EA-6B Prowler (02 April: Done!)

[easixpedro]

4 hours ago, Zola25 said:

This is just amazing. I have always loved the Prowler, and now I just really really want to have one in 1/32 - When you are done with this incredible build, could you please send it to Trumpeter for some "inspiration" 

I would love it too. I think we have a better chance of a 1/32 F-4B now that I've started that conversion too...

[jeroen_R90S]

On 2/4/2021 at 10:12 PM, easixpedro said:

Glad someone will get something useful out of my random streaming of thoughts and remembrances!

 

I'm leave the engines off to save weight.  Still debate how to represent the spinning compressor sections. I've used a printed photo before, but almost pointless that far back. I could paint it dark metallic gray and call it good and no one would ever know. Will experiment with it soon enough though.  Stay tuned!

-Peter

Thanks!

I've done some dryfitting today, putting in the entire engine (i did only one half so far) does indeed make the fuselage half quite a bit more weight. I was quite suprised, actually. But since mine will be gear-down I think I'll just put the engines in, they add a bit of strength too, it seems. I just need to remember to put the wings on first!

 

As for the spinning engines... there is so little to be seen I think you can get away by just using what's there, although I'm sure you'll come up with something better

Thanks also for the underside shot, really helpful, also for a normal A-6. (right-clicked and saved)

 

Jeroen

[easixpedro]

Slow and steady wins the race. Have the other wing modified. Need to scribe it still. Took a page out of Ben's book and made the wing fences out of metal. Heres a comparison of the kit's fence vs. my brass sheet ones. You can also see the ghost outline of where it was originally., which I believe was wrong even for the Intruder. 

 

And a shot showing both wings done. Once the wing is scribed and attached, I'll get the engines done and move forward to the cockpit.  Starting to think of the various ways I could tackle the canopies. 

-Peter

 

[easixpedro]

Welfare check time. Progress is nil due to the cold. Hopeful everyone else in the northern latitude is hanging in there.  Past week has been brutal on the plains. This morning almost -20F before windchill. I know it's worse elsewhere, so no complaints,  but man o man is it cold! My next steps on the old girl need to be done in the garage where my wood working stuff is. Its about 15F in there, and I don't feel like bundling up to work on a model (this is supposed to be fun and relaxing right?)

 

Here's where I'm at. You might remember a few pages back where I started working the canopies. Came to the realization that it was going to be a bear to get 2 of them aligned with that center section and not destroy everything in the process. Also realized that while Balsa is good for quick shapes, it was transferring the grain to my clear parts, no matter how I sealed it. (Usually soaked with superglue, which makes it rock hard) You can see my 5th attempt here. Looks like a funky color due to the polishing compound I used prior to realizing I had bumps that weren't going to come out...it was at this point in September that I set her aside to mull things over) 

 

 

As I was working on the wings and fuselage, I snapped that middle part between the cockpits off. A blessing in disguise.  Made me realize that forming the entire area would be the way to go!

 

This time around I started with hunks of Bass wood. Its got a closer grain, but is harder to sand/carve. Here's where I left off after a few moments in the garage freezing my heinie off. Needs a lot more shaping to get the profile just right. Then it'll get sealed so that the hot plastic doesn't affect it.

 

Here's my master to make the ALQ-99 pods too. Its balsa-dont expect the issues from above as I'm not trying to make clear parts.  Any imperfections I can cover with putty etc. Problem at this point is it also requires me working in the garage to build the frames to support the plastic for the pulls.

I'll get there eventually,  just much more appealing to sit by the fireplace with a book and the pups right about now.

 

Hope everyone is staying healthy and warm!

Peter 

[blackbetty]

very nice work!

i had sucsess with using carputty for masters, these polish up very nicely and dont transfer imperfections to the pull easily.

[easixpedro]

4 hours ago, blackbetty said:

very nice work!

i had sucsess with using carputty for masters, these polish up very nicely and dont transfer imperfections to the pull easily.

Thanks! What's car putty though?  Bondo or a European equivalent?  I'm intrigued and might need it if this doesn't pan out.

-Peter

[blackbetty]

its two pack bondo used for repairs of cars, it comes in different grades. i use the normal (not fiber reinforced) for creating masters, the fine grade i use for putty work on PLA 3D prints

[jeroen_R90S]

Still long way to go, but looking cool. I like the wing fences, too!

[easixpedro]

2 hours ago, blackbetty said:

its two pack bondo used for repairs of cars, it comes in different grades. i use the normal (not fiber reinforced) for creating masters, the fine grade i use for putty work on PLA 3D prints

OK--have an old dried up pack of it in the garage from when I was attempting repair work on my old 67 Mustang.  Don't know why it never dawned on me to use it (I use pretty much everything else)?!  I'll go get some more to have on hand should I need it. And I'll need it for the car soon too as I'm hoping to finish the body work and get her back on the road!

-Peter

[easixpedro]

Well, still colder than a (insert your favorite colorful phrase here), but I have some slight progress to report!

 

Today ended up being a work from home day. Bundled up and went in the garage to grab my woodworking tools: couple of BAFs (Big A.. File), a hand plane and various grades of sand paper so I could sand while sitting in front of my computer.  Pulled up a trashcan and started making some sawdust. Or "Man Glitter" if you're like Nick Offerman/Ron Swanson.

 

Here's the result:

 

 

Pretty pleased with the result. You can see a wicked crack in the basswood that appeared as I started carving--filled it w/ super glue and it's smoother than silk. I'll have to work on the edge of the fuselage to get a straight line for the join, but if I can get some good pulls, this should work out.  My goal is to mark out where the canopies fall on the clear sheet and then build out the interior canopy framing, which is significant. Everything but the canopies will get a good coat of paint to hide the fact that it's clear plastic. 

 

Of course the next hurdle is getting a good pull with clear sheets. If you haven't attempted it before, it's tricky. Unlike regular sheet styrene, certain variants tend to bubble if they get too hot, too quickly. Having done this before w/ my 1/24th effort taught me that. Set it in the oven at its lowest setting and then be patient, kind of like an old vinyl record in a hot car back in the day. I have about 10 different varieties of clear stock on hand as I saw some at the local Hobby Lobby the other day--have no clue what type it is as it's not labeled, so trial and error will be the flavor of the day. Of course, this will have to wait till I can work in the garage to build a frame to hold the plastic in the oven, but the Polar Vortex has to end sometime soon!

 

Off to figure out my next steps. Also just put in an order for some parts (intakes, exhausts and thin wheels) for the F-4B conversion so that might gain some momentum too. We'll see what gets updated next! Thanks for following along!

-Peter

 

[Panzerwomble]

Ron Swanson......there should be a monument to him in every town ...park 

[Dandiego]

Regarding vacforming over the wooden mold.....

You might try first forming over the wooden mold with a thin white plastic, this should solve the wood grain problem, and then form the clear plastic over the wood/ thin plastic combo.

 

A friend used this method to great success.

 

Dan

[easixpedro]

18 minutes ago, Dandiego said:

Regarding vacforming over the wooden mold.....

You might try first forming over the wooden mold with a thin white plastic, this should solve the wood grain problem, and then form the clear plastic over the wood/ thin plastic combo.

 

A friend used this method to great success.

 

Dan

With Balsa, I usually soak it with thin super glue. It soaks it up and makes it rock hard--brings out the grain some, but you can sand that back w/ 000 steel wool.  For this I have 3 coats of lacquer on there. It also got soaked up and it's rock hard now. Decided to try that vice the super glue as I was out of the super thin stuff.  Should work well--it's so hard that I can't even leave a mark with my fingernail. But, I'll keep that trick in mind should this go south (which it may very well!).

Edited February 16, 2021 by easixpedro

[airscale]

I always found balsa too hard to fully refine, so now I use it to make the master and resin cast the real one from it

 

You can easily refine the resin version 

 

Peter

[easixpedro]

13 hours ago, airscale said:

I always found balsa too hard to fully refine, so now I use it to make the master and resin cast the real one from it

 

You can easily refine the resin version 

 

Peter

Thanks Peter,

 

I’m keeping this in the hip pocket for now. I’m hoping that these shapes are basic enough that there’s no need for further refinement. On my 1/24 build, I actually used Durhams water putty as the shape was so large. Resin would have been prohibitively expensive. Fingers crossed, touch wood etc. that I can pull it off when the time comes. Already dreading the gold bits for these canopies!

Peter