JCote Posted February 25, 2007 Author Share Posted February 25, 2007 Thanks for the very kind comment Manu. Geoff, great to hear from you again, I very much hope that all is OK with you and that you'll start posting again soon, maybe a new, even better (if that's possible) Mustang. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted March 10, 2007 Share Posted March 10, 2007 Just checking on you Jean to be sure your working on this beauty.... G Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 I haven’t had a great deal of time for modelling lately, but I decided that if I spent any more time in the cockpit I’d go bug-eyed and lose interest in this project once and for all. So I looked for another sub-assembly to work on which if completed would give a feeling of making at least a bit of headway. The propeller seemed a good place to start but I had no idea how to tackle the blades. There was an article in Scale Models about ten years ago featuring a Mk IX conversion of the big Airfix kit (a real beauty it was too) where the author used 24 scale Hurricane prop blades, lengthened by cutting them and inserting a shim. That could provide me with a fall-back solution, but upon examination the Hurri blade (from my stash) had a twist only on the first quarter of its length, then was completely straight. I felt I didn’t have the skill to carve one or to use Peter Cooke’s method described in Scratchbuilt! Then came that incredible Tempest landing gear post on LSP a couple of months ago - no need to say more - and that gave me the idea for the method I ended up using. That idea was to set up a length of rod horizontally on the table of my mill and take radial cuts along predetermined tangents, with one end of the rod chucked in the centre of a rotary table, and the other threaded and screwed into an aluminium dowel that was left free to rotate. The tangents were drawn on enlarged copies of my Monforton Press plans and their distance from the centre measured with a caliper. It took ages. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 The actual machining was pretty straightforward after a couple of false starts due to overestimating my mental arithmetic abilities and screwing up the distances. Once I got it through my skull that EVERYTHING had to be written down, no matter how obvious, it was OK. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Things got a little hairy close to the tip as the metal was becoming so thin that when I changed settings on the rotary table the blade would twist alarmingly before the aluminium dowel at the other end decided to follow. In the end what was bound to happen did happen and the last few millimetres broke off. This and other mishaps were repaired with thin brass sheet soldered into place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 The clean-up was effected throughout with Mastercaster’s tear drop sanders, which have just the right strength and range of grit, as well as being more forgiving than files. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Two views of the finished blade. I have to say that I was pretty pleased with the final result given that I had no idea at the outset whether the method was going to be successful or not. A friend suggested uncharitably that my solution was devised to ensure that I got maximum use out of what he termed my fancy gear. There’s a kernel of truth there I expect. Still, my unaided skills being no more than average, I believe that no other method would have enabled me to obtain the proper alignment or twist. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 The spinner was turned in a series of incremental steps, filed down and polished. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 1, 2007 Author Share Posted May 1, 2007 Finaly, these are the PU castings of the prop as well as a first dry run of the fuselage with nose. I’m starting to believe that this project might actually happen someday. That’s it for today. I guess it’s back to the ’pit now. Derek B 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Matt Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 This is incredible stuff Jean. Truly unique. I love it when you do updates on this build. Cheers Matty Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AngoMango Posted May 1, 2007 Share Posted May 1, 2007 Jean, Matty is right on the money, I agree...it's a brilliant example of modelling, and I find that my ears (figuratively, anyway) always prick up when you've posted an update on this great build. It's starting to get that lovely spitfire shape now too, which must be quite an encouragement to you, mustn't it?! Top stuff Ango Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 2, 2007 Author Share Posted May 2, 2007 Matty and Ango, thanks for your super comments. And yes, seeing the fuselage on its temporary cradle actually starting to look like a Spitfire has given my flagging motivation a big boost. Jean Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcauchi Posted May 2, 2007 Share Posted May 2, 2007 Simply brilliant Jean, I don;t know what else to say. All you have been doing here is amazing. Lovely engineering. A true mastepiece. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JCote Posted May 3, 2007 Author Share Posted May 3, 2007 Thanks Brian and Manu, your encouragement is much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyB Posted May 13, 2007 Share Posted May 13, 2007 Pure class. As always, yet more inspiration. Thanks Jean, made my week again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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