Hey not too too bad after all, i though it would be more off then this. I'll rate it at 8 out of 10 at this stage..

Sure i'll reduce the thickness of the top intake fairing and add bit of foam to the lower so it could be thicker.

I was thinking on closing up right top exhaust port but now from this picture it's the left one that needs to be closed.

Ok let me get back with corrections soon.

Here is the plug with corrections done to it, one is still left that i will sometime tonight.

Flap door has to be enlarged area wise a bit, then this plug will be good for glassing.

That is looking very good Sammy!

Paul

Looking good my friend!!! I spent a lot of time in the Connie traveling to new stations in the Pacific with the USCG! Keep on flapping! LOL

Hey i didn't knew that!, well in that case help me out here will ya with this exhaust nozzle outlet delima that i am having currently..

Did all S Connies had 2 exhaust ports on one side of the engine and 1 outlet on one side!, or it was different configuration depending on engine model numbers that every airline used to there specifications?

Paul and Charles thanks for encouragement and sweet words for appreciating my work so far.

Is the pattern for the exhauts two on the inboard side (Above and below the wing) and one on the outboard side on the nacelle below the wing. If the lower exhaust on both sides of the nacelle are the same I would go for that configuration and then post worh the upper inboard exhaust in later. The other idea would be all four, two per side and the post work would be to patch the unnessary exhaust slots.

See i'm now confused as if two are on inboard side above and below the wing or both are on out board side?, i always thought that there were four exhaust outlets, 2 on each side of the engine but my friend ottopeter from Germany sais i was wrong as there only 3 exhaust ports on these engines.
Yeah your second suggestion could be considered, i could leave it up to builder to decide what he want to do with these or leave one as blank if he desires to.

OK, the image you sent has both inboard and out board engine show to exhaust breathing fire. I have a image of on starting that show three plums of exhaust smoke. and I can't find any photos that support there being a upper exhaust on the out board side of the nacelle.

Hope this helps

Three exhaust outlets!

Frank

Thanks guys,

Exhaust mystery is solved now....

I will close off the top right outer exhaust port on my plug now according to pictures and schematic Frank posted...

Hopefully i am reading and seeing it right this time..he he

Ok what is going on here now i see, am i still seeing stars during day light!....hehe[X(]

Back to building now:

Glassing Question:


As for second stage of this plug, what would be good weight of fiberglass to use on this?

1/2oz

1oz

2oz

Or start with 1/2oz and build it up from there..I am more worried about glassing properly in tight spots/areas more then open areas!

I've just been lurking lately but following your progress with great interest.

I'm guessing you are going to make a female mold from your foam plug. In that case I'd lay a .5 or .75 oz layer down first over the foam. Lightly sand this and add progressively heavier cloth to make a strong layup. Then I'd finish sand and follow up with a .5 layer and finish the skin as you want it. I would guess that you will need 3-4 sections in the mold to get a good release. Plan where these parting lines are going to be and how you will operate them.

From here it will be a matter of making sure you get a good release from the to be built in place mold. Essentially you will build the mold right on the plug. You probably will need some mat and heavy cloth for strength. You probably will want a gell coat first to gather the detail and finish. You will need some kind of frame work to ridgedly hold the mold together with some built in alignment holes and pins.

I'd leave off the exhaust detail and let your customer do this with your carefully detailed instructions. You would only need one mold this way.
Since you will be making 4 cowls per plane this mold will get a lot of use so build it strong. I don't think you could over kill it.

Hey Greg,

Good to see your are still around and following on my progress.

Yes you are right, i will be making female molds of this plug, it will either be 3 sections or maybe 4, i will decide that after i do initial glassing. I of thinking on the same lines as you mentioned. As i have been seeing couple of good threads of guys making molds out of plugs they also are building there molds with multiple layers of cloth, this is to make the mold strong and last for long time. I plan to do the same here also.

As for details of the exhaust, i will leave it now as it's not a big deal to figure out, i will provide detailed instruction for them and leave it up to individual builders to takecare of that themselves.
As for adding details like rivets and panel lines, i will do those once i have glassed it and primed it with Duratec EZ primer, this will do two things, one as primer and other as capturing all the details and being good mold release at the same time.
Gelcoat ,yeah maybe.

I stand TOTAL corrected! You quit learning your dying! The point bentwing brought up is a good one, you don't know what engine the modeler is goig the use, and he can fit the slots to his needs, assumming you are going to offer parts to builders. Are you heading towards a kit? You will certianly have a good atart if you do go that route.

Little while ago i took the model outside and assembled it on my driveway with out outer wings and tip tanks. I wanted to take pictures of it with the cowl plug from many different angles to make sure it's all good or it may need more fixing before i start glassing it. I tried every angle possible and want to share them with you all to. Please look the pictures and if anyone finds error/s then please let me now and i will fix it. I think it turned out really nice and is ready for glassing at this time.
I think second opinions are great too.

Some more form other angles.

I would have to say you nailed it! You going with a TWA decor or some other airline. There are a lot of cool mods that wee done for military uses also!

Still some more..

Hey no doubt TWA S Connie has sweet livery but i will be doing it as mentioned many times before in ex- Trans Canada Airlines (TCA) livery. Since we Canadians have lost our only S Connie left in Canada to your Museum of flight in Seattle i deeply miss that particular aircraft now, it was my bread and butter provider for 9 months i worked on it as BBQ chef before i got into working at Pearson International Airport. This model is being done to keep us Canadian aviation enthusiasts around the country connected with TCA's Super Constellations. This model will be replicated as CF-TGE fin# 405 as i am 1000% sure we will never have it back on our soil again...

OK now what do you others think of it...

My post was and any in the future are intended to provide another pair of eyes relative to often we
all get too close to what we believe to be scale three views instead of photographs which are in reality
much more valuable during this critical stage of a project.

There is no right or wrong way of doing things. It all depends on the materials being used. There are
a lot of fillers and surfacers which can not be used with Styrofoam brand of extruded polystyrene or
the white beaded polystyrene you are using.

By the way, those two materials are not the same and require completely different working methods.
Be aware that any thing typically used with commercial auto body repair will contain MEK or similar
chemicals which are not compatible with polystyrene and will turn it into goo...

This project, having already had a near death experience...would benefit by asking your local auto
repair/paint shop, or an experienced foam medium modeler if what you are considering dissolves
what you have already constructed with. You are using polystyreme, not polyurethane foam. Its a
difficult change to evolve to thinking three times before attempting to do something as the one doing
could be the projects undoing.

A typical credo at this point would be when in doubt....test first. When testing permit chemicals to
completely out gas before attempting to work with them. Typically this is 24 hours unless labels
state longer.

Here again just my personal opinion...among many.

Advice taken firmly Ed..I will ask auto body shop before actually using chemicals that could harm my project, this is not a cat that have 9 lives..

Charles here are pictures of TCA's S Connie models from my 400 scale diecast collection. Livery on my model will as whats on these little gems but different registration number.

Reviewing the exhaust outlet examples we've collected its interesting to note this appears to be
an engine configuration issue since there are multiple Super Connies with varying configs of the
exhaust. It does appear that on each config all engines have the same exhaust at least. I guess
I should say it "appears to be the case" : )

If you plan on competing with this you have to support the decisions you are making which have
to be defended with either photographic documentation or a three view which defines your config.

I've got a lot of real world work to do today so I'm outta here...

Ed makes an extremely good point regarding compatibility. I ran into that last summer when I took over a mold for some streetrod seats. Fortunately it was nearly 100 deg for a week and I was able to force the cure outside in direct sunlight. It was close to a scrap out however for a while.

I most assuredly would make some tests over the foam and any adhesives used. There is too much work involved here. I would do what I could to use epoxy systems rather than polyesters mostly from my personal experiences. Epoxies have treated me pretty well all things considered. Polyesters have left me holding the gooy bag more than once. (slow learner, haha)

By the way I ran across a single picture of a Connie converted to an early AWACS. I was looking for something else and I forgot where I found it. I'll keep trying.