invertmast

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Ebay and Mcmaster carr

vertical grimmace

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McMaster Carr

invertmast

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VG and whoever else.

If you guys could help with the TA-152 gear (mains and tailwheel (yea i know its the same as the 190)) we will be able to get a really nice set of scale gear. I've seen the CAD renderings and actually gear that Dave (spinetti) has been doing and to tell you the truth, its Luftwaffe LG art! He doesn't let things get by and do "almost perfect" they ARE perfect.

I'm planning on my 152 to be competition worthy and am going to go a couple of steps further into the deep end with detail than i did on my Anton, which makes the gear necessary to be accurate.

Ramstein44

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I'd be interested in seeing the designs before I commit to getting in on the deal and knowing how much.

invertmast

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I don't think Dave will mind, but here's some stuff he's posted on RCSB that he has already done..

1/13 HE-111

CAD:


Real:


FW-189 1/6:




TA154 CAD


JU88

vertical grimmace

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One thing for sure, I can count on the reliability of the Sierra gear I have. That is a major factor. I feel the Sierra's are scale enough, considering the reliability. The down locks are functional, so eliminating them may prove to be tricky. I am willing to lose a couple of static points, to give me reliability in function. Points can be lost in flying/landing as well. ( I know this oh too well ) !

invertmast

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i can fully understand your point about the reliability. The gear in the anton always worked, but IMO the air cylinder really needed to be 3/16-1/4" larger, it really had a hard time lifting the scale wheels. If I had done an earlier Anton with the inner gear doors, they never would of gotten all the way up and closed, and I was running 150psi of air pressure.

vertical grimmace

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I will try to dig up what I can, as I am interested to see what evolves here. If he can post a 3 d cad drawing of the prototype, that will be very interesting.

invertmast

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That he can

Ramstein44

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Looks awesome. I remember seeing the TA154 units. Still, price remains unknown. Keep us posted.

spinnetti

Thanks for the "shout out" Thomas...

I'm certainly not trying to push anything on anybody. I enjoy it and Lufwaffe birds are my focus, so if there is a match great, and if not, no no worries Since I will go as scale as practical given my tools and skills, I'll only do it if I can find solid research material - I won't just "wing it" and I do plenty of research before I draw anything. Good news is that real scale gear will be proportionately much stronger than the real thing, and I adjust certain dimensions to make sure key features aren't too small. I have a thread on Luftwaffe landing gear on scalerc and I post progress there and on my blog on RC groups. Work is heavy right now, but soon I'll be back at it and finish up the Do-335 design I'm working on and other projects. I've been a bit "design heavy" over the holidays and looking forward to more shop time. I also bought $1k in aluminum that's waiting for me to turn into landing gear, and gotta burn some evenings and get some projects done before my (sports car) racing season kicks off in a few months

PS, as to cost, I need to see what its going to take to make them and also how many people are interested - Assume somewhat more expensive that what's out there today especially if I can design and build a scale working hydraulic ram. I most likely won't be doing wheels at this time until I can make my own tires too, so will have to pick something "off the shelf". I won't make gear that a manufacture already does well, so I can guarantee it will be more scale than what's out there; Not sure if tail gear is feasible at a cost effective price at this point. So far I spend between $2k and $10k in design time alone per design, so while fun, I don't want to work for free and have at least $40k in software and CNC equipment I have to pay for too, and hopefully an additional new CNC lathe this year also.

Horrido!

vertical grimmace

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Keep in mind that the tail assembly was not functional (retractable) on the TA 152, at least any that went into service. It was a retractable tail, but it did not work, and was locked down. That is what I have been able to gather from my books. It is well known the Germans had problems with retractable tails throughout the war. So, Maybe a scale, fixed tail unit would be in order here. Especially as I think there is a market for this product with all of the other FW 190'a out there.

vertical grimmace

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Invert, while I have your attention, I wanted to ask you about framing out canopies. I thought I saw in one of your build threads how you went about doing this. I want to start framing my canopies with fiberglass, then "glazing" them with the clear canopy material for realism. I saw the beginnings of a tutorial about this on RCSB, but it quit halfway. Essentially a plug was made from plaster, then the plaster was fiberglassed. then I assume after the fiberglass has cured, it is removed, and the openings cut out.
If you could direct me to your old thread, or have any tips, that would be great. I want to do this on my new Stuka, and the TA 152.

invertmast

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The easiest way to do this is with a canopy that doesn't already have the frames molded into it. If that is the case, I typically buy a second canopy, then do a few coats of a mold release wax, then apply a few layers of 3oz glass cloth over the waxed canopy. Once the epoxy cures, pop the glass off and then trim to shape.

Now if the canopy already has the framing molded into it, then typically I get lazy and use litho-plate (thin aluminum, about .005-.008" thickness) that is cut to shape and applied over the molded in framing with contact adhesive.

vertical grimmace

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All of my canopies already have the frame molded in. So the lithoplate is applied to fill out the frame impressions, to bring them flush, as if they were not already impressed into the molded canopy?

invertmast

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It won't make them flush, it just makes them look like they were a fiberglass/metal frame from the outside. The only way to get a canopy that is completely flush on the exterior with a fiberglass frame involves allot of work that isn't really worth while or feasible in our small scales IMO. The "appearance" of the final product is more important than how you get there IMO, so a properly done faux frame can look better than a separate fiberglass frame and clear glass piece.

Now if you just absolutely have to have a separate piece of each, Merlyn (Sevarg) on RCSB does a great job of showing how to make a clear canopy vacuum form plug using Ultra-Cal as the plug material. This stuff is pretty heavy though, so if you want to use your current plastic canopy, you'll need to support all side of it, then pour the stuff in, leave it to cure, then sand the frame moldings from it. Then you can ship it off to have a clear piece pulled over it.

flyingchef

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Ramstein44,
For the G10 what thickness and how much do you need?

vertical grimmace

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Cool, thanks for the info.

Ramstein44

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What do you have. I use it for everything so multiple thicknesses are needed. You can call me too!

vertical grimmace

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I did find some good info on the TA gear last night. One of the best books I have is The TA 152 book by Dietmer Harmon. The best book on the TA 152 for modeling purposes is this one http://www.amazon.com/Focke-Wulf-Ta1.../dp/4903596079. They show the model being built by section, and then show actual photos of the real plane that is in storage for that particular section of the plane they are working on. Leave it to the plastic model guys!
Another good book is produced by Meister Scale. It is on the FW 190 D9, but has a lot of info on the TA 152. Lots of paint schemes and details. Not a ton on the landing gear. I was lucky enough to pick up my copy at the Warbirds over the rockies a couple of years ago, and had Dino sign it. It is kind of a must have for any Long nose modelers out there. I would post pics, but it is tough for me to copy them out of my books. You guys should have these anyway! lol

spinnetti

That looks like a good resource. Turns out my landing gear book has a great illustration with cross section and other good info on it. Tail unit is basically the same, and gear is mostly the same from A8 on. Earlier than A8, struts were different with different scissors too (several variants) but they all had same lengths and angles - mostly just design changes for cost reduction as the series evolved. The only big difference is the retract arm/down lock which is completely different, so I'd focus there first. That said, most gear I see available is semi-scale, so can still do better I think. I also have a semi-local D9, and I have lots of good pics from that which shares the strut details with the TA.

Cheers

Ramstein44

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I'm going to use this one. It has a lot of helpful information and pictures being a modeling reference on the TA and the D9. I have a couple others but this one is the most inspirational. One reference is completely in what looks to be Japanese.. go figure..

hellcat56

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Good day at our field

vertical grimmace

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Many of these reference materials are geared toward the plastic model crowd. The Japanese are big into that. That might explain it. One of the best FW 190 references are from CMK models. Tons of reference in those books. On the 190 A and D.

vertical grimmace

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Looks fun! Dang, I need to go flying. It has been since September. I have just been building. If it were not for the Broncos today, I would be at the field.