1/18 Ho-229 Project Build ( Retired ) !!

[Crazy Kraut]

Hey Matthew,
I´m not sure you received my last email (got no answer on it). But I want to order a second Horten-Kit.
Hope this is possible.
regards
Sven

[pickelhaube]

Hey Matthew,
I´m not sure you received my last email (got no answer on it). But I want to order a second Horten-Kit.
Hope this is possible.
regards
Sven

Hey Sven,

I thought I did answer it. Tell your buddy he is good to go. Do you need my paypal ?

Matthew

[pickelhaube]

My rotissierie drive motor came in !!!!!

On to plan C.

[pickelhaube]

Plan C is a success !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The motor is supposed to turn 40 pounds but it labors while turning one mould because the weight is uneven.

I have full intentions of using the rotisserie with both moulds.
So I zip tide the mould to the other side of the shaft and it works great !!!!

The contraption spins at 3 RPM and it looks like that speed is perfect.

Hopefully this weekend I will pour a few wings and see if this thing really works.

Man what a big sigh of relief.

The other option would have me spinning these things by hand Lord knows how long that would have taken

[flyboy_fx]

And what is this doing again???

[Jnewboy]

And what is this doing again???

Hes cooking us each a turkey!

[normandy]

Good news Pickel !!!!!!!! I'm ready, can't wait to build this kit.

[pickelhaube]

And what is this doing again???

Try to keep up.

The contraption I have made is for the wing moulds.

I want to pour the wing panels hallow. By putting the wings in this rotisserie it will spin the wing panels to coat the inside of the wings making a hallow pour.

Other wise I will have to turn them by hand.

I have over 20 orders each have 2 wings and I will have to tumble them about 20-30 minutes each.

That is over 40 times I would have had done this times 30 mins.

Yikes..

[pizzaguy]

Here's a good youtube video of what Matt is doing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofzg_Hjukzg called rotocasting.

I used the same method on the EIBF filters for the UH-60. Pretty cool when you get the proper portions. The pieces I made were small enough that I spun my by hand. I used Easyflo 120. Gives you about 2.5 min to pour and 15-30 min to demould.

Matt, Did you get a kit off ebay or scratch build one?
I pass a A-7E Corsair on my way to work and you have inspired my thoughts of building one. The Rotocast would work out great for something like that.

I've been following your thread and you are doing an amazing job.

[flyboy_fx]

I GOTCHA! Sorry.

[gburch]

Plan C is a success !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Congratulations! Projects like this are like a long journey where you know what destination you want to arrive at, and you have a very good idea where some of the landmarks along the way are, but in other parts of the trip, you have no idea how to go forward and no map -- you just have a rough idea of the terrain and the direction you need to go. When you get to spots like that, there are inevitably wrong turns and dead ends. When those unknown areas have high mountains or thick jungles, getting through can be quite challenging.

Believe me, I know . . . I've been hacking and climbing for months and months. But I think I can see my final destination just up ahead . . .

[pickelhaube]

Here's a good youtube video of what Matt is doing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ofzg_Hjukzg called rotocasting.

I used the same method on the EIBF filters for the UH-60. Pretty cool when you get the proper portions. The pieces I made were small enough that I spun my by hand. I used Easyflo 120. Gives you about 2.5 min to pour and 15-30 min to demould.

Matt, Did you get a kit off ebay or scratch build one?
I pass a A-7E Corsair on my way to work and you have inspired my thoughts of building one. The Rotocast would work out great for something like that.

I've been following your thread and you are doing an amazing job.

Thanks for the link Pizza G.

I hope I do not have to tumble the wings end over end.

I made the whole contraption from the ground up except the drive motor that I got off of e-bay.

The contraption is done . Tomorrow I will try it out with resin.

The motor is rated at 40 pounds and all said and done the moulds and their holding boxes weigh in at about 35 pounds.

But rotation should not be too long. The resin I am using gets semi rigid at about 20 mins. They say it sets in 30 minets but I usually give it an hour.

I will be working on the rest of the moulds as the thing is turning.

I could possibly have all of the moulds made this weekend.

If not next week for sure.

Then it is time for production casting !!!!

I will try to post some pics Sat evening.

[tmanthegreat]

Thanks for keeping us posted on your progress. As you are slated to build my model, I'm anxious to see how all this turns out and you're doing quite a fantastic job. Can't wait to see the pictures

[normandy]

It may look something like this..............
.......maybe not in black and white.

[pickelhaube]

Hey Guys,

Great news !!!

Proof of concept !!!

It works just fine. I am using about16 fluid ounces of resin per wing.

That is a lot and the wings are a little bit heavy but hollow. I will try and see if I can cut down on some resin to reduce weight.

I cut out some of the runners in the wing to accommodate the canopy slider and it looks like I will have to put a spar brace in because the weight of the wings. By putting in this brace it will solidify the center section so as to hold the wing dihedral.

[normandy]

Whahoo the 229's got wings. Nice going Pickel.........I'm ready and I've got my work bench all cleared off.

[gburch]

W . O . W !

[aae83]

Holy cow!

[tko211]

Now I know why I am only into custom paint! WOW- looks like a TON of work! Great job Pickel!

[pickelhaube]

Thanks guys,

Not too much work has been done actually.
I have been moving in the WRONG DIRECTION.

First the rotor motor is not quite strong enough to turn if I only have one mould on the turning shaft.
So I made a counter balance out of granite.
Each mould weighs in at 15 pounds.
Well I took the last mould out of it 's holding block and left the granite counter balance in.

I went in side to have a cup of coffee in triumph over the success of my rotor contraption

I came back out after about a half hour and what is that smell ?
I left the motor running with the counter balance in and the motor is jammed under the strain. Nooooooooooooooooooo.

Well it seems to be fine but I may have to order another one just in case.

Secondly , I casted the bottom section that holds everything together.
I have never casted a part that was made out of wood.
I have been casting all of the other parts ( hundreds of moulds ) and have never had a problem with the RTV sticking to the master part.
Well the inside of the bottom section was almost all wood.
I was running out of primer so I did not paint it.
Well brothers that RTV sticks just fine to wood .
I shredded the section trying to get the master out of the mould. One of the copies will have to become the master now.

The third set back was the front shield of the canopy.
After fighting with the mould sticking fiasco I some how knocked the shield frame onto the floor and I discovered this by hearing a crunch on the floor.
I figured it was just a piece of the shredded bottom section
Looking down to my horror was the front shield frame .
Nooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo.

This was a bad weekend.

[flyboy_fx]

You're really not paid enough. You deserve a government bailout more than anyone I know.

Sorry about the mess PH. It's alright, you can do it!!!

[normandy]

Well Pickel, it sounds like you had one hell of a weekend ................
...........just remember the Hortens had plenty of setbacks but nothing you've done on this project has crashed and burned.
Ah, a few out there may say..... what about the mold that flew across the workshop?? I say, It did not crash nor did it burn......... it bounced.

Kidding aside, I just want to Thank You for taking this 229 project on. My favorite aircraft of all time and in 1:18 scale!
Many Thanks,
Normandy.

[gburch]

This was a bad weekend.

I feel your pain . . .

[flyboy_fx]

Hey, at least when things go south with your Ho229... you don't die.

[flayrah]

Oh man, that's gotta hurt. Sorry to hear about the problems.