airscale Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 With apologies to my P39, it is time to nail something new together... I was inspired by the exquisite models on show at Telford to go back to old school model making. My P39 started as an experiment that proved I could make a whole airfame in 3D, but after a long break from any modelmaking as I focused on airscale I found it hard to pick it back up.. Add to that a chance conversation with my friend Torben at SMW about subjects that could inspire me, he mentioned early racers and a bulb in my head went off :). Both he and I like ther S5, but the S6B has so many attributes that suit me - one being it is all metal rather than fabric winged and the other being that the real one is accessible at the Science Museum in London... So here we are... S1595.. ..a beautiful machine.. ..with inspiration in place and many hours of trawling the internet for images, I set off for London to get reference pics - unfortunately it is really badly lit, but 457 pics later I had enough with the disparate plans I found to start drawing out shapes... ..the rear of a float for example.. ..and this aeroplane is covered in a LOT of rivets, especially the wings as the surface doubles as the radiators (which were removed from the slipstream for streamlining).. typical is the float again... ..though where I have been doing complex cockpits in previous models, this one is pretty simple.. ..still room for 3D though, this will become the fuel tank under the instrument panel.. ..with drawings created, I made lots and lots of parts from 1mm card & 2mm cores... I also designed a 3D printed matrix with the bottom of the fuselage and the top of the floats to set the angle and give strength to the struts.. ..the cockpit is going to be tricky as there is just skin and very small thin formers so for now it is part of the core and with brass 'U' channel running down the sides where the real one has a strengthener I hope to cut it all away later ..the 3D core in the fuselage includes holes for the wing spars and you can see on the forward end one of the holes for 3mm brass rod for the strut cores (the other is just visible under the back of the wing).. ..Same for the float tops, though the scars from me getting the angles wrong on the first pass are visible here.. there is also a slot running around it to centre the cores... ..and assembly has started, the fuselage is super slim, literally the size of the engine cross section - the shape will be created by filling the gaps with hard sculpting foam and a skim of P38 filler before skinning.. for now there are just placeholders for the engine blisters as I need to refine the drawings - they are a complex shape.. so that's it - underway with a new project and I am glad to be back at the bench TTFN Peter paul fisher, Starfighter, Greg W and 44 others 47 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Oh my goodness…..here we go again! More gob-smackery……model on Peter! Derek B, airscale, Martinnfb and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Ooh, I didn't see that one coming Peter! First thing I noticed was the cockpit photograph - specifically the internal longitudinal fuselage spars - which shows the very clear future Spitfire ancestry! Good luck with what will be an awe-inspiring build. Cheers Derek Martinnfb, airscale and Uncarina 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Indeed, its always a pleasure to see one of these masterpieces come together, especially knowing what the end results will look like! Martinnfb, Derek B and airscale 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TorbenD Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Oh my goodness - me and my big mouth! Crikey you move fast Peter! Great choice - The S5 has very little ref, if any for it’s cockpit - with the S6B, I think having access to the real thing will really help you nail this one. So looking forward to seeing you bring this one to life.... Torben Uncarina, airscale, Derek B and 1 other 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Ridiculous! Kev airscale, Martinnfb and Derek B 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
denders Posted November 24, 2023 Share Posted November 24, 2023 Wow! Martinnfb and airscale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Uncarina Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 Go Peter go! Another low-back beauty from Supermarine. What’s not to love? Cheers, Tom Martinnfb, Derek B and airscale 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paul fisher Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 This will be lovely...I spent two days there back in 2005 getting every picture and measurement I could.Can't wait to see your progress! Derek B, Uncarina, Out2gtcha and 2 others 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martinnfb Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 Not looking .... ok, maybe just a little bit. airscale, Uncarina and Derek B 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted November 25, 2023 Author Share Posted November 25, 2023 aww thanks chaps - so nice of you to welcome this build so enthusiastically I am really looking forward to it and so far all seems to be going well - I got a bit more done today adding more strength to the fuselage in a jig to keep the spine straight until it's all set.. ..also chopped out the cockpit area and thankfully the brass bracing structure that mirrors the real one (the lower beams are a bit overscale thickness for strength) seem to have worked and it is all quite rigid.. ..even put a mock up IP in it, though the real one is sloped slightly.. having fun TTFN Peter KiwiZac, Alain Gadbois, brahman104 and 26 others 28 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Derek B Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 I can tell that the fun and enjoyment elements are going to be high with this one! You'll have to stop doing this sort of thing Peter, as you are beginning to cause me thoughts of wanting to make something in this scale as well! lol Derek Martinnfb and airscale 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trak-Tor Posted November 25, 2023 Share Posted November 25, 2023 You make my dreams come true, Peter. Wow! Wow! Wow! Juraj Derek B, airscale and Martinnfb 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
airscale Posted November 26, 2023 Author Share Posted November 26, 2023 have you ever had it where you go to bed at night and think about what you are going to do on your build the next day? I know when I am really into my build when I feel like it's Christmas Eve and I can't wait to get up... so at my bench at 8am on a Sunday and I have S6B floats now ..started by adding a 'T' section to the bottom of the cores - this really should have been brass, but I haven't got enough so plastic it is.. then each former one by one with the plan view stiffner in between.. ..having made the parts already, it took shape quickly.. ..soon front and rear sections had one side of the profiles.. ...soon all the formers were added and integrated with the 3D top part that the struts mount to.. ..then all the components were cemented together )x2) ..with the floats made up, it was time for a test fit.. ..the 3D parts really help lock everything in and get the geometry right.. ..happy with that for a day's work TTFN Peter Uncarina, Paulpk, TankBuster and 31 others 34 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mozart Posted November 26, 2023 Share Posted November 26, 2023 Bloody hell Peter…..I’m speechless already! Where’s my thesaurus? airscale, Martinnfb and Derek B 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now