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SCRATCH BUILDING II


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Hey Folks,

 

Been while, I had started a post almost a year ago about scratch building but life got in the way, we made a big move and so on and so on, But during that time i also chose to teach myself a new skill and learn a new medium to do my scratch building in. Now if i remember right there was a post or two about 3D printing in the past but not much more then that related to the hobby.

 

So i decided what the heck I will teach myself Blender( a free semi cad program ), get myself a small 3D printer with a small build platform to start (Lulzbot Mini) not to expensive,but to cheap either and i thought, Now what subject to print. any production kit i can go buy off the shelf so that was out, Then i thought or fantasized, what if Germany had thwarted the allies in the west, sent them home packing, and now all efforts could be focused on the eastern front. What would have been the development of there jet program, what would Heinlkle, Arado, Blohm&Voss and Messershmitt have in the works.

 

So i decided to research what made the drawing board but never made the tarmac.

 

I decided to follow the ME262 for my first project, we can take some artistic license with this because we do know that some of the German designer came to the US after the war. Which influenced our jet program.

So my vision of the ME262 around late 1946.

 

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2.jpg1.png

 

I used online drawings of the ME262 and scaled it to 1/20, redesigned the air frame a bit and did my own version of turkey feathers for the period .

 

Then I did several test prints to get the feel for how i would do this or to say how i would slice up the sections for printing, since the print bed is only 6"x6"x6" and the model is a little over 15"L and 20"w.

As you can see below the final test print, three stages of the print, right off the printer, first sanding to smooth and the final that is primed.

 

1.jpg

 

So thats where i am at to this point, i will be working on the gear bays this week. and i will (promise) be posting an update every Friday.

Edited by SCRATCHBUILDER
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Interesting.....looks like you'll have a lot of sub-assemblies due to the small work station you purchased. Is there a reason you chose 1/20 instead of the more common 1/24 or 1/16 scales for aircraft? Looking forward to your progress!

 

GIL :smiley16:

Edited by ghodges
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1/24 was to small for my first shot at this and 1/16 was bigger then i wanted to go. 1/20th is easier for me to convert to Millimeters and yes lots of sections, but i am using HIPS so its just like working with Evergreen plastics when it comes to assembly.

 

Just some side info for those who are curious, This will cost me about $12.00 to print all the large assembles, I pay $24.00 for a spool and i can get just over four of these from a spool, so its cost effective and quick.

So will this take the place of off the shelf kits, not in the near future. Does time invested run the same as a $100.00 kit, maybe. Can i create anything i want thats not injection molded, Most definitely.

 

Now when i go to a resin printer I will be able to get finer detail,cockpit,gear and the like, spending less time on the small details. My biggest investment for now is the design time, but I'm getting quicker at that also.

Edited by SCRATCHBUILDER
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Ok,

Got done pretty much what i wanted to this week, the main wheel bay is complete less the wiring and plumbing which is ok for now, here's the update as promised.

 

post-2803-0-28417500-1462575473_thumb.jpgpost-2803-0-88508000-1462575473_thumb.jpgpost-2803-0-52651800-1462575474_thumb.jpgpost-2803-0-27475000-1462575475_thumb.jpgpost-2803-0-96280600-1462575475_thumb.jpg

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This is really interesting to see. How is the fit of the parts overall? They look pretty close from the pictures.

 

Keep the Fridays coming.

 

Bill

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The fit of the parts is working out well to this point, just like any other kit i will have some filling to do,

 

Just so everyone is clear the only parts that i have 3d printed are the main structures,wings and fuselage,cockpit tub and the turbine which i need to get a picture of for you guys. Everything else i will scratch build.

Now i will be printing one wheel then resin casting a pair and the canopy i will print and vacuform with 1/8 inch clear plastic. My decals i will be printing myself on clear decal sheets or there is a great little stencil machine out there that i might get to do my markings.

 

Until Friday.......

 

Rick

 

 

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Ok, got a little bit done on the front wheel well, I should be posting a few more pics tomorrow.

 

 

 

Update, missed my Friday post but this is where i am at. I had a more then a few dissension to make to the former front wheel bay set up, Where or how to run the intake so i looked to the U4 version of the ME262, the wheel went up and rotated, so with that in mind i re worked the wheel bay and made the strut out of brass and will do the same for the other two.

 

Don't know at this point if i am happy with my layout, will have to take a longer look at it, i might just re-print a few things with corrections instead of trying to fix them on the fly, so stay tuned changes could be coming.

 

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Edited by SCRATCHBUILDER
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