forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: abufletcher on August 31, 2016, 07:07:23 PM
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I'm currently building a 1/6 scale Albatros CI and the particular aircraft I'm modeling had a Benz BzIII engine. Building this dummy engine became a whole project in itself.
One curious feature of the BzIII is that the cylinders were not centered on the crankshaft but rather offset.
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The first task was to create a master for the cylinder resin castings.
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The basic (water jacketed) cylinder was then smoothed out and detailed.
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And here's the finished master.
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This was my first time trying casting of any sort.
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Ready to pour.
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The castings were not super clean but were usable.
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They are heavy for a flying model so I drilled out the center.
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Next they were mounted on a ply base that will be mounted over the actual engine.
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Now comes all the detailing. Spark plugs
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Primed
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Fuel intakes
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Sculpey for the curved parts.
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And lots of hand-cut G10 flanges.
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Intake tubes.
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Stunning work!
Chapeau!
Manni
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Lots and lots of parts!
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Rocker heads and valve springs set to represent authentic firing sequence.
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The parts of the Rhino horn exhaust.
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Assembled.
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Primed.
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Mounted.
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With (unfinished) model in background.
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It's almost there, but not quite.
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The painted dummy engine. (Still needs a little weathering.)
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Too shiny still.
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And finally here are the engine cowling panels made from aluminum sheet and lithoplate.
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And wouldn't it have been nice to have been able to do all that work that quickly. ;)
Doc
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This was my first time trying casting of any sort.
Hi,
Nice Job on the plane so far, would be nice to show more pics of the plane itself being build :)
As for the casting if i may give you some tips for the next time.
You could have gotten away with casting this as a topfilling mold no need to make it a two part mold saves a seam and allot of work.
When pooring the resin mix up the resin and poor it in your mold not filled to the top but just a 1 cm below the top and rotate your mold by hand slightly tilted on the side doing this, then poor out the resin in your cup and rotate again now your mold is coated with a thin layer of resin then poor in again the resin from the cup and you should have a bubble free casting.
Ofcours this cant be done with very small detailed parts but a part like this is perfect for that.
Ron
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Very impressive, takes detailing beyond the "super" category! I really like the engine cowling panels, nicely done. I too would like to see more of the aircraft as well......., Looking forward to more updates on this beauty!
Cheers,
Lance
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Nice Job on the plane so far, would be nice to show more pics of the plane itself being build :)
I've been documenting my build of the CI for several years over on RCSB. Unfortunately, only RCSB members can see it. It's been a long slow process.
You could have gotten away with casting this as a topfilling mold no need to make it a two part mold saves a seam and allot of work.
I watched a lot of YouTube videos and the two part molding process seemed the most adequate for multiple castings. So are you suggesting instead fully encasing the master in silicon then cutting a seam along one side to remove it?
When pooring the resin mix up the resin and poor it in your mold not filled to the top but just a 1 cm below the top and rotate your mold by hand slightly tilted on the side doing this, then poor out the resin in your cup and rotate again now your mold is coated with a thin layer of resin then poor in again the resin from the cup and you should have a bubble free casting.
Is this what is called "slosh casting?" Or do you mean just doing a light pour to coat the inner surface before filling in the rest? The bubbles were definitely annoying, but I knew that the cylinders would be painted black and for the most part hidden from view. I was definitely a bit lazy about doing the proper prep work on these cast parts.
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And wouldn't it have been nice to have been able to do all that work that quickly. ;)
Doc
What do you mean?!? I did all of this in one weekend. ::) ;D
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Impressive work on this engine and cowling, I would like to see the whole model.
Giuseppe
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I would like to see the whole model.
Me too! ;D
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This will get an Albatros C I in 1/6 scale??? wow, that's a big bird, at how well it looks on the photos in the background. Would you mind to post some pics her of the plane too?
Borsos
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Since the model isn't finished (and may not be totally finished for another year of off and on building) I don't have any glamour shots of the whole model yet. And since it is big (over 2m wingspan) it's hard to setup.
Perhaps one of the largest tasks remaining is to do the rigging which has to be fully functional. It also has to allow the model to be disassembled to be transported to the field. With my "smaller" Snipe and SE5a I was able to use 0.6mm music wire for the rigging and leave it permanently in place since the model fits intact into my van. With the CI I'll have to set the wings up as cells which can be removed from the fuselage.
This photo was taking over a year ago and I've done considerable work since then (and for this photo I didn't bother to put on the tail feathers.
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Each part of the build seems to turn into its own extended project. For example, making the Hazet radiators, each of which has hundreds of parts, took the better part of six months as I explored materials and methods. Then I decided to do an all metal undercarriage (as per the original) and took a lot of time and a lot of head scratching and pushed my silver soldering skills to their limit. There are more than 60 individual embellishments on the fuselage alone. The observer's turret and surrounding lithoplate panels constituted another major project. And then there's the scale dummy propeller.
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The CI I'm modeling also carried three forms of armament (four if you count bombs): a Parabellum, a Danish Madsen (over the wing), and with a GeWehr 98 tucked into a rack for good measure. The GeWehr 98 is from DID, the Parabellum is from Williams Brothers, and the Madsen is scratch built.
As I mentioned elsewhere my plastic modeling (painting) skills are less than ideal. I feel that someone more skilled could have done a better job on these. My basic technique was just to paint the entire gun with flat black and then selectively rub on pencil graphite. I also did some light weathering with oils on the rifle.
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For the drum on the Parabellum I explored some paint chipping/scraping techniques I had seen on YouTube.
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That's impressive! Huge, beautiful detail, and a very "real" appearance. The guns are exceptionally well done, I can't imagine how you could have done them any better. Thanks for posting all of this here, great work! :o 8)
Cheers,
Lance
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That's impressive! Huge, beautiful detail, and a very "real" appearance. The guns are exceptionally well done, I can't imagine how you could have done them any better. Thanks for posting all of this here, great work! :o 8)
Cheers,
Lance
My thoughts exactly! Magnificent work!
Cheers,
Bud
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I see all the superb multi-step techniques for weathering on YouTube, such as applying a layer of hairspray over a base color coat, and subtle airbrushing techniques (I only have a cheap one and hardly know how to use it).
...and then there's me rubbing paint on with my fingers. :'(
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Nice Job on the plane so far, would be nice to show more pics of the plane itself being build :)
I've been documenting my build of the CI for several years over on RCSB. Unfortunately, only RCSB members can see it. It's been a long slow process.
You could have gotten away with casting this as a topfilling mold no need to make it a two part mold saves a seam and allot of work.
I watched a lot of YouTube videos and the two part molding process seemed the most adequate for multiple castings. So are you suggesting instead fully encasing the master in silicon then cutting a seam along one side to remove it?
When pooring the resin mix up the resin and poor it in your mold not filled to the top but just a 1 cm below the top and rotate your mold by hand slightly tilted on the side doing this, then poor out the resin in your cup and rotate again now your mold is coated with a thin layer of resin then poor in again the resin from the cup and you should have a bubble free casting.
Is this what is called "slosh casting?" Or do you mean just doing a light pour to coat the inner surface before filling in the rest? The bubbles were definitely annoying, but I knew that the cylinders would be painted black and for the most part hidden from view. I was definitely a bit lazy about doing the proper prep work on these cast parts.
Hi, no slosh casting you use a diferent kind of resin it get's thicker while you move it arround.
Its indeed coating the mold with a thin layer of resin to brake the airbubles then poor the rest in. I use Vacuum and pressure casting for these things so if you need a quality part next time iam happy to cast in for you.
The problem with the resin is that is produces tiny airbublles because of the chemical reaction that happens putting it in a pressure pot crusing the airbubbles.
You will need to Degass your sillicone where you make the mold of outerwise you will get spikes on your models.
Regards Ron
Regards Ron
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I seem to have missed your magnificent build until now! Everything you have done looks absolutely SUPERB!!
RAGIII
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First I must say beautiful work on your engine.it is coming along very nicely. I must mention in your post # 12 you term fuel intakes. This is actually intake manifold pipes .perhaps there is a mixture of fuel with the air as these pipes are connected to the carburators . Or perhaps the fuel is injected elsewhere.
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You are almost certainly right. Thanks for pointing that out.
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As my mind opens for the Albatros C I, could you imagine to share your knowledge about the interior with me? Which plans did you use?
Thank you very much!
Borsos
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D*rn.....amazing....beautifull....!!