1/18 P51C Mustang "Lopes Hope the 3rd"

[shark64 4,798]

evening folks

 

 

 

 

 

Yey thanks Don, I really hope you enjoy it - I am very proud of it and what Kev has done - please let me know what you think?

 

 

 

...plus you feature in the Epilogue Juraj along with others who were around on 'that' day at the Nats, so what more reason do you need

 

...

 

 

so..

 

 

we have a part... an actual, totally real, not made up on a computer, bit of this model...

 

this is the target for today, the seat back - this picture is actually Lopes Hope's seat being painted so lets see what needs to be featured...there is a big pipe based 'U' frame giving it structure (the holes are at the back and not seen so we don't need to worry about them..), and to this is rivetted a pressing for the seat back..

 

..there are also two slots with little pressing covers near the top of the back..

 

 

..the front with some more details is not from my aircraft, but the details are the same... here the holes at the front can be seen to be bigger and that pressing itself actually wraps the 'U' frame right up to the edge and is fixed with the rivets taht can be seen. Also there are two slots with strengthening plate borders to capture too..

 

 

..after scaling the drawings I have I noted a few differences between them and the seat in Lope's Hope, so I went with what I could see - first thing to do was to also scale and produce a drawing from that photo to use as a template to make a 'buck' onto which I will try and make the seat back pressing..

 

..I got a bit of perspex as it is hard and takes shaping with a dremel well..

 

 

..soon I had made the seat back in reverse, and had bent some rod to make the 'U'..

 

 

..I drew the 'U' onto a bit of litho so I could anneal the edges that need to take the curves, but leave the seat back rigid so it doesn't deform or easily get dents & dinks in it..

 

..then the sheet was taped to the buck and the edges worked into the curves - this is actually the third one I made and by then had learned it is easier to make the holes in the back of the seat while it is still a flat, stiff sheet so you might just be able to see them at the top of the pressing...

 

 

..then after marking out, I used my hold'n'fold to hold the part right where I needed to cut it and just ran a blade along it's length so I can bend, flex & snap away the waste easily and neatly without bending the curves just made..

 

 

..the pressing was then taped to the 'U' frame and the edges centralised to the 'U'pipe all the way around by trimming with a sharp blade & then taking it off and finishing by filing & sanding...

 

..I also need to clean up everywhere as there is dust from dremelling out that perspex buck...

 

 

 

..once the seatback had been cut to shape it was taped down onto perspex to have a go at adding the rivets with a pin in a pin vise..

 

 

..the strengthening plates / doublers that go around the slots in the side of the pressing were made by first cutting out the inside by scoring a rounded rectange using a template and then breaking away the inside...

 

 

..then they are trimmed & shaped & the seat back finished off..

 

 

..and the finished (and very first!) part...

 

 

 

 

..and with some of the 'this is how I got here' parts - I never look at these as failures (though it can be frustrating sometimes), I always look at them as little lessons in themselves that teach me how to make the part properly...

 

 

..so that is it - we actually have a part - now there are only 12,324 to go...

 

TTFN

 

Peter

 

Pete.

 where did u get the metal rectangle template fret.?

[Hacker 331]

 

Pete.

 where did u get the metal rectangle template fret.?

 

Good question . I was wondering that myself but knowing the Master here he probably had it made

 

Hacker

[airscale 11,489]

evening folks

 

 

Hi Peter,
Amazing work on the seat!

I have a question pertaining to the dorsal fin. The main fin is offset to account for engine torque, but is the dorsal fin off center as well?

It would seem that would put the dorsal fin pretty far over towards the nose, but then again having a “kink†where the two meet might look off too.

Thanks
Kyle

 

Hi Kyle - I am afraid I have no idea! I am a long way from doing the tail, so I guess I will find out when I get there

 

 

Pete.

 where did u get the metal rectangle template fret.?

 

 

Hi Oliver, thanks for stopping by   the template is one of 6 I got from HLJ made by 'Brain Factory'... they are often out of stock I find so get one while you can..

 

so, on to the P51..

 

I remade the seat back as I wasn't happy with the proportion of the rod frame so having done it 3 times already including test parts, one more wasn't too painful..

 

..behind the seat are two natural metal struts which carry big springs I guess for damping or seat adjustment, so I taped some card to the seat back to get equal spacing and set about making the brackets that hold them to the seat back..

 

 

..I made the springs by winding fuse wire around a brass rod - I CA'd one end of the wire to the rod so it was easy to spin the rod and get a neat looking facsimile..

 

 

..these were then added before the lower brackets were fitted.. I will get the spacing of the spring 'rings' more even once I have finished building it..

 

 

..I added some small tube fittings where the seat bottom meets the frame and as it is such a weak attachment I went belt & braces underneath with a big bit of plastic to give the set-up strength & rigidity..

 

 

..there are two channel type brackets that brace the two seat parts sort of where the pilot's elbows go so after trying folding litho and failing, I settled on filing down some brass 'U' shape section to get a similar profile..

 

 

..and added with some micro bolts... the main structure is complete now, it just needs all the levers and fittings added..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

..I now need to make the bracket you can see at the top of the seat structure where it mounts to the armour plate - I was going to do it in 3D, but I kinda want to keep building so will have a stab at it tomorrow..

 

 

..in other news, Denzil from Aircorps Aviation has been in touch and to say I am thrilled with what he and Eric have sent me would be a huge understatement!!

Yesterday I received all the artwork for all the placards & labels in the real Lope's Hope which I will be able to copy to make a bespoke set of decals for the cockpit and all the airframe internals - amazing.. those guys are so supportive, I am hoping one day when the real one retires from flying I can put the model with it wherever it is displayed..

 

..in other news part 2 - don't try and catch a dremel diamond slitting disc spinning at 15,000RPM if you drop the flexi-drive... I did and have some nasty cuts on my left hand (thankfully) so may find things a bit difficult for a few days.... what a dummy...

 

TTFN

 

Peter

[Guest]

 - don't try and catch a dremel diamond slitting disc spinning at 15,000RPM if you drop the flexi-drive... I did and have some nasty cuts on my left hand (thankfully) so may find things a bit difficult for a few days....

 

                       OUCH !!

 

[Gazzas 7,786]

Peter,

   The seat looks awesome.  Sorry about your hand!

 

Gaz

[dodgem37 8,510]

Looks good, Peter.  Very generous of the Hope crew to donate.  Speedy recovery from the mishap.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Iain 13,415]

Beautiful work Peter - as always...

 

You make it all look so, so, simple - but your skills and attention to detail are simply astounding.

 

Iain

[airscale 11,489]

thanks Gents & good evening

 

my hand is healing so all should be well - at least I got some fabrication done so it can't be too bad

 

best part of a day session at the bench for most of one part...

 

started by sticking a scale printout of the plan view of the part - it's a complex structure with more going on the more you look at it..

 

 

..then a coarse cutting disc to get the worst of the waste off..

 

 

..a bit of a clean up and the profiling at the top..

 

 

..once the height was filed I added the holes for the seat supports..

 

 

..and then a diamond burr to do some more refined shaping - I drilled the mounting holes before I rounded the face..... note also how it is left attached to it's host bar stock so it can be more easily worked..

 

 

..then finally it is removed and cleaned up..

 

 

..and a check if it fits and is proportionally about right - it is not super accurate, but is the best I can do... it still needs two angled mounting lugs to be added to the top which I will probably braze solder, but that is tomorrows problem..

 

 

 

until next time..

 

TTFN

Peter

[dodgem37 8,510]

Good show, Peter.

 

Sincerely,

Mark

[Out2gtcha 35,958]

Great stuff!

[DonH 1,720]

Great work!

 

I am reading the Spitfire book, 566 pages of loveliness. Great photos and informative text. Go buy it, you won't regret it!

[Menelaos 1,689]

:frantic:

[richdlc 1,530]

superb work as usual - so great when you can work with a Warbird restoration team!

 

I take it you are aware of the Warbird Information Exchange forums?

[RadBaron 1,032]

Glad to be on board, Peter! Stunning work on the seat

[airscale 11,489]

evening folks

 

so a little more Mustang mayhem on this fine Bank Holiday...

 

I started by adding the fixing lugs to the seat mounting at the top of the seat - these were thick plastic card shped after being stuck on with CA - quite tricky and about the best I can do with them...

 

 

..this fits onto the upper armour plate where the head armour is, so I scaled plans and stuck them onto some 0.6mm ali sheet..

 

 

..I used a diamond cutting disc and diamond burrs to cut and shape the part.. seen here with the micro fixing bolts..

 

 

..and assembled in company with the lower armour plate section..

 

 

..back to the seat itself, there are assemblies each side that I assume make it go up/down and maybe adjust the rake of the seat. One of these is a cast handle so I shaped some 'T' section brass for the handle and rolled milliput balls for the ball on the end of it. If anyone knows where / how to get a selection of micro balls I would be very interested to hear as I can never make them perfectly spherical

 

 

..you can see the assembly in full here..

 

 

 

..and another set on the other side made from tiny bits...

 

 

 

..you can see them both added here..

 

 

 

..and all dry fitted together..

 

 

 

 

 

..that pretty much covers the seat, there are a number of bolts & rivets on the seat rim of the real one that all those gubbins attatch to, but as - I need to make the cushion / dinghy pack / liferaft or whatever it is that covers all that and the backrest at some point, I didn't try and add them..

 

..I also realised I really need the Photo-etch to carry on with the bulk of the cockpit construction as it has all the bulkheads & formers etc so need to focus on that. However, I do need to find an assembly to work on as well so I can mix & match PC work with actually making something

 

TTFN

Peter