Author Topic: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished  (Read 5636 times)

Offline Frank3k

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Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« on: July 01, 2018, 10:49:02 AM »
Inspired by The Big Gimper's Gloster Peregrine PR.I, I decided to try my hand at modifying the ancient (but nicely fitting) 1/72 Gloster E.28/39. My kit is an anonymous, ancient Russian boxing of the old Frog/Novo kit. It even comes with a tub of glue! The box says it was imported by Rusland Imports of Winnipeg, CA.

I couldn't find the wings for my Hasegawa 1/72 T-33, so I decided to extend the wings by adding the wings from a Heller 1/144 E-2 Hawkeye. Not impressed:



I've already made the cockpit and added a nose gear bay.

Instead of using these wings, I scanned in the kit's wing root and  designed slightly swept wings. Here they are, fresh out of the printer, in white ABS:



I should have put the straight sections of the wings together - it would have saved about 30 minutes in print time. The smaller tabs are the wing attachment tabs that slot right into the wings. The flaps and ailerons fused to the wing, so I'll have to reprint them. I kept the Pioneer's bulbous main gear bay, just made it slightly rounder/aerodynamic.

This is what it looks like, pressed together. The wingtip tanks are from the Hasegawa 1/72 T-33 - I found many parts of that kit except for the wings!



I'll reprint them tomorrow and separate the ailerons and flaps. I'm not sure if I'll keep the straight trailing edge. Swapping the wings and placing the straight edge forward looked pretty nice, too. The shiny area on the starboard wing is Rub N' Buff; I wanted to see how bad the printing artifacts looked. Other than some slight vibration marks, it looks good. A few minutes in Acetone vapor should smooth the wings nicely.

Since this kit is slightly overscale (1/70 or so), I compared it to my 1/72 resin Nene engine. The Nene would fit nicely! I trimmed the exhaust pipe; I'll add a small extension to match the Nene's exhaust.
I'm thinking of a backstory, but the plane's name should be a hint.

« Last Edit: July 22, 2018, 06:46:34 AM by Frank3k »

Offline The Big Gimper

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #1 on: July 01, 2018, 06:42:04 PM »
Nice work Frank.   :smiley:
Work in progress ::

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Offline pigflyer

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #2 on: July 02, 2018, 03:46:33 AM »
Very nice, I look forward to the finished build.
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Offline Frank3k

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #3 on: July 02, 2018, 09:39:54 AM »
I printed a pair of straight leading edge wings. The wings are in 4 parts (main wing, flaps, aileron, wing from aileron to tip, to eliminate having to use supports). I think this looks better than the swept wing:



Here's a side view:



The wings were painted with silver primer to show any defects. I opened the little glue container that came with the kit and the cement was long gone, so I filled the container with some of the scrap ABS and some acetone. The ABS came from the print itself, so less waste! I'm using this plastic goo to fill in the leftover printing artifacts.

« Last Edit: July 02, 2018, 09:49:03 AM by Frank3k »

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #4 on: July 02, 2018, 09:41:21 AM »
Very nice looker, indeed.  Enjoying watching this one develop.

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #5 on: July 03, 2018, 05:36:18 AM »
I really like the look of this bird, Frank and that's some excellent modeling!

Glue included is the sign of a quality kit!

Brian da Basher

Offline ed s

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #6 on: July 03, 2018, 06:39:34 AM »
Nice start. I'm envious of your 3D printer.

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #7 on: July 03, 2018, 10:10:15 AM »
Thanks guys - I don't know how much glue the little container had, but from the crust stuck on the inside, probably less than half full. You'd have to be very stingy with the glue!

Ed - the printer is well enclosed, making it ideal for printing in ABS. It also has two heads (which is not really a big advantage, since it's extra mass) so I could print in two colors of plastic, or use ABS for the model and PLA for the supports. Most of my model related printing has been as proof of concept before I send it to Shapeways.
« Last Edit: July 03, 2018, 10:12:19 AM by Frank3k »

Offline Frank3k

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #8 on: July 08, 2018, 07:31:35 AM »
I have to admit that I've lost interest in this model. It's deceptive - it seems to fit well, but the overall details and part quality isn't all that great. I also screwed up on the wing panel lines.

No decals yet - the kit decals are ridiculously our of register. I have no post war UK roundels or fin flash decals and I didn't want to print them, so I looked online and found a set for $15... or I could buy the excellent Airfix Hunting Percival Jet Provost for a little over $10, use the decals from the kit and a great little jet thrown in. Looking at the Provost, it's similar to what I wanted to achieve with this kit.

Here's a top view, ready to paint. I added some Archer Fine Details resin covers for extra detail:


The cockpit is based on a vacuform of a resin cockpit. Everything else is from the spare parts bin. The control stick is a wire, bent to shape. The radar screen was a mounting post for a fuel tank on an old Zvezda BT-7 kit:


Here it is, waiting for decals. I added 20mm cannons to the wings and a nosecone to the intake to represent a radar. It's painted tan to show that it's fiberglass. The radio antenna is in a surface sink mark. It's similar to the radio antenna on the MiG-15. The gray looks blueish in this picture. The canopy framework masked failed, but that always happens to me:


Here's a top view. Rather than weather the plane, I added some modulation under the paint. Not sure if I like it.


I decided to skip the wingtip tanks. They really looked out of place once the plane was painted.
I'll add the decals when I get them next week. Thanks for looking!

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #9 on: July 08, 2018, 09:16:14 AM »
Wow did this one seem to come together fast, Frank!

The front office looks fantastic and I like your paintwork overall.

Brian da Basher

Offline elmayerle

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #10 on: July 08, 2018, 11:10:41 AM »
^ What he said.  It looks gorgeous to me and I agree that the front office looks fantastic.

Offline Jeffry Fontaine

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #11 on: July 08, 2018, 02:15:59 PM »
Great work Frank!  Never noticed before how low to the ground the Gloster is until you shared your WIP images.
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Offline AXOR

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #12 on: July 08, 2018, 04:05:41 PM »
That's nice   :smiley:
Alex

Offline kitnut617

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #13 on: July 08, 2018, 08:00:30 PM »
I think it's great, have you done much with the 3D printer ?

Offline The Big Gimper

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #14 on: July 10, 2018, 09:17:23 AM »
Awesome job Frank. You started behind me and then zoomed passed me in the straight-away. Love your work in the bathtub, I mean cockpit.

It's a real low part count kit.
Work in progress ::

I am giving up listing them. They all end up on the shelf of procrastination anyways.

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Offline Frank3k

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #15 on: July 10, 2018, 10:55:56 AM »
Thanks guys!
The Gloster is very low to the ground. I should have called it the Gloster Corgi.

Kitnut617 - I've used my 3D printer to make functional objects, mostly cases for electronics projects. FDM printers aren't quite there for extensive model making 9at least with the quality/resolution I want) but they're good for relatively low detailed parts, and for proof of concept models that go on to be printed with a higher resolution printer.
I'm printing in ABS (which can be a real pain) but my printer is enclosed so there's no smell and minimal warping. ABS (and High Impact Styrene) are great for modeling since you can smooth the surface with Acetone vapor and the parts can be glued to model kit plastic with regular plastic cement, like Tamiya extra thin.

Carl - this kit really does have a bathtub for a cockpit!

Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #16 on: July 12, 2018, 03:54:39 AM »
<snip>
this kit really does have a bathtub for a cockpit!

I hope you remembered the drain plug. Wouldn't want the pilot going "down the tubes"!

 ;D ;D ;D.

Brian da Basher

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl
« Reply #17 on: July 21, 2018, 07:21:58 AM »
 :smiley:
All hail the God of Frustration!!!

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Offline Frank3k

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« Reply #18 on: July 22, 2018, 06:49:16 AM »
I finished the Gloster with decals from an Airfix Airfix Hunting Percival Jet Provost T.3. I printed some decals for the date I finished it. I rigged an antenna wire as well:





Overall, it was a fun project. Thanks for looking and commenting!

Offline Old Wombat

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« Reply #19 on: July 22, 2018, 05:07:34 PM »
Nice one! Looks perfect for the era! :smiley: :smiley:
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Offline Camthalion

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« Reply #20 on: July 22, 2018, 06:54:03 PM »
neat little jet.  Very nice

Offline andonio64

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« Reply #21 on: July 23, 2018, 05:05:20 PM »
Beautiful model, it makes a great pair with Carl's Gloster Peregrine!

Offline Robomog

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« Reply #22 on: July 24, 2018, 04:06:58 AM »
Sweeeeet  :smiley:


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Offline Brian da Basher

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« Reply #23 on: July 25, 2018, 06:43:09 AM »
What a fantastic finish, Frank!

Looks every bit the business.

Brian da Basher

Offline pigflyer

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Re: Gloster Eagle Owl - Finished
« Reply #24 on: July 25, 2018, 05:35:00 PM »
What a smashing little jet, it really looks the biz.
If I don't plan it, it can't go wrong!

If it's great, I did it. If it's naff, I found it.