GazzaS Posted September 12, 2021 Share Posted September 12, 2021 Excellent stuff, Craig! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 On 9/12/2021 at 9:01 AM, harv said: .......harv Thanks Harv! 13 hours ago, Peterpools said: Craig Right with Harv x2 Looking absolutely brilliant. Keep 'em comin Peter Thanks Peter! I'm really stoked with how it's coming along now. Can't wait to start laying some metal panels down Craig 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 13, 2021 Author Share Posted September 13, 2021 9 hours ago, GazzaS said: Excellent stuff, Craig! Thanks Gazza! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted September 14, 2021 Share Posted September 14, 2021 Incredible Craig! Beautiful details! 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 18, 2021 Author Share Posted September 18, 2021 Thanks Kai! The fuselage is finally together permanently! Still got a huuuuuuuge amount of work to do though! Tail surfaces are just sitting in position at the moment. Still a long way off joining them on for good! More to come soon! Craig 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 Awesome as usual Craig! The bare metal surfaces look stunning! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 18, 2021 Author Share Posted September 18, 2021 Thanks Kai. Should look even better once the whole thing is covered in metal! Craig 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted September 18, 2021 Share Posted September 18, 2021 1 hour ago, brahman104 said: Thanks Kai. Should look even better once the whole thing is covered in metal! Craig That's what I'm looking forward to. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 19, 2021 Share Posted September 19, 2021 Craig Congrats on buttoning up the fuselage - a milestone for sure. She is looking mighty good and can't wait to see the Fortress with all the metal skin on. Keep 'em comin Peter 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 19, 2021 Author Share Posted September 19, 2021 Thanks Peter! Me too 😉 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted September 28, 2021 Author Share Posted September 28, 2021 And on it goes. After a seam-sanding marathon, I had all the joins pretty much smooth enough to start drawing out the panel lines on the exterior, reading for the skinning process to begin. Here's how the skin panel diagram looks: The length of the panels is easy to work out, as they start and end at fuselage stations. The width of the panels is a little harder, as they're not only not straight, they also start and end a different circumferential points..... This was an in progress photo with many mistakes I made in interpreting the above diagram.... I also permanently added the bathtub! Some of the nose panel marking out in progress. The panels start from the bottom rear, and then work their way forward and up, with each panel overlapping the previous one. I also did some work on the tail fairings, but I'm ready to make a long awaited start on the skin panels! Very excited to be getting to the business end of the build finally! Craig 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 28, 2021 Share Posted September 28, 2021 Craig Unreal - the panel prep work and layout - simply amazing and precision work. I'm shaking just thinkg about what needs to be done. Keep 'em comin Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted September 29, 2021 Share Posted September 29, 2021 What can I say Craig? Your work is simply awesome and stunning. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 Thanks Kai and Peter, Just realized I haven't posted any pictures of the start of the skinning process. Each panel has to be traced out in masking tape, then traced again onto a reverse image to give me the rivet and panel locations. Once each rivet is "wheeled" out it is then deepened with a beading tool and finally the metal is pushed back down around the outside of each rivet to make them really sharp, and to reduce surface distortion. Some panels can take upwards of an hour or more to make, and there's a lot of panels to cover the fuselage, but I'm really enjoying the process so hopefully I'll have more to show you soon! Cheers, Craig 6 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Thanks for showing us mortals ! Your work is just unreal.....harv 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Exceptional unreal I would say. Amazing work! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Craig WOW, nerves of steel and patience of a saint. Looking absolutely fantastic Keep 'em comin Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bomber_County Posted October 13, 2021 Share Posted October 13, 2021 Holy mackerel this is insane and beautiful……. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted October 16, 2021 Author Share Posted October 16, 2021 Thanks guys! Working steadily away at it.... lots done with lots more to do. Slowly making my way up the LH side of the fuselage! Cheers, Craig 8 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Great work, Craig ! Hubert 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 Craig Fantastic progress - Brilliant work as always. Keep ‘em comin Peter 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted October 16, 2021 Share Posted October 16, 2021 That's beautiful skinning, Craig. Love seeing it come together. It's been a long build. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kaireckstadt Posted October 17, 2021 Share Posted October 17, 2021 I would have gone mad if I had to do this. Crazy but simply stunning Craig! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brahman104 Posted November 9, 2021 Author Share Posted November 9, 2021 Thanks Gents! I realise it's been a while since I posted here, but work is progressing.... I've been working my way forward along the underside of the fuselage as that's the way the panels overlap. I'll let the photos do the talking though shall I? Slowly but surely she's getting some clothes on! Thanks for looking. Craig 4 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GazzaS Posted November 9, 2021 Share Posted November 9, 2021 That is some impressive work, Craig! Hope you have a big tube of aluminum polish for later. 3 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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