1/7th F-14D Scratch build thread

[Thomas_W]

Did a little bit today.. tape up the area's where they will be cut so i could draw out the cut lines,marked where the OWF fairing stiffeners would be placed and cut the stiffeners out. I've got to shape them and seal them with resin then i can attach them to the fuselage permanently. Not alot done, but this is just some of that detail stuff that takes forever, this little bit of work took 4 1/2 hours..

[Thomas_W]

OWF fairing stiffeners are done minus attachment and sealing. I've got the nose cone marked for seperation as well.

[Thomas_W]

Starting to get the cannon blisters in position and doing the last minute preparation for the detailing process. All of this little stuff is very time consuming getting it positioned just right, the shape just right, then having to attach it, fiberglass it, etc etc.

[ExtPlt]

Very time consuming but bad a$$. Keep up the good work.

[Thomas_W]

Ive got both blisters for the cannon shaped and ready for attachment. i've got some other stuff to fiberglass before doing that, so they have been put to the side. I've also started cutting out the access panels and lining them with flanges for the hatches to sit on once they are fitted..

[Thomas_W]

Right OWF hatch is cut free framed and the flanges on the fuselage are in place. In doing so i got to looking at the spill doors on the top of the fuselage and noticed they didn't look like they were aligned with each other. After a couple different measurements i found out the right side one was 1/4" to far aft compared to the other. So i removed a 1/4" section of material from the front of the door, cut the door free, slide it forward and took the piece of material from the front and placed it in the gap at the rear. Now they are both aligned with each other when viewed from the side. The other hatch has had its cut line started and i'll probably finish it after dinner or in the morning. Once all the hatches and the nose cone are cut free, framed and the fuselage flanged i'll glass those exposed area's of balsa along with the OWF stiffeners and the cannon blisters. Then all of the fuselage wood work and fiberglassing will be DONE and detailing can begin. Everything else is basically ready for detailing minus some minor details (sanding mostly). Here's a few pictures as well...

[Thomas_W]

Progress so far today has resulted in both engine access hatches being cut free, framed and their respective flanges installed in the fuselage. These area's are now ready for fiberglassing. The nose cone has been cut free (which turned out really well) and its respective flanges installed on the fuselage, And they are now ready for fiberglassing. I'm planning to finish the fiberglassing work tonight on these open area's as well as a few other small spots on the flying surfaces, then i can attach the blisters and OWF stiffeners and start detailing everything.

[MODE 1]

A.W.E.S.O.M.E

[3Dguy]

S.A.W.E.E.T.

[Thomas_W]

All area's have been fiberglassed or sealed with resin. Cannon blisters have been installed. Gun blast relief has been installed infront of the cannon blister, And basically the fuselage and tail is complete and ready for detailing.

[whiteknuckleairlines]

[Thomas_W]

Its slowly getting their. I've got the majority of the detail tools built and am currently in the process of laying out all the panel lines on the top of the fuselage to get it ready for the litho-detail process.

Ohh,
If people have wondered if i've lost sleep on this project. That is an understatement! I lay in the bed for atleast 2 hours a night debating on what can and can't be sacrificed a little bit between the fullscale and the RC (wether it be operational, or scale wise).. Just to give ya an idea. I've had these blisters built for over 3 weeks now. And i JUST put them on this morning. Reason being, is i have used over 12 different reference sources to try and find the exact position of the blisters (YES i know, im being VERY anal). But the caliber of model i'm planning to offer, this amount of anal-ness (new word?) is required IMO. I had an acquintance do some photoshop skills and he over-layed one of the photo's i previously posted onto as close of a similar photo of the full scale thing. Now, yall can see JUST how anal ive been, and this is just little stuff. It doesn't get much closer to position and dimensions than what these photo's show.

[Thomas_W]

Slowly starting to get all the panel lines laid out on the fuselage. About 4 1/2 hours to get to this point. I also took some time and made the tools that I will be using to put all the rivet and fastener details into the lithoplate...

[Thomas_W]

just more drawing:

[Thomas_W]

No work done today... i went flying instead.. but i thought you all might like to see what the right side of the nose section looks like with all of the panel lines drawn on: