Variable Geometry: the Swing Wing GB

Well, it wasn't too many more than 4 pieces!

I have opened up the B-1 boxing, no pictures yet.  I have an L-shaped workbench in the garage, with the side I work on measuring 8' in length.  That barely is enough space to spread all the sprues for this beast of a kit! 

I have decided that I will keep to form with builds like this in that I will build it in-flight, ie, the wheels will be retracted.  There are a lot of parts that I consequently will not use in order to keep the weight down, as she is ultimately destined to hang from my ceiling.

I will start work on this beast at some point but today, after being out late last night for my son's graduation, I am just not up to modeling today.

Nice work on the Tornado Aggie. 

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Here is the fault line that has been filled with 3 rounds of Zap-a-Gap and some Squadron putty.  I am going to prime it tonight to see how the seam actually turned out.  The other wing didn't need so much putty.  Just a good dose of Zap-a-Gap.  I think the one wing was a little warped.

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Here is the landing gear so far.  I had to use a lot of putty and CA glue for the seams.  Sorry for the not so good photos.  I am using a cell phone camera as my digital camera sucks.

    Well, the wing seam has been mentioned as a real bear in just about every description of this kit that I've seen.  Yours looks pretty good in the photo, but a coat of primer will tell.  Landing gear is also coming along nicely, though it doesn't surprise me about the seams there too.  The routine for this kit will be glue, fill, sand; then repeat steps 2 and 3 multiple times until the seam is gone or you've sanded away so much of the part to render it useless.    

     I'm still working on the cockpit and forward gear bay.  Have the PE parts installed and painted and did some detail painting of the plumbing in the gear bay last night.  One or two more things to finish off and I'll take some photos. 

Don

Can't wait to see the photos of the pit and gear bay.   After I finish the landing gear I will work on the bomb bays.  I will keep you posted on any problems I run into there. 

It seems like the kit offers some decent detail in the bomb bays but most will be covered from the bombs.  I might keep one of the bays empty to show the plumbing and wiring.

First completion, good job Aggieman!

Macattack80, hope those seams look good under primer. Pordoi, looking forward to some pics.

I've been working on the Tornado. Took pics along the way just haven't gotten motivated to edit and upload yet. The office is done, front fuselage sections and radome together and working on the seams. The wing pylons were a slightly loose fit so I glued in shims on top of them to take up the slack. Ended up with the outer pylons sitting at a slightly different angle than the inner so they need a little more work. The biggest problem I've found with this kit is mould mismatch but nothing too bad. Will try to get some pics up tomorrow(later today).

Tony

I sprayed on some primer. I used Testors gray primer from their lacquer paint line in the rattle can.  I find that it sprays great and dries relatively fast.  Anyway....the landing gear looks good.  The seams on the wings are filled, but there is a little ridge that needs to be smoothed away.  Probably from all the CA glue I used.  I will take care of that tonight and post some pics tomorrow.

Glad to hear it worked out well for you macattack80. Look forward to seeing the pics.

Here's a few from me. First, a couple of the office. The decals didn't really match up to the size of a couple of the panels. I cut apart the ones for the IPs to get them in place but forgot to add the pics that showed them. Oh well. I'll still have to add the panel with the black boxes for the rear. It's a snug fit and is to be added after the fuse it together. I'll wait till I'm done sanding.

Here's some pics of how the pylons attach to the wings. Insert the post on the pylon through the hole in the lower wing and snap on the C clip.

They were kind of a loose fit so I used some .010 Evergreen strip for shims and glued a couple pieces to the top of each. Then whittled/sanded them down to shape.

 Doesn't show in these pics but I need to add another shim to the front of the outer pylons, they ended up setting at a slightly different angle than the inners. Don't worry, the wing halves aren't glued together yet.

That's about it. Just about ready to shoot some primer on the front fuselage to check  my seams and rescribing. Glued in the panels representing the fabric behind the wings and shot the base color on the rear gear wells. Soon as I get the pylons straight I'll glue the wing halves together and can get on with assembling the rear fuselage.

Tony

Hello all,

First off nice Pit job Wingman!. I am eagerly awaiting the arrival of my resin cockpit for my kit. I have finished the exhaust cans and the landing gear. Here are some pics of the work s far.

This is thefront gear box and and rear gear as well as the rear gear door hatch. I have noticed in all the pic that the retract arms on both the EF/F-111 are red. Unfortunatley when the kit is all together that detail is hard to see.

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Look forward to seeing more progress picks from everyone.

Travis/STFD637

macattack:  you're progressing nicely.  Some pics of the B-1B cockpit and front gear well are below to give you an idea of that stage of the construction when you get to it.

Wingman:  nice job on the cockpit.  How sturdy do you think those pylons will be when completed.  Looks like that with only a single attachment point to the wing, they might potentially have some front-to-back wobble.  I believe that I read that as a criticism in a review of the Trumpy 1/32 Tornado.  Conceptually, it looks like a great idea and hopefully it will be functional as well.   Any idea how the pylons rotated as the wings were swept on the actual aircraft?

STDF637:  Good to see that you've started on the F-111.  Will be watching your progress on this.  And I certainly know what you mean regarding detail that won't be seen in the completed kit.  Have a look at my progress on the B1 cockpit below, which will be almost completely obscured in the finished model.  But hey,... we know it's there and that's all that counts.  Plus we have photographic evidence here.

First step in the instructions of the Revell B-1B have one assemble the front landing gear well and the cockpit, which sits atop the wheel well.  The parts comprising the gear well required moderate clean up and are reasonably well detailed when compared to photos of the real thing in the Peeter's reference from Daco publishing.  However, the access hatch at the front of the well is missing; a bit strange since it is a pretty promonant feature.  But a PE hatch is provided in the Eduard set and fits nicely.  Also, it seemed easier to me to do some detail painting of the plumbing before assembly, so everything was coated with Tamiya gloss white, then plumbing was painted with a mix of metallic gray and metallic aluminum (also Tamiya acrylics) and given a final wash of diluted black oil to dirty it up a bit.  Remember to fill ejector scars and paint both sides of the center bulkhead as it will be visible if you mount the crew ladder extended.  Assembly was a bit fiddly since some of the parts had a minor warp.  It took some careful alignment to get everything together square but here is the result.

The cockpit consists of two sub-assemblies encompassing the CO's and co-pilot's station to the fore and the DSO and OSO stations in the aft.  Some additional asembly is still required here, but I thought that I'd post a few shots.  The Eduard set contains a PE replacement for the control panel of the DSO and OSO so all of the detail on the kit part was sanded smooth.  I decided to use the printed sheet (gives it some color) and overlayed it with the PE panel that was drybrushed in flat black to hightlight the instrument bezels and faces.  The panel was then washed with dilute white oil to highlight buttons and switches and glued to the kit part with white glue.  The Eduard set did not replace the side consoles for some reason, so these were sprayed flat black after masking, then drybrushed in light gray to bring out detail.  Seats were assembled OOB, even though some very small PE parts were provided.  Given the this area of the cockpit will be invisible when buttoned up in the fuselage, it just didn't seem to be worth the effort.  Here it is so far:

The CO and co-pilot station bulkheads were painted in light gray, washed with black oil and the seats installed.  The control panel was replaced with PE using the printed sheet as described above.  Again, the side and center panels are not replaced by PE and were sprayed and drybrushed as above.  Looks like this right now:

Assembly was delayed here because I decided to add a human presence.  Here are our CO and co-pilot; there are from the Hasegawa Modern US pilots and ground crew kit. 

Unfortunately, a dry fit indicated that these fellas will have to undergo emergency surgery to amputate below the knees in order to fit into the cockpit.   I'm checking right now to determine if that procedure is covered under their medical plans before commencing the final assembly.  Will post a photo of the complete subassembly in the near future. 

Keep up the good work guys, I look forward to seeing more of your progress.

Don

PORDOI,  Nice job on the pit and nose wheel well.  That PE sets looks great.   Nice detail painting too.  So what if Lieutenant Dan has to fly the Bone. 

STDF637,  The landing gear and exhaust is looking good.  Glad you got her started. 

WINGMAN, The pit is looking good.  I hate when the decals don't fit the molded detail.  I would rather have a smooth panel and no relief.  Nice job getting the pylons to sit right on the wings too.

Keep up the good work all.

I didn't get a whole lot of time at the bench last night.  I did manage to get those dreaded fault line sized seams in the wings to go away and get the landing gear looking OK.  Here are a few pics.  I will start getting the bomb bays going tonite and maybe get the tail section together.  Hey Don, it seems like we are building the exact opposite way....this can work out nicely so we can advise of any hiccups.

Here are the wing seams:

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And the landing gear:

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macattack80

Hey Don, it seems like we are building the exact opposite way....this can work out nicely so we can advise of any hiccups.

So...., are you starting from the last page of the instructions? 

macattack80

Here are the wing seams:

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Very nice!  

Don

pordoi

macattack80:

Hey Don, it seems like we are building the exact opposite way....this can work out nicely so we can advise of any hiccups.

 

 

So...., are you starting from the last page of the instructions? 

 

Well.....yeah....sort of  

macattack80

pordoi:

macattack80:

Hey Don, it seems like we are building the exact opposite way....this can work out nicely so we can advise of any hiccups.

 

 

So...., are you starting from the last page of the instructions? 

 

 

Well.....yeah....sort of  

OK, then.   Meet you in the middle!  

Don

Alright! Lots o' progress pics. Looking good everyone! STDF637, looks like the Raven is coming along nicely. macattack80, nice job on the seams, they look good. Gear too. I've started several times to get one of those Tamiya paint stands and haven't, looks like a handy tool. pordoi, good to see how your project is coming along. Figures look good, shame you have to do surgery. I look forward to using some photoetch in the future. And since you brought it up...

I had been giving some thought to whether or not those pylon mounts would hold up. I've had the C clips on and off several times fitting the pylons and careful as I was they were already starting to spread a little. I figured with a drop of CA on top they'd be ok but don't know if those posts would stand up to the handling required down the line. Then today I dropped one of the clips and lost it. In making a new one I managed to snap off the mounting post on an outboard pylon.

So, time for an upgrade. Out came a few tools...

Punch and die set and mallet

Trusty pin vise and a couple bits...

And the box of straight pins the ex left behind. I love cutting these things up.

First we punch out a few 3/16 discs from some .020 sheet and drill a pilot hole in the center. I leave the hole a little undersize so I have to force the pin into the disc. Then put a drop of CA under the pinhead and slide up the disc. Hit it with a drop of accelorator.

 Then take up the pin vise and drill a pilot hole in the pylon. I like to start with a smaller bit so if I happen to cant it a little I can adjust with the final hole size. It may take a little practice to get centered with the bit so just make a couple turns and then look to see if you're centered. If you're off a little you can lean the bit/vise the opposite way a little and start drilling again. The bit will walk and when you think it's centered you can stand it up and drill a little more. Once you have the hole started hold the piece up in front of you so you can see if you're going straight.

That's pretty close. So carry on with the drilling making sure you're not going to run out the side or get too close to the side of the part and raise a bump while drilling. Unfortunately I did that very thing on the last pylon. Oh well, shouldn't be too noticeable.

Then you can get out the sidecutters and trim the straight pin to the length needed. Then it's just a matter of trial and error to get the right length. I like to have the hole just a little deeper than the pin if I can so you have a *well* at the bottom to hold a little extra CA. I use heavy duty side cutters for the pins, they can be tough. Also, I use a file or sanding stick to rough up the part of the pin that will go in the hole to give the CA a little something to grab hold of.

There you have it. Washer is bottoming out on the pylon. Luckily when the plastic pin snapped off it was above the larger diameter that locates the pylon in the wing. The others did the same. I didn't have enough hands to hold the parts and snap pics during the next step. I pour a little CA out on a plastic cap and use a pin to put drops in the hole in the pylons.  Just keep adding a drop at a time till it's just about full. Then, put the pin and washer in place and slide the pylon onto it.

Tah Dah! There it is. Repeat for the other side and you have it.

They're still going to be a bit of a problem during the paint process I think but at least now they're stronger than the plastic around them. After doing this tonite I had a little brainstorm that I'll use on the next one.  There's a recess for each pin in the top wing half for clearance. Next time I'll make the washers thick enough so that they will fill the gap between the recess' in both wing halves with no up and down movement. Then I can install the washers and pins and glue the wings together and install the pylons after painting. Wish I had thought of it sooner. And, though a little CA may push out of the hole when you slide the pylon on the pin, as long as it isn't too much you can snap it loose once it dries.

pordoi, I'll do some checking and see what I can find out about how the pylons work on the actual plane. And if I'm throwing out too many pics don't hesitate to say so, k.

Tony 

PS...I meant to add, I'm not much on moving parts on models. Once this kit is built the wings will rarely be moved but, I kinda like that they can be so I'll leave them.

Heys, photos are what it's all about, Tony.  The more the merrier.  Nice save on the pylon problem that you encountered and a great little tutorial that may be helpful for other swing wing builders.  Thanks.

Don

WOW! Great solution to the pylon problem Wingman! I just got my Verlinden detail set today! I am excited at the details I get to add. I will be building the the Raven with the cockpit open. That being said I have already noticed that the details are going to have to be "adjusted" to make them work on the AMT kit. (it was made for Hasegawa...of course!) The tub doesn't quite fit when dry fit is attempted. Thank goodness this is a longer build!

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More to come!

Travis/STFD637

Nice job on the pylons Wingman!  That is some good innovation.  The Tamiya paintstand is fantastic.  It comes with the round turntable top with 4 clips and another top with  reverse spring loaded clips for painting car bodies.   I paint a lot of smaller parts on toothpicks and wooden skewers as you noticed in the photo so it helps that the top has a bunch of holes.

Thats a pretty nice looking detail set Travis.  Can't wait to see it all painted up.  I used their detail set for a R/M F-15E.  I was very happy with the detail in it.

I got a little work done last night.  I was able to get the fuel tank and the rotary lauchers together.  Again more seams to fill but nothing compared to the wing seams.  I didn't get any pics of it ytet.  I want to at least get some color on something.

OK Don, just don't want to overload anything. I did a little digging last nite to see what I could find about how the pylons are rotated. Couldn't find much. I don't have any books, or even a library card, so I just dig around on the net. A lot of what I found was speculation on other forums and most seemed to think they are moved by jackscrews like the wings but one search turned up a thread on ARC in which a fellow said they are controlled by a pushrod arrangement. Then I found an online bookseller that posted pages from a book for sale but it was late and I didn't save the name. In the image, an engineering drawing, you can just make out a rod going to the inner pylon but can't see where the other end is anchored or what it attaches to. Naturally they don't show the complete drawing. So, from what I can tell, it's actually a pretty simple linkage. This is only a guess but,  each pylon mounts on a pivot and inside the wing there is an arm attached to each pivot point. There is a linkage rod that attaches somewhere around the wingroot that extends to the arm on the inner pylon and then there is a second rod that goes from the arm on the inner pylon to the outer so that they will rotate together. The movement could be synchronized by where the linkage is attached to the arm. But I didn't find anything about where the linkage attaches inboard or what controls it. I'll dig deeper...

I did run across a pic of a Tornado landing with the outer pylon on the right wing *askew*. hehe That's where the flare/chaff dispenser is carried and while the wings were swept forward and the drop tank was pointing straight ahead the outer pylon and dispenser were pointing outward at about a 45 degree angle. I guess the linkage comes loose or breaks sometimes. In the wrong situation that could get hairy.

Thanks for the comments on the pylons guys. I glued the wings together tonite and think they're going to be ok.  I'm gonna have to do something about the way the elevators attach though, they sag way too much and the inner edge is too far from the fuselage. I'll get them tightened up.

Travis, I don't know much about the F-111, Aardvark or Raven, but found quite a few pictures of it last nite while I was searching. Gonna have to do some reading about it, that is an interesting plane. The addition of the Verlinden set is going to look great. Hope you don't have too much trouble getting it fitted.

macattack80, definitely have to get that Tamiya stand someday. I'm anxious to get paint on something too, that's my favorite part. At least the airbrushing part. Detailing with brushes, not so much. But I love it when things get to the spraying stage and all the bottles of paint and thinner come out.

Tony

I finally got to paint something!!!! 

Here are the wheels 

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landing gear

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Rotary launchers

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Thats it for now.

Keep working fellas.  Things look like they're progressing on everyones builds.  Well maybe all but mine.  We've had some home construction this weekend that prevented me from getting time at the table, and now I'm traveling for work until Thursday.  I did get the B-1B cockpit fully assembled; will take some photos  when I return and before it all gets zipped up into the front portion of the fuselage.  I'll try to keep current this week on the road, but can't guarantee anything. 

Don

So far all I've managed to do is open up all the bags and spread the parts of my B-1 out on my work bench.  It's been pretty hot lately (my work shop is in the garage) with temperatures only going higher in coming weeks.  My desire to even get out there has been next to nil.  Then with planning a vacation at the end of the month coupled with my son's new student conference this week at Texas A&M ... yeah, I just haven't really thought about the build.  I'll get to it soon though, promise!

Just don't let those parts melt out there Aggieman! Don't think I could get enthused about working in the heat either.

macattack80, congrats on the paint! Gear and launchers are looking good. I took a few minutes last nite to paint a couple spots like inside the wing glove and the wing roots. Also discovered that Acryll without primer is pretty fragile. I'll fix that.

Had a little setback this evening. I guess.   As I said before, the posts the elevators/elevons mount on are kinda fragile too and while you have a little control of how they set against the fuselage with the crossbar that joins them I know it isn't going to hold up. So I dug out some rod and tubing and started wondering how to go about fixing it. Then I got to wondering about the weight I'd be adding and if it would be enough to make it a tail sitter since I'd already added weight and buttoned up the nose. Broke out the powder scales and weighed the parts I'd be adding and the parts I'd be removing. I think as long as I stick with aluminum tube it will be fine. Overthinking? Maybe, but I'd hate to get down to the end and have it setting on the burner cans.

Then, it happened. I had the fuselage taped together with the wings and elevators in place and slipped the front fuse section in place to see if the joint was still looking ok. Set it all down on the bench and checked it out and all looked fine.  Carefully picked it all up to slip the front back out and it, the front section, slipped right through my fingers and bounced on the floor in front of the bench. There's a rug on it but it's concrete and the radome popped right off,  probably because it had 4 flattened .22lr bullets glued in, and cracked open the fuse seam back to the cockpit. In the end, not a big deal I guess. Didn't break out any chunks and I'll just have to redo the seams. But now I don't have to worry about the weight on the tail 'cause I can add a little to the nose...

Don't worry Don, we'll carry on till your return.

Tony

The "Bone" is coming along nicely! I built one in 1/144 (the first and only kit I have ever done in that scale). I would love to do on in 72nd but the size kinda worries me....I am sure 1/48 is a monster!

Aggieman: I feel your pain. I live in SW Florida where it is 80+ before the sun is up with 80-100% humidity. I have to do all my spraying out in the garage with limited airflow. I think I lose about a pound of H2O weight everytime I go out there! Lucky for me my wife lets me do some work at the dinner table....as long as I clean up. Good luck to you.

I got the cockpit primed and painted in light sea grey. Hopefully I will be able to get some work done tonight when the little ones are going to bed. Will post pics soon.

Travis/STFD637

I HAVE DECLARED WAR ON EJECTOR PIN MARKS!!!!!!!!  I spent the last 3 sessions sanding them down in the bomb bays and the main landing gear wells alone.  Luckily the nose gear wells look good.  I got most done and will do some more painting tonite and maybe post some pics tomorrow. 

macattack80

I HAVE DECLARED WAR ON EJECTOR PIN MARKS!!!!!!!!  I spent the last 3 sessions sanding them down in the bomb bays and the main landing gear wells alone.  Luckily the nose gear wells look good.  I got most done and will do some more painting tonite and maybe post some pics tomorrow. 

Yes, another issue about this kit that will have to be dealt with.  Can't understand why they didn't punch these pieces out from the rear side rather than the side exposed if one is going to leave the bay doors open.  A bit of a hassle, but not something that can't be dealt with.  Although I understand your frustration and will have to deal with it myself.

Don

pordoi

Yes, another issue about this kit that will have to be dealt with.  Can't understand why they didn't punch these pieces out from the rear side rather than the side exposed if one is going to leave the bay doors open.  A bit of a hassle, but not something that can't be dealt with.  Although I understand your frustration and will have to deal with it myself.

 

Don

 

That is why I am a little frustrated with this.  A lot of the detailed parts of the kit are covered in rather large ejector pin marks and the side that won't be seen is nice and smooth.   Some of the marks are going to be rather difficult to remove in the bomb bays.  If you plan on loading up the launchers it will hide some of them.  I plan on removing all but I don't want to destroy the molded in details.  The molded detail is rather good.  Thanks for the empathy though Don.

You're back early from your trip I see.  I hope all went well.

I had a chance to paint some more stuff last night.  Mostly from the bomb bays and landing gear wells.

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More pics

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I will do some detail painting tonight after work if I am up for it.