love the retracts---do you have a job with Disney in the Animatronics division? You ever get some plans inked put me on the list!
!

Hi stef,

amazing work, great details on the stabi.
Have you considered making a mold and going full composite? With all those rivets it would be a shame to get only one model from all the work :-)

Best regards
Hank

Thanks guys for your comments No animatronics job, but perhaps a watchmaker in a past life! Growing up with lots of legos helped for sure!

I have thought about making molds of the final model but there is a bit of assymetry in my fuse (I'm building this thing fast, no slowing down!!) and there are definitely things I want to update in the plans. Mold making is also such a pain in the @#$* that the final costs to the consumer I fear would be outrageous. But if there is interest, I'm interested! I figure when the plane is done, and she is put through her paces, and doesn't spiral into the drink - I'll think about everything from plans, to plans + parts, all the way to fully molded. But for now, just have to finish the plane first!!! -stef

Hey stef,

making a mold is really no big hassle with the "new" materials available. I threw together the mold for a 65" long jet fuse on a weekend.....for under $130. My guess is you can come in at under $500 for a full set of molds and not spend more than a week on them.

Taking them off a finished model will be tough though, you might need to end up building a new plug model.....but please build straight then :-)

Best regards
Hank

Hank - I like those numbers! My only molding experience has been with RTV, epoxy, and now latex. But a new plug would certainly be in order

Okay, more progress to report

Front Gear:

I primed, filled and sanded the forward portion of the bottom hull so I could create my front landing gear bay doors and hinges. I had to use quite a bit of filler to compensate for my sloppy planking job, but I'm happy with the weight of things thus far so I'm not too worried. [link=http://www.stef.com/Albatrosspics/update 8_3_07/frontgear.MOV]Here[/link] is a video of the front gear and flaps in operation. They are not perfectly to scale in the way they are hinged, but from a distance I think they'll pass for a likeness. The flaps are held closed by a rubber band, and pushed open by the front gear, a low tech method but simple. I forgot to think about the buoyancy of the wheels when design my landing gear setup, and so I may have to do some bathtub tests to adjust things if I want to be able to taxi from a water landing onto land and vice versa.



Float mold:

After many layers of latex added to my new float mold, I cut it open and found things way too floppy to mold as is. I put the latex halves back over the mold and wrapped everything in fiberglass, added epoxy, and sarranwrapped everything ("poor man's vacuum bag"). I then dremeled it back open and had two halves, sufficiently rigid, but flexible enough to release the parts.



Molding the floats:

To cast and make the hollow positive forms, I started by brushing two light coats of epoxy and micro balloons. Then I added a couple layers of 2oz fiberglass, cut in little pieces and placed on the bias. The halves were quite flexible by themselves and I had to be careful not to tear or crease the parts when taking them out of the mold. I don't have a lot of molding experience, but this latex float mold has been the least hairpulling of them all.



Joining the floats:

I tacked the lightweight halves together with superglue, then poured a heated batch of 30 minute epoxy and microballoons through a top hole, and just rotated the mold around and around until all the seams were covered from the inside. I could see the flow of epoxy so I was able to make sure the epoxy flowed evenly. Blowing air through the top hole revealed a couple bubbles, which I then filled, lightly sucking air so the epoxy would fill the void. Each float at this point is about 75 grams.



Until next time -stef

Hy Stef,

I started making molds a few years back and have gotten quite some experience (both good and bad), so maybe a short intro into easy mold making (i mean durable molds for 100 parts +).

First i take a plastic sheeted piece of wood (like for bookshelves) and cut the contour of the object. The (waxed!!) object is placed into this cutout so that it protrudes exactly halfway. I tack it in place using that colored clay type of stuff the children usually play with. The seam all around is then filled with candle wax (light it and let it drip in, scratch off all the excess after it has cooled with a sharp knife).
Now drill a few holes and place steel rods in there.

Thats all the preperation.
Now you start laying up the mold. First apply a coat of mold surface resin (usually black or blueish) with a brush. Once this gets tacky, i cover everything with a thin layer of fibreglass cloth+epoxy. All the sharp corners and areas where bubbles could form are filled with epoxy goo (thickened with glass bubbles or similar)
Before it starts to cure i mix up a batch of laminating ceramic, sink the special fabric in there and just massage it onto the laid up epoxy. Walk away for 24 hours. Part 1 complete.

Now turn it around, take off the wooden plate (leave the steel rods in there!), clean it off and wax it again, and then repeat the procedure. When this side has cured, simply pull out the steel rods and pull the two haves apart.

With the rods you can always get the 2 pieces aligned just right, and you don't have to join them after taking them out of the molds. They will come out with just a very thin seam....
I buy all the stuff, especially the ceramic and the special "M1" fabric, at r&g : http://www.r-g.de/en/
I'm sure there's a supplier in the US as well. That stuff is cheap, as 1 layer will give you a mold approximately 6mm thick....enough for all molds up to 100"!

Hope this helps a bit....
best regards


PS: attached you will find 2 plugs for a rudder i just made (they were cnc milled)....after placing the part in the wood and drilling the holes it should look just like that.

Thanks Hank for the moldmaking info, I will look into those materials and try your process on the next moldmaking project for certain. -stef

Hello again! I'm cruising right along and should finish just in time for my self imposed deadline of August 23rd. (First flights to be Sept 15/16th)

Filling and Sanding:

Nothing too exiting about this step, just hours and hours of sanding then filling, then sanding some more. I know I'm using a what looks like a ton of filler, but what remains after sanding is very thin. It is also very easy to create knifelike edges on the hull which should aid in water release and help this beast get on step sooner.




Main Cabin Hatch:

I drew up the front windows then used chartpack tape to dial in the lines. I made a paper right side that I flipped to the left to transfer the lines, then went to work with the dremel.




Wing Fillets:

I love the rounded wing fillets on the Albatross and recreating seamless fillets with removable wings was a bit of a challenge. After several passes with more filler, and scoring it before it fully cured, I was able to get the wings to mate with the fuselage cleanly. [link=http://www.stef.com/Albatrosspics/update 8_10_07/wingfillet.mov]Here[/link] is a video of the wing half sliding into place.






Fuselage Windows:

I cut out the rest of the openings in the fuselage. Aside from the side windows I also cut out the nose hole which will give me access to my video camera, and the lense window for my digital camera.



Float attachment:

I started to flush out how the floats attach. I decided against the magnet idea for the floats because I had visions of my floats dropping off the wings after a bounced landing!
I installed tongues that stick out of the wing an inch and a half that with the floats. There will be an inconspicuous screw on the side of each float to hold it on.



All together:

Well this is a view of most of the big pieces together. I have some more finish work of priming, filling, and sanding to do on the fuse and wings, but I should be able to start the riveting process in a couple of days.



Until next time -stef

Beautiful work !

Thanks Charles

The Albatross factory is running around the clock now!

First Primer coat:

Although the pics make the fuselage look perfectly smooth, the first primer coat revealed all kinds of little holes and deep scratches that needed to be filled. The second image shows all the imperfections filled with acrylic putty. I will wet sand everything and then move on to rivet and groove work.




Detail parts:

I went ahead and made all the little super tiny parts that will make this plane look very realistic. From exhaust stacks to antennas of all sorts, I think I've covered most of the little details. I will make a mooring line that splits and goes around the radome as well. The second pic shows the heat forming of a wing tip light cover with left over yogurt lids. It worked very well.




I will post more updates as parts come flying off the assembly line this week -stef

The floats are finished! Now on to gear mechanism and gear doors. -stef

This is amazing work that you have done. I would liek to have a copy of those plans too whenever you get around to making them up. And whou would make the landing gear?

Thanks Don! Once I got the geometry correct for the gear, it wasn't all that difficult to make the gear out of carbon tubes. It was a bit tedious, but with some fine dremel bits and some patience they came out great.

More progress:

The gear doors and gear are now finished. To weather the parts I just brush on black acyrlic (I think) paint, then sponge off. Then I fix it with acrylic spray. I've attached all the little details to the wings and fuselage, and drawn out all the lines I need to rivet and groove. -stef

This is just incredible.....dang! I am not sure what else to say, but this is like a VERY Good movie. Keep posting pics. If you would not mind, please dont sleep for the next three weeks and only work on this, so we all can get back to our lives! Nice job

You may have shared this already and I have missed it but would you mind sharing the technique you use to put on all those rivets! I don't have that many to do in compairison, but the right look is everything! I am amased!!!!!!!!

Thanks again guys!

Charles I just used a syringe (pulled out the thin metal part that pierces the skin and what is left is about a 1mm hole) then filled it with something called Vinyvil (I've been living in Italy this last year and Vinyvil is their equivalent of Elmers glue). Then I put on the headphones with some fast music and get to work. When you make a mistake you just it away with your finger. Easy peasy. Time consuming, but satisfying. -stef

Hello all, I'm moving at lightspeed now, for better or worse!!!

Rivets:

After two intense 10 hour days of non stop riveting, I have a very realistic airplane - and bloodshot eyes! I was shooting for doing a rivet every second, and so I probably averaged a rivet every two seconds if you include refilling, unclogging, positioning etc..... So that brings me to upwards of 30 thousand rivets! If you want to experience the process which is anything but riveting, just set [link=http://www.stef.com/Albatrosspics/update 8_20_07/riveting.mov]this[/link] movie clip to loop and watch all day long!



Grooves:

I used a combination of masking tape and striping tape to create my lines. I found that the stripe tape adhesive was so strong it was lifting some of my delicate finishwork. I think my poor quality spray can primer is the culprit. In any case I just decided to leave my hatch lines as positive (sticking out) and the masking tape access panel lines as negative (grooves) I figure once you are a few feet away its hard to read the difference anyway.



Here she is all ready for priming



Priming:

I had almost disastrous results with this low quality spray can primer I'm using. I ran out of the automotive lacquer primer and this stuff comes out of the can quite unpredictably. However I found that after a pass with a dry sponge to remove rough areas the end result was acceptable. I figure it will just add to the rough antique aircraft look anyway (At least that is what I am telling myself) Lesson learned, don't skimp on materials in the final hour!! My primer coat is just light enough to hide my notes/scribbles and to read the masked grooves when the tape is removed.



Aluminum color applied:

I'm excited, she is looking good! Now on to yellow, black, silver, decals, weathering, final assembly, testing, crating for transport to America..... etc... etc...






'Till next time..... -stef

Again and again, this is an incredible build, both for the quality of the craftmanship and for the speed it has been carried on by the builder.

Your detailing rocks! It is indeed what turns an already good model into a scale masterpiece.

Simply amazing!

Stef, amazing.....

make a mold now *nag*. It'd be a shame to see all the work and detailing covered up in paint and taken to the sky without having any sort of "backup"....i'm also sure you can make a bunch of money with a kit like that up your sleeve.

Best regards
Hank

Thanks Hank! but too late, no time to slow down, she is DONE!!!!!!!!

Well just about! All I have left to do is reinstall my electronics, string the lines and attach the rubber bands for my landing gear system, and do a final balance. The all up weight is 5.43 kg which is well over the high end of the window I was shooting for (surprise surprise!) The wingloading is 32 ounces per square foot, and for a 93 inch wingspan model I don't think that is too bad, but I may have to throw some beefier motors on.

You can go [link=http://www.stef.com/Albatrosspics/update%208_23_07/AlbatrossGallery/]here[/link] to view some higher resolution images from various angles.

It has been a mad dash to finish this before the 23rd (leaving for family vacation), and unfortunately the weather did not cooperate at all. I was painting, gluing, and detailing outdoors in high humidity. Though I am very happy with the results, there are some definite signs of rushing and uneveness in coverage and texture. I will probably replace/redo the side windows at some point, as I butchered them with my clear acrylic spray I was using to seal my decals. I also put the star on the right wing and I think its supposed to go on the left, but oh well!

First taxi and flight tests will be the weekend of September 15th and 16th, and I will surely post all video and higher quality stills, good, bad or ugly!

She's all boxed up and ready to bring back to America Let's hope she comes out the other side in the same number of pieces she went in.

Until next time -stef

Good luck with the shipping. Now please tell me that you will form your own modelling company and produce a ARF in that very same paint scheme please!

wow i am totaly speechless. Thats lots of work into that model. I would love to buy one of those(not so good with building...yet!) I would love to see a video of it taxing when you get a chance, or even a flight.

Thanks guys!

I've arrived back in America and US Airways treated my large crate very well. I will report back with flight (and or crash) video after September 16th and if she flies as good as she looks, I'll think about getting plans out there, or plans plus parts etc.....

Thank you all for your support! -stef

Stef:

I'm in for plans. Keep us posted.

David

I looked at your profile and see that you live in Alameda, CA. I live in Santa Cruz. I woudl ike to see the maiden flight of your model if you wouldn't mind. If that is ok please send me an e-mail and I will drive up to see the flight. I'll send you a PM with my e-mail address.

Also I would like a set of plans if you decide to reproduce the drawings.

Bob Elliott