Thanks very much, Geo and Wayne.
I spent a couple of hours, at least, trying to replicate the bezel on the cathode ray tube of the 'Gee' indicator unit. A hole was drilled in the 'face' of the unit, which would then be cemented on to a backing piece, forming the front of the indicator 'box'. The bezel would then be fitted to the aperture, creating the look of the screen, set back slightly from the front panel, and then the other switches and knobs would be added, using slices of plastic rod of various sizes.
I was using very fine stretched sprue, wrapped around a paint brush shank to form a ring for the bezel, and joined using CA adhesive..
The rings worked OK, after a few attempts, but, being so fine, every time I tried to attach one to the front panel, it deformed slightly, ruining the shape of the ring.
So, after a pause for another large mug of coffee, I sat there, pondering (ponder, ponder), and my gaze just happened to fall on the box for the Tamiya Lancaster kit, scheduled for another build in the not too distant future.
Bells rang, lights flashed, and I swear a choir of angles let rip with that 'Hebrew Slaves' piece from some opera or other !
The Lancaster kit, despite its many faults, includes a basic representation of a 'Gee' indicator unit which, from memory, was reasonably accurate, and 'passable' as far as the front panel is concerned, even if the 'case' is a bit basic and not quit accurate.
So, a search through the parts, and the two pieces forming the Lancaster kit's 'Gee' unit were quickly located, removed from the sprue, and cleaned up.
The intention now was to use the front panel, cemented to a new 'case', to male a 'master' for casting in resin and, given the castings work OK, then the Lanc can have a new 'Gee' unit too, when the time comes.
The first stage was to make the 'cases' for the 'Gee' indicator unit, and the Receiver and R/F units, and 'Evergreen' rectangular section tube, and 'L' angle strip were used as the basis for the oblong 'boxes'.
I would have preferred to use the rectangular tube for both the Indicator unit, and the other two, slightly smaller 'boxes', but the nearest sizes available for the latter were either too big, or too small, so they will have to be made by joining two lengths of 'L' angle, to form a box which, although not quite the exact size required, is near enough not to be noticeable.
First, the rectangular tube was marked out for length, and two parallel lines were drawn on the wider sections, which will form the sides of the casing. These lines are marking the axis for a line of 'cooling' holes, which were then countersunk, using a small bit in a pin vice, before cutting the tube - it's a darned site easier to hold and drill a long length of tube, than it is to try to hold and drill a piece only 10 mm long !
Once the 'holes' were drilled, part way into the plastic, the tube was cut to the required length, and the cut edges lightly sanded.
The front panel from the Lancaster 'Gee' indicator was then cemented to the front, ensuring that the top edge was as close as possible to the top edge of the tube, with the 'excess' part of the tube at the bottom. The tube is very slightly too long on the vertical axis, leaving around 0.5 mm showing beneath the face of the 'Gee' indicator, but this will be hidden by the mounting bracket, when the unit is finally fitted into the Mosquito cockpit.
With the Tamiya Lancaster part fitted, the assembly was set aside to fully set, before it can be carefully sanded around the edges, to ensure a neat, and 'square' appearance.
Attention now turned to the two other 'boxes', and these were fabricated by joining two pieces of the 'L' section, one over the other, to form a box.
Once these, and the 'Gee' unit have set, they will be cleaned up, and a rear panel fitted to the 'Gee' unit, and front and rear panels fitted to the two boxes, using plastic card. The various cable connectors and switches will then be added to the Receiver and R/F unit 'boxes', using sliced plastic rod and stretched sprue and, when set, any glue residue will be cleaned off, and the parts prepared for casting in resin.
The 'masters' will be attached, face up, to a piece of thick card, held in place by PVA, and then sprayed with a couple of coats of Mould Release Agent.
A suitable mould container has been made from a cut-down, clear plastic shot glass, and this will be placed over the top of the 'masters', obviously with an open side up, taped in place, and the bottom edge sealed with 'Plasticine' to contain any leakage of the RTV moulding rubber.
The 'mould' will then be carefully filled with RTV silicone moulding rubber, with the setting catalyst added as per the instructions, which will be 'drizzled' over the 'masters. to minimise and hopefully avoid any air bubbles, and left to cure.
Once cured, the clear plastic shot glass will be peeled off, and the 'masters' carefully removed from the silicone mould.
Next step is to mix the casting resin, pour it into the mould, and wait for it to cure, when, hopefully, I'll have some resin copies of the 'Gee' unit equipment.
Given that the parts form OK, then I should be able to get at least another two or three castings from this mould, which is enough to cover my requirements for the next lot of Mosquito models, and the Lancaster (the latter will also need a H2s unit !).
Hopefully, this will work OK, so if anyone needs a 'Gee' unit in 1/48th scale, let me know, and I'll see if I can squeeze one out - as the Bishop said to the actress !
PIC 1. Drilling the 'cooling holes' part way into the pre-measured and marked plastic tube.
PIC 2.. The basis for the 'Gee' indicator, and the two, as yet 'bare', boxes for the R/F unit and Receiver.
PICS 3 and 4. The face of the Tamiya 'Gee' unit, compared to the real thing. Note that the face of the indicator unit could be black, or light grey. Mine will be grey, to add some contrast to the unit, and in order to make it more visible inside the Mossie cockpit.
I'm hoping to get the work completed on the 'masters' today, and possibly get the casting done tonight.
As soon a there's something to show, I'll post another up-date.