Pete "Pig" Fleischmann

OK, OK...but how many times do I have to tell everybody that this model is in 1/16th scale? Pig

Hey T Funny you should mention the helmet. I've got to make one (or two) in 1/16th scale for this model. I've got a few real, full size items I can scale down, including the helmet/mask, G-suit, checklist & kneeboard, BDU-33, and stick grip. All fun- Thanks Pig!

Hi Paul, I'd have to decline on this one. Although I have my own vac forming set up, I will likely have the shells pulled by a commercial vac former who can do each entire fuselage half in one pull. My platen is too small to do that. The commercial vac forming is expensive and therefore cost prohibitive to mass produce small quantities. However, if anyone is interested in following the same process I am for their own project, I'd suggest you get in touch with Timmy!..Maybe you've always wanted to build a big Red finned rumpler bi-plane, or a big Beaufighter. or_________ (fill in the blank) T

Afterburner Decals sheet 48-005 is what you are after...If you want to build it. HTH Pig

Thanks Jake-You're right..Very satisfying with a touch of relief. I don't doubt Timmy's! work, just my own! I'm still mulling around the idea of adding some power to the jet- Regards, Pig

Yeah...I bet I could get really cool tools too! Thanks Tilt. The shell will be vac formed, and then each individual panel will be applied in sheet on top of the shell. I've done this 2 layer approach before with a .030 sub fuselage and .010 plastic sheet on top for the panels. Timmy! just about has me convinced to do the panels in aluminum Regards, ig

Here's a few other views. On to the left side now... Thanks for looking- Pig

I did consider the canned insulation foam, and Timmy! and I discussed it..we concluded this (the balsa) would in fact be a better solution. We also discussed the foam sheet, but were concerned about compatability issues with the Bondo among other things. The balsa is neat and tight, lending a lot of structural support for the master. It's bullet proof. Wanted to show you a bit more of the shaping process. The T-38 has a ridge that runs along the canopy sill, back along the shoulders of the jet, and tapers into the top of the intake approaching the trailing edge of the wing. Tough shape to nai

THanks Tilt! You are right-tons of dust-I've been outside...It's been about 15c here so not bad Hi Paul! Yes. What you see here is the master pattern slightly undersized (.030) to account for the vac forming of the shells Regards, Pig

Hello again! I've got a bit of progress to show- I've been busy covering the right side of the fuselage with Bondo and then sanding it back. I learned a few things...like sand the Bondo within about 30 minutes of applying it. If you wait 3 days like I did, you'll be sanding stone! At any rate, the right side still needs some dressing out. There are some curves to the fuselage that I havent revealed yet with the sanding. The goal is to sand just to the bulkheads and longerons and stop. Pin holes and sinkholes will all get filled too. There are 2 "cones" on the jet-one forward of the windscree

Dude. Holy Smoke. That is beautiful..Off to such a nice start, you can just tell where it will end up. This will be stunning. Could you show us tell us more about stressing the skin? It'd be nice to see more of how it's done. Most of the narrative I've seen has been by modelers who spoke english as a second language, and for me I suspect a bit was lost in the translation- Really awesome work! Regards, Pig

Hey Gents! I got a bit farther down the road. Here you can see both halves of the master pattern have been filled with sections of balsa sheet. This is in place simply to take up space, as the whole assembly will be covered with Bondo and sanded smooth to the bulkheads and longerons. I've kept the fuselage halves tack-glued to the glass to keep it flat and true: With the balsa in place, the whole assembly becomes pretty rigid. Good I suppose because I anticipate this will get a fair amount of handling as I sand it back, and then during the vac forming process- I'll spread Bondo on the

Hey Mareku, I assembled everything you've seen so far with Zap CA (Super glue) and a spot of accelerator here and there= HTH Pig

Hello boys- Pressing ahead. I've spent some time cleaning up the skeleton forms..true-ing them up with the sanding block and a Sharpie pen. I'm ready to start filling the voids in preparation for the final steps in creating the master fuselage patterns. In these pictures, you can see my first attempt at master pattern making for this model here with the newer version. The first attempt was .040 bulkheads with the intervening spaces filled with blocks of basswood- then sanded to shape. As you can imagine, this was a bear to sand, and required power tools for the initial take-down: For t

Hey Paul! This is really shaping up to be something special. This is a big, adventurous project that will be very fun to watch come together. When it's done, it'll be B-I-G!...I like 'em big. I really don't know much about the shuttle, so this will be a learning experience on several fronts. Looking forward to that as well! When I was at Columbus AFB, the 747 with the shuttle on it's back would stop in for the night sometimes. My wife, the T-38IP, used to fly with the NASA T-38 pilots in the sim for their recurrent training. I recall talking to one of our transient alert troops who said the

Yikes! That's some high praise- I'm no master-That's for sure, but I appreciate the sentiment! All I do know is that a journey of 1000 miles begins with a single step. As long as you keep putting one foot in front of the other-You'll get there, right? OK then...Here's the next step! Got the left and right sides built-up with the bulkheads and longerons. Here I've got both halves clipped together just to get a warm fuzzy on the whole deal. The next step is to true-up this shape with a sanding block. First, I've highlighted some obvious spots to address with a sharpie. These will be s

Was talking to a freiend of mine who has the app..He told me he found another utility for it-converting units 1:1. I never thought of it, but if for example, you have decimal millimeters and need to convert to fractional feet & inches, just make both scales 1:1 and you are good- Pig

Hi Paul! I finally got to check out the 747 / Shuttle project-Very cool! That will be really impressive to watch come together and to see complete-Very unique and cool- Regards, Pig

Hey J, Thanks! Yes, canopies open, full cockpit, speedbrakes open....SUU-20 on the centerline pylon..all of that Regards, Pig

Hey Rocky! Just beautiful work! Love the figures too-They are outstanding! Pig

Thanks for the kind words John! I've learned so much from watching you work-Your Lightning is a particular source of inspiration for me. I hope that I can build as cleanly and accurately as you...You make it look easy and I know it's not! Warm regards, Pig

Hola! Or you could just run an app on your eye-pod or eye-phone....and never have to leave your workbench! Regards, Pig

Hey wayne, Oh yeah-I've got plans drawn by Timmy! in 16th scale that are awesome. Even with that there is still a ton of stuff to scale up/down. everything from the width of a shoulder harness to the height of the control stick... Regards, Pig

Yep- I agree that the 32 to 16th conversion is not that hard, I even wrote an article on scale conversion and detailed the math required.. but as I've said, I have a lot of math to do, typically with a unit conversion included. I hate math. With a project of this scope, why take the chance on a math error? I need the parts to fit, and that requires accurate calculations..This tool is a huge time-saver for me and gives me piece of mind that the math is correct. Anyone who scratch builds on a large scale will recognize the utility of the application. Maybe not on these boards, but I suspect lar

Once it's set up, (which took about 30 seconds) It'll rip through the math. Good luck measuring in millimeters, converting the scale, and changing the output to fractional inches with a calculator from the dollar store. A scientific calculator that does fractions I'd still be willing to race! Pig