A4K
Brigadier General
Great work mate, and good luck with the canopy.
Airfix 1:72 scale Blohm Voss BV-141
- Thread starter Bustedwing
- Start date
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Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Nicely done, and I hope you can mould that relatively complex canopy shape OK.
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Nice bit of work and hope the canopy works out for you.
Matt308
Glock Perfection
I'm floored...
Crimea_River
Marshal
smackers
Airman 1st Class
Great build.
110 photos here, some may be duplicates of some on other sites but some will not. Includes some shots taken of cockpit from outside the aircraft and one of pilots area from above.
And heres 161 photos of the Fw-189 with some actual interior shots taken, should think the Bv-141 was not too dissimilar
Mike
110 photos here, some may be duplicates of some on other sites but some will not. Includes some shots taken of cockpit from outside the aircraft and one of pilots area from above.
And heres 161 photos of the Fw-189 with some actual interior shots taken, should think the Bv-141 was not too dissimilar
Mike
Last edited:
- Thread starter
- #47
Bustedwing
Tech Sergeant
Thanks, there's a wealth of info on that site, I use it a lot. I've been neglecting modeling lately, so many other things to do now that it's not raining 24/7 and summer finally appears to be here. I've been experimenting with different plastics towards making some better canopy glass and hope to get back to the model soon. On another note, I did get my pool painted much to the War Dept's chagrin !
A4K
Brigadier General
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
I like it !
Thats Cool...
Vic Balshaw
Major General
Gotta keep the red flag flying.
vikingBerserker
Lieutenant General
That's awesome!
dirkpitt289
Master Sergeant
This is coming along nicely. I have this same kit in my stash but have yet to attempt it. I will be saving your build for future reference that's for sure.
- Thread starter
- #54
Bustedwing
Tech Sergeant
Well I managed to put down the beer and drag my big ole white butt outta the pool and get back to business. Some update pics. Still experimenting with how to make better glazing.
The first attempt at the nose glazing, doesn't fit too good but I think I'm on the right track. I made some great stuff by melting down some spare window glass with MEK which liquefied it and made it very pourable and even paint able but it fills up with air bubbles as it cures. Any one ever tried this approach ? I think if it cured in a vacuum it might cut down on the bubbles.I have a vacuum pump I use at work so I might give it a go. I have made negative molds of the glazing with liquid latex. Throw enough $#it at the wall some of it will stick I always say !!!
The first attempt at the nose glazing, doesn't fit too good but I think I'm on the right track. I made some great stuff by melting down some spare window glass with MEK which liquefied it and made it very pourable and even paint able but it fills up with air bubbles as it cures. Any one ever tried this approach ? I think if it cured in a vacuum it might cut down on the bubbles.I have a vacuum pump I use at work so I might give it a go. I have made negative molds of the glazing with liquid latex. Throw enough $#it at the wall some of it will stick I always say !!!
A4K
Brigadier General
Great attempts so far mate! unfortunately I've yet to learn vacforming and molding, so can't offer any advice.
When I've thought up ideas on this, I always thought it should be possisble to steam thin clear sheet over a carved mould, but of course that might not work at all in practice.
Airframes
Benevolens Magister
Using the kit glazing and fuselage profile as a guide, carve a male mould, or moulds, from balsa. Allow for the thickness of clear plastic sheet to be used when doing this, of which more later.
Once you are happy with the male mould, seal the grain of the balsa with a mix of clear gloss varnish and talcum powder, using enamel or polyurethane varnish, not acrylic. Let this harden totally, for a few days, then apply repeated coats of gloss varnish (again not acrylic), allowing each coat to thoroughly harden first, until a completely smooth, shiny surface is achieved. This is most important, as an imperfect surface will affect the surface of the clear sheet when moulding.
Now, take a sheet of stiff material, such as balsa sheet or thin ply, and, using the male mould, place this on the sheet, mark around its shape, and cut out this shape to form a female mould. Note that the shape and orientation of the required part will determine which elevation of the male mould will form the shape of the female mould.
Obtain some clear plastic sheet from a model supplies outlet of the desired thickness, probably around 10 to 20 thou for this scale, and at least A4 size or near equivalent. Do not use cheap, 'what you can find lying around' plastic, as the properties of this will be unknown, whereas the modelling clear sheet is designed for the purposes we are looking at.
Cut a piece of the clear plastic sheet which will cover the aperture of the female mould, allowing a generous border all around, and fasten this tightly and securely to the female mould, obviously centred over the aperture. I normally find that taping it tightly on all four sides works well.
Take the female mould, with the male mould immediately to hand, and hold it a few inches above a heat source - a gas hob on a cooker is ideal - with the clear sheet uppermost. Keep the female mould moving in a circle as you gently heat it and, as soon as it starts to go 'floppy', but before it totally sags or holes, plunge the male mould through the plastic and through the aperture, in one short, sharp, swift movement, but not so fast, or so far, that the male mould splits or ruptures the now heat-stretched plastic.
As soon as the plastic has cooled, probably a few seconds, carefully remove the male mould, then remove the moulded sheet from the female mould.
You should now have a moulded clear part, although this can often take more than one attempt.
Given that the part is as required, replace the male mould inside the moulded part, and, with a sharp scalpel blade, score around the edge - do not try to cut - until the part is freed from the remainder of the now deformed sheet.
The part can then be trimmed and cleaned up as required, and, if desired, framework can be added from strips of pre-painted tape. Fitting it is your problem!
Pics attached showing an example of this, when I moulded a canopy for my Mosquito conversion.
Once you are happy with the male mould, seal the grain of the balsa with a mix of clear gloss varnish and talcum powder, using enamel or polyurethane varnish, not acrylic. Let this harden totally, for a few days, then apply repeated coats of gloss varnish (again not acrylic), allowing each coat to thoroughly harden first, until a completely smooth, shiny surface is achieved. This is most important, as an imperfect surface will affect the surface of the clear sheet when moulding.
Now, take a sheet of stiff material, such as balsa sheet or thin ply, and, using the male mould, place this on the sheet, mark around its shape, and cut out this shape to form a female mould. Note that the shape and orientation of the required part will determine which elevation of the male mould will form the shape of the female mould.
Obtain some clear plastic sheet from a model supplies outlet of the desired thickness, probably around 10 to 20 thou for this scale, and at least A4 size or near equivalent. Do not use cheap, 'what you can find lying around' plastic, as the properties of this will be unknown, whereas the modelling clear sheet is designed for the purposes we are looking at.
Cut a piece of the clear plastic sheet which will cover the aperture of the female mould, allowing a generous border all around, and fasten this tightly and securely to the female mould, obviously centred over the aperture. I normally find that taping it tightly on all four sides works well.
Take the female mould, with the male mould immediately to hand, and hold it a few inches above a heat source - a gas hob on a cooker is ideal - with the clear sheet uppermost. Keep the female mould moving in a circle as you gently heat it and, as soon as it starts to go 'floppy', but before it totally sags or holes, plunge the male mould through the plastic and through the aperture, in one short, sharp, swift movement, but not so fast, or so far, that the male mould splits or ruptures the now heat-stretched plastic.
As soon as the plastic has cooled, probably a few seconds, carefully remove the male mould, then remove the moulded sheet from the female mould.
You should now have a moulded clear part, although this can often take more than one attempt.
Given that the part is as required, replace the male mould inside the moulded part, and, with a sharp scalpel blade, score around the edge - do not try to cut - until the part is freed from the remainder of the now deformed sheet.
The part can then be trimmed and cleaned up as required, and, if desired, framework can be added from strips of pre-painted tape. Fitting it is your problem!
Pics attached showing an example of this, when I moulded a canopy for my Mosquito conversion.
Attachments
A4K
Brigadier General
BRILLIANT! Thankyou Terry!!!
Some nice work going on here....
dirkpitt289
Master Sergeant
wow, wHAT A fantastic idea!!!!!!
- Thread starter
- #60
Bustedwing
Tech Sergeant
Airframes. this is more or less my first attempt following your instructions. The difference being I cast the positive out of plaster based on the mold I made wit latex making the result slightly larger than the original but figuring I could trim it down enough to make it fit, not happy with the results so far. What I'm aiming for is copying the existing glazing 1:1 but only thinner and clearer. The Mossie canopy lends itself perfectly for under sizing it for lack of multiple flat surfaces. I looked at the plaster cast of the canopy for this beast and figured I would get a brain aneurism trying to shave it down to compensate for the thickness of the glass so it fits....... I think the liquefied plastic has potential. I will keep you all posted. My next planned build is the Airfix 1/72 He 177 and the glazing on that is atrocious !!!
