Upcoming models

[gomidefilho]

Very nice Aaron!

[murphyaa]

I'm gonna push the envelope with the paint job on the Sledgehammer.

Unfortunately, my printer is only printing black and white, so I can't show how it'll look all together.

Here's a sample of the paint though:




The picture I tried to copy. Hopefully I got close.

[rmks2000]

Looks sinister.

[Uyraell]

Your Voschlaghammer is looking mighty good Aaron my friend.
I like the colourscheme you have chosen for it.
Somehow, that colourscheme adds the appropriate degree of menace to the appearance of the aircraft.

I'm looking forward to seeing this model evolve into existence.

Kind and Respectful Regards Aaron my friend, Uyraell.

[rbeach84]

Nice Luft46, Aaron!

I thought I'd go ahead and post some more of the Mercator BETA build pix to show progress on that...:

Someday, I'll learn how to insert the images in with the text...
The first three show the forward fuselage. The red marks where the seam contours had to be trimmed or didn't fit as well as possible. The "nose cap" piece probably should be more circular at the seam and less 'square'? I used the pigments from some cheap 'oil' pastels to fill some of the gaps and watercolor to color the edges (didn't get a great color match, but it mostly blends...) I also painted the wheel wells a 'zinc chromate' green though that may not be correct. Originally the gear were painted the same blue as the exterior, and I've seen other aircraft of that era have the wheel wells also painted either blue or zinc, but later "Q" models of the Merc switched to white gear legs, which usually meant the wells also (good for spotting leaking hydraulic fluid, which is red. (Try seeing red on dark blue in at night using a red filtered flashlight!)

The pix of the wing shows my progress getting the wells inserted. It was tricky because this initial BETA didn't print the panel lines so I could see them (thin black on dark blue...) so I used a trace outline of the well assembly to may a template for cutting out the opening. I then finagled the assembly to the opening from the inside of the wing. Was tricky and now I'm considering how to best attempt the wheel fairings, which appear to be tabbed to fit inside the wells(?) but the 'walls' of the well do not come up to the level of the fairing, so I'll probably make a splice 'tube' to bridge the gap.

The canopy is designed to use tabs to close the contour and then edge glue to the fuselage, but I like using 'slit tabs' to positively locate the edges on the fuselage, so I cut my own. I find surface mount to be fiddly without any locating method other than marking the area, but that is my preference. More to come...

[murphyaa]

This is the concept I had for the main gear well. The side wall sticks outside the wing, and the fairing attaches to it. You might need to make the wing thinner.

[murphyaa]

Sometimes slot tabs can go bad though. I tried using location tabs for the engines on the EF-129, and they just made things worse.

[rbeach84]

Originally Posted by murphyaa

This is the concept I had for the main gear well. The side wall sticks outside the wing, and the fairing attaches to it. You might need to make the wing thinner.Attachment 122827

Hmm, I was wondering about that. But the hole through the wing didn't match up, though my assembly also had an issue with the wrap-strip not being long enough to meet up at the end, something that shouldn't have been effected by the paper thickness (you can kind of see it in the picture where I missed a bit of paint.) Also, the part for the gear legs is nearly the same height, meaning that portion would also protrude above the wing surface...i.e., the well 'walls' are about the same height all around. All of this requires very precise matching to a *set* wing profile, which just cannot be achieved without formers of some kind. So, have to go with something that 'floats' and attaches to the wing surface at some point. Perhaps, the wells should be composed of a two part assembly; a "box" for the leg well and a tube for the wheel. The 'wheel' part can be designed to attach to the fairing then insert into the hole in the wing, while the 'leg' part would attach to the inner surface of the wing. You could use a full strip 'wall' around the 'perimeter with a little 'dished' cutout (where the leg would pass over on the real deal) to align both.

Don't know, just brainstorming...

[rbeach84]

Originally Posted by murphyaa

Sometimes slot tabs can go bad though. I tried using location tabs for the engines on the EF-129, and they just made things worse.

In what way? Take look at this to see what I'm talking about:
http://www.papermodelers.com/forum/129060-post44.html

I used slot tabs to apply the canopy fairing.

[Loui]

rbeach84, May i suggest this thread... to post a pict n text. Pics and text