Slow Speed Flanker

[mickey]

Finally got to make a start on this, having got the redecorating and a thespian interlude out of the way. I have been visiting the flanker threads over this year and must admit to both being inspired to "go a bit further" and then daunted about posting my work up. That aside, I do want to thank those contributors to the various threads not only for their amazing work but also for the many detail shots of the actual airframes. Even then it remains frustrating how the right photo turns up just as I have decided to finish one part wrongly!

I've got the majority of the cockpit done, except that the seatbelts need repainting. Pics are of the Aires set with some minor changes. I'll leave the seat until painting is complete. Paint is good old Humbrol and oils. Hard to get anything else in this part of New Zealand.

I am currently working on the MWBs - both the Aires parts and detailing the remaining blank plastic offered by the kit parts. Progress is slow due to the demands of keeping wife and four children happy - not that I'd have it any other way! Anyway, comments and any assistance welcomed.

Cheers,

Mickey

[John Langton]

lookin good

Edited August 17, 2006 by John Langton

[FlyingSnowmew]

Amazing work! I can't wait to see this one finished!

[geedubelyer]

Hi mickey, great start.

Fine job on the cockpit.

This should be a treat to watch.

Welcome to Flankerville! :)

[mickey]

Thanks for the comments guys. Modern jets are not usually my thing, but it's great to be here. I must admit that the Russian style jet cockpit is really neat to model compared to the early RAF ones that I'm wont to do - all black and cramped. But it's the shape of the airframe that won me over.

Anyway, as said above I have also been working on the wheelbays. Part of that has been preparing the fuselage for the amazing intacts courtesy of Zactomodels and the also impressive Aires parts. Aside from that the last two weekends have been spent toiling with small pipes. I am using various diameters of very fine solder (helps having a son who is into electronic whizz things for his bass guitar), although the finest lead wire comes courtesy of "Buffies Best". The new work for me has been using foil, which has proved to be an expensive pleasure due to bottles of Port being the most consistent source of the stuff! First two pics show the pipes finished - Yay! - although yet to be painted. The first fuel pipe took me two goes and many hours!

[mickey]

The next photos show the wheelbay cutouts. I had immense trouble fitting the Aires nose wheel bay even using the method given on Geedubelyer's thread. Very much a learning experience! Plus I hate having thick skinning around wheelbays. Basically a strip of thin plastic along the length of the bay that the Aires part can be snugged down onto. Fortiunately the outer surface is smooth so blending shouldn't be too hard.

I have also thinned the relevant edges of the main wheel bays. They'll get tidied up more when the painting of the bays is complete.

All comments welcome.

[skuki]

That is a nice progress, I especially like wheel bay details. Great job.

<_<

[geedubelyer]

Ah,.....a man after my own heart!

T'riffic work on the gear bays. I know just what's involved so ..."RESPEC' DUDE "

Are you an armour bloke normally? The reason I ask is that they usually build their stuff and paint it afterwards. I think this takes more skill than painting each part and then installing it. I'm looking forward to seeing this with some paint on.

Keep it up Mickey ;)

[Wasserfall]

Wow!! excellent work mickey, that pipe work is fantastic

This is another superbuild to watch

[mickey]

Only armour model I did was 23 years ago - a 1/25 Tiger 1 that a friend gave me to do.

I prefer to make the stuff before painting it because I normally have to make it at least twice before I can live with it! Also means that I don't have to scrape off paint before gluing the various pieces together. I suspect the main skill required is going to be stopping the nose of the model from misbehaving whilst I attend to its rear, if that's the right way of describing it. Keeps on wanting to knock out my modelling lights.

I think it will be at least another week before I've painted the wheel bays completely. And thanks again for all the encouragement.

Cheers,

Mickey

[Thommo]

Wow - I love that tubing.

Four kids you say - how does a bloke with 4 kids get to spend 2 hours on one bit of tubing!!!! I've only got 2 kids.......

[dreammh]

Awesome! Another flanker build to drool over

Good choice of family over hobby.

[mickey]

It's been a busy couple of weeks. One weekend was taken out treating my wife to a black american production of Gershwin's "Porgy & Bess" - some 350km away from home. The wheelbay painting also hit another glitch with my trying the ubiquitous floor polish and flat base as a final flat. Never again. Good for canopies, but otherwise I'm sticking to Humbrol Cote finishes. It had dried very patchy and didn't seem nearly as reliable, despite vigorous mixing.

Anyway, they're all done now. But now I've got a photo problem. I figured out the white balance stuff, but I don't have a tripod. So taking clear photos is not easy. The following ones are the best of a bunch, but still not that great. Sorry about that. A tripod is on its way!

First the starboard side with those pipes.

And then the port side wheel bay

[mickey]

On those photos you can see where I have reinstated some of the material aft of the MWB which I has cut out to make way for the Zactoman intakes. I made the, I assume, latch mechanism which sits in between the skins. The following photos give this in more detail.

This one is the inner skin.

And this one is with the intake sitting in place. I also included the latch mechanism which is at the forward end of the bay, so that fixing the intakes is becoming something akin to a jigsaw puzzle.

All comments welcome - and any photography hints accepted gladly.

Cheers,

Mickey

[janman]

Very nice pipework on your Flanker! Seems to be the best I've seen so far here on ARC.

The cockpit is very lovely as well.

[Wasserfall]

This is a great build

I see you thinned down some plastic in the wheel bays to look more accurate, very nice

Can't wait for an update

B)

[mickey]

Finally managed to get some photos taken. These first ones are the nosewheel bay. I put in two main colours as seems to be shown on at least one of the walkarounds on the net. The usual happened though - having finished it, I realised that I'd missed the bulge behind the gear door actuator recess. I'll add it later.

Cheers,

Mickey

IMG]http://i52.photobucket.com/albums/g4/mickeyman_photos/Flanker/NWB.jpg[/img]

The stencilling on the battery box? is from the kit decal sheet and is probably horribly inappropriate, but...

[mickey]

These ones are some more of the main wheel bays. They were a real adventure to paint! All comments welcome.

Cheers,

Mickey

First the port side

[mickey]

Oops. One was added twice. I'll try the last on eagain. Thanks for looking.

Cheers,

Mickey

[mickey]

And now the starboard side.

I managed to get the pipes joined up in the end. It should ike fine once it's buried underneath the intake.

Now it's on with the interior of the intakes.

Cheers,

Mickey

[upupandaway]

Terrific.

It´s not only very beautiful but someone might actually give you a speeding ticket for this. Wise, yes, but slow?

I´m very curious for more - but now I gotta get some coffee... It´s too early.

[dragonfly]

Nice job on the plumbing. Keep the pics coming.

Jerry

[geedubelyer]

Those wheel bays have come together beautifully mate. Very nice job on the extra pipe work.

She's looking fine so far.

Keep it up my friend, keep it up. :lol:

:P

[mickey]

I'm hoping that my ability to take photos of small plastic parts is improving! I've tried these ones outside which seems to work better. I took a lead from one of the other builds and finished the intake walls in Alclad Pale Burnt Metal and Aluminium mixed. This was followed by light brushing with aluminium and some aluminium sprayed through a fine comb on the intake ramps to approximate an effect seen on one of the walk arounds. The intake lip and the screen were finished in Alclad Magnesium (I don't have a titanium which may be more appropriate). I found these intake interiors very difficult to get to look right. Any feedback welcome, as it's not too late too change them.

This next photo shows the rear of the intake. After looking more at Geedubelyer's build I figured that the alterations would be worthwhile. I decided that to put the elliptical recess where it should be was going to cause a major rebuild of the main gear strut though, so it's not quite in the correct place. I haven't got any pics of the cut out behind the wheel strut, so this will have to do. I suspect it will all disappear behind the wheelbay details anyway.

The next update will be a while away as the port intake doesn't seem to want to fit properly - the flared bit directly in front of the main wheel bay won't sit against the fuselage properly.

Cheers,

Mickey

[mickey]

Yay! Finally got the intakes on. The problem turned out to be a slither of excess resin on the top side of the intake ramp which I tracked down by comparing the two intake parts. The next adventure was a slight warp in the fuselage half which kept on springing the starboard intake. The outer intake walls still have a gloss coat in the wheelbays and I still have to try to clean up the resin/plastic joint round all that pipework.

I ended up with a 1.0 to 1.5mm gap at the rear of the intakes which I filled with plastic card, bonded with gap filling superglue to keep the springing effect from cracking the join. Smoothed off with a tip from this forum - filler and isopropyl alcohol. The inside edges of the intakes have also been strengthened where they bond with the plastic.

There is a bit of rescribing to do still. I'm keeping the fuselage halves taped together as I'm still nervous about that join. Nothing to do with the inspiration given by the look of it of course!

All comments welcome.

Thanks for looking

Cheers,

Mickey