Something Big!

[DRUMS01]

After finishing my 1/35 Churchill AVRE with SBG Bridge diorama I hinted to everyone that I was going to get into something in a larger scale and subject. I wasn't sure how big I wanted to go, but I knew it was much bigger than 1/35th.

Several of you provided suggestions from the list I provided, and all were good choices. So I will tell you it is bigger than 1/20th, but smaller than 1/9th scale. It is a military model with 4 or more wheels and tires.

As soon as I opened the box I knew I needed to get some aftermarket detail items....

Some items are showing decent detail while others are severely lacking (for the scale).

This will require some modifications and scratchbuilding too.

Any guesses?

Ben and Jarrod

[cor]

1/16 jeep?

[Stokesy44]

1/16 jeep?

Good call.

Maybe a motorbike and sidecar? Or the 1/16 German Puma?

[Twokidsnosleep]

Tease

[DRUMS01]

No and No.... I will tell you that the correct answer will soar above the rest!

And Yes Scott, isn't this fun? Some people would say that I'm just winging it....

[Stokesy44]

No and No.... I will tell you that the correct answer will soar above the rest!

And Yes Scott, isn't this fun? Some people would say that I'm just winging it....

Ah, I deduce maybe a 1/18 aircraft?

[DRUMS01]

I think you’re on to something, now what 1/18 aircraft could it be? I’ll give you another hint, it does not need a regular runway. Thoughts?….

[Stokesy44]

Its the 1/18 Harrier! Holy Moses, what a beast to work on.

[digger303]

It's huge....Hell you'll be able to fly it and be the pilot

[DRUMS01]

Or perhaps it could be a helicopter as well? Such as a UH-1 Huey, or Little Bird, etc.


I also have the 1/18 Dauntless which does not use a conventional runway, but a carrier runway instead?


So, is it a Harrier?......

[Stokesy44]

Or perhaps it could be a helicopter as well? Such as a UH-1 Huey, or Little Bird, etc.


I also have the 1/18 Dauntless which does not use a conventional runway, but a carrier runway instead?


So, is it a Harrier?......

You said it had wheels so that knocks out the Huey and Little Bird. The only 1/18 aircraft I know of are the Harrier, Dauntless, Me262 and Fw190....

[Twokidsnosleep]

[DRUMS01]

So what else have we been up to lately you ask? Let me tell you,..... my mother celebrated her 95th birthday and my whole family was present to have a big party. My mom was born in Essen, Germany in 1930 and was raised there during WW2. Without gong into detail, to say that this was not a good time in her life is an understatement. She came to America in 1958 married to my father and with my older brother and sister. So, considering all she has been through, including us four children, she deserved a nice party. Happy Birthday Mom!



Next we continued as a part of our Legion color guard to raise our national colors (flag) it five local football games. Our team, the Heath Bulldogs won the "Cardinal Division" Championship, but lost in the first round of the State Playoffs. On another football note, my grandson, Bentley, won team MVP while his team won the divisional and district championships down in Houston, Texas.





Later we took a weekend to friends at their cabin for a "get-away" from the rest of the world. As a gift to them, we purchased a concrete ornament, cleaned it up, sealed it with etching primer / sealer. Then Jarrod and I painted it before applying a top sealer and rubber cushions beneath it. It was their gift for our visit and looks very nice on the front porch of the cabin.



Just a couple days ago, we attended a concert featuring Toby Mac (he is a pop christian singer). The venue was a couple hours away but proved to be a beautiful setting. Jarrod absolutely loved it.







I could go on but enough about all the other stuff, it's time to get back to the new build. And, yes,.... it's my 1/18 Harrier. Length 806mm, wingspan 514mm, yes.. it is indeed big!



Unfortunately, while it may look impressive by scale, they really missed an opportunity to make a nice detailed kit instead of a toy. This can be see in various points on the kit, such as the cockpit, wheel wells, engine and exhaust, landing gear, wing shapes and angles, did I say the cockpit?

There are several previous builds online showing the weakness of the kit and several modelers who spent a lot of time and effort to scratchbuild solutions (nearly half the aircraft). While it is all impressive and commendable, I am not going all that way. Instead I'm going to try to make some minor changes to make it acceptable as a 10 foot ceiling hanger. This kit could have benefitted with a pilot figure too, along with more up to date ordinance.

The instructions have you starting with the intake fan and engine in Step 1.



The intake shroud has several ejection pin parks in prominent locations that require filling. In addition to the pin indentions, there is also a generous amount of flash on the fan blades, but nothing that some time and effort cannot cure. The parts count for the sub-assembly is a whole 4 pieces, but it serves the purpose. Time will tell if the intake shroud fits inside the fuselage well or not. More to come on this assembly.





The engine is a whole 2 parts with three internal pieces which are actuators to make the nozzles function together in pitch and action. We cannot enclose the assembly until we finish sanding, priming, and painting the intake as it is assembled into the two engine halves. While we initially thought of detailing the engine, we finally determined the effort is not worth it, so it will be closed inside the fuselage when fully assembled. This would've been a great opportunity by the manufacturer to add more detail to the engine and in fuselage structure to make it show well. It would also be a great chance for a good 3d printer modeler to make a detailed engine and fuselage internals.

Step 2 has you working on the central landing gear.



When assembling the main landing strut, they show to instal a metal spring inside the strut before adding the piston portion of the strut. The problem with that is that the spring does not have any kind of retainer or limitation of movement. This means that the hinge parts S153, S154, S162 and S163 are the spring stops. So the spring tension makes them go completely extended which makes the strut way too long. It does not look realistic in the forced over-extended position. Our solution was to study images of actual Harrier's to determine the compressed length they should be and we glued the assembly into a fixed position. This also allows the main strut to actuate into the closed position properly. Other options we pondered was to slot a sliding hole in the main strut center cylinder and then pin the outside to limit the travel. Another option would've been to cut the spring to a smaller length to limit the travel. We chose the fixed position instead. The main gear also is in need of more detailing with hoses, pins, nuts, bolt heads, landing light, clips, etc. Another item requiring correction was the wheels and tires. Lucky for us an aftermarket supplier had them available. AMG, or Armory Modelers Group makes one piece resin detailed wheel and weighted tires.



When comparing them to the kit parts, they drastically improve the kits appearance.



Modifications were needed to make the main gear strut accept the resin parts as the center pin on the kit wheels versus the resin pieces were very different (see the photo below).



We will not finish the assembly of the main gear into the wheel bay until the wheel bay is further detailed, painted, and the main gear is painted and detailed.

Enough for now; time for more research. The next update will have us getting started in the cockpit.

[cor]

Nice post . Big model . That's a lot of painting incoming.

[Twokidsnosleep]

Well there we go!
A bit of aftermarket, a dabble of scratchbuild and voila a detailed jump jet

[Stokesy44]

Great update but OH NO, image content not viewable in the UK!

[DRUMS01]

QUESTION: IF I find a image hosting platform that is compatible with the UK, are all my images currently in IMJUR transferrible to the new site?

The reason I ask is I have well over a decade and hundreds of images currently in IMJUR. It appears that the UK is the only location restricting its use (?), why?

[Stokesy44]

QUESTION: IF I find a image hosting platform that is compatible with the UK, are all my images currently in IMJUR transferrible to the new site?

The reason I ask is I have well over a decade and hundreds of images currently in IMJUR. It appears that the UK is the only location restricting its use (?), why?

I'm afraid I dint know the answers to your two questions. If I had to guess I would say yes to question 1 although it would be a laborious process. For question 2 I would say a mix between greed, bureaucratic stupidity, smartest guy in the room syndrome and recent 'changes' in global trade rules.

As always, the end-user suffers while the idiots who caused it move on to their next man made disaster in the making.

[RangerNeil]

QUESTION: IF I find a image hosting platform that is compatible with the UK, are all my images currently in IMJUR transferrible to the new site?

The reason I ask is I have well over a decade and hundreds of images currently in IMJUR. It appears that the UK is the only location restricting its use (?), why?

1. Not directly. You'd need to reload all the images to the new site - and then go back through every post either changing the links to point to the new site or adding new ones. A pain in the <censored> for you and one thats unnecessary. As said elsewhere on the site UK users just need to install a VPN and connect using a point outside the UK to be able to view images.

2. Due to the stupidity of a particular breed of politician who want to turn the UK into a clone of the CCCP.

[digger303]

QUESTION: IF I find a image hosting platform that is compatible with the UK, are all my images currently in IMJUR transferrible to the new site?

The reason I ask is I have well over a decade and hundreds of images currently in IMJUR. It appears that the UK is the only location restricting its use (?), why?

I'm not a 100% sure, but If it's anything like the detestable photobucket you have to be a paid up member then you can download the images even though they are your images originally. Of course you then have to upload them to the site of your choice. A lot of time and work to do that.

[DRUMS01]

I guess I will just keep moving forward continuing to use IMJUR knowing that those UK members can view my images through a VPN connection.

Step 3 is nothing more than the assembly of three parts representing the fuselage area between the nose cone and the cockpit. In fact it is so simple that I'm not going to show it until later.



The next major assembly is step 4 which is the cockpit.



The first portion being assembled is the SJU-4 ejection seat. If you go with the kit parts the end result will be a very rough and simplistic generic replica of the seat comprised of two halves, a top and three rubber parts for the seat and head cushions. Since it is a prominent piece that is a major viewpoint in the cockpit I'm going to accurize it.

This is the kit parts already slightly modified:


Here is what we are going after:






In the kit image, we have already remove the plastic between the upper seat back and the head piece. In the desired images, you can see numerous items to be added, such as the metal hand hold on the right side of the seat, the numerous nuts and rivet heads, the seat adjuster on the bottom left seat position, the yellow connecter mid-way up the right seatback (I believe it's for the "G" Suit), the leg straps on the bottom front seat area, the grab hoop in the seat front center, various small details on the metal seat,and of course the entire seat harness. We are also going to recreate the seat and head cushions using sheet plastic and medical tape for the textured coverings.

Next update will show some of the modifications to the main gear and ejection seat.

Till then....

Ben and Jarrod

[digger303]

[DRUMS01]

Digger, you must go through a whole lot of popcorn!

I know I'm not the prolific builder I used to be, but I still thought it was time to show some effort on the scratchbuilding for our Harrier.

Since the last update I've spent hours working on modifications to the ejection seat. So far I have 61 pieces, and modifications on it. We've also created the safe/arm Control on the right of the seat back. Some modifications are still needed for the headrest and we still need to cover the cushions with medical tape for texture. Along with it, I still need to create the rivets, leg restraints, harness, and buckles. Here's where Jarrod and I are on the seat after around 12 hours:

BEFORE:


CURRENT:




Your input or remarks are encouraged.... Till next time!

[cor]

The seat is model in itself. Looks really good. Can't beat thick brass rods.

[DRUMS01]

Thanks cor, Today I managed to finish the seat chassis details (rivets, etc.) and the canvas head cushion.

I found some hem material at a sewing store that works perfectly for 1/18 or 1/16 seat belt and seat harness material. It sure beats the costs for an after-market seat belt set, as the texture and stitching looks almost perfect to scale. For 1/8 the costs of a after-market set, I will have well over 5 yards, enough to create a whole fleet of harnesses. I have a spare 1/18 racing seat belt PE set that I'm going to try to modify for the harness hardware.

Also worked a little on the front wheel, specifically getting the resin wheel drilled to accept a axle shaft and then some centering shims for the front gear yoke. The landing gear struts are toy like but can be made to look the part with a little work.



The cockpit control panels are a joke, but the instrument panel is something that can be reworked pretty easily, but I removed all detail from the right and left panels as they were nothing more than lumps and bumps. The back of the cockpit (bulkhead?) will also need some detail love applied too.



There is also a very well known issue of the cockpit being around 1/8 inch too far forward. It actually interferes with the spacing of the instrument panel, control stick, and seat. That is why you see a very thin piece of sheet plastic cut to shape to cover the hole in the cockpit tub where the instrument panel would've been glued. More on that in the next update.

Ben

[digger303]

[RangerNeil]

Lovely work so far!!!
Does someone like Quinta or Red Fox do 3D decals for the cockpit??

[DRUMS01]

Nobody does anything for the cockpit. It would be a good item to market for this kit, 3d decals, with a resin seat and pilot. I did locate a 1/18 pilot from Reedoak that looks great, but $79 plus tax and shipping.

Flying Leathernecks has some 1/18 ordinance for the Harrier, but each pair of items average $30 (USD) . I could easily add $120 to the weapons alone.

Ben

[digger303]

Yes the aftermarket add ons can add up to a scary amount quite quickly.
Makes me think of getting a 3d printer, but then there is a steep learning curve with that too as not all prints attempts succeed and resin isn't cheap.

[DRUMS01]

I agree with you digger, as for the cost associated with getting started with 3d printing. Until I can justify those costs and ramp-up time, I will simply stay with old fashion scratchbuilding.

Speaking of that, I have a couple more photos of the ejection seat cushions and belt texture.

Seat


In Cockpit


Belts (WIP)


As previously mentioned, I purchased hem material from a local sewing store. When I bought it, I ended up getting it in red, blue, black, and the light cream that you see in the photo above. In the photo you can see the texture and stitching in the belt material that mimics that of the 1:1 material. If you are someone who likes to create seat belts and harnesses, this material is amazing, and super economical and pre-colored. They have different widths as well, so I found some for 1:18 or 1:16, another for 1:20, and some for 1.24-5.

Last update I briefly mentioned step 3 which is the three part assembly between the nose cone and the cockpit area of the fuselage. Here is what I was referring to (taped together only):



The out of box placement of the cockpit tub is 1/8" inch too far forward. This causes the instrument panel, control stick, and seat to be out of position. I found in other online builds that the solution was to cut a part of the front wheel well out to allow for the cockpit tub to move back, allowing the items to fit more accurately.



I suppose we will see how the move of the cockpit will disturb the relationship of the cockpit rear bulkhead, and ejection seat later (fingers crossed).









As we test fit the cockpit we noticed some rather large gaps on both sides between the fuselage and the tub.



The kit has some very basic trim parts that are primitive in detail to try to fill the gaps. We are going to fix the gaps by scratchbuilding side control panels as well as trim out the fuselage portion on the cockpit. In the photo below you can see how the added part on the front cockpit floor will fill the hole where the instrument panel would've fit before moving the tub to the rear.



Here are some illustrations and images I copied from online reference sources to help me when creating the right and left control panels"









And here is a photo of the instrument panel I will be using as a template when correcting the kit part.



There are items on this drawing that will be referenced as well:



And here is a better image of the foot pedals that will be scratchbuilt:



During the test fit of the cockpit I also noticed that the instrument panel shroud is far too thick to be believable. In the photo below is my solution to fix it; simply thinning the exposed portion:

Unmodified part:


Work in progress: (left thinned, right side is kit thickness)


Done:


Since I'm showing the instrument panel in pictures,, here is how it looked in kit form. Notice the heavy ejection pin mark in the screen, the raised circles for the instruments, and blobs for the various switches. There are also items missing which I will create. In the "done" photo above, you can see some of the modifications in progress for the panel.



Yes, there is still much more to do in the cockpit. I really haven't started on updating the landing gear, other than adapting the resin parts to fit the kits struts. Next update I hope to be showing more progress on the cockpit and perhaps even some on the landing gear.

Honestly, I'm currently using online sources for the images, but I am trying to locate a very informative book from Jane's that I have on the Harrier. Once I find it in my library I will be able to detail with more intent.

Till next update, share your thoughts, images, recommendations, or even encouragement as all is helpful.

Ben