crackerjazz Posted December 29, 2018 Author Share Posted December 29, 2018 (edited) Hey Steve, Hewy, John, glad to see you guys following along : ) I was going to leave the Revell Intruder MERs alone and use them as is, but couldn't help scratching an itch. I felt I should dremel the top of the fairing as I once saw Red Dog do on his 1/32 build so I did the same. They say scratching makes itching worse. True enough, I felt I had to work on those sink marks. Whittled away some material to make room for some styrene strips: Before I was able to break out the tube of putty I felt another itch. So i cut off a portion of the rear and prepared some rings for gluing onto them. And the rest of the time was spent on puttying... ...and sanding the repaired sink marks and rear ends. The pull is now strong for replacing the cables : ( Maybe just the bottom ones. Incidentally, I was comparing the swaybraces on this set of Intruder MERs to the Hasegawa's. These Revell ones are a bit oversized and can probably fit really large-diameter bombs : ) The nuts and bolts are well represented, though, so the swaybraces do look really cool when viewed from a distance. Edited December 29, 2018 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hewy Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 Very Much better than the eduard offerings I've just put together, great job on the dremel .i like the control panel on the backs too, I'm pondering on using 4 hobbyboss ones now its apparent that my eduard snakeyes don't fit the eduard mers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted December 29, 2018 Share Posted December 29, 2018 9 hours ago, Hewy said: Very Much better than the eduard offerings I've just put together, great job on the dremel .i like the control panel on the backs too, I'm pondering on using 4 hobbyboss ones now its apparent that my eduard snakeyes don't fit the eduard mers I've run into the same issue on my A-6E build Hewy. I purchased the Eduard Rockeyes and MER's but, their bombs don't fit their racks and, I don't have the fuse covers even on yet. EPIC FAIL Eduard. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted December 31, 2018 Author Share Posted December 31, 2018 Happy New Year, everyone! Some progress on the Revell MERs... Hmmm, not much of a difference, I guess, but I might as well finish what I started : ( Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Very nice work on the MER's crackerjazz. Have you tried lining up any ordnance on the MER's, now that you have the swaybraces glued on, to see if they line up correctly ? Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Hewy Posted December 31, 2018 Share Posted December 31, 2018 Super work, very much more scale appropriate, Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 6, 2019 Author Share Posted January 6, 2019 Thanks, Hewy! Hi Steve, good thing you asked me to test. Those Aerobonus Snakeyes I picked up are way too big: They sit way too close for comfort. Not much space for the fuze. I don't think they'll even fit onto their own (smaller) MERs at all with Snakeyes that big. The Eduard ones are better: Something else I realized, too, is that Revell Intruder MERs won't mate to the Corsair pylon swaybraces (below). I think I'll have to go back to the Hasegawa MERs instead : ( Prepared the pylons.. Something I noticed is that no matter how nicely I broke up the white color with staining and weathering they don't show well in the photos. Probably because the phone camera doesn't have enough dynamic range or the white just tends to wash out and appear brighter than the other colors. These pylons are actually badly stained and weathered right now but they still look too clean in these shots. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Aigore Posted January 6, 2019 Share Posted January 6, 2019 Lovely work on the MERs and bombs....yup the eduard bombs are da shoot! 😄 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted January 7, 2019 Share Posted January 7, 2019 Nice work crackerjazz, everything seems to line up nicely. I'm currently getting the swaybraces ready to be glued to the MER's on my build. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 13, 2019 Author Share Posted January 13, 2019 Thanks, Janne, Steve! I thought maybe I should still use the Intruder MERs. Removed the firing cables and swaybrace lugs. Will modify them for the Corsair pylons. I was thinking about the work that lay ahead of gluing on all that ordnance again for the other A-7. Just last week I managed to drop a pair of pliers onto one set and the MER ejected all its payload and I had to go through the painful process of aligning and gluing, dismantling and re-gluing. So an idea hit me, why not do as warcraft enthusiasts do. They often use magnets to attach weapons to the arms of the figures. So I ordered enough 1mm x 1mm for the 2 A-7s. They're really tiny. This is what they look like: Drilled out holes on the swaybraces and ordnance and glued in the magnets. Had to be very careful about polarity. It was a nightmare to fish out the magnets from the holes when making mistakes. One thing I observed is that because the swaybraces on the Intruder are a bit too big, the side Snakeyes don't sit quite at the correct angle. The angle of the fins look wrong when viewed from the rear: I could probably rotate the fins but actually found it easier to install the magnets off center for the side Snakeyes and remove the suspension lugs. Ah...better: The magnets are great. I could go from an empty MER to a fully loaded one in less than a minute. And I could maybe even swap loadouts as desired. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Nice work crackerjazz, great idea using the magnets. I had no idea they came that small. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
zaxos345 Posted January 13, 2019 Share Posted January 13, 2019 Great work Joe!!!! John Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Froggy Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Hello Very nice!! Where did you find so small magnets? Cheers Quote Link to post Share on other sites
my favs are F`s Posted January 14, 2019 Share Posted January 14, 2019 Nice! 1mm x 1mm magnets are really easy to conceal too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 15, 2019 Author Share Posted January 15, 2019 Hey, Steve, John, thanks, guys! Yeah, MFAF, this will be an indispensable modeling tool. Froggy, thanks, I got the magnets from below. https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-Rare-Earth-Magnets-1mm-x-1mm-1-25-x1-25-Strong-Neodymium-N50-Warhammer-40k/302633724503?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 I also saw some 1mm x 0.5mm (1mm wide, 0.5mm thick) -- so you wouldn't have to drill a hole so deep -- but I'm not sure if you lose some strength using those. Even the magnets that I got are not super-strong but they'll do for light stuff. Per bomb you'll need 4 magnets --- 2 on the bomb + 2 swaybars. I'd say they're good for stationary displays but they won't stand up to shaking -- your MK-82s will shed like autumn leaves. 'So I'm still thinking about going back to wires -- if I could devise something that can really stand rough handling. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
my favs are F`s Posted January 15, 2019 Share Posted January 15, 2019 I found out the next level in the attachment thing: just press fitting where the friction does the thing. :) for example a longer rod with a notch (from the bomb side) that enters snugly in a hole on the pilon side, and the notch makes a "click" that makes it impossible for free falling... Yeah... It works. I made the attachment of the giant bunker busters and fuel tanks of my 1/32 F-15 that way. A combo of magnets and press fitting is good too. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 19, 2019 Author Share Posted January 19, 2019 Hi MFAF, I'm really interested in how you build that notched rod you mention that can click into place. What is there on the pylon-side hole that the notch would mate to and how do you build it? Some more progress on the ordnance... Glossed for decals: Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 Nice work crackerjazz, they look really good. I'm currently decaling my 10 MK-20 Rockeye's that get 18 decals per bomb. I usually enjoy doing the decals but, this is no fun. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Froggy Posted January 19, 2019 Share Posted January 19, 2019 On 1/15/2019 at 5:40 AM, crackerjazz said: Hey, Steve, John, thanks, guys! Yeah, MFAF, this will be an indispensable modeling tool. Froggy, thanks, I got the magnets from below. https://www.ebay.com/itm/50-Rare-Earth-Magnets-1mm-x-1mm-1-25-x1-25-Strong-Neodymium-N50-Warhammer-40k/302633724503?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649 I also saw some 1mm x 0.5mm (1mm wide, 0.5mm thick) -- so you wouldn't have to drill a hole so deep -- but I'm not sure if you lose some strength using those. Even the magnets that I got are not super-strong but they'll do for light stuff. Per bomb you'll need 4 magnets --- 2 on the bomb + 2 swaybars. I'd say they're good for stationary displays but they won't stand up to shaking -- your MK-82s will shed like autumn leaves. 'So I'm still thinking about going back to wires -- if I could devise something that can really stand rough handling. Hello Thanks for the repky 👍 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
my favs are F`s Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 Hi CJ 🙂, here is it. This is with the GBU just laying parallel on the wing and showing the connecting grit. (1) is the magnet, it's slightly bigger - 2 or 3 x7mm if recall justly. Note that actually in this case there is just one magnet - on the pilon side. I embedded a small piece of metal on the bomb side, which is more than enough to keep it attached cause the magnet is quite strong. (2) are the original pins from the kit that enter in the original holes. They can be completely removed but i kept them whatsoever... they ain't doing anything. (3) are the added pins/holes. These are the real deal. I have no pics from the inside of the pylons but it's something like that: The "notch" means just a hair of sanding down the tips of the pins... it's not even visible on the pins, and i postfactum discovered that it's actually absolutely excessive if the pins can enter snugly enough in the holes. The friction from just one pin is more than enough to keep the bomb in place, whilest there are 2 pins per bomb.... This furthermore makes the bomb enter every time effortlessly in a perfect alignment. This is a sidewise view with the bomb not completely in place yet. I later found out that even the magnet is "useless" if the pins provide enough friction. But that way i only put the bomb underneath the pylon and it fits in its place "by itself"🙂 It's quite satisfying. This is the same pylon but this time how the fuel tank is mounted. The two original holes/pins are cosmetically there. They ain't doing anything. The front real hole on the pylon side is useless again, cause just one pin makes kind of enough friction to keep the tank up. Well, a metal plate is righteously embedded on the surface to make it stick to the pylon even better, for just in case. That way the tank also fits every time perfctly thanks to the rearmost "spheres" for the jettison, which enter half way in the pylons but two pivot points are enough to keep the tank perfectly aligned. Here in the foreground is the bunker buster again - check out how long are pins. All these pins are just tooth picks 🙂 , polished, lacquered and eventually painted. Usually, exactly with the thin coat of paint is how i adjust the control of the friction. Also check out the embedded piece of metal in the surface of the bomb, right between the original holes. The situation with the missiles is quite easier, because they sit sideways on the rails and don't have gravity against them, and are much lighter. Just two shorter pins are absolutely enough to keep it perfectly aligned every time and to keep it in place even if you shake/turn the entire model sideways. The mounting holes on the rail: and a top view with the missile just barely fitted, while the other is in place. That's it 🙂 It's actually very easy to make, although a lot of testfitting is required, but it's quite effective. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted January 20, 2019 Author Share Posted January 20, 2019 Wow, thanks. I like how you control the amount of friction using a coat of paint. I have a question.. once I've drilled a hole in the pylon, how do I create this? Quote Link to post Share on other sites
my favs are F`s Posted January 20, 2019 Share Posted January 20, 2019 well, that's tricky. i normally don't make it cause the friction is enough. but i used to fill the two halves of the pylon with small pieces of plastic, so that after gluing them - there is a solid part of the plastic inside the pylon. then i drill the hole, and insert a tiny little bit inside, inserting it with a smaller rod for example. it's in the margin of an imperfection. or else, the riskier thing is first to make the tiny notch on the tip of the pin and prep the tiny bit fitting perfectly in the notch. then add a hint of glue ONLY on the bit, and insert the pin in the hole. after a few minutes just remove the pin and the bit should stay in the perfect position inside the hole....if all done flawlessly... Definitely make a couple of trials to find what works best. In 1/48 all should be smaller so i would rather go with simply a pin in a hole, and "the paint/lacquer friction thing". 👌 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 1, 2019 Author Share Posted February 1, 2019 (edited) Some progress on the Intruder MERs. Scratched the bolts for the pylon swaybraces and made a rear swaybrace lug to adapt it to the Corsair's. Scratched some parts of the suspension lugs. They're not really visible : ( but at least the MERs now hang from the pylons with the right spacing/clearance and not just glued flush onto edge of the pylon. Shaved off the moulded-on firing leads and replaced them with wire. I should've done all these before the decals --- damaged some of them due to the rework. Edited February 1, 2019 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
A-10 LOADER Posted February 1, 2019 Share Posted February 1, 2019 Nice details, they look really good. Keep it going bud. Steve Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted February 6, 2019 Author Share Posted February 6, 2019 (edited) Thanks Steve! Some hull painting...I tried doing the two-tone scheme freehand but was getting lots of splatter. Had to cover the white. Had to sacrifice one of the canopies -- albeit the wider one (which I had to string a wire though and tighten) because I couldn't find a way to cover the cockpit well. Started panel-lining as well. Did the lines as fine, light and irregular as I could to prevent toy-ifying the model which I notice with heavy and dark panel lines. Edited February 6, 2019 by crackerjazz Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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