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'1/24 FA2 Sea Harrier Conversion'


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Before I break it, is there a recommended sort of hammer I should use to tap the punches?

I use whatever tool I have around. The end of my X-acto razor saw, or the rivet of a pair of scissors. I had a small hammer but I somehow lost that years ago. Whatever you hit the punches with make sure it's lined up correctly and hit the punch square. I have only had problems with the small long punches. In the sub-miniature set its the third smallest which I bent, but it still works.

There are miniature hammers with hard plastic ends that I have seen the Micro Mark tool catalogue, but you have to decide if they are worth the expense. For me there were always other tools that were more important to spend money on.

Timmy!

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Okay thanks for the advice. After comparing the smallest size hole to my model, looks like I'll need to invest more money into the sub-miniature version aswell :thumbsup:

I don't see the point in spending more money on a 'specialised hammer' when I have other things that could do the trick.

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Okay thanks for the advice. After comparing the smallest size hole to my model, looks like I'll need to invest more money into the sub-miniature version aswell ;)

I don't see the point in spending more money on a 'specialised hammer' when I have other things that could do the trick.

Sorry I assumed you meant the sub-minature set. It is worth every penny - it is one of the tools that I think is nearly indispensable. Sure there are other method of making small discs, like sectioning streched sprue, but for the consistency of the discs, you can't beat a punch set.

Timmy!

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  • 1 month later...

Hello again gents,

Time for an update I think.

Work has been progressing on the right console for a couple of days now, I've managed to complete enough College Art work to give me quite a nice modelling gap so I should be able to progress quickly for the next week or so...

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The work began with paneling the console with candle foil as is the norm. Any adjustments to the kit piece were made (refer back to the left console page for more information) and the foil went on without to many problems.

48826599kk2.jpg

After a coat of paint the first of many home-made placards were placed down. I've managed to fine tune the printer options in College to make the writing just about readable...which is nice :D Don't strain your eyes trying to read it on here though :) (note: Panel isn't glued down in this picture.

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All switches, dials and knobs are then added.

68962364ko8.jpg

The next panel was pretty much the same, but I had to make this slightly thicker like my references show.

Begin by cutting the placard roughly out of my 'list' of placards (I print half a dozen and then pick the best specimen :cheers:) and then sticking it to some thin plasticard.

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Switches and knobs are added...

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...and then the whole piece is stuck to some foil...

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..which is then cut out again and then stuck down onto the right side console :lol: PHEW!! I like the way the top most panel is slightly lighter. I think this adds a little more visual interest in the cockpit.

photo39jk3.jpg

And here's a comparison picture with the real thing.

Welp there you have my progress so far. Hope you've enjoyed reading and seeing my work!

As always, comments and criticisms are very much welcome!

Edited by PapaSmurf630
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;)

'Sabout as real as it gets Smurfster! :blink:

Ruddy marvellous mate B)

Ya know,.......if you keep this up, you might be quite good at it one day....... :D

;)

I'd be much obliged if you could go into the details of how you print your placards. They look great.

Are they printed on a super-duper printer or just a bog-standard thingy?

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Thanks for the comments guys,

Haha Timmy, dejavu perhaps? :o

Ya know,.......if you keep this up, you might be quite good at it one day....... ;)

:salute: You git!

I'd be much obliged if you could go into the details of how you print your placards. They look great.

Are they printed on a super-duper printer or just a bog-standard thingy?

I use a pretty simple technique for creating the placards. Measure up how big the placards will be using the right console and a ruler (using reference pictures to get rough measurements - usually around 0.5 x 0.5mm)

Start a new image in photoshop with the width x height measurements you now have. Create placard using basic shape/brush tools...(I tend to make the writing slightly bolder then in the pictures to help the printer along)

I use the printer in my College, a laser one I think...it only prints black and white. The black ink from the colour printer tends to run into the white areas, making them look blurry and not nice. Not anything special and I reckon anyone could do it...

I also print about 10 placards off each time and then choose from the best one. Some come out better than others it seems. I also partially used Timmy's advice and messed about with printer settings (adjusting print quality, image contrast and brightness) and it seems to have had a much better effect on the quality and readability of the print.

Cheers guys...if you have any other questions or comments feel free to post!

Edited by PapaSmurf630
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Nzgunnie, if you read this...

The side console differences between the FRS.1 and FA.2 are there but there aren't as many as you might expect. The left side console is pretty much identical, apart from the actual throttle stick. The left side wall differs slightly and there are small differences on the right side console (added and removed panels/switches)

I'll happily email you a 2 lovely pictures I have of the FRS.1 left and right side consoles if you want.

Just pm me your email address and I'll send them asap.

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Hehe, it is pretty big! And thanks for the compliment.

Of course GMK, pm me your email and I'll see what I can do.

Hey Papa Smurf

any chance of some pictures too?

I want to get back to my 1/32 scale conversion but have stalled with good reference photo's

John

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  • 4 weeks later...

Hello gents,

This week I've been finishing off the right console. I'll provide a quick insight into how I did this below.

These panels have been much more diverse than any others I have done so far. For some I've used cut out dials and others photo-negatives (and others, both!)

I don't want to go into huge amount of detail as I've covered the basics of my panel making techniques before in this thread, so I'll just show you the 'interesting' bits.

I have also posted a couple of 'how-tos' so if you're interested, click the links below.

Creating cockpit switches: Britmodeller how to

Creating panels for aircraft: Brit modeller how to

Brit modeller is a new forum and you're all welcome to join if you're interested in modelling British Aviation and its history. Anyone and any model types are welcome so come and join in :lol:

For my first panel, I had to reproduce a couple of LCD screens. I think this panel is for the radio or something similar.

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The panel was printed out, areas removed and it was then stuck to a dark piece of negative and then the whole lot was cut out again.

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This is the finished panel with buttons, dials and backing foil applied. Does the trick nicely and has a nice reflective property:

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One of the last panels consisted of 2 dials. I reproduced this one by first sticking down the two dials straight onto the plastic:

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I used PVA/white/wood glue to stick these dials down.

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The rest of the panel was then placed over the dials. The slow setting PVA glue enabled me to move and adjust the positioning of the dials to get them perfectly aligned.

And this is the practically finished right console:

img4235ok1.jpg

Compared to the real deal:

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Still one more forward panel to finish (the first and second were both to bright in colour :salute: ) but you get the rough idea :)

And lastly, with the rear bulkhead in place.

img4236es2.jpg

I've marked where the rivet lines and major components are going to go, hopefully the next update should see this half done or maybe even finished :)

Cheers for following this guys, as usual, comments and criticisms are encouraged greatly!!

Edited by PapaSmurf630
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Hi Jake,

I have to say as a long term harrier fan you are going beyond the call of duty on this one.

I if you don't mind I will be using your build as a blueprint for mine. Yours is going to be a stunner I can feel it in my waters. :unsure:

Keep up the exerlent work. :thumbsup:

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  • 1 month later...

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