Chronic's Research and Aeronautics Project (C.R.A.P.)

[TheChronicOne]

Damn, that IS a good idea...   about midway or a third of the way up the pole there is a hopper or spray apparatus....no matter the slight variations of the altitude of the craft, the wheel thingy keeps the apparatus a guaranteed height above the earth. Maybe the thing could dispense seed -or- chemicals ya know?  In the back behind the cockpit it could be stores....;   it couldn't carry too much but perhaps enough to be viable. The engine is back there but just looking at it there seems to be at least some space.

Hell, if not for the already "nose in" nature of the thing I'd turn it into a plow!  Might still could... 

I've no idea what to do with this yet... I've entertained my own ideas but it's anyone's guess. Once I'm done with the Tu-4, I'm going to do away with other plans for builds and focus on this thing. I wish I could do all the ideas but things are getting busy over here work wise so I definitely would like to get this done before the end of the GB.

[TheChronicOne]

This rambling bunch of garbage may be for my own benefit as "notes" than anything but perhaps it may be of benefit to others.

I'm working again on the Shorts Tucano for the group build on Facebook.

I just applied a second coat of white acrylic to the wings and it's obvious that I will need probably another two. The same thing happened with the tailplanes that took I thinlk SIX coats of red before I decided it was good enough. I even remarked about the paint possibly being bunk and even bought another tube of a slightly different shade.

I've not had these types of problems before with these paints and I'm starting to think that now with the duplication of the problem with both red and white (the white has never been a problem before, the red is new to me and never tested) that the problem may be with what I primed with. I primed with Rustoleum 2X Tan camo paint. \

So far, both colors I've tried atop the Rustoleum 2x Tan have been utter garbage. The one thing I do know, however, is that ONE of those, the white, I've used before succesfully. I can't say the same for the red but I'm thinking now that the tan paint is the actual problem.

Lesson learned.

EDIT: YOU KNOW WHAT....  I don't think it has anything to do with the Rustoleum at after all! I just remembered something about the white that I said I had used before with no problems and I now I remember that that's not the case. I used the white before on much smaller areas and with the appropriate brush. This is much more surface area than what I've painted before and I'm still using a small crap grade brush and the combo, along with the nature of the paint, and my lack of skills, are most definitely more to blame than anything! And by all means I don't want to give anyone the wrong idea about any products. I've not really had any problems with these Rustoleum paints so I shouldn't be throwing them under the bus for what is most likely my own fault! 

[TheChronicOne]

My back has gone out and I'm in tremendous pain. Had to cancel work and and have been gobbling all kinds of medicine. Terrible. I keep trying to work around the house, too, and I need to just SIT here and not get up. I need to let this stuff heal up and I'm thinking if I can just sit here and STAY here that would be good so I need to be occupied. What better to do that than get back to work on this Tucano!     Hell, only like a week and a half left in the GB for it anyway. I'm just glad I got a ton of work done on it that first day.. with luck I can have this wrapped up pretty soon! I don't think there's much left to do... paint and final assembly. I need to paint the canopy, too, which should be about the end of the tedious stuff. Since I'm going to cheat on the paint job, it shouldn't be anything more than a matter of getting enough coats on and masking things.

Might work on the bomber some, too! 

[PR19_Kit]

Ouch, I hope that doesn't last too long and you're feeling better soon.

Well, not so soon as to prevent you finishing the model anyway. 

[TheChronicOne]

Thanks. Hasn't been this bad in over a year! Feels like a couple rapiers plunged into my lower spine coupled with muscles that have given up and want to be at the same time too tight but not tight enough to hold things together!

Maddening!!

But hell what I an excuse, right?!  I'm working on models now and not having a too bad time as long as I don't make any sudden moves. 

[Rick Lowe]

Pain Killers and Plastic Cement... what's not to like about that combination? 

Get well soon, a bad back's no fun at all.

[TheChronicOne]

Pain Killers and Plastic Cement... what's not to like about that combination? 

Get well soon, a bad back's no fun at all.

   

Thanks!  You know ya got the glue/pills ratio correct when suddenly things are funnier than they normally would be and parts flying off to places unkown illicit giggles instead of copious cursing.

Buy my God the pain associated with this latest bout has been off the charts. I'm feeling a bit better now but I'm not sure if it's just the pills or of it is a combination of that and my back -actually- getting better.  We'll see! I'll know in the morning. I cleared my schedule for two days to cope with it so I have 'til Friday in the morning to get lined out.

At least it isn't a bad gout flare up which I've had multiples before and have been bed ridden for weeks at a time!  Sometimes right alongside the back going out, too. It's always the same. Once one thing goes to crap, you have to use other things to pull double duty and next you know you have a chain reaction; gout sets into the knee so all of a sudden all your weight is strictly on the other leg/knee/foot so as a result THAT starts to hurt really bad.. then all the funny ways of walking and straining lead to the back problems and etc etc and next you know you're all crippled up every which way from Sunday. And with gout you can't even sit or lay without excruciating pain so you have to "sit" in a weird position for hours... all the stuff you use to make that possible goes down hill fast as a result. ETC ETC.    But ah well.. getting old is hell and I'm just glad I've avoided all but minor gout flare ups for about a year and a half. I had to change my diet around but it was well worth it! ( also learned that my friggin BP medicine is a major contributor to gout so that sucks but apparently my diet change is enough to cover it.. thankful for that because I wasn't looking forward to having to try something different). 

[Rick Lowe]

Don't talk to be about Gout... it's amazing how just the one Big Toe swelling up can affect your whole life until the Steroids kick in...
(Brother in Law when I had to borrow their car: "Told you you should have gotten an Automatic." Not until I absolutely can't get a manual for love nor money.)

Yeah, getting old sucks... can't avoid it though.

Cascade Effect isn't pleasant, I agree.

[TheChronicOne]

Yes sir! What the hell is it about that?! The big toe, right foot, for me. (sometimes the "ring" toe from when I rammed it into a coffe table leg, too though)  .....  MY GOD...   And I'm sure you know about the ridiculous swelling! Foot so big and painful it won't go into footwear any more. Put weight on it??  Yeah right. A FEATHER could brush up against it? Feels like a frag grenade going off.   And how things seize up!  One time I couldn't either straighten or bend my leg (knee) that was seized at about a 22.5 degree angle for almost 6 weeks which also was ballooned up like a damn basketball. 

I fight it with allipurinol and endomethacin but it seems like most of the time if I don't take the stuff at the first signs that it doesn't work nearly as well. If the stuff is already "set in" it takes a lot longer to help. I'd never tried steroids but I'll be asking about that the next time it happens.

Gout is something I wouldn't wish on my worst enemy. And while it sucks, I'm glad to be in knowing company...  I don't think a lot people realize just how terrible it is.

[TheChronicOne]

Alright. Some decent work done!

Painted almost all of the fuselage with the white and have the wings painted. I need to put one more coat on the fuselage. Back to the wings.... I've been paranoid lately about putting masking tape on my acrylic paint as I've had it come off before with it. Knowing this, I've been experimenting with floor polish again. The generic dollar store kind. Anyway, I'm not sure if it's me or if it's the lower grade polish but I've gotten mixed results depending on what I do and lately nothing good. That said, this time, I kind of LIKE the variation and non uniform effect that I got after putting it on. It plays with the light and makes darker and lighter spots and looks like a light weathering job perhaps? I dunno... but it adds a depth and richness to the paint job that I'm going to run with instead of looking at is as a negative.

Glued the wheels to the gear (main) and that's about it. Still no pictures for any of this but hey I'm just not feeling up to all the prep work that comes with it. Sorry. Pictures make for a much better write up but sometimes it's just too much. There will be plenty when it really counts. 

I had surprise company so not much else got done and nothing with the bomber for sure.

Back is feeling better still but also still not sure if it's really better or I'm imaging it! 

[Rick Lowe]

Only seems to be the big toes at present; doc said it was due to gravity and the lowest part of the body, but as has been seen your mileage does vary...

I find popping the knuckle helps, maybe it breaks up the crystals or something? My theory anyway...

[zenrat]

My maternal Grandfather had gout.  I wonder if its hereditary?  I do seem to be turning into him as I age.
I recommend a good chiropractor for a bad back.  That and forward planning.  I built my bench at a height suitable for standing at so I could still work without sitting if (when) my back goes out again.

[Rick Lowe]

I built my bench at a height suitable for standing at so I could still work without sitting if (when) my back goes out again.

That's not a silly idea... we have standing desks at work, and it's a nice change from sitting all day. They adjust so you can sit should you wish, so that's convenient too.

[zenrat]

Mine uses a section of 4" fence post as a leg and is bolted to the shed frame so it would be hard to adjust.
So I have a bar stool to sit on.  Took a bit of looking to find one tall enough though.
The height of the bench also keeps things up out of reach of the smaller fingers.

[TheChronicOne]

Internet here has been acting a damn fool and I can barely do anything online. I've been trying to get this update out for about 4 hours or more.

I've been painting... got the wings done and now working on the fuselage. I decided to go ahead and try to do the oblong white part around the wing roots (like how it's supposed to be instead of what I planned, which was to just paint the area red right up to where the wings attach) by drawing the border on with pencil then trying to calmly and patiently paint it by hand. I figure with a guideline I might be able to do it. Worse comes to worse I'll go on ahead with painting it all red, no harm no foul.


Some time yesterday as I was masking for the red for the wings. Whilst plotting things out I noticed an error in the kit... the aileron on the port wing has a miss-casted panel line on the right inboard edge. It duplicated the (proper) angle of the starboard wing which of course makes it completely wrong. No worries, but it made a slight headache at first until I figured out what the problem was.

I also noticed a bit of discrepancy on the fuselage concerning the triangle shaped things up on the engine cowling.  In order to get things as correct as possible I've  had to split the difference where I masked. Originally, the red/white border splits the triangle in half but in order to do that it would have the red too far up on the fuselage so I just made my own alignment points with pencil and rolled with it.

Anyway, next pic after the wings were done. Hey, they turned out alright!!  Nice crisp border there.



I'll check in later with more updates (only like 4 days left in this group build!!! ) if the internet allows it.