airscale

evening ladies I trust all are safe & well in these troubled times.. Thats a great spot Martin - I actually redid the tail by tracing the good photo I have as I kept getting outlines being in the wrong place - hopefully now it passes muster Lockdown has advantages in that between emails & conference calls, I get to do some proper work... first up, the nose needed correcting, so I worked out where the nose starts to curve in under the cowl flaps and would meet the 3D printed part and got ready to cut it off - I struggled for a while to get an even cut line until I landed on an elastic band around the nose to mark it out.. ..then the nose was cut off and a disc of the same diameter as the new cowl added & faired into.. ..this was then prepped & primed.. ..also sorted the tail out by fixing it, correcting the shape and adding the fairlead housing at the tip.. ..moving to the wings, I decided to use the Hobbyboss kit wings but the outline around the aileron is out so this needed correcting.. ..the edge was scraped (like joggling) to let in a bit of litho to the correct profile.. ..a mainspar of the correct dihedral was added (the kit is out a bit), and two spigots added for the landing gear - these are just CA'd to rudimentary mounts.. ..the spigots are smaller thyan I usually do as I want to be able to have flexibility when I mount the legs later on for all the odd angles the 190 gear is at, so they were ground with some serrations so the JB weld I will use will have a key when I slide a wider gear leg tube over it later... ..the moulded kit wheel wells were chopped out and the edges thinned... ..the basic gear well was refined by cutting the skin back to the main spar and the forward bulkheads and lining them and the roof with thick card.. ..the kit wings are all wrong where they meet the fuselage, HB have this as flat whereas there is a curved under fuselage section and the wings fair into the fuselage higher than just the bottom of the fuselage - a lot of work went into correcting this.. ..I also added brass fillet outlines as a hard point of reference and to give structural rigidity.. ..still work to do, but it's getting closer.. ..the 3D cowl arrived today (thanks Tim!), along with the backplate, spinner, radiator & prop boss.. ..and the form of the airframe starts to emerge.. thats it for now.. TTFN Peter

afternoon folks I trust I find you all safe and well so it's been a bitty few weeks, with a LOT of learning about this airframe I should have done before I stormed in cutting things up... hey ho, we live and learn... lets start where we left off, which was the chin airscoop - this is the resin part as it cae out of the mould -very rough & ready but all it needs to impart are basic shapes.. ..I dremmeled out the innards and used fuse wire to get the profile to make a radiator part.. ..as I will never get in here once fitted, I skinned the inside and built a radiator front - mainly speculative as I have no pics of this area at all, just a drawing showing how far back it is set.. ..also skinned the bottom of the fuselage where the scoop mounts - the flanges will be rolled into it to fair in the shape once fitted.. ..all fitted... however, this is where things started to really unravel... ..in looking more, and learning more, including chatting with Arthur Bentley it seems the V18 had a very different nose to the D9 or D13... for one the engine thrustline is 110mm above the datum vs 70mm for a D model, the cowl diameter is 1200mm vs the 1100mm I had for the D9 so the upshot is the nose is all wrong.... lol...not.. ..the first inkling of a problem was when I saw the dotted outline on Arthurs plans for the 1200mm cowl.. ..after chatting he also sent me this original FW Project drawing that was submitted to the RLM which while it shows an early version of the supercharger fitting, it does show the much higher upper nose line (almost parallel to the datum unlike the sloping D9 / D13)... the other section drawing out there was done post war - this is the real deal.. ..I also used photo's to determine things like cowl flap position as these are not on the drawings - an average was taken from three side shots as there are no perfect side on views.. ..the drawing was then imported into Rhino and the 3D modelling started.. ..the cowl flaps are just dummies to help my orientation, but the other parts will be 3D printed to get this bit right for skinning later on.. .. I had a notion that I might be able to graft the new nose onto the Hobbyboss 1/18 kit as that is an A8 and the V18 was derived from an A1 (rear fuselage - thanks Martin - have also been advised W.Nr. 0040 --> 0110040, which was an A-1 ) so it made sense to maybe start with an earlier model standard airframe than the chopped up D9 I currently have I put up an unboxing video anyone can access with a walk through the bits and impressions on the kit if you are interested so there we are - fools rush in, I have learned a lot, I have had to adapt and I have wasted some time - but it is interesting and challenging unwrapping an enigma as compared to the P51 where I literally pulled up any drawing of any part of the airframe ...next time I should have made a start on doing things as they should have been done TTFN Peter

..and there it is folks - 100% proof positive that forums and the good folk on them are as important to my model making as glue and filler... Thank you Martin for pointing that out - I would have realised eventually that there is no fuselage extension on V18, but when and how far down the road I have no idea - you have saved me a ton of work & stress ..at least this is a simple one to recover from! Thank you, thank you, thank you Peter

Bloody brilliant! I love builds where folks just accept a a kit is a canvas to embellish and crack on - this is a perfect example and so well executed and your labours are loved too Peter

evening Gents Thanks Clunk - I am indebted to Martin and hope he is my wingman on this one as I am in fully uncharted territory for me - I feel such a dunce when I start out as I know very little about the airframe - I am hoping he keeps me in line As for the thickness - I don't bother reducing anything - the litho is about 0.008mm (or 0.08 I forget) so even scaled up with the adhesive is super negligable (thats my argument and I am sticking to it ) I had a few days off plus the weekend so managed to get some of the heavy engineering done - this is all shape & stregth groundwork for all the detail that will come later.. I wanted to join the fuselage halves together, so one task was to get the right fin profile - the V18 has the broad chord fin so I scaled the Bentley drawings and cut it from a sheet of brass - the trailing edges are left short to allow for the recessed rudder & hinge... ..I added a spigot to mount the tailwheel on later on - please excuse the terrible soldering... ..before adding this tail profile and cementing the halves together I added big brass strengthening rods to the lower fuselage so I can chop out a section to make and fit the cockpit pod.. ..all this was done with JB Weld for optimum strength ..another profile addition was a brass straight edge from the cowl front to the cockpit windshield mount - the model had this line about 4 - 5mm too low and the V18 has the same upper fuselage as the D13 so no big cannon breeches - you might just be able to see it in all the JB Weld in this shot... it gives me a point to sand the filler to without straying... ..then the cowl was cut off and a fairing piece made from discs of plastic which is part of what goes on beneath the cowl flaps - the discs were made with an olfa cutter and laminated - I used an old dremel spigot as the centrally located prop shaft... ..this was added and the forward fuselage corrections made (in rough for now).. ..plus the tail was battered about to meet the brass profile... ..again on the nose, you can see the chin scoop on this variant - this was a great profile shot to show it's exact location & shape... ..I can tell you now, this is going to be very difficult to skin in metal - both inside & outside the scoop.. this is the V13 with the same scoop design, but good additional shape info.. ..I started by covering the fuselage in plumbers ali tape to stop things sticking to it (for long) and added the two known shapes I have - the side profile and the shape of the airscoop hole... I need to make this part in resin so I can skin it properly, it would be way too weak if I just make the scoop and hollow it out ..slathered in P38 filler... ..after sanding & shaping.. ..and the shape is almost fully developed.. ..I then cracked this off the fuselage and it is now sat in the second phase of a 2 part rubber mould so I can cast it... ..the last thing for today is correcting the fuselage extension - in the model it is a bit indistinct and too far forward, so after looking a long time at what I could do I decided that as it was such a signiature part I had to take drastic action... I sawed the tail off... ..the profile is taken from Arthur's drawings and I will make the uniform extension section that goes here... ..you can see the kit parts are too square too when compared to the profile which will also be sorted.. ..so that's it - a few days work, but I feel like I am motoring ahead TTFN Peter PS don't forget build videos on Patreon

I was asked if I can put up a video for the Fw190 that anyone can see - Paul Budzik I ain't, but I hope some enjoy it Here it is... Big Stuff - initial engineering TTFN Peter

afternoon ladies Thanks for clarifying that Martin - it is an excellent model - I will go back & credit Miloslav! Brilliant! It is the power of these kinds of observations that mean together we can do our best to get it right! And thise pics are much better than the ones I had, thanks again Martin So where were we... breaking up the 21st Century Toys 'toy' into bits... The model is mainly made up from bits that are either screwed together, or have 'nubs' that pass through a hole and are then melted with what looks like a soldering iron, so by breaking out those nubs it came to pieces quite easily & quickly... ..the fuselage and all those bits... ..and the wings and all those bits... ..comparing to plans, the shapes are pretty good - the fuselage is a tad short at the tail, but that's no problem to correct later.. ..and the wings are fine.. ..the model is covered in deep panel lines which will be a problem when it comes to skinning, so the first step was to fill these with P40 filler... ..no this is not some late war camoflage, this is what it looks like after sanding the filler down... ..the recess for the airscoop was also filled.. ..then the fuselage & wings were shot with some high build primer - mainly so I have a unified looking set of parts to work with, but also to help visualisation.. ..have also started to gather what drawings I can find and start translating them into what will become a large photo-etch set, although the etcher's I use PPD have suspended trading due to covid so that will be a while yet ..and even while preparing that top instrument panel part, I learned thanks to forum contributors that this Fw190 would have had ancilliary instruments like this shot of a high altitude test aircraft - this is what I will copy I expect... so, we are on our way.... a million parts to go, but I think it is going to be a blast Don't forget, if you fancy it, video builds and articles are and will continue to be posted on Patreon TTFN Peter

As my P51C is nearly finished, I wanted to start on a new project. This is the Focke-Wulf Fw190C V18, about which Wikipedia says: "The C model's use of the longer DB 603 engine required more extensive changes to the airframe. As the weight was distributed further forward, the tail of the aircraft had to be lengthened in order to maintain the desired centre of gravity. To test these changes, several examples of otherwise standard 190 As were re-engined with a supercharged DB 603 to experiment with this engine. Prototypes V13 – V16 tested various PS and DB603 engines until the V18 followed, the first to feature the full high-altitude suite of features, including the pressurized cockpit, longer wings, a 603G engine driving a new four-blade propeller, and a Hirth 9-2281 turbocharger. Unlike the experimental B models, V18 had a cleaner turbocharger installation, running the required piping along the wing root, partially buried in the fillet, and installing both the turbocharger air intake and intercooler in a substantially sized teardrop shaped fairing under the cockpit.[36] This "pouch" led to the "Känguruh" (Kangaroo) nickname for these models." I was drawn to it as I have always loved the 190 series, particularly the ‘Langnase’ D models and in particular, this airframe had about as much natural metal as I could find on any variant which is my penchant for showing. There are a number of period photo’s walking round the airframe so let’s take a look at the challenge ahead.. I also found some very nice shots of a built-up model – which Martin has advised is Miloslav's work - a credit to him, it's wonderful As for the basis of the model, I found the range of 21st Century Toys 1/18 models online, which feature ‘toylike’ things such as spinning props, retractable U/C, moveable flying surfaces, but at their heart are actually very accurate replica’s of the airframes covered (at least the Fw190D is..).. A quick tour of the model – this was £160 on ebay – probably well overpriced, but when I see what I want, I pay for it.. So my take is this is a great basis for my next project. I have been busy collecting reference online, have a 1/48 Eduard ProfiPack Fw190D kit as a reference mule, a CD of works drawings on their way from ebay, had Arthur Bentley run me up a fabulous set of 1/18 plans and started some rudimentary artwork for some of the Photo-Etch components that will need to be developed, plus a very healthy dose of excitement and trepidation I am going to need all the help I can get in interpreting Luftwaffe colours etc and I know we have ‘experten’ on hand, so please get involved One thing that is different for this build though is a new thing I am trying called Patreon. This is an online platform where I get to share WIP content to ‘patrons’ who support me. It means nothing in terms of my forum posts here as they will continue with the regularity and scope they always did, but what it does mean is I can bring video to the build and in some ways ‘exclusives’ to those who choose to support me – this is an expensive hobby, I think my P51 netted out at about £1.8k all in and I am simply trying to find ways to offset that via the content I create for people to enjoy. Anyways, no-one has to do it, but there is a welcome video with a walkaround of my P51C that anyone can see, so if you are interested take a look at that at least! In addition, there are already Fw190C videos up Here is the link to my Patreon page I hope you will join me on my next journey and next time I will have this 'toy' broken down into a bunch of expensive parts TTFN Peter

great stuff! I love this kit and now there are some new bits for it from Model Monkey I have been itching to see someone take it on.. looks like you are well on top of it - nice work! Peter

evening all I trust I find you all well in these difficult times and if anything it gives you a chance to either do some modelling or if not, enjoy the work of others who do I find myself confined to quarters, not through illness, but through trying to stay safe - I am fortunate I can work from home and just do emails and conference calls for my day job rather than sweat it into London.. So, where were we - elevators... always seem to be the last thing I do, don't know why here is a nice shot of Lopes Hope which shows there is more to them than meets the eye notice the rib tapes, the visible structure underneath, the many eyelet sort of 'polo mint' fixings and the four mounts for the mass balance weights.. ..I started with a brass sheet blank, cut from scaled plans and scribed with all the internal structure (also making most of the cuts for the trim tabs so they can be broken out later) - from there plastic strip was used to bulk it out and coffee stirrer sticks for the ribs. I use these as they are wood and the solartex RC covering sticks well to it.. ..soon both elevators were done top and bottom... there is a double wall where the trim tabs are ..then the bulk of the structural additions were dremelled off and sanded to final profile - once complete the trim tabs were removed.. ..after covering with solartex and wicking CA on the edges, the eyelet things were added - these are tiny brass washers, the bigger ones punched out of litho.. ..these were then covered with the rib tapes again scaled from plans - the tapes are made from foil plumbers tape (like bare metal foil just cheaper) with a riveter run along a straight edge and a scalpel cut along the holes to get pinked edges.. ..they cover all the eyelets well - although in this shot there is still a big panel of tape to go over the trim tab area.. ..a shot of primer show the fabric effect I was after.. ..trim tabs made from litho with the core from the original structure.. ..then the mass balance weights were made from left over resin casting blocks.. ..and shot with MRP super matt black - also added the trim tab actuating rods to elevators & rudder and gave them all a dusting of MIG powders.. ..all the tailfeather surfaces were attached with hinge rods and are now complete.. ..and a last shot in the evening sun so you can see the contrasts... ..thats it for now - more bits and bobs to go including the Drop Tanks that Steve at Model Monkey has kindly enlarged from his 1/32 set and 3D printed in 1/18 for me stay safe everyone and see you next time TTFN Peter

afternoon ladies Wolf, I did the springs but forgot to take a picture doh! ..so with a few days off, it seems like I have powered through a lot of the 'to do' list.. ...the main job was getting the model on it's undercarriage and getting the gear doors on - I made up the big links the hold them on and spent ages getting it all to line up - hopefully the sit is right.. ..also the tailwheel & doors were added with the retraction links and the aerial loop on the rear fuselage.. ..then the prop and flaps.. ..and it's ready for a quick walk around - the canopy parts are not fitted so are just resting (badly..)... ..any comments on the 'sit' or any of the details if they look off, please don't be shy - say something here. I am aware the P51 is so iconic that it must look bang on to pull it off.. ..I still have to make the elevators, sort the other aerial and make the wing drop tanks (plus light weathering) so still some to go TTFN Peter

evening folks Interesting, thank you It's actually not a crack, but a heat crease where it must have bunched a bit in forming - I don't intend to do anything about it - if I touch it, it will look worse so I just have to live with it.. shame, but I just don't do transparencies Hi Wolf & thanks for this interesting (& challenging) little detail - I can see them now fitted on the ref pics I have of the full size - just like Clunk I have been looking in detail at the P51 for the best part of 2 years and had never noticed! ..so, as I said before it's the bitty stage in trying to get around the airframe in a logical order and get it finished, ..I covered the whole model and sub assemblies in flory wash and wiped down to give some definition to the rivet & panel detail (especially on the painted wings).. I removed the decal stencils and replaced them with rub down ones I had custom made - £60 for an A5 sheet so not cheap, but then a great improvement over the unavoidable decal film on natural aluminium.. ..these gun panels will be weathered & chipped when it's on it's wheels.. ..this vent door was added, the larger rear one will follow when I have finished the landing gear & doors.. ..the cockpit sill was added and the canopy panel that hangs here finished.. ..massive moment - the landing gear legs were fixed with JB Weld - funny story, about an hour after fitting them when the model was in a jig, I walked past it and thought 'I will just check a photo to make sure it's right' - well I looked and I had mounted them the wrong way around with the torque links facing forwards! A mad panic ensued, but as JB Weld takes 5 hours to cure I could just re-do them correctly (Thank God..).. ..the inner gear door hinges were fabricated and added - they are the two black structures on the centre rib at the top of each end.. ..the corresponding lugs were added to the doors.. ..and the doors were hung... I know there is a debate about having these up or down on the ground, but I made them and everything under them so I want to be able to see it - so these are down ..you can also see the retracting link assembly on the right connected to the door and piston, and a cable with fixings on the left which I assume stops them opening too far (?) although they are loose like this in refs I have so maybe not.. ..outer doors next, and as I found I have a load of leave to take from my day job before April 1st, I hope to have it finshed by the end of the month TTFN Peter

thanks chaps ..bit more done this weekend.. ..the First Aid kit and gunsight pad were made from milliput and lead wire, with brass for the straps (as they are held taught and need to loom like it..) ..I am not good at organic things like this.. ..painted up and although not great, I think they will have to do.. ..then moved on to the side and upper windows - all the catches & latches were prepared and two tiny pins added so I can pin one to the other at the right angle.. it has been a fraught day as I HATE working with transparencies - the knife edge of a terminal cock-up being so easy to do just frays my nerves.. ..I had left the protective film on so it was fairly straightforward to prep them and paint them.. ..also weathered a bit by rubbing wire wool and scuffing them a bit.. ..and with the film removed - there is a flaw in the top canopy where it didn't like bending to shape that has only been seen now the covers are off, but it just looks like a small crack so I am going to have to live with it.. ..and pinned together.. ..a few more bits need adding like hinges and some rubbing pads, but this is pretty much done so a quick dry fit.. ..the First Aid kit looks ok I guess.. that's it for now.. TTFN Peter

OMG this is next level stuff ..can't be that far removed from making a real one! Peter

evening folks :) I can honestly say Clunk thats the first time I have had that said about a model! I find nearing the end of a build to be a tricky period - there are lots of little bits to do and the order of assembly is important as the model is quite large details can be added then damaged if appropriate planning is not done. I started to add some of the decals onto the airframe that cover all the little hatches etc and after a test, found the ones on the alclad wing went on with no visible film after setting solution so didn't bother with a gloss coat... I think it will look fine when weathered.. ..added the gun camera - no idea how I missed that.. ..for the stencils on bare metal I have no choice - I can't varnish the aluminium as over time it will degrade as the ali oxidises, so it is straight decal & setting solution.. I have to just accept it as is.. ...in most cases it's passable.. ...I decided to focuson getting as much on the top half done as possible, so there is less handling with all the gear & doors hanging out - the first part of this was finishing up the cockpit... ..I added the switch panel at the bottom right of the windscreen and made up the flourescent cockpit lamp.. ..on the other side, I added the throttle quadrant and control rods.. ..I have made a Gunsight pad and the first aid kit that hangs from the headrest from milluput, but won't show you that until it's finished (& if it's good enough..) ..otherwise, the cockpit is pretty much complete.. ..will probably start to sort out the rest of the glazing next - here a dry fit of the right cockpit windows... ..still lots to do, but it's all bitty stuff TTFN Peter

afternoon folks I have been finishing the tailwheel - this shot is useful as it shows most of the assembly and it's orientation and notice too the doors have inner pressings with some odd shapes... ..I refined the main casting shape by adding more definition to some of the raised shapes and prepared a kit of parts for the gubbins that goes around the upper strut.. ..the leg fork was a brass rod bent to shape and then ground away so it's a half-round - this was then soldered to the shaft making sure the angle was right... ..these were then painted as per the pics I have of Lopes Hope... ..then the bobbins were all assembled and some weathering done - especially as there is no protective canvas boot (as I don't know how to make one...).. ..the tailwheel was also completed with some additional bolts and a valve... ..and the completed assembly.. ..the fork turned out ok... ..also made the doors - used a shaped bit of plastic the same as the main gear doors to shape the inner pressings, also the piano hinge bit is actually from some PE I prepared for the 1/18 Fairey Firefly I once started.. ..the black stripe on the rear of the aircraft carries on across the doors.... I later found out I have oriented these wrongly and so the doors would be back to front... will need to redo them.. .. a long shaft was fitted into the wheel well so the assembly slides onto it and is strong enough to cope with the weight... ..this was when I realised the doors would be back to front, as the mountings for the struts that close them should be at the rear.. ..next up I need to figure out how to deal with all the stencils all over the airframe - I have the decals made, but need to do some experiments on the best application that still allows handling / weathering (I can't varnish the natural metal - well I don't think I can...) TTFN Peter

well good evening everyone it's been a while, but having got Xmas, a vacation in Thailand and a shoulder injury out of the way, I finally got back to the bench... so where were we... Tailwheel... for some reason I have been putting this off, but it is finally time to make myself do it. I expect it's because it's a complex bunch of assemblies - predominately this one - this is the main bracket the tailwheel fork goes into - here nicely rendered by someone in 3D (I did try that, but it would have taken less time to make it ).. ..there are no drawings of the fork actually holding the wheel, but there are these for this assembly so I scaled them and coloured the main features to help me start a replica.. ..I started with the two spigot parts from bits of tube and the 'Y' shaped bit in plastic card.. ..this was then assembled and P40 filler added to block it out a bit.. ..some shaping .. ..and a coat of primer - it's a long way from being right, but it's a start... ..also Tim Perry kindly prined the 3D wheel design I did.. ..in other news, the model has a name now - I painted the nose art using a mask Radu Brinzan prepped for me.. .and Don Lopez's name & kill markings added under the windshield.. ..and the fuselage stars n bars - this is the second attempt after the first peeled while unmasking.. ..it is getting harder to work with on my increasingly messy bench... ..hope everyone is well TTFN Peter

evening boys & girls the time finally arrived to add paint... I am not a fan of the process and find it difficult (which is why I like NMF birds..), but I can't get away with it anymore so after getting the custom masks from Radu I thought I would try the MRP paint range (I used enamels on the Spit). I did some test runs to see how the paint adapts to going on unprimed aluminium and the results with the black for the tail was positive - it goes on really smooth and taked wire wooling without a problem so a start was made.. ..not too many in progress pics, but here is one of the insignia on the wings... ..I put a different black on the lower tail as there are painted over serials here that can still be made out, the idea being I put one black down, then mask the numbers and then the main black for the tail so there is a subtle difference in colour - also set out the rear stripe by setting down equal bits of tape to follow the line with more flexible tamiya white tape.. ..the MRP 'super matt black' is a wonderful colour and I am really happy with how it turned out - bit of a problem where some paintv lifted when lifting the serial masks, but I think I might leave it.. ..wire wooling the surface gives a really realistic sheen and naturally fills panel lines & rivets with lighter dust which makes for a nice weathered effect.. ..the rest are just glamour shots - the fuselage insignia had to be stripped off as the white lifted when I removed the masks, so Radu is doing me another set and I will do these with enamels - I also scaled the nose art name incorrectly so that is being done again too stuff like the prop, the gear and the 'sit' are not right as it's just jerry rigged for the photo's, but the finish line is edging closer... TTFN Peter

howdy folks ..at the moment, it's all about getting ready for paint and getting details that need the model to be handled done, before I can flip it over and start mounting the gear, doors and finally start the tailwheel (been putting that off, don't know why...) Radu Brinzan is kindly doing some masks, and Torben did the nose art font for me many moons ago so I am grateful to him too so I should get paint on next time I post.. ...for now, I had to finish all the tailfeathers - mainly adding the tips to the stabilisers and fin and rivetting all the fillets. I did get some PE fasteners done for this, but there are about 60 to do and they are freakin tiny so I chose the lazy way out.. ..I cheated a bit as these are under paint and didn't do them in one piece, I used annealed metal for the fronts, but hte back of the tips where it is profiled to the stabiliser I just bent plain litho to keep the stiffness and maintain the shape.. ..I also painted the prop blades & exhausts - Steve at Model Monkey scaled up his amazing hollow 1/24 set for me and all I did was add weld beads from PVA.. ..the blades are not fixed yet, so excuse pitch or whatever please ..the last bit of airframe work was adding the MN20 loop fitting (I got some great help from the forums on identifying & getting drawings for this ) ..I started by laying down bare metal foil so I can work and things don't stick to the fuselage.. ..then I CA'd a disc of litho and the profile of the bottom mounting plate.. ..some P38 filler built up the shape and the whole thing was popped off and cleaned up.. you can also see here a sheet of annealed litho 'hinged' off the fuselage so I can start covering the shape to make the mounting plinth.. ..done, rivetted and drilled to accept the loop mounting plate.. ..the loop fitting itself was made from profiles & filler and a 1mm brass rod bent around a 10mm punch.. ..I think it's bronze green, so I went with that - it's not fixed yet, and nor are the bolts that hold it in place added.. ..thats all for now TTFN Peter

fine, fine work Mr Peters

evening folks Ah - no, not this time, it will be there next year when it is finished though I am taking my Spitfire - that will be on the LSP / 32SIG stand landing gear then... ..I started with the lower castings as these are probably the hardest part - made a spigot for the wheel, the bent fork and the collar that is at the bottom of the strut from brass on my lathe.. ,,these were soldered as they carry all the weight and the main legs turned from brass... the compression strut was a polished steel rod I got on ebay.. ..then all the mountings for the torsion links and other bits and bobs were added - the strut assembly was glued with epoxy adhesive, the rest of the bits with CA.. ..the torsion links were made upfrom brass tube, an inner litho shape (I wish I had photo-etched earlier) and plastic card for the casting sides.. ..the ends were glued while on a quick jig from rod so there are no surprises later... ..using pins to align the torsion links so I can add the mounts to the upper strut - I don't want them fitted until after painting.. ..then both struts were prepared for a shot of a silver/white enamel mix... I didn't have the right alclad to hand so I must get some at Telford next weekend ..once painted & assembled I added the brake line, but there are two much finer rigid lines that run up the leg and down the fork that I will have to add once the gear is in place as one goes in the wheel hub (I think) and the other up into the U/C bay.. ..the 3D printed wheels were cleaned up, painted & dirtied a bit.. (thanks Tim) ..and a dry fit.. ..and for the first time it is on it's wheels.. ...outer doors next... TTFN Peter

drool.... I am in love with this build Cees - it's going to look so different from anything else See you at Telford my friend Peter

evening ladies well that is a very kind offer, thank you - I can't say I will take you up on it, but if I do start vlogging, you will be the first to know! so, it's been raining all day here, so what better excuse that to spend the day at the bench here is the task - something else I have been quietly dreading as it's so distinctive... ..the B/C doors are very different to the D, so this pic of Lopes Hope is super valuable reference.. I started by getting the PE templates I had made a while back along with lots of other bits & bobs after scaling the drawings - once I had these I made up laminates of sheet stock until I had the thickness right and dremmeled out the wheel disc and started to prepare the indentations... ..further refining the shapes and a quick test to see how the skin responds to the plastic core shapes.. seems ok so we press on... ..once the core is finished and has cutouts for the retraction arm etc added, it was lightly CA'd to a perspex sheet to start the skinning process... ..after one try where I split the sheet, I CA'd the core to the PE door template and then CA'd that to the perspex - after working it some details start to be added.. ..the sheet was then removed from the core so the raised rivets can be added.. ..the outer skins were made up.. ,,and after making the covering strip & painting it, the doors were assembled & detailed with brackets etc.. ..this side has a strut mount in a semi-circualr indent.. ,,and this side has the retraction strut mount.. ,and in place will look something like this.. ..thats it for now, lets hope it rains again tomorrow TTFN Peter

hello again Why thank you Umm I have thought about it, but I thought it would just suck up a lot of time in getting that sort of thing done - and that is not something I have the luxury of having a lot of... anyways - my bench is an absolute disgrace and not for public consumption... I need to check on those aileron fittings, as I haven't done them yet and I mustn't forget! As to the moulding - the PETG I use is about 1mm thick and I put it in boiling water until soft, once pliable I put the PETG on 1.5" foam and push the plug hard down - as long as you can apply constant & equal pressure all over the shape (and it is not too compound) then the foam resists enough to act as the female of the mould - for a turret the side walls (assuming they rae flat curves would probably be simple and could be quite large - any three dimensional curved panels forna top panel may be able to be done in parts if it is a number of glazing parts, but it would probably not work for a one-piece dome for example.. so, while I can't fit them yet, I wanted to get the flaps built up.. I used the same principle as the ailerons in that an inner core with raised rivets was made and then skinned with panels with normal rivets - you can see the raised rivets on the trailing edge in this shot... ..the first thing was to get the drawings into the overall 'folded out' shape along with the rivet markings - the raised ones are in threes along the trailing edge. there are also cutouts & shapes along the leading edge which curves under the wing trailing edge.. ..I always work in pairs if twothings need doing, so I don't do one and get bored doing the other, so bothe were made and folded.. ..the drawings actually had me confused as they show the lines of lateral rivets in paired rows, but all the pics I have show just one row so that was what I went with - here are an upper & lower pair for the panels with recessed rivets - the bottom one has just been done, the top one already burnished out to get rid of the 'pillowing' effect of the rivetting process.. ..the structures were strengthened with thick card and an inner core made up to define the profile and stop sagging.. ..details added and taped up ready to paint YZC where needed.. ..then the rivetted panels were added - here tape acts as a hinge at the top, and is masking where the impact cement goes at the bottom.. ..after painting the details showed quite well - I also noticed the curved edge that goes under the wing is normally seen quite glossy, I guess it doesn't get as much exposure as the rest of the structure, so I polished this area.. ..I also worked up and fettled the wing & fuselage so they fit and painted the recess YZC ..the aileron detail can still be seen.. ..not at the right angle or fixed yet, but you get the idea.. ..and that is the flaps nearly done - I will finish the fittings when I fit them .. ..I have the 3D printed wheels & hubs I designed from Tim Perry now, so they are next to take a look at TTFN Peter

thank you my friends been away on business a bit so not much done, but I guess enough for an episode.. ..ailerons... lets take a look - see how there are both raised & indented rivets... there is also what looks like an overlapping panel at the forward half of the aileron (forward of teh trim tab) so I thought I would make a folded metal part with the raised rivets, and add the other panel on top with indented rivets.. ..I started by adding both sides of the drawing together to get what it would be if folded out flat and pinpricked where the raised rivets were - also scored the trim tab... ..then after turning it over and adding the raised rivets, i folded it and folded the leading edges to get the inner (and main) part of the aileron ..then I made and rivetted the overlapping panel, also folding down the leading edges.. ..a thick plastic card spar was then added and once I had made both ailerons, they were filled with Alec Tiranti expanding foam - this stuff goes rock hard and was actually a bit of ballache to clean out of the open end where the aileron meets the flaps.. ..with both done, I started removing the trim tabs - these were waste - I made new ones with raised rivets.. ..soon both were completed.. ..the exposed end seen because the flaps are down was detailed according to pictures & drawings.. ..and with two fixing rods fixed into the leading edges, they were mounted to the wings - I might live to regret this but the wingtip fairings after profiling to neatly fit the ailerons were getting really fragile and will break so hopefully this will protect them.. ..Flaps next - they are an interesting, if similar structure.. TTFN Peter