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Snaps' Zero Build Options
snapdragon
#1 Posted : 30 April 2013 11:07:39

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Hi Chaps

Tomic has persuaded me to upload some photos of my build Blushing.

The instructions and parts have you jumping around the airplane which while keeping the build fresh I do actually hate, so I create a log of what parts come with what delivery and where they go on the aircraft and what stage/delivery the instructions are. When complete the log is updated as complete and that tells me exactly where I am and if I make a total pigs ear what I have to re-order Crying I often make notes on that section that will help me with other parts of the build.

The first thing I am going to look at is the wing ribs and detailing. Like Morrigan (hi there) I decided to change the way the rib supports are fitted and go with how they were originally done. At this scale this mod is a nice one to do but does require accuracy and a steady hand. The U shaped Truss is easier to mod than the Tube and there is plenty of work to be done. Having said that, It does improve the look of the rib 100% and is worth considering.

For the method please see Morrigans build on that.

I started on this more than once due to a glue Issue. With this build being in Aluminium then soldering is out of the question. This leaves us with 2 part epoxy ( I hate this stuff. I always mix too much and/or in the wrong mixture ratio) or superglue.

Superglue is good stuff, but the hormal stuff seems to have strength problems with metal, so thanks to a momber on another board I sat down late at night and read everything on the Loctite site about their glue(s) and relative applications.

I finally settled on Loctite 496. It bonds metal well enough for our needs but doesn't have a very fast grab which could be useful. It's grab is slightly slower than normal superglue but not by much so dry fits and accurate work is the name of the game. Fit at least twice, glue once!



Above we have a rib (no 21) plus a section of Truss and Tube. Rather than cut to lengths in the instructions I measured and cut directly from the rib.



THe first section of bracing is fitted with notches in each end and then slid into place after a couple of dry fits and minor adjustments using my Proxxon with flexible attachment and a thin cutting disc. While I prepare the next one the glue is curing. By the time I am ready to fit the next brace then the glue has cured.



THis shows the three front braces in position and glued. Now it is time for the U-shaped Truss. THe method is the same and like the tube, the speed dial on my proxxon is at the lowest available.



The above picture shows the complete rib. My methos of working is with the tube at the front of the rib, start at the front and work back and with the Truss, start at the back and work to the front. In essence you work to the middle from the front and rear.

THese last two photos show completed and painted Ribs for the Port (left) wing. Before painting each rib is given a quick going over with a brass wired rotatry brush just to remove any smeared glue.






Comments and thoughts more than welcome

James
snapdragon
#2 Posted : 30 April 2013 16:04:53

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Engine Pictures

Here we are again with engine Pictures

At this point I still have the majority of the wiring still to do and repairs to the paint of the engine support rings.

I originally was going to paint the entire engine black but changed my mind and set to the cylinders with aome steel wire brushes on my Proxxon. I liked the effect so I kept it.















Tomick
#3 Posted : 30 April 2013 16:20:50

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Metallic cylinders certainly seem to stand out better than black and don't hide as a much of the detail.

Cool build Snap
Cool
Warthog
#4 Posted : 30 April 2013 18:35:20

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Fantastic work Snap and good to see another Zero build Cool
arpurchase
#5 Posted : 30 April 2013 18:56:53

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BigGrin very nice workCool
Current builds:-C57,Zero, Lamborghini Countach, Caldercraft HMS Agamemnon,Robi,R2-D2, MFH Cobra .

experten
#6 Posted : 01 May 2013 02:27:03

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Snaps, it looks great!
Tired, Old, and Cranky!
SennaMentalMe
#7 Posted : 01 May 2013 11:21:06

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Very nice work James, the engine looks very cool, well done!! Cool ThumpUp

I particularly like the way that you stumbled on the used engine effect through "a happy accident" with the Proxxon and it certainly gives a great effect!! I also like the brown ignition leads as they look very much like the old fabric coated cables of the period?

Well done James - great stuff, keep the updates coming?!! BigGrin ThumpUp


Kev BigGrin
snapdragon
#8 Posted : 04 May 2013 13:51:00

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Here are some more pictures for you all.

First a little explanation. I do read the downloaded instructions very carefully and like to work a few months in arrears, and quite often put the thing in a box fore a while and work on other builds.

This gives me the opportunity to plan the best way to tackle things to try and make the build easier and to facicilate any mods that I choose to do.

I decided to "have a rest" from fighting with the engine wiring ( It can be very frustrating) and started to take a look at the instructions for the cockpit area. Spread over many stages and downloads I started to make a list of what is where and goes where and then asked the questions why, how and what for????

My first why was the tops of the oxygen and air cylinders fitted after the things were in position. It is much harder fitting tiny parts in limited space where the chance of the things to go PING! into the far depths of the room and have to look and struggle with the parts goblin to get the thing back. It is much easier to build the necessary parts for these outside the frame and then attach the whole painted and completed part. This is what I did. Build them, Prime them, Sprayed the entier lot aotake and then hand painted the cylinders. Thhe picture is the result and these parts, complete with regulator valves etc and ready to be fixed into position.



The internal rear frames were the next to be done with a visit to the painting table and then, in the case of one frame, a cylinder attached.
Why? It's easier now while the things are not fixed into the frame and one less struggle!

Frame with cylinder attached.



Other frames.




I then turned my attention to the Firewall and Gun magazine. THe firewall was easy to put together following the intructions, but I asked myself, why put the gun mount and magazine cover on when the thing is in position inside the frames. It doesn't make it easy to get in there and line up. I then spent a while test fitting and made the decision to put the cover on before mounting it in the frame. I also realised that the fuel tank was put into place when the firewall is in place too.

I have realised that it is easier to mount the fuel tank to the firewall BEFORE putting the firewall into place and then adding the completed gun mount. Then it is easier to work backwards through the pilots area. The aft section behind the double bulkhead can be done first.

Here are pictures of the completed and painted firewall (no fuel or oil tank as yet) and the Machine gun breeches and magazine/mount complete and ready to be installed.





SennaMentalMe
#9 Posted : 04 May 2013 15:59:42

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Nice work James, very clean and tidy and some nice photos too - well done!! Cool ThumpUp

Also, some very sound logic to your construction sequence? As with all these partworks it is usually best to collect all of the parts and then make a start in a more logical way, rather than to blindly follow the magazine instructions and then struggle with having to revisit the same areas to fit later parts into a tighter space!! It definitely results in a better standard of finished model by doing it that way I feel?ThumpUp BigGrin


Keep up the good work.


Kev BigGrin
snapdragon
#10 Posted : 05 May 2013 11:16:10

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One thing which I would like to post on before I get down to a marathon spark plug lead fixing session is the distributor ring cables. The ones I am referring to are the big thick rubber cable that you cut into 4 pieces.

I will admit to studying the instructions for the placing of these for a long time. It was only when I had them fixed into place that I realised that I had done something wrong somewhere and it just didn't look right.

A surf around the net looking at photos of original engines (black and white and restored coloured showed me where I had gone wrong. I revisited the instructions and THEN actually realised what they meant.

The cables actually go around the cylinder directly inbetween the two fixing points on the distributor ring.

Let me try and illustrate with my own pictures.



In the above photo the blue circle shows spark plug HT leads in place.
Above that, in the red circle you can see that the black distributor cable goes to the RIGHT of the cylinder directly behind the connection points and around the back of the cylinder.



The above photo shows the left side of the same cylinder with the cable going around the left side and around the back



A photo from the front. You can see that both the cables fix into the distributor ring and then go left and right around the cylinder.



Finally a view from above. This shows that the cables go around the cylinder and out the back in the same place.

Apologies if the photos are not very clear and precise. I just wanted to make sure that you all didn't make the same error as I did.
snapdragon
#11 Posted : 08 May 2013 00:18:56

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I hope that my previous post helped builders with the placement and run of the distributor cable for the HT ring.

For the next few posts I am moving on to the wings and will be building and assembling out of sequence. My aim is to try and make the assembly easier. For instance, adding the undercarriage assembly when most of the wing is built is a right pain in the..... so I have decided that it could be easier from the start of the wing build!

The first thing I have put together is the left and right fuel tanks, I am also still working on the ribs, but those won't be added until later.

So we have the following (at the moment) to go into the wing.

3 LED lights
Flap
Aileron
Moveable WIng Tip (1 LED goes into that)
20mm Cannon
Fuel Tank
Undercarriage assembly

I am not sure what else at the moment, so I may leave off the upper parts of the wing, or not fix them in place permanently until much later in the build.

The Fuel Tanks.

Not as easy as it seems. Going through the instructions I marked out where the lower braces were to be fixed and then glued the two halves together. This is not easy as there are no proper fixing points and they have to be joined together 100% correctly or else ribs 4 & 5 won't fit properly.






Now we come to add the lower support braces for the tanks. I worked logically from one end to the other and made sure that each of the braces thick end was at the front of the tank.











When I have finished I let all the glue cure. Both left and right tanks were built in an evening.





All that remains now is to put the tanks through my paint shop with Primer and Aotake paint. Photos to follow of the finished product!
SennaMentalMe
#12 Posted : 08 May 2013 11:30:15

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All neat and tidy James - well done and thanks for posting the update pictures.ThumpUp


Kev
snapdragon
#13 Posted : 08 May 2013 11:40:03

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Thanks Kev

I am currently working on the wheels. More pictures shortly


James
snapdragon
#14 Posted : 09 May 2013 16:58:55

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As I progress further into the build (and I am alot more further on than you all think), I wonder what this build has in store for us!

THis post I want to cover the 20mm cannon.

This is an easy build really, but still care has to be taken. Looking at photos of the weapon on the internet there is more or less nothing to add apart from drilling out the barrel to make it look like there is a hole all the way down it and highlighting the recoil spring.

















Both the cannon, MG's and Undercart have been sprayed with Tamiya TS-40 Metal Black. THe recoil spring will be drybrushed with Vallejo Steel at a later date
snapdragon
#15 Posted : 12 May 2013 22:10:00

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Lets take a look at the cockpit.

The more I delve into this section the more I realise that it would be much easier to place the sidewall parts while the cockpit frame is in two halves and then join it together. This will give you more room to move around.

I also realised that as more and more things get added then obviously you have less room to work in. This made me think very carefully on just how I was meant to fix this section to the wings with everything in place. I then had a test build of all the major components that I have put together to date, some complete, some not, but as always not totally fixed down as who knows what is going to turn up yet!

The 0.7mm holes the instructions tell you to drill into the tabs at the bottom of the cockpit side frames are for the micro screws that we have been getting for the wings. In my humble opinion when you start the cockpit and drill the holes is the right time to put these screws in place as it may prove to be a right fiddle otherwise when it is time to actually put the thing together and this WILL cause an endless amount of frustration and bad language. TO make sure that the screws stay in place a bit of the tamiya yellow masking tape around easch screw and tab will keep the screw in place and make sure it doesn't go AWOL.

The first thing I have done is to do lots of painting. Any paint that comes off during building can be re-touched up later with a brush.

I first assembled the fuel tank to the firewall. I would rather fo this when both parts are off the model than as per the instructions tru and slip it in when most of the parts are in place. WIth something this big, for me the rule of thumb is KISS - Keep It Simple Stupid.







Once the glue has cured I can then put the firewall in place with some glue etc and clamp until cured.



I then moved to the rear of the cockpit and assembled all the frames and then fitted all the components. Any wiring and plumbing should be not to hard, but there again I don't know if we will get the parts or the diagrams to do this yet.











After I had done this I noticed that one of the components I had put in had an ampty space in the back of it and it was noticable. There are lots of these in the cockpit area and it is time to do a mod to make these things look better and rather than leave a hole in there, some sheet styrene cut to fit and then painted up makes these parts look much better.

I will cover this in my next post.

James
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