1/32 Short Stirling

[MikeMaben]

[Derek B]

I have absolutely no idea where you find storage for all of these large four-engined monsters that you make Tom, but keep producing them! (great work).

 

Derek

[LSP_Mike]

Nice. 

[tomprobert]

On 2/20/2023 at 11:56 AM, Derek B said:

I have absolutely no idea where you find storage for all of these large four-engined monsters that you make Tom, but keep producing them! (great work).

 

Derek

Room is now at a critical point, Derek. I’m going to have to sacrifice a large built up model to accommodate this one, and it will be the Hobby Boss B-24D which I am likely to donate to the fantastic museum at Old Buckenham.
 

The curator, Jim, is a great guy doing some fantastic stuff and is slowly building up a great tribute to the USAAF crews based there during WWII. I’ve already given him a couple of 1/48th B-17s, but being a B-24 base I think a large Liberator is needed! At least it’ll be on display rather than hidden away in my loft where no one sees it - and I’ll make room for the Stirling!

[Derek B]

1 hour ago, tomprobert said:

Room is now at a critical point, Derek. I’m going to have to sacrifice a large built up model to accommodate this one, and it will be the Hobby Boss B-24D which I am likely to donate to the fantastic museum at Old Buckenham.
 

The curator, Jim, is a great guy doing some fantastic stuff and is slowly building up a great tribute to the USAAF crews based there during WWII. I’ve already given him a couple of 1/48th B-17s, but being a B-24 base I think a large Liberator is needed! At least it’ll be on display rather than hidden away in my loft where no one sees it - and I’ll make room for the Stirling!

 

A worthy cause indeed Tom, well done.

 

Derek

[tomprobert]

Greetings all 

 

More progress to update you on with the Super-size-Stirling!

 

Since the last update the wings have been glued into place and the joins with the fuselage made good. Due to some careful planning in regard to the the spars and mating surfaces, very little filler was actually required which was a bonus. 

 

Next up I thought it made sense to tackle the fin and stabilisers as then the model will be structurally complete and the major sanding and preparing of parts will be completed. The kit parts are pretty basic but the shapes are good:

 

 

Each part was scribed after careful consultation of plans. I concentrated initially on the fin - it was sanded to the correct depth and then I epoxied a wooden dowel more or less along the rudder hinge-line to act as a spar and strong attachment point to the fuselage:

 

 

After more checking of plans a hole was then drilled into the top of the fuselage for the dowel to pass through and into the top of the spar-box I'd made for the stabilisers, meaning a very solid join. This is not the case with the real aircraft I hasten to add (there are very beefy rear fuselage frames that support the fin) but none of this is visible on the model so I went for strength over accuracy:

 

 

With the fin set and filled, I then turned my attention to the stabilisers. Stirlings are more often than not seen with the elevators in a drooped position when at rest, so I thought it best to do the same with mine. First I removed the elevators from the stabilisers:

 

 

And then glued some thick plastic card along the hinge-line to blank off the rear of the stab and also act as a spar:

 

 

More dowel was then run through the rear fuselage:

 

 

And then the stabilisers we epoxied in place, with the dowel butting up against the rear spar of the stabs making a very strong join. I made a rudimentary jig on the kitchen table with pots of paint and bits and bobs (nothing too technical in this house of mine!) to ensure everything was good and true:

 

 

The small protrusions on the rear of the fuselage was different shapes on either side, and one slightly higher on the fuselage than the other, so lots of P38 was used to correct the shapes and help align everything properly:

 

 

When all the filling, sanding and rescribing was done - and a splash of primer applied - everything came out ok:

 

 

Deciding to have the flaps dropped meant the gaping hole along the rear of the wing needed addressing. This is curved metal skin, upon which flap tracks run on the real thing. There are also some fuel cells visible, but my skills don't stretch that far and neither to have the inclination when so little will be seen when the flaps are in place. The solution to making this was remarkably simple - I just cut some thin plastic card to the approximate shape and glued it to the lower wing skin, allowed this to set and then gently bent it to shape and aligning it with the upper surfaces. This was then clamped whilst everything dried:

 

 

And when dry it was trimmed to the correct shape, primed and... success!

 

 

When it comes to making and adding the flaps themselves, the flap tracks etc. will be added then.

 

I have also removed the opening for the front turret:

 

 

I am not completely convinced the shape is exactly correct yet - the nose may be a smidge too wide - but I'm going to leave this for a bit and see if any further remedial work will be needed whilst i get used to the new nose profile. 

 

So that brings you up to speed - something resembling a Stirling is slowly emerging from some bumps in plastic so I must be doing something right!

 

 

 

 

 

 

As always, thanks for stopping by. Until next time,

 

Tom

[monthebiff]

This is such an epic build Tom, loved seeing your Sunderland in the flesh at Telford and this will be equally spectacular once completed!

 

Regards. Andy 

[brahman104]

I always marvel at how clean your work is Tom. I know you spray primer over the parts once you've sanded them to shape but mine would still be very much looking like a patchwork quilt at this point!

 

It also just struck me how big your blue backdrop must be to photograph this monster!

 

Craig

[LSP_Kevin]

Epic indeed!

 

Kev

[themongoose]

Just SUPERB

[tomprobert]

12 hours ago, monthebiff said:

This is such an epic build Tom, loved seeing your Sunderland in the flesh at Telford and this will be equally spectacular once completed!

 

Regards. Andy 

Very kind, Andy - thank you!

 

These builds usually take around 2 years on and off, but if recent progress is anything to go by this one might be ready for Telford this year. However, I do like to hop around from build to build, so no promises! 
 

11 hours ago, brahman104 said:

I always marvel at how clean your work is Tom. I know you spray primer over the parts once you've sanded them to shape but mine would still be very much looking like a patchwork quilt at this point!

 

It also just struck me how big your blue backdrop must be to photograph this monster!

 

Craig

Many thanks, Craig! 
 

The blue background is actually poster paper we use at school for backing out display boards. One of the perks of being a teacher - unlimited supplies of sellotape, pritt-stick and paper! But… shhhhh… 

[mozart]

Yes Tom, those ARE the only perks in teaching, a quick raid on the stock cupboard every now and then! 

Edited March 5, 2023 by mozart

[Derek B]

A real (and exciting) milestone, well done Tom.

 

Derek

[jenshb]

Always amazed at your ability to turn sow's ears into silk purses.

[Palm-tree]

Magnificent work Tom, really great to see this aircraft realised in 1/32 scale.