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

[TheChronicOne]

Got the guideline penciled on and went in for my first pass.  Wadda ya think? 




I think it has potential to work!! Not too shabby, I think!  Especially for me. I mean.. I'm not that skilled yet.  You should see my handwriting...   

Anyway, I'll have to get in tight in that area at least once more to ensure proper coverage (and make things "straighter" ) so the possibility of butchering still exists and of course I haven't done the other side yet... so.. at best I'm at a 25% success rate for painting this ovalish border.  Results are encouraging though. I'm glad I decided not to be lazy.. I just hope it works out in the end.

[TheChronicOne]

This will be a duplicate post to some extent as the work being done is for my Tu-4 Bull for the Soviet GB. I'll be posting this post in my thread for it as well, but I want it here also because it's something completely new for me and something I want to learn and practice. When I decided to get back into this hobby I told myself that I wouldn't simply get back to building kits but that I'd try to commit to LEARNING as well. I want to get better. I want to do some of the things I see in others' build pages.

With this in mind I've decided to jump right in to one of the things I've been dreading most: cutting things with a hobby blade. In particular, masking tape prior to applying it.

I've tried using these knives before at various times for various things and never could quite get the hang of it. It never seemed to work for me and a good deal of time when I'd see someone using a hobby knife to cut something I'd always think,"Well, wouldn't scissors be better and faster?!"  So far, for a lot of things, this is true! I can cut things with scissors a hell of a lot faster than all the rig a marole involved with all the work involved with using the knives. That said, I've been noticing instances where I just can't use scissors and expect a perfect result. In steps the hobby knives and me trusty cutting pad.......



The task at hand is to create strips of masking tape so I can achieve blue/white stripes on the bomb bay doors like those found on the Cuban flag. After having done a bunch of math I've found that I need two 7/16" strips per door (to cover the white) then I can paint the blue then I'll have my five stripes. Of course, I ain't got no 7/16" wide tape so I need to make it myself and I'm not about to try to do it with scissors.

I'm just going to measure it out and make points along the tape, draw a line, then use my metal rule as a guide then just sliiiiide the knife down the edge. If all goes well, I'll have two long 7/16" wide strips of tape that I can then go ahead and use my scissors to cut them into segments and slap 'em on the doors. Of course, I'll need to put guide marks on said doors as well but I'm just concentrating on making these strips.

Anyway.. I think I have the right idea and my blade seems sharp enough so here we go! 




EDIT: 

Lookin' good!!  If you really look, you can even see the cut lines up with the outside edge of one of the dots on the pad at both the top and bottom!  I did it!!  It's just a straight cut but It's a step in the right direction for me... My blade didn't fly off in some weird direction or anything.



I *think* I can get all 8 segments out of this strip, if not, I'll whack some off of the surplus.

[Rick Lowe]

Yeah, the markings on the cutting mats are a distinct advantage for doing stuff like this... you'd almost thing they were put there in part for that purpose, huh... wait...

It's really satisfying when you can get something like this done, keep up the great work.

And the curved line is coming along well, too.

[TheChronicOne]

Yeah, the markings on the cutting mats are a distinct advantage for doing stuff like this... you'd almost thing they were put there in part for that purpose, huh... wait...

It's really satisfying when you can get something like this done, keep up the great work.

And the curved line is coming along well, too.

Thank you! I appreciate it... encouraging words and feedback help immensely.. If I were doing all this into a void I wouldn't have near as much motivation to continue.

You're so right about the cutting mat ( ,yeah, seems they were thinking!!!    ) ....  I've had this thing for 25 years and NEVER used it. Now that I have... wow, I'm already starting to get spoiled.

The stuff I said I'd cut with scissors I went ahead and did with my metal rule and hobby knife.  Glad I did. The spacing was tight. I initially just eyeballed the tape and went with it and I was trying to get all eight segments out of the one strip, but I wasn't sure it was long enough,  so I decided to keep my tolerances tight whilst doing the lateral cuts to get my segments.

Even after keeping my tolerances tight I was off by a tiny bit and had to cut a further segment from the surplus but it worked out well. I now have my eight 7/16" strips and it was easier than I imagined and I'm learning and gaining new skills all the while. Not only that, but it was quite satisfying running that blade down the length of the tape. It wasn't a downer to do it and for that I'm glad.. that means next time around I need to do it I won't be filled with dread.

[PR19_Kit]

Yeah, the markings on the cutting mats are a distinct advantage for doing stuff like this... you'd almost thing they were put there in part for that purpose, huh... wait...

I can't see the marks on my cutting mat, they're buried in a 2" thick layer of paint tins, glue dispensers, sanding blocks, unfinished projects etc etc........... 

[zenrat]

Forget the tins & dispensers, mine are just covered in paint and glue.

[Rick Lowe]

Yeah, the markings on the cutting mats are a distinct advantage for doing stuff like this... you'd almost thing they were put there in part for that purpose, huh... wait...

I can't see the marks on my cutting mat, they're buried in a 2" thick layer of paint tins, glue dispensers, sanding blocks, unfinished projects etc etc........... 

Some of mine have smeared and come off from some glue/thinners spills...

Yup, eyeballing is ok, but when you have a section which is only just big enough to do all the bits you need, it's better to measure... guess how I learned that one! 

Doing something successfully is a distinct reassurance and encouragement to trying it again... and small steps and practice, of course - there were sooo many projects I tried in my younger years where my imagination and ambition exceeded my abilities and the project stopped dead.
Or where I thought I needed a specific piece of equipment or I couldn't do something - turns out there is often a work-around and it's a case of thinking outside the box and finding it.

[zenrat]

I often find doing something complicated successfully means I rarely do it again.
It's like i've proved to myself that I can do it and so don't need to do it again.
Doing it once is a challenge. If doing it again becomes a chore then i'm not really interested as this is my hobby and is supposed to be fun.

[TheChronicOne]

I hate when I come across these types of problems. I have a set of insructions and a set of pictures then I also have "common sense" all in conflict.

According to my instructions, there are two different sets of nose gear doors that are supposed to go on but all the pictures I see don't show the rear set. So... what the hell?? Without the rear set, when the gear are up, what covers the gear?! 


See here, according to the directions I need to put both sets, B9and B10 then I am supposed to cut D5 in half and glue them in as well. OK... yet, every picture I see either has one or the other... but never both. Case in point:



So what the hell do I do? 

[kerick]

I suspect the rear most doors open only when the gear moves up or down and then close again. That's why you don't see them in the pics. I would put them on un cut and closed unless you want to have the gear half way up or down. just my $0.02.

[TheChronicOne]

I suspect the rear most doors open only when the gear moves up or down and then close again. That's why you don't see them in the pics. I would put them on un cut and closed unless you want to have the gear half way up or down. just my $0.02.

That's exactly what I was thinking. That they open, then close, then open and close again upon retraction. But, damn, these instructions... don't jive. I'm just going to roll with the front set and leave the rear ones closed. That sucks, however, because when I cut them I lost the initial shape.  I had to file and re-smooth and make things straight again with the idea that with them being open, no one would be able to tell they aren't perfect any more. Now, if I have to glue the damn things back together again they won't be remotely the proper shape and I'll have to break out the putty and all that mess. And believe you, me, there isn't anything, anywhere in the instructions that speak about alternate set ups or "optional" parts and things of that nature. I've been able to surmise the things I can omit that are on various other versions than the Shorts but damn... this unclear vague instructions that tell me to do certain things that don't make sense give me a headache.  Nowhere does it say, "Oh, but wait, don't cut these after all unless you want them activiely in the 5 second window when they are open."  Nothing tells me, "Hey, don't cut these if you want this thing just sitting on the tarmac." Nothing... its maddening. I have to GUESS what is going on here.

[TheChronicOne]

Not only that, but there is some speed/air brake thing on the belly that the instructions call for that I also can't find on any pictures which leads to my next gripe: the lack of good pictures of the undersides of planes. There are a lot of good pics out there but it always seems like the ones I really need are always absent.

See D9:



Thanks to the utter lack of actual instructions and merely working with the exploded diagram do I glue this thing on at the angle shown?? Do I lay it flat against the belly? In the picture above of the pretty blue Tucano I *think* I can see this thing extended but I can't really tell and we're back again to the lack of good pictures of the underside of these things. Either I can't find pictures of it or I DO find pictures that are of the wrong versions.



Now, I like a challenge, but I do NOT like vague BS instruction sheets that don't jive with either common sense OR pictures. I also am peeved at the lack of good reference material. In my experience it's actually astonishingly difficult to find pictures of THESE red/white trainer planes. I can find all kinds of stuff but not very many of these. I even found a build page of this very kit and it's not much help:

http://modelingmadness.com/review/mod/fordhamtucano.htm

And walk arounds of other Shorts :

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/topic/73752-shorts-tucano/

But nothing jives.....

[kerick]

Since they will be closed would it be possible to cut one piece of plastic to replace both doors?

[TheChronicOne]

Since they will be closed would it be possible to cut one piece of plastic to replace both doors?

Yeah but I think it would be more work finding a replacement and making it correct than to just glue the things I have back together (things are a mess around here..). There's also a bulge in them that account for the tire that I'd have to replicate.  It won't be too much trouble to fix the ones I have but I shouldn't have to.... these crappy instructions leave much to be desired. Tell me to cut this poo-poo in half only for them to be closed anyway?! I could have just scored a line down the middle. What kind of "set-up" has someone modelling an aircraft in the midst of a 5 second window where these things are open?! Doesn't make sense. "For about 5 seconds when the gear are to be retracted, these doors will be open, and you may want to represent this, otherwise leave them alone" would have been nice information to have. But no, it just tells me to cut them in half and glue 'em in despite all visual evidence to the contrary.

[TheChronicOne]

Anyway... thank you, Kerick, for the swift response and comparing notes with me and helping me out. I'm going to just glue the rear doors back together and leave the fronts open. I don't think we can go wrong that way. This two hour fiasco could have been avoided, however, if the instructions weren't so ... "lacking."