RAF FG.1 XV571 WILD HARE Phantom Conversion

[KiwiZac]

On 12/24/2022 at 11:20 AM, Anthony in NZ said:

Right, I can feel the nerves as I approach the time to epoxy the lower wing on!

 

[easixpedro]

19 minutes ago, KiwiZac said:

 

But, surely he’s as excited as we are to see it come together!

[Greg W]

You are routinely passing significant milestones on this huge project. Well done!

Fuselage shape shift: ✔

Intake expansion: ✔

Cockpit: ✔

Panel line/rivit stuff: ✔

Lots of type specific additions: ✔

 

And now the wings are ready to be added. Another big accomplishment on this build! Such an epic WIP, every update is a treat.

[Landrotten Highlander]

9 hours ago, easixpedro said:

But, surely he’s as excited as we are to see it come together!

Don't call hm Shirley.....

 

Very nice work on the plane, though

[jenshb]

Pardon my stupid question, but wouldn't it be better to use plastic cement to bond the lower wing to the fuselage?  In my experience, epoxy doesn't provide as good a bond plastic to plastic as it doesn't melt the plastic to provide in essence a cold weld...

[alain11]

hi

I experimented this stage a few days ago , a stressful stage !!!! although , at the end we don't need putty ( almost ) ( Tamiya quality !!!!) however , I had some issue with the front area , that didn't want to get its place because of the centering tabs a little bit too tight  ..........the upper wing bonding , another hard point mainly at the wing root  

[Anthony in NZ]

19 hours ago, KiwiZac said:

 

Haha thanks Zac, we’ll so far so good, it’s nearly done!

 

19 hours ago, easixpedro said:

But, surely he’s as excited as we are to see it come together!

I sure am buddy, but I heard a lot about how tricky this part can be. Dosent help when I’ve modified the fuselage so much and it is in 3 pieces 

But, excited…yes!

 

13 hours ago, Greg W said:

You are routinely passing significant milestones on this huge project. Well done!

Fuselage shape shift: ✔

Intake expansion: ✔

Cockpit: ✔

Panel line/rivit stuff: ✔

Lots of type specific additions: ✔

 

And now the wings are ready to be added. Another big accomplishment on this build! Such an epic WIP, every update is a treat.

Awwww thanks so much Greg, you’ve been a great encouragement throughout this build and I super appreciate it! I never take any comment lightly that you make 

Thanks again, I’m pleased you’re still with me….I didn’t expect it to take this long!

 

9 hours ago, Landrotten Highlander said:

Don't call hm Shirley.....

 

Very nice work on the plane, though

Hahahaha….. I might like it lol….errr no

Thank you my friend!

 

7 hours ago, jenshb said:

Pardon my stupid question, but wouldn't it be better to use plastic cement to bond the lower wing to the fuselage?  In my experience, epoxy doesn't provide as good a bond plastic to plastic as it doesn't melt the plastic to provide in essence a cold weld...

Now, this is definitely not a stupid question.

 The reason for epoxy is because several parts are the resin WH conversion set still. I initially thought I’d use the upper fuselage but the casting was pretty rough in a lot of areas, so I cut the fuse into 3 sections, using WH centre, but then realised it was inaccurate and modified that as well. If I was ever to do another then I’d only use the rear flank’s around the rear aux air doors. The wing is the same although I only used the very back piece where the profile changes for the bigger engines. 
So as you can see I have a real mix of resin and plastic. Where I have plastic to plastic I’ve used plastic glue like MEK or Tamiya cement. But in areas where there is resin I’ve epoxied the area. There is a fair bit of load applied around the lower back end as those Speys hang down a long way and is such a feature to get right and it was clamped most of the day yesterday. Nearly finished 

 

7 hours ago, alain11 said:

hi

I experimented this stage a few days ago , a stressful stage !!!! although , at the end we don't need putty ( almost ) ( Tamiya quality !!!!) however , I had some issue with the front area , that didn't want to get its place because of the centering tabs a little bit too tight  ..........the upper wing bonding , another hard point mainly at the wing root  

Yes I found it stressful too! Mostly because I’d cut up the original kit and inserted dodgy resin that still needed corrections unfortunately.  However I think I’ve got the hard part done now and the lower profile looks great. 
Hmmmmmm yes the upper wing! I tried to place one on and it’s going to be a challenge. The contours and side profiles between the two are very different and my head hurt just looking at it. I’ll deal with that when the time comes shortly, but I just can’t think that far ahead right now or I’ll give up lol. I’m sure it’ll be not as bad as it initially looked….he says blindly lol

 

Thanks for all your support and great questions and input, love it cos I’m making it up as I go too!

 

Cheers Anthony 

 

 

[Anthony in NZ]

Ok since there is interest on how this is coming along.  Here is the clamping in progress yesterday, this was stage 2, stage one was the back end which I didnt take a pic of sorry.

 

I took this yesterday as I was really happy with the lower contour and the 'big butt' this girl has LOL

 

Lot of cleanup, contours and panel line work ahead of me....

 

Clamps off this morning, dropped fin on just to remind me where I am at and if I am getting that unique Brit Toom 'look/feel'

 

Still got to sort the very end of the nose bulkhead shapes before committing to last gluing session today

 

But I think I am getting there

Cheers Anthony

 

 

[jenshb]

1 hour ago, Anthony in NZ said:

Now, this is definitely not a stupid question.

 The reason for epoxy is because several parts are the resin WH conversion set still. I initially thought I’d use the upper fuselage but the casting was pretty rough in a lot of areas, so I cut the fuse into 3 sections, using WH centre, but then realised it was inaccurate and modified that as well. If I was ever to do another then I’d only use the rear flank’s around the rear aux air doors. The wing is the same although I only used the very back piece where the profile changes for the bigger engines. 
So as you can see I have a real mix of resin and plastic. Where I have plastic to plastic I’ve used plastic glue like MEK or Tamiya cement. But in areas where there is resin I’ve epoxied the area. There is a fair bit of load applied around the lower back end as those Speys hang down a long way and is such a feature to get right and it was clamped most of the day yesterday. Nearly finished

OK, that makes sense - forgot that the rear part was resin.  I sometimes use epoxy to stiffen joins between parts to prevent flexing, but the join between epoxy and polystyrene is mechanical, and too much flexing  can make the epoxy lose grip.  The same I have found of Milliput.  For my in flight models I have therefore tended to glue bits of Evergreen around the square tube to provide the structural attachment of the ends of the tube, but then applied a lot of epoxy around them for additional stiffening.  THe Evergreen rod will provide the necessary mechanical key to keep it in place.

[Anthony in NZ]

1 minute ago, jenshb said:

OK, that makes sense - forgot that the rear part was resin.  I sometimes use epoxy to stiffen joins between parts to prevent flexing, but the join between epoxy and polystyrene is mechanical, and too much flexing  can make the epoxy lose grip.  The same I have found of Milliput.  For my in flight models I have therefore tended to glue bits of Evergreen around the square tube to provide the structural attachment of the ends of the tube, but then applied a lot of epoxy around them for additional stiffening.  THe Evergreen rod will provide the necessary mechanical key to keep it in place.

I like your tip on gluing Evergreen strips and epoxy, I’ll try that on future builds…thanks!

 

Yes I tried to ‘pre bend’ and glue styrene and epoxy…and super glue the lower wing  so I didn’t have a lot of tension on that lower wing when attached to the upper fuse. I’ve tried to keep stress in the structure to a minimum…..but my stress levels in my head were maxed out lol

[KiwiZac]

Excellent work Anthony, how exciting!

[Greg W]

"Thanks again, I’m pleased you’re still with me….I didn’t expect it to take this long!"

 

For what its worth, I think the length of time a project takes is proportionate to the scope of the endeavour. With all of the research, head scratching, decision making and plain hard work involved in the old school style of kit modification represented here, you are proceeding at a very good rate. It seems to me that this project is not taking an undue amount of time at all.

[phantomdriver]

Blimey!

[scvrobeson]

It's all coming together now! Great to see all of the work on the Toom paying off, it really does look just like a real one.

 

 

 

Matt 

[Derek B]

On 12/25/2022 at 8:14 PM, Anthony in NZ said:

Ok since there is interest on how this is coming along.  Here is the clamping in progress yesterday, this was stage 2, stage one was the back end which I didnt take a pic of sorry.

 

I took this yesterday as I was really happy with the lower contour and the 'big butt' this girl has LOL

 

Lot of cleanup, contours and panel line work ahead of me....

 

Clamps off this morning, dropped fin on just to remind me where I am at and if I am getting that unique Brit Toom 'look/feel'

 

Still got to sort the very end of the nose bulkhead shapes before committing to last gluing session today

 

But I think I am getting there

Cheers Anthony

 

 

 

You've captured the lower 'banana' shape vey well Anthony, well done! (the lens flare probably exaggerates this effect in the photographs somewhat). It is really coming together now, so that should (hopefully) encourage and spur you on to the finish.

 

Cheers

 

Derek