F&M Bwing build up and BIG mods!

Re: F&M Bwing build up.

Started out on the cockpit centre hub today. Bit of a mind blower how Mr George made up the front of the hub, its almost like there is an insert into the front of the Saturn Booster, which is incorrect on the F&M kit. Ive made some cuts, and trimmed up a larger front ring, so tomorrow, ill go about bonding stuff up, and adding a rather cool addition to this model, but more on that later.

lee
 
Re: F&M Bwing build up.

Centre hub is now built in basic form, its showed me a few discrepancies in the cockpit area now. Ive built the centre hub as close to the prop as possible, and its clear the canopy, and rear cockpit module are a few mm undersized in diameter, the rear as much as 3mm or so, canopy, maybe 3 to 4mm?
After a good chinwag with Guy Cowen, I'm going to agree with him and say the rear Space shuttle booster cone, was possibly vac formed over on the original kit parts, and resin cast? Its really odd, as it does come up larger than the Airfix parts on the actual filming miniature.
Ill post some pics later, can't say i can scale up my rear module too much, as I'm not going into making a new rear cone and canopy, but ill rebuild it and meet it halfway, just to bulk it up some, but as i said, pics will show what I'm doing later!
Just to add, this isn't a flame on the kit or pattern, i love it, this is purely a modeller with a passion, wanting to take things a little further where other parties signed off.

lee
 
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Re: F&M Bwing build up.

Size difference in the front outer ring is pretty clear.





I have have that much larger aperture around the canopy.


It'll all spin on a new lighter hub!


This is the area causing me some head scratching, it looks larger, wider on the prop, at least at the base for sure, but not sure now if i have some lens trickery on the booster cone, ill build a new section anyway and use new Gepard tracks.


lee
 
Lee,did you guys checked the Monogram Saturn V?
Not sure the different between Monogram and Airfix,I mean diameter as I don't have the Monogram in hand.

Don
 
Don its not the Saturn thats the issue, and going by certain key markers, its 100% the Airfix kit used!
Think ive cracked it now though, at least to fix my build up accuracy wise, dont think ill be spot on to the mm, but damn close!
Once i get this area done, plan is to fly through this using as many kit parts as possible, cos its fun!

Lee
 
Re: F&M Bwing build up.

which is incorrect on the F&M kit. lee[/QUOTE said:
Star Wars The Exhibition Madrid - Ala B - B Wing (13) | Flickr - Photo Sharing!

Depends on which of the two models you look at. Just an info, I did count the louvers on the Sat V ring when making the masters, but did not have the MR pictures available back then, only the ones Martyn G took at the MoM exhibition and my own from Paris. Those are the "blue" version without the orange dot. So it's more or less a combo of both I guess. The details and the hatch that covers the mount are different too. But you're right, the front cockpit frame is vac'ed, I have seen a photo of some VAC shells laying next to Bill working on it. If I can find it, I will post it.
Click to expand...
 
Its not the canopy frame that I'm modding Moe, thats pretty sound, as as close as one could get with counting louvres and taking lens distortion into account.
Its the centre Saturn ring that I'm beefing out, as well as the rear section. The orange spot rear cone (Space Shuttle) is a casting, i can at least see air bubbles in the back lip, I'm still boggled on whether that was a direct casting of the part, or, it was vac formed over too.

lee
 
Lee,Im also planning to scratch the entire cockpit on my B as Ive ID all the donors.
my thought is the most important part on scratch build the cockpit is the Saturn V and the Gepard ring.
I still hope the rear cone is from the Space Shuttle,if not:(

Don
 
Its 100% the Space shuttle cone Don! TBH i think now it is just the kit part, no fancy tricks, been playing with some of the ref!
Again, the centre ring is the glaring improvement, and a larger Gepard section, those two will really make ground!

Lee
 
Re: F&M Bwing build up and BIG mods!

I think it's Airfix kit kit part too, but Lee, check the length of it, I think they have cut some off at the widest end of the cone.
 
Could be trimmed Moe, does look stubby in some shots! But to defend a really killer kit and pattern, that lens distortion thing really messes with us on curvature and length, making non of this easy anyway!
I can see the fatter end of the cone is capped with a styrene disc in the MR ref! Gonna do a mock up this weekend on this area, see what you guys think!

Lee
 
Ok a small update here. Ive scratch built the rear cockpit section a bit closer to the prop. Ive opted not to cut anymore of the shuttle cone, lens distortion in the pics was driving me nuts, so i thought its best left alone.
Here we have a new styrene centre hub, ABS inner spinner, and styrene rear section, the weight saving alone is astonishing when compared to the resin parts, its way, way lighter. The entire cockpit section spins freely on a scratch built bearing hub, containing two 9mm Tamiya bearings, on a 5mm threaded axle. I planned for the whole thing to gyroscope like the Hasbro toy TBH lol, which works flawlessly when just rotating the outer hub, but adding the rear cone, and canopy hampered the action a little, if i get to figure it out to work once all assembled, ill stick a video up.
Still need to fill the outer rib joins, and add all the donors, but its getting there, and I'm a happy bunny thus far!

lee

 
Looking good Lee, The more Polystyrene the better.
If its still dismantlable pics of the bearing system would be cool.
 
As it stands a lot of styrene will go on the build, if ive got the kit, ill use it, and ive got 99% used on this bird!
I meant to take pics of the bearing setup, but i was so eager to test it, i locked it all up, and yeah its a one way assembly due to how i designed it!
Ill get a vid up soon regardless, fingers crossed with that gyroscope effect working, thought it would be pretty funky to incorporate in the replica!

Lee
 
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