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It's a darned masterpiece of design and detailing!
Hypersonic glider...
- Thread starter Mugs914
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Very interesting! I'm glad you got back to the project.
Two of my favourite things: cluster and gliders. 
Throw in a redhead and it would be three for three.
Throw in a redhead and it would be three for three.
Careful mate! You're gunna get me in dutch with the wife!
I'm pretty sure everyone figgered out that those bowling pin looking things were the beginnings of the dummy engines. Also got a good start on the "thrust structure" to attach them to the sled.
The engines were made from hypodermic needle caps, a small wooden bead and a bit of card stock. They were glued to a 1/64 ply bulkhead, which was sanded after the glue dried. The odd alignment was intentional.
Then the basic box thrust structure was made from 1/64" ply.
This is how the engines fit into the thrust structure:
The whole shootin' match will fit on the rear of the sled like this:
This whole assembly will be getting some additional detailing and then be painted before it is glued to the sled. In fact, the whole booster sled will probably have to be painted before assembly.
As always, thanks for looking!
Mike
The engines were made from hypodermic needle caps, a small wooden bead and a bit of card stock. They were glued to a 1/64 ply bulkhead, which was sanded after the glue dried. The odd alignment was intentional.
Then the basic box thrust structure was made from 1/64" ply.
This is how the engines fit into the thrust structure:
The whole shootin' match will fit on the rear of the sled like this:
This whole assembly will be getting some additional detailing and then be painted before it is glued to the sled. In fact, the whole booster sled will probably have to be painted before assembly.
As always, thanks for looking!
Mike
&
Very nice, it's not easy doing much besides sheeting with that thin stuff. Those came out nicely.
Thanks guys!
I did some detailing on the thrust structure...
First, some holes were drilled in the the top and sides, then some structural stiffening ribs were added using some (very) thin Evergreen plastic strip. These are supposed to look like hat-section stiffeners that would be riveted to the outer skin of the thrust structure.
I also used Evergreen plastic tubing to get started adding details like turbopump exhaust, fuel and LOX lines to the dummy engines. I'll get some pics of that a little later.
The tank/launch lug rack got it's first coat of primer this evening too.
Moving right along!
Mike
A few pics:
Top
Side
Bottom
Sitting on the sled, bottom...
…and top
And a sneak peek of how it will look all together.
I did some detailing on the thrust structure...
First, some holes were drilled in the the top and sides, then some structural stiffening ribs were added using some (very) thin Evergreen plastic strip. These are supposed to look like hat-section stiffeners that would be riveted to the outer skin of the thrust structure.
I also used Evergreen plastic tubing to get started adding details like turbopump exhaust, fuel and LOX lines to the dummy engines. I'll get some pics of that a little later.
The tank/launch lug rack got it's first coat of primer this evening too.
Moving right along!
Mike
A few pics:
Top
Side
Bottom
Sitting on the sled, bottom...
…and top
And a sneak peek of how it will look all together.
Those little tiny details add so much.
MaxQ
Tripoli 2747
Very cool!
Very very cool build Mugs. you have much more patience and nimble fingers than I.
Enjoying all the details
Enjoying all the details
Thanks again everyone. I am having a lot of fun with this one!
As I said I did some more detailing on the engines with Evergreen plastic. Unfortunately, I kind of got into it a bit and didn't take any pics until after I was done and had gotten the first paint applied.
The engines themselves got various metallic tones and a dark wash, the thrust structure got a green primer looking color on the inside and the sled got two "tanks" made from a wooden bead split in half and painted red and green. These just sort of show through the holes in the thrust structure.
I also added thermal blankets to the nozzle bells with some textured foil. These were made with a technique I used on my plastic model projects (See below. I will post this over in the "Techniques" department as well.) I think I'll be adding thermal blankets to the rear of the tanks too...
So now that the engines have actually been glued to the sled I can finish the detail painting (thin brush, thick glasses!) and add some small pipes and lines, then the whole thing will get masked and I can start on the major paint job.
Oh, and the glider itself got it's first coats of CWF, so it looks quite fuzzy in the pics.
Speaking of pics, here are a few, starting with how to do the thermal blanket-looking foil:
Grab a cloth napkin or something that has a somewhat course weave to it. This is a napkin I got from the wife:
Place a piece of foil between layers of the napkin, then burnish with a screwdriver handle or something like that.
When the foil is removed it will have the imprint of the cloth. The effect can be toned down if needed by rubbing the foil with your finger. The dull side makes a pretty good looking thermal blanket!
Here are the engines and thrust structure with the extra details and initial paint. Detail painting will generally clean things up and finish things like the insides of the nozzles.
These are the little tank-things on the rear of the sled.
Once the thrust structure was glued on, the tanks just sort of peek through the holes and add some interesting detail.
I'll put a few more pics in the next post...
As I said I did some more detailing on the engines with Evergreen plastic. Unfortunately, I kind of got into it a bit and didn't take any pics until after I was done and had gotten the first paint applied.
The engines themselves got various metallic tones and a dark wash, the thrust structure got a green primer looking color on the inside and the sled got two "tanks" made from a wooden bead split in half and painted red and green. These just sort of show through the holes in the thrust structure.I also added thermal blankets to the nozzle bells with some textured foil. These were made with a technique I used on my plastic model projects (See below. I will post this over in the "Techniques" department as well.) I think I'll be adding thermal blankets to the rear of the tanks too...
So now that the engines have actually been glued to the sled I can finish the detail painting (thin brush, thick glasses!) and add some small pipes and lines, then the whole thing will get masked and I can start on the major paint job.
Oh, and the glider itself got it's first coats of CWF, so it looks quite fuzzy in the pics.
Speaking of pics, here are a few, starting with how to do the thermal blanket-looking foil:
Grab a cloth napkin or something that has a somewhat course weave to it. This is a napkin I got from the wife:
Place a piece of foil between layers of the napkin, then burnish with a screwdriver handle or something like that.
When the foil is removed it will have the imprint of the cloth. The effect can be toned down if needed by rubbing the foil with your finger. The dull side makes a pretty good looking thermal blanket!
Here are the engines and thrust structure with the extra details and initial paint. Detail painting will generally clean things up and finish things like the insides of the nozzles.
These are the little tank-things on the rear of the sled.
Once the thrust structure was glued on, the tanks just sort of peek through the holes and add some interesting detail.
I'll put a few more pics in the next post...
Here are a few more pics including some with the whole thing mocked up. I'm pretty happy with the way this is coming together!
Most of what I have left is small details like pipes and wires, then its on to paint!
I'm going to use the airbrush for this one. The masking is going to be bad enough without having to cover everything well enough to use a rattle can!
Thank again for havin' a look!
Mike
Most of what I have left is small details like pipes and wires, then its on to paint!
I'm going to use the airbrush for this one. The masking is going to be bad enough without having to cover everything well enough to use a rattle can!
Thank again for havin' a look!
Mike
Well, one of my goals for the coming year is to finally finish this thing up. I've been working on it again recently after putting it aside for a while to finish a couple of other projects.
To bring the thread up to date, I have done a bit of filling on the tank spirals and nose cones and got started on the painting. Also added a few small details to the tanks and dummy motors. Pics will tell the story better than I will, so here ya go!
I got some paint on the sled "thrust structure" and glider hook. Since I'm going with a bit of a weathered look, I just got the first colors on there and will touch everything up and add some minor chipping to make it look a bit used.
The pipes leading to the dummy engines were done with very fine wire. there is small fairing that will cover the front part of the wires.
This is the bottom side. Haven't finished routing the wires here yet.
The tank cluster was airbrushed with various metallic tones, then masked and the red applied. Again, very basic paint at this point (And some lousy spiral filling); there will be quite a bit of touching up and weathering. The tank assembly also got some pipes and lines made from wire.
This is the glider hook... You can also see some of the Evergreen plastic strip added to the tanks to simulate external structural hat sections.
Here are a bunch of random shots that show how it looks all mocked up.
To bring the thread up to date, I have done a bit of filling on the tank spirals and nose cones and got started on the painting. Also added a few small details to the tanks and dummy motors. Pics will tell the story better than I will, so here ya go!
I got some paint on the sled "thrust structure" and glider hook. Since I'm going with a bit of a weathered look, I just got the first colors on there and will touch everything up and add some minor chipping to make it look a bit used.
The pipes leading to the dummy engines were done with very fine wire. there is small fairing that will cover the front part of the wires.
This is the bottom side. Haven't finished routing the wires here yet.
The tank cluster was airbrushed with various metallic tones, then masked and the red applied. Again, very basic paint at this point (And some lousy spiral filling
); there will be quite a bit of touching up and weathering. The tank assembly also got some pipes and lines made from wire.This is the glider hook... You can also see some of the Evergreen plastic strip added to the tanks to simulate external structural hat sections.
Here are a bunch of random shots that show how it looks all mocked up.
Here are a few with the glider attached...
I'm having fun with all of the stupid detail stuff, so there will be a little more of that going on the thing, then paint the big tanks. They are going to be couple of shades of aluminum with some da-glow orange and black markings, taking ques from the tanks on the X-15 A2 (below). Then I'll get started on painting the glider, which hopefully will look a lot like the X-15 to!
As always guys, thanks for looking!
Mike
I'm having fun with all of the stupid detail stuff, so there will be a little more of that going on the thing, then paint the big tanks. They are going to be couple of shades of aluminum with some da-glow orange and black markings, taking ques from the tanks on the X-15 A2 (below). Then I'll get started on painting the glider, which hopefully will look a lot like the X-15 to!
As always guys, thanks for looking!
Mike
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I think you're underestimating the size of your audience a little...
Haha! Corrected...
Looks good. Reminds me of my time at the BBC. Watched a perfectly good model of the Red Dwarf spaceship get built in a week. ( I didn't build it) They then spent 2 weeks distressing it to make it look used. Details, details.
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I reiterate: truly a masterpiece of craftsmanship and imagination. Can't wait to see her in her final paint, and so looking forward to the flight report!
Pure artistry. Yor rocket glider is amazing.
I loved Red Dwarf. We were in England from 87 to 91. I even have a rocket named Red Dwarf.
Loved Red dwarf...
A bit more progress on the little bird...
Like I said, I did a bit more detailing, painting, and added a few decals to the sled and the launch lug/tank widget. I had planned to get the tubes/main tanks primered yesterday, but the wind was so high I would have had to stand in the neighbor's yard with the can to hit anything on my back deck...
Today looks much better, in fact, it's almost perfect outside.
Here are some pics of the latest progress. Not included are any pics of the continued sanding on the glider; not much to see, really. Trying to get a good surface without adding much weight. Not that hard, I've been doing it on control-line stunt ships for years, but it does take a good bit of time and effort. (And not very interesting, I don't expect; Add paint, watch paint dry, sand almost all of the paint off, add paint, watch dry, sand off, repeat until cross-eyed.)
Added a few more fiddly bits... The little boxes, hydraulic (or whatever) bottle and the tube manifold were all made out of Evergreen plastic and hand painted with Vallejo acrylic paints. Also did a bit of touch-up on the paint and added a bunch of TINY decals, mostly stencils and placards from an F-4 Phantom. Kind of made it look busy. Going to let the decals dry for a little longer (I did them yesterday) then give everything a quick clear coat before painting the main tanks. There will be some minor weathering once everything is painted. Should be fun to do.
Anyway, on to the pics. To give scale, the main tubes are BT-20 and the motor mounts 13mm...
A bit more progress on the little bird...
Like I said, I did a bit more detailing, painting, and added a few decals to the sled and the launch lug/tank widget. I had planned to get the tubes/main tanks primered yesterday, but the wind was so high I would have had to stand in the neighbor's yard with the can to hit anything on my back deck...
Today looks much better, in fact, it's almost perfect outside.Here are some pics of the latest progress. Not included are any pics of the continued sanding on the glider; not much to see, really. Trying to get a good surface without adding much weight. Not that hard, I've been doing it on control-line stunt ships for years, but it does take a good bit of time and effort. (And not very interesting, I don't expect; Add paint, watch paint dry, sand almost all of the paint off, add paint, watch dry, sand off, repeat until cross-eyed.)
Added a few more fiddly bits... The little boxes, hydraulic (or whatever) bottle and the tube manifold were all made out of Evergreen plastic and hand painted with Vallejo acrylic paints. Also did a bit of touch-up on the paint and added a bunch of TINY decals, mostly stencils and placards from an F-4 Phantom. Kind of made it look busy. Going to let the decals dry for a little longer (I did them yesterday) then give everything a quick clear coat before painting the main tanks. There will be some minor weathering once everything is painted. Should be fun to do.
Anyway, on to the pics. To give scale, the main tubes are BT-20 and the motor mounts 13mm...
A few more pics:
I suppose I should add a few pics that show the whole thing stacked with the glider so the pics make a little more sense. I'll try to get a few of those up this afternoon...
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Mike
I suppose I should add a few pics that show the whole thing stacked with the glider so the pics make a little more sense. I'll try to get a few of those up this afternoon...
As always, thanks for stopping by!
Mike
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WOW.....Just WOW......
I think my eyes literally did pop out of my head, at least just a little. Wow.
This is amazing work. I am both impressed and dejected.
Those wires you're using for piping details: shiny grey and very malleable. Solder?
Those wires you're using for piping details: shiny grey and very malleable. Solder?
Thanks for all the kind words fellas!
You got it, Joe! It is sold as "lead wire" in various diameters for detailing scale models, and is, essentially, solder. That stuff was done with .5mm, I think.
BTW - I managed to get the sled all masked and the main tubes (the "tanks") sprayed with white primer. As usual, the primer revealed a few squawks, but it was MUCH better than I thought it would be. I was expecting a real horror show...
It only took one medium coat, a good sand and a final light coat to be ready for color.The first coats of paint will most likely be several panels masked off and sprayed black. When the metallic paint is sprayed over the black and white primer it will produce varying metallic tones, simulating different panels.
Well, that is the hope, anyway! There will be pics either way!
Thanks again!
Mike
All I can say is “That Is some of the best details I’ve seen in a model rocket!!
All I can say is “That Is some of the best details I’ve seen in a model rocket!!
Thanks Brian! Probably a bit over the top for something that stands a fairly good chance of becoming a smoking hole in a corn field, but I'm having a lot of fun doing it and if it all goes bad, well, there are pictures!
Got a bit done this morning on the sled's paint job. Like I said above somewhere, I wanted to do some black panels so that when the metallic colors are sprayed over them it will give some variation to the tone of the aluminum color, simulating different panels on the tanks. The scale plastic model crowd calls this "pre-shading".
To start with I masked the panels I wanted to remain in white primer with Tamiya 1/4" masking tape and covered the bigger areas with blue tape.
Here it is all masked up...
The pre-shading was done with Vallejo acrylic paints. I decided to try black, brown and blue for the various panels, just to see what difference they made to the tone of the aluminum color (this paint job is largely an experiment, after all!). The uneven tone of the pre-shading is intentional. Hopefully it will give a bit of texture to the aluminum finish. I'm thinking I'll do some of the same mottling on the white bits with a gray, just to make the light areas look a bit uneven too.
Here is what it looks like after pulling off three pounds of masking tape and adding the nose cones.
Like I said, a bit of gray mottling on the white, and maybe some panel lines in pencil, then on to the aluminum. I'm using Vallejo metallic airbrush paints and I'm fairly new to them, so the experiment continues. While I'm at it, I have a couple of other projects that are waiting for a bit of aluminum paint, so they might as well get the treatment while I've got the airbrush blowin'.
Thanks as always, gents!
Mike
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