T-51D "Sentinel" Trainer

[Captain Canada]

Yeah, that fuselage is pretty thick, eh ?

And it's good to see you're no longer suffering from derapant, now that you've got an antiderapant !

 

[Ollie]

Lookin' good buddy!

Now stick a PT-6A in there!!

         

[nev]

You.  Are.  Still.  Crazy.




A helluvalotofwork in what you've done so far, but its looking good  B)  

[John Howling Mouse]

Finally realized there was no more avoiding it: the aft-relocated wheel-well apertures had to be cut out sometime...  

You can see here the little card cut-out I used as a dwg template, the initial scribing of the wheel well apertures (they say that a primer coat helps your scriber not slip as easily---I'm 50-50 on that one), and the dreaded series of drilled holes to help ease the curved cuts required.  I could have drilled a single hole and cut the openings out with the Dremel or scroll-saw but I thought the old way would be more traditional.

Yes, I realize the breadth of the flaps would be severely undermined with this relocation ( "Flaps?! We don't need no stinkin' flaps!" )and the wing thickness is likely not even deep enough at the revised location to house the retracted landing gear (so the gear stays down, big deal) but it's my fantasy so I'm sticking to it (hey, that's what "Ahnuld" said when he decided to run for Governor of California!)....   :dum:        

[John Howling Mouse]

The first (easier) wheel-well aperture is finally removed...what a relief!

[John Howling Mouse]

You can see from this shot of the inner (lower) wing where some nasty features are going to make the cutting much more difficult on this (port) side.

Would have been nice if I had thought of that ahead of time, eh?  For next time, I will first reduce the little walls for the gun bay and not put the blocking bits of white styrene until after the wheel wells have been cut out!

[John Howling Mouse]

Another Mono Mustang kit donates the wheel wells.
These will be sanded down to be slightly less deep.  I will then block them all around their perimeter with strip styrene for fitting them to the slightly bigger wheel well apertures.  This will leave the same "lip" as on the original Monogram kit.

Just one more reason to get into kitbashing: allows you to convince your spouse that you need at least three kits of every possible subject due to all the cutting and bashing together of so many bits and pieces!

[John Howling Mouse]

The final wheel well apertures with the donor wheel-wells themselves (which will need to be split down the middle and have an inner "wall" added where the center splitting cut takes out the prior middle wall)

[elmayerle]

I still think you could've gotten away with using a T-28 center section.  But I may reserve that for doing a tri-gear Mustang myself.    

[Gary]

Baz...
You just showed me how to make this possible.



:dum:  :dum:  :dum:  :dum:  :dum:  

[John Howling Mouse]

Could you not just have the gear retract at an angle forward?

Just a thought.

SB

Yep, considered that from a recent cutaway drawing of another airplane which used that feature....AFTER I had already begun the chopping as you see!!!

Me:   :dum:  :dum:  :dum:  

[John Howling Mouse]

I still think you could've gotten away with using a T-28 center section.  But I may reserve that for doing a tri-gear Mustang myself.    

Your idea would work, too.   The Trojan just looks (to me) as if it's about to tail-sit at any moment.  I can't figure out if I really like that about it or despise it (you should see me try to choose from a menu in a restaurant!).  It's cool the way the weight of the engine balances all that aircraft aft of the main gear but I need my T-51 to be sturdy and with as widely placed landing gear as I can pull off.

Now you know why I'd never cut it as an engineer!

But, thanks to you guys, it's no coincidence that my new "Black Box T-28 D Trojan Cockpit Set #48059" just arrived today!!!!    

[John Howling Mouse]

Baz...
You just showed me how to make this possible.



:dum:  :dum:  :dum:  :dum:  :dum:

Looks pretty slick.  I think it's eerie how many of us come up with the same ideas (I've always imagined someone throwing a jet engine into the fabulous Mustang shape too, only a slightly different configuration).  

Now, go BUILD it (and post the pics, too)!!!    ^_^  

[Captain Canada]

Eeesh, that thing is ugly !

 

[Patrick H]

Eeesh, that thing is ugly !

I fully agree with you there. Something about the long nosewheel and the jet pipe sticking out of it's..... hm could we say rearend, is definately wrong. Now, in flight it might be a completely diffrent story.  
And from a practical point of view, what about heat and the tail? Don't think they would do well together.

cheers

Patrick