Builds By Baz

Nearly done. I'm just bogging the starboard wing, before final sanding on the back end and finishing the painting.

G'day all. For personal reasons, time, health and life priorities, I am going to start phasing out regular posting to forums and reduce to social media. Once the Viper is finished, I will cut back even more. For those who are interested in following progress on my work, you can find it on the platforms below. WEB https://www.buildsbybaz.com FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/groups/240486113096646/?ref=share YOUTUBE https://youtube.com/@BuildsByBaz INSTAGRAM https://instagram.com/bladesbybaz?igshid=MzNlNGNkZWQ4Mg==

Fibreglassing update.

While I'm waiting to sell another blade so I can afford the resin to finish the hull - Did a bit of bog work to tidy the ends of the nav light housing. Ran power to nav lights on the port wing and the strobe on the tail. Re-organised the workshop so I can fit both wings on at once. Yes, they are removable so I can get the Viper out of the shed. (I can't believe the amount of people who ask, like I never thought of that.)

Started sanding the fibreglass. Port wing back on so I can do this as well as start hooking up the nav light electrics. The flight suit is all but finished. I brought it all home to put on the last couple of bits of the ensemble and to look for anything that needs adjusting. The pre-flight check list pocket somehow snuck up the leg too far and we didn't notice it until it was all on. I'll have to unpick it and move it down the leg so it's readable in the sitting position in the cockpit. My friend and tailor, Alistair, who has previously worked in the costume departments of quite a few blockbuster movies and TV series, was the man who did all the sewing machine work. I have him to thank for his patience and expertise. I just provided material, consultation and reference, plus a little bit of grunt work when it came to cutting, glueing and sourcing accessories. Sometimes I cringe at cosplay, especially when a grown adult is playing fantasy dress-ups. I have to remind myself that it's an art-form, requiring a mature approach, patience and skill, to achieve something special. The Viper itself has taught me so much and though I can't use a sewing machine, the opportunity to see what goes into a costume for a movie, was eye-opening.

The brains of the Viper, steadily being worked on by brains smarter than mine. Thanks to my mate James, who you may remember helped me with the electronics suite in the steel Iron Man suit.

I got all the intakes done inside and out, plus about a metre of the top nacelle and the port nacelle. Now I'm out of resin, saving up for the next batch to finish it. There's still a top coat to go, some body-filler, and sanding with the big orbital, before a final paint. In the meantime, I thought I'd try to make the RCS ports look a little more technical with some detail in the holes.

Honestly, I was only watching the strobe and counting... 🤣

Thanks mate. 🙂 Baz.

Thanks again mate.

Awesome! Thanks for that. Double flash every second. Now to find a bike strobe that does the same. --- or someone's unwanted aricraft strobe. 😜

I've seen those. The challenge is the rate of firing. I believe aircraft strobes are once every 3 seconds or close? Bikes are more than one per second.

Would anyone happen to have an unwanted tail strobe? Something small. Baz.

I finished glassing all the underside now, right to the rear. I've now put a new trim and some bulb seal around the cockpit edges and now the canopy slides back and seals on the rubber. Sounds heaps better too. Kinda like closing the door of a Rolls Royce. Glassing high tonight. Tell me it wasn't a mongrel job getting my hairy arm in the top intake without getting resin all over it! Port intake done as well. Unfortunately I've run out of resin Looks like I won't be able to finish the fibreglassing of the engines, until I can afford more. There's a thousand bucks worth, stretched out as far as I could. I'll get this last bit out, and see how far I get.

Late night fibreglassing continues...

Started fibreglassing the fuselage. Progress here >>> https://www.buildsbybaz.com/fibreglassing-the-hull/

This was a while back. Some dimming improvements have been made to the lights, plus the gauges have been backlit.

Fibreglassing.

I'll be taking it to comicons, supanova and other events. a couple of airshows and some children's charity work. plenty of people out there spending squillions on static art, or wasting it altogether. plus, it brings me joy. what's that worth? Baz.

G'day all. Wow, it's been four years since I last posted here. Lots has happened and the Viper is nearly finished. I'm in the middle of fibreglassing the hull right now. Here's a video on youtube of where it's at now. Full story is now on www.buildsbybaz.com, or on Facebook. https://www.facebook.com/groups/240486113096646

Here's a story. My Iron Man suit was done on a whim, to begin with. That led to charity work. That led to folks helping me and donating to see the suit finished. That led to me making gifts in my workshop to thank people. That led to making knives, then metal sculptures. When my job in the parks came under threat, I was offered a job making knives, teaching knife-making, black-smithing and metal sculpture full time, which I still now do. You never know where these things will lead, but if making an Iron man suit leads to full-time employment, then who knows where the Viper may lead. I already have the attention of some very influential people in the movie industry. I'm not saying it's going to go anywhere, but I'll leave that to the powers above. Baz.

Thanks you mate. Most kind. Cheers, Baz.

3 Foot Colonial Viper Mk II THE TIME HAS COME. The full scale Viper is in storage and on pause while I renovate part of my house and build a bigger shed/workshop. I've been putting this off for a long time because of some fears. 1. I might lose much motivation because it will be very difficult to work on in the dismantled state. 2. It may get rodent or water damaged in storage. 3. The rest of my intrusive life may get in the way of completing it. I'm a pretty determined kind of a bloke, so I will fight all the way, but these are the things on my mind to watch out for. I can't afford to buy the hundreds of dollars in resin just yet as I have to find funds for the renovation and the new shed, which is up in the thousands, even though I am building both of them myself as an owner-builder. In the meantime, I have a little three-foot model of the Viper to work on in the shed, that doesn't take up any room. This should keep me inspired and help work out a few things, like mounting the wings and guns. A difficult part of the build that makes sense to do small, before moving on to full size. The Viper will be cast in aluminium with brass and copper highlights and detailing. I have a magnificent picture in my head of the finished model of highly polished metals, now to bring it out into the real world. I've made a start on the pattern for the mold.

Mods/Admin, is there a more appropriate place on the forum to move this thread to? Baz.

Cheers guys. Like the steel Iron Man suit I created below, I use it for kids charities, Starlight, Camp Quality, Ronald McDonald house, etc... The Viper will likely go to Comicons, Supanovas etc, but unlike Iron Man, this one is not specifically for charities, more just a project for fun because I make stuff. If any kids charities want to use it for fundraising, (I've already been asked), then of course, I'm up for that. The ship is modular so it all comes apart section by section for storage and transport, but I'm toying with the idea of a custom low-ride trailer to store it on/in on a permanent basis. Baz.