Robert Parker Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Hi All, I have finished the cowls, they were a little more time consuming than I had expected but they look the part and should look even better when painted. Close up shot, the exhausts are made from 3/8 dowel tapered slightly with another short piece of dowel with squared off sides glued to the cowl, then the time consuming part of cutting 45 degree pieces of snake outers 76 in total and gluing them on, cyano would not work on these so i had to use good old PVA instead, the airscoopes are made from sheet balsa and shaped. Having looked through my reference material the Stirling had several different types of exhaust this I thought would be the better to replicate. This is my first attempt at making a canopy, just by chance this months RCM&E have a feature on the same technique as I used. However, my plug was slightly too long for the 2ltr bottle and the front just did not quite form as I would have liked however..... I does fit and looks OK, I was a little concerned that it might look a little too tall Nice and clear too, I still need to clean off the glue from the label on the top, but for a first attempt I'm pretty pleased with the result. I might try another adding some framing detail to the plug and see how that turns out as well as making the bomb aimers canopy, the plug of which I had to modify a little today. Well this is just about the end of the build, now it is time to start the finishing of the fuselage to get it to the same level as the wings. I have also added the scalloped detail to the trailing edge of the wings where it joins the fuselage. That's all for now, but during the week I hope to have the fuselage tissued and doped and ready for primer. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 9, 2015 Share Posted August 9, 2015 There's still much to do Robert, but it's far less than you've already done. Looking most impressive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Yes, your right Colin, there is still a lot to do, but I'm now in familiar territory, that is to say that it's down to finishing and covering a completed airframe and the design / building stage is completed. This is the furthest I've got with an own design. May I ask you a question,looking slightly further ahead, any ideas on control throws especially the elevators, with such a long moment due to the length of the fuelage, I don't want to over do them but I don't want to be lacking either. My initial thoughts are, elevators 10mm both ways, ailerons +6 -8mm and rudder as much as I can get as there is no prop wash over the rudder and with the full size it had little use until the tail came up on take off. I have enjoyed looking at your Mixmaster project, looks great and certainly different well done. Any ideas on your next project? Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted August 9, 2015 Author Share Posted August 9, 2015 Yes, your right Colin, there is still a lot to do, but I'm now in familiar territory, that is to say that it's down to finishing and covering a completed airframe and the design / building stage is completed. This is the furthest I've got with an own design. May I ask you a question,looking slightly further ahead, any ideas on control throws especially the elevators, with such a long moment due to the length of the fuelage, I don't want to over do them but I don't want to be lacking either. My initial thoughts are, elevators 10mm both ways, ailerons +6 -8mm and rudder as much as I can get as there is no prop wash over the rudder and with the full size it had little use until the tail came up on take off. I have enjoyed looking at your Mixmaster project, looks great and certainly different well done. Any ideas on your next project? Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hi Robert. I don't think that my thoughts and experiences on control movements will be superior to your own and I would probably be working along the same lines as you. The long fuselage moments are likely as you suggest to increase the "leverage", but also the "damping" effects of inertia will be in there too, so I'm reluctant to make a recommendation, although there are a lot of our colleagues with better experiences than mine who might volunteer an opinion. Trust your own judgement though, I did find with the Mixmaster that on the first flight I had not given enough elevator movement and was running out of authority, probably because I under-estimated the effect of the short moment arm and perhaps also the elevator being in front of the prop-wash rather than in it has an influence too. As far as next projects are concerned for me:- fly the Seafang, it's been ready to go for weeks and I keep on saying "this week". Complete the Chipmunk, which I needed a rest from but am ready to move on with and then clear the deck and drive on with the Supermarine 317, which needs a lot of detailed thinking through. There is a corollary with that and your Stirling, because the Stirling was originally the back-up for the 317 and circumstances meant that it was fortunate to be the case. Also, I think that they are the same scale, so it would be a great opportunity to put them side by side, which never happened in real life. The frontal area of the 317 was 40% less than the Stirling with the same power and I think that we have both based our power set-up on the TN 72" Lancaster? It would be fantastic to see what the differences in flying characteristics are at this scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 Hi Colin, Thank's for getting back to me. Regarding the control throws I was just airing my thoughts, I had not thought about the damping effects of inertia. I will however, be using dual rates on all primary surfaces with the rates I suggested as the lower rates and increase the rates especially on the elevators, plus I do tend to use exponential on the sticks deadening the center area of stick to reduce any twitchy throws. This has worked for me for some time now. You are certainly have a lot of projects in the pipeline I see. the power set-up I used was from the TN Sunderland, not a great difference but the all up weight of the TN Sunderland was around the 8lb mark and the TN Lanc was 6 /12 to 8lbs , The Lanc set-up uses 4No 1300kv 235w motors with a total of 940 Watts using a 3s 5000mAh battery The Sunderland set-up uses 4No 1100kv 345w motors with a total of 1380Watts using a 3s 6000mAh battery. For me, for my next main project to which I am still undecided over will be either the TN Sunderland or a Constellation, the same as Cliff Bastow is building at the present. I have both sets of plans and have pondered over them both for some time. I need to finish off my Chipmunk and paint my Topflight P40 in RAF desert colours, ( I lost interest in this a couple of years ago when I way over did the shrinking dope- what a dope) I have re-built the flaps and straightened out the wings but got no interest to finish it as I feel it's ruined and not up to scratch. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eflightray Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Glad I'm not quite such a perfectionist , to me a model is for flying, and at flying distances, ..... 'what imperfections ?'. Must be an 'English' thing, I also have a Sunderland, and a Lancaster, (though not TN), also used the same motors in both. Nice to see the Stirling progressing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted August 10, 2015 Author Share Posted August 10, 2015 "ENGLISH", I'm Welsh, well half and half, well to be honest with a bit of Scottish thrown in as well. If I was any good at Rugby in my youth I could have played for the three home nations, born in Wales, English parents and Scottish grand parents on one side. But I do like to get things right or as best I can. I also like the adage if it looks right then it must be right. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 10, 2015 Share Posted August 10, 2015 Funny, my dad was born in Wales with a Welsh mother and English dad, with the story in the family that Leighfield was a made-up name adopted by Scottish members of the Sinclair clan who fled after Cullodden and settled in Wiltshire and changed their name. Quite common apparently. My mother was born in Nottingham and the story is that way back there is an Irish connection, probably right because the family name was Collins, which is why I am called Colin. To sum up, I would say that makes me a typical Englishman and also explains why I feel completely at home in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. I bought the complete TN Lanc power train set up from 4Max and will build the 317 around that. It should see the light of day in 2016. I want to make sure that it's worth waiting for. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eflightray Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Perhaps 'English' was the wrong word, it was meant more as 'this side of the pond', where 'British' designs seem to take preference. By the way I now live in Wales, retired to Neath some 11 years ago from the Midlands. I had to look up the 317 as I didn't recognise the number, I hope it doesn't mean your workshop will be attacked by the Luffaffe and the prototype destroyed, just to keep it scale. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted August 11, 2015 Author Share Posted August 11, 2015 Well well well, what a small world we live in. eflightray, I'm in the next valley west of you. The three of us have connections with the Midlands, my mum is from Burton upon Trent and my dad was from Ashby de la Zouch. My grandmother was a McDonald and from Loch Lomond. The Parker side of the family as far as I can trace lived around the Midlands only. However, back to the Stirling, I have given the fuselage a coat of sanding sealer and added the tissue with a coat of shrinking dope and re-shaped the bomb aimers canopy. If time allows I'll try to give the fuselage two coats of non-shrinking dope tomorrow. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted August 11, 2015 Share Posted August 11, 2015 Eflightray, you've got me thinking. In the same way that Marlon Brando introduced total realism with "method" acting, perhaps we could do the same and practice "method modelling". It looks as if I will have to 2/3 finish the 317, then jump up and down on it. I need to think about this. They reckon that if we follow our family trees right back, we are all related to Alfred the Great. Personally, I'd rather be related to Johnnie Johnson or Mick Mannock. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted August 16, 2015 Author Share Posted August 16, 2015 Hi All, Just a quick update on progress so far. I have wet and dried the airframe, given it a light coat of primer filler and hinged all of the control services and fitted the horns. Over the next week I'll be rubbing it all down and applying another light coat of primer and a bit of filler here and there. That's all for now Regards Robert. Ps using windows 10 it will not expand this box, anyone got any ideas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted August 23, 2015 Author Share Posted August 23, 2015 Hi All, Just a quick update, over the last week, well the first couple of days I gave the airframe a couple of coats of primer / filler and wet and dried them back to the dope and a final primer. Then it rained and rained So this is as far as I've got, the first couple of days of next week don't look too promising either, as I can only paint outside I am at the mercy of the weather. So I'll keep you posted Today I have started covering my Chipmunk, iron covering in a different colour scheme than the usual. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 3, 2015 Author Share Posted September 3, 2015 Hi All, I have not managed to do a great deal at all lately, a close family member has been in hospital for just over a week now and all my time has been spent travelling back and fore to the hospital, it's 50 miles (1 1/2 hours) each way, just love our motorways and average speed cameras. What makes it worse is the fact that I have to drive 35 miles or so in the opposite direction to go to work, go home and change vehicles, (not allowed to use company vehicles for private use). Anyway, it is now good news and she's going home tomorrow via myself. However, I'll still need to be around so not too sure when I can resume finishing off the Stirling for the next few days or so. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 6, 2015 Author Share Posted September 6, 2015 Hi All, I managed to squeeze in some time for the Stirling today advantage of the good weather, she's now green got the first top coat on. I used Spectra olive drab, when this coat has fully cured I'll put on the dark earth and the the underside. I used two types of primer, primer / filler for the wings and forward section of the fuselage and just primer at the rear of the fuselage to try to save a little weight, rubbed most of it off I have marked out the dark earth in pencil which has not shown up, I used the instructions from the Airfix kit as a guide. So all being well by next weekend the main painting will be completed, weather permitting. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Hi All, I did manage to complete the main painting last week and it is looking good. I did have one small hick up though, I had intended to use car spray paint for the under surfaces I did a test on the belly pan and it pickled where it came into contact with the spectrum paint, which I used for the upper surfaces, so I ordered a tin of black spectrum from King's Lynn Models and it arrived next day, an excellent service as always that kept me on track with my spraying. Yesterday, I ordered the decals from Model Markings. I now have to fit out the servos and linkages etc. One thing that came to my attention was that when I was spraying the underside and that in my rush to complete it during the fine weather, I haven't cut out the access panel for the flight battery, I had intended doing this with a CoG test. That's all for now, I'll put some photos up next time. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Hi All, I felt as if I left you short changed this morning, so here are some photos, I've dirtied her up a little and added some panel lines today. I just did the main panels just to show so realism and of course the exhaust staining Fuel tanks Flaps Tools used, pencil, drawing pen 0.3 and cheap (£8) single action airbrush, paint used from a railway modellers shop, smoke and dirty oil. That's all for now Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cymaz Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Looking smart with the paint job Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Leighfield Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Like the real one Robert, looks very impressive! A plane with real personality. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lindsay Todd Posted September 13, 2015 Share Posted September 13, 2015 Very nice work Robert, inspirational. Linds Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 13, 2015 Author Share Posted September 13, 2015 Thank you all for your kind comments, She somehow came to life when I added the panel lines and airbrushing, something I am a novice at I must confess. Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael Lewing Posted September 16, 2015 Share Posted September 16, 2015 Robert Your Stirling is looking really nice and so close to being finished by the looks of it. I was really impressed with your skill in making those cowls they look really good. You should be proud of the whole thing and I look forward to seeing pictures of it finished and flying. A bit late now to say but I recently saw there is a Haynes manual for the Short Stirling, just thought that might be of interest. best Mike Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 16, 2015 Author Share Posted September 16, 2015 Hi Michael, Thank you for your comments, I put off making the cowls for as long as I could as I was not looking forward to making them, but once I started and thought things through they came together quite quickly. The finishing always takes more time than you think, and yes I am proud of the Stirling and longing to see her take to the skies plus of course I'll be the first "Parker" to have maidened a Stirling for 76 years, Short's chief test pilot John Lankaster Parker maidened the full size 13th May 1939. I know I'm not a direct relative, but I might just try and find out if I am related somehow be great if I was. The Haynes manual for the Stirling I have it has been a great source of reference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Parker Posted September 20, 2015 Author Share Posted September 20, 2015 Hi All, Managed to do more detailing this week, had intended to fit servos etc but the office was looking a bit empty so I have laid the flooring, 1200 wet and dry, made the flight deck and fitted the stairs and placed the seats, STILL WAITING FOR MY PILOT though. Flight deck, throttle quadrant and flooring Coming together zoomed in a bit too much I think but looks much better than left open. I'll work on the navigators table next just to finish the cockpit area off then try and improve the canopy, I'm going to be working overtime next week if I can convinice my boss that it's a good idea as the site that I'm working on will be closed and it would be pointless going to another site just for 1 day so I'll suggest working on in the evenings to make up the time and have Friday off. Hope he buys it so I can put the time in on the Stirling. That's all for now Regards Robert Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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