Airliner Group Build 2014-2015

So the slow work continues...

I have started the rigging from the inside. The inner port strut is rigged up and the secondary struts are added. The rigging is part done on the inner starboard struts, there needs to be a replacement with stretched sprue to complete it. Then paint over all the scars before moving to the outer nacelle struts.

from the front:

I am finding this very intense work with not much visible reward after a long session. It is however teaching me new skills and patience. It should be done by the end of the year....please!

See you next time

Fly-n-hi, you have no idea...

The next step was to align the nacelles in all directions - it wasn't perfect but it went okay.

And then the front of the nacelles were sanded back to be even.

After this the jig could be removed and the wings are on their own. I am surprised about sturdy the structure feels, and hopefully the extra struts and rigging will strengthen it further....

I have started doing the rigging, but I am not sure the elastic EZ line was the best option. The EZ line needs to be held in place with tape so there is no tension on it until the superglue sets each time. It took 2 hours to do the 4 control lines.

Next I am moving on to the inner nacelles rigging and secondary struts. This could take some time...

Looking good so far Lost!  That looks like a real pain in the you-know-what!

Lost,

That is really taking shape. Hand in there, it'll come together just fine. You knew this was going to be a challenge.

Looks pretty sharp there, Rigging has always intimidated me.

So I have managed to take the first steps in the wing struts and rigging. The set up took a bit of getting right - each time I had to open up the structure a bit to fit in the next strut, the previous one fell out. Temporary gluing with PVA was enough to hold them in place long enough.

SO the centre struts went in first. The front struts were easy but the rear ones kept popping out

After that the front outer struts went in place. The engine nacelles were placed on the front struts before they were put in place.

 The force required to get the struts in place has stripped the black paint off in places, so there will need to be some retouching.

The nacelles are loose, and need to be aligned before the central front struts are in place and the central rigging starts. 

I'm starting to think this may all come together one of these days...

Had a few hours on the Sikorsky the other day. Got the wing lined up on top of the alignment jig and held in place with a rubber band. Then found the brass struts I have cut to size did not fit. Went back and checked the jig was the right size - it is - and the struts were the right length - they are, but it does not fit. I was just about to start cutting back the struts when I had another look from in front - a real D'Oh moment...

I could not find a band long enough to get rid of the anhedral in the struts - the solution was moving the bands to the outside.

And these are the shortest bands I have and  they are pretty loose - so I need to get /make them shorter.

And by now I had run out of time - so a deep breath and planning for the next time I have a good few hours free.

So it goes...

Lost,

Your Sikorsky is going to look so cool when you finish. I am anxiously waiting to see it.

Fly-n-hi,

The DC-10 is looking great, the Alclad is coming up very well.

MC, can't wait to see how the Braniff comes up.

There has been minimal progress on the Sikorsky, a few bits of EZ line glued in, nacelles painted and some spars cut to length.

What about a gloss black base to start, then a light mist of polished aircraft aluminum Alclad II and then the transparent blue over the top?  Or I've seen some bright blue metal flake Testors paint; add a couple drops of black and silver to it?  Just some ideas, no idea how it would work.

Thanks modelcrazy!

I have no idea what to use for that  Braniff  color.  I wonder if using some kind of metallic black color and then spraying clear blue on top of that would work?

I know I've seen some metallic Model Master enamel paints that are marketed as car paints.  They might have a good match.

Good luck with that one.  I wish I could give you something better.  I hope you make it work though cause that would look really cool I think!

Hey Fly, that 10 is looking good.

By the way, I'm going to be starting my 727 for this build and the Boeing build here soon, but do you have any idea what color I could use for the Ultra Blue Metallic?

Ok, I finally have a good update for the DC-10!  What I did was I painted the bare metal areas (the wings) with Tamiya spray can black and then polished it with 4000, 6000, 8000, and 12000 sanding pads.  This turned out ok but I really wanted them to be glossy so I painted over that with Alclad II Gloss Black Base.

Then I masked off all of the flight control surfaces and painted them Mr Color flat black.  The photos of DC-10s in the '80s show that these surfaces look like dull aluminum while the main part of the wind looks polished.

Here's how it looked:

After all of that I sprayed Alclad II Polished Airframe Aluminum, building up in light coats, over all of the surfaces.  Here's how it turned out:

Here's a shot looking into the engine:

I'm really happy with how this turned out.  There are a few flaws here and there but the process worked like a charm.  I left the masking tape on too long and it left shadows in the paint just a little bit.  But I have the corroguard decals that will conceal most of the errors so it should work out.

Yep I am still here too.

Still away working all weekends, with limited time left for the models once all the other duties are done.

In the 4 months since I posted, I have filed down the four brass central wing supports to size. And drilled two dozen spar and rigging holes into the wing ready for assembly. And cut and shaped the four engine nacelles ready to slide onto the supports.

But the assembly will I think require a good few hours of intense concentration to start and at the moment that could be a few months away as work has happily extended further out than I thought.

So like all my builds at the moment I do all I can in the motel, and then they pile up until I get a good shot at them at home.

So once something serious happens, I will let you know.

Here's some progress on the DC-10.  Like I mentioned earlier I painted the wings black using Tamiya spray can black and then using 4000, 6000, 8000 and 12000 sanding pads to gloss it up.  I might have taken the pics before I polished the wings because they look kinda dull in them:

My plan is to mask around the ailerons and flaps/slats and paint those Mr Color flat black.  Then, when I apply the Alclad II the panels should have a different color.  We'll see how it works out I guess.

Good!  I figured everybody had bailed out.

I have painted the wings gloss black in preparation for the Alclad II Airframe aluminum so once that's done I can move on to painting the fuselage.

I'm still here, in fact, I'm starting the Boeing build next month and am building that 727 for both.

Steve

I'm not pulling out and hope I can finish in time, since I've barely gotten started on the VC-10. School, work, and reserve duty has just about worn me the heck out this past year.

Chris

I'm sorry to all the Airliner GB participants!  I have been a terrible host in here.

I've actually made progress on my 1/200 Hasegawa DC-10 but I haven't posted anything.  I will post some pics later today.  

After I unpacked all my stuff and started modeling again I mainly focused on my F-22 and started an F-15 so the DC-10 sort of went to the back of the line.

Any body have a plastic scale 1/144 (or smaller) plastic model of a Lear 21.  Decals are of no concern. I Have  vendor who can make the ones I  need.  Thanks!   Dutch (Melbourne, FL)

Jelliot, that is really great, a real dreamliner.

Fly-n-hi

I packed up all of my modeling stuff to help make the house look clean.

Yeah, I'm not looking forward to putting our house back on the market in the Spring. The boss will kick me back out to the garage.

Good to hear from ya!  Just wanted to make sure all was well.

Still here guys!  Sorry I haven't been very active.  My wife and I had a guest staying with us so I packed up all of my modeling stuff to help make the house look clean.  I figured I would leave it all packed up for a while so that my wife could get a break from the big mess that I make when all of the modeling stuff is out.  You see, my hobby room is the dinning area in our kitchen.  And its been covered in newspapers and boxes for over a year.

I haven't been on the forums too much lately...just an occasional post.  I'll get back into it in the not too distant future.

He posted 7 days ago on the Sci Fi  Build.

Anybody heard from Fly-n-hi lately?  Last  post I've seen from him was back in mid-December.

Your first attempt with Alclad? Nice.

modelcrazy

Jeremy

That looks fantastic, WOW! .

You are da bomb sir.  

I just don't have the words. 

Thanks Steve!  It was definitely one of the more time consuming kits I've put together.  From making sure I got a good gloss coat to my first attempt with Alclad.  All in all, she turned out pretty nice.

Jeremy

That looks fantastic, WOW! .

You are da bomb sir.  

I just don't have the words. 

Well, I'm calling her finished, maybe just a few minor touch-ups here and there, but I got the problem with the engines taken care of, I had to sand them down to bare plastic and start over again, but they turned out pretty decent.  I did lose a little bit of the panel lines, but on the 787 there arent that many anyway and at 1/144 they shouldnt be that apparent.

Sorry some of the photos are a little blurry.