Moved this to the new thread.

Thanks for the invite but, I must tell you I am a horrible typist so the postings will be cryptic at best.

The G4 is being built to 1/8 scale because I was concerned about the size...that yields a wingspan of 84". After I got into it I wished I had gone to 1/6 (110" w.s). I think that will be my next build. The detail is difficult at 1/8. One of the 2 remaining G4s in the world is at NASM Udvar-Hazy (not far from my home). It is also the only twin engine bomber in the collection. Some say it is ugly....I think it is beautiful and it is loaded w/ great detail.

It can be built in "modules". The pilot and observer cockpit, The engine nacelles (you have to make 2 of everything), the wings and empennage. After doing the drawings I build "backwards"...completing most of the detail before starting the structure e.g. wings etc.

Photos of the aircraft...I just realized I have several hundred detail shots and only one overall picture which isn't that good.....and the drawing are attached. my drawings are not organized. Everything is on one giant autocad plan which I like because it's easy to move between views and parts. I'll try to organize construction photos for posting as we proceed in the next few weeks.

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I'm looking forward to seeing how to tackle this very interesting subject. It certainly requires some creative modeling thinking!

Especially that airfoil!

Martin

A coupla' things I forgot to mention about the model....wing warping will be functional and it's electric (sorry abu) so I can use the Williams Bros. Le Rhones. Lots of wires and struts...over 150 turnbuckles, for example.
The fuselage is framed in the model pretty much like the real thing. All the laser cutting was done by Manzano Laser who have consistently done a great job. Since we are talking about cutting stuff all the fittings are photo-etched and a shot of those is below.

SUBSCRIBED! i gotta watch this one!!! this is one of my someday builds

good luck with it
todd

What a really neat airplane! I think that your ability to make the photoetched brass parts is a huge plus! That is my downfall. I don't have much in the way of computer skills to generate the images required. Making these kinds of parts by hand is laborious at best and torture the rest!

Did you do the photo-etching yourself? Also are you actually going to buy and use 150 turnbuckles???

I did the camera ready art in cad for the photoetch. The actual production in .020 half hard brass was done commercially. Yep....have the turnbuckles in hand.

What company did you use for the photoetching?

Since it's a twin I don't blame you a bit! If I ever do a G3 I might put my Seidel up front.

Sounds like a great idea...this could be one of those times when more is better....if one Seidel on aG3is good then two on a G4 would be....well awesome!!

MicroMark and others offer the chemicals for the process which doesn't seem difficult (I've never done it). Preparing the artwork is where the 'work' is!

The MicroMark kit only allows you to make teeny little sheets and is expensive and may also be "illegal" to ship overseas (or carry on a plane). I suppose the chemicals must be available in Japan but really I need to find a compary that will do this. I had a lead on a company in Switzerland that might work out.

Sorry, forgot to give you the photoetch company. I hada very unpleasantexperiece with a company out west who has been discussed very negatively on this forum. They said they could do it for the same price as I had in hand and I like to give business to modelers. Big mistake.After waiting forever I ended up paying more for less. If I do this again I would use a company called Indiana Micro Etch, Inc. 574-293-3342.
You are correct about the Micro-mark kit. It's really for plastic modelers who make small parts out of thin stock.

Great project Wingwarper [8D]

Going to follow it with great interest.

Teus

Some years ago I have experienced with the process of photoetching; for the fuselage of the 1/4 scale Strutter I have made the intricated lugs to be bent; I have worked with brass 0,3 mm. thick; I have photo transferred the images of the lugs onto both the sides of the brass plate and then I let corroded by "cloruro ferrico" (the same used for PCB).
The result was OK but I have promised to myself: never more!
Now I have "discovered" the laser cutting process;: you have to pray a bit to the cutting company but with a lot of patience (and some money) you get your parts cut in steel or in stainless steel plate; but even in aluminum.....

Fuselage is sheeted with 1/32 balsa inside and 1/32 ply outside. Rudder and elevator are controlled as in the full size through the rudder bar and stick. Wing warping is done with a digital wing servo.....we'll see if it works. Rudder servo is missing in photo below. Fiddly bits in paint tray.

Here are some interior fuselage details. Observer seat. Pilot seat construction. Gun elevation wheel. Throttle quadrants...they are smaller than a penny...oh for a bigger scale! Rudder bar. Instrument holder.

This looks like a really cool project. Too bad I can't possibly look at it because all the photos are so gigantic in terms of data!
I thought the RCU photo loading utility automatically decreased the size of oversized pix. Apparently not.
One suggestion to wingwarper... before loading them, run your pix through Photoshop or some similar program to resize them do they can be viewed. As a test, I managed to get one typical photo up and it was 2.37MB! No wonder the page takes so long to load and the individual pix become impossible to deal with.

Allan, the photos work ok for me (using Firefox). When I click on the thumbnail image, I get the usual RCU size image in that Java applet window. If I click on the "enlarge" button in the lower right corner, it does do to that REALLY large size, but maybe that's a good thing.

But, yeah, wingwarper, different people have different browsers and different computers and different internet services so it's generally better to use a "medium size" image. All my construction photos are resized to 1000px wide.

Great work on those teeny, teeny details, by the way! I know just how you feel!

Thanks for the help...like I said I'm a rookie. Will resize. Will also try to resize and edit existing pics.

I see you are a neighbor where are you planning on flying this bird? I fly at PGRC and NVRC.

Excellent work!

BobH
I'm more of a builder than flyer. When I fly it's usually in North Carolina with my son-in law. IfI ever decide to compete it would be in team scale.

http://www.rcpilot-online.com/Champi...010_a1448.html
has a nice video of one down the page; seems to fly well. How hard was it to get permission to take close photos at U-H?

Thanks, I've seen that video. Ptr Tax modeled the other G4 at Musee d'lair et space. It's a full restoration. I think NASM's preservation is nicer....but I'm probably biased,I work as a volunteer at Garber, hence the access.