HubertB

Well done ! And congrats for the dash to the finish line 👍 ! Hubert

Ben (Starfighter on LSP) said it was 62 hours printing time for the wings only. And printing the fuselage takes 120 hours … And, before you ask, AFAIK, he has no intention of selling it to anyone … Still, it’s a fantastic piece of design 👍 ! Hubert

Too bad. Somehow, seeing the raised rivets on the headrest, I thought that Trumpeter got the raised rivets on the rest of the airframe … These were a characteristic feature of the TBD, but, I agree with you, are often too prominent on many kits. It’s one of my gripes with the IBG PZL P-11C : the raised rivets are accurate for this airframe, but a bit too high for my liking … Anyway, we’ ve got Archer or Quinta for sets of raised rivets. Just need a few dozen sheets costing the GNP of Zimbabwe 😂 ! Hubert

I can offer you a number of « pots-de-vin », but my Cutlass will need more than a week to be finished … Hubert

Are the rivers divots or dimples ? The TBD was festooned with raised rivets ( as was his stablemate the Dauntless, but Trumpeter showed them as divots, and it took Archer to issue a full set of raised rivets for the SBD) Hubert

Got more pics for us ? Hubert

Now that’s embodying the fabled saying « Turning a sow’s ear in a silk purse » Hubert

Which is overall good news … Hubert

Now, where is mine 😩 ? I NEED my TBD fix 😥 ! Hubert

Sincere condolences, Ron. Hubert

I guess you are using PETG, Martin. it’s extremely sensitive to temperatures, and the bubbles you are seeing is water trapped in the PETG sheet, that turns into vapour with the temperature rise. PETG loves water, like plaster or a paper towel, btw. There are two solutions to that, that work best together : 1) pre-dry the PETG sheets in an oven, like 2 hours in the oven set at about 60° C 2) decrease the sheet temperature when molding it. It’ s a two-step process. 1) As you cannot modulate the heat coming from the overhead resistance, on these machines, increase the distance between the sheet and the resistance. 2) Spend just the right amount of time heating the sheet, and it’s literally a one-sor-two-seconds window : too little time, and the sheet won’t mold well, and two much time and the dreaded bubbles will grow like mushrooms. And both these steps are a function of trial-and-error, depending on the machine. A chronometer is useful to time the « right » time, but thank God, all smartphones have one function for that …As for the height, once you have determined it, a makeshift stop on one axis rod will help obtain consistent results. HTH Hubert

Well, my ex-wife had a few dozens pairs of shoes she never wore, and many pieces of garments with the shop price-tag still on … But she did not like my modelling anyway … Hubert

Just looking at that PE, and thinking about what it means in assembly, I am already crazy 🙃 Hubert

Me too Hubert

About right about the zillion. The issue is to find a combination of exterior pics, interior pics, registration number, etc. to produce a reasonably accurate replica… And I have found great-looking schemes which would be a nightmare to mask and / or airbrush, at least with my skills Hubert

Cool subject, Rob 👍 ! I guess it’s 1/72 ? Me, I just received my Jetmads Learjet ! Now, to find a cool, but doable, civilian scheme … Hubert

We know it does not take much to be banned from BM nowadays. Maybe just mentioning LSP was enough to displease the lord there 😂 ... Hubert

Quote from Heinz on Britmodeller, relayed on LSP on a thread about the Val ... Hubert

Well, it seems that HPH are throwing the towel on Infinity. The Kate is 50 % down the road, and the project is advertised for sale. That was a meteoritic passage in the modelling word … Hubert

Wouldn’t it be linked to the specific situation (and therefore the helo markings) you are depicting ? An Alaskan helo would justify a closed canopy more than a Hawaian one for instance, or a GB vs Spain one … Both look excellent anyway, and, situation notwithstanding, the open frame shows the cabin detailing much better. Just my Hubert

To give you an idea, it took me some 40 hours in total to print the parts for my Mystery Ship. Even with a larger and more professional machine, i guess the time would be divided by 3 at best. An IM process, once the molds are done, is about 30’’ to one minute. In the time it takes to print efficiently one kit, you can produce a few thousands IM kits. Just look at the time it took Jetmads to produce 500 kits : at least one year, if not 18 months. 3D printing is a great process for esoteric subjects that warrant only small volumes, but it’s going to take some time before it can replace injection molding.. Hubert

Convincing result 👍 ! Hubert

The answer is yes. I have successfully printed a (thin) clear windscreen for my Mystery Ship. Just needed a clear vanish coat to be perfectly clear. And, on LSP, Ben (Starfighter) has printed a full canopy for a 1/32 S3-A Viking. It needed some sanding and polishing to get rid of some print lines, but the end result was perfect. Hubert