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HobbyBoss 1:32 Liberator GR Mk.VI - RAF Coastal Command


Iain

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Hi all,

 

I've been chomping at the bit to get my hands on the new kit from HobbyBoss - and have splurged out for two of the beasts; one to do an RAF Coastal Command Liberator Mk.VI (which will be the subject of this thread) and the second to convert to a Privateer.

 

The Coastal Command bird will be my entry into the Multi-Engine Group Build starting Jan 1st - and I'll move this thread over when the time comes.

 

In the interim, with all the interest (and controversy) around this new release, and in parallel with writing up the review for LSP,  I thought making a start on some of my planned fixes would be in order, and not debar it from entry in the Group Build.

 

Some place-holder images for now...

 

2170-107.jpg

 

2170-6.jpg

 

2170-37.jpg

 

2170-27.jpg

 

2170-179.jpg

 

2170-178.jpg

 

2170-184.jpg

 

And that wing cross section that's caused so much comment - as said elsewhere I have a plan, which I think will work and, tomorrow, I'll post a comparison of the kit cross section with a 22% Davis B-24 type airfoil - watch this space!

 

2170-183.jpg

 

I'm hoping this thread will be like the one where I built/corrected the Revell He219 - with the LSP community chipping in with thoughts/ideas/reference material.

 

All input appreciated - but no hyperbole please - keep everything constructive eh?

 

Have fun!

 

Iain

 

 

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REALLY looking forward to this Iain.. I remember bouncing ideas back and forth whilst we both corrected those engine nacelles on the 219. Unfortunately, mine went back in the box whereas yours made it to the finish line.

I will be sat ready and waiting.. sprues at my side.. and jumping in with ideas and opinions once you tell us what we need to achieve. I'll start by suggesting shoving some appropriately sized marbles into the wing section to make the top bulge...:blah::blah:

 

Not sure you saw my post on the other B-24 thread, but I think we may need to consider the turret sizing may be off as HB may have compromised on turret size to fit them within the thick plastic areas of the nose and tail? Imagine looking down on the nose.. the turret goes into the fuse at say, 10:00 and 2:00 o'clock. The thick, (scale), plastic in those areas could "pinch" the turret to make it smaller???? 

Edited by Nigels modelling bench
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The good old days eh Nige, modelling forums at their best IMHO - a great bit of team research/spirit/pooled resources that Heinkel was - really enjoyed it!

 

Hopefully we can have some similar build-threads/'can do spirit' with this new HobbyBoss kit.

 

I haven't got to turret dimensions yet - not high on the list at the moment - and I won't comment until I have some reasonably tangeable data to work with - but we can all agree that one needs a polish, and the joint seams will be a bear!  ;)

 

Iain

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OK - here's where I'm at at present with wing root shape - please note THIS IS STILL A WORK IN PROGRESS - please do not take as anything definitive at this stage!!!

 

What I've done is used the Airfoil Plotter tool to create a 22% Davis B-24 type airfoil. The Davis B-24 is a listed airfoil - and the percentage vertical stretch was played with until I got a 22% Thickness/Chord ratio (about 135% of the default airfoil).

 

This was then overlaid on the photo I posted earlier of the wing root shape as moulded in the kit.

 

Great care was taken to ensure the wing root was square with/perpendicular to the camera - which was mounted on a tripod at a reasonable distance away (too close and you'll get distortion).

 

So - kit:

 

2170-183.jpg

 

I dropped this image into Photoshop - and then copied the Davis B-24 airfoil plot in as a new layer.

 

This was scaled to match the chord length of the kit wing.

 

Shape was closer to kit than a similar exercise that was done in another B-24 thread recently - and the depth of the airfoil plot and the moulded wing was almost identical.

 

Area that was most out was the rear half of the upper wing - but I was starting to see where the kit wing and the 'correct' airfoil diverged - and what people were seeing in photos.

 

Then - looking at photos another penny dropped - the trailing edge in the kit is too high on the fuselage.

 

So - rotate the airfoil clockwise a few degrees to match photos (nothing empirical at this stage) and I get the following - NOT DEFINITIVE AT THIS STAGE!!

 

2170-192.jpg

 

As you can hopefully see - things match pretty well on the first 1/3 over the top of the wing, and just over half of the underside.

 

The BiG bonus is I think the top front cowl sections won't need removing - the leading edge cure will be close enough on a scale model I believe.

 

Now - how to fix the rear of the wing?

 

If we can get it to more closely match the airfoil overlay then, I believe, we'll end up with a better looking model.

 

So - probably at the weekend, I'm going to remove the front/rear strengthening webs from the wing (leaving those that run root to tip) and make up some formers in 80 thou styrene. The one for the root will be easy - but I'll need to make subsequent ones along the wing shorter in length - and with a corresponding reduction in chord/thickness ratio.

 

2170-12.jpg

 

There is sufficient 'meat' in the wing skin to facilitate bending IMHO - there may be some adjustment needed to the rear of the lower wing sections to match up with the upper surface after imparting the new shape.

 

Of course the kit supplied wing spar will need modding - but this should be simple if I can get the rest to work!

 

There is another issue as well - I think the wing is too thick towards the tip - again, I think this will be a fairly straightforward fix with some bending and sanding.

 

More when there's more - I have to finish painting a Spitfire...

 

Iain

 

 

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Nice work Iain.. here we go again!!

 

Looking at your plotted image, I'm wondering what you m ake of my suggestion..

 

If a thick plastic spar was added to the length of the wing at around the 30% chord to make the front of the wing rigid, then slice a strip, say 3mm wide out of the lower wing along its length and pull the skin back together I think this will give you the shape you're looking for? Basically, what I'm implying is to "twist" the wing around a main spar?

 

EDIT:-

 

Or.. slice through the chord stiffeners at 30% chord on the lower wing and wedge the slice to open it up and push the trailing edge down. Then do the same on the upper wing but this time instead of adding card, remove a wedge and pull the trailing edge down. Sand the inner trailing edges to fit and try not to destroy surface detail. Add a main spar if necessary and stick it all together??

 

We must also consider the main spar in the kit already has some AOA in it.

 

 

Edited by Nigels modelling bench
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