brahman104 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Hi Craig, I also love this type of modelling, brilliant job so far mate, you are going to have one of a kind once complete. Regards Richard Thanks very much Richard! I'll certainly have one of a kind of something once I'm finished anyway..... I really should be getting some brass into the mixture, might have to look at that with the bomb bay The reshaping of the cockpit profile continues. It wasn't until after I'd slathered on a whole heap of the liquid sprue (mine done with turps) that I found out that this can potentially take months to dry which was not really ideal considering I was trying my best to make up for lost time! After trying really hard to keep away from it for about 5 days, it seemed on the surface to have dried sufficiently for me to have a crack at sanding it back. This is where my amateur skill with liquid sprue becomes painfully obvious. Once the top layer was gone there underneath appeared to be quite a mess resembling an "aero" chocolate bar (you know the ones with all the bubbles in them) as you can see.... Nevermind, it didn't look like it did anything I couldn't undo, but maybe this wasn't the best choice for what I was trying to achieve here. Looking at the cockpit profile, it still didn't look right. I recall Hubert (mostly racers) asking about the flat section of the nose and I thought I'd got it covered, but it didn't appear it was pronounced enough. To that end I built up with styrene and light curing putty, which was good, as it enabled me to be able to work quite quickly. It was hard to get a feel for the overall shape as the window inserts were kind of distracting, so I sprayed the whole lot with some surface primer. Getting there I think. Then I marked out the fairing piece which runs over the nose at the bottom of the windscreen which I think is the part you really have to nail to get the shape right. Definitely better, but something was still bothering me about the shape of the roof above the windows. Looking back at the pic of the swoose, it seemed there was a considerable "ceiling" above the window, so I added some more styrene and putty to build it up. And with it sanded back... I think she's starting to get there, although time will tell when I remove the new holes for the windows if I've got it right. Very interested to hear everyone's thoughts in this because I believe this is one of the most important parts of the entire project, kind of like the face of a figure... Doesn't really look like much, but that's a whole two days worth of work! Cheers, Craig jgrease, Kagemusha, Derek B and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Terrific stuff, Craig! Such commitment to the job. Bravo! Kev brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Craig, this is such a lovely and brilliant build.. you are doing amazing work..Just AWESOME. keep it going.. MARU 5137 Thanks very much MARU! I really hope this turns out the way I have in my mind Terrific stuff, Craig! Such commitment to the job. Bravo! Kev Thanks Kev! I really appreciate your always highly positive support and comments I can't wait to get on and start the interior details, but I have to get the shape right first........ Cheers, Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 (edited) Very nice work ! The look is definitely much better, although I cannot claim any real "feel" or expertise for the B-17. Definitely not an airframe I have, or would have, spent a lot of time sweating on pics ... Each to his own I guess. My experience trying to build up thickness of a different profile, just like I am doing on Mystery Ship, is to use epoxy paste, that I found i a DYI store (mine is Pattex, from Henkel, not sure which one it would be in the US). Hardens in 5', completely set in 24 hours, and a lot cheaper than Milliput or Tamiya ... The only drawback is that it will likely chip when regraving, but I suspect adding a surface layer of Mister Surfacer will help (although on the Mystery Ship this is not a real issue, as it was a smooth plywood surface). Liquid sprue, or plastic shims, is OK for filling-in gaps (like wing roots) as at least you avoid the dissimilar hardness issues you get with CA gap-filling. Keep on the good work. You're getting there ! Hubert Edited September 12, 2015 by MostlyRacers brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 video.. of cockpit https://www.facebook.com/268908496739/videos/vb.268908496739/10152820272486740/?type=2&theater Haha, you know I'd love to say my cockpit will look like that, but if I was a betting man...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesHatch Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Amazing work. You have balls of steel. brahman104 and D.B. Andrus 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Very nice work ! The look is definitely much better, although I cannot claim any real "feel" or expertise for the B-17. Definitely not an airframe I have, or would have, spent a lot of time sweating on pics ... Each to his own I guess. My experience trying to build up thickness of a different profile, just like I am doing on Mystery Ship, is to use epoxy paste, that I found i a DYI store (mine is Pattex, from Henkel, not sure which one it would be in the US). Hardens in 5', completely set in 24 hours, and a lot cheaper than Milliput or Tamiya ... The only drawback is that it will likely chip when regraving, but I suspect adding a surface layer of Mister Surfacer will help (although on the Mystery Ship this is not a real issue, as it was a smooth plywood surface). Liquid sprue, or plastic shims, is OK for filling-in gaps (like wing roots) as at least you avoid the dissimilar hardness issues you get with CA gap-filling. Keep on the good work. You're getting there ! Hubert Hi Hubert, Thanks very much for the comments and tips. I always appreciate any advice anyone can give me. I see that liquid sprue definitely has its place, and on advice from Chuck504z I have mixed up a batch using tamiya cement as opposed to the turps stuff and I can see there is a time and a place for it, but it was certainly good to check in out for myself. I would say that there's a fair chance the light curing putty would crack too if I were to scribe through it, however my plan is like what Peter is doing with his incredible Tigercat, to skin the exterior in metal sheet as I really want to capture the universal head rivet patterns that are so common on the B-17. I know this adds a massive increase in time investment in this project but I think it will be worth it, plus it means I don't have to try and paint a NMF! I think the nose shape still needs some refinement, but hopefully I'm close now. Cheers, Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Amazing work. You have balls of steel. Hahaha, more like needing to be locked up in an asylum! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hubert Boillot Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Amazing work. You have balls of steel. Hahaha, more like needing to be locked up in an asylum! Craig One does not exclude the other ... Beware of rust though, Craig Hubert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
richdlc Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 looks great, keep going! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Cheers Rich! Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Absolutely brilliant work! The cockpit is a huge improvement and from the pictures you've posted it looks very close to the original aircraft. One thing I have spotted though is the most forward of the nose windows seems a little on the small side. Forgive me if you haven't finished shaping them yet. Looking forward to the next instalment. Tom brahman104 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Craig Brilliant work and certainly not for the faint of heart. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 12, 2015 Author Share Posted September 12, 2015 Absolutely brilliant work! The cockpit is a huge improvement and from the pictures you've posted it looks very close to the original aircraft. One thing I have spotted though is the most forward of the nose windows seems a little on the small side. Forgive me if you haven't finished shaping them yet. Looking forward to the next instalment. Tom Hi Tom! Thanks heaps for the encouragement and feedback Glad you raised that about the window, not really sure about the dimensions of it, it does seem to be a little smaller than the rest looking at the various references I have, but I'm totally taking a stab at it here. Definitely open to changing the dimensions if it's going to make it look more convincing. Also very glad to hear that you approve of the cockpit shape given your expertise on the B-17, please keep the suggestions coming as you see them! Craig Brilliant work and certainly not for the faint of heart. Keep 'em coming Peter Hahaha, cheers Peter! I've found I'm really good at hacking kits up, time will tell if I'm any good at putting them back together I'm looking forward to getting some more details and colour into her, but probably still a way to go with that yet! Always a pleasure to have you stop by! Cheers, Craig Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tomprobert Posted September 12, 2015 Share Posted September 12, 2015 Regarding the nose windows, HK made an error with these, in particular the starboard side. The size of the windows seems ok on the left side, and the rear window on the right appears ok, but the forward most window was too large - HK moulded it the same size as the furthest aft window. Careful studying of the B-17 nose window arrangement shows that the forward right window was in fact smaller, so you could use the HK piece as a guide for the rear two windows, but the forward one definitely needs to be reduced in comparison, but I think yours is just a little too small currently. What are your plans for the nose transparancy? Moulding your own? Tom Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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