forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
Forum Archive Storage => WW1 Diorama Group Build => Topic started by: lone modeller on July 17, 2016, 04:23:05 AM
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Evening All,
Normally I do not do either GB's or dioramas, but last year I did join a GB on this site and got such positive feedback that I am going to try again. The long build time should allow me to be able to finish the model comfortably: the dio may be a little more of a problem so I will keep that very simple indeed.
The subject which I have chosen is this:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4103/34815753594_53faa57663_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3xQzG)
The machine which I will model will not be the subject in the painting but a Royal Naval Air Service machine from No 5 Wing in 1916. I want to make the model with one engine exposed so I intend to use a resin kit from Small Stuff to represent the Le Rhone which will be uncowled. This will be my first attempt with resin so will be a new experience for me. More to follow when I get some plastic cut.
Stephen.
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Great subject, the Caudron G IV is one of my all time favoured. I am sure that you'll make a great model and I will follow this post closely.
Borsos
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"Giddey up" Stephen! Great choice, and a project I'm looking forward to following! Given the response thus far this is going to be a barn burner of a GB!
Cheers,
Lance
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A great subject Stephen, looking forward to seeing how working with resin works out for you.
Des.
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I am looking forward to following the Caudron build, Stephen...
your work is always a joy to behold, my friend!
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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great choice Stephen!
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wow!
a very interesting subject! Will it be a seaplane?
ciao
edo
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I will definitely be following this.
The G.IV is also one of my favourites and I spent a long time hunting down a vac kit of it on evilbay. I'll be watching for tips!
Ian
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Evening All,
Thank you gentlemen for your warm comments of support which I greatly appreciate.
Edo: no this one will not be a floatplane - it will have a conventional set of wheels. I do not know if these machines were ever mounted on floats although I could see how it could be done and it would certainly make an interesting and unusual subject.
Thank you Edgar for your suggestions: there is a small problem however i.e. I do not have the skill or patience to model all of the details which you suggest! I suspect that like the Ago this one is going to take longer than usual for me - adding all of those extra details would mean that I would probably never get it finished!
Stephen.
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Evening All,
Here are my kit parts: the usual collection of card, strip, rod and wood for the propellors, a Small Stuff kit of the le Rhone rotary engine which I will use, and a pack of WD Models Royal Flying Corps figures which will be in the proposed diorama.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4042/34815762504_0b593771d1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3xTej)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4062/35657005025_50d34a3909_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjTtjH)
I had cut some plastic for the Caudron: more correctly I have moulded some plastic first and then cut and shaped it. I decided to start on the cowlings and to do this I shaped the end of a piece of dowel from an old chair leg support. The female was simply a hole drilled into a piece of plywood and 30 thou card was used to make the mouldings. I had to try four times before i could get two decent cowls but I managed. The photo shows the stages of manufacture from mould on the left. cut out mould in the centre and finished article on the right. The edges of the cowl have been sanded very fine as the metal was thin on the originals.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4030/35617156816_d544ebecc9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WgneQC)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Good way to start - the easy bits! ;)
Ian
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Great cowlings! They make the 'face' of the Caudron imho and you gave her a smile...
Borsos
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A great start Stephen, nice work with the cowls.
Des.
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Good luck with your project, Stephen! I hope the engines will help.
Caudron G.IV was actually my first attempt at scratch building. Apparently, years ago I had translated the lengthy article detailing the whole process into English, and it's still available on some long dead site. Maybe you'll find something useful there.
http://scaleclub.org/blog/props/23.html (http://scaleclub.org/blog/props/23.html)
(https://c3.staticflickr.com/6/5457/9946124266_f919a7e03c_n.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/g9Uue9)
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Thanks Ian, Borsos , Des and Eugeny for the encouraging remarks. I greatly appreciate the fact that you have dropped by and made such positive comments.
Eugeny: I bought some of your engines some time ago and can honestly write that I was totally dumbstruck at the amount of detail that you have managed to get into such tiny pieces! This was my first experience of studying a resin kit and I simply could not believe that it was possible to do what you have done. I had already found your exceptional model, (for those reading this and who do not know of the article referred to, the model illustrated is 1/72 and cast in resin), and it was one of the reasons why I had chosen to try my hand at one, albeit in plastic. I have a feeling that the best part of my build when it is finished will be your engine! It is my intention that your resin engine will be shown uncowled and will be the focus of the diorama: I just hope that the remainder of the model will do it justice.
Stephen.
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Nice start with the cowlings, Stephen. My friend you are a brave
soul and must have nerves of steel for building those gorgeous tiny
Le Rhone's. As always, my friend, your builds are truly spellbinding to follow!
Cheers,
Ernie :)
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Wow, I totally missed this one starting. Thanks for the heads up. Excellent start!!
John
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I love that plane. I will be watiching your progress with interest.
Manni
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Very attractive aeroplane to reproduce and fine start with those nice cowlings. Good luck with your scratchbuild.
Also compliments to Eugeny for the engines: I bought a couple in the finished line (is quite cheating but eye relieving!)
and they are real jewels.
Giuseppe.
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You are off to your usual great start. The cowlings look perfect!
RAGIII
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Evening All,
Many thanks Ernie, John, Manni, Giuseppe and Rick for dropping by and leaving your encouraging remarks.
I decided, when I planned this build, that I would start with the cowlings and engine nacelles as I think that these will present the most difficult parts to make. Well the cowlings were fairly straightforward and I managed to finish those fairly quickly. The nacelles have proved to be otherwise. I have had three tries and have now got myself in a position where I hope I can finally assemble one which will look something like the nacelle on a real aircraft. The problem has been that the rear of the nacelle tapers and is curved at the same time. Getting 4 pieces of 20thou card to bend and form a neat and square point at the rear of the nacelle has proved to me that my intuition was correct: getting the nacelles right is probably going to be the most difficult part of this model. In fact I still do not have a complete one but I am close: the photo shows the parts of an earlier (failed attempt).
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4287/35656910195_4957e90e3f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjSZ8H)
Briefly the nacelles will be made as follows:
The front is a square of 60 thou card with a hole drilled to take a pin to support the engine;
the four sides are from 20 thou card which has to be shaped to a point at the rear, but the edges have to curve. The sides are also not flat so I ran the back of my modelling knife down the centre line on the inside to score a slight outward bulge;
the top and bottom plates must have small notches cut in them to allow the struts to be cemented to the side plates and pass through the top and bottom plates. It is essential that the notches in the top and bottom line up exactly because the struts are vertical. The distance between the notches had also to be carefully measured as they have to align with the other interplane and cabane struts, and the nacelles have to be in the correct position with respect to the wings etc.;
I put small pieces of scrap strip along the edges of the top and bottom plates to help to keep the structure square and hold the corners while they dry out;
4 struts per nacelle had to be shaped from 20 x 30 thou Evergreen strip.
The struts were glued to the nacelle sides, formers put on to the bottom plate to help keep the whole thing square and then the top and side plates were cemented in place. The the fun began. Getting the four plates to come together at the rear to form a neat symmetrical shape, stay in place while I tried to secure them with liquid cement and not get cement everywhere except along the join, and then hold their shape while the cement dried proved to be a little tricky. In fact on the first attempt I managed to get an odd shape, cement everywhere and the struts were not properly aligned, so it went into the bin. The second attempt was better but I did not get the right curves on the sides and top and bottom plates so I decided to abandon that one too. Instead I decided to start work on the wings...
I have now got a the parts ready for the third nacelle and I will change my method of assembly to try to avoid the glue everywhere problem: I will assemble the forward part of a nacelle where everything is square and then join the top and one side at the rear first, allow that to dry out and then repeat the operation for the remaining side and bottom. I think this will work…
The wings are quite complex too. The trailing edge was very thin because the wing was made in a conventional manner for the forward part: two layers of canvas secured to ribs. However the rear edge of the upper surface was folded back on itself and stitched to the lower sheet to form a slope, and the trailing edge of the wing consisted of the lower sheet of canvas with the ribs exposed above. To represent this I have decided to make the wings from a sheet of 20thou card cemented to a wider strip of 10 thou card. I had sanded the trailing edge of the 20 thou strips to thin them down prior to joining the strips together: later I will reduce the step between the two sheets with paint filler. I will also represent the ribs with Evergreen strip.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4237/35656912545_b89fd10e25_c.jpg)[/ur]
Hopefully I can show the completed nacelles in the next post.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen. (https://flic.kr/p/WjSZQe)
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Evening All,
At last I have something substantive to report after what has been a bit of a frustrating period. At the third and fourth attempts I have finally managed to make a pair of engine nacelles that I can call acceptable.
The struts were glued to the side panels before the top and bottoms were glued into place. I glued the front ends of the nacelles first and allowed these to dry a bit before bending the top and bottom and gluing these and holding them with a simple clasp. When this was dry I carefully bent the sides round and glued these with liquid cement, again holding the assembly with clasps. That did the trick - no glue where I did not want it and the taper at the rear of the nacelle was as it should be. Just a tiny amount of filler on on of the nacelles was needed to seal some gaps. The I added the filler caps and the small fuel gauges on the sides: the latter were made by rounding the end of a piece of 60 the rod and cutting it off to glue into place. Once I had got the hang of putting these together they were actually quite easy - just had to go up the learning curve first.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4235/34815814464_d1afceb0c7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3y9Fb)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4109/35656953295_db81f49610_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjTcWP)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4264/35656956005_0809175ccd_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjTdKx)
I have also spent quite a lot of time on the wings. I have put 10 thou strips on the undersides and sanded the trailing edges of the thicker sections on the top sides of the wings. Then I added the ribs on the tops of the wings and on the trailing sections from 10 x 20 thou strip and sanded all of the ribs down so that they taper to the railing edges. I have also taken out the trailing edge scallops with a round file and fine glass paper. Now I have to fill the step at the edge of the 20 thou card to give the slope on the trailing edges of the tops of the wings - I intend to use ordinary filler and paint for this job. I am expecting that the latter is going to take a long time - certainly adding and sanding all of those ribs has so far!
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4003/35656958035_70e43c9684_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjTemx)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4213/35656964135_7017ca529e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjTgaH)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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You are making excellent progress Ian.
Des.
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Beautiful work on the nacelles and wings Stephen...I think Des has been on the vino...... ;)
Ian
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Wonderful. But be careful and do not sneeze.
Manni
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Excellent start, must be a real 1/72 fan as not to wait for the 1/48 Copperstate edition coming soon....
Ed
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You made fantastic engine nacelles! And you got the shape of the wings really nice. This is going to be a wonderful model, I cannot wait to see it finished!
Borsos
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Very nice work so far. I am glad you solved the nacelle issues. My first instinct as I read the story above was to think maybe using a piece of square hardwood stock and then sand to shape and then vacuform with the rear point facing up. But it seems you have it well I'm hand.cheers
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Wonderful work so far! My solution to the wing rib fabric effect would to get some flexible paper masking tape and wrap the wing in it,then mould the tape around the ribs.I was contemplating this on my Caudron build.Also the tape has a CDL colour to it.
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I've been quietly following your progress on this one Stephen, and must compliment you on your patient and persistent approach to the challenges of the cowlings and nacelles, great work and results! This one will be another stunning model, and a pleasure to follow.
Cheers,
Lance
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Excellent start, must be a real 1/72 fan as not to wait for the 1/48 Copperstate edition coming soon....
Ed
Ed,
I am building this in 1/72 because I do not have the space for larger models. I am certain the the promised resin kit will be very good indeed and I hope that Des will gig us one of his demo builds when it is released.
Stephen.
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Very nice work so far. I am glad you solved the nacelle issues. My first instinct as I read the story above was to think maybe using a piece of square hardwood stock and then sand to shape and then vacuform with the rear point facing up. But it seems you have it well I'm hand.cheers
Scott,
I do not have vacuform equipment - I use the old fashioned push/plunge method of moulding. I had thought that if the third and fourth attempts to make the nacelles did not work I would resort to moulding them. As it happens I did not have to in the end.
Stephen.
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Wonderful work so far! My solution to the wing rib fabric effect would to get some flexible paper masking tape and wrap the wing in it,then mould the tape around the ribs.I was contemplating this on my Caudron build.Also the tape has a CDL colour to it.
Thanks for the tip T.U. I have already started to work on the wings with filler - a long job but it seem to be working. I had contemplated using 20 thou card sanded to a wedge profile and then slicing pieces to fit the gaps between the ribs….. and then decided that I wanted to do other things with my life too!
Stephen.
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Evening All,
Because I have no manners I forgot to say thank you to Des, Ian, Manni, Borsos and Lance for your very kind remarks. They really are appreciated and I apologise for not having acknowledged them sooner.
I have got a bit bored with the wings so I have instead decided to start making the fuselage nacelle. This was moulded in 2 halves using the standard push mould technique: a male mould was carved from balsa and the female cut into a piece of plywood. I used 30 thou card as this seems to give the best results when I use this method.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4218/34815925144_78ec4b72f3_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3yHzs)
Having made the basic shapes I then cut out the cockpit openings and removed the lower parts where the nacelle will fit to the bottom wing. The insides were then detailed with 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip to represent the framing, and I cut and shaped a pilot's seat and the rather elaborate structure into which it was fitted. A standard instrument panel was cut from card and will be painted later.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4149/34815934674_13111391ca_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3yLpL)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4254/34815939414_da26fc5888_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3yMPu)
The observer's seat was made in a similar way to the pilot's but his did not have an elaborate structure around it fortunately. Although I have started to paint these parts I have not photographed them. I have also made a simple control column and rudder bar but these will be barely visible on the finished model.
And now I must get back to those wings……….
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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It's just great what you show here. May be one day ,some day I will try a scratch buld, too.
Thans for showing.
Manni
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Beautiful job with the nacelle Stephen, the framing really adds to the overall effect, looking forward to seeing some colour applied.
Des.
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I have only come across your build. It is going to be a spectacular show. Great start, Lance.
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Very nice fuselage nacelle, I like it really a lot. Can't wait to see it finished.
Borsos
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That nacelle is extraordinary, Stephen! Seeing such detail and precision in such a small scale is mind blowing!
Cheers,
Bud
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That nacelle looks fantastic - almost as though it comes from an injected kit!
This could be one of your best yet....
Ian
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Evening All,
Thanks to Manni, Des, Prez, Borsos, Bud and Ian for the very encouraging remarks - I really appreciate them, the more so when things do not go according to plan - as with the engine nacelles a couple of weeks ago! Manni - do give scratch building a go - it is not as difficult as you might imagine, (and certainly not as difficult as I had imagined). The freedom that it gives in terms of subjects that can be built is really exciting - I strongly recommend it to anyone. After all if something does not go to plan - start again!
I have finished the wings at last - at least to my satisfaction. The rear of the wings on the real machines consisted of a single sheet of fabric and the ribs were exposed on the upper surfaces. The trailing edge of the upper fabric sheet was folded back on itself to form a slope about 3/4 of the chord of the upper wing and 7/8 of the lower wing. I had made the wings bu laminating a 20 thou sheet of card and a ten thou sheet and had sanded the rear of the 20thou sheet to try to reduce the step between the two card sheets. Originally I intended to make an even slop with filler but after experimenting with some scrap I found that I could not get the right slope and retain the exposed ribs, so I decided to sand the 20 thou card even more and leave a very small step which I intend to fill with paint. Not the best of jobs but hopefully it will suffice when the wings have been properly painted. The ribs were represented with 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip sanded down. On the lower wing there were two metal plates under the engines to protect the fabric from the oil spewed liberally by the rotary engines - these are 10 thou card sanded to make them a bit thinner. I would liked to have used 5 thou card but I do not have any. The cut-outs on the trailing edges of the wings were removed and the edges sanded too. Holes have been drilled to take the struts at a later stage: the holes in the centre section of the lower wing are for the nacelle struts.
The training edge scallops were sanded by wrapping glass paper around a small dowel and gently rubbing. The slits in the upper wing were also cut out - they were to allow the outer wing trailing edges warp - these machines did not have ailerons.
I finished the fuselage nacelle interior by painting as per normal - and forgot to photograph it! The observers cockpit details were simply a seat and bulkhead at the rear, I also added a control column, throttle control and instrument panel for the pilot but did not bother with rudder pedals as they cannot be seen. The nacelle was then closed and a piece of clear acetate added under the nose for the observers lower window. The nacelle struts were shaped from 20 x 30 thou Evergreen strip and set into holes drilled in the nacelle. I also drilled two pairs of holes in the nacelle sides - these will be for control rods to the engines.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4239/35617323786_be808c5bef_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Wgo6tq)
The next stage is to paint the sub-assemblies and add the markings. This will be an RNAS machine so will have the red outer rings and white centres. When that is done I can hopefully start to assemble these sub units and start to produce something vaguely resembling an aeroplane!
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Wow, Stephen, great!
Thank you for your encouragement in scratch building ( I bought me the Windsockfile of the SSW RI maybe...)
Looking forward to the upcoming progress.
Manni
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Very tidy work as usual Stephen.
You could try Mr Dissolved Putty to reduce the gap on the upper wing. I swear by the stuff, it has come in very useful, most recently to add a little body to the PE control column on my Sopwith Baby. It's readily available on evilbay....or simply try dissolving some putty yourself to make a very thin paste....
Ian
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Beautiful work on the wings Stephen, they look very much like the original wings, well done.
Des.
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Splendid job Steve. Perseverance at it's best. Always feel I'm winning when I get some markings on.
Regards, Steve
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Evening All,
Thanks Manni, Ian, Des and Steve for your encouraging remarks - they are greatly appreciated.
I fixed the fuselage nacelle to the bottom wing before I started painting so that i could clean up any joints. I have at last completed the painting of the main parts and added the markings by hand. The roundels were painted in the usual way: I used a pair of dividers and scribed the circles and then used thin paint and a supported hand. The aluminium plates on the top of the lower wing were to protect the fabric covering from all of the oil which spilled out of the engines - they were rotaries. I also made the struts from 20 x 30 thou Evergreen strip and painted these so now I can start the main assembly.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4282/35617326516_05778a6225_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Wgo7hu)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4208/35617329326_e212d9ca59_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Wgo87W)
More on that when I get started.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Evening All,
Well I have started the main assembly. The first task was to fix the engine nacelles to the lower wing. This was done one at a time to allow the glue to set and to stop me knocking one off when trying to fix the second. There was also the delicate matter of alignment in three dimensions: fore-aft, side-to-side and left-right. I had deliberately made the struts a little too long to allow for adjustment to fit - which was just as well because as expected the curvature on the lower wing di vary a little. The starboard (right) nacelle was fixed first:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4266/35617333086_6c734a2cb1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Wgo9eL)
and when this had set I put the port (left) nacelle on:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4255/34847889093_9ab84a9d54_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V6oxm2)
The next parts were the control rods between the fuselage nacelle and the engines, but before I could add these I had to rig the struts beneath the engine nacelles as can be seen in the above photo. There were three rods on each side: two were inserted into holes in the engine nacelles, the third was cemented underneath as this was attached to controls under the nacelle on the real aircraft.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4279/34815956684_ed1738c333_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3ySXf)
Now I could attach the top wing. This needed care because if I had mis-aligned the engine nacelles the top wing would not sit squarely and the whole model would then be a mess. Once again a small amount of trimming of some of the struts was needed because once agin I had made some of the engine struts too long. A bit of patience and care sorted the problem out thus:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4112/35269756060_0f198ee592_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VJEHGq)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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That engine fitment looks a right pain, seems you got it spot on though! She's starting to look like a Caudron now.....very nice!
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Very,very nice I'm looking forward for the next steps.
Manni
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Beautiful in all respects! The engine nacelles look perfect!
RAGIII
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You have done a superb job to date Stephen, fitment of the engine nacelles look to be a real pain but you managed to fit them perfectly.
Des.
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Evening All,
Thanks Ian, Manni, Rick and Des for the encouraging remarks which I greatly appreciate. Yes Ian fitting the top wing was a challenge but because I had carefully measured the holes in the top wing I had made things a little easier.
One of the lessons that I have learned from conversions and scratch-building is that sometimes it is a good idea to rig parts of the model while it is under construction as later they would be difficult to access. In this case I have decided to rig parts of the model to make life easier later on.
Before I started any rigging however I added the cross struts at the front of the engine nacelles. These were made from 10 x 20 thou strip: I added a single cross strut first and then cut two short pieces for each bay and added these to complete the cross. The rear of the bays between the engine nacelles and fuselage were then rigged as these will be difficult to access when the booms are in place.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4054/35526804691_716297dffe_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W8oain)
The next step was to add the wing struts. These were cut and shaped from 20 x 30 thou strip and had been painted first. I added them one at a time starting with the inner struts: the top wing was held down with tins of paint while the sub-assembly dried out. The large struts which support the upper wing overhang were made in the same way as the others and measured with dividers before fixing in place. I then rigged the rear of the bays with rolled copper wire.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4258/35526806881_703291cf2a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W8oaX8)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4285/35526809411_b9cfcda5ff_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W8obGK)
The next step could be the most difficult as I have got to construct the booms and fix these to the wings. I will post more when I have completed that stage.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Outstanding work, love what you have done thus far. Look forward to progress on this one. Cheers
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yes, reallly outstanding!
Are you sure caudron had roudels in both wings in the underside?
Xan
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Evening All,
Thank you Juan and Xan for the kind remarks - they are much appreciated.
Xan: the roundels under the upper wings are based on photos: I know that later in the war roundels were not normally put under the top wing on British aircraft, but in the earlier years they were on some, and in the case of Caudron IV's they were on some machines at least. I have also had a query about British machines having the upper wing extensions: the photos in the DataFile show both RFC and RNAS machines with upper wing extensions. It seems, (but I cannot prove), that British built machines lacked the upper wing extensions, those supplied by the French did have them. However if anyone knows any better please let us all know.
The next stage of this build was the booms. I just cannot resist an aircraft which has odd bits sticking out - hence my extreme interest in pushers and any other WW1 type that has unusual rear arrangements. The double booms of the Caudron were what appealed to me because they represent a modelling challenge - getting them properly aligned would be an interesting exercise. So this is how I did it without the aid of complicated jigs - just a pair of my late mother's hair grips.
To start I placed two strips of 30 x 40 strip on to the plans and held them in place with pins: the top strips were cut from the lengths provided and the underside of the front end filed so that it will sit on the top of the upper wing. The lower ones had the ends curved around by drawing out the profile as a line on a small block of wood, holding the strip in place over the line with pins and immersing the strip and wood in very hot water for 15 seconds. Then the plastic was plunged into cold water for 10 seconds and the runners were ready. The struts were glued and the sub-assemblies allowed to dry out thoroughly.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4074/35526815581_19d27bfea1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W8odx8)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4205/35526818301_f3362ca31b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W8oem2)
The booms were then painted before I placed an end of an upper boom on the top of the top wing and held it in place with a hair grip. I repeated the operation for the other side and supported the model on blocks so that the glue could set properly.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4148/34847954243_7d54fab239_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V6oSHi)
With the hair grips still in place because the booms were very fragile at this stage, I inverted the model so that I could add the struts which attach the booms to the underside of the lower wing. Each strut was individually measured with a pair of dividers and cut from rod. Only when all of the struts were in place and the glue dry did I take the hair grips away.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4263/34847962053_87fbfc24f6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V6oV2X)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4218/34847965093_297d7b17d5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V6oVWn)
To complete the undercarriage and booms I added the axles from small pieces of paper clip.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4257/35526837101_d5233267bb_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W8ojWa)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4021/34847972433_81c15fab59_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V6oY7V)
When I set the model on the desk top both of the lower booms were resting properly!
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Stephen,
Fantastic work on her booms my old friend. How will you be doing the booms rigging attachments ? Keep up the Outstanding progress.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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This is your best one yet! Fantastic modelling...Bravo!
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Stephen,
Like all of the others I must say the booms are fantastic and this is certainly turning out to be one of your best yet!
RAGIII
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I can only agree with the others! Beautiful work on the boom assemblies, and definitely your best yet!
Ian
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Hate to sound like a broken record, but outstanding work.
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Brilliant work on the booms, Stephen! As always, no challenge is too much for your skills......nicely done!
Cheers,
Lance
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Wow! Awesome work on the booms. To make one of these is challenging, but to make two perfectly aligned ones is masterclass. By the way I completely agree when it comes to the aesthetic and modelling challenge of pusher airplanes.
Borsos
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Evening All,
Many thanks to all of you who have left such positive and encouraging remarks - they are greatly appreciated.
Gregory: I rig most of my models with rolled copper wire so I will be using superglue and will attach the ends of the wires to the corners of the struts.
I have fitted the tail surfaces. In this case I had to put the small uprights on the rear ends of the booms into pre-drilled holes, and the top ends were also inserted into holes drilled into the horizontal stabilizer and then into the upper boom. The four fins and rudders were glued to the horizontal stabilizer having been painted first. The serials were printed on my home computer.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4265/35269864930_5db7ba9c2b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/VJFh4u)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4131/35657147355_8511bec3c9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUcCF)
Finally the adjustors were put on to the horizontal surface and sides of the booms, and the horizontal bar between the fins glued in place.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4134/35657149455_7af3491939_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUdfT)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4280/35657151215_19c8c8117d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUdMe)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4232/35657153455_132f1fd9dd_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUerR)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Stephen,
You have posted MANY outstanding scratch builds in the Past! This one is shaping up to be the most spectacular yet, IMHO. Just beautifully done all around!
RAGIII
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Seconded! Absolutely gorgeous!
Ian
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Stephen,
Not even finished and already a truly spectacular example of the Scratch Builder's Art. This is truly Master Modeller Class, and you can be very proud of the exceptional quality of your work. You bring a lot of credit to all of us in this Hobby with your efforts; Nice work!!
All the "Best" 8),
Lance
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Stephen, this plane looks just great, it is unbelievable how fast you build it.
Outstanding!
Manni
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Outstanding Stephen, cannot believe this is 1/72, much less scratch built. Lovely job.
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This is inspiring! Thanks for showing.
Maybe I skipped it, but how did you make the struts?
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Stephen,
You have posted MANY outstanding scratch builds in the Past! This one is shaping up to be the most spectacular yet, IMHO. Just beautifully done all around!
RAGIII
I couldn't agree more, Stephen! What a gem this is turning out to be!
Cheers,
Bud
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Stephen,
Ditto this one is shaping up to be your most spectacular yet my old friend. Outstanding scratch build project!!!
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
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'Spectacular' is the first word that comes to mind, you have done a brilliant job with this scratch build Stephen.
Des.
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My thanks to all of you who have left such positive comments - I greatly appreciate them.
Wolf: the struts are shaped pieces of 20 x 30 Evergreen strip. I streamline them and always make them slightly too long so that I can trim them to fit exactly.
Stephen.
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Evening All,
I have had to stay at home more than usual this week so I have been able to get a lot done in a short time (well at least by my normal standards). This is one of those models where the rigging has to be done before the model is finished, otherwise handling becomes a truly major headache. Actually rigging this one has been a bit of a headache in its own right because I was beginning to run out of places to hold the model while working on it.
Before the rigging went on I added the bomb racks and release gear outside the pilot's cockpit. The release gear was made from stretched sprue, the racks from 20 thou card. I also added the pilot's windscreen which was shaped from a piece of acetate from an old Airfix bubble pack. The stone guards on the skids were made from small pieces cut from an old drinks can and fixed with superglue. The rigging is rolled 40 SWG copper wire held with superglue. If you want to see a cat's cradle here it is:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4092/35657158425_91dc72d365_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUfVx)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/35657161105_62776f9292_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUgHK)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4082/34816074684_8bb00a2bf5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3zu2J)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4277/35657167005_0711644bc0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUitt)
The last pieces to be added were the brackets on the front of the port (left) nacelle: this is the one which I will put the resin engine on and leave the cowling which will be on the ground. A scratch built engine will be fitted on the other side and will be covered by the cowling.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4210/35657171055_e8f34a0afc_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/WjUjFi)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Remarkable work on the rigging, Stephen! No mean feat on a Caudron in any scale, but in 1/72 it's bloody miraculous!
Cheers,
Bud
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Wow, I will never complain again about rigging. You have done some masterful work there. Love what you have done scratch building this plane.
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.....and I thought the "Fee" was tough to rig in 1:32 Scale! :o Great job on the rigging, Stephen, it is really coming together nicely now. I'm anticipating a real flashy entry into the Completed Models section, simply beautiful!
Cheers,
Lance
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Absolutely stunning work on the rigging! This is continuing to be an unbelievable build!
RAGIII
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Incredible work with the rigging Stephen, you have done a superb job.
Des.
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1/72 scratch builders rule!Wonderful work! I have really enjoyed your mini marvel's over the years.
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I echo what the others have said....beautiful work and a fantastic little Caudron....definitely one to be very proud of!
Ian
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Evening All,
Thanks to all for the very kind remarks - I truly appreciate them.
I am going to call this complete now. I scratch built an engine and mounted it on the (port) left side and then put on the cowling and propellor. The engine is from Small Stuff and is truly excellent - but I did find it tricky to assemble…. I am glad that there was an extra spark plug because one of mine is hiding in the carpet somewhere. Anyway it is on the right side but I am sure that my painting is not doing it full justice. The cowling mounting brackets are also on the front of the nacelle but are not too clear in the photos. The wheels were home made - card discs with tyres made from rod wound around a paintbrush handle immersed in boiling water for a few seconds. The individual tyres can then be cut off the roll as needed - the roll is slightly too small so the rod sits tightly on the disc. The propellors were carved from wood and varnished and the oil pipes at the rear of the cowlings were from thin wire.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4122/34816123304_c86c5c9635_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V3zJu1)
I made a simple table from card and strip and a box from card. The figures were from WD Models set WD10 RFC set. The model is now mounted on a simple wood base because I want to be able to display it in a cabinet. Having read Andreas' excellent description of what a diorama should be I am not sure whether this really qualifies but this is the first time that I have tried to present figures in any scale after a long time modelling so I still have a great deal to learn. This is a first tentative step and I hope that for the next attempt I may be able to achieve more. I have put more photos in the usual place.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4289/34848069043_d20a3b1263_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/V6psQB)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4212/35526914001_af1132d554_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/W8oHN2)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
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Beautiful modelling, Stephen! It is very effective and impressive! I Love it! Marc
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Miraculous Caudron and in such a small scale.
Adam.
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wow just found this -- a beauty!
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Magnificent finish Stephen, this one is your best to date, and I look forward to the next effort from your work bench. Your models are truly one of a kind, and your contributions here an example for all to strive for. great work!
Cheers,
Lance
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Thank you gentlemen for your very generous compliments.
Lance you make me blush - I try to show other modellers how I make things because there may be useful hints/tips for others to use. This is one of the best sites I know for sharing ideas and I am pleased that others find my small contributions helpful.
Stephen.
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Magnificent finish Stephen, this one is your best to date, and I look forward to the next effort from your work bench. Your models are truly one of a kind, and your contributions here an example for all to strive for. great work!
Cheers,
Lance
I can not say ot any better or add anything to what Lance has said!
RAGIII