brahman104 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 (edited) Now on to that nasty gap in the nose.... I had some 3mm thick sheet, so I traced the profile and added the taper. The right side was good, so I had to make up the difference in the left. This was good too, in that it's given me a nice flat surface when it comes time to join the two together.... Solved! more or less Having the filled the gap it is now easier to work out where the two windscreen halves should actually meet. So yeah, there you have it. A lot of mucking around to try and get the shape right. Still a long way to go and I feel the windscreen is still sitting a little too "vertical" but I think I'm getting there... slowly.. This is all removable so please feel free to offer your opinion on the "look" and hopefully this will come to a peaceful and successful resolution.... Craig Edited December 21, 2015 by brahman104 leoasman and Rdrunner 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKB Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Craig, Boy, you have really taken the bull by the horns on the cabin. The "box insert" is a great idea! Has to make working with the various parts easier then a "house of cards" approach. I agree the windshield looks a tiny bit to vertical, but might just be a case some slight refining, but there's no question you are getting there! Certainly a complicated area to replicate, but worth the effort to get it right. With all the successful problem solving you've done, just think how easy its going to be when you get into bulding an E !!!!! Terry brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 21, 2015 Author Share Posted December 21, 2015 (edited) Thanks Terry! I was most interested to hear your thoughts on it You have an eye for what the front end should look like so I respect your opinion! I do feel this is the most efficient (if I can use that term for anything on this build!?) approach and it will allow me to keep working to get the shape where I want it. All the while of having the option to replace parts that no longer look right. Looking at it now, I think the windscreen sections will be replaced, so I can increase the "rake" angle when viewed from the side. Lying in bed last night, where I tend to do most of my thinking, I had the somewhat dangerous notion of attempting to make the entire finished window/windscreen out of brass, even to the point of making tracks for the sliding windows so they can be repositioned. If I could pull that off it would guarantee strength in the whole section and should give me a better "scale" look as well. I don't know why I always choose the hardest route..... I guess it makes it more fun if I can pull it off Thanks for looking in Craig p.s. Oh yes the E. If HK haven't come out with a corrected F model by that time, I think I'm going to design a new fuselage from scratch and 3D print it. Surely it has to be easier than what I've done here! Edited December 21, 2015 by brahman104 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 Wow waht a scratch build! You know I can relate to that! brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 22, 2015 Author Share Posted December 22, 2015 I think I've got it now It's a bit hard to tell from these photos, but it's looking pretty good I reckon. I've still got to fair in the underside of the windscreen properly, but I'm pretty happy with the overall shape of things now.... just a lot of sanding and smoothing to do Craig Hubert Boillot, leoasman and Rdrunner 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted December 22, 2015 Share Posted December 22, 2015 A work of fearless ambition and great skill, Craig! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKB Posted December 23, 2015 Share Posted December 23, 2015 Craig, Again, your "insert jig" was a great idea and it is efficient, being able to make corrections as you go rather then starting from scratch. Thanks for all the different angle photos. Sometimes things look right from one angle and then off in another. From what I see, I think you have cabin area "look" 99.9% down! Once you smooth things out and crisp up the edges, I think you'll have it captured. Also, with the inked curves where the windshield and the "flattened" nose section meet, gives a good idea of what the bottom fairing will look like ----- and it has the right look to it! Great work!. Before you go further, one suggestiion; draw in your windshield/side windows and frames to verify how they fit and look on your stucture. Hate for you to refine everything on the cabin and then have the windows throw everything off. I may be wrong as I have no documentation, but I believe the top edge of the windscreen was level and all the taper was on the bottom edge. Also the fixed windows behind the sliding portion were slightly rectangular, not square. Going back to when you originally started the cabin re-woork, I think your recognizing that the roof needed to be thicker was the cornerstone to getting everything looking right. I was wondering how long it would take for the sliding side windows to bite you! As far as taking the hardest route, most of the time that's the route that has to be taken to get the best final results. The easy route would have been to use the HK nose/cabin OOB ---- I just don't see you being happy with the "easy way"! Well, you're coming right up to Christmas Eve "down there" so ------ Merry Christmas to everyone! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Iain Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Just catching up on your epic project Craig - really is looking good to my eyes! Amazing... Iain Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Thanks very much Iain! I hope you had a good christmas..... I'm looking forward to being able to get stuck back into it soon! I hear that HK's F model release is imminent... I'll be very curious to see if they've done any correcting of the nose area Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKB Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 CraIg, Unless you have been holding out on us and working with the HK people, then I don't expect to see any changes to the nose contours! As you found out, correcting the nose problem also created more problems. It would be to their credit to get the nose corrected, but then they would have the cabin area to contend with. I'd have to put my money on there not being any corrections, but I hope I'm wrong! Guess what I am more curious about is to what extent will HK go with the E/F? Between the G and E/F, when you start adding up the major differences, let alone the minor ones, it's a long list! Then throw in the differences between the E and F and within the Fseries itself ---- well its going to have to be quite a kit! Just have to wai t and see. Your scratchbuilt cabin ---- is it a prototype master that can be used for any future B-17 builds, or is it going to end up as the actual cabin for your C/D? Terry brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 (edited) Hahaha, no I'm sorry to tell you Terry, I haven't....... But yes I was hopeful there would be some corrections. I thought by now there may be some photos airing on line, but I guess maybe they're playing this one close to the chest. You would certainly think that given the time between releases of the G and F that there would have been time to address a few things but maybe not? I know it's much more than just the nose so I'll be very interested to see how it comes out. At the end of the day, anything which would lessen the extent to which I've altered the kit would be a bonus, and if that's the case then I'll definitely be getting another one (or two) Apologies mate, which cabin are you referring to? I'm generally not clever enough when I build things to plan ahead for repeatability, so most things are a one off. That and I'll always do things differently if I do them again, so pretty much everything is a one off.... It's all part of the learning experience anyway! Cheers, Craig Edited December 27, 2015 by brahman104 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Great progress ! Looks better and better Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKB Posted December 30, 2015 Share Posted December 30, 2015 Craig, What I was asking about was, once you are satisfied with the cockpit cabin, were you planning "repeatability" I use to be the same as you --- one off with repeatability an afterthought. I'd just hate for you to have to deal with some of the same hurdles again (and maybe again). I admit I'm being a bit pessimistic about the E/F release (again, hope I'm wrong). Guess, I'm avoiding a "surprise letdown" once it's released. Then again, as you said, HK has had plenty of time to work up the E/F and anything done to "lessen the load" of alterations needed would be welcome. But, let's be honest about it ---- even having to alter an E/F is going to be pretty much a walk in the park for you! I mean your C/D is way beyond an alteration ---- more like a 98% rebuild. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted January 2, 2016 Share Posted January 2, 2016 My Gosh Craig - and I thought I was tearing into my P-38 when I redid the windshield! Keep going man - I want to see the finished product. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Thanks very much Jay! I've been away for a few days so I'm keen to get stuck back in. Just got a bit more finessing to do with the windscreen/cockpit area and then hopefully I can get back to the rear fuselage section. Hope to have a proper update soon Thanks as always for looking in, I really appreciate it! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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