ironman1945 Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Hi guys Well, here it is, my latest project. Trumpeter's P-38L which I am backdating to a P-38J-15-LO to represent "Happy Jack's Go Buggy" from May 1944. First up, sanding off and filling the Booster Pumps, and getting rid of the compressibility flaps under the wings. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 3, 2007 Author Share Posted November 3, 2007 Those who have been reading the LSP discussion forum will know I have been asking questions about the long term viability of metal landing gear. The ones I have are from Scale Aviation Conversions, and were warped when I received them. They were easy to bend back... but it made me think about how they would lookin the long term, since a fair amount of weight will be needed to make sure this isnt a tail sitter. After much deliberation, I finally got over being lazy and started construction of them with Brass and aluminum tube. Here are the results. I decided to use the drill out the end of the white metal landing gear to insert the new brass/aluminum tubing into. The aluminium was filed down at the ends to reproduce the taper. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 3, 2007 Author Share Posted November 3, 2007 Here is how it looks when the tubing is assembled. I think the detail looks sharper in comparison with the original metal gear, and I know it will be stronger. I'm pretty happy with it. More to follow ... I originally intended this to be out of the box, to clear my mind after the Whirlwind, but..... I just recived the Big Ed photo-etch set for this beast, soooooo...what the heck, its a long winter. One big reason I wanted to build this is to give a try at a natural metal finish with aluminum foil.. always wanted to give that a go. Take care all and have a great weekend! Dave/Ironman1945 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Wow Dave, that landing gear looks sensational! Much better than the white metal ones, I agree. Can't wait to see where you take this one. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Mollica Posted November 3, 2007 Share Posted November 3, 2007 Here is how it looks when the tubing is assembled. I think the detail looks sharper in comparison with the original metal gear, and I know it will be stronger. I'm pretty happy with it.More to follow ... I originally intended this to be out of the box, to clear my mind after the Whirlwind, but..... I just recived the Big Ed photo-etch set for this beast, soooooo...what the heck, its a long winter. One big reason I wanted to build this is to give a try at a natural metal finish with aluminum foil.. always wanted to give that a go. Take care all and have a great weekend! Dave/Ironman1945 Yeah, I agree, the undercarriage you have made yourself looks far superior Dave. Great job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 15, 2007 Author Share Posted November 15, 2007 Hi everyone. A quick update for this evening; a photo of the (more or less) completed landing gear. I'm pretty happy with the end result. More to follow; hope everyone is having a great week. Dave/Ironman1945 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 HI Looking relly nice. Did you glue the bras parts together? Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Kevin Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 And how do you cut them (the brass parts that is)? I have a devil of a time with that. Kev Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Rigor Posted November 15, 2007 Share Posted November 15, 2007 wow nice work those are going to look sharp when finished Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LSP_Ron Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 The gear looks great! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 16, 2007 Author Share Posted November 16, 2007 Hi everyone. Thanks for the kind words. Answers to questions: Texas: I used regular superglue to put the brass and aluminum tubing together. I insert the tubes and position them at the depth desired, then place superglue drops at the edges. Capillary action draws the glue down between the tubes. For the plastic parts (white), I glued them on the brass tubing with gel superglue. The gel also acts as a space filler between the brass and the plastic, and can be sanded/filed down as required. Big Kev: I cut the tubing one of 2 ways; with aK&S tube cutter (available at any good hobby store) and with a sharp x-acto blade. You can get other tube cutters at hardware stores or home DIY stores, but as far as I know no one else but K & S makes them in the size to cut small diameter tubing that we use. You role the tube cutter around the tubing, tightening the knob (and therebye pressing the blade into the tube) after each pass. When using an x-acto blade, make sure the blade is sharp, and roll it slowly back and forth across the tubing. Regardless of which method, you must be careful not to apply too much pressure or you will deform the shape of the tubing. As well I "nick' the tubing with a small file around the outside; it helps the blade stays in the same location. frogman13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironman1945 Posted November 16, 2007 Author Share Posted November 16, 2007 If you want to drill through the tubing, ie to add part of an axle as pictured below, you need to 'nick" the tubing with the sharp end of an x-acto knife (so a drill bit has something to bite into) and then use a progression of drill bits to drill the hole, until you reach the desired diameter. Be sure to start with a small diameter first, or the bit will just veer off everytime you attempt to twist the bit. Hope that answers your questions. Take care and have a great weekend! Dave/ironman1945 frogman13 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave Pratt Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Dave that's some great work as always.Very clean...where did you find the tubing?I've been looking for thin-wall tubing but can't find it anywhere.Any idea would help big time...cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ironwing Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 Dave, The gear looks great. I fully understand what you went through to produce it. Lovely work. Geoff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Texas Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 HI Looking good. Thanks for all the how-to it will help alot. Texas Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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