The Tommy

[Edo]

wow!
it’s a beauty!
ciao
edo

[kensar]

Thank you for your wonderful comments, gents.  They really help keep the momentum going.
I don't think I lost anything by not painting woodgrain on the entire frame.  I only did it on the IP, footboards, and the wooden hoop reinforcing the cockpit.  The real challenges are coming up - how to realistically render the bottom and top of the fuse.  Currently waiting for a pulseometer from Taurus.  Also need to add a switch lever to the switch.

Thanks for following along!

[RAGIII]

Truly magnificent work in every way, Ken!
Cheers,
Bud

I agree with My Amigo 100% as always! Magnificent indeed!
RAGIII

[kensar]

A small update.  added the seat and belts.  The cushion is Miliput, the leather seat back covering is masking tape, as are the seat belts.






Still waiting for a Taurus pulseometer and now working on developing a vacuum former and a process for using it.

[RLWP]

Beautiful!

Richard

[RAGIII]

Absolutely Stunning!
RAGIII

[Bughunter]

Do you use a kit, we all do not know about? A test build for a unknown manufacturer?
No, because your scratch work is better than any kit could provide!

Holy shit, that's awesome!

Cheers,
Frank

[kensar]

Thanks for the complementary comments, guys.
I do like make a lot of the details without spending a lot of money on aftermarket parts.  For some things, aftermarket can't be beat without a lot of teeth gnashing, like machine guns and engines.

[RLWP]

Thanks for the complementary comments, guys.
I do like make a lot of the details without spending a lot of money on aftermarket parts.  For some things, aftermarket can't be beat without a lot of teeth gnashing, like machine guns and engines.

I'm much the same, a WnW engine and some Gaspatch guns fill me with delight. And I know they are going to set my build off nicely

Richard

[Alexis]

Beautiful work thrus far !


Terri

[kensar]

Finally getting back to this one after the holidays and family commitments.
I've been learning the ins and outs of vacuum forming and its still not completely to my liking, but many times you learn by doing.  I just don't like wasting a lot of styrene sheets trying to figure things out.

In my first attempt I made a smooth part for the bottom of the fuse.  After some trials, I was able to make a useable part from 0.020" stryene.


Having gotten this far, I added wire to the mold to simulate longerons.


And formed another useable part from 0.020" styrene.




I used a lot of 0.010" sheets trying to get a good part, but concluded this is too thin to vacuum form well.

Next I will try a vac formed fuselage turtledeck, which is a more complicated shape.

[RLWP]

A couple of things

No, 0.010" doesn't work - I found out the hard way too

If you don't release the sheet from it's frame, you can take a poorly formed vac, reheat it and it will relax into a flat sheet again. I have done this, usually when I didn't get the styrene hot enough in the first place

Richard

[dr 1 ace]

Wonderful progress on the build !

Ed

[RAGIII]

Wonderful progress on the build !

Ed

I agree with My Amigo! Awesome Progress!
RAGIII

[kensar]

Richard - thanks for relating your experience with the 0.010" sheet.  It validates my conclusion.  Reheating poorly formed sheet should save me some plastic also.  When I don't get a good forming sheet, I think its due to the large amount of sag in the plastic sheet.  It ends up making alot of wrinkles.  Not enough sag, and it doesn't form well around the mould (or is that mold?).

Rick and Ed - yes its nice to be making progress on this again.