1/32 Short Stirling

[Out2gtcha]

Wonderful!

Just wonderful

[Troy Molitor]

Another epic build going on here.  Thanks for sharing this with us.  

[JayW]

So Tom - when are you going to give us a picture from down low looking up at the cockpit, several stories high.  I always like those period pics of Stirlings with that view.   

[D.B. Andrus]

15 hours ago, tomprobert said:

A few more details added to the Stirling of late. 
 

As I’m doing a MkIII, they were fitted with the later FN50 mid upper turret which is a bonus, as I can utilise the HK turret from the Lancaster. However, the fairing around the turret was not provided in this kit so I’ve had to improvise a little…
 

The fairing itself gave a little aerodynamic assistance, but it’s main purpose was provide a runner for cams that provided an automatic cut off to the guns, stopping over excited gunners blasting parts off their own aircraft. I initially wondered if I could use the HK models fairing from their Lancaster kit, but quickly discovered that their shapes were quite different. 
 

One day, I’ll get my backside in gear and learn how do design and print such items in 3D, but for the time being it’s back to the old-skool…Milliput to the rescue! 
 

Step one was place some masking tape over the area the fairing will sit. Once I’d consulted plans, I transferred the basic outline of the fairing onto the tape. Next, I made some Milliput ‘sausages’ and placed then in position, before using my long-forgotten sculpting skills from my school art lessons and set about creating the approximate form of the fairing. Milliput acts just like clay when wet, so it wasn’t actually hard to get the basic shape - just lots of consulting of pictures and plans needed:

 

With the Milliput given 24hrs to harden fully, I peeled it off from the tape and fuselage, and with some fine sandpaper did the final shaping:

 

This was then glued back to the fuselage, and viola!

 

It won’t be perfect, but it’ll do. 
 

Next up was the gear doors. These were cut away as a whole when I made the wings. Astonishingly, I hadn’t lost them:

 

The gear doors are a very complex shape - there are various gaps for the other doors to slot into as they retract as well as an opening for the lower part of that massive wheel to protrude. Again, looking at plans and pictures of the real aircraft, these were cut and shaped accordingly and some ribs added to the inner surfaces:

 

Finally, they were attached to the gear:

 

 

 

Here she is sitting pretty on the bench… my kitchen table!

 

I now need to finish detailing the forward part of the main landing gear bays before I can squirt some paint on the bays and the gear to see how it all looks. 
 

Until next time,

Tom

 

 

Cap'n, we're gonna need a bigger boat kitchen table.

 

[scvrobeson]

My goodness, you're going to be able to rent rooms in that thing once it's all done

 

 

 

Matt

[tomprobert]

10 hours ago, D.B. Andrus said:

 

Cap'n, we're gonna need a bigger boat kitchen table.

 

 

8 hours ago, scvrobeson said:

My goodness, you're going to be able to rent rooms in that thing once it's all done

 

 

 

Matt

Speaking of which… the next project is lined up for when the Stirling is done:

 

 

No, your eyes are not deceiving you and that is indeed a 1/32 scale Super Constellation. It’s currently residing in my office as I’m too scared to take it home. The Commander in Chief will go apoplectic when she sees it so I’m looking for an opportune moment to smuggle it into the loft when she’s next out!!!

[LSP_Kevin]

You might beat Iain to the finish line with that one!

 

Kev

[Lee White]

IMHO, the Constellation was one of the most beautiful aircraft ever. I think the only reason it's not in MOMA is that it wouldn't fit.

[tomprobert]

5 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

You might beat Iain to the finish line with that one!

 

Kev

I had a good catch up with Iain at Telford and he’s very kindly going to share some of his research, etc. I too plan a Warning Star and he’s got loads of info on them - no doubt I’ll be picking his brains when the time comes to start cutting plastic!

 

1 hour ago, Lee White said:

IMHO, the Constellation was one of the most beautiful aircraft ever. I think the only reason it's not in MOMA is that it wouldn't fit.

I agree - so graceful and elegant. Even with the massive radomes sticking out. 

Edited November 20, 2023 by tomprobert

[vvwse4]

Absolutely brilliant love it.

 

About the Connie, a bunch of flowers first?

[Dennis7423]

6 hours ago, tomprobert said:

The Commander in Chief will go apoplectic when she sees it so I’m looking for an opportune moment to smuggle it into the loft when she’s next out!!!

 

Ahh yes, my favorite game of chance. I, too, like to live dangerously.

 

- Dennis S.

   Mount Juliet, TN USA

[tomprobert]

Modelling time has taken a hit with school work having priority - end of term reports and exam marking… yawn… have been taking up my evenings. 
 

However, these arrived last week from our very own Peter of Airscale fame (and probably the most talented model builder of our times) and are a bit of an upgrade of my efforts of main wheels cobbled together from the HK Lancaster wheels and scrap plastic!

 

I’ll get these fitted and see how they look when next at the bench!

[mozart]

Those wheels look fantastic Tom, and beautifully “weighted”. Well done Peter! 

[Phartycr0c]

Beautiful work as ever Tom, and also Nice work Peter, on those wheels... Look superb. 

 

A super constellation will be an amazing project....! 

[tomprobert]

Greetings all,

 

Time for a long over-due update on this build. Various other projects have been getting attention and to be honest, sorting out the nose on this thing was very nearly a complete mojo-killer for the whole project and has taken a lot of time and effort. But, no pain... no gain.

 

ID Models provide some very poorly shaped transparencies for the nose turret (this was more suitable for a MkI Halifax!) and the bomb aimer's windows, which sadly wouldn't be an accurate representation of the real deal. Luckily, when I inherited Cees' stalled project he threw in lots of HK Lancaster parts for the turrets, including all the internals and transparencies. Starting with the nose turret, as this would be the most tricky, I had the problem of the Lancaster turret being a lot wider than the Stirling nose. Whilst the internals are identical, the perspex was a different design but, with some gentle persuasion and some mods to the nose area, I was confident it could be made to fit. Therefore, my first task was to gently sand away all the raised framing seen on the Lancaster turret as the Stirling was devoid of any framework:

 

  

I then set about polishing this back to clarity, using a nail buffing pad (don't spend a fortune on 'modelling' buffing pads and get the cheap ones from the make up section in a chemist or the like!) as well as some of Microscale's polishing compound:

 

 

Turret internals are assembled here and checked for clarity:

 

 

With the glazing good to go it was time to check now the Lancaster part would fit to the Stirling nose. The answer was: not very well....

 

 

I had suspected that the shape of the nose was a bit off - the section between the turret and the bomb aimer's panels is too blunt and flat on the kit, when in fact it should be rounded and follow the profile of the lower part of the turret. This was corrected by first making a plastic card shelf and then filling and shaping this area with Milliput:

 

 

Once the nose was sanded to the correct shape, I began making the upper faring that wraps around the turret. I use card for this to make a template, which is a far cheaper option than wasting plastic card:

 

 

At the same time, I also made the framing for the bomb aimer's window from Evergreen - the glazing will then be made and added at a later stage, by dropping them onto the frames:

 

 

With majority of the hard work done, I then gave the nose section a coat of black to ensure none of the white plastic would show through to the turret or nose interior, and added the home-made turret faring - this time from plastic card. This was then filled with more Milliput, and the whole nose area blended to the correct shape with regular checking of photos and plans:

 

 

To finish off, the lost panel lines were re-scribed and another coat of black was applied:

 

 

 

I think I've just about got away with it...

 

Next up will be the rear end... oh er Missus!

 

Tom