ES-11D Cat's Eye

[tiluchi]

Hello there... Im back, but this time not with another star wars model. This time i'll give you my first Robotech(Macross) model.
I got this beauty from its creator and our forum friend Thunderchild...
So... I decided to stray this time only from my dearest Star Wars models and build this one as a shown of my appreciation for trusting me with his work.

For those who do not recognize this ship by the name or image, it belongs to the series of Robotech(Macross) in which makes its appearance only a couple of times throughout the series. It is a two-seater reconnaissance spaceplane. It has no weapons but is equipped with a radome (radar) atop the craft and also was designed for operations in two types of environment, with atmosphere and space.

Ok...on the following days i'll be posting the progress photos of the build. Wish me luck... :thumb:

 

[Rogerio Silva]

GOOD LUCK! Already subscribed. A model from ThunderChild is ALWAYS worth it...

 

[zathros]

Looks like an AWACS type aircraft. Very interesting! .

 

[tiluchi]

Thanks Rogerio and zathros... and yep..its like an AWACS type.
Well starting with the inner structure...
I started by making this pieces thicker... paper only just won't do it, so i glue them to a piece of cardstock... This pieces assembled in the right order will provide the model with its respective shape.



Once we got everything ready its time to put them together. The piece that forms the wings support was reinforced with cardboard. This will provide more strenght to the piece. Just to be sure.
At the time to assemble all... there's no need to use glue for now. Specially in the modules that will support the wings. Later, they will need to be removed and adjust.



So far so good.... now I can see and aprox. size for this model. Now its time to start working on the fuselage.

:thumb:

 

[ASC Mclaren]

Your off to a good start! I'll be watching this build with interest, as Robotech is one of my favorites.

 

[tiluchi]

The wrapping pieces.... the fuselage. Starting from the tail. I cuted off all the original tabs of the pieces, thus to put inner tabs and eliminate the overlapping resulting in a smoother surface.
It takes more time and effort... and sometimes it just annoys the #@%& out of me but I can't argue with the result.

And here is the tail...already placed... It doesn't need to be glued in place either... the wings structure holds them in position.
Just remove the wings structure.... place the tail fuselage, make sure that fits perfectly, and then place the structural pieces back in position and that's all.



Now lets do the other end.... starting from the nose and the cockpit section... then the "glass" domes as well... everything with inner tabs.



The body is starting to take shape... i'll continue with the body and maybe I'll paint the domes in a darker color... and perhaps do something to make them look more glossy.

 

[zathros]

The light weight construction method you are using makes me think that with properly shaped airfoils and a properly located center of gravity, you could have a nice glider, though personally, I'd brake the arm of anyone who tried to toss it!

 

[tiluchi]

Hahahaha... ditto!

 

[tiluchi]

Well... at this point I could succesfully get both canopys at the right shape using clear plastic. And they look so nice that i just couldnt paint them black. So i'm thinking to go all the way with this... And do the whole interior of the cockpits. So i will tamper a little bit with the original design.
Here I started by printing another set of pieces of the fuselage cabin section... painting them black and then placing them on the inside of the model.
This should help to conceil any imperfection that may appear later.


I was looking for something that i can use as a base start for the interior of the cockpit and after a little search into my files I struck gold. I found some accesories patterns for the Varitech VF-1 models that i downloaded some time ago.
This patterns, designed by Gettr1 and Janx, contains pieces for specific details modifications for the Varitechs VF-1 by Sunichi Makino. Among this details there are pieces for the interior of the Varitechs... And for my surprise the scale is practicly the same.
After making one, to test the size, and place it in its position the proportions was just about right. So I modificated some pieces to fit and cover each part of the cockpits. Floors, sides and back panels.
First, the operators cockpit.



Then its time to do the interior details.... the console panel and the seat. And also I improvised a back panel... this panel will go behind the seat closing and separating one cockpit from the other.



All this work requires a lot of handling of this section of the model. So, its a good idea to keep your hands clean.

I'll keep working on this details...

 

[tiluchi]

Well... here is a little progress on the cat's eye.
In my files i could find something extra to add here. And that's the crew.The operator and the pilot.




Everything fits nicely so its time to close this section. So first i glue the canopy in its place, then introduce the operator's console, then the seat and finally the back panel to close the operator's cockpit.



Next.... the pilot's cockpit. Same procedure. Once everything is in its place. I glued the back panel and this section is done.



And the final product is a well detailed fornt section.



Here you can see better the back panel of each cockpit.



Now is time to complete the main fuselage. Adding the rest of the pieces and then attaching this to the tail section. In the whole process I didn't have to glue the fuselage pieces to the inner structure.
But... Due to the additions to the cockpit section I did have to cut off some of the inner structure. Just the part that doesn't fit anymore. Once that's done, this remains.




Nice and clean....

 

[johanvanacker]

I have only one word for this: WOW!

 

[Rogerio Silva]

Absolutely fantastic, tiluchi! Did you "thermaform" the cockpit with common bottle plastic?

 

[tiluchi]

Hehehe...thanks johanvanacker.
And Rogerio I don't use the thermaform thecnique (at least not for now). I don't have the skills yet hehehe, so for this I just do the paper canopy and then i try to match the piece to a surface in the bottle. In this case the pieces matched the irregular shape at the lower part of the plastic bottles. So is just matter of cut and bend the plastic pieces a little bit, and that's it.
The process is much faster and less complicated. It also requires a little bit of luck too, hehehehe.

Saludos

 

[Rogerio Silva]

I see. Gracias, muchacho = Thanks, man!

 

[tiluchi]

Here are the fuselage air intakes. Just two modules, very simple to do. They have some detail in the rear.



These are the engines htat goes mounted on the wings. They have plenty of detail. So they require some work and patience. First comes the inner structure on wich I added some reinforcements on each corner. This will help the structure and the wrapping pieces to hold better.



When all is ready, introduce the structure into the cover pieces. Before gluing everything , make sure that the hole where the wing support goes through is aligned and everithing is ok and straight.
Once this is checked proceed to close the module.



Well this is all for today. I'll be back soon with more.
Thanks for following....

 

[Cforrest900]

Is this downloadable here?
Looks great. What did you use for the glass in the cockpits?

 

[zathros]

Thunderchild, beautiful design!
Tiluchi, you have knocked this out of the ball park!!

 

[Rogerio Silva]

It's really cool, tiluchi. I'm following with great interest. GOOD JOB!

 

[tiluchi]

Thanks guys... there is a little bit more to see... so stay tuned. The end is near.

Is this downloadable here?
Looks great. What did you use for the glass in the cockpits?

And the model is not available to download here. It's copyright protected... :twisted:

The glass for the cockpits are made with pieces of plastic bottles. I made a short explaination of the process just a couple of posts back from yours if you are interested.

 

[tiluchi]

Ok...today this thing will have its wings. And here they are. This pieces doesnt come with tabs to attacht them to the fuselage, and i forget to make some hehehe. But they fit nicely on the model and can be glued by contact. And the wing reinforcement will provide the support. So no problem.

The wings assembly is very simple, just needs a little bit of patience.



Once they're done, the engines can be installed in its final position. Then there is a detail that goes on the belly where the wings connect with the body. This detail will hide this "connection" and the whole thing will look cleaner.



And now... to work on the "radome"