forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: lone modeller on July 01, 2021, 07:25:00 AM
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Evening All,
Britmodeller have been running an "Anything But Injection" GB recently and one of the scratch builds was of the Oertz W6 Flugschoner (Flying Schooner) by @marklo. Many of you will know that I have a penchant for the obscure or unknown steampunkt subject: this is a twin biplane, twin-engined pusher so it ticks all of the boxes! Mark is making an excellent job of his model, but there is just one problem - it is in the wrong scale! So I will have to rectify that problem by building one in the True Scale.
For those who have never heard of this type before, here is a link to photos and information:
https://translate.google.com/translate?hl=en&sl=ru&u=http://seawarpeace.ru/deutsch/seaplane/01_main/oertz_w6.html&prev=search&pto=aue
I am making this as part of a GB on another forum (not Britmodeller), and as usual I am employing materials found in any scratch builders kit box, ie wood, plastic sheet, strip, and rod, brass rod, wire and anything that is lying around and looks vaguely useful. Here are the instructions as supplied in my kit:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51281759258_17a4f59b3a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m8Aqp5)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51281582601_91d993f5df_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m8zvTg)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51281759218_c5190cefe7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m8Aqoo)
Hopefully I will be able to produce something resembling the original machine, (there was only one built), in the next few weeks. I have made a small start by laminating some plastic for engine blocks and wing floats, and wood for the hull. The hull shape has been marked out but one of the problems of modern limited run kits is the amount of flash in them: I can see much filing and shaping of wood and plastic in my immediate future as I try to extract a hull from this:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51280843162_9ee8cc8381_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m8vJ5j)
More later.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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...and obscure it is!
This will be fun to follow Stephen :)
Willem
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Now that is a real oddity, it's definitely got my attention!
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Another jewel for your crown!
I'll be following with interest. I do enjoy your builds as you include info about the real thing.
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Really looking toward to this after my Oertz experience.
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Really looking toward to this after my Oertz experience.
[/quote
Hiya Marklo, great to have you here! :)
Richie
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This one is indeed "completely different" Stephen, and looks like a real challenge! Looking forward to watching you work your modelling magic on this unusual design. Great choice in subjects once again!
Cheers
Lance
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I always wonder where the hell you manage to find these obscure aircraft, Steve!
Another one I have not heard of before but certainly extremely different. Your off to a great start and I know this will be another one of your winners when complete.
Regards
Dave
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Oh, another Quadruplane :o Ok, not all wings on top of each other, but four wings ;)
I never heard of this type or the man behind.
In your linked page there is an issue of the Flight magazine mentioned, do you own a copy? Recently there was a link in this forum for a download, up to 1919 (if I remember right).
I will follow closely.
Cheers,
Frank
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Interesting machine. Please check this link:
https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/atlasdeutscheru00germ (https://library.si.edu/digital-library/book/atlasdeutscheru00germ)
It's a pdf version of the book "Atlas deutscher und auslandischer Seeflugzeuge. Bd. 1" (Atlas of German and Foreign Flying Boats) - Go to pages 49-50 and there are plans and Hull profiles. Hope this helps. In Flight Magazine you'll only find the same pictures already published in the russian site plus some description of the aircraft. You can download the whole Flight Magazine collection from the link I posted in the books section.
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Thanks for this link and the other links to the Flight Magazine downloads Beto!
I was a frequent visitor to Flight's archive website, until they took it offline.
Priceless!
Willem
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I am always amazed by what you can do with a block of wood and sheet styrene! I am sure this one will be no different. A really unusual subject for sure!!
RAGIII
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Evening All,
Thanks to all of you who have dropped by and left your very kind comments - they are very much appreciated.
Special thanks to Beto for the links to Flight Magazine: this link and the link to the Atlas are especially useful reference material. As it happens I already have the drawings for the Oertz because they are in the German Seaplanes text mentioned in the first post.
Frank: this is not a quadruplane but I anticipate that it is going to offer some similar challenges!
Dave: I have Marklo to thank for finding this one!
I forgot to mention above that the hull is laminated basswood which is easy to shape and scrape and sands down to a very smooth finish. I have removed the flash from the hull - it has taken several hours with a file and glass paper but I am happy with the result so far. I started by removing large pieces from the front on one side and then shaped the remainder of that side as this made it easier for me to hold the piece in a wood vice:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51281759183_7656fd964e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m8AqnM)
Having achieved the above I shaped and scraped the other side to match:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51297650054_236ae31b27_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m9ZSbj)
Lines were drawn across the piece to enable me to draw reasonably accurately the shape of the hull on the side of the block, including the step at the rear:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51297650044_f7903b470e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m9ZSb9)
The bow and rear of the hull upper surfaces could now be filed to shape:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51297649979_9e8c8fe5d9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m9ZSa2)
Followed by the removal of the lower rear with a saw to create the step:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51296935371_b5ed9013b3_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m9WcJc)
The last stage of the shaping was to slope the sides inwards towards the top of the hull:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51297946680_3a78355b67_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ma2omy)
And round the bow and underside surfaces and and smooth with medium and fine grade glass paper:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51297113168_b921181f78_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m9X7zE)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51297946655_2199b583e5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ma2om8)
To try to ensure that the cross section of the hull was constant I used some paper templates which I had traced and drawn from plans in the German Seaplanes of WW1 volume:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51296192487_4e32b2e1df_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2m9SoTR)
The next stage will be to cut holes in the upper surfaces of the hull to represent the front cockpit and rear cockpit/engine bay. That will have to be done using a milling bit on a drill which I hope to show in the next update when it is all done.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Real modelling!
Sandy
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Proper old fashioned craftsmanship, I'm going to follow even more closely than usual and make notes on how everything is kept in alignment. I have gained an even greater respect than ever for scratch builders after my recent trials and tribulations!
Richie
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This very much the same technique (some) ship modelers use Stephen.
Beautifuly done!
Willem
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What a shame Wingnuts closed down... that was their next 1/32 scale kit :) (Not true in case anyone starts speculating).
Fascinating project Stephen and it's great to see some real model making utilizing all the materials to hand.
Many thanks for posting this.
cheers
Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
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Great start on this, Stephen. The hull shape looks good, and being wood, it will offer firm support for all the things you stick to it.
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Excellent job on trimming the "Flash" from the part Stephen ;D The Hull shape looks outstanding.
RAGIII
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Very interesting subject, Stephen. So unique and everything scratched. I think this will be an other beautiful build.
Bye Manni
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Evening All,
Thanks to Sandy, Richie, Willem, DaveW, Ken, Rick and Manni for your comments which are much appreciated indeed. I have been away for the past week or more visiting my family for the first time since the end of October last year, but before I left I had done some work which I did not report because I did not have the time, so here is a catch up to take us to where the model is approximately at the moment.
I mentioned in the last post that I wanted to use a milling bit to open up the engine and gunner's cockpits in the top of the hull. I do not normally like using power tools but for this operation I had to do so. For those who do not know what a milling bit is, it is simply a drill head with two sideways cutting teeth instead of a spiral cutter that is found on a drill bit. The milling bit is fitted to the chuck piece on a drill in the same way as a conventional bit. With a conventional bit a hole is drilled in a single vertical movement. A milling bit allows the person to cut a hole using a sideways motion. I hope that the following illustrations will show what I mean:
I started by putting a conventional 1/4 inch drill bit into my (old) power drill which had been mounted on a pillar stand to hold it vertical and rigid. A pilot hole was drilled in the centre of what was to become the larger upper hull opening:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51330747798_f8c3039117_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcVuZ5)
The hole was a slightly larger diameter than the milling bit. The milling bit was put into the drill and the drill lowered and set so that the bit would cut approximately 1mm depth into the wood. The drill was switched on and the milling bit lowered into the pilot hole: now the wood piece was firmly but slowly moved from side to side to cut a shallow indentation in the top of the hull:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51331263039_dcf375402d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcY99x)
The above process was repeated many times until the desired depth of hole was achieved:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51329803627_c9de880043_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcQEjg)
The small damaged areas on the top of the hull were caused by the piece jumping as I was attempting to cut to the edges of the hole while it was still shallow. It required quite a lot of firm handling to stop that from happening, and as can be seen I was not wholly successful! Those areas will fortunately be concealed beneath the wings on the completed model, but I will still fill them later before the wings go on. Once the hole was more than 2-3 mm deep the problem was much easier to control. The sides of the hole are not completely square when they are milled so they had to be cleaned up carefully with a new scalpel blade.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51331263004_799d27e530_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcY98W)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51331532750_0c24741728_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcZwjJ)
Similarly the bottom of the holes are not as flat as I would have liked them to be, but as both the sides and bottom have to be sealed in some way I will solve the unevenness and seal in one go by lining the sides and bottom with thin plastic card!
I have also worked on two small but important parts. The first was the streamlined gear housings for the propellor mounts - these were shaped from some sprue which had been given to me by a friend and which just happened to be perfectly round and of the correct diameter:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51330747838_de7daf46db_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcVuZL)
I have also carved the propellors from hardwood strip - one is shown here with the marked blank for the second:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51329803652_0ba70ac45f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcQEjG)
I will make the small spinners later from the same piece of sprue.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Well done on the milling out of the hull, Steve -
Going to be an interesting subject matter once done
Regards
Dave
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Welcome home Stephen, some great work here as always. Those little streamlined gear housings look absolutely symmetrical. Milling out the spaces in the Hull must have been a scary business but has worked out really well. Looking forward to more now!
Richie
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Nice to see you back with a bit of progress Stephen , how did you shape the gear housing ? I have tried making similar items before with limited success .
I hope you had a wonderful time visiting family and every one is doing well :)
Alexis
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I am sure you enjoyed your time with your Family but it is also nice having you back! Thanks for the detailed photos of your process. Very well done and closer to looking like a boat with wings ;D
RAGIII
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Stephen, it is not easy to keep a mill under control if only handhold. The forces should not be underestimated. Luckily I have a xy-table on my little mill which makes it a lot easier.
these were shaped from some sprue which had been given to me by a friend
Sprue is the most underestimated scratch material ;) In any form, e.g. stretched or even turned in lathe.
I can't drop this stuff into the bin, but to save storage space I cut it in straight pieces. It is very handy to have different colors of different grey, tan, black and even clear sprue.
Your propellers in 1/72 are always little gems.
Cheers,
Frank
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Thank you everyone for the kind comments.
Alexis: I use the end of the length of sprue that I wish to shape and use the rest as a handle. I make a mark on the sprue with a shallow cut the part that I wish to shape and then use a file to round the end. I round it by constantly turning the sprue in my fingers and filing away from my body. I apply more pressure at the end (which will be narrow) and very little at the end which is widest. When I have the narrow end shaped I cut the piece off the sprue length and the shape the rounded end in the same way as above. Shaping the blunt rounded end is tricky because there is little to hold in the fingers, but provided that I am patient and take my time and keep turning the piece between my fingers, I can achieve the shape that I want. I finish the piece with fine glass paper. I had to make three of these to get two good ones if that is any consolation!
Frank: this was the first time that I had used a milling bit but I did know about the torque effects because I had been warned! I completely agree with you about sprue - unfortunately I do not have a regular supply because I do not build kits, bu I do have a stock which has been given to me by my model club friends! Wouldn't be without it!!
Stephen.
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Coming along very nicely Stephen. It must have been intimidating to apply a power tool to that beautifully finished hull but turned out well worth the effort!
I too use a lot of sprue, there are several model boxes of it stashed in our storage room with my Stashed models and I visit them regularly...... it's a rare subject that escapes my desk without some added detail from the sprue box! Several times a year I take an hour or two to top up the box of different gauges of stretched sprue that I keep handy to the bench. It's also a great material for things like you describe, and so easy to work with.
Great Build Log as usual, a pleasure to follow along.
Cheers,
Lance
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Evening All
Yes Lance I did hold my breath while i was milling the hull as I did not relish the prospect of having to make another one. There was also the fact that I had used some wood left over from other projects for this hull and I was most reluctant to throw away what I consider to be useable materials!
This week I have been indulging in some more non-injection modelling - ie I have been soldering and making some other parts from bits and pieces, including plastic card of course. First though I wanted to try to finish the hull as much as possible, so I CA'd some 10 thou card to the sides and bottom of the engine/crew compartment which I milled out as described in the last post. I also added the coaming around the two cockpits from 20 x 30 strip - also CA'd into place. Two coats of talcum powder and dope filler followed and a coat of clear dope to give the final mirror finish when sanded with worn fine glass paper. I filled in the damaged parts of the upper hull with filler but as suggested before, these will not be visible when the wings are in place. Finally I added the strips to the lower front of the hull. (I do not know what the correct name of those strips is: if anyone can tell me I would be very pleased).
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346091048_84696f2228_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2meh8ZS)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51345861266_9efaf7fa23_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mefXG7)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51330751373_1291cd0cf6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcVw3H)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51331536245_2079cf411b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mcZxmZ)
Now for the brasswork. The boom at the rear which supports the rear biplane wings and tail unit will need to be strong - plastic rod simply will not take the strain and be to the correct scale, so brass rod has to be used instead. I used 1mm (3/64) rod: the lengths were measured from the plans and two sets of pieces cut from rod. The pieces were laid on a block of balsa and pinned so that they could not move, after the ends had been rubbed severely with glass paper and dipped into flux. The soldering iron was set to hot and also dipped into flux prior to putting solder on to the end. After the parts had been joined the whole was washed to remove the flux and the joints cleaned with a file:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346884745_2f3fe34968_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2memcWi)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51345141747_a6a73e18e0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mecgNB)
The fins and rudders were cut and shaped from 30 thou card as shown in the image above.
To make up the rear frame the side pieces had to be joined with horizontal bars which meant that the side pieces had to be held in a vertical position so that I could solder the cross pieces. I pinned the side pieces and inserted the cross pieces and soldered them while they lay on the balsa block. Getting everything square was vital and required some careful juggling of pins and side frames, but eventually I managed it. Please note that in the first two images the cross piece is only held in place by friction - it had not been soldered:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346090943_41714886f1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2meh8Y4)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51345861086_fdc1ce66a4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mefXD1)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51346090833_03216a7393_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2meh8Wa)
Again the piece was washed to remove any remaining flux and the joints cleaned with a file. The brass pieces are now ready for priming. Next will be the engines and flying surfaces.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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So clever and resourceful as always Stephen. Woodwork, metal work and plastic craft all carried out with great precision. This is so impressive and inspiring!
Richie
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Coming along really nice Stephen :)
Alexis
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Your soldering skills are amazing!
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Lovely work, particularly the soldering; I struggled with it in 1/48 and said never again :) Although I’m now contemplating making an internal frame for a 1/72 Fokker Dr1, which I’m going to (try to) super detail.
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Amazing variety of Modeling techniques all superbly executed!
RAGIII
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Nice work with the soldering iron, Stephen.
Please do consider another way to hold the work piece if milling again. Better safe than sorry.
Looking forward to following along here. ;)
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Wow Stephen, Wow and Wow!
The hull looks great now and your soldered framework too! You know, I simply love soldered parts.
This will a absolute "einzigartig" (german; which means unique, awesome and singular at once).
Cheers,
Frank
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Evening All
Thank you Richie, Alexis, William, Mark, Rick, Ken and Frank for your support and generous comments - they are very helpful indeed.
As Frank in particular and the rest liked the soldering in my last post, I decided that I would do some more. The propellors on this aircraft were supported on two booms and were connected to the engines by drive shafts. The booms were braced by a rather elaborate construction which was placed over the engines: the whole is a rather intricate structure with lots of small pieces. I thought that I might try to make the whole assembly from brass rod until I looked carefully at some of the joints - and then changed my mind. I will make the propellor supports and the rear of the cage from brass rod to give the structure strength, but much of the bracing over the engines I will fill in with plastic rod as I will have to assemble it in situ and soldering that would be impractical. If you are a bit bemused, all will become clear at a later stage of construction. So for now I have made the propellor supports from brass rod as per the tail boom:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51360103317_15e2b1fda4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mfvXmH)
These have since been primed with the tail unit parts shown in the last post.
The wings caused me some problems. There are 4 of them and I originally cut them form 30 thou card which had been bent in boiling water in a piece of drain pipe. The lower rear wing is in 3 sections as the outer panels are very slightly swept back. Similarly the upper wings are in two parts because the leading edge is not straight. The lower front wings were simply cut from card. All sections were sanded to give a slight aerofoil shape and ribs glued in place: these were 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip applied with liquid cement. The strips were sanded and then 500 grade Mr Surfacer filler was applied to the edges and the whole sanded again. The rear wings were fine, but when tested the front lower pair had too much curve and would not sit firmly on the top of the hull and give sufficient contact to ensure that when glued in place they would stay there. I also looked at the photos of the aircraft and saw that the aerofoil on the front pair of wings, especially the upper one, was almost nil. So I cut a second set of front wings from 30 thou card, applied the ribs and filler, sanded them twice and tried again. This time I found that the lower wings just did not have enough strength to be sure that they would not sag at the tips when the upper wing and struts were placed on them. So I made a third pair..... from laminated 20 thou card which had not been bent in hot water. This time I managed to get wings which may not be 100% accurate in terms of aerofiol section, but they will have the strength and surface area to stay in place and not bend (I hope!)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51361588809_2167394d9f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mfDyWD)
The upper pair are the front wings and the lower pair are the rear wings.
I have lined the interior of the engine compartment and front cockpit with 10 thou card but as I have no idea about what the interior was like I am using modellers license and following Marklo's suggestion that there was a floor made of wood to help support the engines at the correct level. I made up a floor from pieces of stripwood laminate. I also made up the platform for the trailer which the aircraft was carried on at the same time. This was also stripwood and the beams obechi. Both the floor and platform were stained with a wash of Revell brown 381 acrylic:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51361082058_e8b0986ae5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mfAYiy)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51360860866_bdc070f912_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mfzQxU)
I checked that the tail boom will fit properly into the rear of the hull. This was useful as I was able to use the structure to make sure that when I cut the horizontal tail surface it will exactly fit:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51361588744_2ca0b31507_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mfDyVw)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51360860826_521b2e336f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mfzQxd)
I have started to make the engines but have only laminated plastic for the blocks and cut rod for the cylinders - construction, detailing and painting will be shown next time.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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The hull (fuselage?) is turning out very nicely already! I like all the wood tones.
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This is getting good now !
Alexis
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Super work, Stephen :o
(https://media2.giphy.com/media/LEUEbtICrpFE4/200.gif)
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It already looks as elegant as an Italian motorboat!
Wonderful, a joy to follow.
Cheers,
Frank
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Great to see this again Stephen, getting to see the model underway for real last week was a real joy. No photograph can do justice to the delicacy and precision of your impeccable craftsmanship although it does look great in the photos too.
Richie
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Terrific progress Stephen. As always your work is incredible!
RAGIII
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As others have already said, Steve -
Great work and progress. Look forward to seeing your next update, mate.
Regards
Dave
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Evening All,
Thanks to all of you who have dropped by - your very generous comments are always most welcome.
I promised that I would reveal all about the engines in this post. As usual they were made from laminated card for the sumps, rod for the cylinders and thin rod and wire for the pipes, conduits and exhausts which make these engines. I started by laminating some plastic card and cutting lengths of 80 thou rod for the cylinders:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51374752894_c7fe7ca71b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgP3aC)
File the laminated card to shape and glue the rod on one edge to make up the basic engine form:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51375026445_2a7fcedcc0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgQru2)
I used photographs of the real engines to add the various pipes and pieces to the sides and tops of the cylinders, and some breather units to the side of the sump. The sumps were painted in aluminium and the cylinders black. Other parts were largely aluminium:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51373261112_8143163422_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgFoHf)
This machine started life without wing tip floats, but I want to represent it later in its career when floats were fitted, so I laminated some more card and when that was dry, filed a pair of floats to shape:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51373260857_a7a00e6172_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgFoCR)[
I wanted to fix the rear lower wing to the boom structure and realised that I had made a mistake: I had not drilled holes in the wing and passed the brass rod upright through the wing before I completed the soldering. Grrrr. The solution was simple enough but required some time and fiddly work. I decided to cut the leading upright off completely and make a new one after I had drilled the necessary holes in the wing. However brass rod conducts heat readily and there is not very much length between the joints which are to be soldered and the plastic of the wing. Without protection for the plastic damage could result, but at the same time the ends of the new upright have to be held against the ends of the existing frame. The solution was to pin the frame to the balsa block and solder the lower joints without the wing: this meant that I could heat the brass and not have to worry about melting plastic. Now I could gently ease the upper ends of the boom upright through the holes in the wing and slide the wing to the base of the boom structure, leaving the upper joint free. Once again all was secured to the wood base with pins and the wing insulated with wet tissue paper. The upper two joints were soldered and the plastic of the wing was undamaged:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51374020901_380c06f089_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgKhz4)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51374251568_b312c20e01_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgLt95)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51374251523_b45264ba9f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgLt8i)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51374752649_da2a589cf4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgP36p)
Now the wing could be slid into place against the top of the boom and secured with CA:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51374752509_52327874c5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgP33Z)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51375026005_9996b82b10_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgQrmr)
This shows the old, removed leading upright pieces in front of the new parts which have been secured to the wing:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51375026100_a67d5b76ed_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgQro5)
The horizontal tail surfaces were cut from 30 thou card and the edges filed and sanded to give an aerofoil appearance:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51375026185_0bbb28c6ea_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgQrpx)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51375026130_bcc66932ac_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mgQroA)
I will now try to secure the lower front wings to the hull so that I can start painting and decorating.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Nice work getting the wing mounted, Stephen. This is already shaping up to be an epic build!
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That's great progress, Steve -
Starting to look like an aircraft now - or is starting to look like a speed boat with wings .............!
Regards
Dave
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Some wonderful craftsmanship on show here Stephen. I feel honoured to have seen this in the flesh on your work bench yesterday. You are a very inspiring man!
Richie
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Tail assembly is looking great so far . Engines are turned out super and are going to look great in place . :)
Alexis
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Lovely work as usual. Accurate and clean, if not a little odd!
Ian
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Ingenious solution getting the booms through the wings. As Ian said, its certainly a little odd. But at the same time it looks really quite luxurious. :)
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Looking good. I just put brass pins through the side of the cabin to secure the front wings on mine but in hind sight I’d probably have put one or more spars running through the engine compartment. I also notice you put the pilot(s?) but in the front opening whereas I put them to the front of the engine compartment behind the main windscreen and assumed the front opening was for an observer/machine gun as there are photos of the other Oertzs with a parabellum mounted to the front.
Loving the build btw.
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Many thanks Ken, Dave, Richie, Alexis, Ian, William, and Mark for your kind comments - they are much appreciated.
Ian you should know by now that the odder the aeroplane the more likely I am to like it!
Mark: thank you for the comment re-the position of the pilot's cockpit. I completely agree with you that the pilot's should be in the engine compartment in front of the engines and I have already changed the positions of the seats. I have not seen the photo showing the mg in the front cockpit, but the position of the windscreen shows that the pilot's must have been in front of the engines. I had misinterpreted the photos: another fellow modeller had pointed out my error.
With reference to the lower front wings I am not sure whether spars crossed the engine compartment. Logically it would seem probable, certainly in the case of the front spar, but the rear spar would have interfered with the engines so I am completely at a loss to understand how that part of the structure was arranged. However as I simply do not know what the arrangement was I will leave the space blank and I am in the process of epoxying the wings to the hull. When the epoxy is cured I will pin the wings to the hull with brass rod, but I am aware that this will be a relatively weak part of the model. I will post more later.
Stephen.
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Your usual outstanding work Stephen! The wing and structure look great!
RAGIII
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Evening all,
Thanks Rick for your kind comment - it is much appreciated.
I used epoxy resin to fix the lower front wings to the hull because I find it gives a more robust joint than CA in such locations. I had to fix one wing at a time, which meant two evenings. Then to strengthen the joint I drilled holes in the wing and hull and inserted small brass pins and filled the holes with filler:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51399315876_5bfcb5f199_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2miYVTj)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51400053049_8c4cfe3aa6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mj3H2c)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51399576433_1f175199d9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mj1gkF)
Prior to fixing the wings to the hull I had glued the wing tip floats to the undersides:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51399576388_4ba77ba7cb_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mj1gjU)
Painting and decorating followed. The colour scheme is not known for certain but B & W photographs suggest that it was a variation on two-tone grey with a black stripe along the top sides of the hull. I used Revell acrylic Hellgrau (light grey 76), for the upper surfaces of the wings, tail unit, fins and rudders and hull, and the same mixed with approximately the same amount of white for the remainder. I mix the colours with water so that the paint is very thin: it then gives a very even coat which is as good as using a spray gun IMO. The one problem with this method is that it takes lots of coats to get a smooth and even finish - up to 15 in this case. The initial coat also looks positively awful and the modeller has to continue despite the very strong desire to give up and try another method! The black stripe was hand painted using black acrylic but not watered down in this case. Transfers might have given a cleaner edge but would have been a nightmare to cut and apply, and as I do not have any black block I did not have the option.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51399315731_82c2e590cd_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2miYVQP)
The markings were simple - Iron Crosses above and below the upper and lower wings respectively, and on both sides of the rudders, all on white squares. There was a pennant number on the hull in black: all of the markings were printed by Arctic Decals for me.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51398565062_ae985a70ea_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2miV5Gf)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51400052944_2bb7a9e5f9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mj3GZo)
The next step will be to put the engines and propellor mountings into the hull and then the most difficult part - fitting the two upper wings. The struts on the wings sloped inwards and forwards at the same time: I am not looking forward to that stage and am thinking through different options as to how I might go about it. The rigging by contrast will I think be straightforward!
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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That is a great movie here:
fifty two shades of grey!
That is definitely something completely different, but wonderful project.
Cheers,
Frank
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Hi Stephen, that is really looking beautiful in its grey overcoat and markings. I don't envy your task of getting the top wing mounted with the struts all aligned but I know you will manage it perfectly. I'm excited to see the next update. This is a weird and wonderful project, it's hard to imagine such an oddity ever took to the air!
Richie
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This is a brilliant build Stephen!
I think your work is amazing. Not only a very unusual aircraft, but also beautiful craftmanship, there is so much to learn here.
I just keep reading back in this build log. Still amazed about the precise and clean soldering work.
Really looking forward to the next update.
Willem
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Moving a pace now, Steve -
The shade of grey you have selected seems a good choice to me. Hopefully, not much further to go now?
Regards
Dave
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Looking great. I found that the drill template for the wings and the centre jig I concocted were essential for the struts. I probably learned a lot from my earlier he51 that struts with a compound angle like me these are trouble. It was tricky enough in 1/48 will probably be extremely challenging in braille scale :)
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Evening All,
Thank you Frank, Richie, Willem, Dave and Mark for your kind comments which are much appreciated.
Mark: I have consulted your build log very carefully and your method of mounting the wings. However I will not be able to use a centre jig because as I explain here I have had to put the engines and propellor frames into the engine bay before I put the wings in place as it will not be possible to do so if the wings have been mounted - the space is just too small. I think that I have an alternative solution which I will describe in a later post. I do have some experience scratch building pushers and other types including X struts, but none with the compound angles found on this aircraft. I am certainly not expecting a walk in the park but I am reasonably confident that I will be able to mount the wings and keep them properly aligned when I do so, even if it takes several efforts!
The engines and propellor support frame have been installed. I started by putting the propellor supports into pre-drilled holes in the cockpit floor held with CA.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51407129964_f4a04103e5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjEYJY)
These were followed by the engines which were also CA'd to the wood floor and the rear uprights of the frame which sat over the engine:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51406371556_22f5af66ce_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjB6hY)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51405624477_11a4d2e346_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjxgdi)
The three horizontal braces were added from plastic rod to make the frame rigid:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51406371491_9e7e1c0208_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjB6gR)
The structure above the engines looks complicated in photos but is actually fairly simple and consists of mirror halves. I will not try to describe it as it is clear in the photos: basically it was constructed from 30 thou rod held with liquid cement:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51407351045_3b949f444c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjG7sH)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51407351030_7a95cc80a8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjG7ss)
Once the basic frame was complete and dry I could add the rear bracing arms and drive shafts to the gear pods:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51407129769_c79030610e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjEYFB)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51406371431_52ccf15451_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjB6fP)
I have placed the horizontal tail surface on to the rear of the boom to get an idea of what the aircraft will look like when it is finished:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51407350955_3e63c5bca3_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjG7ra)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51407129689_61c976c59b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjEYEe)
The plastic frame has been painted black and I have made the jigs which I will use to mount the upper wings. I will describe how I mount the wings in the next post - if I am successful of course!
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Oh my, it is really starting to get together now Stephen.
Very neat work on the engine structure. I love the peculiar tailplane. I'm sure the forward top wing will come on just fine.
Looking forward to seeing it installed.
Willem
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How amazing. A double pusher too. You are a man of exceptional taste!
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Wow! This is amazing modelling! A really great masterclass! I'm enjoying this enormously! Regards, Marc.
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Amazing, Steve -
The flying speedboat is really coming together well now
Regards
Dave
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Yes Stephen, you made a great progress to convert the nice wooden motor boat into a plane :)
Very clever to combine soldered brass and plastic rod. Rigid enough due to the brass and original look by plastic, which reduces the effort a lot.
Wonderful!
Cheers,
Frank
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Beautiful work Stephen, she's looking resplendent in her grey coat. Very nearly there now.
Richie
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Just getting caught up on your build Stephen and I will say that this s really starting to look totally cool !
Outstanding work so far !
Alexis , who wants to know will it float ! ?
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excellent as ever, Stephen
er me
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Your exceptional skill is certainly on display here, Stephen. Construction of the cage around the engine is very impressive.
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Another exceptional build on it's way by the look of it! Certainly the engine and prop mounts show your usual finesse!
Lovely work!
Ian
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Evening All,
Many thanks Willem, Will, Marc, Dave, Frank, Richie, Alexis, Ermeio, Ken and Ian for your very kind comments all of which are much appreciated.
William - pushers rule as far as I am concerned. The only real aeroplanes are pushers with more than one wing.....!
Alexis - no this one will not float! Apparently the original floated very well indeed and had good water handling characteristics. I like it because of its steampunk qualities!
I have mounted the rear wing and rigged it.
Before proceeding with the wings I had to put in the radiator pipes between the engine bay and the lower rear wing - the radiators were mounted on the lower wing. I used 30 thou Evergreen rod for the pipes and put them into holes which I had drilled in the wing:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51411655274_dcfbb9a9df_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk5aXy)
The white marks on the wing are where the radiators were to be fixed. These were glued in place with supports from stretched sprue behind them. I forgot to photograph them before I mounted the upper wing but they can be seen in photos below.
I have made some simple jigs to support the wings while I put the struts in. The problem with the strut arrangement on this aircraft is that they are angled sideways and forwards, so simple vertical jigs of the type I have used before will not work. However Marklo used a clever jig in his build which was a simple pyramid with the angle of the sides the same as the angle of the struts where they lean towards the hull. The forward angle was marked with a pencil on the side of the jig, and a tab was left on the front or rear edge of the jig to hold the jig on the wing. By placing 2 jigs on each pair of wings and then placing the upper wings on the jigs I could see how the overall structure would look:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51410149632_3da67c4e07_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjWsod)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51411655374_18ee0e645c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk5aZh)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51411879435_8bc0768d74_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk6jAp)
Note that the jigs in the images above were part of a trial so the radiators were not fixed at the time. The lines on the side of the front jig which show where the struts will be can be seen in the third photo.
After I had fixed the radiators I put the jigs in place on the rear wing only. To stop the jigs from sliding around I put small pieces of masking tape on the sides and across the top: this prevented sideways and front to rear movement and held the top wing steady. The centre section struts which form a V were put in first and allowed to harden for an hour. Then I could take out a jig on one side, invert the model and put in the outer pair of struts:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51410893131_438124e01b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk1gpa)
Note the centre V struts, the wing jig at the front of the image and the sophisticated supports to hold everything up and square while I was putting struts in place and allowing them to harden. The remaining struts on the port side could then be inserted relatively easily:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51410149502_cfbc419bb7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mjWskY)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51411158318_e812acc7cc_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk2Cem)
Repeat the above process for the other side and all the struts were mounted:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51411879270_3379694c37_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk6jxy)
As usual I rig the fore-aft wires between the struts first:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51411958315_37f896cc5b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk6J3p)
The main wires in the bays between the struts followed:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51410971876_1755ce5938_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mk1ENQ)
Now that one wing is in place I can get on with the other and then start on the tail unit and control wires.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Another inspirational scratchbuilding masterclass Stephen. Thanks for sharing your techniques.
Richie
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Stephen, I completely agree with Richie.
Good progress and beautifully executed. And what a clever, simple jig to align the wings!
Willem
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This is fantastic. It’s not an aircraft that I’m familiar with either, so it is especially interesting to see it come together when I have no idea what is coming next. I’ve been resisting looking it up online so as to avoid “spoilers” :)
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Really starting to look like an aircraft now, Steve -
Love the great progress you have made and I think your 'simple wing jigs' are brilliant!
Wonderful!
Regards
Dave
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That strut configuration is quite complicated. Excellent job on the process of getting them installed.
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Fantastic work, Stephen. I have been a bit lazy last time and I nearly missed this masterclass scratch build. Really great work.
Bye Manni
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Stephen,
Your exceptional skills of designing and employing (not so simple!) jigs shines through again. This design would test the limits of most Modeller's skills yet here you are once again sailing through the obstacle course of a seemingly impossible strut layout with ease ...... Bravo! This is impressive and a real pleasure to follow along.
Cheers,
Lance
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Looking absolutely wonderful. You do have to admit it’s one of the maddest aircraft. Looking at your build I’m almost tempted to go again in 1/72 as it’s so cute, ( I said almost) my next off odd aircraft will probably be a Fokker V8 but I am toying with the nine winged Caproni seaplane :) ( maybe not) and I will definitely attempt a Sablatning triplane from the same book in the near future.
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Dang, I miss a couple of updates and you have this one rigged and looking Awesome! You are certainly a Master Scratch Builder Stephen!
RAGIII
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Stephen, you have built a lot already but this one will be the master piece of your collection of crazy birds!
This one is really "Completely Different" but built in a masterful way as always.
Cheers,
Frank
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Looks amazing now. It's got a real touch of the Porco Rosso to it as well 8)
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Evening All,
My sincere thanks to all of you who have replied to the updates - I really appreciate your very positive and supportive comments. William you will now be able to see what the aircraft looked like at the end of this post.
I had to correct an error before proceeding with the front upper wing. I had mis-interpreted the drawings when I put in the radiator pipes: what I had thought were the pipes were in fact control wires to the tail surfaces - the radiator pipes were not on the drawing at all! A quick change in position of the pipes was carried out and they now look much better and plausible. The front upper wing was mounted in the same way as the rear upper wing - by using custom made jigs which were secured with masking tape:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51415181438_6890f5d6d8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mkofau)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51414169982_b921f68858_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mki4uA)
I had learned from experience when mounting the rear upper wing that I would have to invert the model to fix the struts - the masking tape ensured that I could do this while keeping the jigs and wing in place. The centre section struts were fitted first - that meant that the wing was held in part by the struts while the jigs supported the outer parts of the wing when I handled the model. I had to invert the model to be able to fix the struts to the underside of the top wing:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51429336537_84ecf43280_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mmCMYV)
The remaining struts were inserted as per the rear wing and the jigs removed as soon as one pair of struts had been inserted on each side of the centre section. Rigging followed with some difficulty because the fore-aft wires were not easy to get at and access to the bay wires at the rear was restricted by the rear wings. Two separate sessions were required to get this far:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51414912886_423a483b50_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mkmSkh)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51415671464_67507023b1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mkqKQd)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51414169862_90f12b1cf4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mki4sw)
The tail surfaces were assembled before I fixed them to the booms. This allowed me to rig some of the control wires and bracing and made life easier getting everything square and true. The booms were also rigged before the tail surfaces were attached. The horizontal tail plane was CA'd to the upper surface of the boom and the control wires rigged:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51415181518_7158a0217e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mkofbS)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51414912741_f0ac150a85_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mkmShM)
Finally I added the ailerons to the rear wings, the windscreen, propellors and the last of the control wires from the tail unit, and the anti-drag wires for the wings and the model is complete:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51415899515_bfacea2a70_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mkrVC8)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/51414912681_3a61407591_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2mkmSgK)
I am in the process of finishing the trolley on which the machine was carried to the launch ramp and a simple base on which to mount the model as it is a bit fragile and awkward to handle. I hope to be able to post pictures of the model on the base in the completed models section in the next few days and give more views of this rather different aeroplane.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Wow! What a double-engine-double-biplane-boat!
What is the reason for the cutouts at the front of the tailplane? Is there a rigging? Looks unusual, as the whole bird.
Cheers,
Frank
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Frank: you are correct the cutouts on the tailplane allowed the elevator control wires to pass without fouling or passing through the surface.
I agree that a double pusher double biplane is something to beat!
Stephen.
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That's truly outstanding, Steve
Such a very different machine - is it a boat, is a plane ..........?!
Can't wait to see this on it's trolley
Regards
Dave
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:o ??
Are you sure a couple planes didn't just crash into each other? ;D
Another fantastic result, Stephen.
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This looks like an aircraft that flew directly from 'Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow"...
Amazing, unique plane and great build Stephen!
Willem
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I once read a description of another odd aircraft that described it as a collection of parts flying in formation rather than a single aircraft, probably one that applies to the Oertz too.
Looks wonderful. I have far too many projects on the bench to start another Oertz but, your build has certainly got me thinking of a W5 or a W7.
http://village.photos/images/user/4687b1d8-729a-4290-bd01-dd7e49aa5009/b3afc6f0-37fb-4b3f-895b-97b400a60796.jpeg
My only other thought was that this is about the only machine I can think of that could possibly top the Oertz :) I’m thinking 1/144 then I’m thinking am I nuts….
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I'm thinking you need some serious therapy....
;D ;D ;D
Willem
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Evening All
Thank you again to all of you who have followed and commented on this build - your support was greatly appreciated.
There are now photos of the completed model in the appropriate section.
Thanks for the advice Willem: I think that I will find another unusual aircraft which is not available as a kit to model next as I know that my mental state is long past recovery to normality!
Stephen.
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My only other thought was that this is about the only machine I can think of that could possibly top the Oertz :) I’m thinking 1/144 then I’m thinking am I nuts….
Stephen, actually, my comment was meant for Marklo
;D
Willem
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Congratulations on this. Such a great build! Heading over to the RFI for a look :)
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I did assume Willhelms comment to be directed at me. I might add the red not therapy I regularly ascribe to is the band ( one of my favourites btw)
I somehow see my Oertz as representing the high (low) water mark of my modelling, mind I do have my eye on a few odd builds ( eg the Euler quad or the Caproni triplane) but I don’t think any of the will match the Oertz for pure aeronautical oddity.
Again have to say I loved the build, you’ve made it seem easy. Looking forward to the next one
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fantastic project! This is not a flying boat, it is a flying ship. The most alarming thing about the original airplane that there is actual photos showing it flying... me too had looked at the drawings and thought that perhaps one day...but i am not there yet :). Congrats on a very fine and original work.
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Thanks Will, Mark and Skyhook for the kind remarks. I enjoyed building this one - as indeed I do all of my oddball types as they offer challenges which more conventional types do not.
Stephen.