Manish Chandrayan Posted September 25, 2015 Share Posted September 25, 2015 Hey Jez Good that you have managed to get the issue sorted out and can steam ahead, what with the weekend coming up. Shame about the cowl though. Instead of cladding it with litho why not make the part out of ali sheet or even heavy gauge litho? Re the cowl latches, I just realized that they are not correct. The flat part of the hand piece is what should be seated against the cowl cheek. Looks like the threaded rods are soldered on the wrong way. Here are two pictures of the original that should explain. However you may leave them as is, if it has not been noticed by so many over here, I am sure no one would notice on a completed model Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted September 26, 2015 Author Share Posted September 26, 2015 Great spot Captain Manish! Thats what you get for blindly following the instructions and plans and not referring to your fll size photos.. Still a couple of minutes with a file soon had it sorted out.. Cheers.. Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted September 28, 2015 Author Share Posted September 28, 2015 Ok..had a busy weekend with the kids so didnt get much tinkering done.....just got a little bit done.. I need to replace the top of the cowl as its too short. I am going to use lithoplate as I have some quite thick stuff. It will be stuck over the existing ABS one to keep the rigidity. Capt Manish asked why I wasnt simply using ali sheet - 2 reasons really - Number 1 - I need to add some detail and its easier to do with lithoplate, and Number 2 - I've got loads of litho and no thicker ali sheet!! The detail I need to replicate is this...its the fluting on top of the cowl where the pilot stands when re-fuelling the aircraft...you climb up the side of the fus, clamber on top of the cowl and tip the fuel in throught a cap on the top tank between the 2 wings. Sorry about the photo! To emboss this into the litho there are a few simple steps.. First, anneal or soften the litho. usually its quite rigid and it creases if you try and work too many different bends into it. All you do is rub some household soap onto the area you need to anneal - all this does is gives a visual guide to whether youve heated it correctly. Using a blow lamp you apply heat just until the soap blackens - too little and you dont get a colour change....too much and the litho melts drips molten aluminium onto your newly covered model... Next wash off the soap. Then make a form of the detail you want to imprint or emboss.. I used a sheet of balsa and a few bits of carbon rod - I only used that cos I had it to hand - I could have used brass rod or anything else hard enough to take a bit of pressure without distorting.... I then fastened the former to the workbench using tape so it coulnt move, placed my sheet of litho over the former and using a variety of tools including rounded dowel, a bit of cloth and the rounded end of a pen, simply rubbed the lithoplate, applying pressure to get the detail to come through.. Its just like doing brass rubbing. It took less than a minutes rubbing A quick coat of primer and jobs a good 'un. Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted September 28, 2015 Share Posted September 28, 2015 Cleverrr... I have to try to replicate the corrugated fuel tank on my 56" jobbie, and this looks like a workable idea! I've just been working on the rudder bar (my modification), which, as you know, goes right across the fuselage, and then connects to the much narrower rudder horn. There's a belief that the input arm and the control should always be the same length, but Geoff deHavilland obvious didn't agree! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manish Chandrayan Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Tim You can also lay the annealed litho on a bed of soft balsa and with a straight edge and a blunt point hard wood dowel score the litho from one side to to get excellent corrugated sheet of litho, which can then be stuck on with cyano. That is how I made the tank on my 40-50 size DB Tiger Moth, you will have to experiment to get the right size of point on the dowel and also on the pressure to be applied while scoring. Too much pressure splits the litho and too little does not get the corrugation right. I used a pointed bamboo piece with the pointy end nicely rounded Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted September 29, 2015 Share Posted September 29, 2015 Posted by Manish Chandrayan on 29/09/2015 06:15:20: Tim You can also lay the annealed litho on a bed of soft balsa and with a straight edge and a blunt point hard wood dowel score the litho from one side to to get excellent corrugated sheet of litho, which can then be stuck on with cyano. Many thanks for that! We're not at that stage yet but I like to plan ahead a bit! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gordon Mclean 1 Posted December 9, 2015 Share Posted December 9, 2015 Hi Jez - I have just recently discovered this build thread and am following along..Really great work so far. I was lucky enough to acquire one of these kits last year, although will need to improve my skills before taking it on. It really is an impressive kit. Keep up the good work. Regards, Gordon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted December 10, 2015 Author Share Posted December 10, 2015 Hi Gordon, Well done on getting one of these kits - there cannot be many out there. Mine is pretty much stalled at the moment due to the hand injury -My middle finger of the left hand has bent permanently inwards at almost 90 degrees so is just in the way of doing anything. I'm getting more surgery in January so hope to pick it up from there. I've managed just odd little bits - mainly re-making bits I wasn't happy with such as the doors and Ive had to re-work some of the undercarriage too. I will get round to updating the thread over the next couple of weeks as I fear I will be out of work again soon. Re improving your skills - Nah - there isn't anything you cant do if you just plan it all out first - Go-on get it out of the box! Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onetenor Posted December 10, 2015 Share Posted December 10, 2015 Not tried it myself but I have been told that annealed litho plate can be vac formed. Handy if it is true. Any takers ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pup Cam Posted December 11, 2015 Share Posted December 11, 2015 Just checking out your thread Jez - it's looking very good. When I got to the bit on corrugated litho I thought I was in some kind of parellel universe as I've been doing the same sort of thing for my 1/3 scale Vickers gun! I bet I know which aeroplane out of our two will be flying first! Alan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 Well I hope everyone had a great Christmas. Im still waiting for date for the operation to get my finger working again - hopefuly it will be early in the new year. I've managed to due a few little bits and pieces - mainly getting some paint on various bits and pieces.. A nice layer of shiny XR3i Sunburst Red.. The cowl has a grippy section for the crew to stand on whilst refuelling - a bit of sandpaper contact glued on does the job. The undercarriage oleos are done - the shrouds are made from plasticard. I used some brass tube to form a pair of gaiters - I used the leather saved from an old 3 piece suite.. Fuel tank and fittings. Undercarriage bracketry Side cowls and lower cowl plate Centre section struttery My system for spraying these little bits is easy - especially given the wind we have had.. A nice big cardboard box and a hot air gun!! Jez Edited By Jez Harris 1 on 27/12/2015 18:20:06 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted December 27, 2015 Author Share Posted December 27, 2015 The next bit I tackled was a remake of the doors - mainly the locking mechanisms - I just wasnt happy with the way they looked..there was too much float in the way I made them so they quickly rattled out of place and looked scruffy.... I decided instead to use square brass sections... They slide easily inside each other and as they are square they cant slide off to one side.. A couple of hours spent cutting, soldering and fettling saw things start to come together.. The cut outs need a cleaning up, but the look is much better. I was able to re-use the original door skins. Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim Hooper Posted December 27, 2015 Share Posted December 27, 2015 Jez, So sorry to hear that your problems with your hand aren't resolved yet, but really impressed with thedetails of your Tiger! tim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manish Chandrayan Posted December 28, 2015 Share Posted December 28, 2015 Good to see some colour there Jez, Happy new year and wish you a speedy recovery post the scheduled surgery Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Cracking on again.. Some little bits and pieces to keep the build moving. First off - pitot tubes.. Take a bit of annealed lithoplate Fold it around a suitable tube... Take 2 lengths of ali tube and bend em... Shape the front to accept the tubes,, Bit more shaping, a coat or two of paint and some heatshrink.. Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny Fenton Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Lovely work Jez, looks great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Finished off the top of the fuel tank too.. The gauge is removable - this is crucial otherwise I know I will keep snapping it off loading the model through the caravan window... I made it from a length of plastic tubing - the stuff you get long lengths of piano wire or tubing in from the model shop. I cut it to length, masked the windows off and slapped on loads of paint to get the effect I wanted. The float is simply a nail in a piece of dowel...The markings look hand drawn cos the ones on the real one look the same!! The filler cap and various vents etc on the front of the tank once again came from varius bits and pieces I had rattling around - I gave them a bit of tweaking by chucking them in the drill and shaping them with hand files..sort of a bodge it lathe... Filler cap added - this was made from the top of a can of WD40 and a filed down aluminium button... Looks ok.. Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 I started on some of the detail underneath the fus too - This is one aircraft that lends itself quite well to modelling as there are all sorts of access hatches that can be used to provide access to servos etc.. I'm not going into too much detail here - I just used a combination of plasticard and litho for the panels and various fasteners. I added a few patches to the fus too - there are loads of them - everywhere there is a fastener there is a re-inforcement patch.. There are over 20 on the fus in total plus edging tapes all over the place too. All these are a time consuming pain they are the touches that make the model look realistic.. Solartex is ace for this as it really shows up well - for example here are the cockpit doors finished and painted.. You can make out the edging really well and stiffeners show up well too whilst keeping the cloth look clearly visible. Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Love it, wish I had a bit of talent John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted January 4, 2016 Author Share Posted January 4, 2016 Posted by john stones 1 on 04/01/2016 18:06:29: Love it, wish I had a bit of talent John Cheers John but I dont class myself as talented..I'm just taking an absolutely ace kit and loads and loads of reference pictures and then trying to find ways of making things look "about right"....Its mostly bodgineering not engineering.. I'm waiting on a load of laser cut rings and patches before I can do much more on it now.. This is what I need to sort..The little circles you can see. There are loads of the little blighters...I count 18 on the upper surface of the top right hand wing panel alone - oodles on the underside of the panel - then there are another 3 wing panels AND the tailplane, rudder and underneath the fus...84 of them in total!!! Chris Poyser - Fire up the laser!!! Jez Edited By Jez Harris 1 on 04/01/2016 18:16:41 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fly-navy Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 Nice to see you back on it mate, your problem doesn't seem to be holding you back too much, especially those delicate jobs. More, we want more ATB for op when it happens Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manish Chandrayan Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Jezz Sorry to upset your maths for the rings and patches. Per my count the total number of inspection rings and patches combined on the wings and the tail feathers are 94. Unable to upload PDF, if you need the document I can e-mail it to you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 Well its been a wee while.... I've been waiting for a delivery of laser cut inspection rings and patches from me old mate Chris Poyser but his workload just meant a slight delay..I spent the time building a 1/4 scale Auster AOP9 and getting the new 1/3rd Scale Mick Reeves Pup ready for this year's shows. More surgery on the damaged hand also held me back a few weeks but I'm definately back on it now.. So - back to the inspection rings. Thanks to Manish for the info on the number of rings, I went back to my photos of the full size I am modelling and it turns out there are actually 108 inspection rings to do! You can see a couple of circles on the photo below - this is the look I need to replicate.... Here is what good old Mr P did for me.. The rings are from thin card and the discs used another 1/2 metre of tex.. First job was to tack each ring to the tex disc using a warm iron..took a while!! Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jez Harris 1 Posted April 3, 2016 Author Share Posted April 3, 2016 The the VERY slow process of ironing the inspection patches in place. Manish sent me a great set of plans showing the normal scale locations which really helped. Tailplane first.. I've taken advantage of the warm weather and managed to blow a coat of silver paint over the tailplane to finish it off. I'm happy with the result/ The wings have loads more inspection panels...Here is where I am up to after a full day on rings and discs - One lower wing panel ready for paint.. Only seven more surfaces to go!! Jez Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
john stones 1 - Moderator Posted April 3, 2016 Share Posted April 3, 2016 That's definitely a labour of love Jez, very nice work though John Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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