Rocast Models

Dear all,

It has been a long time of silence without updates, things have been difficult here and at times surrealistic because of the changes that bring the loss of a loved one.

Things have to go on and so does work. I also spent a good amount of time readjusting my workplace to make things easier for me, to maintain a better order and to make a better use of the space.

Today’s update is a major one, at least from what I used to post. Needless to say, the time that I am having at this moment is wider, but like a little puppy exploring the outside for the first time, I am also in a similar phase where I am taking steps with everything at a time.

The first update I want to share is about the 1/12 B737NG cockpit. Both sidewalls were done:

You can see light bleed coming from one of the corners, this is something I will solve once I make the outer structure past the main panel. The details like rivets or screw heads will be added later prior to the casting.

I have been working on the radio panel:

The idea is that each module will be placed individually for more building inmersion and to make things easier when assembling the specific knobs and switches, you can see holes for now, but these will be used to add the knobs.

I have finished making the glarewings and the outer shape, but because I have to test things first, I will show this in another update.

Since I have done the sidewalls in the current software, I decided to also make the main panel again, this is all for better fitting purposes.

I am glad to count on the help of my friend Philippe for this project, it is a huge project so I am working on sections at a time. I want to finish the main panel details, then work on the fire panel and the throttle quadrant.

Another project that I had lying on the table for quite some time now were the A350 wingtips:

The winglight will also be made with translucent resin as I shared on earlier entries for the B747 wingtip and the Airbus narrowbody family.

This wingtip is intended for Revell’s A350-900 models, it represents the new version that was later fitted on the early builds and fitted by default currently at the Airbus factory.

Obviously the airfoil presented some difficulties because I had to make the profile as per Revell’s wing profile which is thicker because of the plastic, then there was the issue of the thickness as the shape reached the tip, so I had to work within those tolerances. I want to express my thanks to a friend who helped me greatly to make these as accurate and close to the real ones as possible.

The next update I wanted to share is about the B747-8F/-400F. I know that some may be skeptical about this, was making a new fuselage really needed? Well, yes because the main deck and the cargo holds are a major part of the fuselage inner structure, I could not simply modify Revell’s fuselage so mine will be ready to fit all those elements.

At the same time, I am also going to make a thinner representation around the nose door edges and make a new cockpit. The windshields will also be different from those on the Revell model, I may be doing a combo of PE and acetate.

The project was on a long pause because I was struggling to make the end of the hump properly, since the transition edge should not be fully smooth, it has a round edge. I was fortunate enough to have the help of my friend Jan at LearnSolidworks.com, a website that I fully 100% recommend for those who would like to initiate in 3D and for those serious about learning.

The wing root (the first section is a test here) has also been giving me a lot of headaches because the Revell’s original wing indent, was going way too further deep interfering with the interior of the fuselage, so I am at this moment figuring out the best solution for this, the idea of using Revell’s wing is still in the plans, but modifications to it will surely be required, most probably a cut and a fitting modification.

Note that the fuselage has no detail so far, I am just working on the overall exterior shape now, I want to solve the wing union first and once this is done, I will start the outside work prior getting into the cargo holds and main deck.

During all this time working on the new radomes, I also decided to remake the MCS8200 radome. The first version I made was handmade, so I decided to make a new version of it although I am still unsure what to do, due the similarity in shape I may catalog this as “Boeing” radome and continue providing the original MCS8200 radome:

The other radomes I made did not present an issue if using them for either narrow or widebody aircrafts, however, for this one, a narrowbody and a widebody version will be made, the one featuring on these photos is on a B737.

I have also been working on the new type of baggage carts, this was something I had in the plans but that took me more than I thought. Currently a first prototype was built, other two versions will be made; a fully covered one and a lining covered/semi covered version.

The biggest difference between this and the previous version is the towbar, it can rise up and down now, also, this “open” version has photo etched straps at the sides.

This GSE model is still a bit far from completion because I am still doing tests with the parts since these are quite thin.

Another update regarding a GSE is this Pulsar 7D transporter:

This model was requested to me a long time ago, so it will be the first one of the Mulag family, for which I expect to make the rest of the models (belt loader and tractors).

About the other projects:

The 1/72 Schopf F59 is currently in the casting phase, a new body was done so I had to discard the initial molds. I will be doing a first test assembly soon since the interior is nearly completed.

The B787 galleys and cargo holds are ready for packaging, most are already packaged, PE for the galleys is needed to make.
Due to the recent events as I mentioned at the beginning of the email, the process had to be paused. I will resume the packaging stage soon and give a release date once I have units of the rest of the new items ready (pitot tubes, radomes, antennas, etc).

That is all for now, I think this is the largest update I have given since I started with this business. For me I am still on my adapting stage but surely continue working on all the projects.

I hope to share another update soon and give more info on the release date.
Best wishes,
Guillem

Hello everyone,

It has been days of a lot of work with certain elements, I wanted to say in advance that units of the B787-9 cargo holds are currently being done as well as B787 galleys.

I also have been dealing with some issues related to the site, problems related with email notifications (an error came up when changing and notifying of the order status) and also and most recently, issues when uploading images in the blog as I used to.
The first matter is half solved and it did not affect the order process, the second one I am still working on. All these issues came all of the sudden which leads me to think that my host provider may have been doing some changes.

Continuing with our model’s subject, I have been working on the ongoing projects but also been working on items that I will be releasing soon, by the time of the B787-9 cargo holds release.

First of all, the B747-400 winglet:

The winglet will fit both Revell/Zvezda (8i-8F) models and it does feature an airfoil even though it is not so much appreciable in the photo above, it is very subtle. Why a winglet for those -8 models? For conversion to -400 purposes as this will also be a part of the conversion once I complete the B747-8F cargo detail set.

The test that I wanted to do with the wingtip lights has been done and I am pleased with it. It is, obviously with a translucent finish which is what the resin is offering. After several hours under UV light, there does not seem to be any yellowing or side effects so I concluded the test as successful.

In my test, I painted from the inside two red dots to simulate the strobe lights and it seems quite convincing to me, but having the wing light covers translucent also allows for LED lights.

The same has been done for the Airbus narrowbody family sharklet.

I also have been working on four new radomes, the Gogo 2KU famous for its low profile, the more standard type Inmarsat GX, the Arinc 791 and the Viasat radome which can be easily seen on several Jetblue A320 as well as some United 737-800’s.

Note that in some cases I am saying names of antennas (which go inside the radome) but there are actually several types of radomes for different antenna manufacturers, so it may be possible for a radome to be used for two different antenna models.

As a complement to the antenna set that I previously shared, I am also completing the “Satcom set”:

Lastly, a pitot tube set:

These pitot tubes were designed from real pitot models, as a result, they were so small that at first I was reluctant to even try, but since I was doing some tests at the same time, I decided to give it a go.

To my surprise they came out pretty well, they are of different sizes and shapes, as a reference, the largest ones were based on the B747 pitot tubes. The rounded small one is for the A320’s and the bigger rounder one fits perfectly for the 787’s.

Needless to say, those are really, really tiny. In some cases as it happens with the antennas, a couple may fail in the set, so I manually add those missing. At first I thought this would be quite time consuming, but it is no issue at all and the first sets of antennas are already done.

So I am preparing to release these items at the same time:

• B787-9 cargo holds.
• B747-400 winglets.
• Airbus narrowbody sharklets.
• A350 sharklets (yet to make).
• Antennae set.
• Satcom set.
• Various radomes.
• Pitot tubes assortment.

Simultaneously I will also be restocking the 787 galleys and other items I see getting in low stock.

Later today I will also restock the medium/short haul flight crew with its new configuration (figures with their supports). A lot of work has been going on too with the new type of packaging of these items.

That is all for now, I am continuing on with the work. I cannot say a release date yet for all the items listed, but once I have the cargo holds nearly completed from production, I will give more details on a release date.

Take good care everybody,
Guillem

Hello everyone,

In today’s update I would like to share the recent work I’ve done with the sharklets for the Airbus narrowbody family. They are a new version from the previous ones I have at the shop, so as soon as I start the production I will be changing the product.

The light covers is something I am currently working on, I want them to be transparent, at first as I thought while working on the B747 winglets, I thought to have the clear green/red part but although that is similar as how they should look when lights are on, the color is not in the cover itself but in the lights, so I am about to start doing my own mixes with the resin to have a transparent-blackish-smoke-tint to avoid the hard to avoid yellowing as it happens in the curing process and hope to have a realistic “glass” result.
I may make a couple more panel lines on the sharklet, but at this scale they practically should be unnoticeable, leading edge line needs to be clearly visible for masking/painting purposes.

I have been working on some antenna radomes, they are the ADF, a high gain antenna (HGA-7001) an intermediate gain antenna (IGA-5001) and a TCAS2 antenna.
The TCAS2 antenna I most surely will be swapping it with the UHF Satcom from the first set since the TCAS is on all airliners, it makes more sense for it to be in the “antenna set” rather than in the “radome set”. This is a bit unfortunate for me as I already started to produce a few of these sets.

I would like to make more of those “standard” smaller radomes, but I am also about to work on two larger radomes as well which will probably be available separately as it happens now with the Honeywell MCS8200 since they are bigger than those featured in the next photo:

This was a first test, so in the final product, there will be more quantities of these radomes and I may try a different approach to produce them.
I’ve been doing some research, but if anyone knows of other radome manufacturers/models, please contact me as I would be interested in including as many types as possible.

Production of the B787-9 cargo holds has already started and the first units are made, work continues but in the meantime I am also working on the production of some GSE items as they sell, I do not want to reach to zero to have them back available again, so new units for the catering truck were added and next week more for the stairs truck will be produced, my goal is to have them in stock as often as possible.

I am noticing that figure sets have been selling out so I am also taking my time to readjust them to produce them with the supports as I mentioned in my previous post. As I am finishing the new packaging for these figures, the first ones to be restocked are the medium/short haul flight crew, other sets will follow.

On regards the other projects:
The B747 cargo set is currently paused as I have been trying to improve the hump section, work will resume soon.
I am also working on the parts for the new baggage carts and a new type.
A new set of GSE models is going to be in production soon, but I am waiting to have more to share before I give more details about them.
I have everything ready to start the production of the Schopf F396, but I am still unsure if I will be able to release it by the time I release the cargo holds. I will try my best.
The 1/72 Schopf F59 is still in the works, recently a new body was remade and a new cast will be done soon together with the cabin walls.
The B747 winglet is also in the same stage as the Airbus sharklets so I am hoping to start production soon, although the B747 winglets will still require some extra work.
The 1/12 B737 cabin has been on pause for too long again, so I am going to test the sidewalls as I have planned and be joining structures step by step. Once the larger structures are done I will go for detailing of each individual panel.

My objective is to release the B787-9 cargo holds in about a month tops, work has to be done with the instructions and guide that needs to be written.
By the time of the cargo holds release I also want to have ready the “Antenna pack A” the “Antenna pack B” (radomes), the other larger radomes, the Airbus narrowbody sharklets, hopefully the A350 sharklets as well and a set of pitot tubes.

There is a lot to do, I have too many projects started but I am doing them bit by bit as best as I possibly can.

That is all for now, I hope to share some more progress next weekend.
Best wishes,
Guillem

Hello everyone,

The GSE items, accessories and (some) of the figures have been restocked. I am also planning to make more units of those that are in low stock at the moment.

As I mentioned, a new set of baggage carts and an update will be done to the current ones.

I finally managed to add the new packaging so hopefully it is going to work well.

Here is a couple images for your reference:

As I mentioned before, the reasons are mainly two, one is to protected more the items and second to save on shipping costs as opposed of using only one box and having unused space, so this way more options are given, you can choose whichever box you want your items to be shipped in (as long as they fit). Envelope will still be used for small items.

Also, the website core is quite complex regarding the shipping and how the calculations are done, I was unable to find more precise solutions, but I am sure that the current setup will work properly.

Now I will continue with the production of the B787-9 cargo holds and therefore prepare these items for release as well as the stock of the B787-8/9 galleys.

I keep working on the ongoing projects as well, I hope to share some more progress soon.

Take good care everybody.
Best wishes,
Guillem