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 Finished the second spine for the 44" Eagle. Was a bit gutted to have to buy a length of 3/16" tube for just one diagonal, that was all I was short. All of it made from spare material otherwise. Gladly, I believe it is sold already and that will fund some more of the main build. 
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Might as well doing something hot whilst it is cold....... A raw brass 44" Eagle Spine so far made from the spares box (and I still have loads of spare fish mouthed bit left, but not enough to make anything else). The spine so far, included about £100's worth of material. With luck someone thinks I have added some value to this, I will put it up on eBay. It has come out really nice so far, flat and straight, just one or two tube to adjust the line of but looking ok. I will definitely add the angled ends before offering for sale and will consider adding the 3/32" diagonals, I will check to see what material I have left over. Quick Update.
I am adding the diagonals, the end sloped pieces and have cleaned up a little before finishing. Just waiting on some extra small diameter brass tube now. Looking good and will definitely be up for sale. A better attempt at painting the Eagle Frame and Spine. Good enough for me, for the time being. I am happy with the pale grey and happy with the overall effect. The finish could be better but I quite like the the rough and the lumps and bumps, kind of used looking. I am sure the original film model was a bit rough around the edges and I guess that gave something of interest in the finished filming, that is my story anyway.
I struggle with this painting business, this must be my 5th attempt at the dark grey details on the cages and spine. Keep trying. I wasn't too impressed with my work again, too dark and patchy. Awaiting on some white paint to tone down the grey, will try to build up the colour lightly and from a distance to get a thin over colour (not sure how to describe the effect we are trying for.
​The masking is time consuming but I think it is what I am after. We will see. Elsewhere I machined a few brass tubes to help with someone else's build. Got the CNC router going.
I am attempting to help out some fellow modellers by hosting a small get-together where we have an expert coming over to teach us how to solder brass tubes. We will run CNC machines and get tube fish mouthed and quickly as possible. This seemed like a good opportunity to get cracking on another set of brass work for myself.
What pod to choose; that is the question. The passenger pod floor is coming together; the brass work that looked great when raw is etch primed; a couple of soldered pegs locate that to the acrylic perspex plate.
The plate was roughened slightly prior to getting some primer on that just to help key the paint in place. The kit bashed parts are resin casts; these look fine with no air bubbles or defects (but I had a big pot of those to choose from).  Finished soldered brass tube frame for the 44" Studio Scale Eagle Transporter Haven't done much model making for a while; life gets in the way sometimes. I had chance to get the soldering kit out and crack on with the passenger pod floor frame. The jigs were made an age ago; the fish mouthing was done and this task was completed in a few hours over two evenings. The jig L sections worked great; the frame is fairly big but has remained flat and true; I am very happy with the result and this could have been a challenge without a jig. Some time over the holiday saved to do some modelling on the Eagle Transporter; studio scale 44" leg pod / landing foot supporting structure.
Surprisingly not so difficult but I eased the work by going off plan slightly; my central column should be two seperate pieces. I am happy with the outcome and very happy with the ease of soldering. I have the small strut mount to add; I will also consider the addition of a tube mount on the inside to allow the mechanism to be spring loaded.
Some 3d Printed parts for the engine section; the test fitting to the painted brass frame in the first photo.
Two cylinders are required; one (used twice) needs the grooves to clear the frame tubes. I will produce silicone tools for these. The engine bell has been tooled and split (see my fun stop motion); good resins have been produced. The one image shows the tool in production after degassing in my vacuum tank.  Some Ford Diamond White over etch and standard primer. Test fitting a walkway that I thought might be a bit difficult to fit as it was snug before adding layers of paint. The paint has reacted for some reason unknown; the assembly was shot blasted and super clean before painting. The primers were fine, seemed to go off when adding top coat. It is still requiring some clean up and another coat, no problem. Machined jigs from 6mm thick aluminium plate.
The guides locate the cross tubes in position and at the correct height. Although the plate is a big heat sink the soldering is fine with a small butane torch. The single jig is one to go along with my others; the combination jig is made to include the spine and cage location holes and made to order. Photos of the build process; the lager tube face and bored on the lathe, the 1/4" tube fish mouthed and the longerons marked out prior to soldering.
Still plenty of work to do with all of the cross bracing still to do. 44" Eagle Transporter from Scalestuff on Vimeo.
The CAD model progressing just ahead of my physical model; a reality check to give me peace of mind before hacking away at the next stack of brass. The cages are now finished awaiting a spine to assemble to.
The same jigs are used to manufacture the frames that hold the engine assembly and the command module assembly.
These frames will have rods fitted inside the short tubes (that need to be shorter and flush with the tubes). The rods will slide inside the matching tubes of the frames. The alignment is important and things are looking promising for later on. I was nervous about the soldering. I purchased some good quality flux and a good brand soldering torch.
So far so good; a ton of work but very enjoyable. Not the chore I thought it might be.
 Mocking up brass frames in CAD to get a set of lengths required for more CNC fish mouth cutting. Found a supplier of thicker walled material in smaller quantities. The cost is a little more than the manufacturer but the ability to buy a little at a time is helpful; to spread the cost.
Good for UK builders. Noggin End Metals
For the underside frame of the Passenger Pod of the Eagle Transporter
Fishmouthing 1/4" Brass Tube from Scalestuff on Vimeo. |
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