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Derek Austin
15 articles

Thompson Brothers Aircraft Fueller

October 2, 2020 · in Aviation · · 17 · 1.7K

I haven't posted for a while, but this is the completion of a 3-year project. The Thompson Brothers Aircraft Fueller (TBAF) was in use on RAF airfields during the 2nd world war. This representation is in 1/24th scale and is scratch built making extensive use of 3D printer technology. The design is based on the example at the Yorkshire Air Museum who were kind enough to let me photograph and measure their example. The design was drawn in Fusion 360 CAD software and printed on a Prussa I3 Mk3s FDM printer and more recently an Elegoo Mars Pro resin printer. The figure is there to give a sense of scale and is a commercial product!

I hope you like it!

Reader reactions:
10  Awesome

5 additional images. Click to enlarge.


17 responses

  1. Interesting subject. Never seen before. Nice work and I like the weathering of the fenders.
    The fuel-capacity doesn't seem to have been very high.

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    said on October 2, 2020

    Fantastic work Derek! I saw one of these vehicles at the RAF museum in Hendon a couple of years ago.
    Can you give me some more details? Which printer and which filament did you use?
    Gunther

    • The 2 printers I used are detailed in the main text Gunther! I used a standard PLA in the FDM printer and a basic grey resin in the resin printer. Some elements were also scratch built using styrene. This photo highlights the different parts quite well. White is styrene, darker grey is the FDM printed parts and the lighter grey resin.

      2 attached images. Click to enlarge.

  3. Nicely done, Derek (@derekaustin). The 3D printing offers some great options for a build.

  4. Only the British! Looks like a suicide contraption or something from Star Wars... Very cool vehicle anyway, and excellent modelling.

  5. 500 hundred gallons of petrol and three wheels. Sounds kind of scary to me but it is a very eye catching vehicle.

  6. Amazing job, Derek!
    I might comment that 3d has revealed new horizons in modeling, with definitely a lot of great stuff to see in the future.
    Well done in this!

  7. What an interesting looking vehicle to scratch build. Nicely done Derek.

  8. The Thompson Brothers Aircraft Fueller you have is great looking I wish I could find one in 1/32 scale. Thank you Mac.

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