V-bomber ground equipment

[tnuag]

We have almost finished the restocking exercise with Hannants and ground equipment features high on the list of things to do.

I posted a picture of a partially finished Sentinel Tugmaster recently and it seemed sensible to do the tow bars to go with it.

Anyway here are some screen shots for interest: In these screen shots etched brass is yellow, cast metal is dark grey and resin a honey or beige colour.

Sentinel Tugmaster

I am pleased with the way the checker plate has come out - it is slightly over-scale because you cannot do items less that 1/2 mm across with certainty with current SLA technology. Consequently the smallest bolt head we can do is 1/2 mm/.020" across flats.

Valiant tow bar

It is interesting to compare the design of the three V-bomber tow bars - the Valiant is the simplest in some ways.

Sentinel Tugmaster with Valiant tow bar

Victor tow bar

I think this is the most elegant of the three tow bars, and certainly the simplest to make.

Sentinel Tugmaster with Victor tow bar

Vulcan tow bar

This is certainly the most complicated of the three tow bars.

Sentinel Tugmaster with Vulcan tow bar

There is a whole series of GE kits coming along, but suggestions for new subjects from fellow modellers are always welcome.

[tnuag]

UPDATE

The design is complete. I have sent the file away to get a test sheet of brass produced and I hope to have the masters for the metal and resin parts in the next 10 to 14 days.

The production brass will not be available to me until late August , so I would hope to see these with Hannants in late August or September 2014.

[ChippyWho]

Interesting stuff...what scale are we looking at?

Watching a recent(ish) documentary about the early British nuclear strike force, I was amused by the recollections of one veteran who described how the 'Ready' crews had to spend all day hanging around togged up in their suits waiting for the dreaded order. On numerous drills, they would all tumble out of their huts and pile into a Standard Vanguard or Ensign station wagon to be ferried out to the waiting Vulcans. On cold mornings, often it would be quicker to walk...thankfully, the Vulcan's famous 'Quick-Start' facility was more reliable!

My Dad used to have one of these vehicles (civvie one, of course!), it would be seriously cool to add a 1/72 kit to the above!

(And even better to have a nu-tool Vulcan to sit beside it! :rolleyes:/> )

Edited June 21, 2014 by ChippyWho

[tnuag]

Interesting stuff...what scale are we looking at?

Watching a recent(ish) documentary about the early British nuclear strike force, I was amused by the recollections of one veteran who described how the 'Ready' crews had to spend all day hanging around togged up in their suits waiting for the dreaded order. On numerous drills, they would all tumble out of their huts and pile into a Standard Vanguard or Ensign station wagon to be ferried out to the waiting Vulcans. On cold mornings, often it would be quicker to walk...

My Dad used to have one of these vehicles (civvie one, of course!), it would be seriously cool to add a 1/72 kit to the above!

(And even better to have a nu-tool Vulcan to sit beside it! :rolleyes:/> )

It is 1:72 although you can do any scale from one CAD file.

[tnuag]

I have just added a post on the Jet Modelling sub-forum, so this is something of a cross reference.

The full V-bomber GSE list is now:

60 kva GPU

Sentinel Tugmaster tractor

Valiant tow bar

Victor tow bar (normal)

Victor tow bar (air portable)

Vulcan tow bar

All will be available in 1:72 and 1:144.

The GPUs and Victor tow bars should go to Hannnants next week and the remainder after 21st August when the etched brass is scheduled for delivery.

The input form John C has resulted in better models and a GPU - thanks John!

Neil

Edited July 25, 2014 by tnuag

[Darius at home]

Just received the AIM 1:48 Sentinel Tugmaster kit from Hannants and very nice it is too!!!

The only downside, and it is a major one, is that the one piece resin tug body has a 2mm thick "pour stub" over the entire bottom surface. The instructions state helpfully that all poor stubs should be removed before kit assembly. Removing this resin will be a major pain in the proverbial, not to mention the large amount of lovely resin dust that will ensue.

So a boat load of pain and grief to get through before the fun of assembly can start.

Release the Dremel!!!

Darius

[mig23]

Just received the AIM 1:48 Sentinel Tugmaster kit from Hannants and very nice it is too!!!

The only downside, and it is a major one, is that the one piece resin tug body has a 2mm thick "pour stub" over the entire bottom surface. The instructions state helpfully that all poor stubs should be removed before kit assembly. Removing this resin will be a major pain in the proverbial, not to mention the large amount of lovely resin dust that will ensue.

So a boat load of pain and grief to get through before the fun of assembly can start.

Release the Dremel!!!

:cheers:/>

Darius

Hi Darius,

I have some really heavy duty sand paper (I think it was called production paper) stuck to a small A4 sized board with double sided tape that I use to remove large areas of excess resin as in this situation.

Cheers,

Haydn.

[Darius at home]

Hi Darius,

I have some really heavy duty sand paper (I think it was called production paper) stuck to a small A4 sized board with double sided tape that I use to remove large areas of excess resin as in this situation.

Cheers,

Haydn.

Hi Haydn,

I use a similar technique (with finer paper) on vac forms. Fortunately the Dremel removed most of it and sandpaper will tidy up the rest. The resin dust that ensues comprises lots of tiny fibres which will be quite unhealthy if inhaled, so a good safety mask and frequent stops to clean up the dust are essential when using the Dremel. When sanding I wet the sandpaper with water to capture the dust.

Darius