Orion IV Spaceplane

[Rocketbuilder]

I think I see the woodbug off in the distance, running towards me at full speed. :y:
We'll see, it'll be a while before I have time for another project of this scale. I need to finish up some of my more "normal" builds first.
Support group? Yeah, I have one. They all shorter and skinnier than me and they don't talk much, but I try to work on them as much as possible-- sanding their fins can be a pain, though. :lol:

 

[Rocketbuilder]

OK, the blending strips are glued on, so I can start sanding tomorrow. I've gone from, "I can't wait to be done with the boring part," to "Crap, now I'm done with the easy part!"

 

[hornet driver]

YEP, that's the way it works !!

 

[Rocketbuilder]

Looks like your well on your way to the part where you start to pull your hair out!

I believe this is a true statement. I guess I won't be needing a haircut for a while.

 

[DM1975]

Looking good!

 

[Rocketbuilder]

Okay, not much work done recently, but I've at least made a little (non picture-worthy) progress. I've decided that there's no way I can sand the actual balsa down to the BT, so I'm gonna finish sealing the edges down with wood glue, then slather it in Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty and sand that down. I'll let you know when I'm to that stage-- then I can start the detailing! Oh, and the cockpit too; I've got to get to work on the control panel now that I've got my clear decal paper.

 

[hornet driver]

Okay, not much work done recently, but I've at least made a little (non picture-worthy) progress. I've decided that there's no way I can sand the actual balsa down to the BT, so I'm gonna finish sealing the edges down with wood glue, then slather it in Durham's Rock Hard Water Putty and sand that down. I'll let you know when I'm to that stage-- then I can start the detailing! Oh, and the cockpit too; I've got to get to work on the control panel now that I've got my clear decal paper.

You might want to rethink the Durhams. It's much harder than the balsa--you may find blending a challenge for that reason. I use bondo spot putty or glazing putty---sands easier and applies easier too. As for sanding the balsa down to the tube---You're learning---good job--just knock down the hard edge and go from there----When you do start sanding, don't use just the paper alone --wrap it around a paint stick or small block of wood --and block sand those long straight areas---glad to see your making progress---H

 

[Rocketbuilder]

For the sanding, I'm actually using a foam sanding block to avoid flat spots on what (I hope) will be a curved surface. As for the Durham's I may pick up some regular CWF or some other putty if I have time, but remember that you can change the hardness (of Durham's) a lot by adjusting the ratio of powder to water.

 

[Rocketbuilder]

OK Hornet, you were right: Durham's sucks for this, though actually because it's too soft, rather than too hard. I could have made it a little harder by using less water, but through some experimentation I found out that the water to powder ratio doesn't affect the hardness much after it dries, only the consistency of the putty.
So, back so square one, on the sanding front anyway. I'm going to try one more thing before I go out to get some supplies (including filler putty) later today, so I'll let you know if that works.
Sorry I haven't been updating this much-- just too much other stuff getting in the way, mainly the Trireme. I'll try to get the sanding done as soon as I can, and then I'll be able to move ahead with the build much more rapidly. (With pictures!)

 

[hornet driver]

OK Hornet, you were right: Durham's sucks for this, though actually because it's too soft, rather than too hard. I could have made it a little harder by using less water, but through some experimentation I found out that the water to powder ratio doesn't affect the hardness much after it dries, only the consistency of the putty.
So, back so square one, on the sanding front anyway. I'm going to try one more thing before I go out to get some supplies (including filler putty) later today, so I'll let you know if that works.
Sorry I haven't been updating this much-- just too much other stuff getting in the way, mainly the Trireme. I'll try to get the sanding done as soon as I can, and then I'll be able to move ahead with the build much more rapidly. (With pictures!)

Not to worry about the lack of updates--I've stalled out on mine as well--just have other things going on ! I still worry a bit about the intake in the rear----It looks great but it might be an air grabber---might want to think about closing it up and painting the opening black---That said, once you get the canopy in place it might take care of that problem---Hmmmm, I like it either way---perhaps I'm overthinking this---Go for it --I'll learn from you---if it works out , then I'll try something more aggresive on my next build----H

 

[Rocketbuilder]

OK, I think it's safe to say that this build has officially gone into hibernation. I'm not sure when I'll get back to it; hopefully sometime soon, but maybe not until early December, when I'm done with the (now 1/60th for budget reasons) Trireme, which is an all-devouring scratchbuild that so far has taken up multiple hours every day for weeks and isn't close to being done-- I'm estimating that it will take well over 200 hours, and the darn thing has to have over 850 handmade wooden pieces. What have I done? :confused2:
So anyway, I won't be doing any complicated rocket work for a while, though I may try to work on my Thrustline Arapahoe E clone as an easy-building break from the Trireme.
I'll let you know when I pick this back up.

 

[hornet driver]

OK, I think it's safe to say that this build has officially gone into hibernation. I'm not sure when I'll get back to it; hopefully sometime soon, but maybe not until early December, when I'm done with the (now 1/60th for budget reasons) Trireme, which is an all-devouring scratchbuild that so far has taken up multiple hours every day for weeks and isn't close to being done-- I'm estimating that it will take well over 200 hours, and the darn thing has to have over 850 handmade wooden pieces. What have I done? :confused2:
So anyway, I won't be doing any complicated rocket work for a while, though I may try to work on my Thrustline Arapahoe E clone as an easy-building break from the Trireme.
I'll let you know when I pick this back up.

WELL, RAT FARTS! Keep track of the man hours on this project--I'm willing to guess you WAY underestimated the time--from time to time shoot out some pics , sounds like a cool project!----H---------Reality finally took it's toll, the earthers had to make a choice , budgetary constraints and the new political winds favored the older but updated Interceptor mkV over the Orion IV. Though smaller, the Orion was advanced, it's technology would be incorporated into the mkV as well as Sa'Atchi designs. Sadly, the design, advanced as it is to this day ,was relegated , for the moment, to the scrap heap,

 

[Rocketbuilder]

Well, maybe it's not in hibernation so much as I thought. Due to some frustrating difficulties with the Trireme today, I decided to take a break for a while and work on rockets. So, I filled one of the seams with CWF and sanded it --a LOT-- and I think I'm pretty close to the smooth blend I'm going for. It still needs a little more work, and then I've got to do all the others. :eyepop: Hopefully I'll be able to work on it some more soon, and I'll upload some pics after I get the other top seam sanded.
I did somewhat underestimate the amount of time the Trireme is going to take. Right now I've got about 65-70 hours in it, and my new and improved estimate is 225-250 hours. Should be cool though, when I'm finished. Maybe this thread'll have a little intermission titled "Why I'm not done with this yet."

 

[hornet driver]

Well, maybe it's not in hibernation so much as I thought. Due to some frustrating difficulties with the Trireme today, I decided to take a break for a while and work on rockets. So, I filled one of the seams with CWF and sanded it --a LOT-- and I think I'm pretty close to the smooth blend I'm going for. It still needs a little more work, and then I've got to do all the others. :eyepop: Hopefully I'll be able to work on it some more soon, and I'll upload some pics after I get the other top seam sanded.
I did somewhat underestimate the amount of time the Trireme is going to take. Right now I've got about 65-70 hours in it, and my new and improved estimate is 225-250 hours. Should be cool though, when I'm finished. Maybe this thread'll have a little intermission titled "Why I'm not done with this yet."

OK. Good! no scrap heap. I had a feeling you might need a break from the other project--but it should be cool --make sure to post some pics!---As it always seems to be the case--the political winds shifted a bit and the Orion IV was given a reprieve with an initial low production run.

 

[Rocketbuilder]

Development continued on the first of six prototypes in the initial experimental production run, namely in refining the airframe shape. The inherent rigidity of the Orion IV's synthetic diamond-infused titanium skin posed some problems with achieving the smooth curve required to maximize the crafts efficiency. Fortunately, modified fabrication techniques were able to overcome these difficulties, with very minor changes to the craft's skin.
Meanwhile, researchers worked to create an cockpit which eliminated the excessive number of controls found in the cockpits of modern fighter jets. However, psychological analysis of pilots in combat flight simulations revealed that "hard" controls rather than touch panels were superior in high-stress situations. While the majority of functions could be placed within hierarchical computer menus, the core functions of steering and weapons were controlled with designated buttons, switches, and levers.

Update! I got some sanding done, about 2-2.5 hours of it. :eyepop: The blending strips are pretty well blended into the BT on the top, and and I was able to sand them down flush with the wing strakes on the front half, but not on the wider parts of the wings.

The due date for the Trireme (the other project) has been moved forward three months to February, so hopefully I can finish the Orion IV before the end of the year. I'm close to being able to give it the first coat of filler primer, and after that it should really get interesting, what with the painting and such.

More to come at an unspecified future date!

 

[hornet driver]

Glad to see you took a bit of time off the other project---by the way ,thanks for the pm --the Trireme is quite a project---keep those updates flowing--i figure you'll finish the Orion IV when it's ready--keep the pics coming---As for myself--well I've sorta stalled out -what with the holiday season upon us and working in retail---that said, I think I'll be starting an---hmmmmm-unusual design soon. Also gonna do the see through Interceptor , but that's a long term project. When you get the bird primed , shoot out some pics--what are your thoughts on color for it?

 

[Rocketbuilder]

I think I'm going to go with a space shuttle-esque paint scheme, with black on the bottom and black trim around the edges of the wings and around the rim of the ramjet intake and such, but with fighter jet-style decals. Now that I've got some decal paper, it should be possible to get the look I'm going for. I might also steal another one of your techniques , and use a mash to paint a pattern on the underside, if I can find something with the right pattern.
Today I'll get back to work on the Trireme, since the folks over at MSW are probably wondering where I've gone, but I'll be able to get in a little rocket work now and then.

 

[Rocketbuilder]

Oh yeah, this is much more like it!



The nose is from a 1/48 F-14D Super Tomcat. It'll be getting just a little bit of modification in the way of add-ons and slightly distorting the shape of the plastic.
I was getting frustrated with my lack of ability to scratch build a cockpit with the level of detail I wanted, and with the difficulty of attaching the canopy, so I figured I'd go a different, more unorthodox route. This way, I also get a much more realistic aircraft-shaped nose. Nothing's glued together yet, though, since I haven't built and painted the cockpit yet. (I'll almost certainly add some modifications to the control panels.) It's going to take a lot of putty to blend in all that plastic.



This will certainly result in quite a few changes to the design of the Orion IV, both the model rocket and the fictitious spaceplane. To start with, it's now a two-seater, and the model will have to be rear-eject. Because the new nose section will be so much heavier, I'll shorten the tube in the front, improving the overall proportions.
From here, it gets much more interesting.

 

[hornet driver]

I actually like what I see, watch your weight! Looks like blending is going to be a challenge but doable! Honestly that's very cool---nice outside the box thinking!! I gotta tell ya -IT FLOWS NOW!! Take your time on it--by the way shoot me some pics of the other project--very interested. I'm still trying to noodle out the Interceptor project--right now it looks to be about 5 ft long---yikes- the wife will hate me--maybe she will leave me the dogs!

 

[Rocketbuilder]

Weight shouldn't be too big of an issue with the 24mm motor mount, since I can fly reloads in it. I agree, it definitely flows much better than just a cockpit bubble sticking out of a nose cone. Now, not only do I have an awesome new nose for the Orion IV, but I've got the whole rest of the plane to steal parts from: a bunch of missiles, some pods, landing gear, and best of all the afterburner cans. I imagine we'll be seeing quite a few re-purposed F-14 parts cropping up in future builds.
I really need to update my build thread on MSW for the other project! I haven't gotten a ton done on it, but it's not been totally neglected. I'll get back to you on that hopefully tomorrow.

As for the cutaway interceptor-- why so freakin' big? Sounds awesome, just don't get yourself kicked out! Did you decide what the pods are to be?

 

[hornet driver]

Weight shouldn't be too big of an issue with the 24mm motor mount, since I can fly reloads in it. I agree, it definitely flows much better than just a cockpit bubble sticking out of a nose cone. Now, not only do I have an awesome new nose for the Orion IV, but I've got the whole rest of the plane to steal parts from: a bunch of missiles, some pods, landing gear, and best of all the afterburner cans. I imagine we'll be seeing quite a few re-purposed F-14 parts cropping up in future builds.
I really need to update my build thread on MSW for the other project! I haven't gotten a ton done on it, but it's not been totally neglected. I'll get back to you on that hopefully tomorrow.

As for the cutaway interceptor-- why so freakin' big? Sounds awesome, just don't get yourself kicked out! Did you decide what the pods are to be?

Well, big for the detail--not worried about being kicked out--just gonna touch base from time to time--I figure it's about a 2 year build--something of intrest but not gonna do a regular thread. As far as those tip pods go----Well there seems to be an emerging story to go with those! ---I'm still a ways off from starting it too!

 

[hornet driver]

Anything more on the project??

 

[Rocketbuilder]

Not really, all though I did end up deciding to use less of the F-14 nose, because the bottom is so square-ish that I don't think I could blend it with the tube. I'll still be using the section that helps the bubble to blend in with the rest, but it will be mounted on the regular nose cone. (It looks better than it sounds. )
I've got less than two months to finish the Trireme, so I'm really ramping up the progress per day on that, and tho only rocket I've gotten much done on is the Arapahoe E, which I really started just as something to work on when the ship was giving me trouble-- helped to ease the frustration.
Towards the end of January I'll probably be back on this, but I still want to take it slow so I can be sure to get all the blending smooth.