Administrators Clunkmeister Posted July 30, 2021 Administrators Share Posted July 30, 2021 I thought I had a brainstorm for a minute, thinking of the IBG PZL P.11c kit, but alas, that used the Mercury, this used the Pegasus. Drat! 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wingco57 Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Tom, the progress on the Sunderland is simply fantastic. The sheer bulk if the type is evident. Regarding engines wouldn’t it be easier to use aftermarket US singlerow radials? Engines ‘n Things perhaps? Then you can use the Hercules on your Stirling (hint). Cheers Cees 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 4 hours ago, Wingco57 said: Tom, the progress on the Sunderland is simply fantastic. The sheer bulk if the type is evident. Regarding engines wouldn’t it be easier to use aftermarket US singlerow radials? Engines ‘n Things perhaps? Then you can use the Hercules on your Stirling (hint). Cheers Cees I have considered that - I'm sure I have a set of Wright Cyclones from the HK Fortress somewhere but I can't find them anywhere... 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HubertB Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Based on my own experience, Engines n’ Things products are on par with SAC « metal » landing gears, i.e. an even better opportunity to waste money than a night in a Vegas casino … On the other hand, Vector do a great Pegasus, although the budget for 4 could become steep … Hubert 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted July 30, 2021 Share Posted July 30, 2021 Agree with Hubert. E&T isn't worth it....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted July 30, 2021 Author Share Posted July 30, 2021 Thanks for your thoughts on the engines - I’m wondering if anyone has a spare set of HK Models B-17 engines as the Cyclone will be a good starting point to modify into a Pegasus. If someone has used an aftermarket set, they may have the cylinders going spare. We’ll see. If not I’ll have to make my own. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted July 31, 2021 Share Posted July 31, 2021 Too bad your across the pond....harv 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted August 2, 2021 Author Share Posted August 2, 2021 Good news! I have a set of HK models B-17 engines in their way - thanks, Mark - so I can get modifying them as soon as they arrive. I have also done some test fitting of the Revell 1/32 Beaufighter cowl flaps and exhaust collector ring and it appears that they will fit perfectly - they are almost identical between the Hercules and Pegasus so that’s good news. Hopefully another more in-depth update soon! Tom 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted August 12, 2021 Author Share Posted August 12, 2021 Greetings ladies and gentlemen, Another Sunderland update for you - lots of time has been spent at the bench but unfortunately there's not a lot to show for it... just four engine cowlings that have taken a while to make. The parts supplied in the kit are very basic indeed (see picture below) and to be honest wouldn't cut it if I used them as they came. There has been an effort to mold the exhausts, cowl flaps and carburetor intake but the details are very soft and not to a standard I'm aiming for. Therefore, they'd have to go. Over the years I've amassed a good collection of Revell 1/32nd Beaufighter engine parts as they always come in useful for builds such as these - originally I had intended to use them for a 1/32nd Stirling (a project that's stalled) but they have also come in very useful for this build. The Sunderland's Bristol Pegasus engine cowling is very similar to the Hercules in the fact that is uses the same forward exhaust collector ring and cowl flap set up. The cowling itself is slightly shorter front-rear due to the Pegasus being single row and the Hercules twin-row, but other than that there's lots that is interchangeable. I've also now got a set of 1/32nd Wright Cyclone cylinders (thanks, Mark!) that will form the basis for a Pegasus conversion - as well as the Beaufighter parts mentioned above. Pictured too are the kit cowlings... The first, and rather brutal task, was to remove the centre-section of cowling from the kit parts. This will ensure the engine is the correct length front-rear, and was simply done with a hacksaw. The kit exhaust and intakes will also be removed as I will make replacements for these myself: I then carefully trimmed all of the cowling parts to ensure they were all of identical size, and glued them to the Revell cowl flap parts, bit by bit: I then replaced the missing parts where the exhaust and intakes were molded with plastic card, heated slightly and curved to match the cowling parts, and then added the Revell collector ring which fitted almost perfectly: All the joins were then made good with White Milliput, and some raised detail such as the hinges for the cowling covers were added from Evergreen strip. After about five hours of graft some decent-looking cowlings began to emerge: You may notice that the engine second from right has its exhaust positioned at 9 o'clock rather than 12 o'clock as the others do - this is because the number 2 engine's exhaust goes into the leading edge of the wing before changing direction and leaving the upper surface of the wing vertically. I believe this is something to do with a heat-exchange system for the cabin heating - but those more in the know about Sunderlands may be able to correct me on that! With the basic structure of the nacelles complete, I decided to give them a quick splash of primer. Finding some way of holding them whilst spraying is often a challenge, but then I stumbled upon an idea: Sometimes I even amaze myself at my own genius..! Here we have all four nacelles primed: And here is how they'll look once installed on the wing: Well 'appy with that! I now need to tackle the engines themselves, as well as paint the interiors of the nacelles before I can install them permanently. Until next time, Tom 10 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IainMackayDall Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 I like the choice of Doom Bar for a beer, although growing up in Cornwall is probably a factor here. Fantastic work watching this build. Regards Iain 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DocRob Posted August 12, 2021 Share Posted August 12, 2021 Great thinking and realization with the scratch cowlings. You seem not to be distracted easy, even on such a huge project. At least, beer drinking helps with modelling, I knew it . Cheers Rob 2 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Nice going and happy to help you out with the parts. Mark 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FlyinBryan Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Good reason for a few pints - painting aids... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Tom Nothing like a great parts box coupled with incredible building skills. Fantastic work. Keep 'em comin Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted August 13, 2021 Share Posted August 13, 2021 Great work Tom and a great excuse to drink more Doom Bar. 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calvin Posted August 30, 2021 Share Posted August 30, 2021 Chrikey, i bet the ol woman loves you when it comes to dishing up dinner... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted September 2, 2021 Author Share Posted September 2, 2021 Thanks for stopping by and your kind words, chaps! A little more progress to share on the Sunderland - I've been working on the engines of late which has not been the most fun (I hate engines and cockpits!) but I'm at a stage where they are ready for installation to the airframe. Sunderland IIs were powered by the Bristol Pegasus, of which aftermarket options were very expensive and to fit four to model would have cost me nearly £100! Therefore I did originally plan to modify the Revell 1/32nd Hercules engines from a Beaufighter, but being two row seven cylinder engines, that was going to be quite a challenge. With the Pegasus being a single row nine cylinder set up, a better starting point would have been a Wright Cyclone and thankfully a fellow forum member came to the rescue (thanks, Mark!) and sent me a set of his unused HK Models' B-17 engines. The reduction gear housing more closely resembles the Hercules set up, however, so I used the HK cylinders and the Revell Hercules reduction gear - not perfectly correct but close enough... The Pegasus is actually, at least at first glance, a quite simple engine to replicate (used for illustration purposes only): I won't have to worry about detailing the cylinder heads as these will all be hidden by the cowling, so it would just be a case of adding the single push-rods. First up I sprayed the inside of the cowlings black and then I needed to check the cylinders fitted inside the cowlings properly - in the picture below you can see they sit quite happily in the correct position and actually needed no glue to hold them there. The reduction gear housing is just sitting on the cylinders to get the 'sit' of the engine correct in regard to clearance for the propeller: I then painted the cylinders and reduction housing, and made the pushrods from Evergreen before adding and painting: A final test fit in the cowling - as you can see not much can actually be seen so the detail I've added is quite adequate: All four 'power eggs' are now complete, with the engines secured with Araldite Epoxy to ensure they don't fall into the nacelle: Next up will be installing these onto the wing... stay tuned. All the best, Tom 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 Very neat Tom. These will look great once installed and with the props on. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peterpools Posted September 2, 2021 Share Posted September 2, 2021 Tom Nice work on the engines and they look mighty good. Keep 'em comin Peter 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark31 Posted September 3, 2021 Share Posted September 3, 2021 nice going and happy to help you out with the parts. Mark 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted September 4, 2021 Share Posted September 4, 2021 Just catching up with your progress and it looks fantastic as always. Carl 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ThomasProbert Posted September 5, 2021 Author Share Posted September 5, 2021 On 9/3/2021 at 7:31 AM, mark31 said: nice going and happy to help you out with the parts. Mark You were a life-saver, Mark - thank you once again! Evening boys and girls, It's been a glorious sunny day here in my corner of Kent so I got the camera out and snapped some pictures of the recently installed engines. With each 'power-egg' complete it was just a case of adding them to wing-section of each nacelle. The Revell Beaufighter cowl flaps were an absolutely perfect fit for the kit's forward firewall, so it was just a case of applying some Araldite to the inside surfaces of the cowl flaps and sliding them into place. The relatively slow drying time of the epoxy glue meant I had ample time to ensure each engine was aligned correctly, both with the plans and each other. When installing them, I didn't realise that the engines canted outboard at such an angle, but references confirmed this was the case. It certainly looks a little strange that the thrust line is so off central, and I presume there is a valid reason for it, too! Anyway, on to the pictures... As you can see the fit is nice and snug, and engine no.1 looks the part now it's hung on the wing. The early MkII-style straight exhausts will be made and added later: Engines 3 and 4 - lots of care was taken to align the engines carefully during installation: When I was hacking about with the kit-supplied nacelles I removed and kept the very crude carburettor intakes in the hope I could make something useable from them - as you can see from the three finished intakes at the top of the picture they scrubbed up fine: These were than glued in position on the lower section of each nacelle: She's really starting to take shape now: Thanks for stopping by folks, and stay safe! Until next time, Tom 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harv Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 WOW, just wow. Love this build.....harv 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BlrwestSiR Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Harv beat me to it but, wow sums it up. Carl 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GusMac Posted September 5, 2021 Share Posted September 5, 2021 Really looking the part now Tom. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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