1/32 ME-262A-2a/U2

[JeroenPeters]

Dryfit of the fuselage. Almost good enough. Some more sanding is needed for a good fit.

 

[JeroenPeters]

Started making the shims to make the upper deck fit. About 2mm on each side. 
 

[JeroenPeters]

Also. Adding these Evolution Miniatures IS soldiers to the build.

 

[Martinnfb]

I see the light at the end of the tunnel. Oh wait, why does it look like a Hawker Tempest..... never mind.  That wiring detail in the gear bays looks delicious. 

[JeroenPeters]

Samded the upper deck flat. Quite happy with the evergreen fix. Now to smooth it out and make a flange at the edge. 
 

[KevinM]

On 10/31/2024 at 5:02 PM, JeroenPeters said:

Really was not liking the KG13C control stick Aires provides.

I have to agree and the new one looks more to scale and beefy.The canopy looks crap for the bombardier I am sure you will figure it out with the new machine.

[JeroenPeters]

I now have tried 4 different types of transparent sheet. 3 fails and the last one seems to work. However: it transfers alle the details from the master. Even the 3d print lines. I’m a bit of a donkey for using the unpolished version of the master instead of the one I painstakingly polished smooth. Ready for round 5!

Also added a flange to the upper deck and smoothed in the sides.

 

 

[CANicoll]

On 11/6/2024 at 2:42 PM, JeroenPeters said:

Painting and fitting the Aires parts. Shite fit. Probably due to shrinkage and it being… well.. Aires.

Also remade the sanded away detail in the MDC interior. Almost fits. Almost.

 

 

Beautiful work, and the detail and painting are terrific, but WTF is going on with Aires??  That is just amazing how bad those parts fit.

[JeroenPeters]

Another test run. This time with 0,2mm pvc. Waaay better. Need to polish the masters even more and take better care not to let dust or particles to get between the pvc and master.

 

[HubertB]

Good work on vacforming the bomb aimer’s cockpit Jeroen. 
Be careful though : PVC yellows over time, even more than the resin part you have (btw, heating it gently should remove some of the yellowing on the resin part).

For vacforming, PETG (Bayer’s « Vivak ») is the way to go. But it’s demanding on the vacforming parameters, as just a few degrees too much, or a few extra seconds, and you will get the dreaded vapor bubbles in the PETG sheet.

Hubert

[JeroenPeters]

1 hour ago, HubertB said:

Good work on vacforming the bomb aimer’s cockpit Jeroen. 
Be careful though : PVC yellows over time, even more than the resin part you have (btw, heating it gently should remove some of the yellowing on the resin part).

For vacforming, PETG (Bayer’s « Vivak ») is the way to go. But it’s demanding on the vacforming parameters, as just a few degrees too much, or a few extra seconds, and you will get the dreaded vapor bubbles in the PETG sheet.

Hubert

Thank you! I was looking for PETG and will continue to do so. Thanks for the advise!

[JeroenPeters]

1 hour ago, HubertB said:

Good work on vacforming the bomb aimer’s cockpit Jeroen. 
Be careful though : PVC yellows over time, even more than the resin part you have (btw, heating it gently should remove some of the yellowing on the resin part).

For vacforming, PETG (Bayer’s « Vivak ») is the way to go. But it’s demanding on the vacforming parameters, as just a few degrees too much, or a few extra seconds, and you will get the dreaded vapor bubbles in the PETG sheet.

Hubert

Just ordered the Vivak sheets from the USA. Thanks again!

[HubertB]

I forgot : another great material (the best in fact) for vacforming transparencies is PMMA (« Parspex », the same that was used on 1:1 aircrafts) , but the heating is even more critical. A French modeller was heating it in hot oil in his fryer before push-forming the sheet.

Hubert

[HubertB]

We posted simultaneously the last two posts. Great that you found some Vivak sheets.

As i mentioned, the only potential issue with PETG is bubbles. PETG is an hydrophile plastic, that will absorb the moisture in the environment. Too much heat will result in the said moisture transforming onto vapor, and the bubbles will form. As you cannot adjust the heat of your machine (I have the same), the way to do is to fine tune the distance to the heating resistance. Once you have found the right distance, just fit a stop on the lifting lever of the machine.

Hubert

[Landlubber Mike]

I had picked up the Trumpeter Me 262 kit a couple of years ago with I think the same MDC RB conversion kit.  Recently I happened to come across someone that was complaining that the MDC kit had shrinkage issues.  I didn't test it out on my kit, but my guess is it's probably similar to what you are experiencing with yours. 

Funny thing is I picked up a second MDC RB kit that was just listed on eBay this morning.  Was really inexpensive with shipping included so I figured what the hell.  My first set was missing some hinges, so hopefully between the two kits I can put together a decent U2.

[JeroenPeters]

The resin transparent parts are the only parts not to have suffered shrinkage. I will try to use the nose dome parts as a master to make new ones. 
 

[HubertB]

You know you can make a female vac-form mould, where the plastic sheet is sucked IN the mold, rather than a male mould, where the plastic sheet is sucked over the master, to wrap it ? I prefer this option - and it was the one used by the best vac-form players, making building a vac-form kit bo more difficult than an injection-molded one - as :

- it allows to shape the master to the precise contour you want, without having to worry about the thickness of the plastic sheet,

- you can surface details that will be sharply reproduced on the vac-formed sheet, as the details are on the « right » side of the sheet - as opposed to vague blobs in relief when using the male method,

- the angle between the compound shape of the part and the flat sheet IS the cutting mark, and it is well defined on top, as the sharp radius is at the break between the part and the flat surround,

- you can use an existing part as a master to produce the mould, but still keep it intact, and use a more resistant material for the vac-forming process.

You can make the mould in plaster of Paris, or resin. The only trick is to have suction hole drilled in the mould, so that the air of the cavity is sucked by the vacuum pump and pulls the heated sheet with it. To have this hole, I use a 0.3 mm nylon monofilament, lightly tacked to the master and ideally covered with a release agent like vaseline (the master as well, btw), that will protrude from the mould once poured. When the mould is set, just pull the filament, and you have the right suction hole, And yes, 0.3 mm dia is enough for the purpose. Just make sure there is no other way for the air to be sucked by the vacuum pump.

The process will result in a small blip where the suction hole is. On a transparent part, make sure this falls on a frame.

HTH

Hubert

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx Hubert!

All very helpful. While waiting for the PETG sheets, I decided to move to the Jumo 004. Got a whole lot further with the 3D drawing and then found this from FPW Works. Bought this just now and this will save me a whole lot of time

 

[JeroenPeters]

While going through some stuff i stumbled on this electric regulator from a 262. Forgot i had it. It has the werk nummer on it too. Might do some research on it.

 

 

[FullArmor]

7 hours ago, JeroenPeters said:

While going through some stuff i stumbled on this electric regulator from a 262. Forgot i had it. It has the werk nummer on it too. Might do some research on it.

 

 

I am amazed that you have got real 262 parts...In Finland even museums do not have these pieces  

[seiran01]

That’s looking awesome! I always liked the look of the pathfinder nose on the 262

[JeroenPeters]

Thnx guys.

Well. The MDC resin Lofte-7D bombsight is a mess. Every single part looks liked chewed out gum. I started cutting back detail and then decided I was quicker 3D drawing and printing it. 

Getting there. About 50% done on the drawing.

 

 

[JeroenPeters]

Fresh of the plate.