badsimmonds
Alphans
Over the last few months I've been busy on three models at the same time which is something I won't do again, this has meant the last few builds have been posted after the models were finished. As this is not entirely satisfactory I've decided to post the third and final model of this group to get it over and done with so to speak.
I know my Superon tanker is still being updated so I hope you don't mind if I start on Fireball Jnr as I want to clear everything so what ever I build after this will be posted as its built.
I still had some balsa left over from my helijet and tanker builds so I decided to build Fireball Jnr as its one of my favourite craft. I always loved it when it landed on a planet and in fact in the early sixties I used to make 'Jnr' out of Lego which as you can imagine was rather angular, however it looked I had many happy hours playing with it.
I decided to make it about 10" long I don't know why its just a size that came out of the air.
I glued the balsa together using white wood glue and once dry started to shape it which is really easy with this wood. This took a bit of time to get the required shape as its cylindrical at the rear then slopes down on all 'sides' to a point.
The next stage was to cover it in fibreglass to give it strength and a good surface. To help with this I screwed in a couple of screw bolts into the base and held the model in the workmate using the bolts, this way it keeps the balsa clear of the surface and easier to fibreglass.
I put about three layers over the balsa and once dry it was down to sanding and filling as usual. This took some time to get it nice and smooth then it had its first primer coat.
The trouble with doing this particular model is the complicated cockpit it has and as you know cockpits are not my strong point but I'll worry about that later on.
I know my Superon tanker is still being updated so I hope you don't mind if I start on Fireball Jnr as I want to clear everything so what ever I build after this will be posted as its built.
I still had some balsa left over from my helijet and tanker builds so I decided to build Fireball Jnr as its one of my favourite craft. I always loved it when it landed on a planet and in fact in the early sixties I used to make 'Jnr' out of Lego which as you can imagine was rather angular, however it looked I had many happy hours playing with it.
I decided to make it about 10" long I don't know why its just a size that came out of the air.
I glued the balsa together using white wood glue and once dry started to shape it which is really easy with this wood. This took a bit of time to get the required shape as its cylindrical at the rear then slopes down on all 'sides' to a point.
The next stage was to cover it in fibreglass to give it strength and a good surface. To help with this I screwed in a couple of screw bolts into the base and held the model in the workmate using the bolts, this way it keeps the balsa clear of the surface and easier to fibreglass.
I put about three layers over the balsa and once dry it was down to sanding and filling as usual. This took some time to get it nice and smooth then it had its first primer coat.
The trouble with doing this particular model is the complicated cockpit it has and as you know cockpits are not my strong point but I'll worry about that later on.