Martinnfb Posted August 24, 2023 Share Posted August 24, 2023 Absolutely mad skills. Precise and dedicated work. Joy to follow. Cheers Martin 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FME erk Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 Thomas What a great project. I saw this and thought of you, you may have seen it but worth takin the photos as it is a long way from me . . . As always, I look forward to seeing your progress with this terrific build Ian 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted November 6, 2023 Author Share Posted November 6, 2023 Morning guys and gals! I’ve been working on the huge flaps on this beast of late - they are absolutely massive and I imagine vital in providing extra lift to get this behemoth off the ground. These two pics (used purely for illustrative purposes) show them fully deployed as they often were seen when parked up: I set about them by carefully cutting plastic card to the correct shape for the upper and lower skins, bending the upper surfaces carefully in some very hot water (ouch!) to best replicate the aerofoil shape. I then cut out the runners for the flap tracks and scribed some surface detail - incorrectly at first as the plans I was using were wrong! The uppers and lowers were then carefully glued together over a wooden dowel to act as a spar and help keep the aerofoil correct: As with all scratch building, test fit, test fit, test fit… I then made all the rough edges good with Milliput white and added the distinctive bullet fairings beneath - these were actually old and spare H2S scanners from 1/48th Sanger Halifaxes and with some minor mods did the job perfectly! These will then fit the wing like so: And the undersides: I’m well ‘appy with those! Onwards and upwards! Until next time, Tom 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 That Sir is some mighty Fine work you have accomplish there. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 Fanyastic work it will be nice to see a Stirling in all it's glory, the first of the RAF four engined heavies, it's a shame it has been so neglected by kit manufacturers. Cheers Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PanzerWomble Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 Outstanding work . 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted November 6, 2023 Share Posted November 6, 2023 Ditto to all of the above. Superb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted November 15, 2023 Author Share Posted November 15, 2023 Having returned from Telford (which was absolutely fantastic!) I've been all enthused/inspired and have made some more progress on the Stirling... The elevators were my next job - the molded hinge lines are often quite poor vacs such as these so I removed them when I made the stabilisers and planned to try to improve them a little. This also gives the advantage of being able to model them drooped like they usually were when the Stirling was at rest. Thankfully, I saved myself a bit of bother when I cut them away from the sabilisers and remembered to label which part of non-descript plastic was which... These were then sanded to reduce the thickness of the trailing edges and ensure the fit to the sabilisers was as good as it could be - I made a basic spar for each to get the thickness at the leading edges correct with the reduced taper as they progress outwards towards the tips. These were then attached to the stabilisers. The surface detailing is somewhat lacking, but looking at pictures of the real thing there is a very subtle fabric effect on the control surfaces, so I decided to do a little experiment. The ribs produce a very slightly raised line, with the unsupported fabric spaces between then sagging slightly. Therefore, I carefully cut the areas in between where the ribs would be with masking tape, and stuck these to the upper and lower surfaces: Three coats of primer were then applied: ...before removing the taped areas to leave very subtle raised ribs: These will need a very gentle sanding once the primer has cured for a couple of days, but I'm confident that under paint it will have a really good effect. Far better than anything I could have scribed, anyway! With this success I think I'll do the same for the ailerons and rudder... Next up will making the fairing around the mid-upper: Until next time, Tom 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire Posted November 15, 2023 Share Posted November 15, 2023 Dead clever, really superb work. Cheers Dennis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted November 19, 2023 Author Share Posted November 19, 2023 A few more details added to the Stirling of late. As I’m doing a MkIII, they were fitted with the later FN50 mid upper turret which is a bonus, as I can utilise the HK turret from the Lancaster. However, the fairing around the turret was not provided in this kit so I’ve had to improvise a little… The fairing itself gave a little aerodynamic assistance, but it’s main purpose was provide a runner for cams that provided an automatic cut off to the guns, stopping over excited gunners blasting parts off their own aircraft. I initially wondered if I could use the HK models fairing from their Lancaster kit, but quickly discovered that their shapes were quite different. One day, I’ll get my backside in gear and learn how do design and print such items in 3D, but for the time being it’s back to the old-skool…Milliput to the rescue! Step one was place some masking tape over the area the fairing will sit. Once I’d consulted plans, I transferred the basic outline of the fairing onto the tape. Next, I made some Milliput ‘sausages’ and placed then in position, before using my long-forgotten sculpting skills from my school art lessons and set about creating the approximate form of the fairing. Milliput acts just like clay when wet, so it wasn’t actually hard to get the basic shape - just lots of consulting of pictures and plans needed: With the Milliput given 24hrs to harden fully, I peeled it off from the tape and fuselage, and with some fine sandpaper did the final shaping: This was then glued back to the fuselage, and viola! It won’t be perfect, but it’ll do. Next up was the gear doors. These were cut away as a whole when I made the wings. Astonishingly, I hadn’t lost them: The gear doors are a very complex shape - there are various gaps for the other doors to slot into as they retract as well as an opening for the lower part of that massive wheel to protrude. Again, looking at plans and pictures of the real aircraft, these were cut and shaped accordingly and some ribs added to the inner surfaces: Finally, they were attached to the gear: Here she is sitting pretty on the bench… my kitchen table! I now need to finish detailing the forward part of the main landing gear bays before I can squirt some paint on the bays and the gear to see how it all looks. Until next time, Tom 9 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevinM Posted November 20, 2023 Share Posted November 20, 2023 Tom this is really going to be a Nice Rendition of a very usual subject. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted March 30 Author Share Posted March 30 It’s been a while since I’ve posted an update here, but work has been slowly progressing in the big Stirling… The nose turret has been done, using the HK Lancaster parts. The turret innards are identical so this part was easy, but the glazing had to be sanded smooth (the Stirling turret was frameless) and polished back to clarity. I then built a new fairing from plastic card and viola - the nose turret was done! The kit supplied bomb aimer’s glazing is incorrectly shaped so I’ve made my own framing from Evergreen strip and will drop the glazing in at a later date: I’ve also made a new fairing for the HK Lancaster rear turret - again these are identical in the later Stirlings and Lancasters: The kit canopy is woefully inaccurate - too big and the wrong shape: So… I contacted Peter at Airscale and he’s 3D printed a super thin canopy frame that sits on top of a new vac clear part: Unfortunately I’d previously cut the fuselage to fit the kit glazing, so some remedial work was needed to make the fuselage fit the new canopy: This was then done with plastic card and Milliput, and I now have a Tamiya-like drop fit so I can add the canopy just before painting: And that now brings you up to date. More when there’s more… Tom 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Wow, the new canopy looks stunning. So much better than the 'wedge' that was supplied with the kit. Further proof that Peter is a magician! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belugawhaleman Posted March 30 Share Posted March 30 Nice work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted July 28 Author Share Posted July 28 Howdy folks, time for an update on the big Stirling! I’ve been pottering away on this in the background and have finished off the gear bays (minus the oil tanks) and have given them, the wing bomb cells as well as the undercarriage a squirt of RAF night: I have also been playing with the props as I’m putting off finishing the cockpit interior as I hate doing them! With the sun out I’ve taken the old girl outside for some ‘this is how far I’ve come’ pictures - with one on the kitchen table for a size reality check, too! I suppose I better stop procrastinating and dive into that cockpit sooner rather than later… Until next time, Tom 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 Go, Tom ! Go !😂 You have not come this far to be stopped by a goddammed cockpit ! Hubert (who knows a lot about procrastination 😂 ) Spoiler 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted July 28 Share Posted July 28 Looking stunning Tom. She's certainly a big beastie! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spitfire Posted July 29 Share Posted July 29 Absolutely bonkers, but also a magnificent build, what an awesome sight the real thing must have been looking at the WW2 photos. The RAF's first heavy, such a significant subject, for us mortals a 1/48 scale kit would do. Cheers Dennis 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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