Dandiego Posted April 23, 2020 Author Share Posted April 23, 2020 1 hour ago, RLWP said: Not quite. Having spent ten years in CAD, particularly surface design, you need a decent machine, a very very capable CAD system and around 15 years experience of understanding surface shapes You are quickly knocking up shapes with plastic profiles, Bondo and sanding that takes years of experience to make in a decent CAD system. It's why I'm loving this thread, your 3D printer is almost incidental to your real skills Richard Richard, thank you for your comments and insight into 3d printing. I am a complete rookie at this and am basically fumbling around. I would say that they 3d printer has really helped in at least one respect. The central fuselage plug which I printed is a key element of this project. By printing the plug I was able to get a consistent and perfectly straight section upon which I could build off of. Getting things straight and true is quite difficult when scratch building. I would have printed the entire fuselage if I could have figured out how to design the tapering, compound curves of the front and rear fuselage. Alas I am stuck with the old fashioned way of doing things. Dan Out2gtcha, Lee White, Martinnfb and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted April 24, 2020 Share Posted April 24, 2020 7 hours ago, Dandiego said: if I could have figured out how to design the tapering, compound curves of the front and rear fuselage Yep - those are the bits that need the years of experience and a capable CAD system. Or a few minutes with Bondo and sanding I'm enjoying this thread very much Dan Richard Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted April 24, 2020 Author Share Posted April 24, 2020 Hey everyone. First off some additional shaping to the front of the tip tanks. Since I am no guru with 3d printing I printed out front and back components that were exactly the same. However The front of the tanks should be blunter and fatter. So I cut off the front of the tank and applied some Bondo. Here you can see the result. I will be adding a clear light fixture to the front. Chromate green for the cockpit floor. Assorted bits from the resin cockpit. Console stuff and 2 side walls. And a clear light for the aft aft end of the bullet. It will look better when it is polished. Dan blackbetty, Martinnfb, Derek B and 7 others 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MikeMaben Posted April 25, 2020 Share Posted April 25, 2020 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted April 25, 2020 Author Share Posted April 25, 2020 I finished most of the cockpit detail and have added the last fuselage panel. As you can see just the slightest smear of putty is needed to blend it in. Dan Lothar, LSP_Kevin, BiggTim and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee White Posted April 26, 2020 Share Posted April 26, 2020 On 4/23/2020 at 7:40 PM, Dandiego said: Richard, thank you for your comments and insight into 3d printing. I am a complete rookie at this and am basically fumbling around. I would say that they 3d printer has really helped in at least one respect. The central fuselage plug which I printed is a key element of this project. By printing the plug I was able to get a consistent and perfectly straight section upon which I could build off of. Getting things straight and true is quite difficult when scratch building. I would have printed the entire fuselage if I could have figured out how to design the tapering, compound curves of the front and rear fuselage. Alas I am stuck with the old fashioned way of doing things. Dan I have a friend who does CAD, he told me the hardest thing to design in CAD is a teapot. I don't know why that would be, but he sounded like he wasn't kidding. Dandiego 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted April 26, 2020 Author Share Posted April 26, 2020 (edited) Tip tanks. I have cut out the holes so that they can slide over the wing tips. This is a rough opening. I will do fine tuning once the Pirate is sitting on its gear. Later, Dan Edited April 26, 2020 by Dandiego BiggTim, LSP_Kevin, Starfighter and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted April 27, 2020 Author Share Posted April 27, 2020 Small details today. Splitter plates for the intakes. Bulges for the gun openings. Overall shot of the forward end. More sanding, putting and primeing still to go. Dan Chek, blackbetty, Derek B and 9 others 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted April 28, 2020 Author Share Posted April 28, 2020 Working on the shape for the canopy. I will probably add 2 more bulkheads aft of the canopy/windscreen line. Then its BONDO time. Dan RLWP, Derek B, LSP_Kevin and 4 others 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted May 1, 2020 Author Share Posted May 1, 2020 Working on refining the shape of the canopy. First look was way too big, even this version still needs to be reduced in size. Dan D.B. Andrus, Lothar, Starfighter and 6 others 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaeone57 Posted May 1, 2020 Share Posted May 1, 2020 Yesssssss!!!! Dandiego 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shark64 Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 I really enjoy watching this comes together. Good work going on here. Dandiego 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 1 hour ago, shark64 said: I really enjoy watching this comes together. Good work going on here. Thanks Mr Shark. Seems to be my niche, decent looking, one of a kind models. I envy your skill set. But I don't have the skills or the patience. However I really enjoy tackling "fringe" subjects. Solving basic construction and shape issues gets my juices flowing. Also I enjoy the research. These fringe subjects take a little detective work. Not a whole lot of books written about the Pirate. And with good reason, it was a dud. However it's smooth, simple lines make it a good subject to scratchbuild. Next up the canopy. I will try to heat form a canopy from a soda bottle. Wish me luck. Dan johncrow 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dandiego Posted May 2, 2020 Author Share Posted May 2, 2020 (edited) OK my first try using a plastic soda bottle to heat shrink into a canopy. Raw material, 2 liter soda bottle. Canopy form jammed into the bottle and held tight against the bottle. Heat , from a heat gun applied. Bottle has shrunk to form around the canopy blank. Cut away from the bottle. The primer paint on the canopy blank has deposited on the inside of the canopy. Paint thinner was used to remove the primer from inside of the canopy. I can still see the ribs from the form on the new canopy. Also I have slightly deformed the canopy blank during the heat process. This is just a useful proof of concept first attempt. In order to get a better final result I believe that I will have to carve the blank out of wood. Dan Edited May 2, 2020 by Dandiego Starfighter, johncrow, blackbetty and 5 others 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RLWP Posted May 2, 2020 Share Posted May 2, 2020 Dan, you are a genius! Richard Dandiego 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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