AREA 88: "The Upside Down Bomb" (DC-10-30)

Greg Baker
My first time trying to build an airliner... and already the tail engine has me a bit stumped. How do I glue, putty sand and paint the interior (very visible) seam? Hmmm...

Peter Hardy
I have every faith in the "Mysterious Eastern Guru" in solving any dilemma!

Greg Baker
Does he post on Scalemates? I have soooo many questions...😉

Peter Hardy
Mirror mirror on the wall .....

John Thomas
Cool start

Martin Oostrom
Ask KC, he's got an answer that'll work. He Always has. (Building up expectations and pressure on KC 😄)
My 2 cents: can't you cut of the nacelle from the wing, glue it, putty it, paint it and then slide the engine in? Then put it in the right place? Or "just" replace it with some sanded to shape plastic tubing?

Greg Baker
Hmmm... that's not bad. I already started modifying the engines a bit, so I think what I'll do is place the rear items in place before it gets glued shut. I'll also create a tape mask for the painted fan and shove that down the front so that once the putty, sanding and painting down the tube is done, I'll just be able to pull out the tape with some tweezers.

Then I'll get frustrated that it didn't work... crack it open and do it your way.😉

Martin Oostrom
Paint the fan, cover the front with liquid mask. Might even be easier to do.

Greg Baker
I've never used a liquid mask, but this might be the time to take the plunge. The engines moved up the priority list, so I got rid of the early-style fins, trimmed back and thinned the exhaust cowling and then rummaged through the spares box for something to use as a cone. Luckily I had a couple of bombs off a 1/72 Yak-38 that did the trick. I only had two bombs, but need three cones. Conveniently the bombs are tapered on both ends, so I just needed to trim the fins off one of them.

Greg Baker
The engines are now finished and after a bit of fiddling, the fuselage is buttoned up. Probably the biggest plane I've ever worked on. I was surprised at how long it took to glue even the main parts together.

Greg Baker
After lots of putty, sanding and repeating, there's more to repeat. There's not much of a gap, but I still have a bit of a ghost ridge along the seams. I hope it will go away if I sand it enough.

Spanjaard
really interesting, i will certainly follow this one 🙂

Peter Hardy
Still can't see the "bomb" in the cartoon.

Greg Baker
Well, there are two bombs really... one each attached to the fuselage right where the wings meet. They're probably the very last thing I'll do on this build. Just pop them on with a spot of CA glue.

Greg Baker
This project stalled out while I was waiting for some very small SMD LED lights for the wing tips... then it got bumped out of the rotation by everything else. Luckily it's managed to claw its way back into contention. I had to reopen part of the fuselage and the wings to retro fit the lights. I made a bit of a mash of one of the wingtips by trying to squeeze overly large bulbs into it, but with the tiny LEDs in place I think I was able to scratch in a passable replacement. I won't say which tip...'cause if you can't tell, I win.😉

Martin Oostrom
Waiting for the BOOM!

Matthew A
Just bought some tiny SMD LEDs - I hadn't realized just how tiny they are. Had experimented with lighting a cockpit with fibre optics but this should work better.

Donald Dickson II
You do too damn much at one time. i cant keep up. LOL

Donald Dickson II
we need like a Greg Baker projects page. A list of current running projects with links. Updated at least daily.😉

Matthew A
I've made his wall my main link to sm

Greg Baker
Matthew, the SMD LEDs are VERY tiny. They opened up a whole new world of possibilities for me, including adding wing lights to 1/144 scale models (like my Area 88 C-47 project). I'm also considering using them for headlights on a couple of 1/72 scale cars.

Greg Baker
Heh, Don... I've come to realize that 3 projects on the go is my magic number. There are usually 1-2 that are waiting in the wings (not counting those relegated to the shelf of doom). At the moment I'm working on three 1/144 scale projects, this DC-10 (with two Kfirs to come), my F-100D, and my T-62 vs. Jeep. The Nausicaa Ohm project keeps staring at me with all 14 eyes waiting for me to paint a bunch of plastic plants and finish it off, and my Tintin Arabian Dhow is waiting for me to work up the courage to try something with a sail...

Greg Baker
While I'm at it... the shelf of doom has two 1/72 F-8Es that are starting to twitch and might get revived, a 1/72F74 Tigercat that seems to comfort me in it's half-built state, and a Macross 1/72 Battloid that has unimpressed me repeatedly.

Greg Baker
Well, it's not pretty, but the guts wired up and the blinking lights blink and the four wingtip lights come on... I'll call that a win.

Greg Baker
Just to prove it blinks...

Youtube Video

Nathan Dempsey
Nice Greg!

Matthew A
Blinking marvellous!

Greg Baker
Thanks guys. No pic update, because the last session was basically trying to glue the spaghetti dinner of wires into strategic locations inside the fuselage so that they're not visible. I didn't want people peeking in the window and thinking this was depicting a scene from that film classic Snakes on a Plane!😉

Anyway, it's all glued back together. Now for the putty and sanding!

Erik De Smet
I missed this so far. Greg, the Blinking leds are they alsof smd or An other type?

Greg Baker
No worries Erik, I just revived this project anyway. The blinking red LEDs are just regular 3mm reds. I could've/should've also used SMD LEDs because they're actually a bit oversized, but I ran out. I only had 10, and this project already used 6. I killed two before I figured out how much resistance was needed, and I already used two on my C-47 project. Oh, well. It's not that noticeable... good enough for a comic book project, right?😉

Alec K
You'll have to do an LED tutorial at some point mate 👍

Erik De Smet
I protect my SMD with 100 Ohm on a 5V supply and so far it works.
@Alec : Nikoloas Kouzinis wrote the LED tutorial in the comments of his Sunderland diorama album:
scalemates.com/profi..bums&album=40823
He is an expert, his An-12 project is remarkable too.

Alec K
Thanks for the pointer Erik 👍

Greg Baker
Final wing/tail panel lines scribed and the first blast of putty/sanding complete, so I glued the engines, underwing fins and cockpit windows in place. More putty and sanding to come.

Greg Baker
As promised..l more putty, more sanding....

Greg Baker
DISASTER! Ever get too clever for your own good? I'd been planning to add some clear red/green plastic to the wingtip lighting and I was happy to have a bit of leftover clear red sprue from my son's Hyundai kit. But the green was a challenge until I found a pen cap with just the right shade. Anyway, long story short, while glueing the blank in place, I somehow managed to get one of the LED leads glued to my tweezers unbeknownst to me... and I killed one of the wing lights. There's no wire to work with to replace it either, unless I rip the entire wing apart again.

I tried to soldier on but I ended up killing the red one somehow as well. I was filing down a bit of excess and something must have gotten pulled, 'cause it went dead as well. Strangely, once the second one went down, the comfort of symmetry washed over me and I accepted defeat graciously. I'll still put in the clear plastic, but it won't be lit up as I imagined. Before the red one died, I got the impression that it was a bit of a moot point as there wasn't enough plastic going to be left to make the colour come through anyway.

Greg Baker
Oh well, live and learn. I still have 6 lights on this baby (eight if you count the two in the Kfirs), I suppose it's not worth getting greedy. I still have a B-747, B-767, L-1011, A300B and probably a DC-8-71 to try out plans B through F... although I did say a lot of F tonight... I will admit.😉

Alec K
👍😉

Erik De Smet
Greg, did you use red and green smds? The wires are very delicate , I had the same problem on one of my projects and reopened the wing to fix it. I now use transparant uv hardening glue to protect them.

Peter Hardy
Never been too clever Greg, just half smart! Pity though, woulda bin awesome!

Greg Baker
Erik... no, I didn't use coloured SMDs, but I should have. That's one of the main reasons I decided to let it go. Even if I did tear open the wing once more, I'm not sure I could fix the problem. If I do get coloured SMDs, and attempt such a feat, I run the risk of killing the other tail lights... hmmm... I'll think on this a bit more. I'd hate to disappoint Peter.😉

Greg Baker
let it GO?! LET IT GO!?! NEVER!!!! BWahahahahahah! (rushes to order green/red/white SMD LEDs off eBay...)

I may suffer defeat in the darkness, but there's nothing like the morning sunshine to sober a man up and get him to resume bashing his head against a brick wall... stay tuned.

Martin Oostrom
You never learn do you?
A concrete wall lasts longer than a brick wall. More bang for your buck!
We know you're one of very few who can fix this 👍

Donald Dickson II
I knew you wouldnt give up on this that easy.

Chris Greathouse
Following 🙂

Greg Baker
Heh, thanks guys! When I looked at it again with fresh eyes in the morning, I realized that cutting out a couple of slots on the wing tips would let me retrieve the wires with very little non-repairable damage. All the complicated wiring is far away, hidden in the fuselage, but all I really need is two small wires and a bit of elbow room. Of course, on the first one I fished out one red and two black wires. It was like a real bomb difffusing scene... which one to cut? Of course I picked the wrong one and ended up having to repair one of the rear-facing lights... but it was proof of concept on the repair job... so... good.

Greg Baker
Then I taped the wires to the wings so I didn't lose them and then took a pic with the two Kfirs behind, so we can all remember what we're here for...😉

Greg Baker
Thanks Lode. In a nutshell, the story is about two inverted Kfirs shooting bombs off the underside of a DC-10. Should look good when it's done... let's hope!

Spanjaard
Going very nicely Greg....as expected 🙂

Peter Hardy
The whole concept is original, creative and just plane (sic) awesome. This is why Greg has so many followers.

Greg Baker
Ok gents... my tiny little LEDs finally arrived... and we are back in business! I repaired the damage I caused, so this build can now move forward. Now I'm debating if I should try to remove the large blinking lights from the top/bottom of the fuselage or just leave them be. They kind of bother me because they're much too large for the scale. But to fix it, I have to cut some holes fish out the old lights wire in the new ones and try to patch it up. Any opinions? Anyone want to try and talk me off the ledge? Or give me a shove.😉

Matthew A
Don't think you need to be pushed as you will happily jump

Bart Goesaert
You know you've done worse...

Bart Goesaert
😉

Erik De Smet
Keep the large lights and paint them partially (ring wise) so that they look smaller ?

Bart Goesaert
or sand em in shape, as nog as you don't touch the electronic contacts inside

Donald Dickson II
Are they so out of scale that it is shockingly obvious? If not, leave them.be.

Derek Huggett
Real fuselage lights appear bigger because they are omni-directional (okay, so I am talking cr*p here!). Don't tempt fate! 🙂

Greg Baker
Apparently I already had one foot off the ledge when Matthew showed up...😉

A bit of drilling, cutting, fishing, soldering, glueing, puttying and sanding... and the fuselage lights are on par with the wing tips. It''ll look better in the end, and I've already had to repair so many things on this build, what's one more?

Peter Hardy
Can you fix me breakfast then Greg?

Donald Dickson II
OK, not going to ask about Greg and Peter's inter personal relationship.

Good going with the lights! *whistling, looking towards the corner*

Greg Baker
I leave this thread alone for a few hours, and...

Bart Goesaert
looks like these LED's are even smaller then SMD-LED's, what type are these?

Greg Baker
Well, SMD is surface-mounted diode, which basically just means they flat (and small) LEDs, so SMDs also come in four different sizes (L x W x H):

- 1206 (3.2mm x 1.5 mm x 1.1 mm)
- 0805 (2.0 mm x 1.25 mm x 0.8 mm)
- 0603 (1.6 mm x 0.8 mm x 0.6 mm)
- 0402 (1.0 mm x 0.5 mm x 0.45 mm)

These particular ones are 0402 LEDs. The first ones I bought were the 0603 ones. Luckily they were all pre-soldered to wires, 'cause there's no way I'd be able to do it.

Bart Goesaert
thx

Erik De Smet
I use the 0402 leds too, they are not expensive but very delicate.

Greg Baker
Yep. Quite delicate. The wires holding them together are basically like a strand of hair.

Spanjaard
Amazing job Greg.

Greg Baker
Ok. so the wing tip lights are more or less finished. I sanded everything flush and then I gave them a few coats of metalic grey paint to keep the light from shining through the plastic. Hopefully once I give the whole thing a white primer coat it will all blend together perfectly.

Matthew A
looks amazing

Greg Baker
It's a long way from there yet... 🙂

Greg Baker
Masked and painted the underside grey... but then afterwards it occurred to me that, perhaps I should've painted the whole thing white with paint, not just primer, first. I think I just got excited to be able to do something other than fixing broken wires and sanding... and painting it all white. Oh, well... I think I'll do the wings next.

Donald Dickson II
Sand the primer down and gloss coat it???? LOL

Greg Baker
That thought had occurred to me. It's Tamiya extra fine primer, so it doesn't even require sanding...

Donald Dickson II
Maybe with some 8000 and 12000 just to smooth it out really nicely.

Greg Baker
Got some aluminum paint on the wings. I'll rub it down with some high grit sandpaper as well to make the shine a bit more uniform.

Greg Baker
Bah... I chickened out and painted it white....

Donald Dickson II
Mmm mmm mmm.

Peter Hardy
Complex enough already Greg, don't blame you one little bit!

Daniel Klink
Great performance Greg yet again... 👍 Fantastic idea and implementation with this old Revell kit..
But where do you put this big beast when finished? 🙂

Matthew A
I think we're gonna need a bigger hi-fi

Greg Baker
This one is starting to become a bit of a slide downhill. First I repainted the underside from grey to aluminum, then the front, left side panel of windows fell in and is now rattling around inside the fuselage... then I somehow managed to get a couple of black paint smudges on the white part of the fuselage after I painted the nose... which I also seemed to have managed to make a masking error.

I dunno... I guess I'll try a couple of spot touch ups with some white paint and then go over the whole thing with a coat of future before attempting the red M logo/cheat line. This one is my focus project at the moment, but it feels like the battle is starting to get the best of me.

Matthew A
Oh no

Donald Dickson II
Gotta love it when stuff cascades like that. I feel your pain.

Tim Heimer
Don't we all! Still looking good.

Peter Hardy
Tin tin could fix it!

Matthew A
Don't forget even Tintin put the propeller of the wrong way round the first time [img1]

Greg Baker
Thanks for the encouragement guys. I stepped away from it for a bit and printed off some paper masks for the "M" logo. After seeing it in daylight (but not under direct sunlight!) it's not as bad as I thought. I was able to get rid of the black smudges (and a bit of the white paint) with a bit of thinner on a cotton swab, but with the white primer and a coat of future, it's not terribly noticeable. The windows are still rattling about, but once I was able to win the battle to get it impaled on a clear tube (glue fingerprints and all!) I was happy enough.

Greg Baker
Let's see if my sunshine mood survives the "RED M MASK" portion of the build. That and a couple of decals are all that are standing between me and final victory.

Martin Oostrom
You can do it Greg!!!

Spanjaard
Go Greg!!!!

Greg Baker
Thanks guys! I got half of the masking on relatively easily... now for the other side.

Greg Baker
Ok... red "M" logo (for MacGregor Airlines) and cheat line painted on... I'm calling that a win. Just a a few decals to attempt and maybe a very light grey panel wash and this baby will finally be done!

Slavo Hazucha
I would call it a Mighty win, never masking-taped a 1:144 but I imagine it being a little bit fidgety... 🙂

Matthew A
wow brilliant job (must admit I was a bit worried)

Martin Oostrom
Like John Madden used to say: BOOOM!!

Stephan Ryll
Great work 👍

Alec K
Greg is back 👍

Chris Greathouse
That's one hell of a long masking line...Looks straight and even.... MAJOR congrats to you!

Daniel Klink
Greg back on track👍 fantastic work mate🙂

Spanjaard
I knew you will pull it off. Passed with flying (red) colours!

Peter Hardy
To be honest, I never doubted you Greg. Another one for display! Well done " Oh Perseverent One"!

Greg Baker
Thank you mates. I have to admit, the masking worked better than expected - one of the few such incidents in this build. I just a bit of wide (12mm) Tamiya tape and then carefully cut out the "M" logo from a printout. Then I used some 3mm tape to mark the positive image of the line and then used more Tamiya tape to mask the negative space and then removed the 3mm tape. Spray red paint, pray and peel.😉

Having the masking line straight and clean makes up for the slight black smudges and a bit of silver overspray in a couple of spots. So really, having the windows fall out on me was the major disappointment. But I probably deserved it for trying to glue them in after the fuselage was already in one piece.

Donald Dickson II
Wow! Turned out great!

Greg Baker
Alright guys... I'm spreading my fingers and backing away slowly from this one...

After the masking/painting I was feeling pretty good... for a time.😉

Then, right in the home stretch this build decided to kick me one more time, just for fun. After I got the grey panel line wash on I decided against adding any decals so I glued the clear stand rod into the base and started to finish the last little bit of wiring. But, while I was soldering I must've clipped the wing and the whole model started to go for a tumble. So I reached out to steady it and luckily caught it gently before it went overboard. But, not quite gently enough... because I managed to a) break off the stand rod from the underside of the fuselage and thus break the wires right at the surface of the airframe, and b) clip the edge of the wing of one of the Kfirs with the tip of the soldering iron in the moment of confusion...

Greg Baker
So, after I sat down on the floor and had a little cry, I felt better. I managed to drill a small hole in the fuselage, pop the glued wires back inside, then open up the hole large enough to fish them out and reset the clear stand rod. Then I had to made a couple of very nervy solder connections of some very small wires, with very little give, very close to the plastic fuselage, but I got it done... as for the Kfir wing? Well... there's nothing to be done, so we just agreed not to look each other in the eye.

Greg Baker
Anyway, she's done. I'm happy... and, just because it's hard to get the full lighting experience from the still images, here she is in video - happily blinking away:

Youtube Video

Stephan Ryll
Very nice work Greg 👍

Nathan Dempsey
After all that, it still came out great Greg. An eye catching display for sure! 🙂

Chris Greathouse
Very very cool Greg!!!

Bart Goesaert
Prices are given at the finish, and you reserve an extra one for perseverance.... Splendidly done, and very dynamic scene.

Matthew A
brilliant

Spanjaard
Excellent job Greg!

Tim Heimer
Too Cool!

Martin Oostrom
Great perseverance, great job. And that second hand Kfir is just in need of some maintenance when it gets back to base!

Daniel Klink
Again an absolute amazing and skillful implementation of a cool story 👍
Fantastic greg

Greg Baker
Wow. Thanks for the great feedback and encouragement gentlemen. For a first airliner, I'm pretty happy with the result. There were setbacks, but I'm happy that I didn't lose the plot, despite a few twists and turns. 😄

playtime 222
Nice jet glow! Not too familiar with the source material so... What is going on in this scene?

Greg Baker
Thanks playtime 222 - you can check out the whole backstory on my blog - strobez.ca/wp/index...e-down-bomb-area-88/

Alec K
Turned out very well Greg. This hobby sure is a great opportunity for practice in patience and perseverance😉 👍

bughunter
Greg, was not able recently to follow the huge amount of nice projects here, so now I discovered your upside down work. Great, with all the lights, paint and detail work! But it was a very bad idea by Revell to call a DC-10 a Airbus! Airbus is now 50 years old, so older then this kit.

Chris Greathouse
Thanks for the Manga spread Greg... fun read 🙂

Donald Dickson II
Absolutely freaking awesome! I love it!

Kurt Reichert
I love this hobby, I love scalemates, i love this display too! Awesome Greg!😉

Chris Greathouse
^ same

Slavo Hazucha
It looks superb, I like all your Area 88 style builds a lot, including the cool bases. This one is just great, including the "personal touch" on the Kfir😉

Nils Steyaert
it fought you during the building progress, but you won.
it absolutly looks great, and the lighting really ads extra flair to it 👍.

Greg Baker
Thanks mates. I'm a little overwhelmed by the positive reaction to this build, but it really adds to the feeling of victory. There's more to come though, so stay tuned~

Cortex
amazing, awesome project!.

Clint Mecham
Truly outstanding display!

Bob Hall
Another Gem ! Truly Amazing work ! Bravo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!