Project Firefly. (Or "Why We Can't Have Nice Stuff")

[Rob1970]

Time for more tanker-on-tank cruelty!!


We've got hole!


And it's a properly beefed up hole!


All the edges properly angled, for her pleasure...


The new engine deck minus the frontal deckotomy fits perfectly. After I took a bit off the last deck plate.


And yes, I removed the hatch from the intake. Because I might make the hinges working. Why? Because I can? Also an option; actually making the rear portion of the new deck hinge. I have some tiny doll-house hinges in the mail. So that might happen...

To Be Continued...
TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Patient report #11. Patient is stable after a succesfull arsectomy on the rear quadrant. Patient is resting comfortably awaiting a full graft of a new Gluteus Metalicus.



No complications are expected, possible side effect may occur like needing a new toolbox fitted or having the welds redone.

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Patient report #12. After a lengthy procedure Patient is stable after a succesfull graft of a new Gluteus Metalicus. Patient is recovering and awaiting minor cosmetic surgery to aforementioned Gluteus to add some edges. And possibly mudflaps... ;D



In other news... donor parts from Forgebear still lost in postal limbo... >:<

To Be Continued.

TTFN,
Rob

[SoCalBobS]

Rob, I've been making hinges by drilling a hole in the hatch part with a #72 or thinner drill bit in a pin vise, and corresponding holes in the surrounding deck. I use thin copper armature wire through the holes. Yes they're visible, but not very, and are fun to see opened and closed.

[Rob1970]

Good news; the hinges I ordered for making the engine deck hatch workable (the large on, not the to the air filter/intake) arrived!!


Oh, and FYI; that's a 5mm grid...

Bad news; using them will either drive me insane, or blind.
Jokes on them tho... I'm already not quite right innna head...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Engineering Brain; "So, you got that Engine Deck from Woz, for the Firefly eh? And, happy with it?"

Mechanic Brain; "Oh hell yeah! It slots right in, no fuss, no muss. I mean... it drops right in. After I shortened it at the front... But yeah, then it should drop right in!"

Engineering Brain; "...and that's why you cut off the air filter hatch, and are making the hinges work..? Because it "drops right in", right?"

Mechanic Brain; "Uhm... yeah well... it's nice, innit? No good having a part with hinges if the hinges don't work? I mean, that's why you have hinges. So stuff... uhm... hinges. But then it drops right in!"

Engineering Brain; "And the rear part of the deck... is also getting hinges... because..."

Mechanic Brain; "..because that's handy, innit? When you wanna do stuff... like feed the smoker. Check the voltage alarm.... uhm... do stuff... But yeah, it should drop right in after that gets hinges... oh bugrit... I've done it again, haven't I?"

Engineering Brain; "Yes. Yes you have..."


Completely rebuild... It's what I do... The only reason I am using the white part is because I can't be arsed to make a negative mold to vacuform a new one... I know, I'm a slacker...


And yes, when it's installed the rear part will hinge up...


The hinges for the rear deck I installed by sandwiching them between layers of 0.5mm ABS sheet. Same was done with the front part. First I planned to keep Woz's part and just carve out space to glue the hinges in, but the Shapeways nylon is a bitch to machine...

It's almost ready to go into the gaping hole in the back of the Firefly. Just needs some fitting, some nuts and handles. The hole of the airfilter hatch will get a metal grid on the inside and a couple of stops with magnets to prop it open at the right angle. And the sharp-eyed readers will notice the lack of filler caps...


Well, working on that...

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Barmonkey]

Nice work thus far!

May I ask what material you are using to make the mold for the filler caps?

[Rob1970]

Nice work thus far!

May I ask what material you are using to make the mold for the filler caps?

Good question! Wish I knew... actually. Bought it aaaages ago and now I had to Google it with an image search; Hinodewashi Oyumaru

https://www.amazon.com/Hinodewashi-Oyumaru-monochromatic-OO-250C-pieces/dp/B00GXUZSZI/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1627590607&sr=8-1&srs=9132978011

It's amazing stuff. Little block, you put them in boiling water and press them on whatever you want to copy. I usually make two pieces. A thin (but not too thin) sheet to press on the part I want to copy and get all the details, and a bigger lump to give the mold a little more mass. Wait until cooled, and if you are crafty like me, add a bit of structure like a Lego block to make the mold a little more stiff. Works with resin (use a mold release), Green Stuff or Milliput. Just make sure the resin is cold-casting and doesn't heat up while it sets.

Very nice to copy small details (or big ones if you buy enough of those packets) quickly and cheaply. The stuff is reusable, just pop it back in hot water.

TTFN,
Rob

[Barmonkey]

Cool thanks! I have been looking for something to make molds out of rather than clay or the expensive and short shelf life silicon mold products.

[Rob1970]

Cool thanks! I have been looking for something to make molds out of rather than clay or the expensive and short shelf life silicon mold products.

Another option is ComposiMold. I have a small amount of that and it is also reusable. https://composimoldstore.com

[Barmonkey]

I have some of the ComposiMold, which is likely over ten years old now. I think it was a good option and had good results with it. You can only get a few casts before the quality/detail starts to deteriorate. I need to dig that stuff out and see if it is still any good after all these years.

I think the product you are using would be better for what I have in mind. Which would be making a mold from a detail that is still attached to the hull for instance.

[Rob1970]

Today was a first, ya know? Never -ever- worked with Milliput. And I've been messing about with models since I was about... 9ish? Always used cheap putty...


But I must say, it works very nice. Yesterday I filled the little molds I made of the filler cap with some clear resin (which I "liberated" from SWMBO's hobby stash...) and this morning I popped out the clear parts, and filled the molds again with Basic Milliput. Now all drying on my little USB decal-water-warmer/heatplate thingy.

Still waiting for my parts from Forgebear. Still stuck at customs. Me still grumpy about that...
But that didn't stop me from attacking my Firefly turret!!!


First job; fix the bottom of the commander's turret so I can reuse the posts for the barrel lifter. And while I'm in there I might as well rip out that turret ventilator at the back. That needs to go anyway...


Might have overshot just a teeensy bit with the dremel bit while cutting out the vent. But my dad always said; "Big mistakes are easier to fix, 'cause you got more room to move..."
Tomorrow there will be cleanup of the big hole, and after that it's waiting for the new two-part commander's hatch.


So, onwards with the engine deck. Nuts are on, and the hinges now look the part. Still looking for suitable material for the metal grating under the air intake hatch, and I've been eying a stainless steel colander the missus "rarely" uses...


My therapist told me I needed to get a handle on things. This is the last picture I sent her before she blocked me. Weird...

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

...First job; fix the bottom of the commander's turret so I can reuse the posts for the barrel lifter...

Remember that? That was yesterday... keep that in mind...

Anyway; good news!!! The stuff from Forgebear arrived!!! Commander's hatch, new 30cal for the hull of the Sherman 105mm and metal front and rear lights for the 105 and the Firefly.


So I could get on with cleaning off the rest of the old turret, clean up the edges and fill up the hole of the obsolete vent. And that came out nice. The metal 2-piece commander's hatch drops in nicely...


With some fettling, guestimating and crossing off fingers I started working on the new mantlet. Woz's stuff is nice, but I would have loved some instructions. Found a picture of Woz's work, and it gave me some pointers. A little edge added to the 3D printed part made it snug at the top...


Some crossing of fingers and holding of breath, a little courage and a saw gave me the part for the bottom fixing.


Once fixed with 2-component CA glue it's ready to go into the hull. It works with the inner piece from Heng Long to affix the BB section to the barrel and mantlet.


And yeah, the front shield of the mantlet needs drillin out to accept the barrel and the two... flaps? removed. The hole for the barrel on the inner mantlet needs to be widened too...


...just like the real thing! That kinda tickled me... But when that's done it all fits together pretty nicely and looks the part. The new mantlet is shorter from front to back than the original Heng Long mantlet, and that moves the whole inner set-up including BB mechanism back about 5.8mm

How I know that so precisely? I direct you to the qoute at the top of this post. I'll wait for you to come back here...


Those posts for the gun lifter I so carefully preserved? They needed to move. Backwards. About 5.8mm... And the posts for the BB feeder need to move as well... Same 5.8mm...

I've done the posts for the lifter, and then the posts for the feeder. But not today. Now I need a drink...

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[RichJohnson]

Coming along nicely. So many options to build shermans from the few that are on the market.
I would suggest, when you near completion of the hull use some putty in a tube and build a weld bead up in the armor gaps on the hull. For some stupid reason Henglong molded grooves into the hull rather than armor weld beads. I find it quite ghastly. I filled on in with liquid styrene my made up and put in a syringe.

[Rob1970]

Coming along nicely. So many options to build shermans from the few that are on the market.
I would suggest, when you near completion of the hull use some putty in a tube and build a weld bead up in the armor gaps on the hull. For some stupid reason Henglong molded grooves into the hull rather than armor weld beads. I find it quite ghastly. I filled on in with liquid styrene my made up and put in a syringe.

Thanks for the compliment. Rich. As for the welds; I was already planning on dealing with them, and probably the way you suggested. Altho with ABS Goo instead of styrene. Another option I will try is my 3D pen. I've got ABS filament for that one, and that might work too. Will do a test and see if that works.

But onwards.... stupid life, keeping me away from building... Meh...
Got some work done today tho, most importantly...


... a loader's hatch! I didn't like reusing the old hatch's hinge, and because I will have to move the BB loader, I needed to close that hole anyway (for now). So I scratchbuild a complete new one, with hinges...


Working hinges! Pretty chuffed how those came out. When I've moved the BB loader, I will figure out where to cut the new hole. The connector for the IR gizmo will probably move to the commander's hatch.


I rebuild the bullit splash guard for the commander's hatch, which was damaged beyond repair when I removed the old hatch.


Now working on the splash guard for the loader's hatch, which needs a little time and a lot of clamping. But I have the time...

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Yeah...


... don't ask...


Better...


,... much better...

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Yeah, the workshop has been bustling with activity today...


Get it? Bustling? Bustle...? No..? I'll get my coat...


And as my dad used to say; "If you build a replica or model of something and you have half a chance of making it functional in even the tiniest way, like a hinge actually hinging or a box actually being a functional box; do it. If nothing else it will give you practice..."


Clever things were done with magnets, so I don't loose the lid at the first hill I take...

Oh SNAP!!

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Well, I couldn't sleep, so I decided to tackle the applique armour on the turret. Three layers of 0.5mm ABS sheet laminated and clamped. And held by hand where clamps couldn't go. That'll keep ya busy...


When the armour was complete (maybe some sanding and putty later) I decided it was time for a mid-operation beauty shot. Just to see where it was going. And I like it...


...well. Almost all of it. I mean, the amount of available gun depression elevated my spirit...


...while the amount of available gun elevation was kinda... depressing?


Already hacked all I could off the bottom of the turret. Now it all depends on how brave I am hacking more off the actually BB mechanism. But not before I add some structural supports. I'm not a fool! (Well, that's actually debatable...)

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Now, just as a starter...



And with that out of the way, onwards with gunsmithing 101!!!

Well, it's a BB gun... but still... large spring under high tension. Not to be messed with. Missing eyes and whatnot...


Two bits of 35x35 3mm thick aluminium angle formed into a bracket with the appropriate cut-outs...


...will beef up the end of the BB unit...


...attached with M3 screws drilled and tapped right through the aluminium and the nylon, and one M4 tapped straight into the back. That one ended up in the middle of the spring to stop it popping out...


...so I can shave as much as possible off the breach. All in order to get Max Elevation!!!

Success!!! I now have the max elevation the elevation unit will allow before the clutch kicks in! So chuffed.

To Be Continued...

TTFN,
Rob

[Rob1970]

Small update. Not much work was done besides some fine-tuning of the new breach of the BB-gun, so I could clear the lifting mechanism better and have a smoother action. But I spent the major part of today bringing this lot away for a nice load of cash. How nice? About 5 tanks worth...



Already spent a fair wad of it with Dave at Forgebear getting another Sherman lower hull, gearbox, duckbill threads and other stuff for the Firefly and the 105mm Sherman. Both will be runners...

TTFN,
Rob