forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: lone modeller on March 11, 2016, 07:01:39 AM
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Evening All,
This project was inspired by Ninetythirdliberator's (Dan Smith's) build of the Joystick vacuform of this type on this forum. I have not built a flying boat before, but the clean lines caught my attention. Dan has very kindly sent me a copy of the drawings so I have some reference material to start with. It also had not passed me by that it is a pusher.. but one without booms and therefore complex rigging, so it has everythingl going for it as a scratch build project. Having had a particularly busy time of late I decided that it was time to get back to some modelling again to take my mind off other things, and that this would be a relatively quick build (well for me at least). I have not done very much yet but I have made a start: I have cut pieces of 60 thou card to laminate in order to make the floats and I have cut out the wings and horizontal tail surfaces from card bent in hot water, shaped the tips and added the ribs from 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip - something quick with results instantly visible. I already feel better!
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4324/36103834921_cbc17ca79d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X1nAhr)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4316/36196485246_74e857346f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X9yrZQ)
Thanks for looking.
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Excellent work so far Stephen, looking forward to seeing this one come together.
Des.
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Stephen, it's going to be a very interesting project! The wings are looking very good already!
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Popcorn and chair acquired....
Ian
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It looks to be another magnificent scratch build from your talented hands! I am looking forward to your progress.
RAGIII
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Great beginning.
Cheers
Martin
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Evening All,
Thanks to Des, Xmald, IanB, Rick and Martin for the encouraging remarks - I have just had a week when I needed them!
This model is a test of concept for me - can I build a flying boat? I have always considered that the fuselage would be the biggest problem because of the shape, especially the curves in the nose area and getting sharp edges at the top and bottom of the the sides. I now know (thanks to Malaula) how to get the latter correct (as I did on the Ago nacelle), but those nose curves look to be a different ball game. Anyway I thought that I might build up the sides, stepped bottom, and top rear from 30 thou card as box sections and mould an upper front fuselage with the curved section for the wings in the usual manner. I set out to do this and carved a male mould for the upper forward fuselage but then realised that in front of the cockpit there is a small vertical section through which the m/g's protrude and moulding this by pushing a mould vertically was not going to work very well. I could perhaps do it if I then put some thin stretched sprue around the top edge and used filler but it was going to be a fiddle and might not work after all. A bad attack of cold feet meant that I went back to start and thought again, demonstrating by the way the advantages of scratch-building. I had not glued any of the fuselage pieces together so I am able to use them elsewhere, in this case some of the cockpit details were made from some of the pieces.
Second attempt at the fuselage/hull: I decided that I would go for the traditional method with fuselages and mould it in two halves. Then I would cut away the bottom so that I could insert two pieces, one in front of, and a second to the rear of the step. The step would be a former inserted into the joined halves. This would give me a stronger fuselage assembly and square joins along the edges of the lower fuselage. The top edges could be dealt with by using sprue and filler as per the Ago. This also would give me the curved vertical face in front of the cockpit. The problem with this approach was that for a push mould this is both rather large, and thin at the rear end and I was concerned whether the balsa wood would have the strength to enable me to get the necessary moulds. Well I gave it a go and found that the size was a bigger problem that the strength of the wood - I have had to make more moulds to get two decent two fuselage halves than any other moulding that I have made so far. I am not disappointed if I have to try two or three times but on this occasion it took 5 attempts to get one of the sides and four for the other - I was beginning to run out of 30 thou card! The problem was that the male mould would not fit squarely into the female and I kept getting distorted shapes. In the end I heated the plastic a little more than usual and then pushed the male into the female with fingers from each hand at both ends of the male mould while supporting the female over a large basin. Even then the mouldings are not the best and have needed a considerable amount of filler as the accompanying photos show, but in profile and plan they are very close to the drawings so I am happy with what I have got. If anyone wants to take a micrometer to the completed model and tell me that I am 0.5mm long/short/wide I will be happy to let them do so ………….. and then ask if they can do better?
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/36196487036_6d3a90125e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X9yswG)
This was the fuselage after I had filled the depressions in the upper rear - I had not started on the nose at this point! The cockpit opening was also cut out.
After filing, filling and sanding I managed to get my fuselage/hull and with some care marked out which parts of the lower fuselage to remove.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4293/36196494446_89c9b2a841_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X9yuJs)
I had deliberately made this section too large with every intention of cutting away part of it to bring it to the correct dimensions, which is what I did next. I could then insert some stiffeners into the hull and at the step in mid fuselage. I also painted the interior of the cockpit sides and put in a plate at the rear of the cockpit - I actually think that there should be a fuel tank here but I cannot find any details so I left it blank - it will be difficult to see on the finished model anyway so I will overlook that detail.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/36071239152_c84e818796_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WXuwGq)
I have constructed a simple cockpit which I will insert from below before I put on the bottom of the forward section of the hull.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4294/36071241662_7a81101703_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WXuxrG)
In all a tricky week but I am getting there: that is the difficult part over for now - the next one will be fixing the top wing but that is a long way off at the moment and in the meantime the next operations should be straightforward. Next week I will be on my travels again as it is Easter in this part of the world so there may be a pause before the next update.
Thanks for looking.
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That's quite an acheivement, looks great! Have a happy Easter!
Ian
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You have done a marvelous job so far Stephen, looking forward to seeing further updates.
Des.
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Stephen that`s what I call great modelling! Looking great!
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Outstanding work on the fuselage and interior! As always scratch building at its' best!
RAGIII
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Evening All,
Many thanks to those who have dropped by and left such positive comments - I really appreciate them.
I have managed to do a little more on the fuselage - and used a great deal more filler into the bargain! I think that I have used more filler on this model so far than on the previous three or four put together. The reason is the need to square off the edges of the fuselage sides and smooth off the front sides of the hull where the underside was fitted.
The front underside of the hull was curved along the lateral profile but also was slightly concave - I presume to try to make it aquaplane and reduce drag but I do not really know and as I am not a hydro-dynamic engineer I am simply guessing. In any event it had to be moulded. To do this I had cut off the lower part of the fuselage as shown before, and then carved a piece of balsa using the hull to get the correct curvature for the sides. Then I could shape the wood to give the concave curve of the hull bottom. This resulted in a double curved male mould: the female was simply cut to the plan shape of the forward fuselage and was straightforward. Moulding this piece was much simpler than the fuselage halves and when cut out the piece fitted very closely. I inserted the cockpit assembly from below and then glued the new hull bottom into place.
This is what it looked like from below before I trimmed and filed it to match the fuselage.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4330/36237642855_b6c7edfc9f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XdcoHM)
From above it looked like this:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/36237644945_e6080c27af_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XdcpkP)
I cut off the excess plastic and filled the gaps between the bottom and sides. I then glued small strips of stretched sprue along the top edges of the front and rear fuselage and when these were dry applied filler to fill the gaps along the pieces of sprue. When all of the filler was dry I could sand it down to get the square upper corners of the fuselage and the square sides for the forward parts of the lower hull. Finally I took some 10 thou card and scored it to give a keel and glued this to the lower part of the rear fuselage.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4313/36237651675_0d90fef13b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XdcrkR)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4309/36237654105_b91b9233a1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Xdcs4K)
Usually when I am scratch building I do not expect to use much filler but this has been the exception. At least the sides of the fuselage are now square and sharp and the top rear is flat as it should be.
Thanks for looking.
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Beautiful work, Stephen! Your attention to detail is amazing. No wonder
all your creations are special, my friend. :D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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You may have used a lot of filler but the results are AWESOME!
RAGIII
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More real modelling from your desk, Stephen, always a pleasant experience to follow your projects. Great attention to detail which is what makes your work so special, I'll be tagging along as you take this subject to completion!
Cheers,
Lance
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You are doing excellent work with this build Stephen.
Des.
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More exceptional moulding! That is a very odd design, with a concave underside!
Ian
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Outstanding work Stephen.
Cheers
Martin
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Evening All,
Many thanks again to all of you who have dropped by and left such complimentary remarks - they really are appreciated. This is as far as I have managed to get in the past few days, but there may be a delay before the next one as once again life is taking over! The next stage also requires a lot of painting and photos of paint drying are not the most exciting.
First I attached the wings - one at a time using my (non-patented) jig: some pieces of plastic card and an old tin lid which I use to mix paints in.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4295/36237656525_457ae3b349_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/XdcsMt)
You can also get an idea of how much filler I had to use on the top of the fuselage. After there wings were dry I primed all of the filled areas and fixed the tail unit. The struts were shaped from 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip. The engine mount was also made from Evergreen strip: the holes in the horizontal brackets were drilled out using different bits. Getting the 4 uprights the correct length and angles was easier than I thought it would be - just mark the angle from the drawing with a line on a piece of thin card and align each strut with the line on the card. It worked!
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4304/35432166203_a8c328922c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VZ27zi)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4321/36196513326_583f47c5eb_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X9yAkY)
Incidentally the rest of the background in the first image is my modelling space - no special room or shed for me - just an old tray which my mother gave me when I started making kits about 5 1/2 decades ago. The paper is replaced at intervals when it gets torn or too dirty. It is just large enough to make a mess on and hold what I am doing, and is easy to put to one side on my desk when I am doing other things - like all aspects of my modelling, it is pretty minimal. Paints, glues, card, etc are stored in a drawer and kept out of the way.
Thanks for looking.
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Very nice, even more impressive now that I see the space you work in!
Ian
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Your flying boat is looking beautiful! I manage to fill up an entire room with junk and you do this gorgeous work in a tray :o
RAGIII
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Really starting to look the part now Stephen, very nice work to date.
Des.
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It is really starting to come together; lovely work.
By the way... I like the modeling tray and the history you've shared with it. A great reminder that it is the craftsman, not the tools that matter.
Chris
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It is really starting to come together; lovely work.
By the way... I like the modeling tray and the history you've shared with it. A great reminder that it is the craftsman, not the tools that matter.
Chris
I couldn't agree more with Chris. It is quite something to see such magical things
coming out of such a humble but priceless "work place". Thanks for the great
update, Stephen!
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Stephen,
She's really coming together now with the wings and engine mount assembled, looking great! I am really impressed with your presentation of "Show Me Your Workspace" here; I have an old roll top desk and could easily fit six or more of your trays onto it's work surface, and I whine and complain constantly......... As Chris has said "It is the craftsman" that matters!
Lovely work, and keep those updates coming.
Cheers,
Lance
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Truly remarkable work all 'round, Stephen! She's bound to be a one of a kind show stopper.
Cheers,
Bud
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Truly remarkable work all 'round, Stephen! She's bound to be a one of a kind show stopper.
Cheers,
Bud
So says Amigo #2.
Ed
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It`s starting to shape up very nicely! Keep up the good work!
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Evening All,
My sincere thanks for the complimentary remarks that many of you have left - they are greatly appreciated. I am pleased that you like my little tray - I have to admit that sometimes I am envious of those who have access to more sophisticated equipment and have skills in media other than plastic and wood that I lack, but I model for fun first and foremost, like all of us. I hope that my efforts will act as an encouragement to others like me who model on a limited budget and with limited space - it can be done!
Most of the recent progress has been painting and adding markings. The wing and fuselage crosses were printed on my home printer, the nose cross was hand painted as I could not find any suitable cross to copy because of its odd shape. The numerals were also printed using type faces on my computer which provided the closest match. The fuselage was painted with oils and varnished with Revell clear orange acrylic (hence the high gloss - I will add a dull varnish coat later), the remainder are enamels. I fitted the engine too so that now I am ready to start cutting the struts and making a jig to hold the top wing in place while I fit them.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4300/35845554180_5aa1bd58b2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WBxQqd)
Thanks for looking.
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It comes out fantastic, Stephen.
Cheers
Martin
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oooooh I like that!
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Gorgeous work Stephen! Yppur wood fuselage and the markings are terrific. I am looking forward to seeing the upper wing mounted!
RAGIII
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Terrific progress, Stephen! Well done with the markings.
Looking forward to the Phoenix becoming a biplane. ;D
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Very nice, Stephen. That nose cross had to pretty tricky but it looks great. I'm looking forward to seeing it in biplane mode very soon.
Ian
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Very nicely done Stephen, the fuselage colour and the markings are excellent.
Des.
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Simply gorgeous,Stephen!I can't believe you turn out those little masterpieces on such a small working place!
cheers
Matz
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Stephen
Your progress to date on this project is outstanding. You've really nailed that wood effect painting using artist oils resulting in a lovely wood tone.
Look forward to seeing this one in the flesh.
Regards
Dave
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I definitely love it Stephen!
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Evening All
Once again I must thank all of you who have dropped by and left such positive remarks, I really do get a boost from such comments.
Well Ian you can now see that the spare wing is in place at last - once again I had to revert to a home made jig to get it on but it worked in the end. The problem with fitting the top wing to this aircraft is that the main struts are angled outwards. The cabane struts are also angled outwards and form an N so they cannot be fitted without some form of support. I know that some modellers cut out slots in card and slide the wings into them so that they are supported while the struts are put into place, but I would find the cutting difficult and I am not sure that I would get it right, so I reverted to a method I once used when building the Vimy. I cut two small jigs from card and placed them on the lower wings, one each side, and then placed the top wing on to these. The top wing is able to move about but it enabled me to measure each strut accurately and cut it to size. Then I gently lifted the top wing on one side and slipped the two struts into place and allowed them to dry for about 10 minutes, i.e. long enough to hold fast but weak enough to be flexible while I repeated the operation on the other side.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4302/35845559480_018d9fdc6b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WBxRZA)
When the two pairs of struts were in place I held the wing alignment with the usual jigs - i.e. paint pots!
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4317/35845561800_ecc9a2fb6b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WBxSFA)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4308/36196552476_176a599f22_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/X9yMYY)
After this had dried out overnight I was able to add the cabanes to the engine supports and wing and the model is now almost complete except for final details and rigging which will follow shortly.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Great update Stephen, she's looking gorgeous! One of these just came up on evilbay at a ridiculous price!
Ian
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Evening All,
Thanks for the kind remarks Ian - I know what you mean about evil bay and the price of kits. They always seem to be low when it is me who is selling, and high when it is me who is the buyer! For that and other reasons I have decided to sell all of my kits and simply scratch build instead: that only leaves the markings and even then most can now be printed at home if necessary.
Well what I though was going to be a quick dash to the finish line with this one turned out to be a slow crawl, but it is now finished. It is rigged with 40SWG copper wire and the prop was carved from laminated wood veneer, suitably varnished. The windscreen was cut from a piece of bubble pack from an old Airfix kit and the trolley and trestle were scratch built from Evergreen strip and card. The one thing missing is the badge on the tail - I have not been able to find one and copying it to print on my own computer has proved to be beyond my very limited IT skills. Extra photos are in the completed models section, together with some history of the type.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4296/35403789054_73d82a43bf_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VWvF37)
Thanks for looking.
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Beautifully done Stephen,
The e-bay kit did surprise me as it was posted with a starting price of $50, yet it's still available brand-new from Hannants for $13 and change!
PM me your address and I'll send you a couple of tail badges, I have the Pegasus decal sheet. Sizes (base of the shield to the top of the crown, and shield width) are (in mm): 8x4, 9x3, 9.5x4, 10x3.5, 11x5, 13x4.5, 14x6, 16x5.5, 17x8
Ian
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Brilliant job, Stephen! A very interesting model and up to your exacting
standards. Your wood colours and the rigging are particularly good! Do
you have any trouble keeping the rigging wire taunt? This has been a
real treat and I look forward to the completed pictures, my friend.
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Thanks Ian and Ernie for your kind remarks.
Stephen.
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Wow, Stephen! This looks just awesome. No wonder you need some rudder decals. I'll keep rumaging around and contact the fellow I got decals from again. Perhaps my email got lost in the ether....
This look just great. Sorry I haven't seen it sooner.
Dan
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Beautiful result of your great work!
Antonio