ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Whuh Oh! Looks like I'm getting nowhere very quickly Matt! I wuz buzzing right along humming a little model-builders tune, when I made the mistake of .....pausing. Had just finished roughing out sanding my newly re-profiled wing-tips and rudder, thinking the worst of this conversion was behind me. Something intangible still just didn't look right though. So, I whupped out my scaled 1/32nd plans to give everything the ole evil eye, (note to self,...do this BEFORE starting model.) and the tune I was humming turned to a strangled gurgling wail of despair. Ooh the drama. heh heh. All has now been revealed. First there was anger,....then denial,...followed of course by acceptance of the fact that I've been screwing up! This turned to elation however, when I realized I get to chop yet more plastic up/ and trowel even more putty. OK, enough of the theatrics....ya'll wanna see pics eh?! First thing I checked was the profile. Uh Oh. Wondered why those wheels looked so far back compared to the Me-163, and why the skid profile just looked too 'stumpy'. The darn nose isn't long enough. Of course, this will change my decking behind the cockpit....and the skid has to be lengthed now,.....and the kit canopy is too short and HAS to be re-blown, ect.ect. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Now, because the canopy contours toward the nose are complex,....and I'm lazy....I decided to just 'move' the entire nose forward about 15mm. Here's where I made my cuts. Whoohoo! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Here's everything taped together after cutting off the front, cuz I want to see how it'll look. I'm bound and determined to make a scale J8M1 by golly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Oh yeah, much better. Just looks 'right' now. Canopy is too short now, but I'm gonna show ya'll how to make another before this build ends. Nuther view. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 OK, got that hurdle semi-behind me now, so let's move on to the next 'anomaly'. The blister on the side of the tail for the rudder actuator has ta go. Too big. Also, I'll be re-scribing 3 more cooling slots in front of the existing ones. I outlined where it was in dotted lines, and marked the new slots with black ink. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Oh yeah, I'm going to be doing a little more sculpting on that tail-wheel fairing as it's a mite different also. Moving onto the next mod I'm going to have to do.(yeah it just keeps getting better huh?!) The trailing edge of the new wing fillet is much more 'swoopy'. More plastic and putty. heh heh. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Oh but wait!,....there's yet more. Thought I was pretty much done with the wing, but I have only just started. The flaps aren't smaller, they were just moved out. The ailerons are! Bwhahahah! More re-scribing and filling. Aaaah, ya gotta love it. Also, the leading edge slots are too long and need reducing. The wing panels have yet to be re-scribed, but they're completely different. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackbetty Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 looks like it turns into a major project, eh russ? very nice work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Just popped on for a bit to show ya'll what I've been up to. Here's an overview of the model taped together showing the new nose/wing/tail profile. I'm having a hoot getting this converted, and can't wait to show ya'll the next progress pics. Be back tomorrow night with the latest, eh?! Later all, Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Great stuff Russ. Are the mods you're making necessary only for the J8M1, or do they apply to the 163 too? I'm thinking particularly of the nose length issue - is the Hasegawa kit deficient for a 163 as well, or only for a J8M1? Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spads57 Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Russ you mad modeler you.You've done it again,I am amazed. Highest Regards, Gregory Jouette Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Azgaron Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Excellent work Russ! It's interesting to see how it develops! Cheers, Azgaron Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Hey guys! Thanks for the encouragement,...much appreciated. Yeah BlackBetty, I shoulda just painted the darn thing green and stuck some rising suns on it. BUT, I'm as stubborn as an ole army mule on the darndest things sometimes. Yah know Kevin,...I don't have any Me-163 plans enlarged to compare this too, but it looks pretty darn accurate to me OOB! Everything I'm doing is just for the J8M1. Here's the long story...very short. Ahem. 2 Japanese subs carried engines/airframes and detailed drawings outta Germany after they bought license rights to build these. Both subs sunk. An officer showed up in Japan with an "operators manual" (guess he took it ashore for some easy reading?). Anywho, it was decided to make these off that book. Their version of the rocket engine put out less thrust....and weighed more. BUT, the J8M1 weighed 900 pounds less than an Me-163, so performance would've been just a mite less. This kinda gave me the epiphany of why the nose is a bit longer....guess they had to extend it to keep the CG in bounds cuz of the heavier engine? Been reading a lot of interesting little bits. Like those leading edge 'C' slots, are there to keep the wingtips from stalling at high sub-mach speeds, cuz there's a 2-3 degree 'wash-out' on the outer wings, and it also keeps the elevons from fluttering. Also, this thing wouldn't spin because of those! It just crabbed sideways. Really cool aerodynamic stuff went into these birds. pretty cool. Ahhh, but I digress. Got the nose re-attached tonight, put a 'framework' around the rear 1/4 windows so the future glass won't fall thru,...and finished off my pit by adding some stringers and a radio. Check it out. Here's about as much detail as I'm gonna do to the pit. It's ready for paint. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ruzlkampf Posted May 14, 2009 Author Share Posted May 14, 2009 Took me awhile to get the nose all lined up, so I didn't have too much time to work on these rear wing fillet things. I need to paint the pit to get the fuse 1'2's together...then attach the rear engine/rudder before I do anymore puttying when I attach these. Hey, I'm lazy and want to putty everything at one time. Should have this zipped up by Friday(the one week mark for this build), leaving me the weekend to paint it. That's the plan anyway. Latest 'broad overview'. And a last profile pic of the fuse before I paint the pit/pilot and stuff him in. Getting all my stuff out to blow another canopy and those rear 1/4 glass windows, cuz I want to take a step-by-step on how I'm doing that. Whew, glad my internal framework for those little bitty pieces of glass came out OK. more pics as things progress. Later! Russ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Javlin1 Posted May 14, 2009 Share Posted May 14, 2009 Expect nothing less from you Russ get out the 8"skill and jigsaw and start hacking away.Looking good thus far some neat work.Cheers Kevin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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