tubig

thanks carl.

i don't think the epoxy makes too much difference in stiffness. i've found the best way to get the stiffest part is to alternate laying down the fiberglass pieces at a 45 degree to each other. if you lay down the all of the fiberglass pieces with the same orientation the part is stiff in one direction but flexible in the 90 degree plane (make sense?). that cross pattern gives the best all around stiffness.
i'll use either West Systems or Z-Poxy Finishing resin depending on how much epoxy i think i'll need for the job. i generally use Z-Poxy for the smaller jobs since i can mix a smaller amount than the WS pumps put out.

tubig

ok, where was i? oh yeah, finishing up the centerline cover and gun blisters. with a full month of curing the epoxy flow coat sanded easily with 80 and 120 grit. after that the outline was remarked from the original outline laid down on the wing, the blister popped off and sanded to the mark.

pic 2: after trimming, the foam was removed by first roughing it out with a rotary bur in the drill press and then the residual was soaked in lacquer thinner for about 15 minutes and wiped out with a paper towel and washed. two "clean" blisters.

pic 3: before gluing i first cut out the shell ejection chute. to be really accurate i should have lined this opening with small plastic sides but elected to forego that. i may go back and do it anyway if it bugs me enough (which it's starting to already ) the blisters are then glued in place by applying a small bead of 30 minute epoxy to the inside of the lip and taped into place.

pic 4: and the centerline "blister" done as well. sorry, i didn't get a chance to primer these. that'll have to wait until tomorrow.

tubig

primered the blisters today.

pic 2-3: after priming, i added an air intake scoop. for this i cut a plastic spoon in half and and added a flange with some aluminum flashing. the plastic spoon was almost the exact shape of the intake.

pic 4-5: also, added some radiator detail with aluminum tape. the prototype has a wide flange coming from the radiator unit itself and this what the tape simulates.

Baldeagle

My Feedback: (7)

Tubig The detail work is really looking good. It is time consumming but worth it. I like you blisters better than mine, I took the easy way.
I haven't desided which 109 I wil build yet. Maybe from Platt plans. Does BT have a 109 arround 80 in or so? Thanks Rich

ramcfarland

My Feedback: (44)

hi tubig,
What adhesive did you use to glue the Aluminum??
Thanx

tubig

thanks rich. i don't think BT has a larger version of the 109. i think this one is his largest at 69" ws. but you could always enlarge his plans to whatever size you wanted.

richard, i used good ol' ca for the aluminum. i wanted something that would wick into the small gap between the spoon and metal so as not to leave a lip that would require sanding away later.

tubig

i finished up a few small details today. first, glued on the wing attachment bolt covers (beside the radiators). then added a couple more smaller bulges (not sure what they're there to cover). then, the prototype had some small airfoil shaped vents underneath the fuselage. i recreated these using K&S airfoil tubing in various sizes.

pic 3-5: then i added the mooring rings on each end of the wing. i used rubber o-rings glued to 1/32" ply for these.

tubig

began work on marking out the panel lines. for now they are just penned in. striping with 1/64" chartpak tape will wait until both the wing and fuselage are ready to prime all at once to avoid having the tape stay on for too long. sorry for the small wing area of the photo. it was about the biggest shot i could get and still show the panel lines well.

tubig

a few more minutes in the shop and i have some detail work done on the landing gear doors. to get the proper curve in the plastic i used a form to place the plastic on and heated it with a heat gun to soften and bend it. the plastic pieces add a surprising amount of weight so the only other detail i want to add is a brake line.

SMUGator

That's an interesting use of plastic on the gear doors. We did some similar framing on our recent P-47 build. I've been thinking about dummying up a Corsair tailwheel frame in plastistruct around metal stuts rather than building a full-on Dionysusbacchus metal frame. But if anyone has his plan sheet please send it to me and save me the agony.

Tom

tubig

tom, yeah, it's not too hard to do and probably alot lighter than doing it in metal. the only tricky part is getting the bends right.

tubig

trying to finish up the bottom of the wing. the brake lines for the wheels will have to wait until i can find something to simulate the fittings for the line so they are on hold.

pic 1: i moved on to the last thing i want to do to the bottom (i think anyway). i made some hinge covers for the aileron/flap hinge. to do this right i needed the equipment to vacuum form which i don't have. but i happened to run across an article in RCSI mag (sorry, i can't remember the name or even locate the article now) that showed how to use a male/female form to make simple plastic parts. first, the part that is to be reproduced is made. in this case i'll only be using the top half for the cover. the rest of the form just helps the shaping and makes it easier to get the shaped plastic off (instead of trapping the form).

pic 2: then an outline of that part is cut out of ply.

pic 3: you can see i used a toaster oven set at 350 to heat the plastic. once it sagged i removed it from the oven and used the male form to push the plastic through the ply mold with the result below. the trick to this is to make a very close fit between the two forms. i found the best fit really left little room for the plastic but when heated it worked pretty good.

pic 4: the plastic i used was recycled packaging from a mp3 player. i ended making 5 pieces but only got 3 useable ones. that's ok, i only need 2.

tubig

to finish up the detailing on the ailerons i added a simulated metal subsurface and rib stitching. i used BT's plan suggestion for simulating the metal frame by using tissue and dope except for the the underside l.e. of the aileron. for that i used aluminum foil tape mostly to see the difference in that and the tissue.

pic 2: then an application syringe was used to lay down a fine line of white glue to simulate the rib stitching. even though i've been around airplanes for 20 years i've never seen rib stitching up close on the real thing so i was kind of guessing here.

pic 3: with the "stitches" dry, a strip of tissue was doped on top. and the finishing touch was a trim tab added with the same aluminum flashing used before.

tubig

the flaps are mostly done now with the same detail treatment as the ailerons. i elected to use the aluminum tape to simulate the metal structure for the flaps as i was having too much trouble with the tissue. the only thing left to do is add the simulated rib stitching which has already been marked.

Baldeagle

My Feedback: (7)

Tubig That is going to be a sweet looking bird. Can't wait to see some paint on it. Rich

tubig

thanks rich. i hope she turns out well too. this detailing is taking a little longer than anticipated and i'm just on the wing. i still have a fair amount to do in the cowl area (exhuast stubs, intake, etc) so it's going to be a while for the paint. thanks for looking in!

saramos

Trust me tubig, the effort you are putting in to this plane will be worth it! Your skills keep improving every time I look. I know there were times during my build where I was considering taking shortcuts. I'm so glad that I didn't (too much). One of the reasons I plan on doing build threads from now on, is that everyone here on RCU will help keep me in line. I agree with Rich, I am anxious to see some paint on it, but I, willingly, can wait!

Scott

tubig

thanks scott! i'm definitely trying to push my envelope on this one more so than the spitty. the basic frame of this one was so light to begin with (w/o the detail) that i thought i could really add some things without making it too heavy. BT sure knows how to design a nice (light) model. i do think i'm getting better at things....like they say practice makes perfect (or at least better).

tubig

rib stitching and tapes in place now (even though hard to see in photo).

pic 2: and penned in panel lines on top of the wing. again (as with the bottom) the chartpak tape won't go on until both wing and fuse are ready for primer.

tubig

just about have the detailing on the wing wrapped up.

pic 1: added the upper wing attachment bolt covers today as they are a fairly prominent feature on the upper wing. to make these i used evercoat polyester putty because the covers follow the curvature of the wing as it blends to the fuselage and that's easy to duplicate with putty. first thing is to mark out the position on the wing. then i put down some thin masking tape and retraced the outline onto the tape.

pic 2: then a dolop of putty. then nice thing about penning in the outline on the tape is that it transfers to the putty making sanding to the correct outline easier.

pic 3-4: two photos showing final sanded covers, the second photo showing how the putty follows the wing curvature exactly.

pic 5: and finally a bit of aluminum tape to simulate the flange of the cover and the cover ca'ed into place on the tape.

only two things remaining on the wing, 1) add round inspection covers which will have to wait for a bit until i can bring back my circular cuttter and 2) wingtip lights which has to wait for the led's. always something.

tubig

while not completely finished with the wing, i've moved on to the fuselage starting with the rear.

added the trim tabs to both elevator halves and the rudder.

ramcfarland

My Feedback: (44)

Thats a GREAT idea tugig -----Guess your excited about doing that Luffwaffe camouflage.

Baldeagle

My Feedback: (7)

Tubig Is all the little detail, scoops, hatches ,fairings etc showen on the BT plans? Thanks Rich

tubig

just to give credit where it's due, i saw the idea from Platt's Black Art series of video tapes. as for the camo, well, i'm actually not too excited about it. good paintwork has always been difficult for me and the mottled design of Wick's mount may well sink me. but i'll give it my best go.

tubig

the big stuff is rich. but you'll need a good reference source for the smaller stuff (ie. the airfoil shaped vents on the wing bottom....if you want to go that far). i'm using the Aero Detail book as my main resource. BT has done a good job with showing the details without cluttering up the plan.