Builds By Baz- Full scale Mk II Colonial Viper

Today was my one day in a fortnight to spend entirely on the Viper. I got a lot done. The second engine nacelle, (starboard) is now fitted and welded to the frame. It is still modular and breaks in half along it's length then slides off two mounting posts welded into the central fuselage.


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Once it got dark I got into rerouting all the power to a panel on the starboard side between the skin of the aircraft and the interior wall. It's a bit messy at the moment, but it all works so now I can tidy it all up.


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Update:


Vinyl stickers done, thanks to my friends Ken for printing and Andrew for generating the printable PDF artwork. I got some aluminium plate to put them on and screw them to the interior walls of the cockpit, rather than stick them straight onto painted plywood. They will last a lot longer.



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Headboard installed and bulkhead painted.



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Today I ended up buying a $99 digital photo frame. From Andrew creating the file, to David editing it’s settings, James tweaking the format as well, we got this little moving display to play. I had to make a decision about the size, as it is a little bigger than the show’s prop, but I am pretty happy with it overall. I cut the hole bigger and have done without the buttons along the bottom of the screen.



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Fracking incredible. Every time you post something new I'm more impressed. This has got to be one of the most ambitious and amazing builds I've ever seen!
 
Mate! That cockpit looks more real by the post:cool:cool


Agree 100% !. The Viper is coming along beautifully mate :p
Just wondering how your ancillary projects are faring , the uniform/ flight suit , helmet and sidearm..., think they’ll be ready in time for this babies maiden flight ?

:cheersGed
 
Mate! That cockpit looks more real by the post:cool:cool

Thanks mate. :D

Agree 100% !. The Viper is coming along beautifully mate :p
Just wondering how your ancillary projects are faring , the uniform/ flight suit , helmet and sidearm..., think they’ll be ready in time for this babies maiden flight ?

:cheersGed

Thanks mate. The sidearm is done. I can't afford the pouches for the gun belt, especially with postage from the states. Not sure what to do there yet. I have most of the suit accessories now. Waiting on a motorcycle helmet inner liner for the helmet, but other than that the helmet is finished. The suit is under construction with a professional tailor. I have a second fitting coming soon. They will all be well and truly finished before the Viper is done for sure.

Baz.
 
Fitting the undercarriage.


I really want to make this safe around people. My plan today was to get all three legs attached and supporting the spacecraft, but it took all day to do just one and get it right. The craft modules are light, (except the cockpit), but I am well aware of accumulative weight and the effects of cantilevering over a support.


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Over-engineering is the way for me, so lots of steel. I had engineering friends calculate the failure points for me and then I added extra strength to have absolutely no doubt.


I found a 10mm height difference on the horizontal centre line from front to rear over eight metres. I'll fix it in time.



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Nothing wrong by over-engineering the landing gear:thumbsup Safety first! And looking very good from where I'm sitting mate:cool
 
It's not over engineering its "safety factor". Very common in designing mechanical things, like load bearing struts.
 
Cockpit canopy frame, MkII.


It's time to replace the temporary plywood frame with a solid aluminium one. Using the ply frame as a guide, I calculated the amount of aluminium I needed and bought it this week. I over-calculated by 170mm, which was pretty fortuitous, considering I just stood in front of the Viper one day and guessed that I would need fourteen metres of flat bar.


Thanks go to my friend Ewan, for helping me roll-form this aluminium bar stock for the cockpit. The piece still has some obvious clean-up and cut to length, but bending it was a lot harder than we both thought it would be. This piece is the very back of the canopy at the top where it seals against the headboard. It's messy, but the basic curve is there so I can now tidy it up with the grinder.



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Oh the mathematics...ugh! I hate calculations. I got the radius worked out from the known values of my arc and scribed an accurate radius to tool the edge.


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Right now, I am bracketing it all together and grinding in bevels so all the work is done when the TIG welder, (person) welds it all up, hopefully saving me money. If I deliver it to him clean and ready to weld, then all he has to do is fillet all the joins and it's done. I will take it home from there and grind-finish where I need to.


Dog tags for the flight suit arrived as well. I cut them out, drilled, sanded all the edges. Now just ageing them a bit. Another costume prop done. Big shout out to my friend Dar from Gelandangan Marking System for laser etching these for me and another friend Chris for providing the template.


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^^^Cheers George. :D

Update:

I spent today mitring all the corner joints and connecting them with plates, ready for welding, then matching the sides to mirror each other. Good thing too, because no amount of careful measurements and calculations will ever get it right, when you have to fit it on something this big! The plates allow me a little movement to fit it onto the cockpit and adjust for a perfect fit.


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This evening I had a bit of daylight left, so I went back into the shed and made a neck seal for the flight suit. I just beat it over the jaws of an open vice then finished it off with a planishing hammer around the outside of my post anvil. I cut and filed a hinge in the aluminium and pinned and peened it. Later a padded lining gets attached to the inside of it.


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