Beyond The Sprues

Current and Finished Projects => Physical Models => Aero-space => Topic started by: Frank3k on November 12, 2018, 08:16:57 AM

Title: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on November 12, 2018, 08:16:57 AM: I recently bought a second copy of the Mikromir 1/35 Triton from Atlantis Models:
(https://www.scalemates.com/products/img/3/6/8/991368-11789-52-pristine.jpg)

This copy had a partially crushed left ~~fuselage~~ hull, so I got it for almost nothing. I may eventually build the over copy as intended (Here's a great build review of the model (https://web.ipmsusa3.org/content/soviet-midget-submarine-triton-1m)), but this one has been whiffed.

This is the inspiration:

(https://i.redd.it/fd3kyodfjo401.jpg)

Mine will have to be a smaller, 2 manned version. I 3D printed the shroud/circular wings as well as the interior structures. I cut off the tail section from the Triton, and cut the cabin area open to make placing the instrument panel and crew seats easier.
Here's an early mock-up of the main parts:

(https://i.imgur.com/2VfhVO3.jpg)

The cockpit interior is from the 1/35 CH-47A Crew In Vietnam, which includes the cockpit. The figures are non-human crap, but the rest of the kit is great. I measured the original cockpit floor for the Triton and 3D printed a smaller section in ABS. I also printed a rear wall. The Triton kit will donate a few other parts before I'm done.

I took the front part off. The rudder levels are just pushed into place:

(https://i.imgur.com/LCXMi4T.jpg)

Here's a top view of the control vanes and props:

(https://i.imgur.com/QJqiALp.jpg)

I believe that the props are from an old 1/48 Lindberg 1/48 XFY-1 "Pogo" - I found them in a box of spare parts that I bought, years ago. I only have one of the internal gears that made the props contra-rotate, so I glued them together.

Here's a breakdown of the props and vanes:

(https://i.imgur.com/Si5n4uN.jpg)

I have the landing gear, side fins and an intake duct for the turboprop engine printed, but I want to paint and finish the cockpit and fuselage area first - I can then set it aside and process the other 3D printed parts with acetone and sanding, which is always time-consuming. The shroud is printed as a shell (it's hollow) if I break it, I may have to reprint it.

I don't have an idea of the nationality yet. It may be French.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: finsrin on November 12, 2018, 08:27:07 AM: Neato project :icon_surprised:
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: GTX_Admin on November 13, 2018, 01:32:43 AM: Outstanding! Can't wait to see it finished.

Re the 3D printed, shroud/circular wings/interior structures, are these available for others to use as well? What dimensions are they?
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on November 13, 2018, 08:34:27 AM: Greg,
I designed all the 3D parts, so the .stl files are free to anyone who wants to print them. There are no locator marks, although the cross members fit best sort of where they are now. The jury is still out on the duct. It's not the strongest.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Robomog on November 13, 2018, 03:40:00 PM: This is looking really cool, have you decided on a colour scheme yet ?

Mog
>^-.-^<
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: LemonJello on November 13, 2018, 10:10:58 PM: Very cool!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: GTX_Admin on November 14, 2018, 02:00:51 AM: Quote from: Frank3k on November 13, 2018, 08:34:27 AM
Greg,
I designed all the 3D parts, so the .stl files are free to anyone who wants to print them. There are no locator marks, although the cross members fit best sort of where they are now. The jury is still out on the duct. It's not the strongest.

Thanks mate - what dimensions are they currently?
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Dr. YoKai on November 14, 2018, 02:28:23 AM: Nifty work so far - when you talk about nationality, I take it you're doing a Military version? I think it would look mighty sharp in an inversion of the Yellow/red of the Magazine cover. The 'fifties flying equivalent of a Red Corvette, so to speak.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Brian da Basher on November 14, 2018, 03:46:17 AM: You're off to a wizard start, Frank and I really like how that huge ducted fan is coming along.

Simply outstanding how you built the fuselage and interior!

This one's gonna be a lot of fun to watch.

Brian da Basher
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on November 14, 2018, 04:54:10 AM: Thanks guys. What to paint it is probably going to be the hardest part. Craig - red overall with yellow fins may work. The cockpit (unlike the illustration) is very cramped.
Greg - I'll check on the dimensions tonight, but it can be scaled up or down as needed. I think this print is around 130mm in OD, since I had a brim at the bottom to keep it stuck to the build plate, and that combo was almost as wide as the build plate Y dimension (150mm).
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on November 14, 2018, 12:21:34 PM: The duct's maximum OD diameter is 95mm, the end diameters are 87mm. The airfoil is a copy of the Hanneton II (May Beetle II). I just found the article on Flight (https://www.flightglobal.com/pdfarchive/view/1955/1955%20-%200863.html) which would have been helpful...rather than using a drawing I found online.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Buzzbomb on November 14, 2018, 03:38:00 PM: Terrific!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Antonio Sobral on November 14, 2018, 09:28:15 PM: Beautiful and cool design!

Waiting for the next chapters.. :)
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: KiwiZac on November 14, 2018, 11:50:28 PM: Oh, that is cool. Amazing work on the wing etc!

You could go US Army like the Convair singleseater whose designation I forget...
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: GTX_Admin on November 15, 2018, 02:03:37 AM: Quote from: Frank3k on November 14, 2018, 04:54:10 AM
Greg - I'll check on the dimensions tonight, but it can be scaled up or down as needed.

Thanks. Am aware it could be scaled during printing but I just wanted to get an idea of the proportions etc now for planning purposes.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on November 18, 2018, 06:03:56 AM: I stayed home yesterday and worked on the cockpit. This is the CH-47 instrument panel cut and sliced back together. Instrument decals are from a couple of IP decal sets. The big red handle is to detach the front of the coleopter from the duct and fan works. It's a pretty cramped cockpit and there probably wouldn't be enough room for two ejection seats, plus the weight penalty would be significant. There's a large hatch above and behind the cockpit that would work as the ballistic parachute access door:
(https://i.imgur.com/pEGSgFu.jpg)

The seat belts are from a miscellaneous set that Jeff sent me. Thanks, Jeff!
(https://i.imgur.com/wFGvaiq.jpg)

The "cable run" is just part of the left over brim used to make sure that parts stays put while printing. Reused it rather than sending it to the ABS soup factory:
(https://i.imgur.com/ZId73C3.jpg)

Most of the parts have received their acetone vapor smoothing. It takes several hours for the ABS to re-harden, but I can use that time to start priming some of the other parts.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: KiwiZac on November 18, 2018, 08:19:44 AM: Very smart work on the cockpit Frank, and an ingenious solution to a cabin too small for ejection seats.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Brian da Basher on November 18, 2018, 09:22:24 AM: That's some of the finest cockpit detailing I've ever seen, Frank.

It's always a delight to see your work!

Brian da Basher
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Old Wombat on November 18, 2018, 05:03:34 PM: Quote from: Brian da Basher on November 18, 2018, 09:22:24 AM
That's some of the finest cockpit detailing I've ever seen, Frank.

It's always a delight to see your work!

Brian da Basher

+1 here, too! :smiley:
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: The Big Gimper on November 18, 2018, 10:39:00 PM: Quote from: Old Wombat on November 18, 2018, 05:03:34 PM
Quote from: Brian da Basher on November 18, 2018, 09:22:24 AM
That's some of the finest cockpit detailing I've ever seen, Frank.

It's always a delight to see your work!

Brian da Basher

+1 here, too! :smiley:

+2.

Or is Frank using his top secret shrink ray gun again. ;)
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on November 19, 2018, 03:10:17 AM: Thanks guys. I looked up the decal sheets and they are 1/32 Airscale individual instrument panel decals from Sprue Bros.

I tried the acetone vapor smoothing on the duct and it sagged a bit and split open - it was like jello.I expected something like this since the walls were about 0.4mm thick. I reprinted it with thicker walls and will try again.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Robomog on November 19, 2018, 03:24:13 AM: Whoa! Seriously wicked cockpit detail, I'm impressed.

Mog
>^-.-^<
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: GTX_Admin on November 20, 2018, 01:32:34 AM: Quote from: Frank3k on November 14, 2018, 04:54:10 AM
Thanks guys. What to paint it is probably going to be the hardest part.

I would consider doing it as a X-aircraft test bird in a similar scheme to the X-22:

(http://www.aerospaceweb.org/aircraft/research/x22/x22_09.jpg)

See if you can fool people into thinking it was a real X-aircraft.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on December 26, 2018, 03:30:28 AM: This model sat on my bench - almost finished - for a few weeks while I took an ITIL (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ITIL) class and certification. As soon as that was out of the way, I added decals and finished it.
I followed Dr. YoKai's suggestion of swapping the yellow and red - Craig was right; it looks like a flying corvette!

(https://i.imgur.com/ji3MlWC.jpg)

There's no way that the canopy - as designed for this model - will fit in the rails (or even on the model) properly. Maybe my manipulations of the fuselage warped it slightly, but this was the best I could do.

I used the kit's red & white decals for the ballistic chute/access hatch. I printed the 1812 decal - it's the year/month I finished this. Other decals came from my spares:

(https://i.imgur.com/Gf3iVQC.jpg)

Here's an inspector, for scale:

(https://i.imgur.com/Nkt8MSP.jpg)

I added a Convair decal to the turboprop's intake. I guess that places this vehicle some time before 1996 when the Convair name vanished:

(https://i.imgur.com/kceGXmD.jpg)

Top view:
(https://i.imgur.com/iZYjCXh.jpg)

Kit or spare parts used: The Mikromir Triton was used for the forward fuselage and canopy. The Trumpeter CH-47A interior for the seats, IP panel and controls, the ancient Lindberg 1/48 XFY-1 "Pogo" for the counter-rotating props. Everything else was 3D printed in ABS. The landing gear/wheels had covers over them, but they didn't look good on the model, so I skipped them.

Surprisingly (for me) the paint job only took a few coats of primer, then the Vallejo Ferrari red. That was it - no repainting due to a screwup. In fact, this build was fairly uneventful. The main prop shroud took a few tries to get it correct (so it wouldn't collapse when picked up) but otherwise, no issues.

Thanks for looking!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: GTX_Admin on December 26, 2018, 03:46:16 AM: (https://www.singleblackmale.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Friday-Movie-Meme-Damn-07.jpg)
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: andonio64 on December 26, 2018, 04:11:56 AM: It's beautiful Frank3k, I love especially the work in the cockpit!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: elmayerle on December 26, 2018, 10:53:19 AM: Quote from: GTX_Admin on December 26, 2018, 03:46:16 AM
(https://www.singleblackmale.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Friday-Movie-Meme-Damn-07.jpg)
Seconded!! That's an absolutely gorgeous piece of work and quite inspired whiffing.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Antonio Sobral on December 26, 2018, 05:22:26 PM: Beautiful Coleopter!

And a great color choice also!

Merry Christmas!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: finsrin on December 26, 2018, 05:40:59 PM: From super cockpit to super finish to super colors to super figure is cool 8)
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Kerick on December 27, 2018, 12:37:49 AM: It looks looks like it jumped right out of a sci fi magazine back in the day! Great work!!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on December 27, 2018, 05:44:06 AM: Thanks guys! This was a fun project.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Brian da Basher on December 27, 2018, 08:07:57 AM: Wow that's simply amazing Frank and one of your best yet!

This beauty would certainly get lots of attention at any show worthy of the name.

Most excellent!

Brian da Basher
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: KiwiZac on December 27, 2018, 02:36:10 PM: What a gorgeous finish! Bravo Frank!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Robomog on December 27, 2018, 05:44:36 PM: Fantastic model + brilliant paint job + interesting subject = Perfect build

Love it

Mog
>^-.-^<
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: LemonJello on December 28, 2018, 03:59:54 AM: I like everything about this project.

Well done!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: kitnut617 on December 28, 2018, 08:13:13 AM: Quote from: elmayerle on December 26, 2018, 10:53:19 AM
Quote from: GTX_Admin on December 26, 2018, 03:46:16 AM
(https://www.singleblackmale.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Friday-Movie-Meme-Damn-07.jpg)
Seconded!! That's an absolutely gorgeous piece of work and quite inspired whiffing.

Wot they said --- :o
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Buzzbomb on December 28, 2018, 03:35:02 PM: And another round of applause here.

Nice work
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on December 29, 2018, 03:25:05 AM: Thanks again, guys! The original artwork that inspired this (at the beginning of the thread) illustrates either a very cramped vehicle, or much larger.

J.C. Carbonel made a great 1/72 Hanneton III (http://modelstories.free.fr/analyses/avions/MS2007_01P/SCRH_Hanneton/index.html)

Maybe I can get a 1/32 or 1/35 helicopter and convert it into a coleopter...
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Dr. YoKai on January 04, 2019, 08:06:14 AM: "Goes fast straight up!" I seem to remember the sales brochure read... ;) Beautiful job, Frank - I'm glad my suggestion panned out.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: apophenia on January 04, 2019, 08:16:33 AM: Gorgeous build :smiley: And that inspector sure gets around ;D
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on January 05, 2019, 04:26:36 AM: He's very, very critical.

I was just thinking of a variation - take the Glencoe 1/32 XV-1 (probably closer to 1/40) do some surgery and slap on a duct and it would be close to the original artwork.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Story on November 08, 2023, 06:31:22 PM: So I tripped over this during first coffee

(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/9b/d4/15/9bd4152d5fd537d6cdcf1b69a542a792.jpg)

and had to self-educate https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coleopter

then figured I'd share, searched COLEOPTER and of course Frank built one already. ;D
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Kerick on November 08, 2023, 11:21:45 PM: As cool as these aircraft are one question remains, how does the pilot and passengers get into or out of the thing? One very tall ladder? Call the fire department for the hook and ladder truck? Phone company bucket truck? Makes me curious about that first illustration with the family in the station wagon going out for a picnic!
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Frank3k on November 09, 2023, 12:35:38 AM: The worst part would be little Timmy getting out of the cabin while the rotors are spinning up (or down)
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Story on November 09, 2023, 12:57:09 AM: Quote from: Frank3k on November 09, 2023, 12:35:38 AM
The worst part would be little Timmy getting out of the cabin while the rotors are spinning up (or down)

I have this mental flashback to a local arboretum's parking lot, where a Karen was getting into her BMW SUV and put it in reverse - only to have the towhead 7 year old in the back seat let out a loud, clear and worthy of a church choir (English accent) "Oye! I'm not in yet".

Diorama potential there, Frank.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Kerick on November 09, 2023, 08:07:27 AM: Quote from: Frank3k on November 09, 2023, 12:35:38 AM
The worst part would be little Timmy getting out of the cabin while the rotors are spinning up (or down)

Clearly need child proof locks for those who don’t teach their kids how to use car doors.
Title: Re: 1/35 Coleopter
Post by: Story on November 10, 2023, 02:23:03 AM: The Al GoRythems of the Interwebz brought me this "Flying Leaf Blower of Death", which I now deposit for your collective interests.
https://medium.com/war-is-boring/i-built-my-own-flying-leafblower-of-death-5b759dcc5c2f#.dfd86jsdu

See also
(https://i.pinimg.com/564x/3e/86/b7/3e86b7a42d37e1ad248ab562b877b903.jpg)