Thanks so much for your kind comments chaps, you really do help keep me motivated and feeling positive about this tricky (for me at least) project.
Rick, so great to hear from you! It's been a while. I went missing in action for over a year, I hope you have been well during this time.
One of the things that has been bothering me is haw to make the exhaust stacks, my initial idea was to squeeze lengths of brass tube in a vice and bend them, seemed reasonable until I tried it. Even if I could make accurate parts this way they would be far too heavy. When I closely examined photos I saw that upright section is made separately and slides over the part that leads from the engine which is bent.
After a quick play I had bent 1.6mm styrene rod round an engineers square and file it flatter at the bend. The upright was made by bending 0.13mm styrene sheet round a length of 1mm brass rod and glued with plastic weld. After a quick trim and file I had a slide fit part. This only took 15 minutes last night, if it had taken 45 minutes I might not have had to spend a few hours tidying up where I got glue on my fingers and melted fingerprints into the styrene.
I decided to make the undercarriage in the same way, on the real aircraft thet are wood with a metal rod through them. The legs are then bound with canvas to prevent splinters wounding the crew in case of damage.
2022-12-14_04-12-03 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
I gently scribed a fold line with my caliper and again bent the sheet round 1mm rod. This time (no picture, sorry I had my hands full) I taped the rod down and heated the styrene with a hair dryer. Another length of rod was taped in place over the folded styrene so I could accurately glue it the correct width and not get my fingers in the way.
20221214_144939 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
For glue I used cellulose thinners this time which is a bit less aggressive ( I saw a tip on youtube). I then ran my caliper along the glued surface to give me a cut line before trimming the piece.
20221214_145624 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
1mm Tamiya tape for the windings ( I tried decal strip first, don't ask!)
20221214_151526 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
A quick spray of primer and I have undercarriage legs and exhausts. I'm waiting for brass rods and tubes to arrive so I can finish the legs. I will make the cabane struts the same way, I like this slide fit idea.
20221214_153819 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
I got a little distracted last night and had a little play at starting a Lewis gun with a cotton bud that had been used for airbrush cleaning, Tamiya tape and a piece of styrene.
20221214_185329 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
This morning there was filing and drilling of brass tube, slicing and filing of styrene sheet which resulted in this;
20221215_105957 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
Later, after much faffing around with foil and styrene, eye straining and did I mention swearing?
20221215_130630 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
Much later, I mean several hours!
20221215_140523 by
Richard Williams, on Flickr
It's definitely time to stop now, my poor brain can't take anymore. Still nowhere near finished but it's beginning to look like a Lewis gun.
Richie