Author Topic: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger  (Read 38296 times)

Offline kitnut617

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Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« on: February 03, 2018, 11:46:15 PM »
OK, I was having thoughts about joining this GB, but I've already hit a snag. I've been looking at the MB6 I have and already see that some of it will have to be changed. I like the night fighter idea the boxing has but then the cockpit is so cramped I don't think it would have been like that (been looking at Meteor Mk.11 night fighters to see what was used back then). Also I think it needs to have an engine upgrade to a Sabre and then those wing tip tanks --- the paint schemes on the box sort of show something different to what you find in the box so they will get changed.

I plan on making some castings of an engine I already been putting together for a Sabre VII powered Hawker Fury plus some castings of the radar panel from out of the Meteor box (I intend to build the Meteor OOB someday) and some different wing tip tanks (it will get underwing tanks too). So my snag is  ----- the catalyst for adding to the RTV rubber I have is caput ----- and I can't find any more in town at the moment. I'll see how long it takes to find a new bottle of the catalyst before I go any further with this project.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2018, 10:07:00 AM by kitnut617 »

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #1 on: February 04, 2018, 10:23:03 AM »
Made a decision, because I'm not able to get a bottle of catalyst for sometime apparently, I'm going to use the parts I had made for the other projects on this one without making a copy of them. I'll start afresh on those other projects later as I know how to do it.

Anyway, here's a couple of pics of the previously made parts which I hope doesn't contravene the rules. This will be the Napier Sabre VIII which was tested with a contra-prop according to the noted aviation author, Phil Butler. He told me he had seen a photo of it when he was researching other stuff at Kew.

The idea here is this MB6 Long Ranger was more a interdictor than a night fighter. When I first looked at the kit my thoughts were it has to haul a lot more weight around, what with the two crew and all the radar gear and extra fuel tanks so needed a much more powerful engine. And seeing as the MB5 was a development of the MB3 which was powered by a Napier Sabre, it seemed to me an obvious choice to make this one Sabre powered.  I've read that the Sabre VII and VIII were 3000+hp engines and that Napier had bench tested some Sabre VII's to 5500hp, so I'm thinking a production variant could have been around 4000hp. So that's what I'm going with here.

This is what I have made so far a few years ago, the new engine nacelle. It was intended for the Hawker Fury prototype LA610. There's photos on the internet showing the real one flying with the Sabre VII.  I also started on a contra-prop with two 4-blade propellers, I figure if the Wyvern got the same with an engine of about the same power, that's what I'll go with for this one. I have to finish the contra-prop as I had only trial fitted the parts to see if the idea on making would work.
« Last Edit: February 04, 2018, 10:27:00 AM by kitnut617 »

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #2 on: February 04, 2018, 10:44:07 AM »
Pics of the AZ Models kit, top ones of the front and back of the box, last one of the bits. The box art sort of show the wing tanks as being quite large, but what you get in the box are two really skinny tanks which look odd. I'm going to use some Shackleton wing tip tanks and you can see in the parts pic I've tested it on the wing tip.

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #3 on: February 04, 2018, 10:47:44 AM »
In my stash I have four Falcon vacuform MB5's, the Falcon kit is reputed to be a good representation of the MB5 so I did some comparing with the one to the AZ Models kit. The AZ kit is practically the same ----

Interestingly, I found the cross section of the MB5 fuselage at the engine bulkhead/engine mounting point, is almost the same as the Hawker Fury so what I made for the Fury works quite well for this project.

Here's a pic of the Fury LA610 with the engine nacelle. I should point out that the MB5 is a large aircraft, about the same size as a Tempest/Fury or a P-47. Bottom pic shows a comparison of the three

« Last Edit: February 04, 2018, 10:55:48 AM by kitnut617 »

Offline Tophe

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #4 on: February 04, 2018, 11:55:06 AM »
Interesting...
I did not know this MB6 kit, nor the "true" MB6 (scale 1 project), thanks!
(Google seems to fail finding a site talking of the MB6, even if Google pictures finds many profiles of it)

Offline taiidantomcat

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #5 on: February 04, 2018, 10:31:21 PM »
Putting a lot of thought into this!
"They know you can do anything, So the question is, what don't you do?"

-David Fincher

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #6 on: February 04, 2018, 10:50:00 PM »
Interesting...
I did not know this MB6 kit, nor the "true" MB6 (scale 1 project), thanks!
(Google seems to fail finding a site talking of the MB6, even if Google pictures finds many profiles of it)

It's a 'What-If' right out of the box by AZ Models Tophe, there was no such thing of course. Myself I think the RAF would have had a name for the aircraft and it would in reality have been called 'name-NF.1'  Wondering what type of name it would have got would be pure speculation, but it probably would've been something weird if you go by what was suggested for very late model Spitfires.

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #7 on: February 05, 2018, 12:34:05 AM »
Putting a lot of thought into this!

 :icon_meditation: :icon_meditation: :icon_meditation:       ;D

And it was going to be OOB build too ------    :icon_crap:

Offline Tophe

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #8 on: February 05, 2018, 02:03:28 AM »
Thanks for the explanation! :smiley:

Offline Buzzbomb

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #9 on: February 05, 2018, 07:26:35 PM »
Nice concept

Offline finsrin

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #10 on: February 05, 2018, 08:00:45 PM »
Cool threesome. 8)  Center does look fastest.  You have the touch.

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #11 on: February 06, 2018, 04:23:12 AM »
Thanks guys

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #12 on: February 06, 2018, 04:30:55 AM »
It's progressing along quite well, got the wings together and started with what I need to change. Cut the kit engine cowling off and modified the one I'm putting on, it just needed a bit of shortening at the cockpit end.  I've also modified the canopy I'm going to use. I had to sort this out so I can determine the total useable length of the cockpit tub. The front part I've left as it is, but the rear part will be raised up from where the kit has it, I'm trying to understand the reasoning of where AZ placed it as it's set well down into the fuselage. But looking at drawings of cutaways there's a lot of important equipment right there which you can't just move somewhere else. I've raised the fin and rudder too.

The bottom pic is a comparison between the MB5/6 to a Spitfire T Mk.21 (which will probably be joining the 'Clear your Bench GB shortly)
« Last Edit: February 06, 2018, 04:32:28 AM by kitnut617 »

Offline AXOR

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #13 on: February 06, 2018, 05:47:33 PM »
Man that's awesome !!! :-*
Alex

Offline finsrin

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #14 on: February 06, 2018, 06:11:16 PM »
Appreciate point by point by picture briefing. :smiley:

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #15 on: February 06, 2018, 09:29:10 PM »
Thanks guys.  In the AZ box you get quite a few spare parts, for instance there's a new sprue for all that's needed to made 'their' version of a two-seater, but all the single-seater parts are all there, including a spare fuselage.

There's two types of fin/rudder to choose from, one is a short one with a broad chord rudder, the other is a tall one with short chord rudder. I'm using the tall one but I'm making it taller still.

There's two types of tail planes, one type is like what you see in most drawing but there's a pair of really small ones.  I haven't read anywhere that the MB5 had originally these small area tail planes, fin/rudder yes but not the tail planes. Be interesting if someone knows different. There's also an enlarged carburetor intake duct for under the nose, not sure if that was intended in real life but it's now in the spares box.

I spent a bit of time filling in the gap that's at the bottom of the new cowling but now needs to wait until I've finished inside the fuselage before I can glue it on. On the Fury, this gap is filled by part of the wing. Even though I shortened the cowling to fit onto the MB6, it's still the same length as the cowling I cut off. I'm reasoning that the extra weight of the engine counters all the extra weight of the radar gear and second crew member which I'm moving backwards in the fuselage even further than what AZ has theirs.
« Last Edit: February 06, 2018, 09:35:30 PM by kitnut617 »

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #16 on: February 07, 2018, 03:40:17 AM »
Top pic here shows how AZ have intended the rear cockpit to be located, deep into the fuselage with hardly any room for the pilot and equipment. Next two pics show what I've changed it to, and the last one is just how much you see of it all anyway ---   ;D  I used some of the Matchbox Meteor parts for the radar equipment. And I think the armour plate head rest is missing for the pilot, I'll have to make something up as there's nothing in the box for it.

I'll get the interior painted up next but probably won't be until the weekend now, back to three 12 hour shifts starting tomorrow.
« Last Edit: February 07, 2018, 03:45:03 AM by kitnut617 »

Offline taiidantomcat

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #17 on: February 07, 2018, 05:09:41 AM »
That is sharp as a razor!  8) Looks sleek and fast
"They know you can do anything, So the question is, what don't you do?"

-David Fincher

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #18 on: February 12, 2018, 08:08:36 AM »
Got the cockpit painted up and then glued the fuselage together remembering to put the tail wheel in first   ;)
Then glued the fin/rudder and the Sabre engine cowling on.  With just a wiff of putty for the first go around

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #19 on: February 12, 2018, 08:10:55 AM »
Then I glued the two parts of the canopy together, here's another view of the fuselage with props and canopy added for look see's.

The fin extension works out to 1 scale foot taller.

Fortunately, the new cowling is close in cross-section to the MB6 fuselage at the join point, not  a lot of putty was needed.

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #20 on: February 12, 2018, 08:52:22 AM »
That's looking good! 8)

Excellent method of extending the tail, too. :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."

Offline finsrin

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #21 on: February 12, 2018, 12:00:52 PM »
As Old Wombat said !

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #22 on: February 12, 2018, 09:39:20 PM »
Thanks guys --

Got the wings and tail plane on now

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #23 on: February 12, 2018, 09:39:48 PM »
couple more

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: Martin Baker MB6 Long Ranger
« Reply #24 on: February 12, 2018, 10:07:01 PM »
Aggressive looking bird! :smiley:
"This is the Captain. We have a little problem with our engine sequence, so we may experience some slight turbulence and, ah, explode."