Welsh Models 757 Iron Maiden

[LSP_Kevin]

10 minutes ago, Derek B said:

 

Good spot Kev (and Lee). I am very surprised that Welsh Models got the nose leg location so wrong! However, having to relocate it aft may just be your saving grace!

 

Derek

 

Looking at the kit more closely, I can see that it was my mistake in not recognising the panel lines to the rear of my cut-out as being the main gear bay outline. The part that I cut out, from what I can gather, is the section the nose wheel retracts into, and the doors are only open during the extension and retractions phases. So I got it half right, but not the important half! I think it'll be a pretty straightforward fix.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

OK, nose wheel bay fixed:

 

 

I made a little mounting fixture for the nose leg from styrene tube, set at a height that will hopefully give me the correct overall sit for the model. I'll box it all in from the outside once the fuselage halves are joined. This will narrow the opening slightly, but will be much easier to do!

 

It's pretty agricultural on the inside, however:

 

 

Modelling is all about creating the illusion of veracity (in my view, anyway), so as long as it looks convincing from the outside - as Metallica would say - nothing else matters.

 

Before I can join the fuselage halves together, I still need to sort out a spar for the wings. The instructions would have you do this after they're joined, but this doesn't make sense to me, since threading the spar through would be a needless challenge I think.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

I know I'm posting a lot on this one lately, but I've got quite a head of steam up with it, even though I should be working!

 

Anyway, I've just discovered that port tailplane recess on the Welshmodels 757 is 1.5-2mm further back than the starboard one. Doesn't sound like much, but is quite noticeable from above.

 

 

The forward pencil mark indicates where the front of the starboard one is. And I measured each as being the same length, so they're definitely out of position with respect to each other, rather than this one simply being shorter at the front, for example.

 

So, to the fix. I can either cut it out the entire recess and move it forward, or extend the front and fill the rear. The first one preserves the shape properly, and will move the hole I drilled into alignment with the one on the starboard side (this is how I discovered the discrepancy), but is more work, and easier to screw up. The second option is simpler, but more crude, and I'd still have to drill a new hole and risk the shape not being good any more. I'm leaning towards the first one, but would like a second opinion or two!

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

Personally if the hole is already drilled, and I knew they were going to align, I'd go for option 1 myself. It also might be easier since the fuse isn't joined yet.

I think as long as the fill job around the recess is good it would lead to a cleaner look in the end IMHO.

[LSP_Kevin]

21 minutes ago, Out2gtcha said:

Personally if the hole is already drilled, and I knew they were going to align, I'd go for option 1 myself. It also might be easier since the fuse isn't joined yet.

I think as long as the fill job around the recess is good it would lead to a cleaner look in the end IMHO.

 

That's my thinking at the moment, too. My main concern is the shape around the back end - especially the lower portion. Moving those compound curves forward, even by only 1.5-2mm, isn't really going to compute. I guess if I'm careful with the shape of the cut-out, I might be able to get away with it.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

Another idea that was just given to me by Gil Hodges on Facebook, is to fill both recesses and not use them at all. While this would mean I'd have to butt-join the tailplanes onto the fuselage, the reality is they don't really fit into the recesses anyway, and I was always going to pin them for strength no matter what. I think this approach might have taken the lead now, as it means no cutting, no weakening of the fuselage in that area, and far less risk of screwing it up. It also means I can attend to it after joining the fuselage halves, and fill the window recesses at the same time.

 

Kev

[Out2gtcha]

Also sounds easier in the long run too!

[Derek B]

Just catching up with this Kev. Tailplanes: I was going to suggest exactly what Gil did - fill and sand the recesses flat and butt joint/pin the tailpanes in place. I once had the same issue with another vacform kit (not a Welsh Models one) and that was my fix for it as well.

 

Wing spar: Not required for an injection moulded wing, as there is sufficient wing root area for direct attachment (the wing spar is only required for the older vacform wing). There should be an internal fuselage bulkhead where the wing spar position is (or at the thickest part of the wing root) - this will suffice. If you feel that you still need a wing spar, then simply drill a hole through the fuselage and insert a suitable rod through it and into the wings.

 

Great work so far and good nose leg fix.

 

Derek 

Edited February 22 by Derek B
additional thought and grammar.

[LSP_Kevin]

I've had a representative from Welsh Models reach out to me on Facebook about this kit, and they explain it thusly:

 

Quote

I have ascertained from the owner of Welsh Models, that this kit was the very first iteration of the 757 bought out by himself in excess of 30 years old. The second version is far more accurate with resin wings, undercarriage, engines etc. The vac formed fuselage was totally re done on the later version which is still available now on the listings.

 

Interesting!

 

Since my last post, I've started working on the engine fronts and attaching them to the plastic parts, but things are not going well, and I now wish I'd ordered the Bra.Z engines while I was grabbing their wheels. They don't come close to fitting properly, and I've actually split the plastic on one of the twice so far. Offering up the pylons to the wings shows that that's a disaster too, so I'm not sure they're worth persevering with. I'll get the fuselage, wings, and tailplanes sorted first while I think about it.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

So, about those engines:

 

 

 

This is the second engine, which cracked and split just like the first one, but much worse. There seems to have been some sort of a (probably exothermic) reaction with the CA and the white metal, and you can see how the plastic has reacted. While technically this is fixable with enough putty and elbow grease, given the brittle plastic and soft nature of the white metal, I'd just be flogging a dead horse here, so I'm going to replace them with a spare set of RB211 engines from the Revell 767 kit:

 

 

Happily, the pylons are mostly the same too, though I'll have to modify the rear fairings a little.

 

Kev

[Alex]

20 hours ago, LSP_Kevin said:

Another idea that was just given to me by Gil Hodges on Facebook, is to fill both recesses and not use them at all. While this would mean I'd have to butt-join the tailplanes onto the fuselage, the reality is they don't really fit into the recesses anyway, and I was always going to pin them for strength no matter what. I think this approach might have taken the lead now, as it means no cutting, no weakening of the fuselage in that area, and far less risk of screwing it up. It also means I can attend to it after joining the fuselage halves, and fill the window recesses at the same time.

 

Kev

That sounds like the right way to do it.

[LSP_Kevin]

OK, time for another update! I've been focussing on this one in preference to the Minicraft kit, as I'd like to get the two of them ready for paint at the same time. Plus, I'm actually enjoying this one more!

 

After a successful test-fit of the fuselage halves, I decided to glue them together and then set about dealing with the inevitable seams:

 

 

 

Sadly, I couldn't keep the thin plastic of the two halves in perfect vertical alignment, so there's lot of remedial work required. The black stuff is BSI rubberised CA, just to help strengthen the join, as much as anything else. I'll need a primer coat to really see all the areas that still need work.

 

You can see that I've also filled the slots for the wings and tailplanes with Tamiya epoxy putty, which I chose because it cures green, so I could at least see it against the white plastic.

 

 

 

I drilled the holes in the wing roots too low, and had to plug them with styrene. Once that's ready, I'll re-drill them in (hopefully) the correct place!

 

I also set about preparing the wings to suit, first by cutting out the wheel bays and giving them a styrene roof so that they now at least have a modicum of depth:

 

 

There was a nasty mismatch at the leading edge of the port wing, so I packed it out with some styrene rod, rather than relying on putty:

 

 

I think set about installing some telescoping brass tubing to insert into the holes in the wing root:

 

 

My original idea involved having the smaller tubing pass right through the wing box, with the larger tubing embedded in the wings, and sliding over the smaller tubing into place. However, I failed to account for the required dihedral, and this made the wings dead flat - and in fact they looked droopy! So I had to settle for a simple pin arrangement.

 

I did similar with the tailplanes:

 

 

Again, you can see what I had to plug some holes that I initially put in the wrong place!

 

One thing I've learned from this exercise is that simple pin-and-hole arrangements like this are only marginally effective, as they allow the pinned part to spin on its pin, and are not very stable - especially if the pin is not a snug fit in its corresponding hole, which is the case here. For the wings, I might yet add another pin just inside the leading edge, but the tailplanes will be fine with enough glue.

 

And finally, those engines again. It turns out that the spare 767 engines I have are not quite right for the 757, being slightly wider, and slightly longer. Not by heaps, but certainly noticeable when you put them together. So, I've ordered a set of Bra.Z resin engines for this one, but in the meantime, just for the sake of the exercise, I thought I'd see how far I could get with the Welsh engines:

 

 

I think I could turn them into something usable at a pinch, but it's not my first preference.

 

Kev

[LSP_Kevin]

A brief but significant update on this one, which sees both the wings a tailplanes added to the fuselage:

 

 

I agonised over getting the wings on securely, evenly, and with the correct dihedral. I managed the first two, though the wing box on the underside has a rather dramatic lean towards the camera, making the wing on this side look much lower than the other one. The dihedral also appears to be too flat, but when compared to the Minicraft kit below, I can see that the Welsh wings feature a rather severe washout that starts even before the first flap actuator, where the wings are practically flat from there on out. The Minicraft wings feature almost no washout, and just keep going out at the same angle. At their respective roots, however, they both appear about the same.

 

 

The last challenge with each of these builds is to get the engine pylons on, and for this build I'm still waiting on the Bra.Z engines to arrive. I think it's time for some primer coats at this point!

 

Kev

[chaos07]

Nice progress and problem-solving.  Vac kits are a pure mystery to me, one day I'll give one a go.  

 

 

[LSP_Kevin]

2 minutes ago, chaos07 said:

Nice progress and problem-solving.  Vac kits are a pure mystery to me, one day I'll give one a go.  

 

 

 

This is only the second one I've made it past the cutting out stage, so I'm really just a beginner with them too. For me, as I've already alluded, the biggest challenge is getting everything aligned correctly.

 

Kev