big matt Posted December 18, 2009 Share Posted December 18, 2009 I was looking at some builds and was inspired by the Czech F-80 built by Texas and the one Danny is working on. Since I got the kit for my birthday I decided to give it a go. The AMS cockpit and other goodies Harold has done are really nice but I have decided to make this a budget build and see if I can work with the kit parts. I hit Wings Palette for some schemes and really liked the 36th FBS colors. Fortunately, SuperScale has a decal set for it. My masking skills are a bit weak! Wasting no time while waiting for things to dry on my Mustang I tore into the kit. I stole the gunsight from my Dragon hangar queen. Lots of wire and plastic. The kit seat seems to be from a late model F-80 or even a T-33 so I played with it a bit. New brass headrest and I changed the foot rests. I can't do anything about the width but I ground away the back cushion and molded shoestring belts. One more and back to work. I am looking forward to working on this one. I hope it does not give me too many problems. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 You scratch work really improved that cockpit. Looks great Ron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kostucha Posted December 19, 2009 Share Posted December 19, 2009 Excellent work in the office. Definitely making that one outstanding cockpit good Sir! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted December 23, 2009 Author Share Posted December 23, 2009 Hmmm, old school or cheap, I have not decided which... No rest for the weary. I have had some time off from work so I got some work done on the F-80. Kit seat with some mods. I guess it is a bit wide but it will do. The kit panel turned out ok I think. Sort of looks like a F-80 cockpit Now I have to work on the cockpit sidewalls and the inlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJ Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 I don't know enough about the subject to determine authenticity (which I sometimes think is a blessing since I don't fret the rivets so to speak ) but I think your cockpit looks fantastic! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pfuf Posted December 23, 2009 Share Posted December 23, 2009 Yes it looks wonderfull yes love the cockpit johan Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted December 27, 2009 Author Share Posted December 27, 2009 I don't know enough about the subject to determine authenticity (which I sometimes think is a blessing since I don't fret the rivets so to speak I agree Dave. I found some decent references for the F-80 and I tried to get it close, considering my ability to manipulate plastic and wire... Muddling along. The inlet area is next on the hit list. There seem to be a few issues here with fit. I don't think it is too bad but a little patience helps. I found that there is a bump on the fuse which throws the inlet bulge out of whack. I took it down with a fiberglass pencil and the fit of the inlet section is much better. Bad Better The guide vanes??? have a bit of a weird shape so they got straightened and thinned out. Original part on the left. Following Texas' lead, I removed the tabs that keep the part from falling out of the hole in the fuselage. This lets you set the part in the hole at the right angle and distance from the fuselage. I am working on that section now so pics to follow. I also have started working on the cockpit sidewalls. Just a bit of plastic here. Hopefully paint will help. That's it for now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marek Posted December 27, 2009 Share Posted December 27, 2009 Great start. love the skratch job. Cool cockpit Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted December 30, 2009 Author Share Posted December 30, 2009 Another boring update. zzzzzzzz.... Progress is slowing. At least I got the inlets on. This is what it looks like on the inside. There were locating tabs for the inlet vanes but they need to be removed to get the angle right. If you don't remove them, you can't get the vanes perpendicular to the inlet. It is a nice smooth transition now. Sort of. I also had to do some chiseling on the vents as they are just a simple scribed box with lines. There were some mystery panel lines around the upper vent. They had to go away and new ones put in. The plane I am building seemed to have the oxygen filler cover removed. I noticed this in a bunch of pictures of F-80's. Only on the left side. So I drilled a hole in approximately the right place. That's it for now. Thanks for looking. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveJ Posted December 30, 2009 Share Posted December 30, 2009 Those splitter veins (or whatever they are) look much better thinned down the way you did. The whole intake area of that kits seems a real devil to get straight but you've made it look really sharp. Nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted January 4, 2010 Author Share Posted January 4, 2010 The snail-pace continues. Added some plumbing to the nose gear well. A frustrating point here is the instructions have you install the nose gear leg AFTER you build the well. Ummm, then you cannot install the gear leg. Awesome. Cockpit sides done and ducting installed. I think trying to line this mess up the way the instructions indicate would lead me to the nut house. Here is where I got silly. The kit part has a dead end on the exhaust so I cut that out and stuck an unused part from a Trumpy F-105D in and added a bit of styrene. Well, it looks close in person... My incredible photographic talents at work. Lastly. The kit gun parts are nice but they don't fit the gun ports. If used per the manual, they would stick out on the sides as the resin parts are round and the gun ports are half moon shaped. I used a hypo needle for the .50's and ran them through the fuselage. Hopefully they will look right in the end. Going to close up the fuselage today if I get the chance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Harold Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 I would sand down the locater ring on the exhaust tube and move it out the tail more. The can should extend from the fuselage about an 8th of an inch. I like your 3D effects too... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted January 4, 2010 Share Posted January 4, 2010 Looking Good.........That's not a easy kit to build but your getting there. It will be worth all the hassle when your finished. Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big matt Posted January 5, 2010 Author Share Posted January 5, 2010 Thanks for checking in Texas, when I get stuck I check your build to borrow/steal ideas! Harold, thanks for the tip on the tailpipe. I made an adjustment so it sticks out a bit now. Fuselage together! Here is the preliminary inlet shot, there is still a bit of work to do here. Adjusted tailpipe for a little protrusion. If you follow the instructions it will not stick out. Thanks Harold! Idea stolen from Texas. This area would lave been a nightmare. The two inlet duct pieces were connected and needed to sit on the top of the wing. If you do that, they will never line up with the lip on the inside of the inlet. The fix is to just cut the center mounting tab and glue the ducts separately. Easy-peasy. This gap is the only real fuselage join issue. I did not worry too much about it and filled with CA. Now for the fun. I have to get creative with the main wheel wells as they are devoid of detail. The fit into the fuse is pretty bad as well. Most of the panel lines do not match and there is some raised detail that is waaaaaay off and will have be recreated. I don't know how I am going to figure that out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marek Posted January 5, 2010 Share Posted January 5, 2010 Looking good. Very nice progres Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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