Holy smokes. This should be quite interesting.
James
JK
Glad you popped in. Hope this build doesn't let you down...stay tuned. There is still a long way to go.
Best
Geoff
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NAA P51 D-5 NA-1/18 scale
- Thread starter Geo
- Start date
JK
Glad you popped in. Hope this build doesn't let you down...stay tuned. There is still a long way to go.
Best
Geoff
Got my attention!
Moon,
Definitely pleased you're looking. Hopefully it won't disappoint you...stay tuned.
Cheers
Geoff
IJ
Thank you for looking in. Your comment is very much appreciated and deeply flattering.
Thank you...
Geoff
Luis,
Thanks for visiting. Just its size makes it impressive. I hope you'll continue to watch.
Cheers
Geoff
You got my attention
Nerdling,
Many thanks. Hopefully it will get more interesting as we go forward.
Best
Geoff
Greetings All,
A bit of a follow on as promised. Ill cover the windscreen assembly in this portion rather than the empennage which, is a massive rebuild effort. youll see what I mean later.
As such, the windscreen assembly was good to the print in dimensions. It just wasnt up to snuff in appearance. It was cut away from the fuselage and welded into one piece. All details were removed to make it ready for molding.This is it after reshape and prime during fit check.
Pictured here is the original. At this point the main canopy section had been reshaped to match the
California II configuration.Note that there were five different canopy shapes used on the Mustang and referred to as California or Dallas types depending on manufacture point. It should also be noted that the canopy straddles the fuselage when in the full open position. in this photo, it matches the fuselage width. Once vac formed it will just wide enough to straddle the fuselage sides. The aft end should also lay flat against the dorsal spine. I mention this because Ive seen many with the aft end sticking up in the air because theyve been glued to the canopy rails.It looks cool this way...its just dead wrong.
Note also that the cockpit sill has been raised .100to meet the print and a commensurate amount was removed from the bottom of the canopy. At this point, the windscreen and canopy are ready for molding to create the plugs needed for vac forming new pieces.
A bit of a follow on as promised. Ill cover the windscreen assembly in this portion rather than the empennage which, is a massive rebuild effort. youll see what I mean later.
As such, the windscreen assembly was good to the print in dimensions. It just wasnt up to snuff in appearance. It was cut away from the fuselage and welded into one piece. All details were removed to make it ready for molding.This is it after reshape and prime during fit check.
Pictured here is the original. At this point the main canopy section had been reshaped to match the
California II configuration.Note that there were five different canopy shapes used on the Mustang and referred to as California or Dallas types depending on manufacture point. It should also be noted that the canopy straddles the fuselage when in the full open position. in this photo, it matches the fuselage width. Once vac formed it will just wide enough to straddle the fuselage sides. The aft end should also lay flat against the dorsal spine. I mention this because Ive seen many with the aft end sticking up in the air because theyve been glued to the canopy rails.It looks cool this way...its just dead wrong.
Note also that the cockpit sill has been raised .100to meet the print and a commensurate amount was removed from the bottom of the canopy. At this point, the windscreen and canopy are ready for molding to create the plugs needed for vac forming new pieces.
The windscreen assembly was poured first using Alumilite Silicone rubber. Pictured is the product used, the reulting mold and the windscreen plug ready for vac forming. The windscreen assembly will be a two part sandwich of inner frame (there is no frame on the outside) and a clear overlay. This is also a good shot of the center section by itself.
Checking the fit of the mold in its fuselage seat.
This is how the canopy has to be adjusted in order to meet print. The arrow pointing to the radius on the down slope of the canopy indicates where the shape needs to be been adjusted by removing the radius. It should be mostly flat or straight in cross section. Note also the down slope of the top of the canopy frame once it reaches about fifty percent LOA.
Checking the fit of the mold in its fuselage seat.
This is how the canopy has to be adjusted in order to meet print. The arrow pointing to the radius on the down slope of the canopy indicates where the shape needs to be been adjusted by removing the radius. It should be mostly flat or straight in cross section. Note also the down slope of the top of the canopy frame once it reaches about fifty percent LOA.
The resin mold was vac formed twice. First using .020 white ABS stock. This would be used to form the frame of the windscreen. The second piece is the clear PETG overlay that forms the clear panes. The Mustangs windscreen assembly sits flush with the surrounding frame so none was made for the outside.
Drafting Mylar was used to take direct tracings from the drawings. After cutting out the templates from the Mylar, they were fixed to the outside of the solid ABS piece. You can see the outline of the Mylar templates under the clear overlay.
The clear overlay was removed. The remaining ABS piece with masks in place was given a shot of primer. Removing the masks left behind the pattern of the clear areas.
This what you end up with...
The white areas are then carefully removed and the framework is left. Because the clear parts were vac formed over the the first ABS part, it insures a perfect fit between the two.
Thats about it for this go around...Ill start the empennage next.
Hope everyone is well.
Cheers
Geoff
Drafting Mylar was used to take direct tracings from the drawings. After cutting out the templates from the Mylar, they were fixed to the outside of the solid ABS piece. You can see the outline of the Mylar templates under the clear overlay.
The clear overlay was removed. The remaining ABS piece with masks in place was given a shot of primer. Removing the masks left behind the pattern of the clear areas.
This what you end up with...
The white areas are then carefully removed and the framework is left. Because the clear parts were vac formed over the the first ABS part, it insures a perfect fit between the two.
Thats about it for this go around...Ill start the empennage next.
Hope everyone is well.
Cheers
Geoff
Hi James,
Happy you peeked in and glad youre enjoying it. I hope to provide lots of information regarding the Mustang that folks find helpful and to dispel many of the myths that have grown out of bad information being used for so long a period of time.
Again, thanks for visiting...
Best
Geoff
Amazing modeling here. Can't wait till next post. :drinks
Did not know about the 5 different canopies, knew of 2 different ones and can generally spot between two. Sharp eye to see the differences.
:drinksDid not know about the 5 different canopies, knew of 2 different ones and can generally spot between two. Sharp eye to see the differences.
Sherman 18
Master at Arms
Outstanding work! Cam't wait to see and learn more.
...just perfect...your job is of first rate...congratulations!...following with a great interest
Best!
Luiz
Luiz
Thank you fr your kind comment. I hope youll enjoy whats coming.
Regards
Geoff
Amazing modeling here. Can't wait till next post.
Did not know about the 5 different canopies, knew of 2 different ones and can generally spot between two. Sharp eye to see the differences.
Hi Moon
Thanks for looking in. I didnt know about the different canopy styles until I started to delve deeper into the Mustang. There have been so many misconceptions and myths in circulation about the Mustang that they have now become fact. Its my intention to dispel the erroneous data and present the Mustang as it should be by generating an online document that folks can use as a reference that is based in fact and not artistic license.
Hang in there Mate, theres a long way to go :laugh:
Greetings All
In my haste, I neglected to cover the exhaust stack fairings.On this note, Ill cover it now before starting the empennage. Believe me when I say, the empennage is a HUGE job and will take some time.
To begin, the exhausts of the Mustang come off of the manifold perpendicular to the face of the manifold which is (30) degrees down angle. They also sweep aft at fifty_five (55) degrees.The fairing itself protrudes from the fuselage at twenty-eight and a half (28.5) degrees to accomodate the stacks.It becomes something of a geometrical nightmare but not impossible.
Plastruct bar stock (.180 sq) was used as a starting point.Already having a center hole was a big help. The center through hole was opened to .147". Making sure this hole is centered properly is imperative. If it biases in any direction, it will throw the resulting elipse off axis and prevent proper stack alignment. More about this later.
Sections were cut from the bar stock. Each checked for hole centering. This was done until twelve (12) pieces were completed.
Using a cabinet makers protractor, each segment was marked at one end to fifty-five (55) degrees and cut accordingly. The LOA from the apex of the angle to the opposite end is .625". The angles must be checked after cutting and corrected if need be to insure proper angle. A spacer is applied to one side of .020" in order to achieve proper hole center spacing once the pieces are joined. I cant stress enough how tightly this must be controlled. If anything is off, it will throw the stack apertures out of alignment.
The completed stacks. To get the best alignment, each stack is placed angled face down and the next piece is welded to it. Once the stack blacks are welded together, each is again checked for angle accuracy of the fifty-five.
In my haste, I neglected to cover the exhaust stack fairings.On this note, Ill cover it now before starting the empennage. Believe me when I say, the empennage is a HUGE job and will take some time.
To begin, the exhausts of the Mustang come off of the manifold perpendicular to the face of the manifold which is (30) degrees down angle. They also sweep aft at fifty_five (55) degrees.The fairing itself protrudes from the fuselage at twenty-eight and a half (28.5) degrees to accomodate the stacks.It becomes something of a geometrical nightmare but not impossible.
Plastruct bar stock (.180 sq) was used as a starting point.Already having a center hole was a big help. The center through hole was opened to .147". Making sure this hole is centered properly is imperative. If it biases in any direction, it will throw the resulting elipse off axis and prevent proper stack alignment. More about this later.
Sections were cut from the bar stock. Each checked for hole centering. This was done until twelve (12) pieces were completed.
Using a cabinet makers protractor, each segment was marked at one end to fifty-five (55) degrees and cut accordingly. The LOA from the apex of the angle to the opposite end is .625". The angles must be checked after cutting and corrected if need be to insure proper angle. A spacer is applied to one side of .020" in order to achieve proper hole center spacing once the pieces are joined. I cant stress enough how tightly this must be controlled. If anything is off, it will throw the stack apertures out of alignment.
The completed stacks. To get the best alignment, each stack is placed angled face down and the next piece is welded to it. Once the stack blacks are welded together, each is again checked for angle accuracy of the fifty-five.
