brahman104 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hahaha, thanks Terry! However I think we all know Mr Rojas-Bazan is still very much the king in the B-17 world You are right though, when it does come to doing the wings they will be pretty straight forward (I hope!) I've been looking at the tooling solution and made several rib copies out of it (each takes about 30 minutes or so providing I don't get distracted) and while they are not bad, I'm not entirely convinced that this is the way to go. Looking at the relative size of those ribs, they are somewhat smaller than the surrounding structure, so it may be a case of removing a bit more material from the master and trying again. Also, as much as I would love the be able to have a perfectly matching male and female die, manual hand machining (well at least with my skill level is not good enough for the level of accuracy that is required so they essentially "don't bring down" the look of the rest of the bay. and given that the metal is extremely fragile once formed, will be very hard to secure in position to achieve an overall uniform look. While I haven't found a workable solution to my problem yet, I certainly believe this concept has merit on some larger parts and I may still use this method for some of the rear fuselage bulkheads, so I don't feel I've wasted time in the R&D department. But that's a future Craig problem! As I was pondering this dilemma the other day it came to me suddenly that I could make masters in plastic, and cast copies in resin. The trick here (and why this may actually work) is to add aluminium powder to the mix so as to change the colour of the resin to make it look like it's actually metal, rather than just painting the outside. Also casting ensures a higher degree of accuracy in each piece, and is much easier to replicate for a high volume run like I'm doing here. It all really comes down to how well the aluminium powder looks when its cast; if it's close I think I'll bite the bullet and be done with it. To that end, I have ordered some aluminium powder and and going to start experimenting. I have made some new former templates in plastic and make moulds for them shortly. If this doesn't work, then it might be cast and paint anyway. Not something I wanted to do, but I'm not going to lose sleep over it. Stay tuned, we'll see how this turns out! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripaman Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 (edited) I thought initially it was, but I think it's thinner and I'm pretty sure it was model related.... I think I found it when I was doing a search for that "tri-foil" stuff that comes with that tool you can punch different shaped rivets out of. I think it was called "the nutter" and I'm pretty sure I got it from UMM-USA. Could of course be totally making this up and it is in fact roof flashing, but it is very shiny and will hopefully serve my purposes well Craig Hi Craig, You are right it is the foil which you buy with the "Nutter" I got mine from UMM-USA great foil made many rivets for the Canso and Hurri build. [/url] Just love what you are doing with this model. Regards Richard Edited October 30, 2015 by Ripaman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted October 30, 2015 Author Share Posted October 30, 2015 Hi Craig, You are right it is the foil which you buy with the "Nutter" I got mine from UMM-USA great foil made many rivets for the Canso and Hurri build. And a very fine job you did on them too! I find myself going back to both those builds for constant inspiration Thanks Richard! She still a long long journey, but I am thoroughly enjoying myself and I'm loving the challenges. I can't imagine ever building a kit straight from the box again (unless it's a Tamiya one of course...) Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dodgem37 Posted October 30, 2015 Share Posted October 30, 2015 24 gage metal sheets found at Michaels are similar. Just saying. Sincerely, Mark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 1, 2015 Author Share Posted November 1, 2015 (edited) Thanks for that Mark, I'm personally pretty good for metal at the moment with all the latest discoveries, but I'm sure there are others who will be looking to get their hands on some Happy Halloween everyone! I personally don't partake but I did manage to scare myself with my first attempts at covering some large sections of fuselage in shiny aluminium....... So the wrap up for the weekend. Doesn't really look again like I achieved much, maybe I didn't, but I'm trying not to rush anything, which usually means playing around with the fit of various parts and considering the next step. I believe the official term for it is "procrastination" Anyway here's an overall shot just so we (more so for my sake) remember what I'm working on... The bomb bay now has its side walls, but I've left the top open for access and it'll be the last thing I put on. It's also not fitted there permanently yet, just doing some prep work to work out dimensions for the radio room and make sure everything lines up as best it can. The beauty of it is that if it doesn't, grind the locator pegs off and put it where you want anyway You may also have noticed the rear fuselage. If you didn't..... I thought I'd line the interior before I got carried away and made things difficult for myself. In a good foreshadowing of things to come, this was a little trickier than I thought trying to line the panels up to be as neat as possible. Yes everyone, Peter is a genius and makes this look very easy. The first panel I tried took me 3 goes before I was moderately happy with it! I also rough cut out the holes for the doors, bathtub and windows, which in theory should make my life easier later. So on with the radio room. For those familiar with the kit and playing along at home, you'll know the floor has this weird step in it that HK included so it would cover the "spar" that resides underneath.... So the kit part got benched, and a new floor made up. Also, like the forward fuselage and bomb bay, the wing cut out leaves a rather large hole in the sides which is quite a challenge to cover. This area was covered in the soundproofing material so it will be painted green like the cockpit and nose sections in due course. The side walls have a little further adjustment to do so gaps are to a minimum. I also finally decided to use a kit part! yay! As the details on this side of the bulkhead are really nice and a pretty good representation of what I've seen I kept it. Of course everyone knows about the other side of this one, but as I was skinning this in ally anyway, it was all too easy Meanwhile, skinning continues on the bomb bay, which is starting to look nice and shiny I also started to play around with my next concept for those pesky bomb bay ribs. I made up some masters to cast for the various sized ones on each side wall. They came out pretty good; here's hoping the aluminium powder will make them look legit! Anyway, so that's pretty much where I'm at. I've branched out from the bomb bay to make some progress on the aft fuselage section and radio room while I wait for the powder to turn up, but each step is one little one closer...... Enjoy! Craig Edited November 1, 2015 by brahman104 Rdrunner, Derek B, leoasman and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 If I procrastinated as fast as you, Craig, my shelves would be full of finished kits, instead of "wannabe" plastic dreams (as usual) ! Hubert brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 What great work ! Just jaw droping .......Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 GREAT work! I love the aluminum and brass detail. I just got done working in brass, and thought it was a real treat...... It can really bring a model like this to life! brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ClumsyDude Posted November 1, 2015 Share Posted November 1, 2015 I've got so much respect for you guys who work in metal ... I'm barely at the point of wrestling some basic scratch building out of styrene, this stuff is just awesome. Interior looks awesome Craig, it's going to look brilliant when done. Cheers Jim Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TKB Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Craig, Hubert took the words right out of my mouth! Your timeline from idea, planning to reality, along with this entire build, gives "procastination" a whole new meaning! That aluminumn skinning in the rear fuselage is --- well it's simple fantastic ----- and you haven't added detail yet!. Like you've said, nothing looks more like metal then metal. With all the compliments showered on you, the rest of us probably sound like "yes men", but believe it --- you deserve all the praise you getting! Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripaman Posted November 2, 2015 Share Posted November 2, 2015 Brilliant Craig just brilliant, just wondering how heavy is it now?? Regards Richard Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 2, 2015 Author Share Posted November 2, 2015 (edited) If I procrastinated as fast as you, Craig, my shelves would be full of finished kits, instead of "wannabe" plastic dreams (as usual) ! Hubert Hahaha! That is hilarious Hubert! The good thing about this model is being so big and having separate sections means that I can jump from one to another without too much trouble and still keep the thing moving forward overall, albeit slowly.... What great work ! Just jaw droping .......Harv Cheers Harv, much appreciated mate GREAT work! I love the aluminum and brass detail. I just got done working in brass, and thought it was a real treat...... It can really bring a model like this to life! Thanks Brian! How awesome is metal! Once you get a feel for it you just want to use it on everything I've got so much respect for you guys who work in metal ... I'm barely at the point of wrestling some basic scratch building out of styrene, this stuff is just awesome. Interior looks awesome Craig, it's going to look brilliant when done. Cheers Jim Thanks Jim, brass and aluminium do definitely have the "cool" factor to them, especially when it comes to a natural metal finish, but let's not forget the flexibility of styrene... there's just some things that are easier to do in plastic. Mind you, if you were ever in any doubt about achieving awesomeness with the white stuff, look at what Oliver (shark64) can do with it! The guy is an absolute magician..... Craig, Hubert took the words right out of my mouth! Your timeline from idea, planning to reality, along with this entire build, gives "procastination" a whole new meaning! That aluminumn skinning in the rear fuselage is --- well it's simple fantastic ----- and you haven't added detail yet!. Like you've said, nothing looks more like metal then metal. With all the compliments showered on you, the rest of us probably sound like "yes men", but believe it --- you deserve all the praise you getting! Terry Haha, cheers Terry! Always a pleasure to hear your comments, I am always humbled by all the positive things everyone has to say on here, it definitely does wonders for the motivation! I'm fortunate at the moment to have a fair amount of time I can devote to this project, so I'm making the most of it before I get busy again The skinning inside is the first "baby steps" to start to learn some techniques before the "A" game of covering the exterior. It's very exciting to see how shiny it is, but all the more reason to be very careful with how I proceed so I don't scratch or mark the surfaces. If the cast rib technique works, then I'll be gluing a lot of stuff onto these sections so the stakes are pretty high. I guess we shall see how that goes in time! Brilliant Craig just brilliant, just wondering how heavy is it now?? Regards Richard Thanks very much Richard! I'm feeling my way along at the moment... lots of learning. Ironically, I was just thinking to myself she's starting to put on a little weight now.... I sure hope the 3d printing is up to the task! Thanks again everyone! Hopefully some more updates soon. Cheers, Craig Edited November 2, 2015 by brahman104 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 7, 2015 Author Share Posted November 7, 2015 So I've been moving along with the radio room. Theoretically, this is a pretty straight forward compartment, HK having done quite a nice job of the radios and even though the specific layouts varied a lot over the production life, they're going to give a good enough representation for me, so I'm leaving them as is! The most noticeable omission is the three crew seats that seem to be present here. There's many photos that show them painted, which would have been easy, as I could have modified, then cast some existing seat. However there's also some early photos that show some unpainted ones in there too. Seeing an opportunity to practice my metal forming skills, I forged ahead and built up a master (solid) out of styrene and putty. This then served as the basis for forming the various panels that would make up the seat (5 in total). This was a fairly fiddly process, with each seat taking about 3 hours to do, but in the end, I think the result is worth the effort. The seats then needed supports and mounting brackets for them to attach to the floor, and as these were painted, out came the brass again Meanwhile, I started to mask and paint the radio room itself. I used a few different layers of plastic on the floor to simulate the rubber matting that was apparently installed for anti-slip purposes. Then the seats went in. I still have to add cushions and seat belts, but that's where they're going to live. Still a fair bit of detail painting and weathering to do in this area. I also got my aluminium powder, so I was keen to have a go at mixing it in with the resin. I must say, I was hoping for something a little more magical and shiny than this.... I haven't written it off yet, I've found some different powder so I'm going to try that, but if it's still no good then I'm afraid it'll be paint. More fun to look forward to! Craig Ripaman, TaffyMan, zak and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 Those seats are amazing, Craig! Terrific work, mate. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted November 7, 2015 Share Posted November 7, 2015 I am hopelessly inadequate !!.........Harv Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
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 accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now