forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: lone modeller on October 30, 2013, 09:51:40 AM
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Evening All,
Once again I am presenting a thread which I regard as a conversion rather than a true scratch build, but as everyone seems to be happy with conversions going into this forum I will stick with previous practice. My apologies to any who are getting bored with pushers, but as they formed an important (and generally neglected by model manufacturers and therefore modellers), part of RFC equipment in the early years of WW1, I have taken a perverse delight in trying to build some of them. This means of course that I have to convert them from other kits, as I have already demonstrated with other models posted on this site. This little conversion concerns an aeroplane which is not particularly well known and has proved a bit of a problem to research in any detail, so there will be some aspects of my model which will involve a little imagination but not I hope, too many errors.
Like many other early aircraft types in general, and pushers in particular, there is no kit of this aircraft produced in 1/72 scale, although card kits in 1/48 and 1/50 scales are available. The inspiration to build this model came from an article by G. Scarborough published in Airfix Magazine Annual No 5 in 1975. G. Scarborough did not build a full aircraft as his was part of a small diorama where the aeroplane was partly dismantled and towed on a trailer, as illustrated in a series of photographs of Robey built machines being taken from the factory in Lincoln to a nearby testing field. I have chosen to represent the entire aircraft and omit the vehicles. There are two (possibly more) kits that could be used as starting points: the Airfix Avro 504 (as in my case), or the Airfix DH 4, both of which could provide wings, wheels, struts, etc, but either way you will need two kits unless you are prepared to make part of the wings from plastic card as the span of the Sopwith Gunbus was considerably greater than either the Avro 504 or the DH 4. I used G. Scarborough's method of increasing the chord of the Avro 504 wings and kept the fuselages for later use to correct the errors in that kit when I come make different variants of that famous type. The engines and propellors also proved useful for the conversions of Vickers Gunbuses from D H 4's: it is surprising how much of a kit can be used in different conversions/scratchbuilds.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4290/35516764341_43705e65d7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W7uGDT)
These are the parts which I intend to use from the Airfix kits: the remainder of what is needed will be made from plastic card or rod.
I started with the wings on this model. I needed sets from two Airfix Avro 504 kits although I only used three wing units. I started by cutting a length 8.4 cm from the port (left) side of both upper wings: this extends past the centre section cut-out almost to the point where the wing anhedral starts on the starboard (right) side.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4242/35647242265_63732fcece_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Wj2rcg)
I scored the underside of both wings and removed the anhedral by carefully bending the wing until it was flat and secured the new shape by running liquid cement along the score lines and pressed the wing flat until they were dry.
I cut off a piece 4.9 cm long from the port (left) side of a lower wing and a similar length from the starboard(right) side of the same wing. These will form the centre sections of the new wings. Finally I cut two lengths 1.1 cm long from what was left of the outer sections of the lower wing.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4047/35260254170_e682a49e5f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VHQ27J)
These are the wing sections prior to assembly, showing how the different pieces of three wings are joined together to make two new ones.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4254/35260262120_7123311711_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VHQ4tN)
To assemble the new wings I cemented the two 1.1cm pieces to the starboard (right) sections of the upper wing parts: these were butted at 90 degrees and allowed to dry thoroughly. When they were completely dry the edges of the centre section pieces (the ones 4.9 cm long) and the edges of the outer wing panels were filed so that when they were butted together the correct dihedral angle (3.5 degrees) was achieved.
I cut out the top wing indent for the booms by cutting two slots 6mm deep x 5 mm wide where the anhedral starts and then joined the wing sections making sure that I got the correct dihedral angle on both sides. With the bottom wing the centre section chord needs to be 1.6 cm, so I reduced the chord to this dimension before I glued the wing sections together by removing a piece from the trailing edge. Then I assembled the lower wing sections but in this case I allowed the wing centre section leading edge to extend 2mm ahead of the outer wing sections because later I will only need to put some rod on the outer wing sections when I extend the chord of the wings later.
When the new wings were completely dry I glued a length of 60 thou diameter rod along the entire leading edge of the upper wing and the outer panels of the lower wing and allowed it to dry. I then filled the gap between the rod and the top and bottom surfaces of the wings with filler, and at the same time filled the strut location holes and grooves, the old aileron grooves and the joints of the wing sections. I also filled the cutouts of the 504 wing centre sections with card and filled the joints. When all the filler was being rubbed down I removed the ribs of the 504, and shaped the tips of the wings. I drilled the new strut location holes on both wings, and on the lower wing holes for the undercarriage under the centre section, and wing skids under the outer struts. Last of all I cut and filed shallow grooves on the top of the trailing edges of the wings where the booms will be joined later. Strictly this is not accurate as the booms were inserted into the rear of the wings but this is not really practical on this model as the wings are so thin that the resulting joint would be very weak.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4015/35516762571_e97d8ddc65_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W7uG8n)
These are the completed wings (upper wing top), viewed from the front showing how the plastic rod and filler has been used to extend the chord. The indents in the rear of the upper wing can also be seen as can the cut-out on the lower wing. Note that the lower wing chord has only had to be increased on the outer sections.
Thanks for looking.
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You have made an excellent start on your Gunbus LM, the wing conversions have been very well done and should look the part perfectly.
Des.
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Hi LM.
You made quite a job in those wings. Awesome start indeed.
Cheers
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Nice start, this should be an interesting thread!
Ian
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Impressive work LM. I truly appreciate the adventurous spirit to create something from basic stock, essentially. This will be a learning experience for many of us. Thanks for sharing your work in such helpful detail. ;D
Regards,
Bob
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Lone Modeller,
Wow what an awesome project my friend. Love those kit bash / scratchbuilt projects. Outstanding progress to date! This thread is one of those I'll be following with the greatest of interest.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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Evening All,
Thanks to those who have written such encouraging comments - they really are appreciated. Progress has been a bit slow as I have been distracted a bit by life's events, but I have managed to get a little further with this one. One of the bigger problems has been finding reliable information - this was not an aircraft that was well documented, photographically or otherwise so I have had to be a little creative in places, but I suspect (hope) that nobody will notice.
The fuselage nacelle was built from 20 thou card sides and floor with three bulkheads, one at the point where the top decking starts to curve at the nose end, one between the cockpits and one at the rear. I made a three sided box with the sides, floor and bulkheads and added seats, and a control column, rudder bar, etc in the front cockpit. Instruments were pretty basic and as I have no specific details I indicated a couple on the sides of the cockpit and added a simple throttle on the right side. The top decking was made from 20 thou card bent over the curved tops of the bulkheads and glued into place with liquid cement. I cut a slot in the top decking behind the rear cockpit to take the radiator which was made from card with the surfaces scored to represent the radiator grill. The nose of the nacelle was built up with scrap plastic and then covered with filler and sanded to shape. The coamings around the cockpits were made from thin rod. The engine bearers were of rod inserted into holes drilled into the rear of the nacelle, and the rear support for the engine was cut from card.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4097/34838047483_072e07b330_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V5w6M6)
The engine was difficult to make as I could not find any good quality photos or drawings: the drawings provided in the AM Annual were poor and not very accurate but were all I could find, so they had to do. The cylinder blocks and engine block/sump were made from laminated card. The exhaust pipes were short pieces of rod bent to a curve and I put some very thin rod on the sides of the block to represent pipes, but I did not add much in the centre of the engine where I suspect there were pipes and wiring because I just do not have any evidence to go on. In any event nothing much will be seen when the model is finished as it will be largely hidden under the top wing. The assembly was painted light grey with a little silver mixed in to give a metallic finish.
This image shows the best that I could do with the engine - much of it will be concealed when it is mounted on the rear of the nacelle so the lack of specific detail will not be too large a problem I hope. I suspect that many more pipes and wires should be present but the question is, where can I find the details?
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4079/34892573023_77da465b26_z.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VakyjB)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4283/34805734014_b18c742606_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V2Eu7j)
Thanks for looking.
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Hello LM, I am amazed how you do this in this tiny scale. Wished I would be able to do that, but I seems far away from my possibilities of handyness and my poor eyes. Congrats!
Kind regards
Patrick
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Amazing work, LM. I am really in awe of your talents. My eyes get sore
just imagining working on such teeny bits. I look forward to more updates.
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Great work from you LM.
I do know how hard those details are to make, but such a skilled modeler like you knows no bounds. Well done.
Cheers
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Weren't most of these powered by the 110 or 150hp Sunbeam V8 "crusader" ?
From what I can work out this is a mislabeled example, I could be wrong... Note pusher config:
(http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2557/3971660993_7cb3222e3f_z.jpg)
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150 hp Sunbeam V8 shown here... :
(http://www.aviationancestry.com/Engines/Sunbeam/Sunbeam-Coatalen-1916-1.jpg)
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Evening All,
Gentlemen: many thanks for your compliments - I am not sure that they are wholly deserved as I consider that these efforts are rather amatuerish compared with some of the work seen on this site. Nevertheless I am genuinely grateful for the comments as they inspire me to carry on and to continue posting.
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Bo,
Many thanks indeed for posting those photos. You are right in assuming that the engines used in the Sopwith Gunbus were 150hp Sunbeam Napiers. I have read a source somewhere that said that these engines were also used for naval airships which may be why they were used in the Gunbuses too as these were built for the RNAS. The picture of the 8 cylinder engine in the advert is the type used in the Gunbus complete with the overhead pipes leading to the radiator. In the case of the engine configured as a pusher the pipes would have been taken to the front end in the Gunbus as I hope my model will eventually demonstrate. I have trawled the net looking for pictures of one of these and have simply found nothing....and then you come along with two excellent pictures! I have learned a lesson here - next time I will post a question on this site - clearly there are some very well informed people out there - you being among them.
Thank you again for the information.
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LM,
Glad these pics are of some use to you! Actually I am not particularly knowledgeable about these engines but it is a fascinating subject to me, and I am fairly handy with a search engine:)
The top photo does appear to be a Crusader although the museum caption has it as an Arab. The Arab is quite different looking, it resembles an Hispano Suiza V-8 and I believe it is OHC whereas these "Crusader" type V-8s would appear to be side valve jobs. The motor is apparently in a museum in Belgium; perhaps somebody here knows more.
Cheers,
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Evening All,
I made the boom struts from florist's wire and put in the small horizontal bracing struts on each boom. This makes the structure stronger when I come to start putting the wings together with the struts. I have also cut the tail surfaces from card and painted the wings with white to show up any holes or gaps in the joints and filler. The image shows the components at that stage of proceedings:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/34838047233_b6bd41ee62_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V5w6GM)
I have painted the wings and started the roundels. The upper surfaces are in PC 8 which was a coloured dope used by the RNAS in 1915 prior to PC 10 becoming standard in 1916. The roundels have the white centres painted but I have still to add the red rings. The method that I use to paint roundels is simple. First paint the background colour. Now use a pair of dividers to score the outer circle into the paint surface and then paint the white of the roundel up to the scored line. The paint will just run into the scored groove and give a clean sharp line if you are careful and use a fine brush and thin paint. Now score the edges of the red and blue circles into the white paint and paint the remaining colours - again using thin paint and a fine brush. I use an eye loupe to see the grooves and rest the model and my painting hand on the desk while I am painting to stop any shaking. So far this method has worked well - just occasionally I have to touch some colour in. The boom has not been glued the wing in this image - it was glued into place after the photo was taken.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4115/34805788364_ab10c22e52_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V2ELgo)
The fuselage nacelle and under-wings were finished in CDL: the top of the fuselage was light grey as this seems to have been the colour of the original machines according to my sources. The propellor blades were wide and I had to make new ones from card: these were glued to the boss of an old camel(?) which I found in the bottom of my spares box: I removed the original blades. The propellor was painted dark wood with a grey boss.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4282/35516971101_48fe705c8f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W7vL7H)
I cemented the radiator to the nacelle and the engine to the bearers, and then added the water pipes from the cylinders to the radiator: these were from rod bent into shape. The pipes were painted copper with some brown mixed in to take off the sheen. The exhaust pipes were rust. I am not going to try to add any more detail to the engine as it is just too small and anyway it will hardly be visible under the top wing when the model is finished. However on reflection I should have tried to add some grime to the engine but in my hurry I forgot. I also find weathering with a paint brush very difficult to get right - either I add too much or not enough!
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4073/35607715436_b2b08859e9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WfwRfd)
The above image shows the state of play at the moment. The next stage will be to finish the roundels and tail markings. The roundels will be of the RNAS 1915 style - a red outer ring with a white interior, and then I can put the nacelle on to the lower wing and the upper wing on to the struts. This will be different to the other pushers that I have made as the wing and vertical boom struts are all staggered forwards, and in addition the nacelle does not rest on the lower wing - it is suspended in the gap between the wings. I have still got to work out how to get the angles and positions right - I think that I know what to do, but only time and experience will tell me if I am correct.
Thanks for looking.
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Very nice so far, she's shaping up to be a little gem!
Ian
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Hi LM
This is shaping up really nicely. It's one I'm certainly looking forward to seeing complete.
You mention the problem of getting the balance of weathering right and either adding too much or little. Does the photographic evidence suggest that Gunbuses in service were often seen in a particularly grimy state? I have to say that I have very little expertise in the field of weathering but have always thought that less is more.
Best wishes
Nigel
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Dear Nigel,
Photographs of the Sopwith Gunbus are not too numerous - they were used mainly for training in the early years of the war and so were not much photographed. Such pictures as I have been able to find are usually pretty grainy and not of the best quality. That said it is often the case that the photos were also taken from a distance, so detail is difficult to see. There is a set of photos of machines being taken by lorry from Robey's factory in Lincoln which are some of the better ones, but these were new machines being taken to a field for flight testing - even these do not show any engine detail. Of course the mechanics would have done their best to keep the engines clean - they would certainly not have been covered in oil and grime, but inevitably there would be some dirt and oil traces on parts of these engines and I would like to have the painting skills to simulate this. I note how some of the models on this site have excellent but subtle weathering effects - especially oil stains from rotaries (which were notorious for spilling oil as photos show) - but as you say, (and I wholeheartedly agree), less is best. However my engine looks just too clean, especially in the photos. Perhaps now it is mounted it is not so obvious, and when the wings are on it may not show at all. I suspect that it could be a case of me being over-supercritical of my own work - as usual.
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Dear LM
I suspect that over-criticality of our own work is a personality trait of many of us share here; in your case it leads to some superlative work.
Like you, I searched for Gunbus photos and couldn't turn up much. One of the books I looked in was Volume 2 Fighters in J.M. Bruce's War Planes of the First World War series. There are three small photos there: one of the earlier version with the Gnome engine and two of the later Sunbeam powered machines. Two of these aircraft (one of each engine) are shown larger and in better detail in the same author's The Sopwith Fighters in the Vintage Warbirds series, together with another of a Gunbus fitted with a bomb sight.
I'm sure you've seen them all, but what strikes me is the smartness of the ground crew and, in one case, the naval aircrew. Maybe these are just photos of machines hot off the production line like the Robey's one you mention, but there seems an evident pride in the machines which might suggest high standards maintenance and cleanliness. I also notice in the naval version what appears to be some protective covering for the engine - which would also keep out the grime. Perhaps too, in-line engines just threw out less oil?
All that said, I'm sure you're right to go for some representation of light dirt and oil traces. Others who are far more expert than me may be able to advise, but I would be tempted to apply some thinned down, dark brown oil paint sparingly in likely places where build up might occur.
Best wishes, and do keep up he excellent work,
Nigel
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She is shaping up quite nicely LM, the engine looks great sitting in position along with the radiator.
Des.
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Thank you for the compliments Nigel and Des: glad you think it looks good.
I agree with what you have written Nigel about most (all?) the people who post on this and other sites are also critical of what they do. You will recall that we have already mentioned the problems we have had with reference to posting our work. I need to learn to be less critical, especially when the comments made on this site are so positive (as you, Des and many others have been on this thread).
Thanks too for the hint concerning how to paint on the oil stains on the engine - I will definitely try that in the future (too late for the Gunbus). As you have indicated, the aircraft of the RNAS and the RFC (and other air forces of course), were kept in very good condition: after all, aircrew lives depended upon these machines performing at least as well as, if not better than the opposition, or if they were trainers, not failing in the air. What is remarkable is how well machines were maintained on the primitive grass airstrips and canvass hangers that were used on forward airfields. Those ground crews must have worked some very long hours indeed to maintain those very high standards.
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An ultra interesting build! I even haven`t heard about the plane :-[
Keep up the good work!
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Evening All,
Many thanks for the compliments Xmaid - this is not one of Sopwith's better known designs, nor was it one of his most successful, but it was the first to gain military orders for his company, and it helped the company to survive until orders for other designs came in. I just happen to like early aircraft that had lots of struts and wires and sometimes even primitive looking shapes, but they do present different challenges to the modeller compared with some of the later more streamlined aircraft. However these early machines do not appeal to enough modellers for them to become subjects for large scale manufacturers, so I am left with little option other than to make them myself.
I finished painting the wing roundels and touched in some of the other paint where necessary. The serial came from an old set of Almarks transfers, the rudder stripes were painted by hand. I cut and shaped some struts from card before tackling the nacelle and wing assembly as there are a lot of struts on a Sopwith Gunbus, so even with two sets from the Avro 504's I still had to make four more for the wings and six for the booms.
Fitting the nacelle to the lower wing, and then the upper wing to the lower was a lot less difficult than I had feared it would be, even with the forward stagger of the struts and the fact that the nacelle was mounted between the wings. I measured the angle of stagger of the struts from the plans and then marked this on a small piece of card. The card was cut to a V-shape: by laying the nacelle on its side and holding one edge of the card so that it was lined with the radiator, I could put a small pencil line on each side of the nacelle, and then cemented the struts along the lines. The top of the radiator acted as a guide as to where the tops of the struts needed to go, but I had to allow for the struts to go into the holes in the wings.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4012/35478730042_b3a1b737c5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W48Lo7)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4094/35478731402_e00d87ed70_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W48LMy)
When the fuselage struts were dry they were carefully lowered and glued into the holes in the lower wing and then drops of glue were put on to the tops and a little along the top of the radiator before I gently lowered the top wing so that the leading edge aligned with the edge of the radiator and the nacelle struts entered the holes on the underside of the wing. The fin was inserted between the V of the lower boom where it was glued with superglue to the cross strut, and the top was fixed to the V of the upper booms, also with superglue. This was a bit of a fiddle but not too difficult. Although this structure sounds and looks weak it is stronger than you might think! No jig was necessary because the nacelle struts and radiator were rigid enough to hold things in place while the superglue on the rudder dried. Once the latter was dry (2-3 minutes) there was enough rigidity in the sub-assembly to allow further gentle handling. First the rear nacelle struts were carefully inserted into the lower and upper wings and given a few minutes to dry. I then cemented two struts into the outer holes of both ends of the wings: because these also came from one of the 504's they were the correct length.This sub-assembly was now allowed to dry thoroughly while I went off and for a celebratory drink and relaxed as the most difficult part was over. Although this assembly would not stand rough handling, when dry it could be manipulated sufficiently for the remaining wing and the boom struts to be inserted with few problems. I inserted a second set of wing struts next in order to further strengthen the structure:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4240/35260355510_ecdbb2f1b8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VHQxeY)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4288/35516822421_8a1e6cc49b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W7uZVg)
The remainder of the struts, including the boom struts, were inserted later, after the above images were taken, but I have not included pictures because my camera is not working properly at the moment, so I will post more when I have that problem solved.
I have used this construction method for all of the pushers that I have made until now (this is number five), and it works really well. The secret is accurate measurement of the strut holes and getting the strut lengths right - if you are cutting them from card make them slightly over-long so that they can be trimmed to the exact size. In this case because they were kit parts, length was not a problem. The other part of the procedure is to attach the booms to the wings and horizontal tail units first as this makes assembly and alignment much more straightforward, and avoids the problem of trying to make pre-assembled boom structures align with and fit the wing assembly. Attaching the outer wing struts and the rudder gives a triangular structure which is much stronger and more stable than it might appear, and is actually relatively easy to assemble and align. The remaining wing and boom struts can then be added at will and everything should line up and fit properly, provided of course that you have drilled the holes in the correct locations! Even with the stagger on this model this system worked well - pushers are actually not so much more difficult to build than any other biplane, even in Braille Scale, (God's Own Scale).
Next step is to make and add the undercarriage.
Thanks for looking.
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Looking good LM, the engine has a 'hot rod' feel to it.
Andrew
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Great progress, LM. Really interesting how you handled the strut
installation. Well done, my friend! I look forward to the next installment.
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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It's a surprisingly big beast isn't it? The explanation as to how you approached things is both interesting and helpful. Thanks, LM.
Best wishes
Nigel
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Looking really good with the wings and tail booms on, also the fin/rudder, looking forward to seeing the undercarriage fitted.
Des.
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I'm looking forward to the next set of pics, she's coming along nicely! Thanks for the explainations too.
Ian
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Wow LM, you've come a long (and hard) way. Thank you for the explanations.
The DH9 it's coming along very good and it's looking nice. Great work from you once again.
Cheers
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Brilliant work, LM! Incredible workmanship on an unusual and interesting subject.
Cheers,
Bud
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Thanks again to all of you for your compliments. Pushers really are not so difficult once a couple of problems have been solved, although each one has its own tricky part to get around - in this case it was the stagger of the struts, but in the end it was not nearly as difficult as I had imagined.
It's a surprisingly big beast isn't it?
The span of the model is approximately 8.5 inches (21 cm), compared with the FE 2 which is 7.75 inches (19.5 cm): it is why two sets of wings from other models have to be used because there are no kits available with wings of comparable span and chord. The Sopwith Gunbus will be the largest pusher model I will have made when it is finished - it will dwarf the FE 8! (5.25 inches - 17cm).
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Evening All,
I cut the undercarriage struts from card and shaped them to aerofoil section; the skids were from the same material. Small holes were drilled in the top of the skids where the struts fitted. I cut an axle from wire. I glued the axle to the skids and the cemented the struts into the tops of the skids. The struts angle inwards towards the nacelle, with the front ones vertical in relation to the skid and the rear ones angled forwards. While the struts were still soft I lowered the undercarriage unit so that the ends of the struts are inserted into the correct holes under the wings and nacelle. I could then adjust the struts and skids so that the struts are at the correct angles and the skids are parallel with the bottom of the fuselage. All of the struts and undercarriage units can now be painted and the rigging will follow.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4283/35478729102_1a8bb21e65_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W48L6U)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4101/35260354220_af00d48402_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VHQwRJ)
Thanks for looking.
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She looks great with all the struts and the undercarriage on, starting to look the real deal now, very well done so far.
Des.
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Lone Modeler,
Wow she's shaping up to outstanding old bus. Excellent struts and undercarriage my friend.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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Hello LM,
It's a beauty and an interesting model. Very very clean build and painting. Great work!
Kind regards
Patrick
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It's coming along very nicely LM. The painting and scratched parts excels your skills.
Great work.
Cheers
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Nice progress, LM. She looks good with the struts in place.
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Great looking model! She has certainly taken on a whole new look with the struts, wings, and gear in place! Very Neat and Clean, OUTSTANDING!
RAGIII
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Great looking model! She has certainly taken on a whole new look with the struts, wings, and gear in place! Very Neat and Clean, OUTSTANDING!
RAGIII
Dittos to my amigos comments !
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Evening All,
I have finished the Gunbus at last - there were about 140 individual wires to be put on to this model - more than any other that I have made, and compared with just over 50 on the DH 4, so this took quite a time. The holiday break also helped to slow things down. I used 44 swg rolled copper wire for the rigging as trying to drill holes and rig with thread would not have been practical for me. In addition there are control wires which would be very difficult to attach. The tail skid and wing skids (the latter made from 5 amp fuse wire) were added after the rigging was finished and the model was complete.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4147/35516867041_c90273156d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W7vebz)
I have posted more pictures in the completed models section if anyone is interested.
Thanks for looking.
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Terrific LM! Well done. It's so nice to see one of the more rarely modelled aircraft done to such good effect.
Best wishes
Nigel
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Congratulations, LM! Brilliant scratchbuilding of an extraordinary subject. Heading over to finished models to check it out.
Cheers,
Bud
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Well done LM, I will now slip over to the completed models board and check out your finished model, it looks superb.
Des.
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Congratulations on finishing this one so well! I'll have to take a look at the rest of the pics...
Ian
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Many Congrats for the superbly scratchbuild model LM. Thx for posting this great work.
Cheers