-2 pilots which includes a detailed pre-flight check. About 3 minutes in, the pilot checks the ailerons and in doing so shows the aileron control rods. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TBtIybJOWN4 (sound warning at the beginning) Only a few details remain before the airframe will be ready for paint... Thanks for looking! Kai Edited April 14, 2014 by EmperorKai Mal_Belford 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 15, 2014 Author Share Posted April 15, 2014 Some more details... There are a number of different types of aiming systems that were used on the Sturmovik. A common type was the VV-1, a simple post mounted on the top of the engine cowling that was used in conjunction with the aiming lines on the windshield. The most common version of this was a multi-piece affair that provided for elevation and windage adjustment. I took a stab at this one, but the eyes and fingers just weren't up to the task. This picture is unusual in that both the VV-1 and early PBP-1 sight (in the cockpit) are mounted here, perhaps during testing or alignment. Luckily, I found a picture of an even simpler version that provided for elevation adjustment only. The correct positioning of the VV-1 gunsight, from Jason's review Simple and unspetacular Added a base plate and cuff on the aerial mast made from lead foil. A small hole was also drilled where the aerial will enter the top of the fuselage just behind the aerial mast. Almost done- bottom view Working on the armaments now and will post pics of those next... Thanks for looking! Kai Learstang and moksha 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 16, 2014 Author Share Posted April 16, 2014 (edited) RS-82 rockets A great close up view of the RS-82 82mm aerial rocket. This example has had the fuse assembly removed. There are 2 bands on the body with the launch rail lugs, however these bands are not readily apparent at distance. There seems to be a great deal of variation in the coloration of these rockets. In this case, a black body and nose with olive drab fins... This one is from a recovered wreck, a Lend-Lease Hurricane found near Murmansk I believe. Note that the coloration appears to be exactly opposite of the one above. Other variations include all black, all olive drab, unpainted metallic bodies, etc. The silver fuse is missing the fan, but otherwise intact. There were also a number of different launchers- this one a tube type RO-82, which was used on many Russian aircraft, though I don't think it was used on the IL-2. The kit version of the RS-82 rockets. The fins were cut from the rockets and the bands sanded off. To aid in attaching and aligning the photo-etch fins, I constructed a small fin alignment jig consisting of a body and 2 barrels. The top barrel is for scribing a circumferential line at the where the the aft band used to be located. The lower barrel has had perpendicular slots cut for the fins. The rocket is inserted nose first into the barrel, which fits in the jig body. Much easier. The tail of the rockets were trued-up and thinned and a short length of aluminum tubing was inserted for the rocket motor nozzle. The indent on the body was also filled in. Here is the whole gaggle... Another view with the rocket on the launch rail, which aren't bad, but need some work as well. Thanks for looking! Kai Edited April 16, 2014 by EmperorKai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted April 16, 2014 Share Posted April 16, 2014 Way too cool to comprehend, outstanding work Kai. Cheers Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EmperorKai Posted April 23, 2014 Author Share Posted April 23, 2014 Thanks Martin! Have made some progress on the rocket launch rails as of late. On my fourth attempt now as I haven't been able to settle on something I can live with, short of rebuilding them entirely from scratch. I think I've got something close enough this time though... It's been tough getting good pics of the launch rails, but found a few A good detail view of the trailing end of the launchers with the pig tails waiting to be connected The kit launch rails fresh off the sprue I tried several different approaches including brass angles and various modifications. The compromise that I am trying to achieve here is a good (but not necessarily definitive) representation of the launch rail that can be duplicated 8 times without resorting to casting it in resin. With that said, on this fourth try, I cleaned up the kit piece and scribed a fairly wide trough down the center. Here's a shot of the track for the rocket before it was widened. The front end of the rail was filed down to approximate the angled nose. Then the tail end was chopped. To represent the "hook" like housing for the ignition harness, the tail end was flipped around and sanded to shape. The launch rail so far. A piece of photo-etch fret has been cut, folded to a U shape and cuffed around the trailing end of the rail. I still feel like it needs a bit more though- the flanges need to be thinned and the hook needs to be cut back a bit. Still tinkering... Thanks for looking! Kai Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mywifehatesmodels Posted April 23, 2014 Share Posted April 23, 2014 Taking notes for my upcoming Sturmovik build(s). Good stuff. Keep it coming! John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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