ericg Posted January 21, 2014 Author Share Posted January 21, 2014 Some more progress, and quite a busy day was had on this model. It was quite hot in Brisbane today so I spent my day of home reserve, alternating between swimming in the pool and working on this beast. I finished all 8 propeller blades using the technique as above. It really does look very convincing and I am happy that I went down this path of using the decals. Just have to coat them with a clear coat and apply the yellow tips. I felt that a solution needed to be had for the attachment of the props to the spinners. Planet Model will have you using very short resin stubs that are glued into both parts which I reckon would have been a weak point. I substituted the resin parts for aluminium tube which was then further drilled into both parts. should make it alot stronger and also to run more true. Truth be told, I actually lost one of the two trees of 4 stubs and I couldn't be bothered casting another one! Here is the kit stubs (missing one of the stubs) I used my lathe to index each prop attachment, and as the props are going to be the biggest focal point, they need to be dead on. By just touching the cutting bit to each stub, I was able to get all 4 blades running accurately. Once the blades are ready to be glued into place I will do the same thing but line up each prop tip with the cutting bit. Tempting me to hit the `go' button. Here is the spinner with a couple of passes of Gunze Midnight Blue applied. I am quite pleased with how glossy this is coming straight from the airbrush. Onto the front office, and this is pretty sparse as is. I do think that a model should have seatbelts, I know that if I was tasked to fly this thing back then I would sure as hell make sure that I was strapped into it. Whilst I was online ordering the Uschi woodgrain decals, I ordered some RB productions seatbelts. These are rather complicated and require a bit of devotion to assemble, but they have my vote for one of the nicest pieces of aftermarket there is. Once together they look and act like the real thing and I cant wait to glue them in place. I have only done the lap belts at this stage and they are only test fitted. I used my hold and fold to help hold down each join whilst the glue dried. The instructions called for the use of UHU glue, which I sent the Mrs to the shops to get me. She come back with some purple stuff which was not what I asked for, I was in the process of sending her back to get the right stuff but this stuff dries clear and I am glad that it was the stuff that I used. Being purple when it was applied it is easier to work out where the glue is (or isn't). Here are the belts test fitted but not glued to the kit seat. Once done I think I will give the whole seat assembly a coat of future and then use a wash to pick out the detail. I am planning on opening the canopy on this model which may involve quite a bit of extra work as the canopy is vac-formed and there is no provision to do so in the kit. Uilleann and Lars Befring 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Paul Posted January 21, 2014 Share Posted January 21, 2014 Very Nice work Eric! I really like how the props came out. The "Office" is looking quite nice as well. Keep up the great work, Paul Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 23, 2014 Author Share Posted January 23, 2014 Here is the cockpit with a mix of black and white flory Promodeller wash to bring out the detail. I painted the seatbelts with a coat of Future so that the wash was a bit easier to remove. Installed into the Body. Here is the Instrument panel that I modified, as discussed earlier, the kit has no provision for detailing the instruments and the Instrument holes were far too small. I wanted to use Airscale decals to bring it up to scratch so a new IP face was made from plastic card with appropriately sized holes to fit the decal instruments. I used the post war jets set which is sort of appropriate for this model. Punching each out with a Waldron punch set has the dials fitting the panel exactly and really made an improvement to the detail of the kit. detail Up! I just need to simulate the clear faces of the instruments and do a few more things then it will be ready to fit to the kit. Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Nice work on the seatbelts and the IP ... sure looks good Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SinuheH Posted January 23, 2014 Share Posted January 23, 2014 Nice work, very impressive attention to detail - like the props a lot - keep it going. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted January 28, 2014 Author Share Posted January 28, 2014 So I thought I would do a few little thing to this kit to make it a bit more detailed without going overboard. Most pics of the machine show it with the rear stabilizer trim tab in the down position. I removed it with my JLC razor saw. (one of these: http://www.umm-usa.com/catalog/tools_JLCsaw002.html) Sanded an angle into the face of the tab and then repositioned it. Here is the before and after. I also added the actuating rods and brackets to each side. Here is a pic of the finished Nav light. This feature is scribed in the kit and it is fairly prominent on the real thing. I removed the resin with the JLC razor saw and then glued a chunk of clear resin from an old casting block in its place and then shaped it with the dremel and polished it using the same. The light is just a hole that I drilled and then filled with red paint. The kit is missing the trim tabs on the rudders, I guess that it would have been easier to leave them off during the casting process. I made these up with plastic card. Todays efforts. Really pops the back end of the kit with these simple additions. The kit canopy is supposed to be glued in the closed position. I reckon this was too easy, and I like my canopies to be open, so this mod just had to be done. I have no idea how I am going to do the rear sliding canopy! I filled the behind of the canopy with blue-tak to allow me to cut the join easier and to stop it from flexing. I taped the front in place to allow some square section rod to be glued in place. Here is the windshield ready for installation. I added a frame from plastic card. I also rubbed back the entire canopy and polished it `just because'. Uilleann 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adam Posted January 28, 2014 Share Posted January 28, 2014 What a cracker of a subject! Leading edge, state of the art modelling once again. Can't wait to see this one finished! Cheers Adam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Loic Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Great work Eric Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Peterpools Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Eric Terrific progress on the Pancake and I am always picking up new tips and techniques from your builds. Keep 'em coming Peter Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tucohoward Posted January 29, 2014 Share Posted January 29, 2014 Really nice work, Eric. Making things look easy, which I'm sure are not. Learning a lot. Jay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 Thanks gents. Some more progress, and the model has been primed. I initially primed the model with Gunze Sangyo Mr Resin Primer, thinned with Mr Thinner and sprayed through my airbrush. Once this was rubbed back, I then fixed a few of the major flaws and then used Tamiya Fine surface primer to re-prime the airframe. This gives an Ultra smooth and easily workable surface. From there I examine the surface of the model under strong light and mark with a lead pencil every small (or large) imperfection. Once the whole model is done in this way, it is a simple matter to go back and fix these things in an orderly fashion and this also keeps this part of the build on track. Here is the props fitted just for fun. You will notice that I have not included the Hamilton Logos on one side, as in the reference pictures that I have, they are not fitted for some reason. Part of me wants to fit them and the other part wants to stick as closely to the original as possible. You can sort of see some of the marks that I have made on the numerous fixes that need to be done. Lars Befring and Whitey 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ericg Posted February 2, 2014 Author Share Posted February 2, 2014 One thing that was worrying me a bit about the kit was the landing gear. It is very simple and is quite weakly mounted in the kit. I set about beefing up the mounting points inside the wheel bays such that I would have more confidence in it when it was placed on the table or in the cabinet. I also added a brake line from copper wire and will work on this some more soon. Whitey 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted February 2, 2014 Share Posted February 2, 2014 Very nice progress mate. Excellent work as usual! Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Out2gtcha Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 Looks lovely! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scvrobeson Posted February 4, 2014 Share Posted February 4, 2014 This looks really great Eric! Those prop blades look solid with the decals. Looks like it is going together without too many problems, and you're already set up for paint work. Matt Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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