Go Flight Posted April 10, 2019 Share Posted April 10, 2019 (edited) Hey guys, After being asked to show a pic on crackerjazz's thread, I figured, I should show the model. Not as good as a lot of the guys here you'll have to look at the pics with a gentle eye. 😉 Also with so many variants and being hard to keep versions straight I'm sure that my model has turned out to be something of a hybrid.  Looking at the images, it's quite intimidating , but once started it really wasn't that hard  in preparation for the Vallejo (I'm using) Aluminum paint, the craft has to be painted gloss black.  It's at this point that I noticed the craft looked - - empty. Time to start adding "stuff." I know I'll be getting names wrong, but here is where i added the attitude adjustment nozzles.  Next was an altimeter and a rectangular box on the rear of the vehicle. The box was easy - just use styrene sheets. How was I going to do the altimeter. Then I remembered I had this "Blue Stuff". You dip it in water that has been boiled and it gets soft enought to make part reproductions. So I heated it up and push two small bearings in the Blue Stuff. When the "Stuff" cooled I mixed up some Milliput (Aves won't work) and filled the depressions with it. Then I turned to the holder and created a curved triangle out of more Milliput. After some shaping I had my altimeter.    Edited April 10, 2019 by Go Flight Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Go Flight Posted April 10, 2019 Author Share Posted April 10, 2019 Next was the landing struts. Somewhere along the lines, the wheels were replaced. IIRC I read that a strong wind tended to start the LLRV moving, so struts were added. The kit parts was just a rectangular sheet and some rod, but in the pics it looked more like a shock abseorber. The tube I had was a little thick, but it was all I had - Moving forward I added the box and the altimeter. I also saw that there was a green cylinder under the pilot seat (oxygen?) anyway I curved the ends of the rod and added that cylinder. When I filled the vehicle right side up I realized that I both the altimeter and box in the wrong spots! Arrgh. Thankfully they popped off with no damage and put in the correct place.  I think what goes a lobng way to "busy" up the vehicle is all the plumbing and wiring. Looking at images I was getting dizzy. So no way could I do it all. But I thought some will go a long way. To that end, I found this images of a large sized model at one of the museums -  So looking at that pic, I added some wiring. It was at this point I noticed that some of the bracing for the sphere's was missing. So I added them. They haven't been painted yet, and are still bare styrene -  Then I added some more "boxes and wires -  Needing a break from this small work. I added some paint details to the engine, using different colors of the Vallejo Metallics -  More wiring and more gloss black primer -  To end this session, I couldn't wait anymore, and sprayed the vehicle with Vallejo Metallics Aluminum. (The seat was just dropped in place to see what it looks like.  That's all for now. More later.. Thanks for looking.   Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted April 11, 2019 Share Posted April 11, 2019 This is looking pretty good! Don't worry about getting the names right, sheesh, if you call the 'kadiddle' a 'remistran', who's gonna know? The 'round thing-y' and the 'point-y thing-y' will be good enough for most of us!    And adding wires and stuff to the frame will serve to busy it up visually. You just wanna give us viewers a sense that there was a helluva lot of 'things' on that frame. And your Altimeter casting was a terrific solution.  Why don't you post this in the Group Build thread too? We'd love to have you over there too ... but posting on this Forum, well, we'll enjoy watching this little build come together, just as much!  Pete Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Go Flight Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 7 hours ago, K2Pete said: This is looking pretty good! Don't worry about getting the names right, sheesh, if you call the 'kadiddle' a 'remistran', who's gonna know? The 'round thing-y' and the 'point-y thing-y' will be good enough for most of us!    And adding wires and stuff to the frame will serve to busy it up visually. You just wanna give us viewers a sense that there was a helluva lot of 'things' on that frame. And your Altimeter casting was a terrific solution.  Why don't you post this in the Group Build thread too? We'd love to have you over there too ... but posting on this Forum, well, we'll enjoy watching this little build come together, just as much!  Pete Thanks Pete. LOL I see some of these guys talk about their build "Well I attached the FER to the BGA, and then that connect that to the AARC..." and all the while my head is doing 360s on my shoulders as I read it. I don't even pretend to memorize all the parts. 😄 Thanks too re the altimeter. I keep threatening myself to learn a 3D program, and then print my own parts. But yeah, who knows when that'll happen. Til then the BlueStuff worked. Covered in primer and Aluminum paint no one will know. 😉 Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Go Flight Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 Looking toward the cockpit section, again each variation had different features. I "think" I'm still close to the example I'm using. here the pilot is in his seat. There was a wide variation of what they wore - from a flame proof suit, to the orange "suit". I found a few with the pilot wearing a sort of light colored olive, that's the one I chose. In the pic it also looks like he was wearing regular brown leather work gloves. So I added that even tho the color makes it looks like he's got bare hands. Between his knees you can barely make out the yellow and black of the ejector seat ring. There was a few images where there was foot pedals - so with some bent wire, I included them.  In the rear, additional wiring and plumbing were added. I added drips of super glue where needed to get rid of the wood grain that came thru the paint. These boxes are supposed to be metal, not wood. 😉  One oops is that I added glue to the 4 stubs where the engine attaches to the ring. As I pushed the engine into place the glue stuck before I got the whole thing in. The engine is supposed to be below that top frame work. Oh well.  The last step, was creating a little base for it. I took a square piece of foam, and covered the top with Free Form Air clay. This product is super light weight, and air dries in a few hours. It is sticky, but somehow is less so when you use a little at a time. Adding water really lets you smooth things out. A cut some balsa sheet to act as a frame.  Once dry, I sanded it as smooth as possible and then I found a VIDEO of a flight from Edwards, and it shows a regular gray concrete with some black "tar" lining some of the sections. There was also white lines and dots painted on the concrete. I tried to mimic this.  So with that, I was done. Thanks for looking.   Quote Link to post Share on other sites
K2Pete Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Nicely DONE!!   All the little extras you put into this little 4" model really makes it 'pop' ... you added just enough wiring and bits to make it look right, and not too visually busy. And CA glue is pretty touchy stuff eh? How many times it stuck before I was ready for final placement ... !    Your engine placement looks just fine!  Thanx for posting here ... your name sounds quite familiar from the Yahoo Group, I haven't even visited there in a couple years ... but I do submit photos of my completed builds to Sven on his site.  I hope we see more of your builds here! Thanx Pete   Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Go Flight Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 10 hours ago, K2Pete said: Nicely DONE!!   All the little extras you put into this little 4" model really makes it 'pop' ... you added just enough wiring and bits to make it look right, and not too visually busy. And CA glue is pretty touchy stuff eh? How many times it stuck before I was ready for final placement ... !    Your engine placement looks just fine!  Thanx for posting here ... your name sounds quite familiar from the Yahoo Group, I haven't even visited there in a couple years ... but I do submit photos of my completed builds to Sven on his site.  I hope we see more of your builds here! Thanx Pete    Thanks, Pete. How many times did it stick to my fingers before getting it anywhere near where it belongs? LOL About 5... 😉 Yes, I'm a regular over at the Yahoo Group. It's like a lot of the groups, not to insult it, but after a while you start to see different ppl ask the same questions. So while I chime in from time to time, I do a lot of lurking now.  Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ralf Posted April 17, 2019 Share Posted April 17, 2019 Very nice, especially considering the size and materials. Great work! Â Cheers Ralf Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Go Flight Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share Posted April 18, 2019 22 hours ago, ralf said: Very nice, especially considering the size and materials. Great work!  Cheers Ralf  Thanks!  Quote Link to post Share on other sites
ApolloMan Posted April 18, 2019 Share Posted April 18, 2019 Very nicely done, gives me drive to get mine done. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
crackerjazz Posted April 19, 2019 Share Posted April 19, 2019 Wow that's a beautiful model, Kev!   Love the build up shots and how you made the altimeter using ball bearings!  Especially love that shot of the LLRV like an insect lying on its back : )    And Air-form clay -- I should find some good use for that stuff, thanks for sharing!   Quote Link to post Share on other sites
as205 Posted April 20, 2019 Share Posted April 20, 2019 Nice build. I've never seen the blue stuff before, nice work.  As far as jargon goes, I'm afraid I'm one of those. I just get caught up in the research and get lost learning about this part or that part. Like was said, don't worry about what is called, we can all figure it out.  Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Go Flight Posted April 20, 2019 Author Share Posted April 20, 2019 Thanks for the kind words guys.  Apolloman: Oh yeah, dig in. The box art makes it look VERY complicated. But how they broke down the structure, the PE very easy to fold up. It's seems they also used a thicker metal sheet, and not delicate what you see in some of the dainty airplane PE sheets.  Crackerjazz: I really though for a while about what to do with that altimeter. Works in the scale, but I don't know if I could get away with it on a larger scale. 😉 But it's always worth a try if someone wants to give it a shot. 😉  as205: The Bluestuff is terrific. When you get it, it has the same feel as a hot glue stick. The best part of it is if you try and do something intricate, all the details show up in the Stuff. Whats really cool is that if you're done with the part you need to make, just drop it back into the boiled water and you can knead it up and it's ready for the next part you need to make. I also tried to make a 2 part mold with it. It works! Soften up part of the Stuff, push you part into it. Then let it cool. Once cool soften another batch of the Stuff and push it over the top. With one part cool, and the other hot, they won't stick to each other. For my, I'm a scale slave (1:72) and it's tough to find seated 1:72 pilots. Once I found one, I made a mold of it, and now I have as many as I need. 🙂 If you have a need to make spare parts, get it you won't be disappointed. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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