airscale

hey guys bit more done... ..I had done such a rudimentary job on the engine, so even though very little can be seen, I added what I could.. the fuselage formers were bulked out with hard foam and all the template outlines blacked out with a sharpie so I can see the sanding thresholds later.. also added some card formers to help shape the exhaust area around the nose.. I made up a 3D part to lock all the features of the wings together with the spars and dihedral on the outer wing panels and made up ribs from 2mm card.. ..and the wings & airframe start to take shape - it looks like an air racer without the last few ribs and the wingtips.. TTFN Peter

Thank you Peter - very kind I went to make a basic cockpit tub from 3D and once printed I needed to make some adjustments... while I was at it, I got a bit carried away.. still lots to do, but a great canvas, even if it is cheating a bit TTFN Peter

nearly finished - just flying wires to go.. TTFN Peter

No rest for the wicked they say, so with the paint drying on my S6B it's time for a new project.. I built a Hobbyboss Sea Fury back in the day and added loads to it including a visible engine and I have always wanted to make a large scale one. The problem was (and is) it doesn't fit in my display cabinet. I remeasured it the other day and somehow got my sums wrong and thought it would fit so off I went and started researching.. Turns out I was right the first time, the airfame is a beast and won't fit so will need a home once complete (or I get a bigger cabinet..) My last one was the civil demonstrator G-AKRY, but now I just proved to myself I can paint an aeroplane, this one will be a service machine. Choosing one is harder than I thought - it's got to be RN, but to be honest, they were all painted the same for now I chose this one VX620.. I started with Jumpeii Temma's plans and checked these with Will at DBMK on the one they scanned - they were bang on, so I designed the parts for my cutter.. also made a 3D cowling.. ..the brass bar is to keep the keel rigid.. ..the keel was taped to a flat sheet of acrylic and all the formers added - I also 3D printed a wingroot section to help alignment.. ..I have had problems with plastic card cores flexing during construction so I clamped an ali bar and added the other side, moving the bar as I went.. ..very quickly the fuselage took shape - it is huge.. ..the floor is too high here and had to be chopped out and lowered - this is the problem with not having drawings ..having designed the cowling, I spent some time doing the prop, spinner and a basic engine front.. I think it came out pretty good - it defines the aeroplane so has to be right.. ..starting to look like the brute it is.. ..so thats it - off and running with a new build ..A plea for help - if anyone has any good interior pictures of the cockpit, seat, seat bulkhead, rollover structure, please drop them here or PM me also if there are more unique RN schemes out there I am definately open to a rethink TTFN Peter

thank you all, very kind So, the painting stage is looming.... I needed to get some new etch primer as it only has a 12 month shelf life and frustratingly it is still not here yet.. Hey Pete - good to see you - there is a bit of that here, i have limited experience as this is my first fully painted skinned model - basically I use an etch primer that can be diluted so it can be airbrushed.. I am waiting for both of these Phoenix Primer HMG Primer and the paint is either MRP or Humbrol enamel - Humbrol I find better as it is pretty bulletproof, though very smelly.. I have worked out the colour (I think) - some of the original paint is still on S1595 in the Science Museum (it was repainted ages ago in the wrong blue, likely roundel blue) so I did some samples and arrived at what i think is a reasonable match given the limitations of eyeballs, digital sampling and light I took all my similar blues and did a tester, photographed in natural and artificial light and ended up mixing a shade from what I had - this is the analysis.. It is what it is, there are no colour pics so sue me if I am wrong... ..while waiting I busied myself and there is absolutely no construction remaining.. Pitot tube done - complex little thing.. ..cockpit canopy done, another complex little thing - i hate doing transparencies as they are just a huuuuuge opportunity to fu#k up.. also all the beaching gear was made of plastic and wood, and the wire wheels finished.. ..again with no colour photos, I painted them what I thought / interpreted - basically battleship grey as it's likely marine paint.. ..added the petrol cans and trolley.. ..and thats it - the next time I post, it will be all painted.. wish me luck ..in other news, I have decided on my next subject - something I have wanted to do for ages but thought it wouldn't fit in my display cabinet - I measured again and I think I can just squeeze it in - any ideas? TTFN Peter

thank you all, you are so very kind Hi Mike, it's not foil, it's sheet aluminium, like a coke can but maybe a bit thicker. I generally make the panels off the airframe and then beat them into shape once added So, lots has gone on the last few weeks... ..the propeller was made as a 3D print which I found very hard to do as it's a complex shape which has oblong roots and quite a twist.. - the spinner cap is machined from solid aluminium so it can be polished like the original.. ..I started the wings by filling the plastic frame with foam & filler - this was then refined many times and note they are complete with the ailerons in place so they can be cut out later... ..after a lot of finishing, the ailerons were removed... ..and so to the skinning... I drew out the plans that copied the layout of all the fastners that cover the entire surface.. by the time I finished I selected all objects in the drawing and for the four wing surfaces there were 8,962 rivets... that is bordering on the ridiculous and likely as many as I have done on entire airframes before.. ,,nothing to do but get started, so here is a typical panel - the small dots are one rivet depression, the big dots two, which was even more demoralising.. ..also seen is a template to score out a hatch with a pin in a pin vise.. ..after 3 days and a very sore set of muscles they were done... ..no time to rest though, and the ailerons were completed.. ..the wings were added using JB weld and given a day to set, then I could start the fillets - I have not done the front ones as they need to also cover the forward strut mount.. ..with the wings on, I could add the belly oil cooler assembly - as with the fuselage sides this was a 3D printed buck over which the metal sheet was fomed.. ..in two parts, it stretches all along the lower fuselage.. ..with so much skinning going on, I fancied a change and so started on the beaching trolley - well at least the wire wheels of the trolley.. I 3D printed a hub, a rim and a jig.. ..and then bent a lot of piano wire spokes and started to populate them ..and the finished wheels, along with some Pratts petrol cans I have seen in pictures with the airframe.. ..and so before the painting starts next week, some final shots in all her nakedness... ..time to start thinking about the finish... until next time TTFN Peter

Howdy folks I finished the floats and detailed the struts, all done with litho - this includes some very long, this one piece multi hundred rivet strips that run the length of each chine.. the struts were detailed as well.. ..next up the tailfeathers... the stabiliser seems to have overlapping panels, with the elevators a joggled but flush panel edge... ..the card formers I made had tiny brass 'L' sections added to the trailing edge and were filled with P38 - then the skinning started with the outer edges as the panels overlap in this direction.. ..tape and dymo tape guides used to make one piece wrap around panels.. ..the elevators were also done and interstingly have a sheet extension at the trailing edge so this was copied by leaving the brass sheet core exposed.. ..the rudder was a sheet brass core with plastic ribs, then covered with scored thin plastic sheet to represent linen - I can't see any evidence of rib tape, but there is a characteristic rib feature i need to add (perhaps this is tape?) ..after covering, I added the Flash Gordon style counter weights.. ..and while not fitted yet, the tail is virtually complete.. ..might do the prop next as it is starting to come together.. TTFN Peter

Thanks gents Will do next time The saga continues with skinning the floats - these are covered in symetric rivet patterns and rather than do panel by panel, I did pairs of panels for each float. I would say over the course of a few days I did ~5k rivets.. ..here are two pairs with about 1200.. ..again these were only lightly burnished to retain the oil canning seen on the real one - also any panel overlaps on the real one were copied.. ..once complete, I started the struts - I used a 3D extrusion to sheath the brass rods I set at the beginning, and then used ali foil on the floats and fuselage so I can fill to them and it will all unstick cleanly with a matching mating face.. ..it can all be seen in a jig I had to make so I can get everything aligned properly & the yellow sponges apply enough upward pressure to hold them in place without distorting the position.. ..the forward upper strut mounts have these odd tails, maybe to deflect water.. ..these were made by embedding stiff wire into the strut and filling around it.. some of the mounting stubs are a bit short for my liking, but they can't intrude into the cockpit or they are as long as they can be before they cross each other hopefully when mounted with JB weld they will be ok.. ..skinning these is going to be problematic as it won't be easy for one thing, and they would need to be a perfect fit when assembled so I haven't quite figured out how I will do it all yet.. TTFN Peter

Thank you gents, you are all very kind With the fuselage coming along, it was time to start another major sub assembly in the floats... the former structure was filled with hard foam to give it a basic profile.. ..this was then skim filled with P38 and templates used to get the chines the right shape... ..I would say there were over 30 filling/sand/prime excercises before they were in their final forms.. ..then the undersides were skinned... ..there were a few structural features of interest, one is the lapped panels where on the real aeroplane the panels are joggled into an overlap, and the other are these sort of serrated panels which I assume have something to do with disrupting water suction on the step of the float - these were cut one serration at a time so quite tiresome ..on to the top surfaces now and these are covered in spaced fittings & rivets so are going to be a challenge... TTFN Peter

Happy Friday my friends Hey hey Kurok - I used these jeweler ball things on a rod, don't know what they are called, but I have a set of different sizes. I made a buck with a half round in it and just whacked the metal with a hammer to stamp form them - then cut them in half with a slitting disc in a dremel and cleaned them up The fuselage is skinned like a Spitfire, from back to front with some overlaps - the fist step was analysing pictures to work out the skinning order - I started at the rear with a tape template, using dymo tape to define borders where needed. I always mark out rivet lines on the tape template so they are right on the model as what can look a straight line rarely is... these are those panels after rivetting and making the holes for the circular hatches..the next step is to peel the tape off, wash them with a stiff brush and solvent to get all the tape discs left by the rivetting off, and then finally turn them over and burnish hard with a rod to remove the 'quilting' effect... ..with that panel down and the others that form the bottom layer, I need to fill the upper edges as with another panel to go on top if I don't a visible ridge will appear when I lay it down... ..then the next panel that wraps across the spine - you can see some rivets done with the panel in place have deformed as the foam/filler skin has given out under pressure.. nothing can be done about that.. ..the edges are also filled again.. ..with that done, the skins on the tail are marked out....this is an intersting design feature as the tail is actually the oil cooler so the surface air cools it rather than a cooler sticking into the airflow and causing drag.. ..it has a very distinct 'quilted' appearance which is exactly what you get if you don't burnish a rivetted panel, so this will be fun to make.. ..same principle applies - tape templates & dymo tape..just thsi time i only lightly burnish the panels before adding them.. ..with the fuselage skinned another distinctive feature needs doing - there are radiators running the full length of the fuselage each side (again to reduce drag by hanging them off the wing or under the chin).. ..like this.. ..I pondered how to do it and eventually tried 3D printing a male mould I could work from - I figured I could burnish the shape in one piece if I was careful.. ..it had to be in two parts to be printed though.. ..these were then superglued to a bit of perspex.. and the work started.. ..millions more damned rivets... ..and then scored & carefully broken away.. ..I was worried that I would need to fill the 'tubes' but it seemed rigid enough so I bit the bullet, took a deep breath and got ready to stick it in place.. ..quite a bit of work that, so here is a walkaround.. ..gonna be a shame to paint it TTFN Peter

hello all I kept thinking I will stop in a minute and take a picture of what I am doing, but then I would think, I will just finish this bit... well before I knew it the engine cowling was done.. it is a complicated structure, but shouts early aviation.. can start the fuselage proper now.. TTFN Peter

wow, looks fabulous - it is really rewarding to see this come to life Peter

Happy New Year folks cockpit is pretty much done.. all the best for 2024 TTFN Peter

Seasons Greetings I figured before I finish the cockpit, I better start skinning some of the nose as there would be some hammering involved to get the metal to conform to the very curvy rocker cover blisters.. ..it all starts like this - a bit of ali sheet taped along one edge and worked & beaten to follow the shape.... it creases and buckles and really doesn't like it, but I will have my way in the end.. ..by now it's pretty much there, always working the creases away with thousands of taps of a tiny ball pein hammer.. ..then the surface is abraded to get it smooth (sorry for the crap pictures..).. ..and finally cut to shape allowing the bottom edges to flare under the panels that will sit on top of them.... ..and with those panels added and the exhaust ports.. lots more panels to go, and I need to complete the cockpit before I can do the rear of the blisters and add the cooling vents.. Happy Christmas everyone Peter

this is like model porn... seeing complex, mysterious, old aviation things realised in 3D has become quite influential in how I enjoy life 😁 and this has me enjoying life! Peter

well thats pretty special 😍 looks superb Peter, bravo Peter

thank you ladies, you are all too kind so, this is one of the few pics I have of the cockpit... ..tons of info there - all I have to do now is make it.. ..started with control yoke, forward bulkhead & rudder pedals, all from plastic or brasss.. ...then it was a few more bobbins including the seat and time for paint.. I have tried to start a bit of weathering as I suspect open cockpit, seawater and an oliy monster 18 inches away would mean it would get a bit grubby.. ..also starting to get the fuel tank seen in the photo ready for fitting, though lots more pipes to go.. ..and thats it - I want to get it closed up so I can start skinning the fuselage - the instrument panel is next as soon as the decals arrive later this week have a wonderful Xmas everyone 🤶 TTFN Peter

thanks chaps time to make the fuselage sides, so made a plug using the same bulkhead drawings and vacformed form sheet.. ,,these were then tack CA'd into place so the sanding & filling could start.. you can see additional strip plugs added as I screwed up the measure / cutting.. ..and once refined, the structural elements of the fuselage are complete.. ..a jig was fixed to the sides while they were in place to keep everything where it should be (if they flex, the detail breaks free inside later - tell me how I know), and then they were cut & prised off and interior detail started.. ..in the next screw up, I should have made the sides run right to the last bulkhead, but I had cut them at the headrest bulkhead - the fuselage is hollow in real life so actually there is no bulkhead at all, but I ran it to one behind the seat in the hope it won't be seen.. ..so the sides were refitted and the last section cut out.. ..this meant the sides needed sorting out to integrate the additional walls, so out with the filler again.. ..the missing detail was added.. ..and cleaned up & primed you would never know on the inside.. ..however, on the outside it is Frankenstein's monster.. ...the structural beams were made from litho, but will have to be fitted to the fuselage rails, rather than the walls as there is no way to add the sides over the brass beams once they are in place.. onwards & upwards TTFN Peter

thank you all, very kind time to build out the fuselage of this curvy girl.. started by black outlining all formers with a sharpie so when I sand I can see when I hit the outline, then it was filled out with hard foam blocks in between all the formers .. then those were cut and sanded to the base profile - litho cockpit sides were added to keep shape integrity while filling / sanding.. ..then the structure was given a thin skim of P38 filler.. ..and sanded to shape.. this is the 'rough cut'.. ..lots of sanding and re-filling & re-priming and the base fuselage is complete for skinning in metal later.. ..the big definitive rocker cover fairings were a challange and I pondered how to do them. Eventually, I made up a basic 3D version which my skills in no way allow me to get all the subtle shapes so these just serve as something to start with - though the exhaust port blocks will be separate as they will ultimately be scale.. ..I started the refinement by getting the position and relationship to the fuselage right. This is done by covering the fuselage with aluminium plumbers tape that pretty much defies anything sticking to it for long and the fairings spot CA'd in place followed by filler so they become a close fit... they can then be easily broken off for final shaping.. .. then after they were permanently fixed, a definition needed to be made to start to represent the fuselage break where the fuselage and engine fairings meet.. ..this was done with lining tape and filler added and sanded until the tape can be seen.. ,,and the all important nose profile starts to take shape.. ..and thats it for now TTFN Peter

hey chaps thanks for dropping in ..because the foam and filler part of the build is very messy. I kind of wanted to confine it to one long session. To that end it meant I need all four corners of the airframe completed, so up next wings & tailplane.. ..the wing starts with a 0.16mm sheet brass trailing edge - here the outline is stuck to the sheet and later cut out with a dremel & slitting disc on a bit of balsa to stop it bending.. ..with it cut out is is pinned to a balsa backed plan with a small wodden strip lifting the TE off the plan. Then the ribs are threaded on the tube spars and spaced out - I made more ribs than there are lines on the plan so they don't line up and all are set in place with a set square & CA.. a slot in each rib captures the TE... ..the LE is made of brass rod - the use of brass for LE & TE is to ensure clean hard lines i can fill & sand to.. ..here a block of aluminium is used to set a nice square leading edge (a block that will hopefully later be carved / bashed / smashed into a propeller..) ..the other wing is built off the first so everything lines up and is square.. ..fill in plates have been added to give torsional strength and stop twisting, all of it being washed with old tamiya liquid cement to bond it all together... ..the tailplanes are of similar construction, but without the brass.. ,,and that is enough of the airframe complete to start building it up from here... having a blast TTFN Peter

have you ever had it where you go to bed at night and think about what you are going to do on your build the next day? I know when I am really into my build when I feel like it's Christmas Eve and I can't wait to get up... so at my bench at 8am on a Sunday and I have S6B floats now ..started by adding a 'T' section to the bottom of the cores - this really should have been brass, but I haven't got enough so plastic it is.. then each former one by one with the plan view stiffner in between.. ..having made the parts already, it took shape quickly.. ..soon front and rear sections had one side of the profiles.. ...soon all the formers were added and integrated with the 3D top part that the struts mount to.. ..then all the components were cemented together )x2) ..with the floats made up, it was time for a test fit.. ..the 3D parts really help lock everything in and get the geometry right.. ..happy with that for a day's work TTFN Peter

the bit of my brain that deals with comprehension always breaks when I look at this build Oliver... I swear what you do with just plastic cannot be done its like an alternate universe I drop into....😍

Hello all With apologies to my P39, it is time to nail something new together... I was inspired by the exquisite models on show at Telford to go back to old school model making. My P39 started as an experiment that proved I could make a whole airfame in 3D, but after a long break from any modelmaking as I focused on airscale I found it hard to pick it back up.. Add to that a chance conversation with my friend Torben at SMW about subjects that could inspire me, he mentioned early racers and a bulb in my head went off :). Both he and I like ther S5, but the S6B has so many attributes that suit me - one being it is all metal rather than fabric winged and the other being that the real one is accessible at the Science Museum in London... So here we are... S1595.. ..a beautiful machine.. ..with inspiration in place and many hours of trawling the internet for images, I set off for London to get reference pics - unfortunately it is really badly lit, but 457 pics later I had enough with the disparate plans I found to start drawing out shapes... ..the rear of a float for example.. ..and this aeroplane is covered in a LOT of rivets, especially the wings as the surface doubles as the radiators (which were removed from the slipstream for streamlining).. typical is the float again... ..though where I have been doing complex cockpits in previous models, this one is pretty simple.. ..still room for 3D though, this will become the fuel tank under the instrument panel.. ..with drawings created, I made lots and lots of parts from 1mm card & 2mm cores... I also designed a 3D printed matrix with the bottom of the fuselage and the top of the floats to set the angle and give strength to the struts.. ..the cockpit is going to be tricky as there is just skin and very small thin formers so for now it is part of the core and with brass 'U' channel running down the sides where the real one has a strengthener I hope to cut it all away later ..the 3D core in the fuselage includes holes for the wing spars and you can see on the forward end one of the holes for 3mm brass rod for the strut cores (the other is just visible under the back of the wing).. ..Same for the float tops, though the scars from me getting the angles wrong on the first pass are visible here.. there is also a slot running around it to centre the cores... ..and assembly has started, the fuselage is super slim, literally the size of the engine cross section - the shape will be created by filling the gaps with hard sculpting foam and a skim of P38 filler before skinning.. for now there are just placeholders for the engine blisters as I need to refine the drawings - they are a complex shape.. ..then adding more strength to the fuselage in a jig to keep the spine straight until it's all set.. and chopped out the cockpit area and thankfully the brass bracing structure that mirrors the real one (the lower beams are a bit overscale thickness for strength) seem to have worked and it is all quite rigid.. ..even put a mock up IP in it, though the real one is sloped slightly.. having fun so that's it - underway with a new project and I am glad to be back at the bench and back here with my pals TTFN Peter

I am now a dribbling wreck... just skills from another world Oliver I must get to see this (and you) at a show someday Peter

Howdy folks I have been working on a range for the Revell Bf109 G2/4 as I think it's a great and cheap kit. These will be released in 3- 4 weeks and are available for pre-order I hope you think thye are a worthwhile addition all the best everyone Peter