JayW Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 A man after my own heart. Scratch building! Now vacuforming is something I have not delved into and probably ought to. Please chronicle in detail! mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guyman1 Posted February 28, 2017 Share Posted February 28, 2017 This is shaping up to be one very interesting build looking forward to the chapter of this build. Guy Jim Barry and mpk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Jay and Guy, Thanks for stopping by. Jay, I'll try to detail my vacuuforming here soon. Hard to say it's a tutorial but perhaps you can learn from my mistakes and save yourself some time! Yesterday I got a chance to look closer at Peter's 1/18 Spitfire #80 and its extensive use of Litho. I'm not (yet) finding a source of this material, but in the meantime I'm experimenting with what I have: Metal tape. As a tape with it's adhesive backing showing, I find it finicky and hard to scribe detail but if I keep the backing on and tape a second layer on it, it takes detail really well and cuts like a dream. The edges even sand. Here's is just me playing around with it. Maybe 15 minutes of work here just to test the look. It's not glued down so disregard how it lays. This will "do" but I should hold back until I can get my hands on what appears to be a superior option in the litho sheet. In other news, I took the author of "Scratch Built!" John Alcorn's advice and purchased automobile primer as a way to "build-up" surface detail around spars. So far my only findings are Very volatile fumes ! This is not something you want to keep open on your bench very long. Applying it is just as I hoped: It's thick but smooth. Nice! This photo is before sanding on a tail form that was not that smooth to begin with and some HARSH light on it. But see how it likes to work with the spars. The Fury's spar protrusions are like whispers on the tail but they are also "sharp" so there more sanding needed here. I think I'm at a good place now to begin sanding after one more coat of primer. mpk, Uncarina, airscale and 3 others 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mpk Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 109 and Guyman1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guyman1 Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Very innovative it looks like aluminium sheet nice work mate, I will be taking a close look at this build I am building a scratch built KI 61 Tony in 1/24 at the moment this what modelling is all about thanks for sharing. Guy mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted March 1, 2017 Author Share Posted March 1, 2017 Thanks Guy. Is there a thread for your Tony? Unusual inline engine for a Japanese plane. Nice choice going 1/24 and even better going scratch! Guyman1 and mpk 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted March 1, 2017 Share Posted March 1, 2017 Yesterday I got a chance to look closer at Peter's 1/18 Spitfire #80 and its extensive use of Litho. I'm not (yet) finding a source of this material, but in the meantime I'm experimenting with what I have: Metal tape. Jim - the tape looks great - I will PM you - a project as bold as this deserves a little help with materials also, in case you haven't seen it, I did a tutorial on doing this sort of thing with metal that may be useful love seeing your progress, keep it up Peter Uncarina, mpk and Joel_W 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted March 2, 2017 Author Share Posted March 2, 2017 Took a chop at the propeller tonight after some boring sanding and a frustration with a two formers that were not matching up. I've been exploring propeller modeling process and design for a few weeks now. Finally working on it was really fun and was worried this would spawn an entire new hobby of building propellers. I have room in my project for this to fail. It's just hard to imagine my first prop will be ideal. So far so good though! Totally different from the props I made for the 1/144 Bf-109G-6 scratch I made at xmas. Those were SO small I could barely see them. mpk, JayW, 109 and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 Progress on the prop. I'm basically pleased for a first time effort. Primed it a bit to get a good consistent view of the part. A bit more sanding to go to get it right. mpk, Pfuf, Victor K2 and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted March 3, 2017 Author Share Posted March 3, 2017 I had been struggling a bit to get the spar effect for the tail. I might have been on my way as it was but it was sucking the life out of me sanding and priming up to the styrene strips....I thought "there has to be a better way" I read a little closer on the Woodman method and it dawned on me (lightbulb) what it meant by "embossed". A sample of the work here on LSP from 2004 was so fast and so good, I just had to try it. So I took my coffee downstairs and in like 30 minutes I banged this out. When I do the other side, I'll show pics of method. Exactly! Looks like covered canvas on sharp steel spars. mpk, Guyman1 and Hubert Boillot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guyman1 Posted March 3, 2017 Share Posted March 3, 2017 (edited) No thread yet Jim I am pulling down the old house so my system is down I am building all the parts from scratch and the spares box I only have the IPad and Samsung phone once I can get organised I will start a few threads a few mates been busting my chops about not posting but my system is down and it don't help when your as un tek like me. If you like mate PM me your e mail and I will send some pictures to you,this build of yours is so right up my ally very interesting. Guy Edited March 3, 2017 by Guyman1 mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Wannabe Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Out of interest, which issue of Scale Models is it? I'd like to get hold of the article.. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 Cap'n. It's May 1971. mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cap'n Wannabe Posted March 4, 2017 Share Posted March 4, 2017 Thanks Jim. On the lookout now... mpk 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted March 4, 2017 Author Share Posted March 4, 2017 (edited) On to the new world of vacuforming parts. Crazy! I've known about it for nearly all my modeling life and so it was kind of cool to finally do it. If you like gaps between fuselage halves, this is the ticket. After completing the two halves I thought it was going to be a huge delay until they were mated after I did all the cockpit. But it appears safe (and maybe even smart) to mate them now and simply insert the framed cockpit when it's done. i can be a little more violent! And in other news, I decided my first pass at the propeller is unacceptable. Angle of incidence is wrong and it's bugging me. Since I never really thought my first trial would be the final one, I'm fine moving on to #2. I scored some basswood today, I think an improved option over balsa. Edited March 4, 2017 by Jim Barry Tinbanger, KUROK, Lee White and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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