“A Career in Flight” – 3D Printed 1/350 Scale Aircraft Display (Work in Progress) - FineScale Modeler - Essential magazine for scale model builders, model kit reviews, how-to scale modeling, and scale modeling products

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

“A Career in Flight” – 3D Printed 1/350 Scale Aircraft Display (Work in Progress)

Posted by Rdutnell on Sunday, December 8, 2013 1:38 AM

Greetings everybody! For Christmas this year, I am making a model display of all of the aircraft my dad flew in route to 3,500 hours flying for the Air Force. I thought that some of you might find it interesting, so I decided to post this “Work in Progress”. It is a little different than the other WIP’s I have seen on this site. The planes he remembers flying include the following:

T-28 “Trojan”

T-34 “Mentor”

U-3A “Blue Canoe”

B-25 “Mitchell” (as flight instructor)

AC-47 “Puff” (AKA “Spooky” in Vietnam in 1966)

T-29 “Flying Classroom” (flying Air Force Academy Cadets)

He flew other aircraft, but he has Alzheimer’s and can no longer recall which ones they were.

The airplane models in the display were all created in AutoCad Civil 3D using plans of varying quality. The plans of the planes were obtained through Google searches on the Internet. For some planes there were multiple options complete with 3-views and sections, for others, the pickings were slim. The T-28 Trojan was one of the planes for which multiple plan sheets were available. The image below shows the AutoCad drawing for the T-28, complete with the scaled plan sheets, all of my construction lines and sub-assemblies, and the model.

The first thing I did was scan the plan sheets, import them into AutoCad and scale them to 1/350 scale. With that accomplished, the next thing I did was make the fuselage. I did this by tracing the available cross-sections and creating closed polylines, as seen in the image below, showing a portion of my T-28 drawing.

The polyline cross-sections were then copied into position on the profile portion of the drawing. These cross-sections were subsequently rotated 90^o about the vertical axis. The LOFT command was used to create a solid model of the fuselage from the cross-sections. Note that for the T-28, I traced the cockpit canopy as separate polylines that I lofted distinctly from the fuselage cross-sections.

Cross-sections were not available for the wings and stabilizers. I therefore had to create my own. For the wings and horizontal stabilizers I used a typical foil cross-section (blue foil in first image) that I scaled so that the length of the foil matched the width of the wing or stabilizer at the section location. This process involved a lot of copying, scaling and rotating to get the cross-sections located, oriented and sized properly. During all of this process, symmetry was my friend because the wings and horizontal stabilizers only had to be done once. Then, I could use the MIRROR command to make a mirror image for the other side.

For the vertical stabilizers I created a symmetric polyline using 0.02” diameter circles, arcs and lines that I trimmed and joined (magenta foil in the first image). The maximum width of the vertical stabilizer was 0.04”. Unlike the wings and horizontal stabilizer, the vertical stabilizer did not increase in width as the length increased. So, rather than copy and scale the cross-sections, I copied the ends to the opposing edges of the stabilizer as shown on the plans, connected them with lines, then joined the lines and section parts together to form a closed polyline, which could then be rotated as needed and used in the LOFT command to create a solid model.

The procedure I used to make the vertical stabilizers varied slightly among the aircraft but was similar to the procedure used for the T-28 described here. The procedure used to make the wings and horizontal stabilizers was essentially identical to the procedure described here for all of the aircraft.

After the wings and stabilizers had been made, the next thing I had to do was position them and orient them properly with respect to the fuselage. How this was done was similar for every model, but varied somewhat depending on how the plans were laid out. For the T-28, and most of the other planes, the sectioning was done along the side view elevation of the aircraft, but for a couple of planes the sectioning was done on the plan view. In all cases, I used reference lines on the drawings for copying and moving objects from view to view

Several of the aircraft, including the T-28 had sloped wings. At the bottom of the first image above you can see the polyline (magenta) that I created of the wing, which slopes up from horizontal. This polyline was copied up to the wing assembly (yellow) and rotated about two axes for proper alignment. The wing, which was constructed flat, was then rotated up using this angle for reference. With everything in the proper position, the UNION command was used to join the fuselage, wings and stabilizers together as one piece.

With the basic airplane models made, I turned my attention to detailing. At 1/350 scale, you are somewhat limited to the level of detailing that you can add by the limitations of the 3D printer used to transform the CAD “virtual” model to a solid, tangible model. What exactly those limitations are, I do not know, because I am only just learning and do not have enough experience at this point.

Nevertheless, I wanted to add some detailing to highlight some features such as the canopy, ailerons, flaps, elevators and rudders. To do this I traced the outlines of the features on the plans and used the PROJECTGEOMETRY command to project the lines onto the solid model. I then used both the LOFT and EXTRUDE commands on 0.004” radius circles oriented perpendicular to the projected lines to create what essentially amount to long solid tubes along these projected lines. Since projected lines are on the surface this meant that half of the tube was beneath the surface and half protruded from it.

To make the canopies I used the UNION command to join the tubes to the model creating half tubes protruding from the surface. For the control features I used the SUBTRACT command to etch half tubes into the surface. When I did the detailing and at the time of this writing I have no idea how well this method will work, but it looks pretty good on the virtual models, as may be seen on the U-3A “”Blue Canoe” and B-25 “Mitchell” AutoCad models shown below.

The image below, shows the mid-aft section of the AC-47 “Puff”. All of the other models are solid, but I hollowed out the inside of Puff because I thought it would be cool to add the mini-guns on the inside. Fortunately, I found some really good pictures to assist in the process and was able to make a decent replica of the real deal. I decided not to add barrels because at 0.02” diameter, they would print, but would likely be too fragile to withstand the handling required in cleaning and shipping. I did however, drill holes to accommodate whatever material I find suitable to use as barrels. The same may be said for the guns on the B-25. Note that I also added the rear landing gear, even though it is pretty small and might not survive the shipping and handling.

To this point, I did not know what I was going to do about the propellers. At this scale, I was afraid that even though they would print they wouldn’t be strong enough to withstand handling and would break before I even received them, or when I was painting the models. Still, even though I knew that there is an art to propeller design and propellers are as individual as the aircraft they are on, and that there was no way I was going to be able to make them 100% accurately, I thought that I could make something that would look good, so I decided to go ahead and try making them.

Of the six aircraft two (T-28 and T-34) are single engine and four (AC-47, B-25, T-29 and U-3A) are twin engine, but that doesn’t really matter for designing the propellers. Two of the aircraft (T-34 and U-3A) have two bladed propellers and four (AC-47, B-25, T-28 and T-29) have three bladed propellers. This is marginally important in the design, but the most important factor is the shape of the individual blades. Although, the blades are all different they basically fall into two categories that I will call tapered blades and fan blades. The Tapered blades taper at the ends to a smaller point, whereas the fan blades are of uniform thickness to the end. Four of the aircraft (AC-47, B-25, T-34 and U-3A) have tapered blades and two of them (T-28 and T-29) have fan blades.

The image below shows the plans I used to generate the two types of propellers with the tapered blade being on the left and the fan blade on the right. With a single blade designed for each blade type, I could ROTATE/COPY the blade once 180^o to make a two bladed propeller, or twice 120^o to make a three bladed one. At this point it was simply a matter of scaling the propellers for the particular aircraft.

Suspecting that the propeller might not print too well I decided to make ”spinning” versions by creating disks instead of individual blades.

At this point I sent all six aircraft and the two propeller versions for the T-28 to 3Delivered (also known as Click2Detail). The spinning option was appealing because I had considered the possibility of displaying the planes in flight from the start, and spinning blades seemed more appropriate.

A short time later, I received an e-mail from Thomas of 3Delivered saying that the single propellers would be too fragile and that they needed to be supported inside rings for printing. He also advised me that they could print using a clear material, which made the idea of spinning propellers even more appealing. Shortly after that, I received another e-mail saying that the clear spinning propeller came out great, so I sent the spinners for the remaining aircraft. 3-Views of all six Autocad models, complete with spinning propellers are shown below.

While waiting for the planes to be printed, I turned my attention to how I was going to display them. From the outset, I envisioned the 6 aircraft being arranged together on a wooden plaque of some fashion. Because of the different sizes of the aircraft, I was thinking that I would need an oval shaped plaque. A trip to our local Michael’s was a complete success, as I found the perfect plaque for the display. It is oval shaped, but more ornately carved along the edges than a simple oval. More importantly, at 9” x 12”, it is the perfect size for what I had in mind, and to top it off, it was only $6.48. The image below shows a scan of the plaque.

I copied the scan of the plaque into AutoCad, scaled it to size and traced the outline of it. I used this outline to make a virtual model of it. This allowed me to try different layouts. The image below shows the design I decided to go with.

Initially, I was uncertain if I was going to mount the aircraft on the surface of the plaque, as if they were on the ground, or suspend them by some means, as if they were in flight. Looking down on it in plan view, however, it didn’t matter; I could still lay out the relative positioning of the planes and the brass plaques for the title and plane names. (I also later included a small plaque at the bottom that reads “Scale: 1/350” that is not shown.) Because of the relative sizes of the aircraft, there was a lot of visual dead space between the large planes at the top of the plaque, so I decided to add a couple of Air Force insignia to fill the space.

With Thomas saying that the clear propellers came out good, combined with the fact that if I displayed the planes in-flight I wouldn’t have to deal with the landing gear, and I thought it would look cool, I decided to display the aircraft in-flight rather than on the ground. The image below shows the AutoCad model display at an oblique angle. You can see that the aircraft are at different levels; the T-34 at the front is 1-1/2” above the surface, the T-28 and U-3A are 2” high, the B-25 and AC-47 are 2-1/2” high, and the T-29 is 3” high. To suspend the aircraft in these positions I will use 1/16” diameter brass rod, and although I forgot to mention it previously, I “drilled” 0.063” diameter holes in the underbellies of all of the models to accommodate the brass rods.

Another thing I did while waiting for the planes to be printed was design the decals for the planes.

Originally I intended to make my own decals and print them myself, as I have done in the past. Unfortunately though, both the U-3A and the AC-47 require white decals, and it has been my experience that decals printed on white paper do not look as good as ones printed on clear paper, at least at 1/350 scale. My next thought was to just buy some decals, and so I got on-line and ordered Gold Medal Models’ “1/350 WW2 USN Aircraft Markings”, at a cost of $10.75. Unfortunately, since they are for Navy aircraft, “U.S. Air Force” and “USAF” are not included. Go figure! I struck out in a search for Air Force decals in 1/350 scale, as it seems that only ship builders work in this scale. So, it was back to the drawing board.

Referring to pictures, and plans when available, I made a decal sheet for the planes, and I am glad that I did because it allowed me to personalize them, as may be seen below.

The sheet was designed to be printed on 11” x 17” paper, with the decals being 4 times their actual size. Reducing it to 25% when printing provided decals of the proper size. There are two sets of decals because I made an extra set in case I screwed one up while applying them. It is always nice to have spares. Note that there appear to be blank spots for the U-3A and AC-47. These areas are where the white decals I mentioned earlier are. They just don’t show up because they are white on white.

Because of these white decals, I got on-line again and searched for a custom decal maker to see if I could find somebody to print them for me. My search was fruitful and I found a company called “Cedarleaf Custom Railroad Decals” owned by Stan Cedarleaf. He printed them and shipped them to me for $36.50. A little steep perhaps, but worth it I think, for two reasons. First, aligning number decals at this scale is difficult and can be frustrating. Customizing the decals allowed me to combine the numbers I wanted into a single decal, greatly simplifying their application. More importantly, it allowed me to add some personal graphics that are definitely not available on the market.

I would have liked to mark the models with the same markings as on the aircraft that dad actually flew, but since there aren’t any pictures of them, that I am aware of, this was not possible. Instead, I used a little modeler’s license, and marked each of the aircraft to reflect an important event in my dad’s life. The tail number on the T-34, “6857”, is the day he married my mom, whom he is still happily married to 56 years later.

In several pictures I have seen of T-28’s, there are two “numbers” on the aft end, a small set of numbers are on the tail and a larger number-letter mix are on the fuselage. I do not know what the actual numbers are for. I suspect that they identify the squadron and plane number the aircraft is associated with, but on my model, the tail number, “91233”, is the day my dad was born and the fuselage number-letter mix, “TL-55”, represents the year he entered the Air Force and began his career as a pilot.

Another feature present on T-28 pictures is an insignia on the tail, which in real life is probably the squadron insignia. On my model, it is the Sugar Bowl trophy. This is to represent my dad’s participation, as starting center and nose guard, in the Naval Academy’s victory over Ole’ Miss by a score of 21-0 in the 1955 Sugar Bowl.

Looking at pictures of U-3A’s I noticed that some had two numbers on the tail and some had only one. For my model, I used only one, “92137”, which represents mom’s birthdate. Upon completing twin-engine training in the U-3A, and then the B-25, dad went on to become an instructor pilot, flying a B-25. I don’t know how his plane was marked, although I understand that it didn’t have any nose art. My model however does have nose art, in the form of a bust of “Bill”, the Naval Academy’s mascot. I only hope that this doesn’t offend anybody, but I guess it is less offensive to some than the nose art of WWII.

The tail numbers on the B-25, “112359”, are my brother’s birthdate. The red tail stripes I saw on a picture of a B-25 painted aluminum, like my dad said his was painted. I liked the way they look, so I decided to include them on my model.

From January, 1966 to October, 1966, dad flew an AC-47, “Puff”, in Vietnam. According to dad’s memoirs from his time in Viet Nam, the natives often referred to the AC-47’s as dragons because of the tracers that looked like a fire breathing dragon. The Air Force Times even called them Dragonships, so the guys called her “Puff” after the kids TV show “Puff the Magic Dragon”. Dad’s detachment commander, Lt. Col. Carter, even had him design and fabricate plaques for the entire 4^th Air Commando Squadron, of which he was part of. A dragon is a key feature of the plaque, as seen below, and dad says that they were all hoping that their call sign would be “Puff”, but for some reason SEA came up with “Spooky”. The nose of my model has Puff, rather than the Spooky ghost seen on some AC-47s. The letters on the tail, “RD” are my dad’s and my initials, and the tail numbers, “7561” is my sister’s birth date. I also made red stripes that go on the fuselage near the engines.

Finally, the tail numbers on the T-29, “195881”, are my birthdate. Some picture of T-29’s show them with an American flag on the tail so I included one on my model. I also included the red warning stripes that, like on the AC-47, go on the fuselage near the engines.

Stan, at Cedarleaf Custom Railroad Decals, was great to work with. I e-mailed an inquiry on Sunday afternoon and he responded within a couple of hours. By Monday he sent me a layout, and by Tuesday they were shipped. They arrived Friday, the day after Thanksgiving. So, not only do the decals look good as may be seen below, but the turnaround time from initial contact to receipt of the finished product was excellent.

Before the printed planes arrived, I also had time to order and receive 1” USAF insignia tie pins, which I order from PinMart. The cost for both pins, with shipping was $12.53. The pins are classy looking and I think that they will add some panache to the display.

Yet another task that I accomplished before the printed planes arrived was finish the base. Unfortunately, I screwed up the first one, poorly staining it with a color I didn’t like, so I had to go back to Michael’s and buy another one. Before starting the finishing process, I first made a template that I printed, cut out and taped to the plaque. This allowed me to drill the 5/32” diameter holes for the 1/16” brass support rods in the proper locations. I also drilled holes to accommodate the Air Force insignia pins.

To finish the base, I first sanded the plaque and wiped on a coat of Minwax Pre-Stain Wood Conditioner, followed by two coats of Minwax Red Oak Wood Finish. When the stain had dried I sprayed 7 coats of Minwax Polycrylic at 1 hour intervals, with light sanding between coats. The finished plaque is shown below. I have no idea what caused the “Snail trails”. Still, I like it, even if it isn’t perfect.

Getting the models printed was, as expected, the most expensive aspect of the display. The total cost for printing all of the aircraft and propellers, including a test of the supported version of the prop for the T-28, was $158.06. However, receiving 3D printed parts that you have designed is always a delightful experience and this was certainly no exception. It was a joy to hold the little models in my hand and it softened the pain in my wallet somewhat.

Prior to receiving the models, I had prepared a working base, and cut the brass rods I used to support the planes, so the first thing I did was put the planes on the rods. The 0.063” diameter holes I drilled to accommodate the rods worked nicely. They were snug, but not too snug. The image below shows the unpainted planes temporarily installed on the working base with the brass rods. The spinning props may also be seen at the base of the planes, and the supported props may be seen next to the dime.

The following images show close up pictures of the 3D printed planes, including the AC-47…

The B-25…

The T-28…

The T-29…

The T-34 (with a cat hair)…

And the U-3A.

Yesterday, I sprayed the planes with a coat of Rust-Oleum Plastic Primer. The only plastic primer I was able to find was a matte white color. I would have preferred gray, but I suppose it doesn’t matter since the planes are going to be painted anyway. Before spraying, I debated on whether to use the brass rods that I was going to use to support the models on the final display or find a substitute during spraying. I decided to just use the rods I will be using, reasoning that I can easily remove the paint from the rods with mineral spirits. If not, I can always cut new ones. The image below shows the planes after the one coat of primer.

So far, so good!

According to dad, the B-25, T-28, T-29 and T-34 planes he flew were colored aluminum, so to paint them I used Rust-Oleum American Accents Satin metallic Aluminum. This did not go so well, especially for the T-29, but somewhat on the others too. The paint "wrinkled" and I have no idea why.

I sprayed them in the garage, which is pretty cold, but the models and paint were warm, and I brought them in as soon as I sprayed them.

Does anybody have any idea why this wrinkling would happen? It seems especially odd to me that the primer appeared to go on nicely, but the paint didn’t. Hmmmmm….

Reply

Pawel

Member since
May 2009
From: Poland

Posted by Pawel on Sunday, December 8, 2013 10:50 AM

Hello!

A very interesting idea. It would also be cool to build bigger models of the aircraft, but of course that cannot be done as fast or easy.

As for the paint - a pity! One factor could be the cold and related factors, other thing would be reaction with the plastic - you should sand those "wrinkles" lightly and see what happens - does the paint lift, or wid it melt the plastic? If you can answer that, then you know what really happened and we can go on from there.

Good luck with your project and have nice day

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

Reply

mississippivol

Member since
November 2003
From: State of Mississippi. State motto: Virtute et armis (By valor and arms)

Posted by mississippivol on Sunday, December 8, 2013 10:51 AM

Welcome to the forums! That is a very ambitious project you have going; your idea looks terrific! Sorry about the paint; if you can strip it off, Alclad would be a great alternative to the rustoleum. It will go on thinner and cover better, hopefully without the wrinkling; rustoleum and others are good about doing that when the weather is chilly. I'm looking forward to seeing the end product!

Glenn

Reply

Salmon

Member since
September 2011

Posted by Salmon on Sunday, December 8, 2013 11:29 AM

Wrinkling can happen for several reasons Russ. Extreme temperature can do that, high humidity, or contamination. As I understand it the surface will dry before the majority of the paint does and will cause the surface to buckle. Sand it off and try again. You are incredibly creative.

Reply

deattilio

Member since
October 2005
From: New Port Richey

Posted by deattilio on Sunday, December 8, 2013 2:20 PM

Sun, Dec 8, 2013 at 1:16 PM

1:16 PM

Message starred

fsm

from Daniel Attilio to you

Show Details

Rdutnell,

This is an awesome idea and a great piece of work, your dad will surely appreciate and enjoy “A Career in Flight”. The plane that really caught my I is the AC-47 as my father too was in the 4th Air Commando Squadron. I thumbed through slides of my father’s that I have and they are all date stamped either SEP66 or OCT66 so it possible that our dads crewed Spookys together. I scanned several of the slides with groups of people and perhaps your father may recognize some of them. My hats off to you and good luck with the build as I look forward to updates on the build.

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0804_zpsd07efe29.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0803_zps54a68f67.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0808_zps714afd29.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0807_zpsaa6cd1dc.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0801_zpsdd1a7649.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0802_zps11790214.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0805_zps07e127ad.jpg

http://i10.photobucket.com/albums/a150/deattilio/FSM%20stuff/Dec0806_zps03a53289.jpg

Tags: AC-47 , Spooky

WIP:
Trying to get my hobby stuff sorted - just moved and still unpacking.

"Gator, Green Catskill....Charlie On Time"

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Sunday, December 8, 2013 6:02 PM

UPDATE 1

How cool is that Daniel? Thanks for the pix.

Earlier, I had found the 3 pix below on the Internet.

My dad is front and center on this one…

He is on the far right in this one…

He isn’t in this picture, but I think it was taken at about the same time.

Does your dad have one of the plaques dad made? Does he remember my dad? I will ask dad if he remembers your dad the next time I see him.

Thanks for the kind words and advice guys.

Pawel, you are right, it would be cool to build bigger models of the aircraft. But you are also right that it couldn’t be done as fast or as easy. Who knows though, perhaps someday?

The way the 1/350 scale project came to being is kind of a long story. By chance I got into modeling submarines in AutoCad for 3D printing. Somebody following my CAD submarine posts asked me to make some 1/700 scale planes for him. I made several but life happened to him and he hasn’t progressed with them or even printed them so I could see how they looked. I paid to print them myself, although I had not done any detailing yet. They were cool but tiny at 1/700 scale. I had goofed on the scale of one of the planes (a Skyraider AD-5W) and printed it at 1/350 scale, and I really liked it.

I really enjoyed the process of making the planes in AutoCad using decent, but not great plans, and wanted to make more. Looking at the virtual models together in formation and seeing the 1/350 scale Skyraider made me think that it would be cool to do something like that. So I asked dad what planes he flew. I knew he had flown the AC-47 in Vietnam and that when he met mom he was a flight instructor, but I did not know what planes he had flown. I looked up the wingspans and lengths of the planes and laid out rectangles “in-formation” and decided that 1/350 scale would make for a nice size display. So here we are.

Well Guys, the consensus seems to be that the cold was the cause of the wrinkling. Pawel, Glenn and Salmon (Tom?) all kindly offered it as a potential culprit. I haven’t painted many models, but I have painted many things in my life. Almost every paint that I have used over the years warns about painting below a certain temperature. Now I know why.

I sensed that it was too cold, but dang it, I got impatient and thought that if I rushed out, painted them, and took them back inside to dry, I would be OK. And I might have been. Things were going good until the last pass with the spray can, which probably wasn’t needed. As soon as it hit the surface it was like I was watching those time elapsed shots of somebody getting old. DOH!

Salmon’s explanation makes perfect sense. I didn’t think that it could be a reaction with the plastic, because the plastic primer went on fine and covered the plastic. The first passes of paint went on OK because even though the garage was cold, the models and paint can were still at room temperature. I sprayed the tops and then the bottoms with no problem. When I went back and sprayed the top, the thin layer I had applied before was probably much colder than the new paint, which was still at room temperature, physics took over and the thermal gradient skewed the surface tension of the paint. Perhaps?

Anyway, I sanded the T-29 with some super fine sand paper from an old Testor’s paint kit (no clue what grade), and I think I got it pretty smooth, but I won’t know how good of job I did until after I paint it again. The question is, do I paint it inside and get my butt chewed out for the smell or wait a few days for it to warm up? I guess I could brush on some aluminum. It doesn’t smell as bad, but I like the way spray looks better.

Even though the paint job didn’t go quite as planned, I am still encouraged by the results. When I did the detailing of the canopy, ailerons, flaps, elevators and rudders, I really had no idea how they would turn out. In areas where the blasted paint didn’t wrinkle, the detailing I did had just the effect that I was hoping it would. I can only hope that they don’t disappear with another coat of paint.

Since discretion is the better part of valor, I decided to paint the AC-47 next, using the paint scheme shown in the image below, which specifies Dark Green (FS 34079), Light Green (FS 34102), Tan (FS 30219) and Gloss Black (FS 17038). Opting to use the paints that I have, I plan on using Testor’s Flat Olive Enamel for the Dark Green. For the light green I will use Testor’s Flat Green Enamel lightened with about an equal amount of Testor’s White Enamel and a smidge of the Flat Olive. For the Tan I will use Testor’s Light Tan Enamel made even lighter with probably about a third as much white. For the Gloss Black I will use Model Master’s Flat Black Acrylic. I will paint the tires gloss black so they stand out.

I started by drawing the pattern on the model using a mechanical pencil.

Now it’s time to paint.

CHEERS!!!

Reply

Gamera

Member since
November 2009
From: SW Virginia

Posted by Gamera on Sunday, December 8, 2013 6:13 PM

Wow, that's just plain awesome! Beautiful work there and a heck of a tribute to your dad!

I'd be afraid to prime them with spray can paint since it goes on so heavy, I too would hit it with some gloss black as an undercoat and then airbrush some Alclad aluminum over the ones you want natural metal.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

Reply

allan

Member since
June 2003
From: Cavite, Philippines

Posted by allan on Sunday, December 8, 2013 10:53 PM

Nice! Always delighted to see 3D printer models. Star Trek modeling!

Sorry to hear about the wrinkles. Could it have been oil on the surface of the models themselves?

No bucks, no Buck Rogers

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Monday, December 9, 2013 8:56 AM

UPDATE 2

Good Morning All!

Thanks Gamera and Allan! I am glad you like it. I really appreciate the advice Gamera. I think this is the first time I ever heard of Alclad. If I have, I don’t remember it. I will keep it in mind for my next project. It’s kind of late for this one. As for the airbrush, all I have is an el-cheapo I bought at Harbor Freight for applying Future. But again, I appreciate the comments, because even if they may not help with this project, they still teach me more about the art of modeling and like I said may help in the future.

By the way, to anyone reading this… I encourage your comments and critiques. Like I’ve said in my other WIPs, I want the good, the bad and the ugly. I post only partially because I think other people may be interested. The main reason I started posting was to solicit comments and advice. I cannot tell you how much I have learned through posting and I can say without a doubt that my models are much better because I posted. Even if it is after the fact, I want to hear it. I cannot tell you how many things I have redone because somebody pointed out to me that it was wrong. I don’t always take the advice, but I always appreciate it.

Allan… To me, one of the best things about 3D printer models, is you get to build 2 models, a virtual one in AutoCAD, that can be quite challenging, and then when it is printed, you get to build the model using more traditional methods. The worst thing is that to get the detail needed for modeling, it is still EXPENSIVE.

As for there being oil on the surface, I suppose it is possible, but I don’t think so. The primer went on good and I was careful not to touch the models afterwards, which is the main reason I put them on their support rods first. I am pretty sure at this point that it was the cold air.

Anyway, I brushed a coat of Testor’s Flat Olive Enamel on the dark green areas of the AC-47 last night. It came out pretty good, but it looks like I have a couple of spots I need to touch up.

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 6:22 AM

UPDATE 3

Well guys, as I am want to do when it comes to modeling, I changed my mind about the paints for the AC-47. I went by my local Hobbytown, just to see if they happened to have the Light Green (FS 34102) and Tan (FS 30219) colors needed on Puff and struck pay dirt. They had Model Master’s Acrylics “Dark Tan” (FS 30219) and “Medium Green” (FS 34102). The names are different than what the plan sheet says, but the colors look about right and the FS numbers are as specified. Knowing, from what I have read, that trusting FS numbers can get you in trouble when selecting paints, I bought them anyway. I like the way the Model Master’s paints go on and my short experience is that they look good too. Plus they are acrylic, making for much easier clean up compared to mixing enamels.

I put a coat of the medium green on last night. As you can see, it needed another coat.

So, this morning I put on another coat. I will let it dry today, and then add one more coat tomorrow.

CHEERS!!!

Reply

plasticjunkie

Member since
November 2008
From: Central Florida

Posted by plasticjunkie on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 8:01 AM

Rdutnell

Fantastic imagination and a very unique display idea. This will make a super aircraft display Yes I'm sorry about your Dad's condition. We are dealing with the same thing with my mother in law. It's a terrible condition to deal with.

If I may make a couple of observations. As a woodworker myself I suggest next time you stain soft woods like pine, to use a wood conditioner that is brushed on like water and seals up the wood pores so that when the stain is applied you get a smooth even finish, specially on the routed edges which will become darker. You did a great job on the wood base.

If you have access to an air brush, I would use Alclad paint for the NMF that will make it look like real metal. To strip the silver paint, use some paint thinner (Home Depot or Lowes) and a brush to dissolve the paint away then try again. DO NOT use lacquer thinner as it may attack the plastic. The air brush will give you better paint control that the rattle cans specially on such a tiny model. You can lay down a very thin coat that will not cover up any details such as panel lines, etc. The wrinkling could have been due to temperature extremes and or a heavy sprayed coat.

Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 9:49 AM

UPDATE 4 – 12/10/2013

Thanks plastickjunkie! I appreciate the kind words and the tips. I don’t have a lot of experience working with wood, especially using stain. I did design and build a gate for the Jacobson House at OU as part of a Landscape Architect class I took several years ago. The project totally absorbed me for an entire semester and was the most fun I have ever had in a class. Everything on the gate has meaning in Kiowa culture, or to Jacobson and the Kiowa Five (actually Six). It is one of my proudest accomplishments.

As it turned out, we got to keep out gates and two years ago I gave it to my brother in law for Christmas. He really loved it and hung it on the side of his house. He built a wall with an arched entry and modified the gate to fit his setting, and doing a great job of it. It really is at home there, and I get to see it every year. :o)

But I digress…

The base I show is actually the second one I tried. The first one was really splotchy and I didn’t like the color, so for the second one I changed color and used MinWax pre-stain conditioner to prevent the spotting you refer to plasticjunkie. I followed the directions, wiping it on, and left in on 15 minutes, the maximum time recommended. Perhaps I didn’t apply it thick enough. I don’t know. Live and learn, right?

You aren’t the first to mention Alclad, which I had never heard of before this project, but I don’t know what NMF is. The only airbrush I have is a cheap one I got at Harbor Freight for spraying Future. If I stay in the hobby, I may have to invest in a better one, but that won’t be happening any time soon. As for stripping, I’m hoping I don’t have to go there. I sanded the bad spots and will shoot them again this afternoon. If I can’t live with it, paint thinner it is.

Pressing on… In my far from exhaustive search on the internet, I found two different color schemes for the U-3A, all blue, flown by the Navy…

…And blue and white, flown by the Air Force.

Dad says his was Blue and white, which makes sense, since he flew for the Air Force and not the Navy. Too bad, the solid blue would have been easier to paint. :o)

In fact, I am having a hard time trying to decide the best way to do it, as there are several options. I could paint it, but man it would be hard to make masks for the stripe and the tail area. I could use blank white decal paper for the white parts, but the stripe and tail bits would be so tiny and I don’t know how good it would look. Or, I could do a combination of the two, masking off the top white part and the tail and painting the rest blue, then masking off all but the tail and painting the tail blue, and then using decals for the stripes and tail pattern.

Any comments or suggestions?

Reply

Gamera

Member since
November 2009
From: SW Virginia

Posted by Gamera on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 12:12 PM

Wow, those gates are beautiful- fantastic work there!!!

If I may jump in here for Plasticjunkie - NMF is Natural Metal Finish- aka just plain aluminum, that is an unpainted aircraft. I think Alclad should go on fine even with a simple airbrush since you're not painting fine lines just giving the model a nice even overall coat. Only caveat I'll give is to make sure your airbrush is good and clean since it can blow dried paint chunks etc into your nice shiny metal finish- don't ask me how I found this out...

At that scale I think white decal pieces might be easier then trying to mask something the size of your U-3A. No expert here though- I've never tried something that small.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

Reply

plasticjunkie

Member since
November 2008
From: Central Florida

Posted by plasticjunkie on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 2:13 PM

Rdutnell

God all mighty! That is the most beautiful wood gate I have ever seen! The details and wood tones are just incredible! That inlay work is just too much. I congratulate you Sir! Toast

Back to the topic, funny u mentioned the Harbor Freight AB which I was going to suggest in my previous post. As Gamera said, the AB u have will do just fine and give Alclad a try for a Natural Metal Finish (NMF). You will see the difference in the tone. At that tiny scale I wouldn't attempt masking but decals are the way to go. If you are feeling really brave and adventurous, try a thin 18/0 brush.

Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 6:03 PM

UPDATE 5

Greetings All!

And thanks Gamera and plastickjunkie.

With respect to the gate… I’m not kidding when I said that it absorbed me. I don’t have an addictive personality, but I do have an obsessive one. From the time the assignment was given, until we presented the gates at the end of the semester, it was all I could think about. The rest of my life was either put on hold or fit into small blocks of time.

I first researched Jacobson, the first art professor at OU, and the “Kiowa Five”, Kiowa art students he taught who were actually six, but one was a woman and her work was discredited even though it was every bit as good as the other five’s work and the same style. The Kiowa Six style was flat with brilliant colors. I also studied Kiowa history and lore. One of the requirements was that the gate had to include a cast iron piece. The buffalo being central to Kiowa life I decided to make it central to my gate, and three-dimensional, with the rest of the gate flat and colorful like the Kiowa Six art. The half sun at the top represents the unfinished sun dance. The inlaid animals tell the Kiowa legend of “How Saynday got the sun.” A prayer recited by “the Buffalo Medicine Cult man” as part of the buffalo hunting ceremony held on the sixth “getting ready” day of the Sun Dance celebration is inlaid with key filings in the center of the gate. The prayer reads:

O Dom-oye-alm-k' hee, Creater of the earth,

Bless my prayer and heal our land,

Increase our food, the buffalo power,

Multiply my people, prolong their lives on earth,

Protect us from troubles and sickness,

That happiness and joy may be ours in life,

That life we live is so uncertain,

Consider my supplications with kindness,

For I talk to you as yet living for my people.

We all want and fear the same things. The funny thing is that throughout the process, I didn’t feel as if I was creating the gate. It felt more like I was discovering it, that it was there and it was just coming out through me. It might sound weird but that’s the feeling I had.

But I digress again. Back to the display…

The next project I do, you can bet that I will be trying Alclad and my el-cheapo airbrush, but it’s kind of late for this one, as I resprayed the planes a few hours ago. When I say resprayed, I mean psst on all but the T-29 which was psst, psst. I am happy with three out of four of them. You’ll never guess which one still needs work.

B-25

T-28

T-29

T-34

I can live with the B-25, T-28 and T-34. They look pretty good even under the scrutiny of a telephoto lens. To the naked eye they look real good. I think I may try sanding the T-29 and respraying it one more time before biting the bullet and completely redoing it.

CHEERS!!!

Reply

plasticjunkie

Member since
November 2008
From: Central Florida

Posted by plasticjunkie on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 6:31 PM

Fascinating story behind the meaning of the gate art. Again, great craftsmanship on your part.

Looks like your project is advancing in a positive way. Keep up the good work.

Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Tuesday, December 10, 2013 9:54 PM

UPDATE 6 – 12/10/2013

Thanks plastickjunkie.

I have another story for you about the gate…

Official United States government policy in the late 1880’s was to break up tribal land holdings into individually owned allotments of land, force the Indians to become farmers of these lands, adopt the Christian religion, and assimilate into the white man's society. Eventually these efforts, including the use of force by troops from Fort Sill, brought an end to the Sun Dance. In 1890 at a place near the Washita River called Pi-ho, an attempt was made to conduct a Sun Dance but it was never completed. U.S. Cavalry troops from Fort Sill were sent out and the ceremony broken up. “Several Kiowa Calendars record this attempt at holding the celebration, calling it the Unfinished Sun Dance represented by a half finished Sun.”

If you want to read, “How Saynday Got the Sun”, the link is below. It isn’t long and I think you would enjoy it.

http://www.ocbtracker.com/ladypixel/saynsun.html

I will say two more things about the gate and then I promise not to bring it up again. First, my initial intent was to use strictly native woods to make the gate but when I decided to make the “flat planes of color” that the Kiowa “Six” are noted for I needed wood hat would “pop”. The wood used in the gate includes local red cedar (cut down and milled by OU personnel), Paduak, Yellowheart, Black Walnut, Red Oak, Bloodwood, Cocobolo and Purpleheart. The second thing is that I would not have been able to do it (at least in the allotted time) without access to a laser cutter, which could both cut out the inserts and etch out the recess for it. I set a record for laser time for a single project with 10 hours, at a cost of $150, just for the laser time. It was an incredible learning experience and the best class I ever took, without a doubt.

Anyway, back to the display…

While waiting for the NMFs :o) to dry I brushed a coat of Model Master’s Acrylic Dark Tan (FS 30219) on the AC-47.

I also brushed a coat of Model Master’s Enamel Insignia Blue (FS 35044) on the U-3A. I don’t know the exact color of blue used on the U-3A’s, I used this color because I had it, even though I almost had to get out a jackhammer to get the lid off of it. Fortunately two pairs of pliers did the trick.

Since the primer is white, I decided to see if I could paint around it, leaving the areas that should be white unpainted. To the naked eye it looks pretty darn good. Under a magnifying glass or an unforgiving zoom lens it’s O.K. I missed a couple of spots on the engines and it needs another coat, but I did a pretty good job painting the lines straight. If I make the stripe out of white decal paper I think it will look pretty good. The question is, do I paint the white primer with white paint or leave it alone?

Here they all are

Reply

Gamera

Member since
November 2009
From: SW Virginia

Posted by Gamera on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 7:24 AM

Thanks for the information about the Kiowa Sun Dance, interesting stuff, I'm going to have to do more reading about this.

Your brush painting on the U-3A looks good to me, I think I'd just touch up what you've already done.

And for the crinkled finish on the aluminum birds, if you don't want to respray the whole thing you might just sand the wrinkly areas and then spray the paint into a small cup or onto a piece of cardboard and then use a brush to transfer it the model.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

Reply

roger_wilco

Member since
December 2009
From: West Chester,Ohio

Posted by roger_wilco on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 9:28 AM

Wow! That's going to be a great display,and a wonderful tribute to your Dad's years in the service.Any chance these will be offered for sale?

"Build what YOU want, the way YOU want, and above all have fun!" - RIP Modeler Al.

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Wednesday, December 11, 2013 6:10 PM

UPDATE 7 - 12/11/2013

Good Evening Fellow Modelers!

Thanks for the feedback Gamera, and the suggestion. I just might end up painting the T-29 like you say. If you are really interested in the Sun Dance, start with these sites:

http://rebelcherokee.labdiva.com/Kiowasundance.html

http://www.crystalinks.com/sundance.html

Thanks roger-wilco for the kind words. I hadn’t thought about selling them, but I suppose it’s a possibility. I know you can get C-47’s and B-25’s in 1/350 scale already, but I don’t know about the others. What planes were you wanting?

Well, I decided to spot pray the T-29 again, and it worked good enough for me.

I also brushed on another layer of tan on the AC-47…

…And put another coat of blue on the U-3A

I also used a mechanical pencil to fill in the canopies of the T-34…

The T-28…

…And the B-25 (including the gun turrets).

I had read about the pencil technique for the canopies and thought I would try it. It seems to have worked better some places than others. Anyway, here are all of the planes in their current state.

CHEERS!!!

Reply

Pawel

Member since
May 2009
From: Poland

Posted by Pawel on Thursday, December 12, 2013 1:38 AM

Hello!

Good to see your progress! You might want to chech the colours of the C-47,though - the olive drab looks to brown for me. I'd say overpaint it with dark green - that would do the job. Or are the photos not showing the colours right? Good luck with your project

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

Reply

plasticjunkie

Member since
November 2008
From: Central Florida

Posted by plasticjunkie on Thursday, December 12, 2013 7:49 AM

Thanks for the very interesting links. Everything is looking good!

Too many models to build, not enough time in a lifetime!!

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Thursday, December 12, 2013 9:29 AM

Greetings All!

I’m glad you liked the links plastickjunkie. I thought you might find it interesting. I don’t know about you, but it seems that the older I get the more fascinating I find history. When I was young it was, eh, who cares. Now, it seems I can’t learn enough.

Dang it Pawel! You had to go and point out that the olive green is too brown. Part of it is that the photos don’t show the colors quite right, but I noticed the same thing last night. I was wondering if I was going to try to fix it, and you made up my mind. The trouble is that I don’t have any dark green. I guess I will be going back to Hobbytown this afternoon. Thanks a lot!

Seriously though thanks a lot. These are the type of comments I post for. Don’t get me wrong, I like to hear the good, but like I said earlier, I also want to hear the bad and the ugly. The point after all is to make the models and display as good as my skills and resources will allow. I might not be able to do a primo paint job, but I can at least get the colors somewhat correct.

Actually, although the olive green is the most noticeable, I think all of the colors are too dark. Part of this could be due to the scale color effect. I don’t know if aircraft modelers worry about it, since aircraft models are usually in larger scales (1/48 or 1/72), but ship modelers, who typically work in 1/350 or 1/700 scale often do.

David Griffith in his excellent book “Ship Models from Kits”Basic and Advanced Skills for Small Scales”,describes the phenomena brilliantly. Essentially he points out that due to the atmosphere, the farther an object is from you, the lighter its apparent color becomes. When you paint a model, he says, you don’t want it to look like a small object close to you; you want it to look like a large object far away. To achieve this effect, Griffith recommends adding white at a percentage equal to the square root of the scale you are working in. For the current display:

Percent white = √350 = 18.7

So, to account for the scale factor, Griffith recommends adding almost 20% white to the colors. I considered scale color at one point, but decided not to do it because I wanted to use paints I already had. Well, that plane has departed, and I might have to reconsider. I’m going to Hobbytown anyway.

CHEERS!!!

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Friday, December 13, 2013 8:48 AM

UPDATE 8 – 12/13/2013

Good Morning Everybody!

First, yesterday was a milestone day. My committee signed off on my prospectus. YEEEAAAHHHH!

There is light at the end of the tunnel.

It was also a milestone day for dad’s display, as I finished painting the models. After another trip to Hobbytown where I bought some Model Masters Dark Green Acrylic (FS 34079), I pondered the paint scheme one final time. I decided that the scale effect was more applicable to what Griffith calls the “weathered style” than what he calls the “pristine and clean style”, and that the “pristine and clean style” was more appropriate to my display. Not that my modeling abilities will allow me to make them pristine and clean, but that is the goal and the style I opted to use.

The top of the AC-47 is now completely painted with Model Master’s paint matching the FS numbers of the tan, light green and dark green. I think it looks better. Thanks Pawel. I probably would have left it as it was if you hadn’t point it out. I also gave the windshield, windows and the half dome on top the pencil treatment, and added a spot of red (Testor’s enamel) to the tail light.

I say that the painting is completed, but it may not be. Even though pictures I have of the mini-guns show them to be white, I’m thinking of painting mine a light gray to dull it down a little.

The bottom of the AC-47 was painted with some old Model Master’s Enamel Flat Black. It was more a thick syrup than paint, and I thought about adding some mineral spirits to it, but didn’t know how it would react with the Model Master’s enamel. Since it was going to be on the bottom, and would rarely, if ever, be seen, I decided to use the paint as it was. It worked OK for the bottom although I would not be happy with it if it was going to be visible in the display. The reddish tint in the image below is a photographic light effect. It is black as black in person, even under a magnifying glass. The wheels were painted with Testor’s Enamel Gloss Black, in perhaps an unnecessary effort to distinguish them from the bottom. I’m considering painting the aft landing gear and forward wheel wells with a spot of light gray when I do the mini-gun, but man they are tiny.

I also touched up the U-3A, used thepencil trick on the windshield and windows and added a spot of red to the tail light. The left side looks better than the right. I’m thinking I might spray some of the white primer in a saucer like Gamera recommended for the aluminum, and see if I can’t straighten out the line a little bit on the right side. Then again, I might be better off to leave well enough alone. We’ll see.

Here are all of the planes again.

Lessons learned so far…

1) I should have read the “Working With 3D Printed Parts” guide that Click2Detail (C2D) has on their website. I noticed the link some time ago but didn’t really read it and forgot all about it when the planes arrived. Their recommendation is to wet-sand after priming, then add a coat of Future, before priming again and painting. This makes for a smooth even surface.

2) Don’t paint in the cold.

3) Don’t paint in the cold.

4) I’m beginning to think that you are best to use new paints for every project. I hate being wasteful, but overly thick paint such as the Ensign Blue I used on the U-3A and the Flat Black I used on the bottom of the AC-47, makes it harder to get a nice paint job. The other option, I guess, is to learn how to effectively thin thick paint.

5) I’m not crazy about the pencil treatment on the glass. It looks OK on some of the models, but not on others. Perhaps I can add another layer of lead after I spray the Future. Any thought?

6) Did I say, don’t paint in the cold? If not, don’t paint in the cold.

The next step, I guess, is to spray a thin layer of Future on the models in preparation for decals. Originally, I was going to spray all of the models at the same time, but I just looked to see what kind of drying times people recommended between the last application of paint and spraying the Future, and the consensus seems to be 24-48 hours. The NMF planes are ready for Future now. The U-3A and AC-47 won’t be ready until at least tomorrow. To keep the progress going, I think I will spray the NMF’s today. It is recommended that I wait another 24-48 hours after spraying the Future before applying the decals, which means that the soonest I could start applying decals will be Saturday or Sunday.

Have a great day!

CHEERS!!!

Reply

Gamera

Member since
November 2009
From: SW Virginia

Posted by Gamera on Friday, December 13, 2013 11:11 AM

Thanks for the links!

Looks good, you're making great progress.

"I dream in fire but work in clay." -Arthur Machen

Reply

Pelican

Member since
December 2013

Posted by Pelican on Friday, December 13, 2013 2:47 PM

Neat presentation. Looking forward to seeing the finished display. Would consider making some of your planes (unfinished ones) available for purchase?

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Friday, December 13, 2013 7:36 PM

UPDATE 9 – 12/13/2013

Hi Everybody!

Your welcome Gamera, although it is way off topic, I thought somebody might find it interesting, as I did.

I don’t have much progress to report; except that I sprayed a coat of Future on the NMF’s and I am now not so patiently waiting for them to dry. I also took the planes off of the brass rods and soaked the rods in Mineral Spirits for 10-15 minutes or so and wiped off the primer and paint that had over sprayed on them, with a paper towel.

Then, I couldn’t help myself, I had to take pictures. Unfortunately, I didn’t think about the flash casting shadows on the backdrop. DOH! I’ll try again later, in the daylight, so I can turn off the flash. Still, I thought I would share them.

The last image shows the planes mounted on the plaque, pretty much as they will be on the final display. Nothing is glued yet of course.

CHEERS!!!

Reply

Pawel

Member since
May 2009
From: Poland

Posted by Pawel on Saturday, December 14, 2013 7:38 AM

Hello!

Glad I could help. The C-47 looks a lot better now. Good luck finishing your project!

Paweł

All comments and critique welcomed. Thanks for your honest opinions!

www.vietnam.net.pl

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Saturday, December 14, 2013 10:30 AM

UPDATE 10

Good Morning All!

I took a few more pictures of the planes this morning, without the flash.

I’m really happy with it to this point, with one exception. The sea gull wings of the T-29.

I have learned that 3D printed parts can warp like, I hear, resin parts can do. Unfortunately, the wings on the T-29 and to a lesser extend the T-34, and maybe the B-25 a bit, sagged on the ends. I can live with the B-25 and the T-34, but I’m not sure I can live with the T-29. The sag is just too pronounced.

The wings were sagging when the plane arrived, and since I stupidly forgot about the “Working With 3D Printed Parts” guide from Click2Detail (C2D) (https://click2detail.com/content/working-with-3d-printed-parts) I didn’t know that there was a chance I could fix it. The site says that to straighten a warped part, you simply submerge it in hot water and bend it back in position. Would it work? I don’t know. I suspect that it wouldn’t work now that it is painted, and that even if it did, I would think that the paint would crack. Any thoughts?

In any case, I’m not sure I can live with it. I think I’ll try the hot water bath and see what happens. I may end up stripping this bad boy after all. We’ll see.

Earlier, while still impatiently waiting for paint and Future to dry, I dug out an old Airfix “72^nd Scale” AC-47 model dad had given me over a year ago. He had started it, but lost interest, partially because, he said, the guns were wrong. He said that he would never build it and asked me if I wanted it. Even though I was engrossed in other projects, I said “Hells yeah!”

Tidying up a bit I came across it and decided to pull it out and look at it. I don’t know how long he has had it, but the price tag on it is $2.99, marked down from $3.50.

I am way more interested in the model now than I was when dad gave it to me, so I did a quick inventory of the parts and the only part I noticed missing is one of the engine cowlings.

I’m thinking this might be my next project. I was thinking I could make the mini-guns and cowling and 3D print them, and any other piece I find to be missing upon closer inspection. Of course, the first step would be stripping the paint on the fuselage and redoing it. I don’t know what paint dad used, but my guess is that it was Testor’s enamel. After stripping the paint, I’m thinking that this may be my first spray gun painted model.

CHEERS!

Reply

Rdutnell

Member since
March 2012

Posted by Rdutnell on Saturday, December 14, 2013 11:46 AM

UPDATE 11

Good news Guys!

I tried the hot water trick, and it worked, with no damage to the paint job. I found that the trick was to shape it under hot water, and while holding it in the position you want it, hold it under cold water. It isn’t perfect, but at least it no longer looks like a sea gull.

Since it was so easy to do, I decided to go ahead and fix the T-34…

…And the B-25.

It’s about time to start adding decals. If they are dry enough for the hot water dunking, certainly they are dry enough for decals. Big Smile

Reply

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“A Career in Flight” – 3D Printed 1/350 Scale Aircraft Display (Work in Progress)

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