1/7th F-14D Scratch build thread

[Thomas_W]

	Quote: Originally Posted by 3Dguy
	You could've tried to make a dust couch from all the shavings.

lol.. i've got a 30 gallon trash bag full of cutouts from the box of wood i bought...

[Thomas_W]

Alright, As far as i'm concerned the wings are done and ready for fiberglassing, as are the flaps, spoilers, slats, etc etc. I may cap the trailing edge of the wing with some 1/32" balsa, but i have to get some from the LHS first. And if i do, thats a simple 20 minute job. But the spoiler panels are cut out, their pockets backfilled and the edges of them hardened by soaking them with thin CA. I noticed that i have a lip piece to put on the bottom of each intake, so i'll get that done tomorrow and the glassing will begin as well.. I may make a video showing the process, but idk.. depends on if i feel like hearing myself talk or not. So on with the pictures.. not alot though..

[Thomas_W]

Got home a bit early today and started getting things ready for fiberglassing. I've marked the scale seperation lines for the OWF fairings onto the fuselage, and then cut 4" carbon fiber tape to cover both sides of the lines. Reason being, is because the OWF's will be cut free from the main plug, then will have a "frame" installed on them, and a matching frame for them to rest into on the fuselage, this way the parts can be molded seperately, but they will still match the airframe VERY closely. I've also cut some carbon tape to go over the very forward of the top of the inlet. It is very thin their (under 1/8") and im afraid the fiberglassing and molding process may warp it, so the carbon tape gives me some extra piece of mind. I'm hoping to get the first layer of fiberglass on the fuselage tonight, so it can be rolled over and the bottom glassed tomorrow.
A couple of people were concerned about not having enough access to the "innards" for maintenance purposes. the OWF hatches are 16" wide and 14" tall, their should be no problem getting your hands in their to fix and install stuff!!!

And of course, the pictures!

[Thomas_W]

[MODE 1]

And now the fun begins

[Thomas_W]

pretty much all of the top fuselage is glassed except for the spin section and nose area's in these pictures. The canopy is one solid layer of fiberglass with no relief cuts at all. this glass conforms to curves extremely well:

[Thomas_W]

Well... what was done 2 days ago has now hardened sufficiently (i was a little worried it might not stiffen up, as this if the first time i have used this particular resin), plus i built a little electric ducted fan jet with thrust vectoring to goof off with. Over-all the glassed conformed to the plug exceptionally well. their are a few areas (mostly around the fuse to canopy transition lines) that didn't stick entirely. But I decided to do a wee bit more fiber-glassing today. I've got the nose cone carbon fiber "ring" in place (this is to stiffen up the separation line for when the nose cone is cut free), got the windscreen and upper half of the nose section glassed. 1 side of both rudders is glassed, one side of both stabs, and 1 side of the ventral fin. I've got just a wee bit more final sanding to do on the vertical tails, then i'll glass those and start on the wings and tail. I should be able to flip the fuselage over tomorrow afternoon and start glassing the bottom side of it. I've got to adjust the Canopy plug, as the gap i had when it was all wood was to tight, so now i sits about 1/32" higher than the fuselage. No biggy, i kind of expected this, so i didn't glass the bottom and ends of the canopy just so i could fine tune the gaps to get a perfect fit with as little filler as necessary.

And of course, pictures

[ExtPlt]

Looking good Thomas W, now keep that resin off the carpet.

[Thomas_W]

	Quote: Originally Posted by ExtPlt
	Looking good Thomas W, now keep that resin off the carpet.

haha.. yea i've done pretty well so far. Ive been putting a towel down to prevent hard carpet syndrome lol

[MODE 1]

lol

[Thomas_W]

Got the fuselage outside today for some rough sanding to get the fiberglass overlaps knocked down. the fuse is now ready for the rest of the detail work to be done and the hatch's to be cut loose. The weather is supposed to be great tomorrow, so i dont for-see doing any work to it tonight or tomorrow as im going to take a bit of a break.. Here's a few pictures:

[hannah76]

Really enjoying this thread!!! Keep up the good work

[3Dguy]

Nice! Is that Ford lifted?

[Thomas_W]

	Quote: Originally Posted by 3Dguy
	Nice! Is that Ford lifted?

yep.. its got a 6" suspension lift..if that helps give ya any idea on the width of the thing. It was sitting about a 45* angle onto the truck tire to.

[Andrew Bird]

Stunning work. Thanks for posting - although I am supposed to be sitting here studying for my final 5 JAA ATPL exams - this thread has sucked me in for a bit!