Variable Geometry: the Swing Wing GB

Don, I don't think that I have accomplished much more than you have thus far.  I just get sick of cleaning up the same parts so I start a new subassembly all the time.

Aggieman, post what you have done so far.  Inquiring minds want to know.

Kevin

Hey Aggie, I've been wondering when you'd start that Bone.  Three of them going now.  But guys, take your time!!  It ain't a race and we've got plenty of time in this GB.  Besides, you'll make me look bad if you both finish before me     I'm lucky if I get 2 evenings a week at the bench and I've already given up trying to keep pace with macattack... 

Hang in there with the fuselage.  Remember to weight the nose or it'll be a tail sitter.  Although without the bomb bay and landing gear bays installed, you'll have less weight in the rear half of the aircraft.  [edit:  and DUH!!!   If you're going to hang this from the ceiling, how can it be a tail sitter...  sorry, my bad]  There will also be challenges down the road mating the nose and tail to the center portion of the fuselage.  Every blog that I've read on this kit encountered fit issues there.  Expect trouble and dry fit.

Post pics; sparsely painted or not, we want to see your progress. 

Don

^

Agreed, it must be family first.  I am a computer programmer when I am not writing a novel or building models; I work in an industry with very tight timelines, and it just happens that I have a project due middle of next week with a vacation day and the 4th of July holiday smack dab in the middle of the development cycle.  So to ensure I meet my deadline I had to work longer hours than normal ... but enough of the sob story, I'm done for the week and can now relax for a nice 4-day weekend.

Glad to hear that you got her started.  Be glad that all the bay doors will be closed up on your representation.  It will save you about 30 hours of work.  Cant wait to see some pics.

I am with you on working too much.  We are short staffed so I get 1 day off a week now.   Work days are a mix of 8 and 12 hour days with different shifts just to compound the fun.  I just worked 2 overnights and now am on evenings. 

I promised my kids I would take them to the zoo tomorrow so I won't get anything done after work tonight.   Family first.

Good work on the B-1!  I have started on my own Bone.  This is a beastly kit in more ways than one, as I'm discovering.  I got the pit together without any problems, but getting it installed into the fuselage and then securing the fuselage halves has been (and actually still is) an exercise in frustration.  Everything is lined up correctly but the fuselage halves just don't want to come fully together.

So far I've attached the upper seams as they went together relatively nicely and have decided that, given my consecutive 12 hour work days (cramming 5 days into 4 this week, yak), I'm just too dad-gummed tired to work with it any more tonight.

I have a couple of photos of the pit but it's only sparsely painted, as I figure that it will simply not be visible behind those tinted windows.  Plus mine is going to be a ceiling hugger so it's not going to be seen anyway.  Didn't paint any other interior surfaces as everything is going to be closed up, including the weapon bays (not building any of that as it will lighten this bird's weight to some extent).

Don, you're right about the color.  I have like 15 different yellow and tan colors but none were a match.  I knew it would take a while to paint all the plumbing so I didn't want to try and match the color a few different times so I went with an RLM color in the ole box of paint.  It was the closest match.  I was gonna use pastels and washes to get the color as right as I can.  The kevlar is an odd color.   

The pin mark was filled 3 times but I can't seem to get the putty to stay there for some reason.  But like you said, it will be invisible once the SRAM's are installed anyway.

I checked out Eduard's website and I will take your advice and just scratchbuild all the antenna and things.  I could use the practice anyway.

Thank you for the help Don.  I haven't been building that long so I could use all the help I can get.

macattack80

Ok.  I got a little bit more done.  Here are a few pics.  Its not much but its better than nothing.

I got some of the hoses/cables painted in the bomb bays.

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Those kevlar sleeves on the plumbing, it's a hard color to match; not quite yellow, not quite gold.  Give your bays a wash in umber and/or black and you might just have it.  Also, you might want to check the two ejector marks in the bay ceilings; it looks like they might need another round of putty to fill comlpletely.  On the other hand, once you get the rotary in place, you'll never see it.  The way you're progressing, you'll easily complete the first Bone of the GB and it looks like the bar will be set pretty high for the rest of us.

Regarding the PE set; alot of what you get is for the cockpit and bomb bays, so it won't be seen or it will be nearly impossible to assemble if you've already completed the bays.  Many of the antennae are supplied in brass, but these could just as easily scratched from plastic.  Just a heads up so that you don't spend your overtime cash on something that might not be as useful to you as you think.  Go to the Eduar site and have a look at the instructrions for set 48-325; it will show you all that you need to know.

Don

I got the tail section and horizontal stabs together too.

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It all went together well with out any filler.  I plan on scratchbuilding the DAS and vortex generators then a little primer and it should be good to go.  I was going to do this completely OOB but it is in such need of help.  I can't not fix some of it.  I did get some overtime in the last paycheck so I might get the photoetched set. 

Ok.  I got a little bit more done.  Here are a few pics.  Its not much but its better than nothing.

I got some of the hoses/cables painted in the bomb bays.

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Bish

I am home at the start of August, but won't be back at the bench until Sept. Given the other projects i need to finish, i am hopeing to start mine for this GB late Oct or Nov. That will give me time to work out how to adjust the wing.

Big change from winter to summer.  Good luck with plans to adjust the wings.  I figure that by Nov., I'll have these ejector scars smoothed out, so you won't be far behind...

Don

Some nice work going on here guys.

Aggie nice mini Tornado. Congrats on the first finished build.

Pordoi Not doing to bad down here, cold and windy with a bit of snow thrown in, so the usual. Did get a chance to get to one of the smaller Islands and see some Penguins and sealions.

Those ejecter pin marks look a right pain, but you look like you have covered it up well. I have the Revell 1/72nd B-1B in the stash, and thats big enough, where you going to put that monster when you have finished it.

STFD637 nice work on the Raven. I take it that is the same kit that Italeri brought out. I did start on that years ago, but when i got back into the hobby i realised some of the parts had gone missing so just replaced it with the Hasa kit last year. Will be looking forward to seeing yours come on.

I am home at the start of August, but won't be back at the bench until Sept. Given the other projects i need to finish, i am hopeing to start mine for this GB late Oct or Nov. That will give me time to work out how to adjust the wing.

Nice to see you join the fun Bish!   Look forward to seeing your build

Don, It took me quite a while to remove all those pin marks.  All the marks on my kit's bomb bay were raised and it looks like the marks on all the bomb bay and gear bay doors are sunk.  I did manage to get the tail section and stabilizers together.  No filler needed.....I repeat.....no filler needed!!!  I will post some pics up tomorrow. 

Bish

Hi all, hows thing back in the world of plastic and glue. This is my first visit to the site since i got down here. Now my time is running out and i haven't been able to check through the whole thread. Will try and do that tomorrow.  I know its a bit late now, but want to add my for the GB badge, i have always liove the F-14, i really must get one.

Been giving some thought to my P.1101. and i am thinking of doing an operational NMF finish and try to add some colour a bit along the line of the US Sabres in Korea.

I have had my hands of some modelling stuff since being down here. A couple of orders i place before i left, including a large ish one from Hannants, got sent donw to me here rather than being left in camp as i had asked someone to do. I plan on trying to get on here more often in my last few weeks so i can catch up on whats been going on before i get back to the bench.

Nice to have you drop by, Bish.  Good to hear from you.  Hope your visit to the islands is going smoothly.  As you see, we've got a few things in progress in the GB, including a couple of B1s, tornados and an F-111.  The NMF with color sounds like an interesting plan; look forward to seeing the P.1101 take shape. 

I've been dealing with ejector pin scars for the past week or so.  The bomb bays are loaded with them and since the bay doors will be open, they gotta go.  Can't understand what Revell was thinking though, since they are all on the side of the parts that will show:

while the reverse side looks like this:

Go figure.  A close look shows that one or two parts are also warped a bit.  Nothing too serious but we'll see if there are fit issues downstream.  Frustrating part is that some of the ejector marks are raised while others are sunk.  So some need to be scraped whereas others require filling.  Got a bit more sanding in tight quarters to do, then a coat of primer to assess.  Not the most fun part of modeling for me, but progress is being made.

Don

Hi all, hows thing back in the world of plastic and glue. This is my first visit to the site since i got down here. Now my time is running out and i haven't been able to check through the whole thread. Will try and do that tomorrow.  I know its a bit late now, but want to add my for the GB badge, i have always liove the F-14, i really must get one.

Been giving some thought to my P.1101. and i am thinking of doing an operational NMF finish and try to add some colour a bit along the line of the US Sabres in Korea.

I have had my hands of some modelling stuff since being down here. A couple of orders i place before i left, including a large ish one from Hannants, got sent donw to me here rather than being left in camp as i had asked someone to do. I plan on trying to get on here more often in my last few weeks so i can catch up on whats been going on before i get back to the bench.

Despite the lack of contact points and locating pins it turned out great.  I guess no locating pins are better than pins in the wrong spots. 

The pit looks good all buttoned too.  Nice work Travis.

I got a few minutes at the bench last night which gave me just enough time to slice my thumb open with an exacto knife.  Needless to say my bench time promptly ended.  Nothing to worry about.  I just didn't want to get the cut infected so I called it quits.

Thanks for the kind words everyone!

Well I have finished what is probably the most difficult part of this kit. That being marrying the front fusilage half to the back. AMT/Ertl made this about as hard as possible! There are no "true" contact points to aid in the attachment. So it was superglue and a very fine balancing act until it dried. I was ready for this after the F-111 (same kit just extra parts). That one turned into a real A%^ kicker for me with many hours of putty and sanding to get the seams and fit looking right! Here are some pics to get the idea.

Rear fusilage. you can see that there is onlly a flush area to marry the two halves!

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Looking at the back of the front fusilage. Even less surface area to make the conection!

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Looking into the cockpit area. I got most of the gaps from the Verlinden tub (made for Has. kit) filled and the cockpit secured. Now on to sanding those seams away!

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Keep up the great builds everyone. More to come!

Travis

Trust me, still have a good bit to do before breaking out anything other than primer. But it's getting closer. The seams may not be gaping holes but they're still there and have to be filled, sanded, filled, sanded...

Don, I've had the caliper for years and use it for everything. Don't know what I'd do without it. It was actually given to me by a former employer. Someone had dropped it and knicked the very point of one of the inside blades. Our QC person decided it didn't *measure up* to ISO whatever standards, would cost more to repair than replace and was simply going to destroy it and toss in the scrap. I asked the plant manager if I could have it and he said *as long as you promise to remove it from the plant immediately*. What else could I do?

The Chopper is a tool manufactured and sold by a company called North West Short Line. The link will take you to their site and the page with The Choppers I, II and III displayed. I saw it in a local hobby shop 6 - 7 years ago and when my kids asked what I wanted for Christmas that year, that was my suggestion. It's very handy when you need to cut multiple pieces the same length or with same or complimenting angles. It uses common single edge razor blades to do the chopping and you get a couple of metal plates with different angles that clamp for side gauges. Doesn't work for everything but comes in handy. Just be very careful of the exposed blade. You can get a larger version, that's on the webpage. Look around a bit, they have some other clever tools too.

I just about have the seams done on the underwing stuff. Hopefully over the weekend I can get the fuselage buttoned up, vertical stab in place and at least in primer. I had planned on using MM Acryll exclusively on this kit but may go with Tamiya for the camo. And yes, this one will be Lizard scheme. It's just a 3 color camo. Medium green, dark green and black. I've only found one picture of this aircraft, 44 60, that was stationed at Holloman AFB. Hoping to improve my weathering skills with this one. Shouldn't take much, they're pretty much non-existent.

STFD637, very nice detailing! The Raven is looking good. The LHS I frequent got in a couple of these kits and I was looking them over yesterday. Look forward to seeing this one.

macattack80, hope you can get some bench time in. It's hard to come by at times. Most of the pics I posted are from last week, haven't gotten much done this week.

And Don, don't let those ejector pin marks get you down.

Tony

PS...Sent one of my airbrushes to Badger for repair today and am going to be very anxious until it's return...

Looking great so far Tony.  Nice job with the reinforcement.  Seems like you just have to spray some paint and you will be about done. 

I might get some time at the bench after work tonite if all goes well.  I will post some pics if I do.

Wingman_kz

That'll teach you to ask for pics Don. Nah, it will just teach me not to get behind. Good luck with your builds guys. Carry on...

Tony

OK, OK.  I did ask....   Very well documented and I really like your solutions to shore up some of the weaker links in the kit.  But I'm most impressed with the high tech tools...    Digital rulers and "the Chopper" .  What exactly is the Chopper; who makes it?  I may have to look into getting one of those gadgets.

Looks like the Tornado is coming along very nicely and that you're almost ready to start painting the bird.  This one's going to be lizard camo, correct?

Don

Phil_H

Wingman_kz:

Last week I worked on the elevators/elevons. What is the correct term? I'm thinking elevators since they are separate from the wing. .

Hi Tony,

In this configuration (an "all-moving" stabilisor) they would be called a "stabilator".

Elevons are more common on a tailless delta configuration where they act as both ailerons and elevators.

Yeh! I gotcha Phil. Still learning the aviation terminology but that makes perfect sense and I understand now. Thanks!

Tony

And here's what I've done this week...

I believe I showed before the posts the wings set on and how they're captured in the fuselage.  Those posts were a little short. They're supposed to reach up to a small locator pin in the upper fuse half but didn't quite make it.

I used a piece of .100 rod, drilled a hole and made a couple doughnuts to fit over the pins. Once the fuse was glued it helped steady the wings. They weren't really going anywhere but the wingtips drooped a little without them.

Shot some primer on the wings. Oh Joy! Paint! hehe

Then glued the fuse halves together.

Here she sets mocked up. The other bits aren't glued yet. Still have some seam work to do. Looks like the front fuselage section is going to match up very well to the rear but I don't have the intakes together yet. We'll see.

And here's where I stand right now. Thankfully, in this scale and with this kit I can get away with using unthinned primer instead of putty. I mentioned mold mismatch before, it really came into play with the drop tanks and Boz chaff dispenser. Left side smaller than right side. Oh well. I'll get it.

That'll teach you to ask for pics Don. Nah, it will just teach me not to get behind. Good luck with your builds guys. Carry on...

Tony

Wingman_kz

Last week I worked on the elevators/elevons. What is the correct term? I'm thinking elevators since they are separate from the wing. .

Hi Tony,

In this configuration (an "all-moving" stabilisor) they would be called a "stabilator".

Elevons are more common on a tailless delta configuration where they act as both ailerons and elevators.

Again, here's what I started with. Maybe you'll notice I've already bent the plastic post on one side and I handled it very carefully.

Very easy to snap off.

Here they are drilled out with the brass rod in place. The rod is .062 which is about the same as the ID on the tubing.

And here you can see I got a little too close to the surface with the drill bit. I could see plastic lifting like skin and pulled the bit out often to clean chips but in the end a chip caught on the end of the bit and raised the surface a little more. Oh well, it sanded out just fine.

And here they are in place. If you don't get the angle just right you can carefully bend the rod to get there.

SInce that piece of tubing has very little to hold onto I figured it could use some support.  Out came some styrene strip and *The Chopper*! I used .080 x .188 strip. Here's a tip on using The Chopper.

Insert a small spacer between your side gauge and the end of the stock you're cutting, remembering to add the width of the spacer when you set your gauge.

Then remove your spacer before you cut. As you cut the blade pushes the two pieces of material apart and if the stock is already against your side gauge it causes the razor blade in The Chopper to flex and your cut ends up on an angle. If you have several cuts to make it will eventually move your gauge and your parts will get longer. Anyways...

I got a little ahead of  myself and got the pics out of order. Before I cut I used a square and scribe to lay out lines on the strip to drill the holes for the tube to pass through. There's another section that represents the thrust deflectors that goes on the rear of the fuselage and the burner cans are inserted in that part. I didn't have a lot of room to work with so I offset the center of the hole a bit. If you lay it out beforehand and cut your strip to the same length both sides should fit the same.

After giving it  a little thought, and since they weren't glued in yet, I went back and made the supports taller so they would fit snugly between the top and bottom fuselage halves.  Once the supports were drilled out I slipped them on the tubing and tried them in the fuse. You can slip them over side by side and file/sand either the top or bottom to fit and they'll still be equal. Worked out ok and they'll stand up to handling now.

Tony

OK Don, remember, you asked for it.

Last week I worked on the elevators/elevons. What is the correct term? I'm thinking elevators since they are separate from the wing. Anyway, the small posts on the *elevators* are even more delicate than the ones on the wing pylons. Same diameter, supporting more weight and linked together.

They fit in this slot in the fuselage.

I decided to snap/snip off the pivots, drill them out and fit either some brass rod or aluminum tube. Then, I'll file out the slot in the fuse and glue in a piece of aluminum tube to slip the brass or aluminum into. Nothing new, seen it done with metal or styrene but here's how I did it.

 The materials. I went with brass rod 'cause the smaller aluminum tube bent too easily.

Cut the tube to approximate width and file to fit later.

Measure the width of the slot in the fuse.

Measure the tubing that will go in the slot.

Find a drill bit the dia. of the tubing.

And a needle file with dia. somewhere in between. Then file the slot evenly.

I use the drill bit in the same manner as a file. Just lay it across the fuse in the slot, turn slowly and slide back and forth like a file.

And here you go. I left the tubing standing a little proud on the lower fuselage. If I'd sunk it completely the elevators would set too low.

Then, set the top fuselage half in place and mark the approx. centerline of the tube.

And file a notch in the upper half so the two can join normally.

And here is the end result with the smaller aluminum tube in place. Like I said, I went with the brass rod instead.

I'll continue in another post...

Tony

I managed to get some detail painting done in the bomb bays.  I havent got a pic yet.  As soon as I get the detail painting done I will post some pics for you.  I am going to be a little busy with other non-modeling related stuff over the next few days so I won't have any time at the bench until Friday.

Wingman_kz

Will get an update soon.

Tony

C'mon; cough up the pics, Tony....

I'm sitting here scraping ejector marks ad infinitum from the bomb bays of the B-1 (see macs post on page 8) and need to see some progress from somebody. 

Mac, how are you doing with your B-1B?

Don

Nice work guys! Good to see it. I'm still pluggin' away and have taken pictures, just haven't sorted, edited and uploaded. Kind of a rough week last week but, that's in the past. Will get an update soon.

Tony

Great detail in that small scale and nice scratch building on the co-pilot's station.  You're off to a great start.  1/72 I think is just too small for my aging eyesight. 

Don

WOW!!!  Thats 1/72nd scale?  Looks fantastic Travis. 

I agree that toothpicks make great paintbrushes especially in the smaller scales.

Nice work.  Cant wait to see more pics.

Macattack: I agree whole heartedly! I started using a rattle can a few kits ago and it saves time and money. I get about 3-4 kits out of the cans for priming purposes. Saves on the carpal tunnel from using the airbrush.

Well I got the Cockpit of the EF-111 built and painted. I must say I am pretty happy with the way it turned out. Gotta love the small 1/72 scale details. Lets just say I can officially paint with tooth picks if need be. I can tell just from dry fitting that the Verlinden Cockpit is not going to fit exactly right. I plan on using the original kit rear bulkhead to cover the void spots. We will see how it looks. Here are the latest picks.

Don, The "Bone" is progressing nicely. Can't wait to see some more!

Here is the tub. Unlike the F-111 the EF has only one set of controls on the pilot side. The RIO has a box with misc gages that rest between his legs. I fashion mine from the excess on the bottom of the seats. worked out pretty good..

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Lots of little switches! The control "box" is a little more clear. I made the gages with the end of a toothpick and some IJN grey paint. All the switches are detailed in the same color. It seems to be a pretty good shade of paint for this purpose.

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The contol panel! Overall interior black, IJN highlights and a neutral grey wash. I put small drops of Future on the gages, but I can't really tell except on the radar screen.

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This is the contols that are locacted between the crew members and sits above their heads on the canopy. In this case I used the piece from the Monogram Raven kit (my spare parts for this build) as it was better detailed that the Verlinden version...and slightly more accurate from the pics I have seen.

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Well that's it so far. On to the front fusalage assembly next. Thanks for looking. All comments are welcomed and appreciated.

Travis/STFD637