brahman104 Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Awesome result Brian! The nacelles look the business. Interesting inclusion of the PE part on top.... that's part of the original kit? Not something you see very often.... Craig Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
monthebiff Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Superb work Brian, they did something very similar on the Ta-154 with PE on the upper side of the engine nacelle. Regards. Andy Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pete Fleischmann Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Hang in there Brian! your love of the subject comes through loud and clear in your meticulous build- I get it- you’ll see it through to the end and it will be a masterpiece! cheers Pete Derek B and Out2gtcha 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Thanks all! More progress for a cold Saturday night.............. Pics in a minute easixpedro, scvrobeson and levier 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 First up, this is a combo of multiple sessions spread out, so there is a bit of a time lapse in between. Its also a bit pic heavy so bear with me....... I wanted to get the MLG sorted, but really found I couldn't, as I had exhausted all my supply of stainless steel tubing in anything larger than 1mm, so I had to order a whole new supply of tubing. So until that arrived, I decided to lay down a nice layer of white primer to bring things together, as I had not messed with the exterior of the model in 2+ years. So I gave the exterior + flying surfaces and cowls a good rub down with wet dry 800 grit sand paper. I then used a combination of foam, Tamiya rice paper tape, regular blue painters tape and some Mr Mask Sol Neo: After a rub down with 1000, we have the white ghost............... I let the primer set and harden off for a few days before sanding, and then went on-call for work, so put the model down for a few days. Much to my delight, at the end of that time a couple packages that I (and another member of the fam) were eagerly awaiting showed up. On of those packages was an industrially thick cardboard tube with the stainless steel tubing I ordered in it: The other package contained an electric heating pad for my smallest, Ripley Ellen. She was looking forward to getting it.................I think she definitely approves, she didnt move from the pad for the next 4 or 5 hours.............. So we were both VERY happy! The stainless steel tubing came in separate little clear tubes in 12" lengths, one for the oleos on the MLG, one for the nose gear (and educated guess), and a few others for various possible uses: I guessed at the need for the MLG oleos as approx 0.125" or 3.175mm, and this turned out to be bang on. I took a shot of the tube in one of the pre-cut legs Im going to use but of course it didn't turn out. You can see the tubing for the MLG here, as well as an extra pair of MLG I got from HpH that without mincing words are just plain HORRIBLE, being filled with many air bubbles that went all the way down to the embedded wire in a couple spots. Fortunately, the pair I cut down and lined with brass tube previously still looks pretty decent and shouldn't take much to bring around: This is where all the serious business began! I've kind of been dreading this part, and its stuck a bit in the back of my mind ever since I started the build. The gear really will mean a lot to me as far as getting the model to sit at the right attitude. Im not really there yet, as I have much more of the subsidiary gear parts to add that will define the final angle of the MLG. But until that exact time, I had a couple things to set, like the wire parts at the top of the gear legs that will eventually be encased in styrene, but for now determines the angle each gear rests at coming off the nacelles. This is just an initial trial to see where I'm at and to get a couple things settled before sorting the gear in its final position. One of those things is the overall set/height of the model. The very first thing to do was to cut off the excess of hardened piano wire on the nose gear, and make sure its hidden up inside the lower body. I also needed to cut an appropriately sized piece of 1.50mm stainless tubing. With both of those things done, I used some artists pyramids as an initial starting point to see how things balanced, and see what the front gear may look like. Well, I know at least ONE thing, she wont be a tail sitter! Overall, Im happy with the first progress on this section. Next I used some thin CA on the upper wire sections I pulled out of my second pair of gear. I added a tiny bit length at the top, as I do NOT like the look of the ultra high nose look, and am going for a much more level, if not slightly nose up attitude. The nose gear is just setting here held together by gravity, but I like the looks so far. Less oleo showing than some examples Ive seen, but necessary if I want the attitude Im envisioning. I still need to insert some brass tube to make things less sloppy, but you can get the idea: For the purposes of this very first test, I cut down the length of each MLG axle to fit Harolds main wheels, then used some blu tack around it to temporarily make the lower parts of the MLG. Obviously there are no oleos in the mix at this point, but this is more of an idea of height and position. Not too bad actually! Not an unrealistic amount of oleo needed to get where I want. In the end a lot of smoothing will need to happen, and some reinforcing, but I have a plan for that too. For now, Im glad to have an idea of where I stand. I like the sit! The wheels and lower gear are literally just sitting there by themselves, but you can get an idea of where I'm heading: Well, that's all for tonight gents. I'm heading back down to move forward. My next goal will be to the MLG oleos cut and measured, then apply the JB weld so that the steel tubing will in part be a reinforcement for the gear to support the overall weight of the model. Cheers! Buster99, Derek B, chuck540z3 and 18 others 21 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
levier Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 A lot of effort... big rewards! Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 44 minutes ago, levier said: A lot of effort... big rewards! For sure.....and let's hope!! Thanks for dropping in in me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Thunnus Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Wow, Brian! You're really putting a lot of personal engineering into this build! Gonna miss the ole strut-through-the-nose-wheel deal though! Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Impressive work, Brian! She's really coming together now. Kev Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Troy Molitor Posted January 31, 2021 Share Posted January 31, 2021 Mighty impressive work going on here Brian. Out2gtcha 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted January 31, 2021 Author Share Posted January 31, 2021 Thanks gents! I've come to the conclusion that I'm likely going to have to re-scribe a lot of the exterior surface. Bummer, but will have to be done, as a lot of the riveting simply doesnt show up after rounds of primer and sanding. Not something I'm looking forward to but that seems pretty much par for the course here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 It (almost) has legs! - well done Brian (it is always a milestone in my book when this occurs). Derek Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JayW Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 (edited) Ah Brian - the gear work. This reminds me sooo much of the 1/18 P-38 build I did a few years ago. I had to do a very similar series of trial-and-error steps to try to get the fuselage orientation proper (slight nose up). In the end, I made an error in the position of the main gear supports in the wheel wells, and the tail ended up a little high. Oleo length for the nose gear varied alot in real life, depending on where the CG was on the airplane which in turn varied alot with how much ammo was stored in the nose. I exposed as much oleo at the nose as I was comfortable with, and compressed the mains as much as I was comfortable with, and declared victory (or at least a draw). Very exciting work it was, as I am sure you can relate. I look forward to seeing the finished gear on the Tigercat- they look VERY complicated! Edited February 1, 2021 by JayW dutik, Derek B, Out2gtcha and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 1, 2021 Author Share Posted February 1, 2021 Thanks all! Jay, That was a tremendous effort on the P-38, and yes, seems a very similar situation. It's all about the scratch building and getting changes done to suite the customization of the build. I did find that hole in the resin lower nose gear section was much more sloppy than I wanted. The hole was not perfect sized to hold the nose gear wire, but more pass through it. Last night lined it with some tubing that closely fit the nose wire. This will make for a much more snug and play free joint. I'm hoping to work more on the MLG tonight as well. Cheers! JayW and Greg W 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dutik Posted February 1, 2021 Share Posted February 1, 2021 Never realized before that the MLGs of the Tigercat were angled so much. Good job here! Regards - dutik 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