4D Stirling - Under Construction

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jamesinnewcastle
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

Hi All

Not finished by far but on Hols soon so thought you might like to see the FN25 so far. Excuse P.O. Prune, he's a big ugly at the moment but you need to have someone in the turret to get an Idea of perspective.

I'm fairly certain that the scale is right - he's about 5' 8" - as you look at it does it make you feel claustrophobic? I would not fancy 6 or so hours in it.


James
Short Stirling FN25 Ventral Turret 1.jpg
Short Stirling FN25 Ventral Turret 1.jpg (122.77 KiB) Viewed 70318 times
Short Stirling FN25 Ventral Turret 2.jpg
Short Stirling FN25 Ventral Turret 2.jpg (117.65 KiB) Viewed 70318 times
Short Stirling FN25 Ventral Turret 3.jpg
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Stirling Project
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by Stirling Project »

Good grief, what a horrible confined place to go to war in!
jamesinnewcastle
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

Getting there......
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Short Stirling FN25 Ventral Turret 4d.jpg
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jamesinnewcastle
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

The video below represents about a weeks work on the ammo belts - it's really quite easy to draw and animate most of the model but the bullets are a pig to animate in my 4D program, so here it is! It also means that I can now relax and model much faster!

https://youtu.be/OfHjDMIvRTQ



James
jamesinnewcastle
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

In the fuselage - moody lighting


Short Stirling FN25 Turret 12.jpg
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by K4KittyCrew »

Great work there James, keep it going, mate.
John
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630 Squadron - East Kirkby
" There is nothing glorious about war with the exception of those who served us so valiantly"
jamesinnewcastle
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

Thanks John

There is no stopping it now! I anticipate three more years of work but eventually N6012 (virtual version) will take off again!


James
jamesinnewcastle
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Closer Look at FN4

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

Hi All

I've never seen a really good picture of the underside of a Stirling but modelling it is revealing what may have been there.

Here is a comparison of the best MkI underside pic I have and a comparison with the model. The tail or fin is quite distinct and a common sight, the two black dots could be where the spent cartridges fall out - might be the gun barrel ends? The bottom of the footwell is less distinct but you can sort of imagine it.

The black crescent defining the far section of the turret apeture is quite deep and shows that the turret was not 'flush' - the original photo must have been lit from below to produce this effect - that probably wasn't a common lighting arrangement I wouldn't have thought.

James
View 1.jpg
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Short Stirling FN25 Turret 15.jpg
Short Stirling FN25 Turret 15.jpg (65.7 KiB) Viewed 70159 times
Last edited by jamesinnewcastle on Tue Jan 12, 2016 12:03 am, edited 2 times in total.
jamesinnewcastle
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by jamesinnewcastle »

So this is what it looks like close up (with the turret out a little) - possibly the gaps were plated over but it would have been a complex piece of work. Unlike other dustbin turrets the FN25 doesn't have a big flange to act as a cover

The turret drops through a circular 'I-girder' and so the oddly eccentric positioning must have been how it was. The shadow on the photo shows that the plating wasn't flush which seems to be asking for 'drag'. However, the girder seems to actually be two similar girders, one on top of the other so there would have been somewhere to put some plating and have a recess.

Taking votes on the plating - or not!

James
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Short Stirling FN25 Turret 18.jpg
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PAFG
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Re: 4D Stirling - Under Construction

Post by PAFG »

Hi James - it continues to come to life with every addition! The FN25 seems such a Heath-Robinson affair, even by WW2 standards. I wonder how many gunners actually used it in anger?

Great work, thanks for sharing,

Richard
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