Author Topic: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale  (Read 103752 times)

Offline No.1

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #90 on: November 21, 2010, 07:22:38 AM »
:-clap :-clap

Offline draken35

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #91 on: November 21, 2010, 10:03:43 AM »
Nice job...

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #92 on: November 21, 2010, 05:12:56 PM »
Almost like building a real thing... :-think :-clap

I almost think it would be easier to build the real thing sometimes! :)

Scott

Offline Sall

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #93 on: November 22, 2010, 02:27:02 PM »
Wonderful! :-obey

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #94 on: November 26, 2010, 05:14:08 AM »
It's not much yet, but here is the early stage of the tailwheel assembly. I was forced to make a mold of a C-47 tire/wheel assembly and then glue two of them together to get the correct width tire for the B-17. The fork and balance of the strut are aluminum parts.

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5792.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


Scott

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #95 on: November 26, 2010, 07:18:49 AM »
Very good combination of materials and aluminum work is very good, even the shaft is precisely made :-clap

Offline Sall

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #96 on: November 26, 2010, 10:20:16 AM »
NIce!!!
 :-clap :-clap :-clap

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #97 on: November 28, 2010, 02:26:08 PM »
As a change of pace I worked on the engines and cowling installations for a time. I had been concerned about how I was going to get the correct gap at the rear of the cowling where it meets the nacelle. On these very early machines there were no cowl flaps, only an aerodynamic opening between the cowl ring and accessory fairings. On the real airplane the engine supports the forward cowling, independent of the rest of the nacelle. This is done by attaching two support rings, one being the aft baffle ring and the other being a plain ring attached to the front of the cylinders. Here is a photo of an engine change on a Y1B-17 from the Amarillo B-17 Mechanic School engine change "classroom". The support ring is easily seen:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/Amarillomock-upEngineInstallation.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


I decided to mount the forward ring into the cowling on my model to expedite the process. I used a band of safety wire cut to the right length and made circular, then just inserted it into the cowling so that the engines will be in the correct position. In the final assembly stage I will be able to attach the engines to the firewall and the cowlings will slip onto the engines giving me the gap at the rear of the cowl ring that is needed. In that way you'll be able to see light between the cylinders when looking into the front of the cowling, just like on the real thing:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5800.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


Now I have to build four airscoops for the oil coolers. I hope I have something in my spares or I'm going to have to scratchbuild them, and I'm not really looking forward to that prospect.

Scott

Offline No.1

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #98 on: November 28, 2010, 02:30:29 PM »
Very good and precise analyze of the early engines :) Must say that resin samples look so good and crisp!

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #99 on: November 28, 2010, 03:01:09 PM »
Those engines are "limited run" castings. :-dal I knew I only needed four of them so I didn't spend much time making the molds. There was a bit more flash on the pieces than there should be and it took several attempts to get good copies out of the mold. I was very happy to have been able to find a good master, in this case an Accurate Miniatures SBD-1 kit. The SBD-1 used a R-1820-32 and the YB used a -33, a perfect match!
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5794.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


Scott

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #100 on: December 03, 2010, 10:13:47 AM »
Hmh, lot of job to clean that surplus of plastic flash :-think

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #101 on: December 03, 2010, 01:04:19 PM »
Yes, those ignition harness/pushrod tubes did take a lot of extra work. That was the problem with my hasty moldmaking when I cast those pieces. Since I knew I was only going to pour less than ten sets of the parts I didn't spend a lot of time fine-tuning the molds. Had I planned on producing the parts for sale to others I would have done a much better job of quality control. On the positive side, the flash is pretty easy to remove if you do it within a couple of hours of casting the piece.

Now I am working on the air scoops for the oil coolers that mount at the bottom of the nacelles. They have proven to be harder to replicate than I initially thought they would be. Once I figure out if my current idea will work I will post an update.

Scott

Offline Second Air Force

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #102 on: December 05, 2010, 04:53:18 AM »
I mentioned the oil cooler intakes in my last post. Has anyone noticed that sometimes the smallest item can take the most time to figure out? I hadn't given much thought to these little intakes until recently and it turned into quite a struggle to come up with something I think will work. First I tried to build the ducts completely from aluminum tubing but could never get the proper shape at the back part where it tapers into the nacelle. Then I had to dig through the parts boxes for something that might be close:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5801.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


After digging through three piles of parts I finally came across an intake duct from an old Monogram C-47 that seemed to be about the right size and shape. I cut off the back part of this duct and made a mold of it. Then it was fairly simple to cut and trim aluminum tubing and styrene strip to make the semi-circular intake portion. Here are examples of all the parts involved and an assembled duct at the far end:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5808.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


Here is a semi-finished product with the real thing for comparison:
http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5816.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5812.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


Only three more to go! :-roll
 

Offline No.1

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #103 on: December 05, 2010, 08:23:56 AM »
This is one of best scene I have seen here last time  :-clap :-clap :-clap

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w117/2AF/IMG_5801.jpg
Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale


This happen also to me many times and I even think to make some kit from this spares  :-smey

Offline draken35

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Re: Boeing Y1B-17 Project--1/48th Scale
« Reply #104 on: December 05, 2010, 09:40:05 AM »
Excellent work!

Agreed with Srecko, I like the photo of your spare parts...