Starfighter Posted September 30, 2022 Author Share Posted September 30, 2022 Final assembly is proceeding slowly. I have further pushed the weathering which is more pronounced on the real a/c than I initially thought - thankfully! Meanwhile, I've also been thinking about a diorama base for the Fire Scout. The idea is to build a cutout of LHS-3 aka USS Fort Worth's flight deck. In order to obtain something dynamic, I have decided to slightly incline the deck to simulate the ship's movement. To get an idea, I made a simple 3D model to check proportions and size. The lwoer part will be a 400 x 300 wooden frame onto which the hull will be fitted. Whilst the little ones were playing in the living room, I cut and glued some plastic sheet in the kitchen, hence the super crappy pics - but you get the idea. The wide angle photos kind of eat up the base's angles... but I am rather happy with it. I have already selected some Reedoak figurines from my stash. They'll need a few minor modifications to go with the MQ-8.... but more on that - later! Landrotten Highlander, panzerrob, LSP_Kevin and 13 others 16 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 Looks great, Ben! Kev Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 Great little build there Ben! Always look forward to your projects. Matt Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geedubelyer Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 This is an interesting project. I am looking forward to seeing how the canted flight deck looks when you're done. It's a bold concept as it could just look like the base wasn't cut square but I'm confident you'll pull it off Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted October 4, 2022 Author Share Posted October 4, 2022 (edited) Thanks for your positive feedback! Building a slightly canted deck has been on my mind since I have started the (still unfinished and not canted) base for my AH-1Z. I thought this was the right opportunity to give it a go. The difficulty is to make it lok intentional without overdoing it. I'll let you judge whether I was successful or not. Whilst my family is on holiday, I had a very productive weekend at the bench. Probably the only time of the year I could watch TV (and having a beer) Uin the living room whilst guesstimating the padeye pattern and the dimensions of the deck details - and even drilling the holes for the padeyes... but don't tell anyone! I managed to design and print several parts for the LCS-3 flight deck, to design and cut several masks and to apply the nonskid surface and welding lines. Several areas were masked before the nonskid surface was applied. As usual, the masks were cut on my Silhouette Portrait using Oramask. Welding lines were simluated with stretched sprue. The hole will be filled with a (non-functional) flight deck light. And here's the setup with the printed details in situ. I am rather pleased with the result so far I have to admit. I now have to draw the nets; I also have an idea how to replicate the heavily stressed skin of the hull. Once that’s done, painting can start. I will leave the MQ-8 as it is right now - I’ll add the remaining parts once it has been fitted to the base. Edited October 4, 2022 by Starfighter A-10LOADER, LSP_Kevin, KiwiZac and 14 others 17 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Greg W Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Great tip Ben! Thanks for saying something about it. Where do you purchase these super fine solder balls? Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted October 4, 2022 Author Share Posted October 4, 2022 You're welcome! I bought mine on eBay but that auction is no longer available. There are several vendors still selling them; I have used 0,35mm ones. 0,3 and 0,35 appear to be the most appropriate sizes for 1/32 and 1/35. Greg W 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
A-10LOADER Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Looking good my friend, awesome work. Steve Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted October 4, 2022 Share Posted October 4, 2022 Fantastic work, Ben! Kev Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted October 5, 2022 Share Posted October 5, 2022 Hi Ben, For what I thought would be an uninteresting subject, this has been a really entertaining build! You've achieved an amazing finish considering what you started with, and I love the little deck scene you're making. What did you use to stick the solder balls on with? Great job! Craig Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted October 10, 2022 Author Share Posted October 10, 2022 Cheeers Craig! I glued them with low viscosity Superglue; after finishing, I realised I had bought some water soluble glue just for that kind of work. I may give it a try next time I play around with soldering balls. scvrobeson, brahman104 and Greg W 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Barry Posted October 10, 2022 Share Posted October 10, 2022 Outstanding! I love the deck integration. Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archimedes Posted October 11, 2022 Share Posted October 11, 2022 Nice build! Not my choice of subject but you are showing seriousness modelling chops here! Best regards Paul Starfighter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted October 11, 2022 Author Share Posted October 11, 2022 Cheers! Some important accessories have arrived yesterday - the baseplate and the patches. Time for a quick'n' dirty setup (and pic...) to check overall proportions. I am not totally unhappy but I guess the real effect will only become visible once everything has been painted. I should have some bench time later today; I will try to simulate the stressed skin of the hull. We'll see whether my idea works or not. LSP_Kevin, Greg W, Landrotten Highlander and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Starfighter Posted October 12, 2022 Author Share Posted October 12, 2022 (edited) Here comes the test on how to simulate the stressed skin. I am quite happy with the result, but I should have turned the plastic profiles by 90° to obtain sharper argles. Lesson learned for next time... The hull was covered with soft embossing aluminium foil. Edited October 12, 2022 by Starfighter red Dog, LSP_Kevin, Landrotten Highlander and 8 others 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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