forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: lone modeller on July 09, 2015, 07:31:04 AM
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Evening All,
Those of a certain age will remember the film "Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines" which was loosely based on the London to Paris Air Race of 1912 and featured a number of reconstructed early aeroplanes. A company called Inpact released 6 of these in 1/48 scale, some of which have appeared as builds on this site. I built all of the 6 models shortly after they were released and attempted to "rig" them using black cotton thread!!? They were very good models for their time, and although they are a little crude by today's standards, they are still available for those determined to find them and they are quite easy to build (although rigging some of them is more challenging). Last year I built the Airfix Albatros DV for a trip down memory lane so this year I decided to take another trip down the same highway, but this time it will be the Avro Type D biplane which in my opinion was the most aesthetically pleasing of the 6 models. I will forgo a kit and build a model in the Gentlemen's Scale (aka God's Own Scale) so that when it joins my small collection it will not look out of place.
I started by getting some help from Inpact - they provided me a set of instructions:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4326/36223589085_e0ac84e36d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XbXn2p)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/36057771262_092b9ab769_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WWivaq)
I started by copying a set of plans from the internet and scaling them. Then I could make the frame for the top of the fuselage. The fuselage was triangular in cross section with two longerons on the top and a third single longeron at the bottom. The three longerons were held together by vertical and horizontal braces: the forward part of the fuselage was covered in fabric on the sides and the top was wood. The cockpit was open at the top. The upper longerons were made from 20 x 30 thou Evergreen strip with cross pieces from the same material.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/36057742862_b98d750b4a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WWimHL)
I have also started to make the male mould for the front of the cockpit.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/36057745182_52566aa271_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WWinpL)
I intend to mould the front lower part of the fuselage and glue the front of the longerons to the top of the mould. I checked the shape and size of the longerons against the mould so that when the plastic is moulded the new front of the fuselage will exactly fit the frame.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/36182438646_be5db87581_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X8jsr5)
Thanks for looking.
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Stephen,
Another rare and very interesting subject; I'm looking forward to following along, the results, and of course the "presentation"!
Cheers,
Lance
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This is gonna be awsome 8)
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A great and historical subject Stephen, I'm looking forward to seeing this one come together.
Des.
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I loved that movie as a kid and you're off to a great start on your build! :D
George
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Popcorn ordered, nothing more to say......
Ian
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Nice! Really looking forward to this.
Cheers,
Bud
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Will be following along as you progress 8)
Terri
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Nice subject I had my old Pyro kit in my hands yesterday and I was tempted to finish it.
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Stephen,
Like the others I am looking forward to seeing what you do with this one! I always enjoy watching your processes! Nice start on the frame!
RAGIII
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Stephen, I never tire of your little jewels. The Avro will
be great to follow. Lead on, my friend! ;) ;D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Great beginning Stephen.
Martin
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Thank you Lance, Thumbs Up, Des, George, Ian, Bud, Terri, Ermio, Rick, Ernie and Martin for the kind remarks. I really appreciate the feedback that you give.
Lance: I will try to provide the usual standard of information both during the build and when the model is finished. Thank you for your kind remarks and appreciation.
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Evening All,
I have moulded the fuselage parts (at the third or fourth attempt: for some reason I could not get the plastic card to the correct temperature to get a good mould) and painted the interior and added the ribs from 20 x 30 thou Evergreen strip.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/36088399161_6b6fa24631_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WZ1tLD)
I cut off the rear of the moulding to the correct length to represent the fabric covered fore-part of the fuselage.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/35418380403_3a93375dd8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VXNsx6)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4320/36057857422_92817d9f49_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WWiWLW)
The hole in the fuselage side is for the control horn which will be fitted later. The ribs on the upper fuselage frame were then glued to the top of the forward fuselage moulding and a piece of 20 x 30 thou strip glued to the v at the bottom. ThenI could build up the vertical supports on the uncovered part of the rear fuselage.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/36223660565_9479b01700_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XbXJgP)
I also cut out the flying surfaces from 20 thou card - this was quick and simple after fiddling with the fuselage structure.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4325/36057742862_b98d750b4a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WWimHL)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Awesome update, Stephen! The moulded fuselage turned out brilliantly and the wings and tail surfaces look fantastic. Truly inspiring work.
Cheers,
Bud
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This is looking superb Stephen, the fuselage is excellent and your flying surfaces look great.
Des.
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Awesome update, Stephen! The moulded fuselage turned out brilliantly and the wings and tail surfaces look fantastic. Truly inspiring work.
Cheers,
Bud
I can't say it any better than my Amigo!
RAGIII
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Looking good!
Ian
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Almost complete...
Now the building process starts
Very nice work
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Exellent work Stephen.
Martin
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Nice up-date , coming along very well so far 8)
Terri
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Thanks Bud, Des, Rick, Ian, Ermio, Martin and Terri for the very kind comments. I really appreciate those.
Ermio: there is more construction work to do before I can start assembly - I am working on the engine and hope to post pictures of that next, but I am away (again) tomorrow for a few days so there will be another pause before the next update.
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Great progress, Stephen! How was the scalloped edges of
the wing and tail done, with a file? Beautiful work, my friend. :D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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nice job so far, it is an interesting subject as well
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Excellent! :)
Adam.
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Nicely done so far Stephen, can't wait for the next update. Keep up the good work!
John
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Stephen,
Awesome project my friend. Eagerly awaiting the next installment and seeing how you handle her rigging.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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Thank you Ernie, Albatros, Adam, John and Gregory for dropping by and leaving such kind remarks. I really appreciate them.
Ernie: my apologies for not explaining properly how I scallop the wings. I mark out the scallops by first measuring the depth from the plan and drawing a pencil line on the trailing edge of the wing to the correct depth. The I mark the trailing points of the scallops with a pencil mark by holding the wing against the plan. Finally I mark the shape of the scallop freehand - in this scale very small irregularities do not show!
Next I file out the hollow back to the pencil line with a round file and then use the same file at a low angle to the wing to get the final thin trailing edge. I finish by giving a light polish with worn fine glass paper
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Stephen, I had all those hanging from my bedroom ceiling, brush painted with Pactra in the little square bottles, plenty of Testors tube glue and rigged with fuzzy sew thread. You are creating works of art. Pietro
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Evening All,
Pietro, many thanks for your kind remarks and reminiscences. I too had all 6 of the series and I too rigged them with thread, but I did not have them hanging from the ceiling. Mine were painted in Humbrol gloss (!) enamels and I still have the instruction sheets - hence the photos of the same in this thread. Rather like the Airfix Albatros that I made last year, this is a bit of a trip down memory lane for me. I do not know whether I will tackle any of the other types in the future (I have in part already done so I suppose with the Bleriot XI Penguin and the Farman Longhorn), but time will tell.
I have now finished the engine. Inpact kindly helped me with this by providing an excellent drawing of a Green engine which I was able to use in conjunction with photos, some of which are on this site.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/35390966114_4811c86532_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VVnXdW)
This is how I interpreted the above using laminated card for the engine block, Evergreen rod (20thou diameter) and cocktail stick thinned down for the cylinders, card for the carburettor and engine bearers and stretched sprue for the pipe work.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4323/36223665325_561bdddf49_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XbXKFT)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/36057864212_d5bd905f5c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WWiYN1)
The lower part of the engine will be hidden beneath the top of the fuselage so I have not bothered to make the sump completely accurate as it will not be visible.
I have also added thin stretched sprue to the wings to make the ribs. In this image I had not trimmed or rubbed the sprue down - it just shows the task in progress for those who do not know how this is done. The ends ware later trimmed and the sprue sanded with worn fine glass paper and then several coats of paint were applied to get a smoother rib. The tail surfaces have also had ribs added (but are not in the image).
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4299/36088608441_98e2126e59_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WZ2xYV)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Stephen,
First class update my friend. Looking forward to more of this thread,keep up the great progress.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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You say you "interpreted" the engine drawing, I say you shrunk the real thing. Fantastic work!
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Stephen,
More of your usual outstanding work! The engine is a beauty!
RAGIII
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Stephen, this is delightful to watch. I hope you're having as much fun as I am just watching you. You are the Micro Master!! Pietro.
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Excellent work on the engine Stephen and the wings are looking superb.
Des.
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Seeing your model unfold is such a joy, Stephen. Beautiful work,
My friend and very useful examples.
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Very great work, Stephen.
Martin
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And the Lord said, "It is Good".
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Good progress, Steve -
This is going to look first class when built.
Regards
Dave
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Many thanks to all of you who have dropped in and left such positive and encouraging remarks. I greatly appreciate these and hope that I can continue to entertain and perhaps inform in future.
Stephen.
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Evening All
Progress has been slow of late because I have been absent from home again and I have been trying to keep up with some of the tasks around the house - life can be a real distraction sometimes!
The first thing that I did was to add the horizontal plate on the nose and cut out the section where the engine will fit later. This piece was 20thou card. I also shaped a piece of similar card to make the windshield and glued this into place. The flying surfaces were completed too. I drilled the holes in the wings for the struts, together with a single hole in the lower wing to take a piece of rod which will be used to attach the fuselage to the wing.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/36183428866_79c381fcb6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X8pwMQ)
I added the rudimentary cockpit details - floor, seats, control column, rudder bar but did not know what to do about instruments as I could not find any details, so I just left them out. Judging by other early machines it is likely that the instruments were minimal and were placed wherever was convenient at the time - there were probably not standard fixings. I cut the struts from 20 x 30 thou Evergreen strip. Everything was painted and then the fuselage structure rigged with rolled 40SWG copper wire.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/35418454383_f251cb1e07_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VXNQwB)
The next stage required care and patience because the fuselage has only one contact point with the lower wing and the alignments vertically and horizontally need to be accurate or the whole model will look wrong. To achieve this I used a pin to attach the fuselage to the wing as described, but I also added the 4 inner struts as these support the fuselage sides and help to keep it upright. The top wing was placed on to the struts while the latter were still flexible and the whole sub-assembly jigged to keep everything square and properly aligned. As usual my jig was anything but state-of-the-art: I hope that I can demonstrate that simple items available to most modellers can be used very effectively provided a little thought and planning is carried out beforehand.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/35418462143_0cf1bc2396_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VXNSQp)
When dry the sub-assembly is remarkably strong - not flyable yet but certainly strong enough to handle and be able to add the outer struts without fear that the thing is going to fall apart.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4303/36088652611_54276eac0d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WZ2M7t)
Thanks for looking.
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Superb modeling and problem-solving, as usual, LM! I always learn something from your build logs. Very well done! She's shaping up to be a lovely aeroplane. :D
Regards,
Bob
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Outstanding update, Stephen.
Cheers
Martin
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Thanks Stephen for detailing your wing fixing technique. Your model is really starting to take shape beautifully, your cockpit looks excellent. You are correct about these early aircraft not having many instruments, the only one that keeps showing up in the information I search for when doing my scratch builds is a tacho.
Des.
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Really fine work, Stephen! Following along certainly serves as a fine sense of inspiration for me as I am tackling my W 12.
Cheers from, for the moment, Florida!
Michael
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Fantastic work as usual Stephen. She's going to be a beaut! I must admit I'm hoping to see Des tackle an Avro Triplane someday....
Ian
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Outstanding work as always Stephen! Looking terrific!
RAGIII
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My thanks to all who have dropped by and left such kind remarks. I really do appreciate the comments and the time given to write them.
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Your scratchbuilding skills are really impressive and inspirative, LM, great job and thanks for sharing.
Cheers
Ondra
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Beautifull...!!
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Thank you UFAG and ondra for the kind comments.
Stephen.
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Superb modeling and problem-solving, as usual, LM! I always learn something from your build logs. Very well done! She's shaping up to be a lovely aeroplane. :D
Regards,
Bob
Stephen,
I second Rick's comments, you certainly keep ahead of problems and obstacles as you roll along, no doubt a skill developed over years of Scratch Building. I've said before I'm a great fan of Jigs and patterns, which you constantly cobble together and use very successfully. Perhaps it's time to recognise that talent; fancy a new callsign of "von Jigmeister?" That's one Bob von Buckle doesn't have rights on! :)
As always, enjoying your Build and learning as you update, great stuff!
Cheers,
Lance
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Lance,
Many thanks for the kind remarks re-the jigs. Actually I think that they are from the Ark rather than state of the art, but then I would need to recheck my OT biblical references - how many cubits and spans?…. My intention in showing these photos is to try to encourage others to see that sophisticated (and sometimes expensive) equipment is not needed for successful modelling. I am not opposed to such equipment, I just do not have any and think that simpler solutions are often just as good but as you suggest they do need to be thought about first.
In any event I do like the suggestion that I should adopt the cal sign "von Jigmeister" - my wife is German and she too thought that was a hilarious idea.
With kindest regards,
von Jigmeister.
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Terrific progress, Stephen von Jigmeister! The latest pictures
give a good indication of what a gorgeous aeroplane the Avro
will be. Looking forward to more ideas and updates, my friend. :D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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JIMIESTER, INDEED!
(http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag293/michaelscarborough1/Jig_zpslm6npliv.jpg) (http://s1371.photobucket.com/user/michaelscarborough1/media/Jig_zpslm6npliv.jpg.html)
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JIMIESTER, INDEED!
(http://i1371.photobucket.com/albums/ag293/michaelscarborough1/Jig_zpslm6npliv.jpg) (http://s1371.photobucket.com/user/michaelscarborough1/media/Jig_zpslm6npliv.jpg.html)
Kan yu spel? I am herr von Jigmeister!
Stephen
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Ernie
Thanks for the compliments. I hope that the finished model lives up to your expectations.
Stephen
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Hell neaux.....neether Inglish nor German.....
(Oi vey!)
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Hell neaux.....neether Inglish nor German.....
(Oi vey!)
"Any idiot can spell a word the same way over and over. It takes true creative genius to spell it differently each time." -General George Patton and Bud Pearson.
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Allow me to add an anecdote to what General Pearson has said:
There was a famous set designer in the opera world named Gunther Schneider Siemmsen. Granted, this would not be the easiest name for a non-Teutonic ear to spell but, in a press release, his agent mis-spelled it three times....and none of the three was spelled the same. Did I mention that his agent WAS GERMAN!!
It is this sort of thing that causes performing artists to say, "changing agents is like changing deck chairs on the Titanic."
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This is wonderful to watch, enjoying it a lot.
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I'm loving this build too,great to see old timers on the building board.
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Evening All,
Thank you Cimmerman and Thumbs Up for for generous comments: I am pleased that this one is generating interest. I do try to select subjects which are less well known and frequently unavailable as kits in this scale.
Lance watch this space as I am about to demonstrate another of my "jigs" that I made-up-as-I-went-along earlier this week: this time for the undercarriage legs. Before that though I had other things to do.
Having fixed the top wing to the centre section struts I added the second pair of inner struts and the the fuel tank which was carried on a cross strut on the starboard (right) side. The tank was made from sprue filed and sanded to shape. The two bands around the tank were made from stretched sprue. With this in place I could then fit and paint the remaining wing struts - straightforward as the holes had been drilled in the wings and all I had to do was trim the struts to size and gently push them into place after I had put a drop of glue into the holes. The structure was left to dry out overnight simply to allow it to be handled freely when I came to put the undercarriage on.
The undercarriage skids and legs were cut from 20 x 30 thou Evergreen strip. The skids were shaped by pinning them to a block of wood and immersing them in boiling water for 10 seconds and then plunging into cold water also for 10 seconds. Holes were drilled into the tops of the skids where the struts would be attached later. The front pair of struts which extend from the nose, and the rear vertical pair to the wing, were measured from the plan and cemented into place on one side only to hold one skid. Now I made a very simple "jig". In order to make sure that the skid was correctly aligned parallel with the fuselage I laid a piece of paper on the wing with the cut edge where the skid would need to be: alignment by Mk 1 eyeball ensured that the skid was in the correct place. However because the skid leans outwards it needed support or it would sag too far so I used two pieces of plastic card off-cut to hold the struts while they set a little. (The image shows this technique being used on the second skid assembly).
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4319/36182526276_25f9e64e0f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X8jUtW)
When the struts had set sufficiently the rest of the undercarriage could be accurately measured from the model using a pair of dividers, cut and shaped, and glued into place. Just so that you can see clearly, here is the port (left) side u/c complete:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4314/36088661541_b76cac52c2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WZ2PLr)
The process was then repeated for the other side.The axles are held in place by two pieces of 20thou card with holes drilled to represent the metal brackets on the original machine. The radius rods were made from thin rod.. The wheels were made by cutting discs from 20 thou clear acetate sheet for the centres which were scribed with the point of a pair of dividers to represent the spokes. Lengths of 20 thou rod were wound tightly around a paintbrush handle to make a series of loops which could be cut to size and put around the discs to represent the tyres. I held the tyres on the wheel centres with super-glue. The piece of copper wire has been coiled to represent the feed pipe from the fuel tank to the engine: this will be fitted shortly.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4310/36088679611_ae794ace3a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WZ2V8Z)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen (von Jigmeister).
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Stephen,
Outstanding progress to date my old friend. Man do I ever love these early aircraft. Keep up the above excellent works.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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"Lance watch this space as I am about to demonstrate another of my "jigs" that I made-up-as-I-went-along earlier this week: this time for the undercarriage legs."
Waiting with bated breath, von Jigmeister! Those spoke inserts are magnificent BTW.
Cheers,
Lance
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It never ceases to amaze me how you can do such precise work in 1:72 scale Stephen, the model is looking fantastic and your technique to make the wheels is brilliant, well done so far.
Des.
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Exellent update Stephen.
Cheers
Martin
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Evening All
Many thanks Gregory, Des, Lance and Martin for your kind comments which I truly appreciate.
I have now almost finished the construction of the model - i.e. I have added the tail surfaces which are cut and shaped from 20 thou card with 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip for the ribs, and put on the tail skid.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/36182544436_82f961dd74_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X8jZT3)
I have also finished the front end in terms of adding the radiator and water pipes from the engine, (how did the pilot see where he was going? On at least one machine the radiator was lowered and angled across the passenger seat in front of the pilot). I have also added the fuel pipe from the gravity tank and you can now see the latter properly. The wheels are on so now it only remains to complete the rigging and add final details.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/36182540166_420391a0b3_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X8jYBq)
The only problem now is that I have to be away (again) so there will be a delay before it is completed.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Excellent model and great solution for the spokes, Stephen!
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Beautifully done Stephen. I'm looking forward to seeing it finished.
Ian
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I really am in awe, Stephen. The Avro is looking absolutely
wonderful and a testament to your modeling skill. I am
very much looking forward to the finishing pictures.
Beautiful work, my friend. :D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Like Des I never cease to be amazed by the detail and complexity you provide In 1:72 Scale, Stephen. That "nightmare" of landing gear was tamed in a heartbeat, a simple but very effective solution! Looking really impressive and not even finished yet! 8)
Cheers,
Lance
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Very wonderful work to make the rips.
Cheers
Martin
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Brilliant build all around Stephen!
RAGIII
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You have made excellent progress with this build Stephen, it is really looking the part now and I look forward to seeing the rigging fitted.
Des.
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shes coming on quite nicely, love it.
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My thanks to ermio, Ernie, Lance, Martin, Rick, Des and Scott for the positive comments that you have all made - they are greatly appreciated.
Stephen.
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Evening All,
After a couple of marathon sessions I have just managed to complete the Avro before I have to go away again. As usual I used 40SWG rolled copper wire and superglue. I started by rigging the rear struts on the wings and the fore-aft wires between the struts. Then the front of struts were rigged, followed by the tail unit and undercarriage. The control wires to the rear were next and finally the anti-drag wires. When the rigging was finished I fixed the propellor - this meant that it could not get in the way or damaged during the rigging process. This was not a difficult model to rig, but like all rigging it just seems to take a long time!
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4204/34709993322_e12efea76d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/UTcMJJ)
I have posted more images in the completed models section.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Thats truly an masterpiece, Stephen.
Cheers
Martin
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Superb Stephen, I will slip across and look at the other photos.
Des.
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Another Beautiful and Outstanding model added to your collection! Superb work as always!
RAGIII
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Bravo Stephen! Another true gem, my friend!
I will head over to see the completed pictures.
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Thanks to all for your kind comments.
Stephen.
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very nice model, i like the older planes like this.
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It has turned into a superlative model, Stephen
Now we expect that you model the other aircraft for those magnificent men
It was very instructive
all the best
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Stephen,
What can say?
Your usual high standard again - even more impressive when I saw this one in the flesh.
Regards
Dave
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Very nicely done :)
Terri
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Very nice model, :) :) but I do not have the patience to do such little things. ;)
Adam.
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Thank you Scott, Ermio, Dave, Terri, and Adam for dropping by and leaving those kind comments.
Ermio - in a way I have modelled two other machines - the Bleriot Penguin which was a trainer version of the XI which featured in the film and was a subject of the original Inpact series. The other machine was the MF 7 Longhorn - the Bristol Boxkite was a copy of this design. I might in the future attempt some of the other types if I can find some good drawings to work from, but in the meantime another scratch build project beckons….. when I can get some time to start it!
Stephen.