SPA Modeler

That’s a beautiful series of photos, and Cripes is looking pretty sweet. We’re you able to get the supports all squared away like you wanted?

KennyX wrote:That’s a beautiful series of photos, and Cripes is looking pretty sweet. We’re you able to get the supports all squared away like you wanted?

Hey Kenny—thank you so much for checking in, I sincerely appreciate your support throughout, and especially today because I was feeling nervous about whether or not the cockpit frame, built more to scale than the original, and loaded with resin was going to stay in position, however I did build a double deck for the fuel tanks and that with epoxy and braces will be staying put. Maybe I was worrying about this to avoid moving forward directly, but I do feel better having words of wisdom as well as support from John... I do feel better knowing that this will be possible to handle and if I overbuild the supports and bust out JB Weld for an overkill level, that platform is going to stay put. Chalk it up as a low self esteem day, perhaps.

Well I’m certainly glad to hear you handled it successfully! I figured you would. And that aircraft is looking great, too! I really dig how you went for it with the extra touches. Man, that’s really gonna push it over the cliff, and you’ll be happy that you put the extra effort into it. It’s shaping up to be a great build and I’m enjoying seeing it come together.

I did just go through the debate I enjoy having with myself where I want the plane to be in flight mode. I saw this model and thought about doing it; this would solve the pesky wheel well problem by hiding it, for example... and I thought it would be cool to mount the plane from the ceiling... a massive hit of 1950s nostalgia! Build a 109 as well.

I can dig flight mode especially for a Mustang like yours, and I’d also really enjoy watching you build a 109, too! So I fully support both these things!

KennyX wrote:I can dig flight mode especially for a Mustang like yours, and I’d also really enjoy watching you build a 109, too! So I fully support both these things!

Thank you for your support. I have a Trumpeter Bf 109 Gustav which I actually pulled out to see what was what. I also checked the box art for the Hasegawa (since we all know that this is usually inaccurate but also wildly emotional terrain for ideas) just to see if I could identify the pair of 109s breaking away from attacking Mustangs (again we all know that this is usually inaccurate but also wildly emotional terrain for ideas). If you have any thoughts on 1/32 109s and time to add information about which might be of interest, please do let me know, and that is a request, underlined, underscored and much obliged in advance for sharing. Thanks mucho mucho.

I just repurposed the original cockpit part by chopping out the floorpanels.



This has the added benefit of giving me the foot pedal openings and the locating notches for the instrument panel support legs. I know the IP did not have these legs per se, the framing was different, but I set a parameter to keep the IP intact and only update the dials with the Yahu "Stick-um" type of panel. Think this is all good barring the seat belts and the radio wiring harness and the control stick haha. The detailing on the side panels was also just going to be the original Hasegawa add-ons; although I debate this silently but not in a heated way, more of a lukewarm contest between wanting to add the detail and the truth—with the canopy closed this will not be visible—what is visible: seat, battery and radio with its wiring harness are all present. Oh, I need to build seatbelts. I wonder if that will be next to give a bit of a break before hitting the plastic again with sanding and polishing of the fuselage halves.

Oh and I need to order this!



VISUAL ORDER OF IMPORTANCE

1. The DZUS Turnlock Fasteners on the cowling. I just learned this is pronounced "Zeus" thanks to Lord Google.
2. The panel lines... and if there was a way to create the slightly stressed surfaces of the panels that would be amazing... but I don't think so.
3. The rivets.

speedgraflex wrote:
2. The panel lines... and if there was a way to create the slightly stressed surfaces of the panels that would be amazing... but I don't think so.

It can be done...

http://www.ratomodeling.com/articles/stressed_skin/
http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/stre ... ctkh_1.htm

jkim wrote:

speedgraflex wrote:
2. The panel lines... and if there was a way to create the slightly stressed surfaces of the panels that would be amazing... but I don't think so.

It can be done...

http://www.ratomodeling.com/articles/stressed_skin/
http://www.clubhyper.com/reference/stre ... ctkh_1.htm

Whoa. Of course it can. What was I thinking? Someone, somewhere has done it.



The cowling connection and the large square aft covering would be candidates. Hmm. At one point I was considering skinning the square with a very very very thin piece of plastic card... add rivets to the front and sanding the back to the limit of thickness possible... just to see if the effect was successful....

That's a fab picture Bruce!