Is modelling 1:1 allowed here?

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Great work so far!

 

[PaulBG]

The seat assembly and fuselage formers. It has to take 100kg so I have had to add some more support, a gas strut etc. The seat lifts and lowers and is connected to the cantilever as per the Spitfire. Wherever possible I have tried to keep as close as possible to the real thing...though of course mdf isn't as strong as metal.



The whole thing is modular so with a few bolts removed it packs flat.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Gnomey]

Lovely work so far!

 

[PaulBG]

It took me some 20mins to find this post lol. Much has gone on in making, which is proving to be more of an industrial task than I thought. Multiple laminated panelled mdf is heavy work. (I suspect about the same weight as the real thing?) I have put more here rather than replicate if anyone is interested. Lots of late night coffee to figure out how to make this disassembleable and still look good.
I appreciate that isn't really a model making project here haha.

 

[T Bolt]

I don't know how I've missed this thread up until now. Your doing some fantastic work there! You're moving along much faster than I ever did with my cockpit. Maybe I should have used more wood and less metal in mine. Keep working on it, talking a break from it can be fatal. I haven't been back to work on my P-47 for several years now because I took a "short" break from it.

 

[Wurger]

 

[Capt. Vick]

Sweet! I want one!

 

[PaulBG]

I don't know how I've missed this thread up until now. Your doing some fantastic work there! You're moving along much faster than I ever did with my cockpit. Maybe I should have used more wood and less metal in mine. Keep working on it, talking a break from it can be fatal. I haven't been back to work on my P-47 for several years now because I took a "short" break from it.

Thanks...it is in a bit of a backwater here. I'm not sure if I posted the DIY Instrument panel? Probably. I decided to go with mdf as much as possible. I don't have the facilities to make a metal one. The whole thing flat packs in 10mins and fits under the bed! The lady of the house can't complain then eh?

 

[PaulBG]

Sweet! I want one!

I've made templates for all the panels...so I might just post them sometime. Then you can have one

 

[T Bolt]

Thanks...it is in a bit of a backwater here. I'm not sure if I posted the DIY Instrument panel? Probably. I decided to go with mdf as much as possible. I don't have the facilities to make a metal one. The whole thing flat packs in 10mins and fits under the bed! The lady of the house can't complain then eh?

Not really any special metalworking equipment needed. Most of my equipment is for wood working. Table saw, radial arm saw, drill press, jig saw. Aluminum cuts pretty easy with high speed steel bits and saw blades. I made the control panel out of an old aluminum street sign. Cut the shape on the table saw with a Bi-Metal blade and a hand held jig saw and drilled out the instrument holes with various hole saws on the drill press. The hardest part was coming up with the plans and doing the layout. The steel parts I cut with either an angle grinder or an abrasive metal blade on my radial arm saw (ended up scorching the table a bit though).

 

[DerAdlerIstGelandet]

Very cool!

 

[PaulBG]

Not really any special metalworking equipment needed. Most of my equipment is for wood working. Table saw, radial arm saw, drill press, jig saw. Aluminum cuts pretty easy with high speed steel bits and saw blades. I made the control panel out of an old aluminum street sign. Cut the shape on the table saw with a Bi-Metal blade and a hand held jig saw and drilled out the instrument holes with various hole saws on the drill press. The hardest part was coming up with the plans and doing the layout. The steel parts I cut with either an angle grinder or an abrasive metal blade on my radial arm saw (ended up scorching the table a bit though).

I'm making it exclusively in the kitchen. which is limiting, and I live on the 1st floor. I can get away with my small band saw and a hand jig saw. And the vacuum cleaner on most of the time. Aluminium is incredibly expensive in the UK and not easily come by in big sheets. I made my instrument panel from 3mm mdf. I did consider alloy but then it isn't really necessary as I made the instruments from paper card and plastic. The whole panel with instruments is just 25mm thick. I agree the plans are impossibly difficult and there are so many variations in a Spitfire it is almost impossible to pin down a model and a year. Photos of the instruments alone, no two alike. I ended up designing it myself from all the available sources I could find. I scaled mine down by 10%. The reason was mdf sheets are 4' x 2' so the half formers had to be that width. The alternative was full sheets, masses of waste, enormous sheets of wood I couldn't handle and they don't fit my car anyway haha. Obviously everything, instruments etc. had to be scaled down too.

 

[Gnomey]

Nicely done so far!

 

[PaulBG]

I don't know how I've missed this thread up until now. Your doing some fantastic work there! You're moving along much faster than I ever did with my cockpit. Maybe I should have used more wood and less metal in mine. Keep working on it, talking a break from it can be fatal. I haven't been back to work on my P-47 for several years now because I took a "short" break from it.

It's been a long time since I've been able to login. I have been busy! I'll post some of the latest progress.



Much more to show

 

[fubar57]

Impressive

 

[PaulBG]

and the whole thing flatpacks. I'm particularly proud of that. Still a long way to go...only taken 18months lol.

 

[Gnomey]

Good work so far!

 

[Wurger]