brahman104 Posted June 20, 2020 Author Share Posted June 20, 2020 Things are putting along nicely now after the initial setback with the nacelles. More sanding and smoothing work yet to do, but they're certainly on the way I was able to reuse the very rear of the nacelles (thanks to HK's super thick plastic) to shape that all important join. While I'm on a roll with the wings I figured I'd better build the wheel bays so once the nacelles are finished there'll be no hold ups to gluing the wings together! Wait! What's this??? I'm using the kit parts? Shock horror!!! Actually the kit parts here are pretty good and don't really need anything other than some creative painting (still got more to do) but I also wanted to finish the eduard exhausts while I was at it. Like so many aspects of this build, this is the first time I've really used weathering pigments and played with different airbrush techniques to create effects like this. I'm really happy with the results, even if they may be a little over done for a relatively new C model That's when Terry's eagle eyes noted something amiss with the inboard engine "extensions" (that's the long straight pipes that route the exhaust past the wheel bays). In much the same way that HK probably only looked at one B-17 for their reference, I think eduard did too. This type of exhaust appeared very late on the G model production and was not very common. Indeed, most of the B-17's I've seen flying today don't have them either. They are present on Duxford's "Mary Alice" which is where I'd say the companies did their research. If they didn't appear till late in the G production run, then there's absolutely no way they could be present on the C!!! This is what they should look like (thanks to Terry for the following two images) Until Terry pointed this out I was completely oblivious. I'm sure I'd seen these before but it definitely wasn't on my mind when I was painting them up.... lucky I had my quality control inspector checking my work!!! So what to do about it? I hunted around for a while and found a pair of torpedos from a 1/72 seahawk kit that fitted perfectly for diameter.... I then replaced the centre section with the torpedo. In my excitement, I forgot to add the glycol boilers, so they came next. Now we're cookin'!!!! Hopefully the next step will be a major milestone in having the wings together, then I can focus on a long-awaited return to the fuselage! Cheers, Craig rafju, Lothar, kkarlsen and 19 others 22 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzas Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 I really enjoy this build! Keep amazing me! Everything looks fantastic, and I'm impressed with your dedication. Gaz brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKB Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Craig, I don't think many would attempt, let alone pull off your work on the outboard nacelles! Talk about a "recovered fumble" on the exhaust pipes --- I don't feel so bad anymore! Fantastic job of replicating and bashing together the early exhaust! The "standoff" tubing really gives it life. What's the end total ... about 20 individual parts! Overall paintwork on the whole exhaust system came out very realistic. I don't think it looks overdone at all. I'm sure it didn't take long for even a fairly new exhaust system to show signs of heat discoloration and surface oxidation. Terry brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 Masterful work, Craig! Kev brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
patricksparks Posted June 20, 2020 Share Posted June 20, 2020 (edited) We must be working in a parallel universe, I just spent today working on B-24 super chargers ..... Edited June 21, 2020 by LSP_Kevin Removed unnecessary quoted material. Anthony in NZ and brahman104 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Great work!!! Love this brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 (edited) Nice save on those turbo bases. Equally nice work on the exhaust port. The painting on the exhausts and turbos look GREAT. Sincerely, Mark Edited June 21, 2020 by dodgem37 brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 This just gets better and better... Good spot with the exhaust mod - I’m sure you won’t, but don’t forget the additional intake scoops in front of the gear wells on the inboard nacelles and on the outboard sides of the outer nacelles for the oil coolers... Looking forward to seeing a photo of the wings offered up to the fuselage - you’re almost on the home straight then..! Tom brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted June 21, 2020 Author Share Posted June 21, 2020 3 minutes ago, tomprobert said: This just gets better and better... Good spot with the exhaust mod - I’m sure you won’t, but don’t forget the additional intake scoops in front of the gear wells on the inboard nacelles and on the outboard sides of the outer nacelles for the oil coolers... Looking forward to seeing a photo of the wings offered up to the fuselage - you’re almost on the home straight then..! Tom Thanks Tom! Yes the credit for the exhaust must go to Terry; if he hadn't told me I doubt I would've even noticed..... funny how you think you know your subject when actually you know hardly anything about it at all! The scoops on the other hand, yes, I am onto them at least! Once the nacelles are smooth I'm going to cast them as they are, so they can be used for later E/F builds, then add the unique C/D intakes on the copies Hahaha, I do love your optimism about being on the home straight! There's a lot of detail that still needs to be looked at in the fuselage, but you are right, definitely getting there. Maybe not this year, but one very soon! Always a pleasure Tom Craig Out2gtcha and tomprobert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 21 hours ago, brahman104 said: ... this is the first time I've really used weathering pigments and played with different airbrush techniques to create effects like this. I'm really happy You should be happy Craig - they are excellent! really tough to get right but these look bang on for me - love the mods you did after too this build continues to thrill and amaze and i love every minute of it Peter brahman104, Derek B, chukw and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FreightDog Posted June 21, 2020 Share Posted June 21, 2020 Wow. I've just read this thread as I'm building the G but out of the box. This is on a completely different level and is a proper academic exercise. Blown away by your tenacity and skills. Me? When I was 8 the objective was to turn a kit into something looking like an aeroplane asap, and 44 years late not a lot has changed except I've now got an airbrush! brahman104 and wpierson 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted July 27, 2020 Author Share Posted July 27, 2020 (edited) On 6/22/2020 at 6:55 AM, airscale said: You should be happy Craig - they are excellent! really tough to get right but these look bang on for me - love the mods you did after too this build continues to thrill and amaze and i love every minute of it Peter Thanks Peter! Yep, I'm pretty happy with how they've turned out. Always learning though! On 6/22/2020 at 8:50 AM, FreightDog said: Wow. I've just read this thread as I'm building the G but out of the box. This is on a completely different level and is a proper academic exercise. Blown away by your tenacity and skills. Me? When I was 8 the objective was to turn a kit into something looking like an aeroplane asap, and 44 years late not a lot has changed except I've now got an airbrush! Thanks mate. It's all relative though.... my skills have grown exponentially through this project alone, but it might be another 44 years before I finish it! Wow! another month flashes by with the blink of an eye. Precious little time spare for the bench, but...... Since I've moved to NZ and completed conversion onto their platform of choice I've been kept very busy. I thought I'd share a few pics from last week of the new bus. In my mind, still not as awesome as a Chinook (I am possibly biased), but not altogether bad either . Especially not when I get to fly around places like this! Yes, all three are of me, freezing my a*$e off in -10 degrees at 7,000 feet. I know for some of you that's nothing, but when you've lived pretty much all of your life in the tropics........ Good fun though! Back to the build. I've been chipping away for what seems like forever to blend the kit and my printed nacelles together in preparation for casting. I don't know how Iain is doing it with his Andover build, but I've certainly had enough of sanding for a while! So this is where they're at now: They still look a bit rough, but they are in fact quite smooth. It was quite challenging to recreate the seam that runs around the nacelle. As always, it's done 90% by eye so hopefully will look the part once it's all together on the wing. The shape of them alone makes for a challenging proposition when casting. No I'm certainly no expert on the matter, but hopefully by each nacelle on these brass pins, everything should stay in the same place. Because I could, I drew up and laser cut some MDF for the mould boxes. I figured that would support the weight of the pin a bit better than simple balsa wood. So that's pretty much where it's at right now. I'm waiting for the first pour of the silicone to go off so I can pour the second half. I really hope this works, as I don't fancy going through this process again! Cheers, Craig Edited July 27, 2020 by brahman104 scvrobeson, Anthony in NZ, dodgem37 and 20 others 22 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted July 31, 2020 Share Posted July 31, 2020 (edited) NZ??? Can I move there? I understand there is practically no covid there..... and I looove big glaciated mountains. Chinook? What is your experience with the Chinook? When I graduated engineering school (1974) I went to work in Ridley Park Pennsylvania, USA at the Boeing Vertol Helicopter plant, which at the time was churning out CH-47C's. I started out in liaison engineering right in the plant, where I became very familiar with the Chinook and also the Ch-46 Sea Knight, which was ending its production run. Later I transferred into design engineering and spent time on the triple hook arrangement for the D-model, among other projects. What a machine. It just never becomes obsolete. Just make sure the connector drive shafts between fwd and aft transmissions are in good shape! As usual - an amazing out of the box approach on the B-17. Let's see who can extend this out longer - your B-17 or my F4U. Edited July 31, 2020 by JayW brahman104 and Anthony in NZ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted August 1, 2020 Share Posted August 1, 2020 wow - nice work Craig you are about to enter the twilight zone and boy is it satisfying making your own parts like this is soooo rewarding love it peter brahman104 and JayW 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted August 1, 2020 Author Share Posted August 1, 2020 On 8/1/2020 at 8:00 AM, JayW said: NZ??? Can I move there? I understand there is practically no covid there..... and I looove big glaciated mountains. Chinook? What is your experience with the Chinook? When I graduated engineering school (1974) I went to work in Ridley Park Pennsylvania, USA at the Boeing Vertol Helicopter plant, which at the time was churning out CH-47C's. I started out in liaison engineering right in the plant, where I became very familiar with the Chinook and also the Ch-46 Sea Knight, which was ending its production run. Later I transferred into design engineering and spent time on the triple hook arrangement for the D-model, among other projects. What a machine. It just never becomes obsolete. Just make sure the connector drive shafts between fwd and aft transmissions are in good shape! As usual - an amazing out of the box approach on the B-17. Let's see who can extend this out longer - your B-17 or my F4U. G'day Jay, Yes indeed NZ is beautiful (and cold!!!). At the moment we are very fortunate with the management of the virus, but as my former home has shown, it only takes a minor lapse or people being complacent for it to come raging back with a vengeance. Hopefully that won't happen though! Yes the mighty Chinook. I've spent 14 years working as a maintainer, then as an FE on them and I loved every minute of it. They are an incredible machine that as you said, just keeps getting better and better. I really miss not working on them now, but for a myriad of circumstances, I had to move on to other challenges. Sounds like you had a pretty interesting career yourself. I've always said though, Americans really know how to make good (both engineered and looking) aircraft. I think the Mirage was probably one of the few things the french designed that looks nice, hahaha! 6 hours ago, airscale said: wow - nice work Craig you are about to enter the twilight zone and boy is it satisfying making your own parts like this is soooo rewarding love it peter Thanks Peter! Yes indeed it is exciting. This mould casting is by far the most challenging one I've ever done due to the shape. Fingers crossed it comes out okay so it saves me a huge amount of work for my E and F models in the future! It's amazing how even with today's wonders of 3D printing and CAD, there's still a lot that can be achieved with good old fashioned techniques Cheers, Craig Greg W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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