Colombia Kfir C10 Revell+Isracast

[red Dog]

More work on the IP:

 

The final layout parts have been selected from the Airscale PE and some bits from the scrap PE box:

 

Once satisfied with the whole IP, the different components were glued in place and given a splash of paint

 

 

Some gross attempts at micro painting to paint buttons

 

 

Then  hi gloss varnish and the Airscale decals

 

 

The glareshield were redone with aluminium foil, A HUD was also added

 

 

Final result:

 

 

and the real one:

 

 

Macro photography really helps seeing the default on your work   but  once in pit, none of these are strikingly visible anymore (luckily!) :

 

 

[red Dog]

The pilot has its hands on throttle and stick - he's HOTAS

 

 

it's the SUFA pilot, not the right helmet but that will do. Still need to add a few details before fitting the IP

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by red Dog

[red Dog]

Matching a pilot to a cockpit and closing the canopy for an in-flight is always a challenge.

Very often the kits aren't done for closed canopies and the seat or something else is conflicting.

 

When you add after markets and a stash pilot, you're doing it even mor difficult on yourselves

I developed a method as I challenge myself with this quite often, dunno if that will help anyone but here is it anyway 

 

- At the early stage of the cockpit built, check the set height. Close the canopy and ensure the seat does not conflict with the closed canopy. if it does conflict, sand the seat base a bit. 

- Get rid of the belts on the seat (if any) and mill the seat cushion for the shape of the pilot back and butts

- Assemble the pilot without shoes if possible, with no arms and no head. Test fit the pilot on the seat. It should be well cushioned in

- Test the seat + pilot in the cockpit, ensure his legs are not too spread and conflicting with the side consoles and that the space between  his leg is enough to fit the IP. Often a small cut at the legs is required for a proper fit. If shoes are an issue, get rid of them, nobody will see it under the IP most of the time 

- Cut the hands from the arms,

- Put pins in the arm and head of the pilot and ensure you can assemble them without glue and move them until you find the perfect position

- Put pins in the hand and so the same with the hands on the arms. Very often the hands should be on the controls, but hardly hands are molded with stick or throttle in them or grabbing a handle bar for WSO for instance

- Mill the inside of the hands and glue flight controls there and not on the cockpit. Obviously the arm/hands should be in the correct place so the flight controls more or less match their native position. 

-  Very often if you glue the arms before inserting the pilot in the seat, you can't go past the canopy sills. Plan ahead for that and consider gluing the pilot arms after the pilot is seated in the seat. 

- Pin the head (don't glue) and check that you can still close the canopy perfectly

- Glue only when you're sure everything will fit and close correctly, don't forget to add belts (foil, PE, ...) attaching the pilot to the seat

- once the pilot in glued to the seat, add the missing belts and seat ejection goodies.

-Did I say check that closed canopy often

 

The tree main assemblies going through separate painting and detailing

 

 

 

 

The resin seat was too high to ensure a canopy close, so the bottom of the seat was sanded a bit more until the canopy closed correctly

 

 

Both arms were reshaped and hands severed and repositioned after being milled for the flight controls. Invisible in the picture but right leg was bent inboard and the space between the two legs were sanded to let the IP centre pedestal slide through

 

A pilot looking where he should according to the phase of the inflight and his hands where they are supposed to be (rather than doing the usual thumb up) 

is much more natural but is hardly well planned from the figurine manufacturers. 

 

I'd love to get more LSP helmets, hands with sticks or grabbing handles. in the meantime, we often have to make do with what we have in the scrap box. 

 

Now that the pilot sits in there comfortably, whish me luck because I'll start addressing that front windscreen and this is probably the critical point of this built.

I need to remove the side mount as the C10 Kfir windscreen is one piece plexiglass. As you can see from the picture above, 20 years in its box already micro marked the canopy so it needs a good polish anyway. 

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by red Dog

[alain11]

hi

the cockpit of Mirage is very narrow, isn't it ? if unfortunately , you spoil the windscreen , I can send you the clear parts for replacement  , .I know that the Revell clear parts are thicker than the Italieri ones , but be careful when sanding off the frames , and polishing the part ( I know that I mean  ) , it would be a shame to waste your build at this critical stage , after so many efforts 

Alain

 

if you need more room in the cockpit , maybe you can cut the pilot's legs under the knees ...............so .... good luck !!

[red Dog]

merci Alain,  The windscreen is sanded. 

and not broken

 

But Jens was right, it's very hard to get rid of the flat part on the inside of the part. Sanding the frame was easy, but whatever you do, even with the frames completely done, you still see the angles of the part because of the inside flat ....

though nut to crack -  I am afraid to sand too much and crack the part - although it should be thick enough...

Better progress cautiously on that one 

 

 

Edited November 15, 2020 by red Dog

[scvrobeson]

Wonder if it could be shaved down with a very sharp blade?

 

 

 

Matt 

[red Dog]

I'm not sure this is convenient to do in the inside, the topside is already rounded - the problem is that since it's angled on the inside, however you round the topside, you will always see the angle and flat surface.

The solution might be to round the inside but this is quite hard to achieve - it was tempted but honestly I reached the point where I'm starting to get concerned that I will break it if I pursue.

 

Here's the kit's part in the state it is now:

 

 

The angles and flat surface are still quite noticeable. I'm not equipped to vac form a new windscreen so I looked in the spare transparencies box if there was anything of help in there and sure enough I found something that may fit just fine with a bit of surgery.

I confess I initially looked at the newly release mirage 2000 windscreen, but it is so much longer than this one. 

 

But this old Hasegawa F-18 blue angel could be a possible solution:

 

I marked the area I'd need and sawed it off, then adjusted more finely by careful sanding. The parts are not cleaned or polished yet. I'll wait till i'm 100% satisfied with fitting before polishing and declaring it useable or not. notice the original part and the even more obvious angular surface

 

 

Once on the KFIR, the fitting is not so bad. Some gaps are present, but nothing that cannot be addressed by framing the windscreen with aluminium tape.

 

 

And finally here's a comparison picture between the original sanded part and the salvage F-18 part.

Let me know what you think gents? Should I pick any of these or should I attempt a first try at vac forming my own? 

 

 

Thanks for your input. 

 

 

 

Edited November 20, 2020 by red Dog

[Cheetah11]

 

Try your hand at vac forming. If the results are not what you want at least you have a back-up.

[alain11]

hi

 

I think ........ I say I think that the problem , is not the " flat" area on top of the windscreen , if you take a look on the real plane , we have this " flat" frame ,that match to the canopy ..... I think that the issue is that we have this flat area INSIDE the windscreen , that gives you a bad effect  The  windscreen itself is perfectly rounded .....

one solution : remove the clear part , but keep the frame , then cut this clear part into a thin and flexible rodoide sheet according to a template you did before ...good luck , we cross fingers 

Alain

"Edit" well , after considering  among of the tricky works that face to you , the F18 part , is not so bad ,, quick and easier  .. if only I  had this idea for my Cheetah 

 

the picture is a Cheetah C , though , but we have the same issue than with the Kfir 

Edited November 20, 2020 by alain11

[easixpedro]

I think you're pretty dang close. You could always try plunge molding,  but I'd be happy to get something looking that good!

Peter

[red Dog]

1 hour ago, alain11 said:

hi

 

I think ........ I say I think that the problem , is not the " flat" area on top of the windscreen , if you take a look on the real plane , we have this " flat" frame ,that match to the canopy ..... I think that the issue is that we have this flat area INSIDE the windscreen , that gives you a bad effect  The  windscreen itself is perfectly rounded .....

 

I fully agree with you Alain, That's what i was trying to say. the flat is inside the windscreen and very hard to get to another shape

 

I think I'll give a quick go with a piece of rhodoïd and my wife's hairdryer, using the F-18 cut windscreen as a master.

I'm not sure I have the right tool and material for that but let's try and see what happens.

As cheetah wisely said, if it doesn't work I already have a B plan.

 

What's plunge molding Peter? 

 

[easixpedro]

Like vacuum molding, without the vacuum. You heat up plastic till it's melty and pull it over the mold (or vice versa). Your windscreen shape is perfect for that. I don't have any recent pics, but you can look at Post #4 in this old one, where I did it to fix the windscreen for an F-8C conversion: http://zone-five.net/showthread.php?t=25018 

 

But honestly, I think that Hornet windscreen solution is close to 90%. Maybe a little gentle heat to get it to flex outward a little more?

[jenshb]

I would use the modified Mirage windshield as a pattern to form a new windshield and keep the Hornet-donated windshield as a backup.  Actually, I don't think that looks like a bad solution.  Just needs a little sanding flat on top and a rounding off on the canopy frame to blend in.

[scvrobeson]

Yes, I meant scraping it away from the inside with a knife blade, but it looks like the Hornet canopy could work even better.

 

 

 

 

Matt 

[red Dog]

So I went to the barbecue and got my hot gloves first

Then I bluetacked the Revell windscreen on a piece of wood, put a rhodoïd on top of it and blasted it with hot air from the hairdryer

 

 

The first try was a mess  

The second try was better and a definite windscreen shape came out and was cut alongside the revell template.

It was still a bit too large so it needed further adjustments but in the end it's not that bad:

 

 

 

 

Thank you all very much for your help, advices and support gents. Very much appreciated