Slow Low

My apologies to all of my modelling friends out there who’ve been thoughtful enough to enquire as the status of my P-40 project over the course of the last 6 months or so. Not to worry – b1heqh54 is back with a vengeance! Lol Anyone who’s been at this longer than a season or two will be well aware that at times, life sometimes requires a shift in focus that will put a build project on the back burner. But the lesson for the younger folks is that this not the end of the road, but merely an opportunity to work on your persistence skills!

It would seem that old Father Time came by to collect a few debts for the thirty years that I’ve been fortunate enough to avoid most of the limitations often associated with my physical disability. Luckily, this hobby is a place where I’ve made many friends over the years with others whose challenges are far greater than mine, and so I’ve been blessed with yet another treasure that our hobby has to offer. Well, enough said there.

As one gets older, one’s world gets smaller. And so, it was that life necessitated a change in setting. Now without a work area, we have a great opportunity to demonstrate that a wing mould can be built in the space between your recliner and the blathering boob tube! So no more excuses! lol

Before I post a few pics of my progress with applying panel lines to the underside of the wing, I need to take care of a little business. On hearing of my change in scenery, a dear friend stopped by unannounced not long ago to wish old Slow & Low well. With her, she brought along a bag of unused sandpaper left behind by a dear friend who recently passed on. So, now armed again with sheet abrasive of varying grits, the build continues. Her only request was that I set her computer up so that she could watch along. How sweet is that! Not one for charity, I can only offer heart felt and humble words in exchange. This one’s for you Lizzy, I hope you enjoy following along with Ted and I.

An angel crossed my path today.
An open heart: she couldn't stay.
Down a staircase, she came to me.
She brought me hope I couldn't see.

Her beauty was light; clean and true.
I hope she never comes to you.
Not because you don't deserve her love.
But what came first. The push; the shove.

If ever you should live in a hole,
Where the sun won't shine on your tired soul.
Put pride aside and hold up your cup.
The clouds will part if you just look up.

And now for some pics….I’ll apologize in advance for the blur…better next time.

sunnybreeze-inactive

SLOW LOW!!!!!
Where the hell have you been? Everyone has been waiting for the P-40 wing to be finished. good to have you back old boy. Give me a couple of days and I will post pictures of my newest projects. You will die!!
Glad to see you back in action.
Steve

sir crashallot

slow low when i first came accross this thread some year or so back i had 1 or 2 planes in the building proccess. i have now over 18, none are built some are almost finished and some are still in there boxs awaiting me to find time to build them or to finish them. the last 2 months iv been unable to build or fly, 1 reason is because im working on repars to the house and toatly relandscaping the front and rear gardens to my property. however i have a nice 2m glider that just needs little bits to finish so i can at least have a flyable model for this summer. but yes you are right normaly i cant have a kit for more then 3 days before i start on it, iv had several sat on the shelf for the last 2 months and not been to botherd.

back to the p40, its very good to see your back on the ball with the p40, i will be excited to hear how she ends up and how she flys. lets hope it dosnt take many more years haha, anyway im back to watch the next season of your build.

i look at taking time off building the models as serieses and episodes, its just like watching tv only its happening for real and its not a planned story line

Slow Low

Thanks guys - it's always good to be back at it!

Underside of wing is coming along. As is always good advice in a build project; when you do something to one side, you should immediately move to the other side. This will keep things symmetrical and balanced. So I mark one line on one side and then the next line on the opposing side while the scaled measurement is still in front of me. All measurements are scaled relative to a detailed three view drawing. After that, I finish one side of the wing, and then the other. If you get too much unsanded epoxy in front of you, it can become intimidating and you will unconsciously begin to rush toward the end - this is not a good state of mind to achieve your best; hence finish sanding one side and then starting the other. This, for me, leads to an internal competition. I find myself trying to make the second side better than the first, and then sometimes it'll force me back to the first side - and so on, and so on....LOL Coming along though.

Slow Low

...just some quick pics to document progress...
the laser level is how I got the nice curves across the bellypan - in fact the panels were cut curved to form straight seams when applied, but I liked the look and so I allowed myself a little secret....lol

Slow Low

I promised some reference pics a while back. Here are a few that I'm using to detail the wing. Please don't use them to critique my work - I've looked at each of them in great detail, many, many times, and some of them are not even of an E model. Interest only.

Slow Low

Panel ends are done with resin that has been thinned down considerably. I've found over time that this gives depth next to the more pronounced spanwise seams. Coming along....

Slow Low

Cosmo Kramer said it was all about levels: I say it's all about layers. Access hatches, and landing light bezel today.

sir crashallot

excellent work keep the progress going and keep us updated as its now starting to take some seriousely good looks. i like how ur spending months on just the fine detailing. its an inspiration

Slow Low

Well, good pics are easier said then done when things get this small, but none the less, this was this morning's progress. Count 'em if you like, but I'll be straight with you: I fell one short along the trailing edge of the aileron opening on one side. LOL These things will show up much better cast in the black epoxy.

Oh yes, method is tried and true. Stick a pin into an eraser and dab in finishing epoxy. Apply with steady hand. Controlling the size of the rivet head takes some practice, but it can be done. The ones along the trailing edge at the ailerons are 1/32" in diameter and most of the others are around 1/16". I thinned the epoxy slightly with methyl hydrate. Once it starts to kick, just mix some more. Once it gets thick your nicely domed heads will turn into round globules. I mixed a little heavier than normal with the hardener because the dabs are so small. I'll get some pics of the setup next time around.

I-fly-any-and-all

My Feedback: (1)

your thread has inspired me to make a mold and fiberglass duplicate of the royal .60 sized corsair I will be constructing from scratch here in a few eeks. awesome job.
Thank you
Jesse

Slow Low

BAMMO!! - THAT RIGHT THERE MY FRIENDS IS WHAT IT'S ALL ABOUT!!!! (Although you stole my next build out from under me...LOL)
Make sure we get a link.

sunnybreeze-inactive

Slow Low! Looking sweet. The rivet heads must be tough! When do you feel you are going to pull the MOLD off the wing?
Can't wait to see the finished mold and how well it comes out. I've posted my new FINISHED project today so check it out!

Slow Low

Oh boy, a finished project - I've heard tell of such occaions - I'm on it - thanks for the tip.
As for the mold - I've started in today on something I said I wasn't going to do to this wing, so it may be a bit longer! lol Pictures soon.

Slow Low

Cribbage anyone? 15-2, 15-4, and a pair is 6 Flush Rivet ID 0.020" or 0.5mm
Stay tuned...more to come

simpros1

My Feedback: (16)

I made molds for a P-51 mustang and started running parts with carbon fiber. If there is any interest I would be glad to post pics of the project.

Slow Low

How 'bout a link to a thread simpros1 - sounds great.

Dreamin Hemi

Sure, sounds like a nice project. Be sure to start a new thread!

Slow Low

Had some spare time yesterday - the latest video

http://www.youtube.com/user/b1heqh54#p/u/6/IQmNIM-N81E

sir crashallot

slow low dont no if you remember but we had a discusion about fiberglassing and so forth some time back. anyway im now in full time employment as a trainee fiberglasser and i love the job. anyhow i have access to all resins cloths of various weigths n so forth and im now thinking about making up a plug to build a fuselage for a pair of winghalfs i have of an extra 300. my question is do you spray your gel coat on as at work we have to in some cases spray the gel coat in for a thineven coat?

Your p40 is looking beutifull keep it up.

Slow Low

Of course I remember. No I don't spray on a gelcoat for a couple of reasons: both stem from the fact that I have to do most of these things in my basement or kitchen. Number one, I only use epoxies which don't use gelcoats like polyester resins. Number two, my neighbours don't like it when I fire up the compressor in my living room. LOL I guess the point is that I'm doing low volume work over here, so a brush and a tooling epoxy surface coat work just fine for my applications.
Speaking of which: stay tuned because a gallon of silicon carbide infused tooling epoxy just showed up at my door a couple of days ago, and I'm dying to get into it! Yep, that's what they make grinding wheels outta. LOL Boeing uses it for sand casting patterns. ( rumour has it that is...:-S )

I-fly-any-and-all

My Feedback: (1)

A link it is my good man
http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/fb.asp?m=9679319
If your going to join me post your email and I'll send you the cad drawn templates of the royal .60 sized corsair that were done by Kelsey_B
The only challenge I had when printing was I took them to staples and not every page was equal in size, luckily though each page has a scale on it!
I'll see if I can get around to making them all the same scale before I send them off.

I-fly-any-and-all

My Feedback: (1)

Where did you order your tooling epoxy from, and how big was the container?

Slow Low

I used a 0.5lb quart of Crosslink Technology 1666/6027 high temp. tooling epoxy for the fuse and had some left over. I recently bought a 13lb gallon of silicon carbide infused (extremely abrasion resistant) Aeropoxy PT1414 intended for room temp. layups. The Aeropoxy product was a more economical solution, although a quart was a special order quantity. Live and learn.

Slow Low

PS - I'd love a copy of those templates if you're offering. [email protected]