F7F Tigercat SOH Project

Blackbird686 said:
Glad to see you are taking the "Tiger Kitty" under your wing, Milton.:greenbo:

BB686:USA-flag:
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BB, well, I have been wanting to do this for a long time but the AT-11 has me held back for now. I will try to work both for a while and get the exterior model done so that someone else can start the interior model and folks can carry on while I am completing the AT-11. Thanks for your interest. :)
 
Milton Shupe said:
Hey thanks everyone. Will be happy to post progress shots as we move forward. The painstaking work now is just getting the fuselage body shape just right before moving on to the canopy and empennage.

Good news on the expansion side is we have a quality modeling volunteer to do the VC and the native FSX work. :applause: I'll let him announce that when the time comes.

Also, just wanted to post the original thread link here in case that falls to the bottom of things:
http://www.sim-outhouse.com/sohforums/showthread.php?t=35280
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Yea!!!! FSX Tigercat! Woohooooo!!!!!:jump:
 
Well, I have invested the last few days when I could getting the basic fuselage shape just right. Lots of manually pushing vertices to perfect the body before proceeding. Next up is the canopy and tail section.
 
Watching a master at work is just awe inspiring. Thank you for letting us look over your shoulder, so to speak. :kilroy:
 
Coming along nicely. I really appreciate the time invested into these works of art. I recently installed Milton's Beech D-18 that had been converted to FSX. It's another work of art and an absolute joy to fly.

Keep up the good work!
 
Milton,....I have a couple of questions: How does one...such as you,....take the given actual dimensions of the real aircraft and then translate/draft them down to exact scale the aircraft you're designing?
-What program do you use to 'downscale' without loosing the actual dimensions?
-Is there a bit of 'trial and error' when reconstructing?
-When do you know the aircraft you're designing is 'spot on' in scale proportion and realism?
-Are there times where you have to fudge certain parts of the fuselage (let's say) since there's no given dimension information given? In other words,...sometimes you might have to use the 'eyeball' method in order to get the aircraft correct.


 
Since this is a simulator aircraft, it uses real world dimensions as opposed to a scale aircraft such as a 1:48 or some such. Milton can probably give a good dissertation on how he makes measurements off of the various drawings to translate into the three dimensional portions of the model. Even very small divergences can make the shape look wrong! A real art!

Cheers: T
 
brad kaste said:
Milton,....I have a couple of questions: How does one...such as you,....take the given actual dimensions of the real aircraft and then translate/draft them down to exact scale the aircraft you're designing?

Brad, see attachment for an example 3-view drawing with dimensions.

Tom has it right. We model to real world dimensions.

Once you have proper 3-views (unlike the attached), you set the views up all scaled to the same L,W,H per inch/meter/pixel.

Then in the design program, (I use gmax) you setup a calibration box the exact dimensions of the aircraft (L,W,H). Once done, you apply mapping and place the 3-views on the sides of the calibration box. Once done, you have 3-views of the aircraft in real world dimensions.

-What program do you use to 'downscale' without loosing the actual dimensions? N/A

-Is there a bit of 'trial and error' when reconstructing? N/A

-When do you know the aircraft you're designing is 'spot on' in scale proportion and realism? The model is built to match the 3-views that are to real world dimensions. Spot on is too precise unless you have dimensions of every part on the aircraft; no one goes to that extent to my knowledge. 99% of the parts are built to the 3-views, or are "proportioned" in the VC by sight and verified in all angles against other things with regard to positioning, size, shape (somewhat of an an art). Unless you have the real aircraft at your fingertips, you do not have a lot of options available to you.

-Are there times where you have to fudge certain parts of the fuselage (let's say) since there's no given dimension information given? In other words,...sometimes you might have to use the 'eyeball' method in order to get the aircraft correct. Yes, as described previously.
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Unfortunately, the eyeball method is very important as is the artistic value applied since few have the luxury of the real aircraft available to them. That is why I require so many reference pictures before I start a project. You can never have enough to substitute for being able to lay hands on or to measure,

Hope this answers the questions.
 
Progress for the evening is getting the basic horizontal stabilizers shaped and built. Tweaking to come later afterwhich the elevators and trim tabs are modeled.
 
Well, thank you Gentlemen. :wiggle:

I hope to have the wings done this week and be working on the main gear and nacelles over the weekend.

EDIT: Well, good progress on the wings tonight.
 
Just like the A-26, it's soo exciting to see something great take shape. It looks spectacular so far, and this is just the tiny tip of a great iceberg! :ernae:
 
Never seen one in the NZ .. but many years ago , we had a series of Books 'Purnel,s History of WWII , this i based the types in the Pacific that would kick butt and win a War ... Korean maybe
.. Superb Model Build :salute:
 
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