forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com
WW1 Aircraft Modeling => Under Construction => Scratch builds => Topic started by: lone modeller on June 11, 2018, 08:29:47 AM
-
Evening All,
I have been through a complete loss of mojo recently: after completing the Dornier Rs II and base I was looking for a similar challenge and I had tried to continue with a 1/72 scratch build of an FE 2d, (an FE 2 with a Rolls Royce Eagle engine instead of a Beardmore), which I have been working on for about a year, but when I found that I will probably have to make a new nacelle I simply baulked at the idea: no particular reason why, just the thought was enough to put me off. I then floundered around with several different ideas and decided that perhaps a change in scale might offer a new challenge. This would mean that I would be abandoning the Sacred Scale, but I am determined that I will return to it in future as I have many interesting subjects on my “to scratch-build” list that I wish to make. I was looking for a subject to scratch build of course, and rapidly came to the (for me), obvious conclusion that it would have to be a pusher of some kind. I looked up several types but kept finding that I lacked enough information concerning the details of engines or interiors as I was thinking of 1/32 scale where details matter. In 1/72 scale I can make parts from drawings that look right, but in this larger scale I would need accurate 3D drawings and other information, and for many of the types that I considered such information could not be found. I also had the feeling of “done that” for some of the subjects I was researching. I do not usually like to make the same subject twice which may have been why I was put off the FE 2d - it is too much like the F E 2b, which I have already made.
Then I happened to find a cut-away drawing of the Vickers FB 5 Gunbus. A couple of years ago it had been suggested to me that I try a cut-away model but to do this in plastic in 1/72 scale would be very difficult and probably leave a weak model. There are several cut-away model kits in PE in 1/72 scale but I do not like PE and I am not a kit builder any more, so that idea was a non-starter. But what about a cut-away in 1/32 scale? Problem: the engine. I can scratch build or convert engines in 1/72 scale and just get away with it, but that would not be possible in this scale, so I looked around to see what engines were available as aftermarket items. I went back to some earlier ideas and thought about either a DH 1A or the FB 5 Gunbus as engine kits are available for both. In the end I decided that I could not find enough information on the interior of the DH 1A so I settled for the Gunbus. I have built a Gunbus in 1/72 scale already - it was a conversion from an Airfix DH 4 but it was one which I started in 1981 and finished 31 years later! I am not planning to take quite so long this time….
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1760/42668264682_bc208903ba_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/281s1xU)
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1735/41817418225_5210988cb4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/26Hgcxp)
This will be a CBSB (Classic British Scratch Build), - a basic, limited run kit with some aftermarket parts. As it will be a partial strip down the parts count will probably be quite high. I frequently leave my models unarmed but on this occasion I decided that I would model an early variant with the Vickers mg so I bought one of these from Gaspatch: it is resin.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1732/42668306292_176a2c0005_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/281sdVj)
I also needed an engine - a 100hp Gnome rotary to be precise, and Wingnut Wings make a beautiful aftermarket specimen for an affordable price. (
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1727/42717144781_e39b649739_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/285LwUe)
Another difficult item to model is the wicker seat for the pilot but I found that Baracuda make one of these in resin.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1724/42717144801_aaa4ea78aa_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/285LwUz)
These three items are all little gems in their own right. Finally I have bought some PE instrument bezels, (I only have to cut and fit these so I can just about manage), and transfers from Airscale for the instrument faces.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1742/41817451215_2bf8510dbf_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/26Hgnmc)
The remainder of the kit will be made from the usual plastic sheet, rod, strip, wood, brass bar for the wing spars and rod for the fuselage frame and booms. The fuselage nacelle of the Gunbus was made from steel tube, as were the booms, so I am going to have to learn how to solder brass rod and bar as CA will not be strong enough.
My intention is to make a model that looks similar to the drawing I found on the net, with half of it cut-away showing the underlying structure, and the other half covered. I scaled up the plans from the DataFile number 56 and ordered some plastic strip from my LMS so that I could make the wing ribs. That was a mistake: after a month the shop had still not been able to get the strip, so I cancelled the order and got some in three days by post. I will not be using my LMS in future unless they have the items I need In stock, which is annoying because I like to support local traders: unfortunately that one will not be getting much of my custom in future. While waiting I had tried to make wing ribs from bass wood but these were not particularly good - I could not make the triangular hole at the front end and the very narrow slot at the rear, and cutting square holes for the spar to go through also proved to be almost impossible, so I intend to use 180 x 40 thou plastic strip instead. In all I have had a frustrating month ordering parts and supplies but getting almost nowhere in terms of actually making anything, except that I did manage to carve a propellor. This was made from 2 pieces of hardwood, (I know not of what type), which I regularly use for propellors. Gunbus propellors seem to have been coated in a dark varnish and this wood is just the right colour. The kit propellor (grey) is an example from a Wingnut Wings kit which was Kindly lent to me by fellow modeller Epeeman. The first shot simply shows the wood:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1759/27848420077_cb78ce9a77_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/JqSr4K)
This shows the wood being carved - the blade on the left has been shaped, the one on the right has not - taken from the side of the propellor. The extra thickness for the boss was unnecessary and was removed:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1748/27848420057_9f52e50da2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/JqSr4p)
The completed propellor - still to be varnished and a boss added:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1759/42668307062_c0f5c2f99c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/281se9A)
So after all the frustrations and stop-starts of the past couple of months I have at last begun a project which I hope will bring some results in the not too distant future……
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Stephen, looking forward to your magic being worked on this beauty. You already have lots of goodies to get your mojo going. Looking forward to your progress. :D :D :D
-
Stephen,
Very exciting introduction to what, I am certain, will evolve into a classic Build Log and result in another exceptional model! With your Scratch Building skills this should prove a relatively simple project and I look forward to following along as you bring it all together. That prop is a great start, very nicely done!
Cheers,
Lance
-
Nice introduction with the carved propeller and a nice old gunbus, will be an interesting build I'm sure.
Ciao
Giuseppe
-
Stephen,
I am really looking forward to following your processes on this one! Seeing the results you achieve on smaller scale subjects I have no doubt this Gunbus will be terrific! Nice start with the prop!
RAGIII
-
Nice start. To my eye take a little more off the right blade at its lowest point
-
Thanks everyone for the kind remarks - they are much appreciated at a time when my motivation is only just returning.
Steve - thanks for the comment about the propellor - I have checked again closely and agree: a very small amount has been removed!
Stephen.
-
Evening All,
Did I write that my previous attempt to build a Gunbus had taken 31 years? Well as things seem to be going at the moment, this one looks as though it might take about the same amount of time.....except that I do not expect to be around then! I knew when I started this project that I had things to learn, (1/32 scale presents different problems to the One True Scale), but I do not seem to be able to get things right at the moment. That, combined with many distractions, has ensured that progress has been even more glacial than usual.
I am now on my third attempt to build the frame for the fuselage nacelle: the first failed because I tried to use solder paste and it was too weak, plus I got some of the dimensions of the rod wrong! (Don't ask how, I am too embarrassed to answer.....). The second attempt failed because I got the shape of the sides wrong.......just don't ask! I am now in the process of making a third and THIS time I am going to get it right...... Soldering by the way has proved to be much easier than I anticipated - pictures will follow later when I finally get the frame right.
I have tried to make some of the wing ribs from plastic strip and have had some success, but it is a slow and rather tedious process.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1785/28313320207_b9e714954a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/K8XaFe)[
The image above shows the basic process from bottom to top:
cut and shape the strip;
drill holes at the points were the spars will be, and drill holes at the ends of the rib slots;
cut the slots out using a sharp scalpel and clean up the holes with a needle file and fine glasspaper.
There will need to be about 30 of these, so I may be a little time before I complete making these parts. They will then have to be mounted on to brass bar spars.
I carved the moulds for the fuselage side which will represent the covered part, using basswood for the male and plywood for the female mould. The result was fine - after several attempts. I have not moulded a piece as large as this before and had difficulty pushing the male into the female to get a large enough piece. In the end I managed to get one after repeatedly reheating the plastic:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1807/29310822978_d4785abae4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/LE6CuS)
That has been cut out and the cockpit openings cut and sanded. There is a lot more work to do on this yet, so it is a long way from being ready but it is a start.
In frustration I have turned to making the oil tank. This was made from a piece of plastic tube which just happens to be the correct diameter, so I cut a length using a pipe cutter:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1825/42278201135_5cb9cee392_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/27pYQfk)
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1783/43182295741_4a3fa161ff_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/28MSy5n)
The ends of the tank were blocked with pieces of 60 thou card. When the cement had dried I could round off the ends with a file and glass paper. Now I only need to add the filler pipe at the top and outlet pipe underneath but at least this part looks as though it will be useable.
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/838/29310822998_9f2c62127e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/LE6Cvd)
I have also spent a good deal of time thinking about the order of assembly and manufacture of parts, which has also proved to be a useful way of avoiding tackling new techniques, (like soldering), or even making anything at all. However experience has taught me that sometimes this indecisiveness is a good idea as it reduces the chances of really making a mess of things further down the line. Scratch builders will recognise what I mean. More to follow in what I hope will be the not too distant future.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Stephen,
Your patient and studied approach will serve you best in the end. What you've got thus far looks very good and I see yet another absolute gem coming off your bench! Keep up t he good work and keep those updates flowing!
Cheers,
Lance
-
What an intriguing project! You must be somewhat mad to take it on but I shall be very interested to see how it develops.
-
You must be somewhat mad to take it on but I shall be very interested to see how it develops.
Yes Nigel, I think that you are right - I am beginning to have doubts about my sanity too. The problem for me is that I like to take on a challenge....
Stephen
-
Lance,
Thank you for your kind comment - your interest and support is much appreciated. This project is without doubt the most difficult that I have attempted so far, and the one where I have had to rework more sections and parts than any other. And I have not really got started yet!
Stephen.
-
As a fellow Brit, I have always really enjoyed your contributions to this great forum. Interesting subjects and great builds and this scale will be addictive to watch!
-
I wish you "bonne courage" for that huge project and will go on following with great joy like I had with all of your builds. I am keen on seeing how you like the large scale :)
Andreas
-
An ambitious project, Lone Modeller, but keep at it. A little at a time and it will get done. I found detailed drawings are usually few and far between, so if you can just make the parts look right, it works. As far as getting some dimensions wrong, don't let that bother you too much. NASA screws that up too.
-
Nice progress.
Steve
-
Your work on the smash mold worked well! Looking excellent.
RAGIII
-
Stephen,
Wow how did I miss this one? I'm looking forward to seeing more and following your latest project. Good luck and all the best my old friend.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
-
Evening All,
A big thank you to all of you whop have dropped by and left encouraging remarks - I really appreciate them especially as I am feeling well outside my comfort zone with this larger scale. I know that unless I have a challenge with my modelling I do not have too much enthusiasm, but this time I have taken on a major challenge and positive comments are extremely helpful.
This project is, I think, getting under way at last, but that does not mean that I will have all of the answers in future, so any suggestions would be welcomed.
I have completed the main parts of the fuselage frame at last: it took three attempts to get it right, but here it is as of now:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1783/41518365470_69f5af2037_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/26fQtzq)
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1825/42424253975_db679d5ce7_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/27CToEK)
It is made from 3/64 in brass rod and plastic rod bracing which has been superglued into position: I originally tried brass tube and intended to use connectors, but found that there were so many pieces on some joints that I could not get the correct angles to the frame, so I gave up and used rod instead. For the benefit of those who do not have experience of building structures like this here is how I tackled mine. NB. I also use this method when constructing frames with plastic rod and cement.
I started by bending the nose of the floor around a piece of copper pipe - it just happened to be the right diameter (22mm). I then soldered the cross pieces to the sides of the frame. I placed the floor section on to a piece of balsa which I use to pin the brass pieces while I am soldering, and laid the pieces of one of the fuselage sides so that they aligned exactly with the floor, and then held the side pieces in place with pins. This means that the side will fit exactly later.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1765/28459044907_53ea79b93f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/KmQ3y4)
Remove the floor section and solder the joints of the side: the pins hold everything in place:
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/919/42424254465_e971cbbfb0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/27CToPc)
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1782/28459044887_84dca8df31_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/KmQ3xH)
The image above shows that the side piece and floor section to align as required. Unfortunately these images are of my first attempt which I had to abandon later.... however the pinciple worked as shown by the results above of the third attempt show.
Having made the frame at last I then had to make a second fuselage shell in plastic as the first attempt was slightly too small. The marking on the outside are for later reference as they delineate the metal and fabric parts. I have also used Mr Surfacer to fill the marks from the wood mould on the underside of the shell.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1785/41518365310_0a5ccbdbf2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/26fQtwE)
(https://farm1.staticflickr.com/921/42610390284_e8141a7bef_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/27Vkovs)
I feel now that I can start to make the internal parts of the nacelle while I continue to make ribs for the wings.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Spectacular work all around, Stephen! From the vac molding, to the welded frame, this bears all marks of a masterpiece!
Cheers,
Bud
-
Stephen,
You've certainly eased into the soldering operation with ease, that's really impressive work! This project is looking like another very impressive model will result, and in my chosen scale!
Cheers,
Lance
-
Very impressive model engineering skills. This should be a superb model if you can keep up the momentum - it looks like a lot of work!
-
Wow Stephen, that is impressive work! This one has the potential to be my Favorite of all of your Gorgeous scratch builds!
RAGIII
-
Hi Stephen,
I've been away from this site for a long time it seems, mainly due to a) my last 2 projects were WWII, and b) I have relocated to Abu Dhabi for a new job and consequently haven't done any modeling at all for a few months!
Have you thought about casting the wing ribs in resin? It really isn't that difficult, and you can guarantee they'll all be the same. If you can manage soldering, casting should be a piece of cake!
I'm looking forward to seeing how this one progresses, even though it's on the wrong scale! 😉
Ian
-
Very nice progress on this. I like these soldered frames.
Ciao
Giuseppe
-
Evening All,
My apologies for the slow response to all of your very positive comments. I have been dropping by recently but have lost some momentum on this project and have not been as responsive as I should.
Bud, Lance Rick and Guiseppe: thank you for the encouraging comments - I really appreciate them, the more so when as recently I seem to have struggled with one or two of the construction problems.
Nigel - yes it will be a lot of work but no more I think than the Dornier and as I am not bothered about speed of output of models that does not matter too much!
Ian: I like your idea of mass producing ribs by using resin but at the moment i am trying out so many other techniques which are new to me that I do not wish to try another! I am keeping it in mind for future projects though.
Stephen.
-
Evening All,
Progress has been rather slow for a combination of reasons, some of which concern how I am going to make the wings and tail unit: while I think that I may have solved the tail unit problem I am still not quite sure about the wings but I will give that more thought later.
In the meantime I have made a little progress with the ribs and some internal fuselage details. I made the cockpit control panels and floors with 20thou card and painted them with Revell acrylic brown 381 as a base coat, and then raw sienna oil paint as the top coat.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1778/43124815505_da0ccf8610_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/28GMXcP)
The main instrument panel was deliberately made too large so that it could be cut down after I had added the instrument dials and bezels: the former were from the Airdecal sheet and the latter from HGW models WW1 instrument bezel set. The map holder was cut from 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip. The barograph on the port (left) side panel was added in the same way:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1778/29093521437_1a48ddaa9f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/LjTUjz)
I also finished the oil tank:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1814/44028760681_f072442ce4_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2a5EUBt)
and then made a fuel tank from 30 thou card rolled around a piece of dowel and immersed in very hot water. The sides were cut from 20 thou card and the embossing was achieved by holding the pointed end of a round file against the plastic and striking the other end with a pair of pliers. One or two taps were enough to get the desired effect. Filler and drain pipes were made from 30 thou rod:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1797/44028760701_0ed74251e2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2a5EUBP)
I have also been working away on the ribs for the wings. These come in two types, those with lightening slots and those without.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1797/43982513722_7ca1be836d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2a1zT17)
I have made up enough for both the top and lower wing halves, but to ensure that the holes for the spars were in the correct locations I threaded them on to a pair of brass bars. The lower wing will look a little like this when they are in place:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1839/44028760711_d605e6ef6d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2a5EUBZ)
The solid part of the horizontal tail unit was easy to construct as it was simply two pieces of 30 thou card with Evergreen strip ribs. The strip was sanded to a rounded profile - an easy procedure:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1772/44028760721_f5df7c45f6_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2a5EUCa)
The frame of the stripped down half of the horizontal tail unit has been made from 20 x 30 thou strip and 20thou rod. The strip makes up the spars and the rod a strut which joins them and the boom to the wing. The boom to the wing in the photo is the long piece extending to the left: the vertical pieces are the spars. The ends of the spars will be inserted into slots which I will cut into the solid half of the horizontal tail. The ribs have been cut from 20 x 30 strip and are not shown: the elevator will also consist of ribs and a single spar - again not shown here. The boom in the photo is currently plastic rod but I am hoping to be able to replace it with brass - the only problem being that the brass is slightly larger diameter than the plastic so the holes have to be bigger and the brass may be just too large. More experimentation needed here - it is one of the reasons why this build is proving to be so slow.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1794/43982640272_5485004a49_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2a1AwC1)
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Evening All,
I am not used to working in this gargantuan scale and have made some mistakes as a result, which I am not going to share as I am too ashamed to do so!! I have also been a bit frustrated at not being able to get things to work, so I have decided instead to try out an idea and make a proof of concept. If this does not work as I want it to I will have to think again. "This" being the other half of the wings - ie the solid bits.
I am using brass bar for the spars - they will be soldered to the cockpit frame in due course, but before I get too far I want to make sure that I can make the covered wing halves first. I am going to mould these using my well tried push moulding system, but I am not sure whether they are going to be too large, especially given the problems I had with the nacelle half. What follows is what I have learned so far.
I started by making the moulds for the upper and lower wing sections. As on most WW1 types these were concave sections, so I have to make two separate pieces and glue them together. I used basswood for the moulds as it is easy to work but provides a really strong former. To get the curvature right I used card formers:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1859/44445139052_73bacb2a63_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2aHsXoU)
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1880/44445139082_46005d6d0a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2aHsXpq)
This is the upper surface of the wing and the former is at each end - the shape is close enough for me because it will vary a little during the moulding process, but at this scale nobody will see if its only 98% accurate, especially after the ribs and other details have been added.
So on to the moulding - a piece of plywood with a suitable hole cut in it, 30 thou card pinned to the plywood and the formers put ready:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1858/42685685870_6b76ef0e6d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/282Zigd)
Also shown are the card formers, a rib which was used as a guide for the upper and lower surface card formers, and at the bottom - success a moulded wing surface. I found that because this moulding is so large that I had to heat the male moulds under the grill at the same time as I heated the plastic, otherwise I could not get the plastic to bend as required. After 4 aborted attempts I managed to get an acceptable upper and lower wing surface:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1900/44445138992_ee6ace400f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2aHsXnS)
This will be a top wing half: the lower wing half is slightly shorter. The spars are shown ready to glue into place. I used epoxy glue to hold the spars which were attached to the upper half of the wing:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1880/42685687070_b46b485254_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/282ZiBU)
Getting the alignment right was a bit of a problem so to help things I used some ribs to hold the spars parallel and tape to hold it down while I applied the epoxy and allowed it to cure. After leaving this overnight I could glue the lower half of the wing into place and held it there while the glue set with my usual clamps - some of my late mother's hair grips:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1844/44445139042_59d746436b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2aHsXoJ)
Now the problems began to show - the moulds were not the best that I have made and trying to get the lower half of the wing to sit into the upper half was tricky and left some rather crude joints as these photos show: This is the leading edge of the wing:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1880/44445138982_4222012351_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2aHsXnG)
and this is the trailing edge and tip:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1894/42685686950_056193f244_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/282ZizQ)
Not WNW standard. However after a few hours of filing, filling and sanding I managed to get acceptable joints all the way along the edges and tips. I also drilled a hole in the upper surface where the boom will have to be fixed and found that when I inserted a piece of brass rod to represent the boom the end made direct contact with the rear spar, which means that I can use epoxy to make a firm joint there:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1890/44445139072_3e36a7968b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2aHsXpf)
The pencil marks show the aileron position and where the struts will be fixed later. Just as I thought that this was going really well and that I might be able to use this prototype on the model I discovered that the spar spacing where the spars enter the wing is wrong!!! Somehow the *@#^* things had moved when I was adding the epoxy and I had not checked them against the plans! Lesson learned (I hope). However I have proved that my idea works, but I also think that I can make some better moulds if I use a vacuform machine. As I do not possess one of these high-tech instruments of torture I will have to see if I can use one at my former place of employment..... so a trip down the road to my former school will be taking place shortly and I will be begging a favour from an old colleague.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Your posts are as fascinating as entertaining to read, Stephen. I am glad you are back on this great project and I really like what I see.
Andreas
-
Your posts are as fascinating as entertaining to read, Stephen. I am glad you are back on this great project and I really like what I see.
Andreas
Stephen,
I second Borsos' comment, it's a pleasure following your improvisation and progress. I believe you are on track to the solution here and it's looking good! This is going to be a fine model, stay the course as the saying goes!
Cheers,
Lance
-
What a interesting project, good luck and have fun!
Good to see another one starts to soldering models ;)
Cheers,
Frank
-
Wonderful work, await more pics...
Ed
-
Evening All,
Many thanks Andreas, Lance, Frank and Ed for your comments - I really appreciate them.
Andreas - I can assure both you and Lance that this project is stretching my abilities and patience - I will try to stay the course but there are times when I wonder what the result will look like at the end!
Frank: this is my first venture into soldering and I am genuinely surprised at how few problems I have encountered. I expected it to be much more difficult, but as my brother has commented, these techniques are frequently much easier than we imagine them to be. (I learned that carving wood). This next post is a good example of how I was putting off a stage in construction because I feared that I would make a mess of it and thus ruin the whole project. Read on and you will find out why.
I have been back to soldering again because I needed to attach the lower wing spars to the fuselage nacelle frame. The wing spars are brass bar and the wings have a small amount of dihedral, so I had to bend the bar to get the correct angle. This was done by placing a bar on the front elevation of the plans, marking the inflection points of the dihedral and gently bending the bar with a pair of pliers. Having made one spar the second had to be made to exactly the same shape. Having achieved this I now had to solder the spars to the frame, a task which I had been putting off for some time, (which is one reason why I started on the top wing as described in the last post. Anything but solder the lower spars...). This is a pusher biplane which will be all struts, booms and wires when it is completed, and if anything is out of true it will show up like a sore thumb, so getting the spars dead square and at the correct angle of dihedral on each side of the nacelle is absolutely essential if the completed model is to look right. During the soldering process everything has to be rigid to prevent movement, but setting up a jig to hold things steady on a kitchen worktop is not easy. I am not one for fancy, (and sometimes expensive), jigs and tools - everything I do is a tribute to Heath-Robinson - and I firmly believe that much can be achieved with little. Except patience - you need a large amount of that when scratch-building.
So I set up my jig as follows:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1892/44807276301_7c1525858f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2bgt1bz)
This is jig 1: it was designed to align the spars correctly on the base of the nacelle frame. The spars had been coated with solder paste to encourage them to stay in place long enough for me to be able to heat the joints with the tip of the soldering iron and make a stable, (but weak) joint. Now I could turn the assembly over and pin it to a block of balsa, (jig 2), so that it would not move while I really made a permanent joint with silver solder. This also shows how I added the frames between the spars - the left one is being held rigid and in place with pins:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1885/29870515977_1dc1e47b90_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/MvycJa)
Repeat the above on the other spar, clean up the joints with a file and I had this:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1842/44807276391_294dd28625_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2bgt1d8)
Or from another angle:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1874/44807276421_56ba431649_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2bgt1dD)
I added the frames between the spars at the bottom of the nacelle after the spars had been soldered in place. It did mean that I had to solder one joint three times because it came apart twice, but I got there eventually. The short white pieces on the top of the nacelle are plastic rod held in place with CA because these are too small to make from brass and solder into position. The nacelle and lower spar assembly is not quite complete - there are some pieces to be added to the nose but they will wait until later otherwise they will be in the way and get damaged easily. (Guess how I know?) I was delighted to find that when I checked this assembly against the plans everything lines up as it should - including the dihedral on the spars. I also tried out adding the ribs to the spars just to get a sneak preview of what they will look like on the completed model:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1883/29870515957_b27f77518a_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/MvycHP)
This model is turning into a "how-to-learn-from-mistakes" exercise. I realised that having made the ribs for the exposed wing sections, I would have to make some more because a number of ribs have three slots between the spars, and I had only made ribs with two! So back to the plastic strip and more filing, drilling and cutting....... However clouds have silver linings - well sometimes - in fairy tales and other works of fiction, don't they? In my case it was not fiction, it has really happened! I was soakling in my bath wondering how to extract the brass rods from the upper wing described in the last post when I thought that I would have one last check of the alignments of both sets of spars, including those on the fuselage frame. When I checked the top wing spars with the lower pair, I found that they align exactly!! The spars in the upper wing had not moved as I had thought, and my improvised jig for holding them in place while the epoxy resin cured had worked. Joy of joys!! This was the kind of "mistake" that I would like to repeat. Please do not ask how I came to believe that there was somthing wrong because I just do not know. But having discovered that I could use the wing assembly I proceeded to add ribs using 10 x 30 thou Evergreen strip and putting Mr Surfacer 500 and 1000 filler along the edges and sanding it all down. I also cut out the aileron and treated that in the same way. The happy result for me is that I have half of the top wing complete except for drilling the various holes for struts, rigging wires, pulleys, aileron hinges, etc which will adorn it when finished. I have started to work out how to represent the internal bracing wires which will extend from the centre of the wing to the uncovered section - more on that later.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1845/29870516067_27b8d09820_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/MvycKH)
On the other hand I have found that the nacelle half that I have moulded is not quite the right shape, so I am going to have to modify the male mould and make a new half. Another error! I have also got to think about how to finish the details of the cockpit and add them to the nacelle.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Stephen I follow your Flickr account and have been watching this. (my Flickr handle is "the 3rd placer")
Superb soldering work, someday I would like to scratch a model.
Ryan
-
Wow, I am deeply impressed as well, Stephen. This is a wonderful piece of work.
Andreas
-
Indeed -very cool! :)
-
Unbeliveable work. I think you do the same like the mechanics did 100 years ago with the original plane.
Bye,
Manni
-
Sorry for the Long absence! Your progress on this one is AWESOME! The wings are looking terrific!
RAGIII
-
Evening All,
First my apologies to those of you who left such positive comments for not answering earlier, life has not been quiet recently and I have also been trying to get somewhere with this project!
Thanks to Ryan, Andreas, Jeroen, Manni and Rick: I really appreciate your positive remarks, especially when things do not always go according to plan!
Ryan: do give scratch building a try - it really is not as difficult as it looks - it just takes longer than a conventional kit and you certainly have the necessary skills.
Manni: yes my aim is to show the viewer what how these aircraft were constructed as many people are only aware of the external shapes and may not appreciate the complex structures that they really were.
First, as noted in the previous post, this is a model with a steep learning curve, so I will get the mistakes out of the way. I had been a bit concerned about the wing which I reported on in the last post, and decided that I would reject it after all as the curvature on the underside was not sufficient, and the tip was flat rather than curved. I had still to mould the lower wing so I decided to have another go at moulding a new set of wing sections for both the upper and lower wings. When I tried to do this before I found that I could not get a clean pair of mouldings, and I was going to try to use a vacform machine to make some new ones. However after giving the problem some thought, (my brain can accomplish such feats when I am not being distracted by other things....), I decided that I would have another try using my Kitchen Method (ie my gas-grill), on the grounds that a vacform machine is too sophisticated for the average modeller, i.e. me. I considered that the cause of the problem was that as these are relatively large mouldings, (they are the largest that I have attempted to date), I was not heating the plastic sheet and former enough, and the male mould was also not hot enough. In particular the male mould was probably cooling the plastic sheet sufficiently to prevent it from bending easily. Consequently I placed the male mould face up on the floor of the grill so that it was warming while I heated the plastic sheet. This I heated by holding the former at twice the normal distance from the gas flame i.e. approx 4inches (10cm) with the plastic facing away from the flame. This meant that the plastic did not curl and bubble while the wood former absorbed much more heat. Heating took two minutes and when I withdrew the former and mould to make the pressing I managed to get a good set of mouldings almost first time every time: actually I had to make 6 attempts to get 4 usable parts. Before I had made 10 attempts to get only 4 usable parts. I will describe in the next post the manufacture of the new wing halves as I am currently in the process of making them.
I also needed a new nacelle half as also explained in the last post, so I modified the existing male mould and made a new nacelle half at the same time as the wing sections. The cockpit openings and various holes for spars, struts, oil tank, rudder bar, etc were drilled or cut out and the new part painted. Before this I had been experimenting with the idea of using real metal for the upper decking and underside of the nacelle. Vickers Gunbus nacelles consisted of a steel tube frame covered with aluminium on the top, bottom and nose, and fabric sides, so I cut the ends off an old beer can and the split it down the middle:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1903/30473027167_1e49e22ec4_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/NqNej8)
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1956/31537919308_2b04383cf4_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Q3U5Ds)
Suitably sized and shaped pieces were cut from the can after the printed logos had been removed,
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1945/44498527315_764467f93a_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2aNbzSc)
and I then tried to attach these to the old nacelle half which I was discarding because it was the wrong size and shape. It was at this point that I found that my good idea was not so good after all. I could not shape the pieces around the nose without causing creases in the metal. In addition the junction between the edges of the metal and the plastic which represents the fabric sides was much too proud. Finally the pieces around the nose also had horribly large and out-of-scale joints and I could not think of a way of making these less prominent. End of another good idea!
Many of the interior details of the nacelle had to be fitted before I could put on the nacelle side, so I added the fuel tank behind, and instrument panel in front of, the pilot, and the starboard wood side panel as this will be set against the solid nacelle half. This panel has the oil pulsometers (pumps), which were an aftermarket part from Taurus Models. They are very small but very finely detailed and I am glad that I have not had to try to make them from scratch.
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1974/44689808234_ae95b4073f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2b65X25)
These were fixed to the panel before I attached the latter to the fuselage frame, and then I added two lengths of wire painted a copper colour from the pulsometers to the sides of the fuel tank where they disappear. In reality these would have been connected to the oil tank and then the inlet to the engine crankcase, but I cannot find any drawings or photos of this section of the aircraft, and anyway they would probably not be visible after the nacelle side is in place, so I am not bothering. I did add a fuel line which runs from the hand pump on the port side of the nacelle frame via the front of the instrument panel and behind the starboard side panel, over the top of the fuel tank to the engine - this would be seen when the nacelle half is in place. There is also a frame member behind the fuel tank - I think that it supports the end of the engine crankshaft:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1960/44688927974_d53d93818f_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2b61rmb)
Next part was the new nacelle half. I decided that although I could not use metal I would represent the stitching between the metal and fabric parts with real thread, so I drilled two lines of holes, starting at the top rear:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1925/45415332501_22a8875975_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cccs7a)
and working my way round the whole unit. After three laborious sessions I had this:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1936/43596522910_fd78624402_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/29qtzo7)
and before anyone comments that the holes are not exactly the same distance apart and in dead straight lines, I can assure you that they were not so on the actual machines either, as photos show! I also drilled the holes for the rigging which will be attached to the fuselage frame later. Then the sewing began.... and after two more laborious sessions I had this:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1935/43596523050_6f20f683ef_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/29qtzqw)
But as the old proverb says: "patience is a virtue....." and if you have enough of it, and the time, you will get this:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1933/43596523060_b8fc127409_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/29qtzqG)
The nacelle half has been permanently attached to the frame. Now I could add the observers seat in the front:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1921/43596523000_d784cd183d_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/29qtzpE)
and the engine firewall to the rear:
(https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1921/45361884592_fe373a518b_k.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2c7tvUu)
Well if you have got this far, thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Truly remarkable craftsmanship, Stephen! You are in a class all by yourself!
Cheers,
Bud
-
Wow Stephen, you are building a real airplane, only smaller. Looks fantastic.
-
Truly remarkable craftsmanship, Stephen! You are in a class all by yourself!
Cheers,
Bud
Imagine that, I agree with my Amigo!
RAGIII
-
Somehow I missed this build and I really regret it. What a great job, Stephen!
It is pure pleasure looking at the progress you are making, will be following with great interest.
Cheers
Ondra
-
Nicely done Stephen, the cockpit looks great and the fabric side panel with it's stitching is superb work; as I like to say some REAL modelling happening here! This is truly going to be one of a kind when completed, excellent work!
Cheers,
Lance
-
I have also missed this thread. What a shame!
Great model, Stephen. Sincere congratulations.
-
Stephen,
Fantastic project my old friend. Keep up the excellence.
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
-
Truly remarkable craftsmanship, Stephen! You are in a class all by yourself!
Cheers,
Bud
Imagine that, I agree with my Amigo!
RAGIII
And since this board doesn't have a "Like" feature, I have a compelling need to respectfully agree with all the others!!
Gene K
-
Bud, Juan, Rick, Ondra, Lance, Prez, Gregory and Gene:
Many thanks to all of you for dropping by and leaving your generous and encouraging comments. These are much appreciated and I value them highly as they come from modellers for whom I have the greatest respect. I am hoping to be able to post another update shortly as I have been lucky enough to be able to spend more time on this project recently and am at a stage when progress is a bit faster as I have made most, (but not all), of the parts.
Stephen.
-
Evening All,
I think that I have mastered the finer points of uploading images on to a host site without having to wait for my photographic library to be loaded first, so here is the latest on my current build.
I have been able to spend a little more time on this project lately and am able to report some new developments with specific reference to the wings. The model will have one half "solid" i.e. it will look just like a normal aeroplane with the external surfaces and colours, but the other half will be exposed to show all of the structural elements - that is why I have only moulded one half of the nacelle covering. The starboard (right) wing wings will be "solid" and it is these that I have been steadily working on recently, but I have also carried out an experiment for proof of concept for the port (left) wing halves.
I started by moulding the solid parts of the wings as upper and lower surfaces - I have described the procedure already. For the lower wing I had to put a rib in at the fuselage end as there was a small gap between the nacelle side and end of the wing. The rib was made from 15 thou card and two holes drilled and squared off to allow the spars to pass through. I also butressed the rib with some scrap card:
(https://image.ibb.co/cFPSJL/DSCF9529.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ewiyQ0)
Blocks of scrap plastic were glued to the lower wing shell to provide support for the brass bar spars and to ensure that where I will have to drill rigging holes later, there will be continuous plastic otherwise the rigging thread is likely to disapper into the cavity and I will not be able to pull it tight:
(https://image.ibb.co/fgESJL/DSCF9531.jpg) (https://ibb.co/jwsEyL)
To protect the nacelle I wrapped it in a plastic bag which had been slipped over the brass bars: that was to stop me from accidentally damaging the nacelle and attached rigging wires, and stop dust and other muck getting into the cockpit areas where it would be difficult to remove later. I cut a small strip of plastic to fit into the wing tips: experience with the top wing had shown me that a gap is likely to appear there when I shape this area and I wanted to ensure that there is enough plastic to allow for much filing and sanding. The spars were epoxied to the wing:
(https://image.ibb.co/dC4DQ0/DSCF9533.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fkfnk0)
and the top half of the shell glued into place. The structure was held with hair clips while the resin cured and glue dried out:
(https://image.ibb.co/dAghJL/DSCF9534.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fyhBCf)
Much scraping, filing and sanding followed to get the tips to the correct shape and shape the leading edge and thin down the trailing edge. Some filler was needed to sort out some unwanted depressions at the tip, but the aerofoil section is close enough:
(https://image.ibb.co/gTM7JL/DSCF9556.jpg) (https://ibb.co/myQpXf)
With the wing shaped to the correct size and profile I could drill the holes for the booms. I do not like to let good, practical ideas go to waste so I employed the same basic technique to drill the holes for the booms as I have used on my 1/72 scale pusher builds. First I draw a line which runs from the undersides of the leading and trailing edges of the wing to a point vertically beneath the rudder post. The angle between this line and the boom on the side elevation drawing gives me the angle that I have to hold the drill chuck against the wing when I drill the hole. I taped the sub-structure to the plan drawing so that the wing is exactly in the correct position and then held the hand chuck so that it is in line with the boom on the plan. A piece of paper with the correct angle as measured from the side elevation diagram steered me to a nearly correct angle to the horizontal for drilling. I used a smaller diameter bit than the brass rod which I will eventually use for the boom
(https://image.ibb.co/gkrtQ0/DSCF9562.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dv6hJL)
and then gently enlarged the hole with a needle file:
(https://image.ibb.co/hfSa50/DSCF9563.jpg) (https://ibb.co/mJDF50)
By offering the brass rod to the hole I could use the plan to make sure that the alignment was correct. To achieve the correct final angle of the boom from the horizontal I placed a block of wood 22mm high, 12.6cm from the trailing edge of the wing (actually the front edge of the block was laid over the leading edge of the horizontal tail unit on the plan: that is 12.6cm from the wing). The hole in the wing could then be enlarged until the rod rested on the wood block: voila the rod has the exact angle and orientation.
(https://image.ibb.co/m212k0/DSCF9565.jpg) (https://ibb.co/kORDsf)
The above procedures had already been carried out on the upper wing, and I had added the ribs and filled and sanded them, so I was able to check the alignments of the booms by resting the tip of the upper wing on a paint pot and the other end on the nacelle. The tips and leading edges of the wings were squared using a small set square and the alignments of both booms checked: the upper boom should be exactly in line with and above the lower one, although their respective angles in relation to the wings are different.
(https://image.ibb.co/bZNEyL/DSCF9558.jpg) (https://ibb.co/bKwJQ0)
(https://image.ibb.co/ntCsk0/DSCF9559.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dkMUXf)
Please do not let anyone ever tell you that scratch building a pusher is a) difficult, b) complicated, c) needs expensive tools and jigs: I am demonstarting that they do not. All of this was done on my work tray and desk top!
The ribs were made from 10 x 30 thou strip glued with liquid cement after the ailerons had been cut off:
(https://image.ibb.co/nKDwdL/DSCF9575.jpg) (https://ibb.co/d4fbdL)
Mr Surfacer 500 followed by Mr Surfacer 1200 was used to fill the sides of the ribs and riblets, and then the sanding and filling began. When I thought that they were almost ready I applied a thin coat of primer and continued with the filling and sanding....
They are now ready to paint.
The wing structure on the port (left) side has been given some thought. It looks complicated, but when broken down it is not really. I had some spare wing ribs becuse when I was making them I forgot that some ribs have two gaps between the spars, and some three. I had only made ribs with two gaps.... hence the spare ones. I started by sliding the ribs on to the brass bars which represent the spars on the real aircraft. When the ribs had been aligned over the plan of the wing they were superglued to the brass bars. A lenght of 40 thou rod was glued to the front ends of the ribs to represent the leading edge:
(https://image.ibb.co/m4NBCf/DSCF9599.jpg) (https://ibb.co/eWr4Xf)
and 10 x20 thou strip was cut and bent gently with tweezers before being cemented with liquid cement to the rod to make the riblets:
(https://image.ibb.co/d7knk0/DSCF9601.jpg) (https://ibb.co/gg42JL)
A coat of thinned Revell acrylic ochre (88) was applied before the next part of the assembly:
(https://image.ibb.co/eA14Xf/DSCF9603.jpg) (https://ibb.co/iXNpyL)
(https://image.ibb.co/iAzDQ0/DSCF9605.jpg) (https://ibb.co/ms1Sk0)
That was adding the rigging. I used monofilament thread and passed it between the rib and spar at the relevant points. I had drilled some holes in some of the ribs because I thought that I might fill the gaps between the ribs and spars with paint, but that did not happen and I will not be drilling holes in the ribs which i will put on to the wings:
(https://image.ibb.co/hUywdL/DSCF9606.jpg) (https://ibb.co/fJnYQ0)
Now the structure could be completed by adding the narrow reinforcemnt pieces from 10 x 20 thou strip on the top and bottoms of the ribs, and the wire trailing edge. I used thin copper wire for the latter but it is too bendy so on the actual wings I will use some slightly thicker wire:
(https://image.ibb.co/fyrSk0/DSCF9608.jpg) (https://ibb.co/dAqysf)
(https://image.ibb.co/nBjf50/DSCF9609.jpg) (https://ibb.co/iw6tQ0)
Concept proved. So now to paint the solid parts of the wings, add the roundel on the underside of the lower wing and drill the strut and rigging holes. The I can take off the nacelle cover and continue to add more interior details there.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
"Please do not let anyone ever tell you that scratch building a pusher is a) difficult, b) complicated, c) needs expensive tools and jigs: I am demonstrating that they do not."
Stephen,
Perhaps I'd agree with your statement if your tremendous model building talents were not so apparent here in this Build! This is just superb modelling and impressive beyond mere words. You make it look easy, and the results are spectacular. Keep bringing us this wonderful work, so much to enjoy and learn from here. This is destined to become your very best model and I truly envy your skills.
Cheers,
Lance
-
Superb skills. Once again I see that my sklills will not be enough to start something like this. But it is great to watch you to do this.
Bye,
Manni
-
Wow Stephen, the detailing on that wing is masterclass.
-
"Please do not let anyone ever tell you that scratch building a pusher is a) difficult, b) complicated, c) needs expensive tools and jigs: I am demonstrating that they do not."
Stephen,
Perhaps I'd agree with your statement if your tremendous model building talents were not so apparent here in this Build! This is just superb modelling and impressive beyond mere words. You make it look easy, and the results are spectacular. Keep bringing us this wonderful work, so much to enjoy and learn from here. This is destined to become your very best model and I truly envy your skills.
Cheers,
Lance
I have to agree with Lance on this one! Your skills are indeed Tremendous!
RAGIII
-
After the Browser do not complain anymore about the certificate visiting this board I'm able to comment on your GREAT SHOW again here. Stephen, I'm in love with your work, that scratched plane. The stitching with real metal on the fuselage and the wings are so nice!
I know, such work is pure fun and I hope you have a lot of fun with further work on this aircraft!
Thank you for your detailed description and pictures - that is really a big amount of work.
Cheers,
Frank
-
Evening All,
Thank you Lance, Manni and Rick for the comment on my modelling skills. "Oh to see ourselves as others see us" as the poet wrote, (I cannot remember which one - I think that it was Burns but I am afraid that being generally illiterate I cannot be certain: perhaps someone could tell us?) It is most generous of you to make such comments which, coming from modellers whose skills I greatly admire, I very much appreciate.
Thanks too Juan and Frank - I try to provide as much information as I can in order that others may be encouraged to try to follow my example, or may just be interested in a particular technique or idea. It is what these forums are for in my opinion.
The saga continues.... watching paint dry is not the most exciting aspect of modelling but a necessary one. Especially when, as I do, a modeller uses acryllic paint and a hairy stick, and builds up several layers of very thin paint to try to get a perfectly smooth finish. 13 - 15 coats in this case on the wings. I took the precaution of masking the fuselage nacelle in a plastic bage to prevent any accidental brush strokes going astray. That was followed on the lower wing by the markings which in this case consist of a large white square, (which on the original aircraft covered an earlier Union Jack flag marking), and then a roundel which I had printed myself.
(https://i.imgur.com/WQ84Jdi.jpg)
Holes were drilled in the lower wing for struts and rigging. I have not drilled the holes for these features in the upper wing yet as I want to make absolutely certain that I get them in the right place first time. I intend to use white glue to hold the wing struts in place and then mark the locations for the holes in the top wing later when I have made the struts. The next step was to solder a length of brass rod to the rear spar to represent the boom which supports the tail. 4 ribs were slotted on to the spars first - these were pushed close to the nacelle so that they would not melt during soldering operations: they were pushed into place and CA'd afterwards. I anticipated that the soldering would be difficult because I had to get two orientations exactly right:
the angle of the boom to the thrust line: it has to rise from the rear spar towards the tail;
the angle in relation to the fore-aft line as the booms converge on to the rudder post.
This was made relatively easy by inserting the boom into the rear of the starboard wing and resting it on a block of wood behing the wing and fuselage sub-assembly. I cut a piece of rod to the exact length of the port (left) boom and supported the front end against the back of the rear spar while resting the rear of the boom on the wood making sure that it touched the end of the opposite boom. This assembly was sitting above the scale plan so that I had an additional aid to get the alignment correct. Application of heat and solder followed and when it had cooled I found that the boom was just 0.5mm to far towards the wing tip! I can live with that....so after I had cleaned up the soldered joint with a file I added the remaining spars to the wing and CA'd them into place. I had to re-mask the fuselage nacelle and the starboard (right) wing with a plastic bag because I had to prime the brass bar of the wing spars and rod of the boom strut and I did not want to spray the wing and nacelle at the same time! I also added the strengtheners at each end of the trailing edge of the wing inboard of the aileron.
(https://i.imgur.com/pV4mJqU.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/3xz7Enh.jpg)
Priming followed and then I removed the rear of the spars where the aileron will be and set these on one side as I will make both ailerons later. The wing leading edge bar was made from 40 thou plastic rod and the riblets from 10 x 20 thou strip as per the test piece described earlier.
(https://i.imgur.com/BMSGDbZ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/feWxKEs.jpg)
Painting followed with Revell Ocker (88) which had been watered approx 50:50. One coat was just right. Black was used for the reinforcement rods as these were metal on the original aircraft. To complete this stage of construction (but not the whole wing structure - that will come later), I added the rigging. The black line on the right of the second image is the frame of the nacelle.
(https://i.imgur.com/c2SlMr8.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/WJOh7fq.jpg)
And now I can do all of this again on the top wing....
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Stephen,
Wow she's coming along beautifully my old friend. Oh and by the way you're as good as others say. Keep up the high excellence!
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
-
I think this is your most spectacular build to date. You are pushing the envelope of excellence you have set with your previous builds! Super Work!!!
RAGIII
-
I think this is your most spectacular build to date. You are pushing the envelope of excellence you have set with your previous builds! Super Work!!!
RAGIII
I agree with Rick in every aspect.
Best regards
Andreas
-
Stephen you are a plastic surgeon, well done on the wing work.
Ryan
-
Spectacular and inspirational work, Stephen! I can't even begin to imagine taking on such a complex project. You are a true master, my friend!
Cheers,
Bud
-
Evening All,
Thank you Gregory, Rick, Andreas, Ryan and Bud for your encouraging and supportive remarks. I have been in need of them recently because I have just tackled what has up to now been the most difficult part of the project: soldering the upper wing boom.
Some of you will be aware that I have considerable form when it comes to building pushers, albeit in the True Scale. My preferred method is to attach the tail booms to the wings, put the top wing into place with the rudder post in support at the rear, and then add the boom struts. In this way alignments are very much easier to achieve and the modeller does not have to handle two fragile structures while trying to attach them to the rear of the wings and align them correctly with the rudder post. I am using my tried and tested method on this model. However there is a big difference with this model because it is a larger scale and I have to solder 2 of the 4 booms to the rear spars of the wings which means that the boom alignment has to be very accurate or the structure will simply look awful or worse. I have been giving this problem considerable thought for some time but I could prevaricate no longer.... so I consulted William Heath Robinson for advice which he generously gave to me.
First I masked the solid part of the wing with a plastic bag and then laid the assembly on the plans and aligned them.
(https://image.ibb.co/dqigx0/DSCF9638.jpg)
I placed the fuselage nacelle/lower wing assembly over the top wing:
(https://image.ibb.co/m55uH0/DSCF9637.jpg)
(https://image.ibb.co/iFCKjf/DSCF9635.jpg)
The position of the boom/rear spar joint of the lower wing could be copied on to the rear spar of the top wing. This was essential because the two booms must align exactly even though they are not in the precise position over the plan (they are approximately 0.5mm too close to the fuselage nacelle). The lower wing assembly was set aside and the top wing laid on a block of balsa which will be the base for the soldering process. The balsa block was placed on the plans so that the wing is directly over the plan as allowed me to use it to align the brass rod which I will use for the boom. A second block of wood was laid on the plan with the edge along the leading edge of the horizontal tail unit. The brass rod was laid so that one end touched the rear spar and the other was resting on the second wood block and was over the boom on the plan. To get the correct height at the tail end of the boom I had to add some pieces of plastic card:
(https://image.ibb.co/cg7wVL/DSCF9653.jpg)
I will briefly explain the simplicity of this method which I have used many times - I have converted or scratch built 10 pushers this way so far, and have not had a problem yet. Tail booms have to conform to two angles as explained in an earlier post. Aligning the angle in relation to the vertical centre line is easy - just lay the wing and boom over the plan. The angle in relation to the thrust line can be achieved by using the height difference between two easy-to-measure points on the boom:
(https://image.ibb.co/eRt6x0/fullsizeoutput-39b.jpg)
The diagram above shows the distance 'a' between the trailing edge of the wing and the leading edge of the horizontal tail unit. The height 'b' is calculated from the side elevation of the aircraft in question by drawing a line (2 on the diagram) which touches the leading and trailing edge of the wing and is continued under the leading edge of the tail. Height 'b' is the distance on the plan between line 2 and the boom on the plan (line 1). Therefore the rear of the boom resting on the wood block has to be the equivalent of height 'b' above the balsa block on which the wing assembly is resting.
To lift the boom rod so that it made good contact with the centre of the rear spar I used a file and then held it in place with paint pots as advised by H R:
(https://image.ibb.co/gtRqqL/DSCF9645.jpg)
(https://image.ibb.co/d3qiAL/DSCF9644.jpg)
I checked the alignment with the lower wing assembly by placing the latter over the former:
(https://image.ibb.co/n4ZMx0/DSCF9649.jpg)
I removed the lower wing assembly, put flux and solder paint on to the boom-spar joint, and after checking and adjusting one last time to make certain all was in its correct position I heated my soldering iron and used solder wire to reinforce the joint. The result when I placed the lower wing over the new upper wing and it looked like this:
(https://image.ibb.co/iyRqqL/DSCF9651.jpg)
The remainder of the top wing assembly followed the procudures I have already described.
(https://image.ibb.co/gp5Q70/DSCF9665.jpg)
and the two wings look like this:
(https://image.ibb.co/cXPUZf/DSCF9667.jpg)
I have still to make the ailerons and add the trailing edge and tip wires to complete these structures.
Unfortunately this is as far as I will be able to take this project for the time being as I now have to go on one of my periodic journeys, this time for an undetermined period. I simply do not know how long it will be before I can pick it up again but I am hoping that it will only be 2-3 weeks: fingers crossed. Until then I hope that you all have an enjoyable time with your own projects.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
The master of the improvised jig strikes again, sheer genius Stephen! This is going to be a Model to be reckoned with, it's already in it's own league. I'll be waiting for your return and restarting of this project with eager anticipation.
Cheers,
Lance
-
I'm just catching up with this thread. Great work, Stephen! This project appears very complicated and you are tackling it like a pro.
Kudos.
Ken M
-
Beside your great work I like the idea of half strip down / half real one model more and more.
I have to build another D.H.2 beside my strip down for the same effect.
Looking forward to next updates.
Cheers,
Frank
-
Evening all,
Thanks Lance, Ken and Frank for commenting on my last post - your attention is greatly appreciated.
Frank: one of the problems that I will have to tackle when this model is completed is that it will be unbalanced insofar as the right side is much heavier than the left. I will therefore have to represent the model as if it is an aircraft that has been picketed, i.e. it has been tethered to the ground to protect it from strong winds. In that way I am hoping to be able to keep the model level and stable.
I have returned and restarted the project with a couple of relatively simple structures to get my eyes and hands used to working together again! I found that just before I departed I knew exactly what I wanted to do and how to do it but when I returned I had forgotten most of it, despite having written some (by now) cryptic notes.... (Note to myself, make notes more explicit next time).
I am approaching the stage that I have been delaying for some time i.e. how am I going to put the top wing on? So to avoid having to tackle that particular problem I distracted myself by making some small structures as referred to above. I started with the ailerons on the port (left) side which are represented by the frames. On my first attempt I tried to use 20 thou card for the hinge section and spar and 40 x 125 thou strip for the ribs. I drilled a small hole in those ribs which had been hollowed to save weight and then enlarged the hole with a sharp craft knife:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7860/45841129765_db163e4505_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cQPLNi)
The ribs were cut in half and assembled. However the 20 thou card is too thin and warped when I used the cement to join everything up:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7891/31814724487_efe38282b1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QtmMbx)
Start again. This time I used 40 x 125 thou strip for the hinge section and 30 x 125 for the spar with much more satisfacrory results. Rod was used to represent the bracing:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4807/31814725087_ee8bfe615b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QtmMmT)[
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7858/45841129565_9483e93b87_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cQPLJR)
The slight curvature seen on one of the ailerons will be eliminated when it is finally glued to the wing. Control horns were made from 20 x 30 thou strip and added after the above images were taken.
Next came some control details. The control column was mounted on to a hollow bar through which the aileron wires were passed. The column was brass rod with a piece of bent plastic CA'd to one end to represent the yoke which joined it to the bar. The bar is brass tube - the column was CA'd to the tube. On the bar there were two small pulley wheels which carried the control cable: the latter was attached to the column on the aircraft, so I represented the wheels with discs of 10 thou card and drilled a hole through the brass rod column. After painting I threaded a piece of monofilament thread and CA'd the ends to the wheels. I also made up the rudder bar from rod and 10th card pedals:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7859/31814724847_1f73bbd80c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QtmMhK)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7816/32880802738_1a82c6e338_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/S6yH73)
Seat belts are a difficult topic on these very early machines - some pilots used them, others did not. I chose to make one for the pilot only and based it on photographs posted on Britmodeller of a belt from a BE 2c, a contemporary type: it is the best information that I have on this subject. A piece of 10thou card was cut to size and painted to represent canvass and leather with metal fixings :
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7848/31814724677_1c82c64ee9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QtmMeP)
Finally I have started to make the horizontal tail unit. One half is solid so that was easy to make - take a piece of 30 thou card, shape it, add ribs as per the wings and...... it was too thin! The booms which support the tail passed through the horizontal surfaces and as my booms are made from brass rod the 30 thou card was too thin, so I made another surface from 80 thou card. By carefully laying the top wing and right boom on the plans I was able to mark on the tail unit where the boom would have to be inserted. The tail unit was cut and then the edges filed until I could get the brass rod boom to lie between the two tail pieces so that the leading edge of the tail was paralled with the trailing edge of the wing. This assembly was CA'd together and the grooves filled and sanded:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7818/45841129285_73aa09e318_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cQPLE2)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4901/45841128945_fdd33e6598_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2cQPLya)
The next step will be to add the tail unit spars of the uncovered port (left) side of the horizontal tail unit by cutting slots in the solid half of the tail and inserting two 30 x 80 thou strips. More on that in the next post. I have also been giving thought as to how to mount the top wing and whether or not to attach the tail unit first. Given the size of this model, and the absolute requirement that everything must be square and true, I am probably going to have to build a more rigid jig than usual. I am also still undecided about whether to use plastic or wood for the struts - both have advantages and problems. So if there is a longer than usual delay before my next post it is because either I am still trying to solve a problem or I have completely failed to do so and have given up.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Welcome back Stephen, and it's nice to see you working at this one again. Just like you I find it difficult to get back into the "flow" after a break and find starting with some small and relatively simple component helps to get me back up to speed. Take your time getting back in form, this one promises to be a real beauty!
Cheers,
Lance
-
Evening All,
Thanks Lance for your kind comment: here is another update but not quite as I had planned as I have still to put the top wing into place. I am working on this but before I could do so I found that I really needed to add most of the remaining details to the cockpits and finish off some other items, so this is a short summary of those aspects of the build.
First I had to add the spars to the horizontal tail unit and paint the whole. This is because I may have to add this when I put the top wing on: it is all about getting alignments correct as I will explain later. Anyway here is the completed horizontal tail section with the spars: the ribs will be added after this has been attached to the wing and port (left) upper boom and rudder post.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4830/31956656407_dc85b92dbb_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QFUdAB)
The holes in the spars are where the port boom and a bracing strut will be inserted later.
I added the control column to the pilot's cockpit and have cut two horns for the elevator, but not added the latter yet as they are very likely to be knocked and damaged if I do. I have also made a seat cushion for the pilot from resin and added this and the seat belts before putting the seat into the cockpit - I am not sure whether I could do this with the top wing in place.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7844/46845687082_e3ca3ab097_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2enAoG3)
The wheel on the left of the image above is for the gun mount. Early gunbuses had a curved mounting with a bracket and short post for a Vickers m/g: this was moved by turning a wheel which engeged with a toothed mechanism which in turn moved the gun from side to side. The front bracket on which the gun mounting was fitted looked like this:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7895/46172837244_3b5a78e11c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dm8RSL)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7872/46845687462_1e66ecf5c0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2enAoNA)
This was painted and then fixed in the nose with two support pillars from brass rod. Then the nose area was rigged:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4914/46172837014_b1290fb90b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dm8RNN)
I also added the port (left) side panel to the pilot's cockpit. The outside of this will be seen so I fitted the fuel pipes and a fine adjustment valve; again these had been left off for as long as possible so that I did not knock them off or damage them when handling the model.
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4813/33022419558_1dae434458_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/Sj5wRm)
I have been painting the fin and rudder while all of this has been going on, together with trying out various ideas for a jig with which I can fit the top wing. I am hoping that having cleared away all of these fiddly bits I can now proceed with turning this monoplane into a true biplane, and be hopeful that I am not going to knock anything off or find that I still need to add some fine details in a wholy inaccessible place in the future. If all goes according to plan my next post will show the top wing and booms in position and the jig that I will have used to get them there.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
I'm at a loss for words, Stephen! This is master modeling at it's finest! You've certainly outdone yourself with this one!
Cheers,
Bud
-
Stephen,
Your last photo (of the nose area) says it all, pure artistry! This is a great testament to your Scratch Building skills, just magnificent. This one's going to be a "classic"Cheers,
Lance
-
Great Job Stephen,
Way beyond my skill set!
Guy
-
I'm at a loss for words, Stephen! This is master modeling at it's finest! You've certainly outdone yourself with this one!
Cheers,
Bud
Well not surprising that I agree with my Amigo! Simply Superb Modeling!!
RAGIII
-
So many great details and so much to learn from this thread. Thank you for showing.
Bye,
Manni
-
So many great details and so much to learn from this thread. Thank you for showing.
I don't know how I missed so many updates in this thread and this can summarize the general feeling to look at a real aeroplane building, with this level of detail, and from scratch. Your build can be a superb scratch building manual, and the gunbus is going to be a great masterpiece.
Ciao
Giuseppe
-
Fantastic work, Stephen! As good as it all looks, I particularly like the lacing!
-
Evening All,
Thank you Bud, Lance, Guy, Rick, Manni, Guiseppe and Jeroen for leaving such positive and encouraging comments: I really do appreciate them very much especially as they come from modellers whose work I very much admire.
Well I have got there at last - I now have a pusher biplane in 1/32 scale....well almost! Actually I have a nacelle, two booms and two wings and struts, but not all of the struts are in place yet. However I consider that I have taken a big step forwards in this project and am hoping that I now do not drop it or cause damage in some other way. There are still lots of challenges ahead, not least the rigging, but I will deal with those later. In the meantime I am enjoying the moment.
First I painted the serial and added a Union flag transfer to the rudder, but because it is half of the structure, the serial and Union flag will be visible as shadows on the reverse side so I painted the serial in reverse and put on a Union flag in the respective places before painting over with several thin coats of paint. The serial was hand painted as I could not find a suitable font to print from.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7825/33155965318_62362347ac_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZms)
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4890/33155965358_c4bcd1a17c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZn9)
To complete both the rudder and fin I added the ribs from 10 x 30 thou strip on the inside surfaces:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4902/33155965128_89357be69f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZib)
I then realised that I had overloked the roundel on the top wing! This was printed and added and a shadow roundel painted on the undersurface of the wing. I only paint using a hairy stick, so the shadow effect was achieved in the same way as the serial by painting the base colours with thinned acrylic paint and then overpainting with several thinned coats of CDL until I had something that looks vaguely like a shadow:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4816/33155965228_ffdcc71fe0_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZjU)
Now I could set up the jig ready to put on the top wing. I model on a shoestring and small tray so making a suitable jig required some thought. I settled on this design:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7834/32089576837_b4245bf1dc_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QTDtda)
which consists of a piece of wood which I found in my garage and was originally intended to be used as part of the base for the Dornier Flying boat that I scratch built last year, with 4 nails driven in to hold the lower wings rigid. Two supports for the ends of the wing were cut from cardboard. These latter went through several variants before I found a shape that would hold the top wing in place and not allow it to move about while I fitted the struts - these supports were used at each tip of the wings and a small piece of scrap plastic was placed to hold the trailing edge of the solid wing at the correct height:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7869/33155964508_e5679018f8_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZ7u)
After many trials and failures I managed to get this highly sophisticated and expensive piece of equipment to work i.e. I was able to start to add the struts to the wings so that they were square and properly upright. I had already drilled holes in the wings to take small wire pins on the ends of the struts. The struts were carved from basswood strip because this is more rigid than plastic, but I painted them with Revell Ocker because I could not find a suitable woodstain that woud give me the correct colour for varnished pine. I also only used pins on one end of the struts because otherwise I could not get them into the holes in the wings. All is held together with CA which is strong enough to hold things together until I can add some rigging and thus strengthen the whole structure. The port (left) side struts were added first as these were easier to reach:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4811/33155965048_d1eba5094f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZgN)
and here you can see the full jig in action:
(https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4914/32089576947_0672d749ac_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QTDtf4)
The starboard (right) side was also added more easily than I had anticipated and the completed structure could then be lifted out of the wood jig:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7880/33155964668_5a05affdb5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZaf)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7910/32089576757_f7d361c6b1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QTDtbM)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7818/33155964818_9a5e07e14f_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZcQ)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7856/32089576637_f5e8c21382_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/QTDt9H)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7803/33155964418_e46f1c791d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/SvSZ5W)
I am rather keen to tie up and secure a lot of those threads because they keep getting in the way, but I am hoping that when in place they will provide extra strength for what is still a rather fragile structure. I have decided to defer adding the remaining booms and tail structure until I have rigged the wings because of the strength problem and also because of the need to be able to get into awkward places. Consequently it may be a little time before I return with the next update: this is only the second time that I have rigged a biplane model with thread and so this is yet another of those steep learning curves which I keep having to climb.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Very exciting project Stephen, some day I would like to take on a scratch project, though not as ambitious as this one!
Ryan
-
I am so impressed by this one that I can't really come up with the proper Superlative!!!!! Perhaps it is enough to say Des would have absolutely loved this build! Too bad it can't be in the GB!!
RAGIII
-
Stephen,
I just now looked in on this since about 10 days ago, what great progress and impressive results! As usual your Jig solution is a tremendous success; it's amazing what can be done with just basic household material. This looks spectacular at this stage, it's going to be a real showpiece!
Cheers,
Lance
-
I am so impressed by this one that I can't really come up with the proper Superlative!!!!! Perhaps it is enough to say Des would have absolutely loved this build! Too bad it can't be in the GB!!
RAGIII
Rick,
Thanks for the comment about the GB in memory of Des. I had intended to add a note in the last update to the effect that I too would have liked this to have been in the GB but because it is started I am unable to enter it. However it had always been my intention to dedicate this model to Des' memory when it is finished - the GB has overtaken me in that respect. So, like Lance, I have added a note to the header to indicate my intention. It is the best that I can do at the moment: if I finish this in time i will enter a smaller project to the GB in the hope that I will have time to finish that one.
Stephen.
-
Thanks Ryan, Rick and Lance for your very kind comments which are much appreciated.
Ryan: do give a scratch build a try - they look difficult at first but in reality if you can cut a piece of card straight, bend some plastic rod, drill a few holes and file some struts the you can build one. You can always use aftermarket parts for the more difficult parts such as seats, engines and wheels, etc and it is great fun because what you make is really yours and you can choose subjects which are not available as kits.
Lance: I was trying to see if the methods that I have used in God's Own Scale would work in the Brobdignagian Scale because I have restrictions on space and budget when it comes to model making. I also want to demonstrate what can be done with minimal tools and equipment to encourage others to give scratch building a try. In this case it worked (just), after quite a lot of trial and error, so I have lived up to your monica for me: von Jigmeister - now all I have to do is complete the model and rig it! If I can do so I will at least have something different, even if it is not going to be anywhere near WNW standard!
Stephen.
-
Stephen,
"even if it is not going to be anywhere near WNW standard!"
Quite the opposite, Sir! That last series of photos showing the model out of the Jig and partially rigged puts it in a standard of it's own, and every bit as good or better then that of the very best of "boxed" Kits!
Lovely work!
Cheers,
Lance
-
Beautiful update, put together the structure looks impressive. The transparency on reverse of flying surfaces and controls replicates perfectly the real thing.
Ciao
Giuseppe
-
Stephen,
Absolutely awesome work my old friend. The true work of a Master Modeler!
Highest Regards,
Gregory Jouette
-
Stephen,
what an impressive amount of work and what a great piece of modelling. I am deeply impressed by this wonderful model you are making. That’s a great inspiration and true modeling. I am keen on seeing it getting finished.
Best regards
Andreas
-
You stated to Lance that "not going to be anywhere near WNW standard!", the folks at WNW would be proud to produce a kit this nice (not knocking WNW, yours has so much more detail)
-
Evening All,
Many thanks again Lance, Guiseppe, Gregory, Andreas and Juan for the very generous and complimentary comments which you have left. I am truly honoured to read them, coming as they do from modellers who regularly demonstrate that they are at the very top of their respective games.
With reference to WNW and this model: I suspect that they have one of these lined up in their planning system even as I am making mine - and will announce a release date shortly after I finish it! Such is scratch building....!
Stephen.
-
Evening All,
The first thing to do after the top wing was in place was to add the cabane struts and sort out the rigging - I had many lengths of monofilament thread hanging from the starboard (right) top wing and parts of the fuselage nacelle and these were constantly getting in the way. The double rigging wires were difficult because some of the threads would not pass through the lower wing - the brass spars were in the way. Also attaching the cabane strut wires into the underside of the top wing was a problem because I could not drill holes all the way through the hollow wing and be sure that the ends of the thread would pass through. Well all of that got sorted out eventually, (after a delay caused by a back problem which meant no modelling for nearly a week), and I riggied the port (left) wing at the same time. Now I just have the anti-drag bracing wires which run from the forward outer wing struts rearwards - they are currently wound around the wing tips. The elevator control wires ran parallel with and outside the lift wires at the rear of the inner bay of the wings - effectively this meant that I had to add the pulleys over which the wires passed. These were fixed to plates at the wing root and at the top of the inner rear struts: ading the extra control wires to run parallel to the lift wires was fun....! The rigging took three evenings by the time I had corrected various mistakes on the way. I have learned several things from this exercise for future reference if i ever choose to build another 1/32 model.
Now I could add the other booms and the horizontal tail surface that I had constructed some time ago. This was a simple procedure when compared to the rigging and a good deal quicker. I had already drilled holes in the rear of the starboard wings to insert the ends of the booms, so a mixture of 2-part epoxy provided the sticky bit to hold them in place and in they went. The upper boom needed support because of the weight of the horizontal stabilizer: to stop it from drooping and make sure that it was properly aligned with the rest of the structure I used a modified mk 1 jig and left the assembly to cure. A dob of CA at the V of the upper booms also helped to hold that part in place:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7828/32253293267_ff01aac70d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/R97ype)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7829/40230564293_0a276e684e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24i3a9R)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7816/46471621254_0dc768af19_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dNxcXd)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7840/40230564123_06d4eda244_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24i3a6V)
The set square to the left of the model is there to check that the booms and rudder post were vertical: they are and the upper and lower booms are directly in line. I was relieved that they structure has set like this - I have repeatedly been checking these alignments because if any of them is ever so slightly wrong the whole model would be a fiasco. I can live with errors of 1mm but I seem to have been able to reduce them to less than this. Yippee!!!!
The resultant structre was stronger than I had anticipated and allowed me to move it about freely ready for the next steps: adding the rudder post and lower boom cross bracing.
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7899/32253293697_e4ea85b4f2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/R97ywD)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7874/32253293647_99e7157235_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/R97yvM)
The rudder post is brass rod. I used CA to fix it to the upper boom because the presence of plastic precludes any idea of using solder. The addtional advantage was that the rudder post was held in place so that when I soldered the lower joint I did not need any extra support. The cross bracing between the lower booms was also brass rod - I held that in place using two pieces of blue-tack on a wood block:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7891/40230563793_fbe492264c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24i3a1e)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7902/32253293507_1ea76131c9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/R97ytn)
Finally I added the horizontal bracing strut in the port horizontal surface from brass rod and soldered one end to the boom:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7895/46471620994_6ff1dc4e71_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dNxcSJ)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7841/32253293437_3df2d95ef9_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/R97ysa)
This structure is strong: there was no danger of anything beoming distorted by an accidental knock. To finish the boom structure I could add the struts - these were carved from thin basswood sheet like the other struts, sealed with talcum powder and dope mixture and painted. The horizontal tail surface structure was made up from 20 x 30 thou strip and the leading edge wire between the boom and starboard side was from a piece of telephone cable wire. I have not completed thie remainder yet as it is rather exposed and liable to damage while I still work on other parts of the model. I have however painted the booms and wood structures:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7845/32253293337_37d3e16cfc_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/R97yqr)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7830/46471620954_56af120011_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2dNxcS3)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7809/40230563283_fbeb10d125_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24i39Rr)
Now as is usual with scratch builds, I have to make up and finish some more parts including the fin and rudder, undercarriage, etc. I am also trying to work out how much of the boom I should rig before proceeding to much further with construction. In addition I have to be away from home again for an uncertain period so the next update will probably have to wait for a time until I can do more on the model and have something to report on.
In the meantime, thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Fantastic artistry being demonstrated Stephen. Looking forward to your next update.
-
Stephen, this is the most magnificent display of master modeling that I've had the pleasure of observing. Thank you for this.
Cheers,
Bud
-
Stephen, even it is in the wrong scale ;D ;D ;D I like this build very much!
Real wood, brass, soldering ... a dream :-*
What are you doing with the "talcum powder" on real wood? This I haven't understand :-[
Cheers,
Frank
-
Truly amazing update, with a complex structure masterfully managed. Thank you for sharing.
Ciao
Giuseppe
-
Stephen, this is the most magnificent display of master modeling that I've had the pleasure of observing. Thank you for this.
Cheers,
Bud
I can't say it any better than My Amigo. Like Bud I thank you for showing us this build!
RAGIII
-
Beautiful work. This is a mixture of a museums display item and a piece of art.
Really great.
Bye,
Manni
-
Most excellent work Stephen. I'm really enjoying your build. I really have to learn how to solder like that, looks flawless.
Mark
-
Like others have said, excellent scratchbuilding and attention to detail!
-
Just awesome !
Terri
-
Just....amazing!
-
What they all said, Stephen. I would not contemplate even trying to do what you are doing. Excellent work in all regards! I'm just going to sit back with a Guinness and enjoy watching how you wield that magic wand of yours. :)
Best of luck to you as you move forward with this impressive build! 8)
-
Evening All,
First my thanks to the many of you who have dropped by and left such encouraging and complimentary remarks: they are greatly appreciated especially at the moment as I have been struggling with this one rather more than normal recently.
I have not reported much of late because I have not had too much time for modelling owing to life issues which keep getting in the way. Added to that I have reached a stage where I seem to spend a great deal of time achieving very little - or a least very little to show. I am desperately trying to avoid adding parts which I will inevitably knock off at some time in the future, and almost every operation seems to require much time and patience. However here is some of the progress that I have made to date.
I have made the undercarriage skids and axle and completed this sub-unit. The skids are carved from thin basswood sheet, and the axle is shaped 60 thou card. I bound the axle to the skids with sewing thread which is about the correct colour: this represents the bungee cord which was used as a spring for the axles. I also added the metal bracing from thin wire:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7828/47459701571_e40de4cff5_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2fiRnNK)
I tried to make my own wire wheel but after several unsuccessful attempts decided that life is too short at the moment so I bought one of the superb Gaspatch sets instead. I used the tyre from one set and made my own disc from plastic card which had been laminated and the filed to shape, while I used the other unit from the kit. I painted the spokes black and tyres grey:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7849/46736855454_4217e8dccc_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2ecYAQE)
The marks on the disc are where I wanted to add the threads which held the canvass covers to the wheels but my first attempts to achieve this have not been successful either.... Looking at photos of the machine that I am trying to depict the threads are not very prominent so I may not bother after all.
The undercarriage legs have also been made and await being attached to the skids and nacelle, but not just yet as I am not ready to do so.
Another important step was to add the trailing edge wires to the exposed control surfaces, wings and tail unit. These were made from telephone wire which had been rolled with a brass strip and then carefully bent to shape and C A'd in place:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7911/32517887947_bbdbe0fdfe_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RxuFbt)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7837/40493585343_b6de1a6841_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24Ghd9x)
When the wires on the ailerons had been painted the units were put on to the wings:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7909/32517887637_d1f25fe79b_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RxuF68)
I have been using EZ line for the first time for the control wires. I am using it because I know that I would not be able to get a consistent tension if I were to use monofilament thread as I am on the static rigging. The rudder wires were double on British machines and I have also added the elevator control horns and control wires to the pulleys at the rear of the wing. This means that the rudder bar has also been put into the cockpit, but it is very difficult to photograph:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7816/40493584803_b6043c8ab2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24GhcZe)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7877/40493584983_02bc26008e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24Ghd3k)
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7922/32517887887_b271b4929c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RxuFar)
The last image shows the rudder wires running between the two sets of pulleys at the trailing edge of the wing.
The engine was finished by adding EZ line for the wires to the spark plugs:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7890/32517887467_19ca5d901d_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RxuF3c)
and then the engine was fixed to the rear of the nacelle:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7895/40493585173_23a00e5a88_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/24Ghd6B)
I have rigged the first bay of the boom but more importantly I have put in the horizontal bracing in front of the tail: this is formed by 4 wires attached to a small ring. Once again EZ line came to the rescue so that I could get two symmetrical and even patterns:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7814/32517887557_8707c03224_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RxuF4K)
Finally I have been working on the machine gun. This is a Vickers from Gaspatch, but unfortunately the guns used on FB 5's were of a slightly different pattern to that depicted by the AM issue, so I have removed some of the moukding and made an ammunition box and receiver for discharged cases as per a photo in the DataFile:
(https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7920/32517887747_a6607308d1_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/RxuF82)
This will be painted later and will be one of the last parts to be added to the model.
I am still struggling with errant lengths of thread which will be attached as anti drag wires eventually, but cannot be fixed at present because they will get damaged if I do. So, ever so slowly and in a crabwise manner I am getting nearer to finishing this project. I do not know how long that is going to take but I will probably wait until I do before I make the next post. Hopefully that will not be too long now.
Thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Stephen,
Best of luck to you as you progress with this very impressive build. Excellent work on the details as described in this update. You seem to have a good plan of advance, and I hope that it works to your advantage as you move to completion. I'm very much looking toward seeing this build completed. 8)
-
Very impressive work, sir! Excellent progress so far, I will keep watching with great interest.
Cheers
Ondra
-
Spectacular work! For me it is unbeliveable what you can do with some styrene, brass and glue.
Bye,
Manni
-
I really can't describe just how impressed I am! Frame work, pulleys, rigging, markings etc. are all just brilliant!
RAGIII
-
Truly impressive and jaw dropping work thus far.
-
Absolutely fantastic, Stephen! I am blown away.
Andreas
-
Excellent, excellent progress, love it!!
Mark
-
Evening All,
Thank you Gary, Ondra, Manni, Rick, Juan, Andreas and Mark for those very encouraging and complimentary remarks whhich are very much appreciated.
Well the crab has stopped moving sideways, and after a minor scare when one of the wheels dropped off and the tail skid broke away when I was trying to fit the wheel for the machine gun mounting, (necessitating a couple of hours of very delicate repair and recovery, and some unrepeatable language), it finally jumped to the finish line and my dream has materialised.
I C.A.'d the tail skid to the base of the rudder post and made a spring from thin copper wire wound around a piece of brass rod. This was then assembled as per the plans and photos. Then I could fix the rudder and add the control cables, followed by the elevators and their control wires:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7884/47548113361_480880bc4c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2frEvxX)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7924/33671583958_9942ea198c_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/TirEP1)
I followed up with the undercarriage unit. The legs were C.A.'d to the skids and when these were set I could CA the whole unit to the underside of the nacelle. This was left overnight as it seemed to be rather fragile: the following day I added the bracing from EZ line which seemed to make the assembly considerably stronger.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7845/33671584088_64fa169f12_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/TirERf)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7879/47548113331_4f0963d510_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2frEvxr)
The propellow was next as I was concerned that I might not be able to reach into the rear without breaking something off:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7921/47548113281_31c32b3d06_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2frEvwz)
The step to the cockpit was made from 20thou sheet - it too was C.A.'d in place - again care was needed not to knock this off twice - yes I managed to do so once!
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7810/33671583908_722d95166e_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/TirEN9)
Final details were the pitot tube on the front inner port (left) strut, the wing skids and picket rings, wheels and last, the machine gun and mounting and wheel for moving the mount.
The project is finished and I have completed my first pusher biplane in 1/32 scale, (I have built 14 others as kits, conversions or scratch builds in 172 scale), - it was not a pushover but it did not push me quite as far as I had anticipated except at the very end when as described a wheel and the tail skid broke off when I was trying to fit the machine gun wheel. So the sting was in the nose and the tail of this project.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7814/33671623358_1e1aa70dd2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/TirSwj)
(https://live.staticflickr.com/7926/47495432282_5b0a6277a2_c.jpg) (https://flic.kr/p/2fn1viu)
My thanks to all who have followed this marathon and left supportive and encouraging comments on the way. I will post photos of the completed model in completed models section later when I have a little more time.
So if you have been, thanks for looking.
Stephen.
-
Applause is due: your build was a great show of modelling skills and artistry. Bravo!
Ciao
Giuseppe
-
Stephen,
To say this is an incredibly superb model is an understatement, it's your best yet and I'm lost for words to do it justice! Simply outstanding work and a magnificent debut into the "big scale", you must enter this beauty in a public show or contest, your artistry need be shared! Congratulations on completion of a really unique and spectacular model.
Cheers,
Lance
-
Truly elegant both in workmanship and presentation. Congratulations, it was truly an honor to follow your build.
-
Thank you Guiseppe, Lance and Juan for your very kind comments.
Lance: I will probab;ly take this to some local model shows because the chairman of my club will insist that I do! Unfortunately it is rather fragile, (as were the original machines), so I am thinking about how to transport it so that it doea not get damaged. This has been a bit of an experiment for me because it is the first time that I have scratch built anything in this scale and there are things that I would do differently now - part of the learning process of course. If I make another model in this scale I hope to be able to make it stronger.
Stephen.
-
Absolutely beautiful work Stephen!
Mark
-
Stephen, this is a great piece of art and to follow your build report was a great journey! Thanks for that!
I transport my models in plastic storage boxes (DIY stores). I put some small peaces of foam in (with double sided adhesive tape), and pick out some foam with tweezers, so that there are holes for wheels or other model parts. Some other peaces below wing tips and it can be moved securely.
Cheers,
Frank
-
Great piece of scratchbuilding, Stephen. Do share it by taking it to some shows. You deserve to get the compliments.
-
Thank you Mark, Frank and Ken for your very generous comments.
Frank I already use a method of transport similar to the one which you describe for my smaller (1/72 scale) models. This one has to be fixed to a base because it leans heavily to one side as the solid wings are much heavier than the skeletal side. I have put pins in the tyres and used two guy ropes tied to the rings under the wings to help stop the tilting, but I have also had to add some temporary support under the solid wing in the form of foam. This is helping a great deal, but I notice that the model still leans a little if it is left for a time without the support: it has to do with the way the undercarriage is fixed to the nacelle and I cannot at the momet think of a solution without a major rebuild!
Ken I will present this at some local modle shows and possibly take it to Southern Expo next year.
Stephen.
-
Amazing work!!
Steve
-
Thanks Steve for the kind remark: much appreciated.
Stephen.
-
Thats an astonishing pile of solutions and a wonderful craftmans workship - so you shouldn't place it on a green... could you place it on a single mirror to allow a view to the underside, too?
When this is the state of the modelling art I'm out in this very moment of competition.
-
been a while since I checked the scratch build section....this one is out of this world, beautifull !