jeroen_R90S Posted February 28, 2021 Share Posted February 28, 2021 On 2/26/2021 at 12:47 PM, easixpedro said: The thought of drilling them crossed my mind. I’ll cross / burn that bridge when the time comes. You’re right though as I will have to separate them to get the oleos the right size, so it’ll be a chance to tinker... -Peter I'm following along how you go about that... I'm probably going crazy, but I'm actually considering getting an A-6E for a similar setup... easixpedro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 (edited) Good to know I’ve sent someone over the edge! Always good to have competition at the funny farm. Did an Intruder eons ago, (no pics though). Just using the plain kit would be imminently easier though! -Peter Edited February 28, 2021 by easixpedro jeroen_R90S and Anthony in NZ 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted February 28, 2021 Author Share Posted February 28, 2021 (edited) Whoa... this may work! Got a wild hair and whilst the fam was off running errands, I built a little frame to just smash some clear styrene over my mold. Didn't really plan anything, was just putzing around. First pull was a success! Broke a section where it got thin on the sides, but went a lot better than I ever imagined! Here's a couple of shots to show. Need to settle down and go back to the plan in my head before I get ahead of myself! But nice to know I'm on the right track! -Peter Edited February 28, 2021 by easixpedro Michael931080, scvrobeson, mattcour and 12 others 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marcel111 Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 Wow that looks excellent already, congrats! I’m way too scared to even try modifying clear parts, never mind making them from scratch. Cheers, Marcel A-10LOADER, Out2gtcha and easixpedro 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted March 1, 2021 Author Share Posted March 1, 2021 6 hours ago, Marcel111 said: I’m way too scared to even try modifying clear parts, never mind making them from scratch. Cheers, Marcel You and me both! Hence me showing it can be done. When I get to it, I'll show how I'm doing it. No special tools or anything, I literally heated up a sheet of clear styrene and smashed it down over the mold. -Peter Marcel111 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Panzerwomble Posted March 1, 2021 Share Posted March 1, 2021 This is such a cracking build , I'm actually genuinely excited to see this one sat on it's hook in all it's glory !! easixpedro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted March 2, 2021 Author Share Posted March 2, 2021 6 hours ago, Panzerwomble said: This is such a cracking build , I'm actually genuinely excited to see this one sat on it's hook in all it's glory !! Thanks! I’m fighting the urge to go fast as I’m excited for it too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mattcour Posted March 3, 2021 Share Posted March 3, 2021 Man, that is what I would call a real conversion!! Great job and progressing very well. easixpedro 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 Been a loooong week already. Zero bench time, except for about 10 minutes tonight. Thought I'd show how I replicate the seam sealant thats applied. You can see it here in Jake's book (illustrative purple only). I'm using a really old, and thick bottle of Tamiya surface primer. When it gets too thick, I'll pour a bit of extra thin in it and it makes it more viscous. Then I just mask off areas to cover and liberally apply it. Easy peasy. I know folks like recessed panel lines, but in some cases this is the way to go...standing out like a sore thumb, like some 18 year old kid was applying caulk in really bad weather on the flight deck... Hopefully more soon. -Peter jeroen_R90S, Cicciuzzo, Anthony in NZ and 10 others 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allthumbs Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 2 hours ago, easixpedro said: Been a loooong week already. Zero bench time, except for about 10 minutes tonight. Thought I'd show how I replicate the seam sealant thats applied. You can see it here in Jake's book (illustrative purple only). I'm using a really old, and thick bottle of Tamiya surface primer. When it gets too thick, I'll pour a bit of extra thin in it and it makes it more viscous. Then I just mask off areas to cover and liberally apply it. Easy peasy. I know folks like recessed panel lines, but in some cases this is the way to go...standing out like a sore thumb, like some 18 year old kid was applying caulk in really bad weather on the flight deck... Hopefully more soon. -Peter Great scale addition the sealant...it seems (no pun intended) that much of the Intruder/Prowler airframe received this treatment. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 Yes, it was everywhere! Think it was a Grumman thing, as I recall it on Tomcats too. It was also nasty stuff if you touched it while wet. It was never coming off. There’s a Nomex jacket I’ve got in a footlocker in the house that still has it on there, some 23 years later... Panzerwomble 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oldbaldguy Posted March 5, 2021 Share Posted March 5, 2021 The sealant is a nice touch but I’m afraid you may have opened a can of worms. We’ll likely see models built by the uninitiated in future days that are randomly covered in the stuff, much like the currently in vogue obsessions with gaping panel lines and over-done “weathering”. In the real world, I’ve seen the goo on Hornets and a couple of other types as well. I’m thinking it does a much better job of keeping the water and elements at bay than the hundred mile an hour tape that was my dad’s only option when caring for his Whales and Vigilantes. Sort of a “better living through chemistry” thing. Anthony in NZ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted March 5, 2021 Author Share Posted March 5, 2021 13 minutes ago, Oldbaldguy said: The sealant is a nice touch but I’m afraid you may have opened a can of worms. We’ll likely see models built by the uninitiated in future days that are randomly covered in the stuff, much like the currently in vogue obsessions with gaping panel lines and over-done “weathering”. In the real world, I’ve seen the goo on Hornets and a couple of other types as well. I’m thinking it does a much better job of keeping the water and elements at bay than the hundred mile an hour tape that was my dad’s only option when caring for his Whales and Vigilantes. Sort of a “better living through chemistry” thing. Haha, I totally understand that! I wouldn't do it in any smaller scale--that juice isn't worth the squeeze. And now that you mention it, I do remember the goo on all the planes. I don't remember it being on panels that were opened for daily inspections etc., but pretty much anything else had it. I debated adding them to the football, as I know it was used up there to keep the electronics dry. At the same time, most pictures show a fairly restrained application, inside the panel lines. As for Whales and Viggies and the earlier generations, I'll chalk this up to we've learned a lot over the years, especially with corrosion control efforts. Anything that would keep saltwater/moisture from creeping into crevices etc. made it much easier to limit the damage to airplanes. Pretty amazing to think that the Prowler flew from carrier decks for dang near 50 years. Original airframes in that corrosive environment (stack gas, salt water, you name it). Couldn't be done w/o amazing efforts by the men and women turning wrenches and keeping them airworthy. Same goes with tool control and FOD. For the un-initiated, it's a pretty big deal. Tools are inventoried constantly--beginning and end of each shift, and same for each job performed. Bad things tend to happen if a tool gets sucked up an engine or gets jammed in the controls. Reason I bring that up is hearing a story from an old Whaler in the 60s about rolling inverted and being hit in the face by a wrench! Can you imagine?! There's a reason we lost so many airplanes in accidents back in the day. Side story: I learned pretty quickly in my flying career to check every instrument on the IP before going flying, after having one of the displays in the back come flying at my face on the catapult stroke. Similar story from a friend that had a filter for the Pilot's radar scope come off during the stroke. Of course it lodged itself between the stick and the IP and he couldn't push the stick forward. It resulted in an over-rotation off the cat and as they were about to stall, (with the obvious negative consequences) he was able to kick it loose and recover. Led to an immediate warning in the NATOPS manual about not putting the filter on until airborne... It's not that carrier aviation is dangerous, it's just horribly unforgiving. But enough sea stories! Hopefully more this weekend--anxious to get working on the cockpit! -Peter scvrobeson, Anthony in NZ and Oldbaldguy 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easixpedro Posted March 8, 2021 Author Share Posted March 8, 2021 Still plugging away, though bench time is super hard to come by right now. Started working on the aft cockpit. Nothing is attached, just making sure everything will fit. Will have to see about some anyZ knobs. Dont want to go overboard in the cockpit, due to figures and closed canopies. At the same time, you can see an awful lot from the top down into a Prowler cockpit. But have to build the consoles first. -Peter Dadeo911, blackbetty, GMK and 11 others 14 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bdthoresen Posted March 8, 2021 Share Posted March 8, 2021 (edited) Nice work, Pete. I was just scraping and resealing a bunch of fuel tank panels on the E-2D I am working on. Some kid had used a tongue depressor and slathered it over all of the seams on its last deployment, what a mess. I guess in the field it has to work. Here, that won’t fly! THOR Edited March 10, 2021 by bdthoresen Derek B and easixpedro 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now