forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com

WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: lone modeller on October 02, 2014, 08:11:20 AM

Title: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on October 02, 2014, 08:11:20 AM
Evening All,

Having completed two kits recently I decided that I wanted to do something a little different and perhaps more straightforward. I was thumbing through Munson's Fighters and Training Aircraft 1914-1918 when I came across this machine which happened to take my fancy. For those who are unfamiliar with pre- and early WW1 types I suggest you type the name into Google images and you will see what one looked like as I have problems with copyright if I try to put one up here. They represent my ideal for a model - lots of struts and wires and a huge amount of air around the pilot. The Bristol Boxkite was basically a copy of the Longhorn, but lacked the nacelle for the pilot so was even more draughty to fly. RFC ground crews used to say that in order to test if the aircraft was fully rigged they would release a pigeon inside the structure: if it could escape a wire was missing!

So I put my kit together thus:

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/35575471160_cfb4871fa8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WcFA9q)

I found some plans on the internet which I reduced to 1/72 scale, and got started. I cut the blanks from some 30thou card which I had bent in a section of drainpipe which had been sealed at one end and boiling water poured in, following an excellent idea of Stevehed on another site.

The wing blanks were sanded at the corners, ribs added from 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip which was gently sanded and then varnished, and the scallop trailing edges filed and sanded to shape. I also cut the elevators and horizontal tail surfaces, and scribed the ailerons on the top wing.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4306/35575394120_a94d9d71d4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WcFcf9)

The next step will be to make the moulds for the fuselage nacelle. It was only when I started looking at this in detail that I realised that this is another pusher! Well it has resolved my withdrawal symptoms.

Thanks for looking.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: rhallinger on October 02, 2014, 09:12:35 AM
Very cool LM!  I love the old kites, and will watch with interest. ;D 

Cheers,

Bob
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: IanB on October 02, 2014, 09:40:56 AM
Great choice! I'm looking forward to seeing how this turns out.

Ian
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Des on October 02, 2014, 09:45:26 AM
What a great choice of subject LM, I love these pre war aeroplane and will be following your build closely.

Des.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Thumbs up on October 02, 2014, 09:46:11 AM
OOHh another 1/72 gem on the way :)
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Old Man on October 02, 2014, 02:59:49 PM
Excellent choice, Sir!

You are under way to a great start, too. Those wings look very nice.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: RAGIII on October 02, 2014, 07:30:29 PM
You amaze me. Look at some plans decide to build and BAM, there it is started! Great choice as the others have said!
RAGIII
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Alexis on October 02, 2014, 09:53:14 PM
Will be following along on this one LM , nice job on the wings so far  :)




Terri
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lcarroll on October 03, 2014, 12:39:23 AM
Looking forward to another of your "Wonders" LM. Great subject, an aircraft flown by hundreds of Commonwealth and other nations pilots during their training.
Cheers,
Lance
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Nigel Jackson on October 03, 2014, 01:29:14 AM
Hooray for the Longhorn, LM! I'm really looking forward to seeing how this shapes up in your talented hands.

Best wishes
Nigel
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Dirigible-Al on October 03, 2014, 02:41:39 AM
Definatly one of my favorite planes of the era, also one of my favorite archive photos is of a M.F. Longhorn, a Bleriot and a sail balloon all caught together and shot in Japan circa 1912. When I started writing this post I intended to put on the link but I am damed if I can find it.
Definatly looking forward to seeing this one built.

Cheers, Alan.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on October 19, 2014, 03:51:05 AM
Thanks to all of you for the encouraging remarks. I am truly humbled by the positive comments that i I receive from all of the modellers on this forum, all of whom display talents and skill which I both admire and respect.

You amaze me. Look at some plans decide to build and BAM, there it is started! Great choice as the others have said!
RAGIII

Yes Rick that is how it happened. I do not normally start models on pure impulse but on this occasion I just wanted to do something different that would hopefully offer a challenge, and I was just thumbing through a book like you do and ……. well here I am up to my eyeballs in a scratch build rather than a conversion.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on October 19, 2014, 04:17:37 AM
Evening All,

This one has been going slowly for a variety of reasons, not least because I have been building the fuselage nacelle and engine at the same time. I am really stuck with the engine at the moment so will post more on that later. I am also having camera problems so some of the pictures may not be too good - my apologies.

The basic nacelle was plunge moulded from 30 thou card. I made it longer than needed so that I can cut it to the exact length when I am ready. I put in a seat for the pilot and observer, control column with arms, (from which I think the name Longhorn was derived - the column is similar to the cow horn handlebars on a motorbike), a compass, control bar in front of the pilot, rudder bar, throttle (right side of cockpit), etc - all of which will be very visible on the completed model. The fuel tank was made from laminated card filed to shape. The internal frames in the nacelle were from 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip. I found a drawing of a cockpit from a Flight Magazine of 1913 on the net which was very helpful with these details. After the nacelle halves were glued together I painted the interior and added the interior details. I also drilled a small hole under the rear of the nacelle and into the fuel tank so that I put a short piece of rod in to insert into the lower wing to make a stronger joint later. When all of this was finished I was able to trim the rear of the nacelle.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/35575397670_0d7b310c07.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WcFdim)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4322/35831855891_3e144f0989_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WAkCoP)

Thanks for looking.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: coyotemagic on October 19, 2014, 04:19:40 AM
Brilliant start, LM!  Looking forward to the next update.
Cheers,
Bud
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Des on October 19, 2014, 06:30:14 AM
She's coming along beautifully LM, the wings and the fuselage nacelle are excellent.

Des.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Dagmar Henderickx on October 20, 2014, 12:11:54 AM
Truly amazing 1/72 scratch! Looking forward for your next post.

Dagmar
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: PrzemoL on October 20, 2014, 07:44:41 AM
So begins a fantastic build, I am sure. I am looking forward to see it progress, lone.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: radio on October 20, 2014, 07:50:07 AM
Like your other builds very great.
Martin
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: RAGIII on October 21, 2014, 08:53:04 AM
Brilliant start, LM!  Looking forward to the next update.
Cheers,
Bud

Agreed! Love the Nacelle!
RAGIII
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Alexis on October 23, 2014, 10:56:06 AM
Nice work so far LM .  ;)





Terri
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on October 27, 2014, 09:06:09 AM
Evening All,

Thank you to all who have commented so far - all of your comments are greatly appreciated even if I do not respond to each of them personally.

I have been working on the engine and finishing the nacelle and now the two are joined and hopefully finished. I trimmed the rear of the nacelle and added a piece of card with an Evergreen strip frame across the rear. On these machines there was a wire mesh at the rear of the fuselage but I cannot represent this accurately and as it is hardly visible I did not worry too much, I just scored the card and painted it grey and left it at that.

The engine block was made from laminated card glued together and shaped. There were two engine blocks which formed a V on the sump and I made a central cover from another piece of thick card. Two covers at the rear were also needed plus two circular discs approx. 9 mm diameter which fit at the front of the engine - photos of the machine in the Oslo museum showed what they look like. The cylinders were made from 60 thou rod glued into a bank and then attached to the top of the engine block. I added various pipes from very thin rod and stretched sprue, plus engine bearers and details as seen on the photos of the machine in Oslo. I made the exhaust pipes from thin rod and a cocktail stick - I chose to model the simpler pattern as on the Norwegian machine, the Paris and Brussels machines have a more complex system which I tried to replicate but gave up! From photos it would seem that some RFC machines had exhausts as per my model - at least I like to think so! When the engine was finished and painted I drilled a hole in the disc at the front so I could insert a pin to help strengthen the joint with the nacelle - another hole was drilled through the card rear and into the fuel tank for this purpose. Then the engine was glued to the rear of the nacelle. Finally I made a frame from Evergreen strip and glued this around the engine, and last of all added the bracing wires to the frame from thin rolled copper wire as they will not be accessible later.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/35922944486_1ea50a429d_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WJotRQ)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/35922947936_00ba8109fd_b.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WJouTj)

Hopefully the second image shows a little better than previous images the interior of the cockpit in addition to the engine details.

Thanks for looking. 
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: radio on October 27, 2014, 09:35:52 AM
I love this LM. Very nice your build.
Martin
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: uncletony on October 27, 2014, 11:29:29 AM
Nice! Another great subject LM.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Old Man on October 29, 2014, 12:35:43 AM
Excellent progress, Sir!

That is a beautiful job on the engine.

This is coming along extremely well.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Nigel Jackson on October 29, 2014, 03:01:40 AM
A great start LM!

Best wishes
Nigel
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Dirigible-Al on October 30, 2014, 03:47:08 AM
FANTASTIC!
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Des on October 30, 2014, 07:28:15 AM
She is coming together very nicely LM, the engine looks great sitting in place.

Des.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Alexis on November 04, 2014, 10:19:19 AM
Very nice indeed LM ! :)





Terri
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on November 09, 2014, 09:05:22 AM
Evening All,

Many thanks again for the complimentary remarks that many of you have made. They really are greatly appreciated and help me to continue with this project. I have been a bit slow because I have had a lot of painting to do and have had to wait while it all dries. The bands on the struts took a long time especially as I had to mix the paint and had to get the mix right for two batches as even my patience ran out after I had gone boggle-eyed after painting about half the struts. And there will be more to do later……

The first step was to attach the booms to the wings and tail surfaces:

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/35964293385_f7cf6e9260_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WN3prT)

The front elevator has only been put into the picture to help me to see what the model will eventually look like.

The 4 struts around the fuselage nacelle were fixed with glue first, followed by the two centre struts on the lower horizontal tail surface. While these were still flexible I put blobs of glue into the relevant holes on the top wing and tail assembly and lowered it on to the struts. Most of the struts went straight into the holes, the rest were pushed with a pair of tweezers. Putting glue into the holes means that if a strut does not fit glue is not smeared over the wing surface. Then the whole was jigged and allowed to dry out overnight. Alignment was by Mk 1 eyeball: provided that the jig surfaces are straight it is not difficult to get things to align properly.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/35124324624_b15d98c978_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VvPkZS)

I have shown this picture because many people seem to think that complex jigs and tools are needed for successful scratch building and I just want to show that they are not. I model on a very low budget and I cannot afford expensive equipment, and I doubt whether I would get a better result if I did. You just need to think trough carefully each stage, prepare things beforehand and then be systematic and patient. At this stage the assembly required careful handling but was remarkably stable. The outer wing struts were added next, one side at a time, and firmly held in place with a suitable weight while they dried out.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/35124326504_66cf1b9a9f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VvPmyh)

Finally the two forward tail struts were glued into place and I had a structure which I could handle and which was not going to fall apart. This may look weak but really it is not - the struts hold everything in place and the model can be turned and moved easily.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/35964305755_3f02537d24_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WN3t8a)

I decided to start to rig some of the struts because there will be a very large number of wires on this model (somewhere in the order of 200 when it is finished) and not all of them are going to be very accessible when all of the struts and undercarriage are in place. So I have rigged parts of the inner wires around the sides and rear of the fuselage and the tail. None of these will be easily damaged later but they are relatively easy to put into place now. All wires are made from rolled copper wire held with CA.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4305/35154412353_4fe1cb567f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vyty2P)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4298/35124338714_170c29dd5e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VvPqbN)

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/35575447090_52a2560c43_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WcFsZq)

The last image shows that I have added the rear inner wing struts so that I could rig this part of the airframe at this stage as these wires will be very tricky to put in place with boom struts in position. This is about as far as I have got at the moment. The next stage will be to add the remainder of the wing struts and then the boom struts and rudders, after which I can start on the undercarriage.

Thanks for looking.

Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Des on November 09, 2014, 09:25:26 AM
Your wing assembly technique is excellent, much like what I do with my scratch builds  :) The wings and tail look great in position and the rigging you have done so far is amazing, amazing because of the small scale and it is intricate, you have done a superb job so far LM.

Des.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: radio on November 09, 2014, 09:44:24 AM
And another exellent update LM.
Martin
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: RAGIII on November 09, 2014, 09:55:47 AM
Absolutely Beautiful work and your method of wing alignment is pure BASIC modeling at its best! Like Des said, your rigging so far is outstanding!
RAGIII
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: coyotemagic on November 09, 2014, 10:32:01 AM
I agree with my amigo completely!  Brilliant work, LM.
Cheers,
Bud
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: uncletony on November 09, 2014, 10:13:33 PM
Excellent work there, LM!
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: rhallinger on November 09, 2014, 10:45:40 PM
Excellent work there, LM!

+1.

Cheers,

Bob
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lcarroll on November 10, 2014, 12:01:06 AM
Fascinating LM, your basic alignment set up in lieu of a jig is very effective and your results spectacular. What a little gem, and not even near completed yet. Beautiful example of the Model Makers art and a real tribute to your skills!
Cheers,
Lance
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: IanB on November 10, 2014, 12:14:26 AM
Excellent progress, and very nice work all around. It's certainly starting to look like a flying chicken coop now....

Ian
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: TomR1981 on November 10, 2014, 02:41:02 AM
I agree with all the praise so far. I always like your choice of aeroplane to model too. Great job so far.

Tom
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Epeeman on November 10, 2014, 07:03:07 AM
This is outstanding work, LM -

Love what you are putting together here.

Regards

Dave
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: WarrenD on November 10, 2014, 09:51:02 AM
Really nice so far, glad I finally found my way to this build. I'd love to scratch-build an a/c one day, and the M-F series is up there on the wish/wanna-do list.

I'll be studying this thread in more detail at a later date sir.

Warren
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Old Man on November 11, 2014, 03:24:06 AM
Excellent work, Sir!

I really like the way you are tackling this. Quite right to get as much of the rigging done as early as possible. Among other things, it does add strength to the structure.

Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Squiffy on November 11, 2014, 07:46:05 AM
This is really good, LM. I love to see how these scratch builds are done and maybe one day I'll have a crack at one myself.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Dirigible-Al on November 13, 2014, 04:00:14 AM
I am loving it so far LM
I like the comment about putting glue in the holes and not on the struts, I've been there, done that and had the mess to show for it!!
Alan.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Culi on November 13, 2014, 10:31:45 PM
Very nice. I will keep eye on this model
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on November 19, 2014, 08:07:27 AM
Evening All,

Thank you again to all of you who have dropped by and left such complimentary remarks about my work. I greatly appreciate them all and feel very honoured that you think so highly of what I have done so far. I have made some more progress in the last week so here is another update.
 
The next stage was to add the front wing struts opposite the booms and then the remaining wing struts. The fore-aft rigging between them was put in and then I put in the boom struts. These were individually measured with a pair of dividers and held in place with superglue. The upper wing extension supports were also measured using dividers and glued into place. Then all of the rigging on the rear of the wings was put in, followed by the rigging wires between the upper wing extension supports and the outer wing upright struts. Apart from the front bay I have not rigged the booms yet because they could be easily damaged: all the rigging done so far is currently easily accessible but equally is unlikely to be damaged with handling.

The undercarriage and front elevator are one of the more distinct features on this aeroplane and needs to be properly aligned. I had already cut and painted the main support struts but I had deliberately made them too long so I could cut them down when I was ready to put them into place. The skids/front booms are curved and have a small kink at the rear end. I made these from 60 x 40 thou Evergreen strip which I heat treated to shape it. I traced the shape of the front booms from the plans and drew these on to a block of wood.  The strip was cut slightly longer than needed and held in place on the block with pins and the whole inverted and held in boiling water for 10 seconds. I then plunged it into cold water and the booms were ready to be cut to size and the rear kink bent carefully by using tweezers and the plans to get the correct shape.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4292/35124359994_9687c74b72_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VvPwvG)

(Once again my low budget techniques have come to the fore but I hope to show that I have still managed to get the desired result). Holes were drilled into the top surface where the struts will join later.

The first stage in putting on the undercarriage was to invert the current assembly and then put two vertical struts below the wing into place in pre-drilled holes. I then put blobs of glue on to the bottom of the strut ends and placed a boom on to the struts. This was held for 30 seconds to allow the glue to set a little and then two side struts were measured and glued into place - I did this by measuring with dividers and then cutting the struts and holding them in place to check the length before I applied any glue. There was a little fiddling needed to get the booms to align correctly fore - aft and vertically from the side and front elevations - this needed fairly quick work and I only attempted the starboard side: after this had dried out properly I fitted the port side. I also supported the booms while they dried using small pieces of plastic and a couple of files.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/35124363974_01b76297e6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VvPxGj)

I cut and fitted the long support struts from the top and bottom wings to the boom first. By measuring the lengths from the model with a pair of dividers they fitted well with only a very small trim.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/35575461570_f29c60da83_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WcFxi5)

Then I added the shorter cross supports, making sure that the ends were at the correct angle to make a good joint with the main supports. I glued everything with plastic cement and then re-enforced with liquid cement.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/35922987586_aa1b04bb9d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WJoGEW)

The boom assemblies can now be painted and the axles and wheels fixed, followed by the remainder of the rigging, tail skids, elevator, propellor, etc.

Thanks for looking.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Epeeman on November 19, 2014, 08:19:12 AM
Excellent work, LM -

As I've said to others before, I really admire those who can build a model from nothing ..............

Really forward to seeing this one in the flesh at our next club meet in December.

Regards

Dave
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Nigel Jackson on November 19, 2014, 08:22:45 AM
Another fascinating update, LM. Thanks for explaining your techniques.

Best wishes
Nigel
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: radio on November 19, 2014, 08:25:36 AM
Exellent update.
Martin
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Des on November 19, 2014, 08:25:54 AM
Your model is looking amazing LM, the undercarriage supports are excellent and look great on the model, looking forward to seeing the wheels fitted. The boiling water then cold water technique is what I use, it works every time.

Des.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: RAGIII on November 19, 2014, 09:03:25 AM
I must say that this is certainly one of your most impressive in a series of impressive pieces of work! Beautiful and clever/skillful work on those booms and skids!
RAGIII
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: PrzemoL on November 19, 2014, 09:18:49 AM
Absolutely stunning, LM! Many thanks for this amazing thread.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: coyotemagic on November 19, 2014, 01:16:21 PM
Truly brilliant work, LM!  This is turning out to be a true masterpiece.
Cheers,
Bud
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: IanB on November 19, 2014, 11:33:47 PM
Beautiful work, very inspiring! I'm looking forward to seeing this one complete.

Ian
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Wolf on November 20, 2014, 01:39:39 AM
This is a remarkable build log. A lot of things to learn here. Thank you.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: rhallinger on November 20, 2014, 02:32:06 AM
Inspiring work LM, and very educational! ;D  The MF is looking very good indeed.

Cheers,

Bob
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Alexis on November 20, 2014, 10:59:50 PM
This has been a real enjoyable build thread so far and I really looking forward on your next up-date !




Terri
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Old Man on November 22, 2014, 12:49:19 PM
That is a thing of beauty, Sir!

It looks wonderful, and spot on to the real thing.

Great work.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Ernie on November 22, 2014, 09:57:08 PM
First my apologies for somehow missing your build log, LM.
Now I want to say what a little gem you are creating.  It is
even more stunning to know it is in the teeny scale.  To
scratchbuild something like this is nothing short of phenominal!
I will continue to enjoy your efforts, my friend.

Cheers,
Ernie :)
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on November 29, 2014, 11:27:37 PM
Evening All,

 Thank you again to all who have stopped to have a look, and especially to those of you who have posted such positive remarks. To receive praise from modellers of the calibre that you represent is very greatly appreciated.

I have made some quick progress (for me) recently - not too many distractions - that will not last so I am not sure quite when I will finish this - hopefully within the next two weeks.
Here is an update as to how far I have managed to get as of yesterday evening.

I painted the undercarriage skids and struts before I added the axles for the wheels. The axles are wire from a paper clip and the brackets holding the axles were from thin rod. I represented the bungee springs with black thread. All of this was fitted before I attached the wheels.

The wheels were made by scribing 4 circles on to 60 thou card and then cutting out squares with the circles inside them. I reduced the squares to circles by cutting off the corners with a knife  then finished with a file. I driledl a hole in the centre of each disc and then filed the edges all around to get the taper of the wheel covers. (Strictly the wheels should be bare spokes but in this scale I gave up on that idea and had covered wheels instead). The tyres were made by taking a length of 50 thou diameter rod and the handle of a metal round file. I bent the end of the rod 90 degrees to give a small piece to hold on to with a pair of rat-nose pliers, and held the end of the plastic rod against the handle of the file, plunged the handle of the file into boiling water and slowly rotated the file while holding the plastic rod so that it was forced against the handle in the water. By steadily rotating the handle the rod formed a spiral around the handle. When I had 5 or 6 complete turns of plastic around the handle I withdrew the it from the water but kept pulling the rod at both ends until it was cold. I slid the rod off the handle and I had a spring shaped coil which I used to cut the tyres.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4312/35793860062_9746cbd73f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WwYTyj)

The diameter of the coil has to be less than that of the discs so that the rod will fix hard on to the discs: if the coil diameter is larger this method will not work. I placed the rod ring over the card disc and pushed the ends of the ring until I could measure the length that I needed and cut it. Only a little adjustment to the ends of the rod with a little careful bending and a little filling was necessary to get a good wheel. Any diameter wheel can be made this way - just adjust the thickness of the rod to the size of the tyre required, and the diameter of the spiral to the diameter of the wheel. The wheels were fixed to the axles with superglue.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/35793854082_144d9058b5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WwYRMd)

From the photo you can see that I have also rigged the wings and undercarriage - this was appropriate at this stage as much of the model is accessible and most of the rigging is in places where it is not going to get damaged while I work on other parts of the assembly. This is time consuming as you all know and it amazes me that I have been able to do so much so quickly - this cannot last!

The tail skids and support struts were made from thin rod. The control horns were cut and shaped from Evergreen strip and hinges made for the rudders from rod inserted into tiny holes drilled in the edges.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4329/35793856762_e66325d490_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WwYSzq)

I am posting a couple more images to try to make up for the lack of them earlier when I could not get my camera to take good close-up images. That problem has now been resolved so here they are. The first is to show that the bird cage effect applies to all parts of this model - rigging the underside was an exercise in itself, and was easier than the wings because everything is easily accessible.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/35154561643_ec0b29a03e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VyujpM)

This is why I rigged the rear of the inner bays of the wings at an early stage - access is difficult at the best of times - with rigged booms life would be much more difficult. Hopefully there is a clearer view of the engine than before too.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4311/35793876452_ce3a47f839_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WwYYqU)

This is the front end and hopefully a better view of the cockpit. With the front elevator in place some of the rigging in this area would have been very difficult indeed.

There is still much to do - bracing for the booms, anti-drag wires and control wires, the front elevator and associated rigging, etc, but I will continue to finish this before the next posting, which may, as I have written, be a little while.

In the meantime, thanks for looking.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: uncletony on November 29, 2014, 11:35:55 PM
That looks great. I like your scratch built wheel workflow.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: IanB on November 30, 2014, 12:07:10 AM
Impressive! Thanks for the wheel detail, that will be useful.

Ian
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: RAGIII on November 30, 2014, 01:39:16 AM
An outstanding update! Your wheel technique is awesome. The rigging is just gorgeous!
RAGIII
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lcarroll on November 30, 2014, 02:43:13 AM
Beautiful work LM! The delicate construction features are so well portrayed on the Model, the rigging is perfect, and the overall effect is very impressive. The finished project will be truly spectacular!
Cheers,
Lance
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Dirigible-Al on November 30, 2014, 03:40:16 AM
This is a real joy to follow LM
Alan.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: radio on December 01, 2014, 05:22:38 AM
Stunning work LM.
Martin
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Des on December 01, 2014, 06:44:20 AM
You have performed an awesome job on the rigging, and in 1:72 scale makes it even more impressive. Thank you for your tutorial on making the wheels, simple but very effective and will be usefull to a lot of scratch builders, your wheels turned out great. This model is really starting to look the part now, you have done an incredible job with it.

Des.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: PrzemoL on December 01, 2014, 10:16:23 PM
Fantastic. I am very much impressed! What a great modelling, LM.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: rhallinger on December 01, 2014, 10:59:51 PM
It gets better all the time LM!  Outstanding work. ;D

Regards,

Bob
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Old Man on December 02, 2014, 01:30:10 PM
This is a masterpiece, Sir.

Truly wonderful work.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: ALBATROS1234 on December 05, 2014, 03:54:23 PM
very nice longhorn lonemodeller , looks much bigger.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: IFF1418 on December 05, 2014, 07:35:29 PM
Hello LM,

I have the greatest respect for what you have accomplished. High class scratch building and great craftmanship!

Kind regards
Patrick
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: coyotemagic on December 06, 2014, 03:06:38 AM
Truly sensational work, LM.  This is a very ambitious scratch build and you've done a masterful job of it.
Cheers,
Bud
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: WarrenD on December 06, 2014, 11:06:20 PM
LM, I can only add to the positive comments made already, what wonderful work. I'd like to know how you rigged your booms. I have a 1/72nd DH2 and a Fee in the stash, and the rigging of the booms has me scared.  :o

Great work sir!

Warren
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Ernie on December 06, 2014, 11:30:46 PM
Just amazing, LM!   Wonderful talents you are showing. :D

Cheers,
Ernie :)
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on December 17, 2014, 07:16:59 AM
LM, I can only add to the positive comments made already, what wonderful work. I'd like to know how you rigged your booms. I have a 1/72nd DH2 and a Fee in the stash, and the rigging of the booms has me scared.  :o

Warren
Dear Warren,

I am not sure that I can help much with your boom rigging problem except to say that I use rolled copper wire and superglue to rig my models. The wire is rigid so there is no problem with sagging, and I use dividers to measure each line separately. I usually cut the wire slightly over-length and offer the wire to the correct position on the model. Then using the standard Mk 1 eyeball I estimate the amount of wire to be removed - and repeat if necessary. It is surprising how experience hones accuracy. I use the end of a craft knife blade or a sharpened wood tooth-pick to place a tiny drop of glue on the model at both ends of where the wire is to be fixed, and then place the wire into position. The glue usually bonds the wire instantly. Getting the wires to sit into the corners of the booms (as per the real thing) is almost impossible so I allow the tiniest of overlap on to the boom or strut and if necessary touch in with paint afterwards - it can rarely be seen with the naked eye, although it is visible with a magnifying glass or eye loupe (which is what I use). Nobody who has seen my models has ever noticed the joints so far so they must be reasonably good. The disadvantage of using a tooth-pick is that the glue accumulates on the end, necessitating frequent re-sharpening and therefore shortening of the tooth-pick so I do not use them very often - knife blades are easy to clean but the size of the glue drop is more difficult to control. Again with practice this can be largely overcome however. I think that the key is to try out the technique on some test samples and surprise yourself how easy it really is. I have made a number of pushers now and find that rigging booms is actually no more difficult than rigging other parts of the airframe. Just be systematic and leave the inter-boom bracing and anti-drag wires until the remainder of the rigging is complete, then there is less likelihood of damage.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on December 17, 2014, 07:25:53 AM
Evening All,

I fitted the front elevator after I had completed rigging the rear of the model.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/35793882092_7905dda839_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WwZ179)

The control horns were from thin card, and added prior to the remaining rigging. The control wires from the front to rear elevators were a challenge because they were so long and had to be threaded through the whole structure. Final details were added after the front end had been rigged and these included the propellor, windscreen, and control rod to the front elevator. The propellor was carved from 60thou plastic card and the windscreen was made from a piece of clear plastic from an old bubble pack. I am calling this model finished and am posting more pictures in the completed models section.

(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4328/35154715883_ae9f738632_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Vyv7g6)

Thanks for looking.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Squiffy on December 17, 2014, 07:33:35 AM
Amazing work there, LM!
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: radio on December 17, 2014, 07:36:46 AM
You have made an superb and exellent model LM.
Martin
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Des on December 17, 2014, 07:48:13 AM
Superb LM, absolutely superb.

Des.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: rhallinger on December 17, 2014, 07:57:01 AM
Superb LM, absolutely superb.

Des.

I can't say it any better than The Master, LM.  This one just makes me smile!  Thanks.

Cheers & huzzas,

Bob
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: coyotemagic on December 17, 2014, 08:13:04 AM
Superb LM, absolutely superb.

Des.

I can't say it any better than The Master, LM.  This one just makes me smile!  Thanks.

Cheers & huzzas,

Bob
Likewise!  All I can add is, "WOW".
Cheers,
Bud
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: WarrenD on December 17, 2014, 09:36:01 AM
Thank very much LM, you explained your method perfectly. I have been trying to figure out a way to rig those booms with monofilament/invisible thread/Dai-rikki, and just couldn't see how I could pull off drilling all of those holes in such a small space without negatively affecting the integrity of the booms. An old acquaintance of mine did so on a similar model, and his only advice was to be very careful, LOL!
Your method with rolled copper wire will most likely be the route I take.

Again, thank you for taking the time.

Warren
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: sodium on December 17, 2014, 01:53:37 PM
amazing scratch
an MF11 or F40 now ?
Bravo
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: RAGIII on December 17, 2014, 03:11:14 PM
Well, Like all of the others I am just blown away by the quality and beauty of this build! Stunning work and perhaps your best yet!
RAGIII
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Dirigible-Al on December 17, 2014, 05:44:04 PM
What a stunner, and in 1/72 too.
This is a dangerouse one to build because with so much of it to see there is nowhere to hide cock ups so it has to be built perfect and you have definatly acheived that.
Well Done LM.
Alan.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on December 18, 2014, 09:03:29 AM
Thank you for the generous and kind remarks., I really appreciate all of them.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: Old Man on December 20, 2014, 02:31:11 AM
Amazing stuff, Sir!

Superb work. A real treat to see it coming along so wonderfully!
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: lone modeller on December 20, 2014, 03:44:56 AM
Thank you OM for the kind remarks - glad you like it.
Title: Re: Maurice Farman MF7 Longhorn 1/72
Post by: IFF1418 on December 23, 2014, 07:22:48 AM
As I said before LM, I take my hat off for you. Amazing accomplishment. Many congratulations and Merry Christmas.

Kind regards
Patrick