June 17 2007 | Succeeding homemade photoetch #7

Now have a look at this :) :)
three weeks in the bloody making, but it really looks bloody good.

Now just think at those last points:
remember to check the bath VERY regularly after the first quarter of hour, because it the stuff eats too much metal, you can start everything all over again!
Once the empty spaces are being eaten, the FeCL3 indeed begins to eat whatever it finds!

Now why did I wrote about doing recto verso printings, hey, because this way you can do some 2 sides printings! etch some letters, do some special stuff, why, simply because it etches on the 2 sides in one time eh...
I have forget to etch a small wheel  with some etched numbers for the Canet gun, so I will explain this later :)

June 17 2007 | Succeeding homemade photoetch #8

Here it is under the sun, enough to do almost all the diorama :)
For those only checking the RSS, i have been adding the full Koktebel SBS in the "Article" page.
I still have one week not being able to work on the diorama, I start aagin next sunday, I can't wait! next up is the hull, the chimney and one of the air entries.

July 02 2007 | The Sokol's hull -rough scratchbuilding #1

Back again for at least 3 weeks before well earned summer vacations ;)
Okay, so my Sokol wasn't so much close to completion despite the photoectching being done. So here we are again.
first, pleae notice that the whole of the hull (at least the 3 meters that will be ion the diorama) will be devided in 2, just like if it was broken in 2 at 1 cm below the gun place.
unfortunately,  it is also at the place where the round windows are -oh well, let's cut through them.
To create the round openings, i used my wife's paper hole maker as it was of a right diameter.  I pre-bent the plastic to the round front of the cabin.
of course i needed to create some cross sections in order for the 2 parts of the cabin being straight. I cut those angled up openings so that nobody can see anything once the gluning is don

July 02 2007 | The Sokol's hull -rough scratchbuilding #12

Here are all the pieces (except one actually) that will finally make up the cabin

July 02 2007 | The Sokol's hull -rough scratchbuilding #3

Here are the 2 parts of the hull once glued -notice that the scratchbuilding is really rough at this stage and a lot of mastic will be needed!
The reason why there are those 2 parts will become clearer afterwards

July 02 2007 | The Sokol's hull -rough scratchbuilding #4

Here's the chimney and the plate of armour which is located behind the cabin, even more rough scratchbuilding!

July 02 2007 | The Sokol's hull -rough scratchbuilding #5

Here are all the parts together!

July 02 2007 | A simulation for things to come

here's a simulation complete with the gun and one of the photoetched plates.
next to come: one of the air intakes, the stanchions, the whole of the gun plate and even more photoetching...