Jolley Roger

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

Some of the detail bits and bobs I ordered for my Buc are starting to trickle in. The rest of it is scheduled to arrive this Friday, so it looks like my project will begin in earnest this coming weekend. Haven’t decided yet how I will display the wings, folded or opened. 
 
 

I'm still not released from DIY duties by the Admiral 🙄, but I have acquired a few bits to pimp up my Buccaneer when I do get the Green light! 
 
P.E. Cockpit and seatbelts, Canopy masks and metal refuelling nozzle / pitot tube.
 
Just need to check on paint stocks to make sure I have everything I need.

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

A very much loved aircraft type in the SAAF as well, good old British engineering at its best!

https://www.cnn.com/2023/02/17/world/dutch-palmwood-shipwreck-finds-scn/index.html

Sorry for the dolorous progress. Real like has been intruding badly these last days. Partly its self inflicted. I was asked to come back and consult for a couple of engine tests and I (possibly foolishly) agreed. It will keep the wolf a few paces away from the door and doubtless improve sales at Sprue brothers et al. Its also good to hear the howl of an F135 at full throttle again
Anyway, in quiet hours some progress has been made and the outer faces of the walls have been finished


Now I have to turn it around and do it all over again on the inside. Some of the blockwork on the inside of the towers is going to be interesting.. I had planned to take a break at this point but I'm enjoying it too much and playing with engines will provide enough diversion so I'll try to keep going. Its going to be slow though so get comfy and lay in plenty of snacks and adult beverages
Thanks for all the support, likes and comments
Alan
 
 

I'm working along the next wall and round tower. One more round tower and I reach the part of the wall that is partly covered by the hillside so it doesn't get completely covered in brickwork.
Today has been spent playing with ideas for the lighting and mapping the wire runs in the main structure. The upper floor is complicated and I was thinking about adding the cardboard formers before placing the upper floor in place but I think that might cause problems because I think some of the walls have to be covered in blocks before other walls are added. That part of the build is going to be very interesting.
Today more wall building but I also continued shaping the towers and added a filling mix of sanding dust and diluted white glue to the gateway. This now needs to be rubbed back to bring the blockwork back into view but it already looks better. The arch needs more tidying but I will probably wait until the other side is in place so it can be matched.


Thanks for looking in and all the likes and support
To borrow @mtaylor tag line The wood might be patient but the stones are glacial
Sorry Mark
Alan

I'm still moving slowly along with the walls. I've reached the front gate which will be fiddly especially working between the two towers. I've started sanding the completed section of wall; its good for morale seeing the wall clean up. The last section of wall is the highest but the landscape starts to creep in and not all the wall needs to be covered.

Thanks for looking in and the likes
Alan

Having decided to light the castillo  decided I needed to get a sense of how the model was all going to look as a whole and where the lights would go and how many etc. So I built up the cardboard formers for the mian structure. 


This is the first level. Another level will go on top but the lights will need to be installed before the roof is added. There is plenty of room to cut a hole in the floor for wires to run through. Having not done this before I am not sure how many leds will be needed and whether I should try to build some interior walls to separate some of the lights. I will get a handful and experiment. There is quite a bit of time before we get to that part of the build. I have read a lot of lighting builds having problems with light bleed through. I think it could be possible with this if there are chinks in the blocks in the wrong place so I think I might tape all the joints and then spray the interior with black primer.
I placed the main castle in its approximate place on the base and it shows there will be plenty of room to route the lighting wires and also the amount of landscaping that will be needed


The main castle will have the blocks added as a separate module so I can work on that on my usual bench which will be more comfortable especially if summer has arrived by then.
Meanwhile the walls are creeping forward. I am turning the corner at the next round tower onto the next section of wall. I started sanding the first round tower and its taking shape as the edges of the blocks sand away.
Thanks for looking in and all the likes and helpful comments
Alan
 
 
 

Very short update...
 
I'm on a bit of hiatus at the moment, RL is jumping on me in a different way, Granddaughter is probably going to be moving in with us over the winter, we can't see her living in her car over the winter.... So, I'm forced to rearrange some things to clear out the bedroom, (my overflow storage area) In the mean time, my 1/32nd PE Marston Matting arrived today..... Just to give you an idea of how much it takes to do a 15" x 15" base in it here is a photo...

22 packages.... And yes it is accurate Marston Matting (aka M-8 pierced steel planking) it lays exactly the way the real stuff does.... So I'm going to be figuring out how to lay a dirt base for the marston matting to lay over...
My old railroading skills need dusting off....
 
But after I get the room rearranged....
 
Thanks everyone for having the patience to deal with my RL issues... 
 
Onwards...

Well Brothers, probably the last photo spread before I finish the airplane portion of this excursion... Outside on a nice sunny day....
 









Small details left, probably a half days work and I can start in the base setting for it...
They always look better in real sunlight...
 
I've decided in a typical flight line setting marston matting, (which I will have to design and print) 50's Power Cart and the Clarktor tractor and maybe a sandbag wall... I I haven't decided on that for sure yet...
Generally they didn't use revetments like they did in Vietnam, the flight line was a long strip of matting with usually a sandbag wall along one side, on an active flightline all you would usually see is a start cart, a tractor with tow bars and a portable fire extinguisher...
 
Still sorting that out....
 
Anyway, tell me what you think...
 
Onwards! 

Agreed!🙂

Nothing wrong  with us all going  a bit  Phantoom  mad  - its  was probably  the best  plane of its  time  and  sadly missed,   and I think we are all blessed  having our  very own  mister  toom  driver  Ken  - so much respect  (same to  all the other  vets)
 
My show  of respect  taken  by  me  - 
 
OC.

Thank you brothers, it's been a while since I have posted on this, still not stable enough to do any real work but I'm hanging in...
 
Got my final deliveries today.... (just a hint of where I'm going with this)

On the left I think I've acquired the last two Squadron True Details '50's GPU's available on the net... These were the GPU's given to the forward bases where the F-80's F-84's and F-86's flew, have to have one sitting next to her...
 
Bottom Center is the ubiquitous Clarktor Tractor If you were on a USAF airbase anywhere in the world from '43 to '81 you will recognize this... It has towed everything in the Airforce Inventory from F-80's to fully loaded B-50's
 
Top center is a combined package a set of post Korean war GPU & Air Start Cart You boys from Vietnam should be familiar with those particular items....
 
And on the right is the venerable MD-1 Towbar capable of latching on and towing any USAF aircraft... This is the early version that was hand cranked, the later version had electric motors for it's moveable parts...
 
I've also located several 3D files for Marsden Matting... The pressed steel plating used to build runways with since before the start of WWII.. None of them are very accurate but I've also located sufficient source documents to design up my own....
 
I think she would look nice on a proper period flight line....
 
Getting ready for the final push my friends....
 
Thanks for following and all the likes and well wishes...
 
It's greatly appreciated...
 
EG

Those were all closeups, so let's take a broader view of today's work. First, here's the glorious bank of clouds sweeping in with the cold front. Quite a change from the blazing clear sky:
 

Here are a couple shots Mrs. Cathead took of us working in some nice afternoon light; by this point the temperature had dropped so far that the sun felt good rather than brutal:
 

 

Here are two shots of a completed frame being test fit:
 

 

 
Using the diagonal method to check square, this came out to < 1/2" off-square for an 8'x10' frame. Seems acceptable for hill country carpentry.
 
We got a good start on the second frame before dinner time. With a chance of rain overnight as this cold front passes, we cleaned up the workspace and stacked all the pieces well off the ground and under cover. Seems so small like this:
 

Tomorrow I hope we can finish the other frame, putting us on track for erecting the structure this weekend, as Friday will be somewhat busy with other commitments.
 
Not sure that really does the last few days justice, but maybe you get the idea. Will be really fun when I can show photos of this all coming together in 3D. Thanks for following along!
 
EDIT: Meant to add that, at dinner, we rewarded ourselves with 100% on-farm tacos (home-grown and -processed corn tortillas, stuffed with garden beans, peppers, onions, and tomatoes, along with log-grown shiitake mushrooms). OK, I lied, we added grated cheese from a good friend's nearby goat dairy. Also a big pile of fresh sweet corn picked 10 minutes before dinner. Fresh pears and persimmons from our orchard are also abundant right now.