Lloyd C.V 1/32 Scratch Build Project

[rhallinger]

Thanks Ken!  Great piece of film, and particularly interesting since we have Dan's H-B C.II under construction right now over in Vacuform Kits.   Interesting to see these kits being pushed out of the large tent hangers. 

I hope to have an update report posted over the weekend.  The oil grain is still drying on the fuselage, and I have started the process of painting the national emblems (early maltese cross on white field) on the top and bottom wings.  I am following the technique of masking the field, painting it black, the applying masking tape crosses and then finishing with white.  I'm looking forward to seeing how they come out.  The black is on, and I will cut the masks tonight and paint the white tomorrow, so maybe I'll have pix for the update.  I'm also working on the ailerons.

Since it might be of broader interest, I thought I'd share an issue raised by Steve (Checkers67).  Some of the authoritative A-H aircraft books indicate that the mahogany veneer was applied to the wings on the Lloyd with the grain running spanwise, which is the opposite of what I have done.  I opted for chordwise based on a discussion of this issue in Peter Plattner's build log for the 1/48 SH Lloyd C.V, which he modified to a WKF-built Series 82 aircraft.  The discussion is as follows:

"The direction of woodgrain on the wing was a basic question. As there have been no drawings or other information available, I consulted a lot of my friends associated to WWI aviation and even building replicas in 1:1 scale like Koloman Mayerhofer. In long discussions we came to the conclusion it must have been span-wise for static reasons.
 
As I found out, much later in an article of a magazine of 1918 about building veneer wings we all have been wrong, it was chord-wise! The reason was, the 3 layer ply was not included in static calculations. Modellers fate, I will not change it on my model."
 

Being somewhat lazy and in a hurry, I have not bothered checking Peter's sources, I simply accepted his conclusions.  Peter's model looks great with the grain spanwise (which he indicates is not accurate), but I think either direction looks fine.  It is impossible to tell one way or the other from photos, particularly since these wings were so heavily varnished that the glossy surface results in all kinds of shine and reflection.  I will hypothosize that the veneer may have been applied both ways on different series of aircraft built by different manufacturers in different factotries.  The aircraft I am modeling was not built by Lloyd, but rather was license-built by WKF, so maybe WKF applied the veneer with the grain chordwise, whilst Lloyd applied it spanwise.   Works for me!

I think this question is somewhat akin to the Voss triplane color conundrum, with no definitive answer and more than one possible option, although far fewer folks probably worry about mahogany wings than Voss's tripe.

Pics soon. 

Regards,

Bob

[rhallinger]

Here's the weekend update.  I have painted the national insignia on the wings, and now she's clearly an Austro-Hungarian bird!



To paint the markings I first located a good pattern for the pre-1918 maltese cross used by the A-H air service.  I had an article from Dr. Martin O'Conner in Cross & Cockade which included a copy of the original 1917 A-H spec sheet for aircraft insgnia, as shown below:



I used the reduce/enlarge function on my office copier to size the crosses appropriately for the 1/32 wings, fuselage and rudder, and made several copies of each size.  I then cut out the cross for the wings and used it as a pattern to outline the cross on blue painter's masking tape, and then cut out the cross masks.  The pattern and tape are shown below with the finshed wing:



The outline of the white field was masked on each wing, and then painted black. A light coat of Future was applied over than to help the cross masks both adhere well and peel off without pullng up any paint.  The masking tape crosses were the carefully positioned within the "black" fields and smoothed down well.  Pollyscale Reefer White was then airbrushed over the fields in several light coats until full coverage was achieved.  After drying, the masks were carefully removed to reveal these results:



This photo also shows the cut out but incomplete aileron, along with the tail/rudder and horizontal stabilizer/elevator.  These are still in need of further sanding and painting.

That's it for now--still waiting for the fuselage wood grain oils to dry completely.  It will soon be time to get serious about assembly jigs, although there are still several details to fabricate such as the axle fairing, the top wing mounting bracket, the wing struts, the radiator, the exhaust pipes and the observer's railing.  A little more each day.

Regards,

Bob

[pepperman42]

Very, very sharp work!! The white over black certainly covered well. Im always concerned about paint build up in that situation-light over dark.

Steve

[uncletony]

Nice

[coyotemagic]

Beautifully done, Bob.
Cheers,
Bud

[xmald]

I simply love your project Llloyd is one of the beautifuly ugly planes ever.

[rhallinger]

Thanks Steve, Bo and Bud!   I'm excited about this stage,as the addition of the crosses make things begin to look like the final product!  The white over black technique was borrowed from someone here, I think it was Dan or Bud.  I would not have tried light over dark on my own.  The theory is that it is easier to position the cross mask within the field than to position and outline mask, and that part seemed true.  I agree Steve, it's sort of counterintuitive with the white over black, and I was a little skeptical, but the Pollyscale covers well with a layering of thin coats.  The technique really worked like a charm.  Although you can't really tell from the photos, the white fields blend right in to the "wood" wing surface without and visible vertical edge, only the crisp and sharp demarcation between dark wood and white paint.  I am thrilled with how well this worked!

I think you guys will like the fuselage.  I sneaked a peak in the drying box, and it really looks pretty neat in wood grain after all those months of dirty white plastic.  Unfortunately, it is a lengthy process, since this genious hasn't been able to figure out how to paint the four sides of the box shape at one time, so only the sides and top are oil grained right now.  After sealing those, I will grain the bottom and repeat the drying process.  I could have built a jig perhaps, or tried using the prop shaft as a holder, but I didn' want to risk dislodging the engine from its mounts within the sealed fuselage by putting to much pressure on the shaft, so I opted for the low tech old fashioned way.  I still have lots of other stuff to work on whilst the further drying takes place, so no real harm other than to my impatience to see the cross fields on the fuselage and get the metal cowling/engine covers painted.  

Thanks for following this project and for all.of your support and help!

Regards,

Bob

[rhallinger]

. . . and thanks to Filip as well.  I agree entirely.  The Lloyd design is a beautiful ugly duckling!  The mahogany veneer, knife-like wing shape and scalloped flying surfaces really fascinate me.  It reminds me of a bird.  A very unique design.  I love the A-H aircraft for their different and interesting appearances.

Regards,

Bob

[pepperman42]

aaaauuuhhh   come on sneek us a peek....

Steve

[rhallinger]

Okay Steve, since you asked.   I checked and the fuselage is dry.  Here are some shots of it as is, without clear orange overcoat or highlighting of nailheads and seams:









I couldn't resist dry-fitting the bottom wings:



Now, back to the gritty work of fabricating details.

Regards,

Bob

[rhallinger]

Oh, BTW, the color of the fuselage does match the top wings.  They just look different due to different lighting.  Not to worry.

Regards,

Bob

[pepperman42]

Brilliant!!! Thank you for the advance look and putting it together temporarily.

Steve

[Vickers]

This project is really coming along, Bob.  Stellar work on your scratchbuilt Lloyd and I love that dark, rich wooden finish- it reminds me of a classic Chris Craft motor boat. This is one amazing build.

[NP]

That does look like veneer to me, Bob.  It should make for an attractive model I think.

Nigel

[rhallinger]

Thanks so much guys!  You're right Vickers---the wood color and graining does look like a ChrisCraft, and that's a good thing in this case!

Regards,

Bob