Peter Miller Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Andy. |If you have a small inlet and a lot of space in the cowl it is worth fitting baffles to duct the air round the engine close to the fins. Look at the cowl design on C/L speed models, the air is literally forced through the fins. I have designed R/C models witha similar set up and it works well. Itis the same for radial cowls. I fit a disc in the cowl which just has enough room for the ingine. This forces the air past the fins. If you get a chance look at the baffles round a full size engine Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 7, 2016 Author Share Posted July 7, 2016 Hello again everybody, As I still have no news regarding the glass cloth delivery, I went on with some of Peter’s Purple Plan items. Some of you might remember the earlier Official Bella Contest won by sunny Mallorca’s resident Levanter as he discovered the end use of the items on the picture. The correct answer was “the exhaust(s)” of the turboprop engine mounted in the Bella (cfr also ‘The Official Bella History&rsquo… As two are needed, the plan is to make a master, to make a silicone mould and to have some exhausts cast in PU. I first cut a small length of ali tube at 90° and glued a corresponding ply roundel into it at one end but leaving half of the thickness out to be able to glue the beveled plastic part to it. That part is a piece of Novus spray bottle cover as I needed it to be slightly conical. When dry, the ali end was then squeezed into a vice to obtain an oval shaped end. Here’s a closer view of the subject. As the ali tube’s wall was too thin for the PU cast, I also fold/rounded a scrap piece of 1mm styrene and glued it to the inside. Another angled cut, a bit of soft Holts putty, some sanding and a layer of ‘misted’ primer to obtain this so far. Some final sanding left to do and as I'm quite pleased with it, we’re ready for a new but much (x2) easier Small Silicone Battle… Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Exhausts Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyD Posted July 7, 2016 Share Posted July 7, 2016 Hi Peter,ive ducted the inlet round the fins and got a large exit,about 4-1 now maybe a bit more and put a lip at the front of the exit to alter the pressure to help the flow of air,previously i only had a ratio of about 2-1 and with the petrol conversion running hotter than glow it protested so time will tell and it looks wet and windy for the weekend so its looking a long wait to find out.ive got to set up all the control throws again now as i wiped them from the tranny by accident.doh. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 Chris That looks very impressive. I think you could be a great scale modeller with your attention to detail and shaping special parts. Andy. That sounds pretty good. I had forgotten youwere using a petxrol engine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Thank you, Peter Coming from somebody with your building experience, I can only consider your comment as a huge compliment. Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Compliments Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 8, 2016 Author Share Posted July 8, 2016 Hi again, gents. Some time ago, I ordered some ‘Bright Silver’ and ‘White’ iron covering from HK with the plan to cover the hatch and aft deck of the Bella in Silver while the remaining bottom part of the fuse is getting the White film on. In fact the Silver is the same as Craig used earlier for his Ballerina build and his comments were that it seems not to be that easy to apply as he wrote it is thinner than the current HK colours. Compared to my ‘white’ roll, it appears indeed on the thin & brittle side. So I had a few foam test-pieces with an acceptable result for a ‘première’ and even trying out a few panel lines in the Depron. I then went on with the battery hatch of the Bella where I had a few air bubbles that I managed to resolve by pricking through the film with a tiny needle and working out the air with the iron. Now the result is certainly not what I hoped for as it shows every little ‘misery’ in the foam. I’m also not that ‘happy’ with the toy-ish glitter look of the film, but that’s just me I guess. I then went back to the test item and had a soft ‘genuine’ kitchen Scotch Brite rubbed over the silver (cfr the pic, to the right side). IMHO, it looks a lot more like brushed aluminium than the blingy film at least in normal daylight. This is certainly not the easiest & most tolerant film when one never did any covering. I’m afraid trying to remove the Silver film from the Depron foam as it is quite ‘hazardous’, so I guess I’ll have to go the Scotch Brite way… What do you guys think about it? … Some matata here Chris BRU - BE / CTR Blingy Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
simon burch Posted July 8, 2016 Share Posted July 8, 2016 If you like the brushed look, I'd go with that. Silver is the worst colour for showing scuffs and dents. My Boomerang Sprint jet and my current Xcalibur were silver and even with the best effort I normally end up going over it with the iron when the marks irritate me. I guess you can't do that as you are covering over Depron. If you try and pull it off it could tear the foam or leave lumps of the colour adhesive behind which you would see under your new film. Looks good, I'd leave it. Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 A few weeks ago I needed some silver. My favourite Supershrink polyester only came in bright silver so I used ordinary Solarfilm which was fine. My next but one model needs polished aluminium. I will probably go with the Supershrink although your bright silver looks pretty good. as bare metal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 9, 2016 Author Share Posted July 9, 2016 Thank you for your comments, gents. @ Simon > You must be totally right with the 'Bright Silver' being one of the worst colours regarding dents or imperfections. And, yes, in this case, I really prefer the 'softer' brushed look with the Brite handling as it hides a lot of scuffs. In the meantime, after reading your post, I also tried to carefully remove some film from one of the test-pieces. Some teared small bits of foam was the evident result... and I don't want to start the hatch build over again. Thank for your constructive remarks. @ Peter > The 'Bright' film looks good indeed and certainly as polished aluminium although quite thinner than the 'White' one. Please also remember that I never covered anything with iron on film. I might try some regular vinyl adhesive film on Depron later and see how that goes. At least I have some experience with that vinyl. By the way, if you want a sample of the 'Bright' stuff, just let me know & I'll send you some. Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Film Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rosco Posted July 9, 2016 Share Posted July 9, 2016 Covering?......Hmmmmm....I find covering models to be both exciting and hair pulling'ly frustrating!I've never covered a model and been happy! I do think silver is a hard colour to cover with but I also think it looks good!My little tricky to 'convincing' myself that it's ok is to draw panel lines on the covering as opposed to trying to 'imbed' or create them. I find it will draw your eyes away from the imperfections but will also add some detail. I purposely make them a bit thicker.It works for me.Rosco Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Just something to remember. Many years ago (Back in the 60s or 70s) Claus Maikis who used to design super control line stunters, pointed out that all that really matters is the front of the fuselage because no one ever really examines the rest of the model. They see it but it is that front partthe=at is stugied closely. Think about it. You will realise that it is true. You may look at insignia out at the wing tips or you may notice the colour scheme on the tail but do you study these areas for blemsihes? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 Hi Rosco, Well, I'm not that happy myself with my first covering try out. As it was on Depron and using 'Bright Silver, I guess I just had to paint myself in the corner. Strangely, I had the same 'convinced' idea as you hence trying out some 'panel lines' on the test piece right away. I think I will have to foresee a huge amount of panel lines, I'm afraid... Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Panel Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 10, 2016 Author Share Posted July 10, 2016 Hello Peter, I totally agree with your remark concerning Mr Maikis point in relation with 'visual reflexology'. But then that also means that I will have already a slight problem with my battery hatch covering unless I can bring that 'first attention' to the Bella's motor cowling & the turboprop exhausts... and that cowl still remains a big question mark as well for now... Did I mention somewhere "steep learning curve" already??? ... Matata for later Chris BRU - BE / CTR Visual Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted July 10, 2016 Share Posted July 10, 2016 Let's face it. The first few covering jobs are always quite hard. SOme of us never really get those outstanding covering job off to even near perfection and that includes ME!!! I always work on the principle "It will look good in the air!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Ooh yes, Peter. "Quite hard" even being a bit of an understatement in my case. And my other point is that I can't imagine the Bella being "in the air" quite soon. But maybe I'll try the "Five feet away" theory instead & making it "Fifty" feet... The weekend time at La Grotte has been annihilated by the extreme sunny weather we had both days here in BE. So I had to fulfill some garden/terrace/apero/bbq 'duties' for The LotH... I've been very pro-active this morning though and getting back for some Bella's commitments this afternoon after lunch. Stay tuned, gents. Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR BBQ Control Edited By McG 6969 on 11/07/2016 12:41:03 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 11, 2016 Author Share Posted July 11, 2016 Hello again, Here we go. Finally getting the cowl plug out of the the Silivoss mould. I didn’t really know what was next to happen after the ‘leak’ I had when casting the NL1. Now, I guess I‘ll know soon after removing the Duplos. More than two hours later and after 2 broken finger nails, I finally removed the last blocks and the bits of packing tape. Not ‘a’ leak of silicone through the tape took place when casting, but ‘several’ all around the plug and about half of the blocks where ‘glued’ together by the very invasive NL1 stuff. After a very messy war, I finally got the mould liberated from its Duplo cage. I guess this is really looking like a bit of a battlefield. Well, to me it does… More than 2 hours to free the mould and less than 2 minuts to carefully free the plug to obtain this. I was very surprised that the after-filling during the casting went perfectly as the helpdesk technician stated. You can’t even notice the difference between the two layers. Only one very small mishap, there was an air bubble trapped into the ‘mouth’ - probably caused during the silicone ‘refill’ - but it is very close to the location that will be cut away and I can always try to fill it up with some polymer clay. I couldn’t resist showing it to Gaston as well and I quickly left the battlefield with the new mould. As Gaston seems to be happy with it, I can only be pleased as well… and I really hope you gents think the same… Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Battle Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 Very good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyD Posted July 11, 2016 Share Posted July 11, 2016 yes very good,100% better than my attemps in the past,i did make a reasonable acrowot cowl once but it was very very heavy,it would of been cheaper to buy one but then you miss out on the fun,its to much like glue i end up with it everywhere,on my hands then everything i touch,and thats with wearing gloves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andy G. Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I can sympathise with the glue everywhere scenario!! Here speaks the man that once managed to superglue his shirt to his chest!! That was an exciting and painful experience come bedtime! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WolstonFlyer Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 I am very impressed! (I am still here watching your build) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Peter Miller Posted July 12, 2016 Share Posted July 12, 2016 Posted by Andy G. on 12/07/2016 08:26:31: I can sympathise with the glue everywhere scenario!! Here speaks the man that once managed to superglue his shirt to his chest!! That was an exciting and painful experience come bedtime! Now there is a man who doesn't keep acetone in his workshop!!! and whose wife doesn't use nail varnish remover!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 12, 2016 Author Share Posted July 12, 2016 Thanks to all of you, guys. I guess Peter is right here, Andy & Andy (!?). I learned the hard way in a former life to always have some acetone and a damp cloth at hand when working with composites or 2K glues. Even if sometimes I get the feeling that I had too many vodka/tonics… but at least I’m clean for bedtime… @ AndyD > for my final cowl, I only hope that I can keep the weight down as there are no Ballerina cowls commercially available anyway… I’ll find out after the next Battle, I suppose. Nice to hear from you, WF. How is your Ballerina build going on? I got some other good news today. The parcel man told me that my fiber cloth is to be delivered tomorrow. Let the GF Battle begin as well now… Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Acetone Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Feather Posted July 13, 2016 Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi Chris, well done for sticking in there - we are still watching, if sometimes a bit silently! looking forward to seeing this completed. I managed to get together with some other Ballerina builders last weekend at Greenacres, it's good to see the other models for real. There are some pictures over in the Greenacres pictures thread (mines the dark green one). Cheers Simon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 13, 2016 Author Share Posted July 13, 2016 Hi Simon. Thank you for visiting & commenting. I already had a look at the Greenacres pics - and I still believe yours is 'olive brown', but that's just me - and it gives me both feelings as being 'envious' somehow but also getting me some motivation to go on with the Bella's build. Trying to get ready for Greenacres... 2018, as planned... With some help from The LotH reminding me about it, I do realize that there are quite a lot of visitors to the blog, but as you say, also "a bit silently". To be honest, sometimes I still have that feeling of talking to my bathroom mirror... Lucky enough, I also have some loyal advisers like Peter, the Andy's, Chris A, Rosco, - Bella's Personal Weight Coach - & Co... Memo to all the readers > I waited nearly all day, but the glass fiber wasn't delivered as foreseen... Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Delivery Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
McG 6969 Posted July 14, 2016 Author Share Posted July 14, 2016 Hello to the good people around, Some good news here as the glass fiber finally arrived. On the other end, the quality of the 18g (HK) is quite mediocre as the wave is very open and teared in a lot of spots. The 48g (HK as well) is quite OK, but the 30g (eBay) is a real winner, just superb quality, great to use for wing covering, for example. Some cardboard templates are preferably needed to cut the cloth as the cowl shape is tiny but quite complex. I decided to use a first layer of 18g to follow as best as possible the compound curves followed by a 30g layer as I didn’t want to end with ‘holes’ in the structure. I couldn’t use my ‘brand new & home made’ laminating roller as the surfaces are really too small and curvy. Instead I made up a ‘blotting’ item with a cheap (Aldi) artist brush angled at 45° and with the hairs cut at 10mm. That worked perfectly even around the ‘mouth’ of the animal. Other instruments were my ‘fingernail rubber thingie’, a normal 20mm flat brush & some bamboo sticks to keep the fiber in place - more or less! - while applying the resin. I also added a bit of grey pigment to the resin - you have to do this before adding the hardener – to give a better contrast with the white silicone mould. Here is a closer view of the work still in progress as it will need some local reinforcement but there is really not that much to see while it is curing at the moment. I have a question, please gents. How much gap/spacing should I leave between the cowl and the back plate of the spinner? I guessed around 3mm, but is there a better answer? … Hakuna matata Chris BRU - BE / CTR Fiber Weight Control Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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