What did I get myself into?

[Spino]

Well, I'm back at it again with my 3D printer, this time doing a model of the Convair 201.  The backstory for the F-8S Super Crusader I did recently gave me the idea, and I happened to have a high quality model of the 201 on hand, so after some manipulation I fed the back half of it to my printer.  Will do the front half when that's finished.  Since I'm following the timeline I set up for the Super Crusader, that puts this thing in the mid-'90s at least, so the paint scheme could be either a low-viz grey or a higher viz scheme.  Will have to see how it looks.  I think it will go well with my F-14D and F-8S.  Loadout will probably be for the strike role since I've been doing a lot of fighters lately; I'm feeling the need for a change.  Will post photos when my printer finishes with the pieces.

[Spino]

Unfortunately my printer has been doing a very poor job with this one, so it's going to require a lot of PSR.

[Spino]

Here you can see what I'm up against.  I think part of the issue here is that the model I'm using is optimized for flight simulators, and that doesn't always translate well to 3D printing without some serious modification.  As it is, I have to print the flaps, elevons, and rudder separately, and as badly as the canards are messed up, I may have to print them separately too.

[HarryPhishnuts]

Yeah I've found even for simple things sometimes I have to just break assemblies apart and then glue them all back together because different shapes print best at different orientations to the print bed.  What kind of printer do you have?

[Spino]

Yeah I've found even for simple things sometimes I have to just break assemblies apart and then glue them all back together because different shapes print best at different orientations to the print bed.  What kind of printer do you have?

It's an Elegoo Neptune 3 Pro, nothing super fancy or anything but it gets the job done.  Usually...

[Joe C-P]

Just claim that is stealth-shaping!   

[Spino]

Just claim that is stealth-shaping!   

Lol that's a good one 

[Spino]

Unfortunately due to the poor job my printer did on this thing, I'm having to do quite a bit of sanding to smooth out the edges that it added to what should have been a smooth fuselage profile.  I also cut off the canards and re-printed them separately, and patched the outer intake walls (which never printed correctly).  Did a coat of primer on one side, but it may still need some more work.

[Spino]

Well, I thought doing this Convair jet would be easy since I already had the model.  Little did I know!  I think I've had to do more PSR on this one than on any prior model I've ever worked on!  And the backstory I wrote for the F-8S I just got finished with mentioned issues and delays with the 201!  The irony!      The good news is, I think I'm getting close to finished with all the PSR.  I've filled in the landing gear bays with hot glue and PSR'd over them, sanded the fuselage angles down, and gone over the wings and tail so many times I've lost track!  Before long I'll be ready to start adding weapons stations and painting.

[Spino]

Well I finally got it to a place where I feel like it's presentable enough to show off a little bit more.  Most of the PSR is done, though there are a few holes that still need filling in and the wings could do with some more sanding.  I went ahead and painted the F401 nozzle and part of the cockpit, and got several coats of primer on.  So here's another photo dump instead of just me chattering 

The keen-eyed among you may notice another project I'm working on in the background (other than the Super Corsair)...

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Dry-fitted a white Sparrow for contrast.

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Here you can see the gun port drilled for the 20mm cannon, and the pilot and seat I'm going to use.  This is going to be a modern build so I'm going with my generic modern pilot with what is basically a Scorpion HMS on his helmet, and the missiles will be either late-model AMRAAMs and Sidewinders or perhaps I'll swap the AMRAAMs for something else - not sure yet.  Since this will be in the same what-if timeline as my F-8S, the backstory to which confirms the existence of large numbers of F-14Ds, I should have the option for AIM-152s in place of the AMRAAMs.

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[Spino]

Finally it feels like I'm getting somewhere with this one.  Got pylons fitted and the weapons load (mostly) selected.  Still have some work to do on the cockpit and a few other areas, but for the most part it's coming along fairly well now I think.  My main issue now is that I have no idea what I'm going to do about the canopy!  That cockpit is very large for the size of the aircraft and an A-4 canopy is both too narrow and too short - at least in 1:48 scale.  Maybe I could find one in 1:32 that would work for it?

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I'm going to fit a pair of AMRAAMs in the fuselage troughs, AIM-9X on the wingtips and an Aero 1D drop tank on the centerline (same one used by the AV-8B, A-6, and A-7 incidentally).  A pylon under the port intake will have an AAQ-33 Sniper XR targeting pod, and the bombs will go on the remaining four hardpoints.  I may swap out the GBU-31s for some laser-guided bombs depending on how many I have available, I have at least two other builds that will need some.

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As light fighters go, this one is actually pretty small.  It's bigger than a Gripen (it has to be with that big-arse F401 in the tail!), but not by a whole lot.  It's actually smaller than the Super Crusader that it replaces in my what-if universe!

[Spino]

I think I've finally settled on a solution for this plane's canopy.  A 1:32 A-10 canopy, cut to size as necessary.  Went ahead and ordered one, hope I can get it to fit! 

[deathjester]

Such a pretty plane - well done xxx

[Captain Canada]

Good looking machine !

[Spino]

Such a pretty plane - well done xxx

Good looking machine !

Thank you!  I've actually run into some people who think the Convair 201 is ugly, but I can't say I agree.

I really want to replace the AMRAAMs with something else (partly because I get sick of painting the AMRAAM fins a different color  ), but since this plane will be carrying a strike load, I'm not sure longer-ranged missiles would be appropriate.  It sounds like the AIM-260 may be considered a bit of a silver-bullet weapon, and as for the AIM-152, there's probably no way you're fitting a radar in the nose of this plane that is big enough to take full advantage of the AAAM's capabilities, AESA or otherwise!  Originally I wanted to fit AARGM-ERs too, but I'm not sold on the idea of a straight-up SEAD loadout for this plane, and AGM-88G is a big missile to be toting around on a plane this size just for self-protection against SAMs.  I'll figure something out. 

Meantime, this is sort of like the paint scheme/markings I'm considering for this one.  Not sure yet though, some USN planes are a bit more on the hi-viz side these days.

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