Amazing work Dave . Looking forward to seeing the Shuttle take shape.
Best Regards, Rex
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Today my wife and I drove the 1 1/2 hour trip from Cody to Billings and the FedEx office at the airport. The three boxes of 1/72 scale diecast steel model B-17s and their own packaging came to 78 pounds, total. Each airplane individually only weighs 2.25 pounds, so I guess a lot of the weight was in the boxing and packaging. Hopefully they will arrive in Washington, DC without any damage. They are scheduled to depart by air tonight from Billings, and arrive on Wednesday. Then the NASM staff can get acquainted with them and I hope have no problems practicing mounting them onto the threaded 8-32 rods. They'll eventually use a similar technique to attach all the bombers in the combat box formation in the gallery. That will probably be several months away, to be sure. The long threaded rods will come down from the ceiling at various lengths and distances from each other to simulate being in formation. The rods themselves will be painted black so they won't show much in the display.
My 1/32 scale plastic P-51 Mustang III flown by a famous Polish ace with the RAF in WWII is also supposed to arrive in Washington on Wednesday. I'll keep my fingers crossed that Ace Ventura didn't handle the deliveries and they will arrive in good shape!
I'm still awaiting approval to ship the little 1/32 scale Me-163 Komet model that will also be on display in the same gallery in a small clear case.
Once that one is sent in, the big job is repurposing a 100 pound 1:15 scale model of the Shuttle Orbiter for a display in a different gallery.
Davegee
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Thanks Dave, Aros noodled a way to post it like an attachment, so simply revisit the same post and 'click' on the PDF.
It will open like any normal attachment and can be downloaded from that point if you wish.
You will need Adobe PDF Reader (SEE Link Above) as a minimum to view it and if you have Adobe PDF Maker, then it's a no brainer.
Any problems, let me know.
Best, SteveLeave a comment:
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Yes, it would. Especially since closeby at Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles airport is the actual Shuttle Discovery which carried the Hubble into orbit in 1990! We haven't decided yet exactly which shuttle to replicate with this large model, or the mission, but my vote would be for Discovery and Hubble!
I didn't quite follow how to get a copy of all the work you did on your incredible Corsair build. Could you let me know by PM or responding to this thread? I definitely want to have a copy of all the work you put into it! Once again, a Hearty Congratulations on this latest project!!
DavegeeLeave a comment:
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I shipped out the Mustang III via UPS on Friday. It should be in Washington, DC area next Wednesday and then eventually installed in the new WWII gallery when they are ready for it. The Me-163 Komet is awaiting approval from the staff at the NASM and then I hope to ship it like I did the Mustang III next week.
On Monday, my wife and I are doing our normal longterm shopping run in Billings which is about an hour and a half away from where we live. They have all the big box stores that we don't have in our little town of Cody, WY. Plus, they don't have a sales tax, so that is sweet!
I modified 15 diecast 1/72 scale B-17G bombers for a new exhibit that will be in the transformed WWII gallery probably next year. We boxed them up and will drive them to the FedEx facility at the airport on Monday.
The bombers are to show a "combat box" display of 12 bombers in tight formation as they flew during WWII in combat. They will be arranged in "threes" at various horizontal and vertical intervals from each other to simulate how they massed defensive firepower from the gunners against German fighters on missions. These formations also kept the airplanes very tight to try and put more bombs on target than if they were strung out, not to mention would increase risks to individual bombers if they strayed out of place in the formation.
I had to come up with a way of hanging all these models in formation and be absolutely sure none could fall down on visitors' heads viewing the gallery! What I came up with eventually was a one inch long threaded aluminum pin called a binding post mainly used to secure frames of windows. The interior thread is 8-32 so I was able to drill through each bomber with my drill press with each plane mounted in a special jig that I built at the exact center of gravity to insert the pin from the bottom of the airplane. Turns out this CG was right where the ball turret was located, so I removed it temporarily, inserted the pin and glued the pin in place with Hysol glue. Then I reattached the ball turret, covering everything up. The binding post sticks up through the top of the fuselage barely and can be screwed onto a long steel rod from the ceiling so that each airplane is securely mounted on the rods for the display. I'm pretty sure this method is virtually foolproof and should a model get damaged somehow and need replacement someday, we have three spares ready to go into action. Going through the CG of these steel models which each weigh 2.25 pounds, will ensure them to be in a level attitude as they would have been on the mission. Each plane should be exactly level with none tilted up or down slightly and will be positioned facing straight ahead in the tight combat box formation.
Still a lot of work to do, the biggest project for me is repurposing a 1:15 scale fiberglass model of the Space Shuttle that will be suspended upside down from the ceiling with the cargo bay doors open showing the payload inside. Not decided yet what that will be, maybe a model of the Hubble Space Telescope, something like that.
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I finished two of my projects for the NASM last week, being 1/32 scale models of a German Me-163 Komet and an RAF P-51 Mustang III flown by a famous Polish ace in WWII. Both great models, the Komet was made by Meng, and the P-51 by Trumpeter. Some of the tiny parts were really a pain with sometimes flying off my table with the tweezers onto the floor, where many times they were never found again. I did buy two kits of each, just to have extra spare parts which I did use a few of.
These models will eventually go into the WWII gallery displayed in small plexiglass covers as that project moves along. They'll let me know when they want me to ship them.
I'll attach a few pics of each. I apologize for the poor picture quality. We have some gawdawful lighting in my workshop!
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I totally agree. And I have really been getting into the history of this particular airplane and its Polish Pilot, Eugeniusz Horbaczewskiwhich I believe is pronounced: oo-GEN-oosh HOR-ba-CHEF-sky. from Polish. He was a remarkable man, RAF squadron leader, and fighter pilot. One one sortie over France, one of his squadron mates was shot down and wounded. He landed his plane nearby on a hastily built air strip by the USAAF, and went out by jeep and then by foot to find his comrade. He eventually found him and helped him get back to his airplane. In order to pull this off, he had his wounded friend sit in the only seat there was, and Horbaczewsky sat in his lap and flew the plane back to base in England. Fortunately, Horbaczewsky was a fairly small man, so somehow they made it work. On a later mission, they got into a huge dogfight with a bunch of German fighters over France. When the melee ended, their leader was no where to be found. They eventually flew back to base, brokenhearted. Not until 1947, over two years after the war in Europe ended did someone find the mangled wreckage with its pilot still inside. No one knows for sure how he met his end, whether he was jumped by an elite German pilot, or what.
I did not make the decision at all in making this airplane. This was a decision of the NASM staff, and one I wholeheartedly agree with. I am building the 1/32 scale Trumpeter plastic kit, a totally awesome model, but feel I get to know this lost airman who did so much to help win the air war in Europe during WWII.
If they ever come up with a decent Mustang III with the Malcolm Hood, I will definitely snap one up and paint up this airplane in his honor.
Davegee
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DG, your livery of the Mustang III is why I have been clamoring for a P-51B with the Malcolm Hood for so long. The RAF Mustang !!! is a beautiful airframe IMHO. Looking forward to future updates. Best, LBLeave a comment:
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Davegee.
Interesting subjects. I will be watching your progress.
Best Regards, RexLeave a comment:
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My big project arrived by truck last Friday. It is an 8 foot long 1:15 scale fiberglass and carbon fiber model of the Space Shuttle Orbiter. I think it was probably built by professional model makers at North American Rockwell almost 50 years ago. Back then, these big aerospace companies had their own model makers to use at sales meetings and stuff like that. The Johnson Space Center in Houston has had this model for decades, and it was selected by the NASM in Washington, DC to be a part of a new space exhibit that I am a small part of.
At some point, they started to remove the finish and it looks a little rough but is very solid and ready for modifications to eventually suspend it from the ceiling from steel cables. The payload bays will be open and I will build a scale model of Hubble Space Telescope, released by Discovery on April 24, 1990, mission STS-31.
Should be a good challenge. Even with its great size, it is hollow and I estimate the entire all-up weight will be only about 70 pounds or so.
I'll attach a quick pic of me standing next to the orbiter in my shop in Wyoming.
Cheers
Davegee
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I had two more models, one was a Soviet SAM battery as was used in Viet Nam war, and a Mc-130U, but they were both canceled. I don't know why they dropped the missile battery model, but the MC-130U in the scale they wanted was from an old discontinued kit, probably very unlikely to get one from a collector.
Here's three pics. One shows my workshop where all this work will be going on. The other is the rocket engine in 1/32 scale for the Me-163B. Note the small size next to a pencil. You won't see this engine while on display, though. It will be configured for landing with all the hatches closed. This is a MENG kit from Hong Kong. Exquisite detail and fit. The third drawing is the Mustang III flown by a famous Polish ace with the RAF. Of course for where this and the Mustang III (also in 1/32 scale) are going, it is going to have to be absolutely perfect, or as close to perfection that I can do!
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Projects underway for NASM transformation project in Washington, DC
Hi All: I had a couple of requests from folks who use Hobbysquawk a lot like I do to discuss some projects that I am doing that are a little different in nature.
For those who have been to the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC on the National Mall before, you may or may not beware that since 2019 there has been a total transformation project going on. Most everything was removed or moved elsewhere outside the museum while this project is going on except for a few things like the Wright Flyer and the Spirit of St. Louis and some things like that.
I have been doing work with the NASM since 1994 and was contacted to bid on a number of projects that they need done. I had my choice of which ones I was interested in and even capable of doing (some are HUGE rocket pieces that are too large for me to have the room to do). But I did select four projects to do that I have just begun.
They are: 1) A 1/32 plastic scale model of a Me-163B rocket powered airplane
2) A 1/32 scale plastic model of a RAF Mustang III, flown by a famous Polish ace with the RAF.
3) Twelve (12) 1/72nd scale models of B-17Gs suspended from the ceiling by wires to mimic what the "combat box" formations were used during WWII to maximize fire power against enemy aircraft and make bomb runs more accurate by tightening up the formation.
4) Restore and repurpose a very large (4 foot wingspan and 8 feet long) 1:15 scale fiberglass space shuttle model that has been in the possession of NASA Johnson Space Center in Houston for many years.
The model will be modified by cutting out the top to make payload bay doors, and a scale interior with the Hubble Space Telescope inside. The model will be made to look like
shuttle Discovery and the mission where it released the Hubble telescope into Earth orbit. In addition, I have to beef it up inside so that it can be suspended by a steel cable from the ceiling and appear "upside down" from the perspective of the viewer on the ground to show all the details therein. I haven't been sent that replica yet, but that will be the most challenging work of the things I am doing.
Anyway, for those who might like to follow along with updates, I'll supply them here with photos on a regular basis as work continues. This work project will be lasting at least a year or more but hoping to meet target dates for completion as they continue to open new galleries as they get completely redone. Before this massive renewal project, major updates to exhibit galleries had not been done since the museum opened on July 1, 1976.
Cheers
Davegee
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