OK this is completely Kericks fault ..he came up with the idea and I liked it..do his fault .
Yep a single engined Buccaneer..I brought one which was already made and who ever built the model did a nice job ...so now it's totally stripped of paint except for the cockpit which is very nice so I'm keeping that as is .
I'll start marking out the cut lines tomorrow and then try to get an idea of what this will look like 👍
Very likely the intakes will be changed for F-15 or F-14 ones 🤔
Ya know just to throw a spanner into the works and make things complicated 🙃
The real challenge will be building the redesign of the fuselage where the exhaust pipes came out ..I'll have abit of work there for sure .

And what are you going to do about the WONDERFUL 'clap hands' air brakes that hang about at the back end of the 'normal' Bucc?

Quote from: PR19_Kit on October 17, 2024, 12:54:54 AMAnd what are you going to do about the WONDERFUL 'clap hands' air brakes that hang about at the back end of the 'normal' Bucc?

Two possible things matey...completely removed or not completely removed 🤔 🙂
Honestly I'm not totally sure what to do with the air brakes Kit and that thing was one of the first things I was thinking about shortly after Ken came up with the idea .

They'd have to go somewhere else as they were an integral part of the Bucc's control system.

During landing the engines had to be running at quite high power settings to keep the blown flaps operating properly so they used the brakes to control the aircraft's approach speed.

Simples! ... Raise the tail & have them sitting over the exhaust.


Not sure I'm keen on the idea of square intakes on the smooth Bucc , but, hey, it's your build, mate.

Don't restrict yourself to only thinking symmetrically.  How would Tophe have imagined a single engined Bucc...

Quote from: zenrat on October 17, 2024, 03:00:23 AMDon't restrict yourself to only thinking symmetrically.  How would Tophe have imagined a single engined Bucc...

He'd have put it out on one wing tip. 

And painted it blue of course............

The air brakes were the first thing I too thought about. And for the rest, Curious how this one is going to unwrap.  Super nice to see a Tophe reference. He was a force of kitbashing nature and it is great seeing him being remembered because of that. Clear skies, sweet Tophe!

Me being a simplistic nature, I would probably just have cut the more or less circular tail structure where its cross section matches my intended exhaust. Then I'd faired in the air brakes where the twin exhausts are (after all, half the fairing in is already done by the shaping for the old exhausts) and have them open behind the wing. And I would, as per Lee's suggestion,  have left the intakes as they are. Unless I want a truly supersonic Bucc, in which case I would have taken out the inner halves of the existing intakes, extended the horisontal parts of the intake walls towards a new, vertical splitter plate just by the cockpit, and then Mirage style shock cones to control then inlet.

But that's me, that..

Mount the air brakes on each side of the exhaust kind of like an F-105. Extend the original engine exhausts and put a cone shape on each one kind of like the "stinger" between the engines of an SU-34. Gotta put all that ECM stuff somewhere.

You were wondering what to do with the original exhausts, why not mount the air brakes a little bit back from where the exhausts are which gives you space to blend in the change of shape, that way you can do as Pellson suggested and fit your single engine exhaust where the airbrakes were. Best of both worlds and far less PSR, possibly 

Gondor

The single engine exhaust must go where the tail cone is on the twin version. You could get a lot of airbrake on the former engine exhausts....

Quote from: Gondor on October 17, 2024, 11:38:01 AMYou were wondering what to do with the original exhausts, why not mount the air brakes a little bit back from where the exhausts are which gives you space to blend in the change of shape, that way you can do as Pellson suggested and fit your single engine exhaust where the airbrakes were. Best of both worlds and far less PSR, possibly 

Gondor

Well buddy there's gonna be a ton of PSR on this that's for sure ...im gonna build this like it's sorta real.
Pellson's suggestion is a good one but for one problem..if the exhaust comes out where the air brakes sit the engine would have to have an exhaust starting where the original exhausts ended or the engine would be over half the length of the entire plane ...making for a monster engine which I like anyway 😆
I'm wanting the exhaust to exit under the tail and loose that air brake which ice never really liked ..it looked like a last minute thought but the crap thing is that it's like one of the character traits of the Buccaneer.
OK I'm getting an idea here now .
Thinking of moving the brake up slightly..like 10 to 15mm..making a tunnel sort of deal ..the height increase will give me more wiggle room for the exhaust but still keep a much closer look of the Buccaneer.
I'll have to PSR the fuselage lines back in to match where the brake will now sit .
Gonna have to lift the entire tail up too ..im looking at it right now ..it will be increased the same height as the brake and then rebuild the spine and upper fuselage to match ...yep think I've got a plan now .

Quote from: Wardukw on October 17, 2024, 08:10:51 PM...if the exhaust comes out where the air brakes sit the engine would have to have an exhaust starting where the original exhausts ended or the engine would be over half the length of the entire plane...

No, not necessarily. Many fighters have either long inlet tunnels or long exhaust ducts - or both. Look at the tail of this Hunter, f.i.

You cannot view this attachment.

It's got a tonne of duct behind the engine.

Others, like the F-102/F-106, f.i has long intakes and the engine at the extreme rear. It all depends on wing configuration and Center of Gravity.

Carry on with that Bucc. I for one will be watching.

Thanks ya Pellson mate 

Well hacking and slashing has begun and so far it's proceeding very nicely .
Found a nice solution to cover the original exhausts and that's gonna involve a drop tank ..also flattened the lump under the fuselage which makes it look much smoother and what ever was there can't be there anymore cause that's engine now .
Like one of my other builds part of a boat I'd being used and it's damn near perfect 😆
The intakes and going to remain as is ...I looked at F-15 intakes and id have to destroy a perfectly good fuselage to use em ..if they were separate items then a different story would happen but since they ain't it's not going to happen.