Jump to content

1/18 SBD-5 Dauntless - update 18/11/16 - FINISHED!!


richdlc

Recommended Posts

many thanks for the encouragement guys it means a lot...

 

like I said, I'm pretty crap at soldering, but that's down to lack of practice.  I may give it another shot as I really want to emulate the kind of stuff that Peter (Airscale) is doing with metal at me point in the future.

 

thanks for checking in!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great work Rich !

 

I am sure you are aware of this "build" thread over on ARC :

 

http://www.arcforums.com/forums/air/index.php?showtopic=284363

 

This is the most fastidious work I have ever seen to achieve an accurate result, even if the end product will only be an electronic one.

 

Keep it coming

 

Hubert

Link to comment
Share on other sites

many thanks guys!

 

Hubert - yes, I've seen that guy's digital SBD. In fact, several useful observations he has made have helped me out. If nothing else, people in our line of the hobby will be able to use the scale drawings he's produced

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 months later...

*update 30/6/16*

 

Hi everyone

 

I've been hard at work over the last few weeks. Last time I showed you how I made the actuating mechanism for the wing dive brakes. This time around, it's all about metal skinning.

 

A major shortcoming of the kit is the fact that every rivet is recessed (this being basically a scale up / rip off of the old Accurate Miniatures 1/48 kit). You can get away with it in 1/48 - not so 1/18.

 

Every panel was measured, riveted and cut from pewter sheet. Some were easier than others. I had to bear in mind at all times later stages in the construction - for example, the wings won't be attached to the fuselage for some time, but I still had to make all the relevant panels ready to attach.

 

Here are a few photos showing where I am up to - around 90% of the body is either metallized, or has panels ready to attach later:

IMG_3653_zpsitfvkut0.jpg

 

 

 
 

IMG_3684_zps2kalspif.jpg

 

IMG_3682_zpstweuiwx8.jpg

 

 

IMG_3681_zpsplezkzt6.jpg

 

 

IMG_3646_zpsoeelhaca.jpg

 

 

IMG_3689_zpsqhn3gpaf.jpg

 

 

IMG_3688_zpsh4rt0t5k.jpg

 

 

I've also been working on all the flaps, ailerons and moving surfaces…some pics:

 

IMG_3696_zpsesopbdaq.jpg

 

 

IMG_3700_zps6yq9y7ka.jpg

 

 

IMG_3699_zpsfgeobua7.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

IMG_3692_zpstiofv5mn.jpg

 

 

for the fabric surfaces, I thought long and hard about trying to replicate the excellent results achieved by Peter (Airscale) on his 1/18 Spitfire build using scratchbuilt frameworks covered in Solartex.  In the end I decided I just don't have the time (or frankly, the skill and inclination) to try that with this build. It's already nearly 18 months in and I'm impatient!  In the end I tried a different technique. I put a grinding bit in my dremel and let it ‘dance' over the fabric surfaces on the flaps - this left random little nicks and gouges across the surface of the parts. After I'd polished them up using a polishing wheel (again in the dremel) the flaps had a high gloss shine, the harshest edges of the indentations were nicely burred out and it looked kind of cool. Time will tell if it has worked or not. Without the benefit of an undercoat, the effect kind of looks like wood grain as opposed to canvas…..but we'll have to wait and see. Check it out:

 

IMG_3702_zpshbdvnfa8.jpg

 

 

The plane is now slowly approaching the stage where I can attach the wings to the fuselage. However, before that happens I must first scratchbuild the actuating mechanism for the central dive brake…. and tackle the cockpit transparencies. For now though, here's a mock up - as it is difficult to convey the sheer size, I roped in a rather handsome model to hold the plane for the cameras. One other thing I can't really convey is the weight of this beast - which is going up considerably the more metal I add!

 

IMG_3714_zpsjif0j3sq.jpg

 

 

 

more soon, but possibly not for several more weeks

 

Rich

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...