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Monogram A-6E TRAM 1/48


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Thanks Wardog. I guessed right about how you do it. As I was waiting to see if you would see the post and respond, I thought, maybe plastistruct or evergreen make a hex rod and that's how he does it. I have plenty of stock rod in my inventory, but never though of a use for the hex so I never bought it. I went to the shop on monday and spent about $20 bucks on various sizes of hex plastistruct. It's definately not cheap. I even figured you out down to the alclad part. I'm glad I guessed right otherwise I would have wasted some money. You, sir are a true inspiration and I get as much enjoyment out of looking at your work as I do working on my own stuff.

Now, can you suggest a source for the hypodermic tubing in southern california? I tried a couple of the places listed here, but I was getting return estimates in the hundreds of dollars so I'm gueesing I'm doing something wrong. As far as the Kinetic kit, I'm kinda stuck. I have the revell kit of the EA-6 in my stash, but I figured the kinetic kit would be much better and newer tooling. I may not have resarched it enough and bought too soon. I have about 125 bucks invested in the kit with all the fixins now so I'm kinda commited. After talking with my uncle I believe he flew the plane before the composit wings were put on, but he did fly the TRAM so I could resribe the wing or modify it if I want. I'll have to look into the difference before I start the project. He told me he was the pilot that flew his plane to the factory to take the measurements for the upgrades for the composit wing retro fit though. I thought that was strange because I figured they had the plans and wouldn't need an actual jet for the measurements, but who am I to question him.

And FWIW. I search ARC all the time, but I'm usually active in the promodeller forums.

Thanks Wardog,

Marc

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Congratulations mboydd on figuring out the process......although most of this stuff is really not rocket science, it does take a little bit of creative thinking.

If I'm not mistaken i purchased the stainless steel tubing at a hobby shop in Monrovia Ca. called Pegasus Hobbies. I bought it many years ago and not sure if they still sell it. They sold it in small packages of about 20 pieces each and about an inch long. Even then a package was still about 10 bucks each......still better than hundreds of dollars though.

Since you've already made the Kinetic purchase I'd say it's too late to go with the Monogram although it would probably be a closer representation of what you're trying to build. My own personal opinion is the Monogram A-6 looks more accurate shape wise and you don't have to deal with the horrible 4 piece windscreen/canopy. On the negative side, you would have to re-scribe it to bring it up to date. These are just my opinions and in no way are they meant to detract you from building your kit....Good Luck

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You, sir are a true inspiration and I get as much enjoyment out of looking at your work as I do working on my own stuff.

Now, can you suggest a source for the hypodermic tubing in southern california?

Marc, I agree with your assessment of Elmo's work! Just looking at his work inspires me! And his techniques are awesome!

A very good place to get Stainless Hypo tubing is here... http://www.mcmaster.com/#micro-tubing/=ndj15i along with many other tools at reasonable costs.

Depending on where you live they deliver overnight! Although the pieces are at least 12" long and sometimes a little expensive you have every size you can think of available.

Hope this helps some.

Cheers

Larry McCarley

21045

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Cobus,

Technically some of those details aren't really painted. Since I hate painting small details and due to the fact I suck at it I try to come up with other ways of achieving painted results. In the case of the red buttons, I started by sanding off the original buttons as resin that small never seems to be molded crisply. I then drilled small holes in the same place as the original buttons and used stretched styrene rod cut to size to represent the new buttons. Before installing them and actually before cutting to size I take a red felt marker to the styrene which the white plastic loves. Once installed they look better than the original without painting. The silver rings at the base of the buttons is stretched styrene rod with a hole drilled through the center and cut into slivers with a single edge razor blade and then painted Alclad Polished Aluminum.

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Thanks for the link Larry. Those more reasonable proces for sure. I think my problem was I was looking at 5' lengths of the super fine guage tubing. Thanks Wardog, I'll check Pegasus. It has been a while since I've been there, but its a good shop and I heard they sell Vallejo model air, which I just switched my entire range over to from Tamiya Are you bending that fine stuff with a tubing bender or just coaxing it with pliers. I would think the stuff crushes easy.

Marc

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Marc,

I don't bend the tube as it's SS. One thing I also like about the small pieces I got from Pegasus is that when new both ends of the tube are "finished" and therefore smooth and shiny. These are the ends I typically have showing with the cut end usually hidden from view. This means each tube yields two uses for me yet they are small enough to where the excess wasted tube is not a big deal to me.

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Bout time we had an update :monkeydance:/> Extream awesomeness! I now have my 32nd A-6 whihc I will atempt to replicate some of the things you have done here. These older eyes need a bit more surface area to look at and 32nd will offer that. Thanks for keeping us updated and keep it commin...

Jim

Edited by Hornet78
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Thanks guys, really appreciate the comments. I have a week off from work now so I'm hoping to make some real progress on the cockpit....finally.

I checked out the website Larry provided for stainless steel tubing and he's right, they have damn near every size you can think of....thanks Larry.....cause I need some.

Jim, good luck on your build......saw the test shots and it looks nice.

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  • 3 weeks later...

I know I've said I was gonna start the cockpit long ago and made a liar of myself multiple times but this time It's for real. The tub is in Its early stages with all the plumbing and gizmos still to be added to the bulkhead as well as painting the knobs and switches. I initially started with the idea of adding all my own switches to the consoles but after completing the switches on the two most forward panels I decided against doing the rest to save on time as well as my sanity. The weathering on the floor is probably overdone for a Navy jet as most receive a fair amount of corrosion control effort but I like the way it looks so I'm leaving it as it is. A few other details I added and are visible in the pics are the openings on the aft side of the center console side panel which will have wiring coming through and connecting to the fittings on the rear bulkhead. I'll post more as progress comes along

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Edited by wardog
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Wow! That throttle handle is amazing :worship:/> I just finished making some handles for my 32nd build (took me 5 or 6 tries) and I have the utmost respect for your ability! And yours is 1/48 :doh:/> The painting and weathering of the tub look great, really spot on :thumbsup:/>

/Jesse

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Wow! That throttle handle is amazing :worship:/>/> I just finished making some handles for my 32nd build (took me 5 or 6 tries) and I have the utmost respect for your ability! And yours is 1/48 :doh:/>/> The painting and weathering of the tub look great, really spot on :thumbsup:/>/>

/Jesse

Thanks Jesse and thanks to the rest of those who have commented as well. I did notice you had built your own throttles so I know exactly what you went through to get them right. I'd be lying if I said I get everything right the first time around....usually multiple tries as I always seem to learn the error of my ways during the first iteration and sometimes even the second so you're not alone. Thanks again.

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The next few pictures show the rear deck practically complete. There are some structural elements that i hacked off at the very fwd end of the deck due to the fact the resin was really rough and pitted in this area and i could not sand it smooth with those pieces in the way. The pieces would be located right behind the ejection seats and i plan to build that area back up once i glue the deck to the cockpit. If i do it now, there is a chance those pieces will not be centered directly behind each ejection seat and I'll have to break them off and relocate them later................not a good idea. The rear deck has taken months of research and a lot of build time to get everything to fit right with many parts having to be made a second time due to riding conditions. Although the macro lens does not give the viewer a good representation of the actual working area, the opening in the deck where all those details are stuffed into is less than 3/4 of an inch wide and just slightly over half an inch long. This is the main reason It's all taken so long, not to mention everything in there was scratch built. Sure glad this portion of the build is practically complete.

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Oh no! It can NOT be a model, especially in 1/48 scale. It's just a real thing!

Absolutely amazing! Your modeling skills rocks!

A result of great patience and top notch craftsmanship.

Will be following with much interest and adoration.

Cheers and happy modeling!

Alexander

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  • 1 month later...

Oh no! It can NOT be a model, especially in 1/48 scale. It's just a real thing!

Absolutely amazing! Your modeling skills rocks!

A result of great patience and top notch craftsmanship.

Will be following with much interest and adoration.

Cheers and happy modeling!

Alexander

Alexander,

Thank for looking and your generous comments. I apologize for the delayed response but I've decided from now on to give thanks at the next update to keep my thread from moving to the top every time I say thanks without actually having new material to post. I really do appreciate peoples comments and hope to not seem ungrateful.

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Well It's that time again. Found some time to work on this never ending project and recently finished up (almost) the area behind the pilots seat. Most of this stuff won't be clearly visible but the pilot seat does sit far enough forward to where you can see some of it if you look "REAL" hard. First is a picture of the real thing to show what a nightmare resides behind the seat. As always, it took me a while to complete this area mainly due to trial fitting of parts to make sure everything fits once It's all ready to be put in. This part is incredibly taunting due to the scale and the amount of junk back there....it all needs to fit without riding conditions if possible.

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