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Starting to look impressive. The Talon's distinctive upturned nose shape is hard to capture correctly. It will be interesting to see how your conversion effort handles it. Keep posting, this is good stuff!

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Thanks checksix, glad you're enjoying it! That nose is going to take some artistic talent for sure. Couldn't agree more with you about it adding character to the plane. 

 

Slow but steady progress today. This cockpit is going to take another 2 weeks I bet before it's done. Putting the canopies up I found that they weren't square to each other so they didn't lay in a straight line. At first I couldn't figure out why, then I remembered neither KH or Hasegawa made a closed canopy, the only option was open. Which made me realize I was missing the loop that separates the two canopies...DUH. So that's what I custom made tonight. Took me 2 tries to get one that fit in nicely. Now I'll have something easy to mount the rearview mirrors to.

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The top of a Vallejo 17ml bottle worked great as a backstop to keep from breaking the piece while sanding.

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Now I need to adjust my pilot height and I'm all set. Looking at pics from the references I have the seat seems to look about right here but, then again I've stared at it for days so let me know if your eyes think the seats should be moved any at all?

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Tomorrow I hope to work on the coming. Then I can start putting things in solid and filling and sanding to make everything come together smoothly. Night All...or even Good Morning to some lol

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Ughh I feel like I’ve been working on this cockpit for a year. Time for a motivational sidetrack! I drilled and pinned the wings this morning. Put some tape on the tail to hold it in place. Now it’s starting to take shape :party0023:

small compromise on the wing position. They’re aft about 2mm due to where the main wheel bays are on the belcher kit. Anything else looked stupid because the gear doors on the wings didn’t line up. 

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Oh man thanks guys! I think mentally I needed a pep talk lol 

traveling for work now so time to step back for a few days and contemplate my next step. I’m fitting the front cockpit components now. My alignment looks good down the middle and top to bottom. Neither the kit (as expected) or the resin IP(unexpected) have the right height but I adjusted as best i could. Pictures once i get the coming set and filled in.

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On 1/12/2019 at 11:49 PM, themongoose said:

Now I need to adjust my pilot height and I'm all set. Looking at pics from the references I have the seat seems to look about right here but, then again I've stared at it for days so let me know if your eyes think the seats should be moved any at all?

 

Here is a photo that might help.

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1 hour ago, checksix said:

 

Here is a photo that might help.

 

Hmm, yep perfect. Now I can adjust his height  and keep moving forward! I may move the seat just a hair forward too.

 

The pilot is leaning forward i think, Maybe from deceleration? The guy in the back is flat against the seat. I found to do this I have to remove the cushions KH included because the pilot has his chute on. Watching one of the training videos it looks like there’s either no cushion or very little cushion as the chute is already in the plane and the pilot sits down and straps into it. Any info on this would be greatly valued. 

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The parachute is part of the seat and the pilot sits on it. Martin-Baker has good pictures  here

 

Edit: Whoops. Wait a minute. You're doing an A model, not the C model, right? I think the A model might be using the older ejection seats (pilot wears the chute). I don't know if the A's seats were included in any of the T-38 upgrade programs.

Edited by checksix
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checksix, yep I'm doing an A model...tough to find Thunderbird pics for some reason. Too dated I guess. Found out there is one near me in Lexington KY so I may run down there if the snow storm isn't too bad this weekend. What I may end up doing is switching to whichever model is in KY as then I'll have specific photos. Either way it won't bother me to much as I want a T-38 that looks the part but the smaller elements can slide if I can't get a clear confirmation on a part.

 

The cockpit itself is still a mess so no significant shots of it right now. 

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Been working on the cockpit and coaming. I'll put a few update pics here as it's starting to take shape, especially with the area around the coaming.

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Lots of snow this weekend here in Ohio and my wife's working both days so you can expect some updates :wub:

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Stopped for lunch. It's looking more like a bandai X-Wing fighter at this point...

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The coaming is just about there in 1 shot. When I start blending in the sides I will touch up the top face. 

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Off to help my daughter with her doll house build after lunch. Until next time...

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Q1: What brand of putty / filler is that you're using? Looks like it sands and blends really nice.

Q2: Great pilot figure. Did it come with one of your donor kits?

Q3: At one point I thought you were vac forming your canopies (thought I saw this in another thread) , but the ones in your pictures here look like they are clear parts from a kit. Is that correct?

Sorry for so many Q's :) Just trying to learn new stuff here...

Edited by checksix
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