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1/32 scale T-38C Talon from scratch


checksix

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Hi all. I've lurked here on LSP for quite a while but this is my first thread in the WIP section of the forum. Last winter I built a 1/32 scale model of the US Air Force T-38C Talon jet trainer. Although the result has nowhere near the level of detail seen in the amazing models built by some of the members here, I thought I'd share my story and construction notes anyway.

 

I'll be making several successive posts, but first, here are some pictures of the full scale subject that motivated me:

 

full_scale__front_quarter.jpg

 

full_scale_rear_quarter.jpg

 

full_scale_rear.jpg

 

full_scale_low_pass.jpg

 

More to follow...

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Plan A

 

I was originally going to just build from a kit. A number of 1/72 and 1/48 T-38 kits are available, but these scales are just too small for my taste. I wanted something larger, easier to work on, and with more "presence". Unfortunately it seems that no manufacturer has ever produced a 1/32 kit for this subject. Well, actually a company called Collect Aire produced a resin model, but these are long out of production and, aside from an occasional (very expensive) ebay appearance, unobtainable. 

 

Plan B

 

So I decided to build from scratch. I've built many wood and composite R/C flying models but never a static scale model. The plan was to build a wood pattern and then maybe vacuum form the fuselage from styrene sheet. More on this later.

 

The first hurdle was to find a decent set of three view and cross section drawings. An internet search yielded little in the way of usable information, mostly variations of this:

 

t38_3v.jpg

 

There's really not enough information here to generate the complex flowing curves of the Talon.

More searching yielded this drawing from Wolfpack Design, makers of the well regarded 1/48 scale kit. I found it on their Facebook page:

 

wolfpack_two_view.jpg

 

This is a remarkable drawing, with dimensions and station positions in decimal inches. I'm not sure if it came from Northrop or if it was produced by one of Wolfpack Design's engineers. To check the drawing for accuracy, I found a good side view photograph:

 

full_scale_side.jpg

 

And overlaid the Wolfpack drawing on the photo:

wolfpack_overlay.jpg

 

The agreement was very good. So now I have a good two-view to work from, but what about cross sections?

 

More to follow...

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You made a good start (welcome by the way), and i hope you'll finish this project before KH or any other brand is releasing it......but i'm sure you'll enjoy this build, i'll follow it closely....

 

 

Jack.

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Cross sections

 

I decided to generate cross section images by taking a 1/48 scale plastic model, slicing it up, scanning the resulting slices, and reprinting them after upscaling. This actually turned out to be a small project all by itself.

 

After assembling the basic parts of a Wolfpack T-38 plastic model, I carefully cut it in half and filled it with plaster of paris:

 

wolfpack_plastic_model.jpg

 

I built a slicing jig consisting of a sliding tray and guides for cutting with fine tooth saw:

 

wolfpack_plastic_model_on_slicing_machin

 

The wings and stabs were cut down to stubs, the fuselage was placed in the wood tray, and the tray was filled with plaster:

 

wolfpack_plastic_model_encapsulated_for_

 

After the plaster cured, the tray was placed in the guides and carefully sliced into slabs:

 

slicing_machine_in_use.jpg

 

Each slab is .171" thick. When rescaled from 1/48 to 1/32 this will yield a slab thickness of .256" which is the thickness of the basswood stock that I'll be using for the final pattern.

 

More to follow...

 

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Great Start! I build my stuff from scratch and have the best time. If they are good looking, that's a bonus. Your background looks strong and the clever slicing rig shows that you have what it takes. Watching for sure! Nice scale choice for this beauty.

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Cross sections, cont'd

 

After a session with the razor saw I've sliced the model into 62 slabs:

 

wolfpack_plastic_model_slices.jpg

 

The slabs were then arranged on the bed of my wife's HP printer/scanner and scanned into individual images. I wrote some c++ software to apply edge detection outlines and to mirror the half-sections into full sections. Here's a sample. You can see the cavity for the speed brakes and the stubs for the wing roots:

 

sample_cross_section.jpg

 

 

Some more c++ software was written to tweak the centerings and rotations to bring all the images into alignment:

 

adjusting_cross_sections.jpg

 

Lastly, all the images were rescaled to 1/32 and printed out on paper, ready to be glued to the wood stock as cutting templates:

 

slices_scanned_and_post_processed.jpg

 

More to follow...

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