Author Topic: RAF FE8, Scaleplanes 1:72 (Read 44425 times)

Borsos · « **Reply #45 on:** March 28, 2020, 09:39:10 AM »

Great! Amazing scratchbuilding and a lovely little cockpit!
Andreas

Alexis · « **Reply #46 on:** March 28, 2020, 09:55:30 AM »

Fantastic progress Ian . Even in this scale the wings are very thin ! I really like how this is shaping up so far , just super

Can't wait to see how the booms turn out

Terri

IanB · « **Reply #47 on:** March 29, 2020, 02:11:02 AM »

Thanks all, glad you're enjoying it!

My maths was ok, but I didn't follow my own instructions...
Good job I checked the lengths on the plans! Obviously they don't match the plan for length because they don't take the angle into account, but with the same starting point and the same finishing position re the tailplane, they should have the same ending point, just a little further back - they didn't! The lower boom should be 56mm not 54.5mm! (The 54.5 was the straight line length from the plan! Doh!)
That little escapade took up a while this morning, measuring, re-measuring, trying to find the source of the error. Eventually I ended up with 2 lower booms of the correct length.

Putty was applied generously to the tub, sanded, reapplied, re-sanded, etc throughout the day until I got to a point that I'm happy with. The upper part of the nose still needs some final tweeks (don't mention MacBeth! @The Spadgent), and I will add milliput tomorrow to shape the rear fairing behind the pilot's headrest.

It's certainly looking a lot more like an FE8 than it did originally!

More work was done on the wings but not photographic enough I measured and marked them up and drilled all the strut location holes. That took a considerable amount of time this afternoon as a mistake here will be very obvious. To make sure they all line up, I drew a line along both spars, to which the struts were mounted. The rear spar was marked off after measuring against the plans a few times to ensure it was the correct measurement, and the front was marked relative to that. The rear locations were then drilled out with the smallest drill I had to get a good centre. To ensure the front lines up I laid the wing on it's leading edge, put the drill into the hole in the rear spar and slid an angle up against it. Without moving the two I drilled the front on the previously drawn line and up tight against the angle. Repeat 4 times, then drill out the holes with the correct size drill and the strut locator holes were done. The holes in the lower wing have been drilled all the way through, not necessarily because that was how I'd planned it, but because I had carefully marked and drilled the underside! Doh!

Then it was time to bite the bullet and start on the wing struts. They are tiny, 18mm long, with a .5mm gap each end for the locator pin as after looking at pics it is clear that the wooden part of the strut did not touch the wing. They have all been cut to length using .020"x 040" (.5mm x 1mm) strip and the first 2 have been shaped. It doesn't take long, but it is a little tedious so I'll finish that tomorrow. The shaping is done by sanding the rear edge to shape (narrowing the top and bottom slightly leaving it slightly thicker in the middle, the front edge is straight), then sanding it to a sharp edge. The front is rounded by gently scraping the corners off with a scalpel blade.

Once they are all shaped I will cut a small slot in each end of each one and add a brass pin as a locator.

Stay safe folks, and thanks for looking in!

Ian

Alexis · « **Reply #48 on:** March 29, 2020, 02:59:07 AM »

Excellent job on the tub so far Ian , looks awesome ! It took me two tries on the tail booms when I did my project , for the very same reason

Terri

RAGIII · « **Reply #49 on:** March 29, 2020, 05:20:39 AM »

Outstanding progress! The tub is literally taking shape as are the struts! I envy your Math abilities as Mine are sorely lacking. It is My Normal to Measure once and cut twice

RAGIII

IanB · « **Reply #50 on:** March 29, 2020, 04:29:01 PM »

Rick that's far more economical than measuring three times and still having to cut twice!

Ian

IanB · « **Reply #51 on:** March 30, 2020, 12:33:35 AM »

Today seemed to drag...and drag....

I started off with the milliput. A small piece was added to the upper rear of the tub and (eventually) made to stick to the plastic instead of my fingers. It was then carefully (well, not really, butchered slowly more like!) shaped using damp fingers and a clay modelling spatula. One of these...

Really useful to get the basic shape and size sorted out. After a little while, I ended up with something that vaguely resembles the rear fairing.

Pretty close! Final tweaking/sanding will take place tomorrow.

That's pretty much it for the tub except for the cabane struts. I'll give it a coat of primer before adding those just to be sure there is no more major reshaping to be done.

Then came the boring bit, the struts. I finished off the shaping and sanding then took a break, trying to put off the final stage. Eventually I faced up to it and starting with a micro saw, cut small slots in each end. Those were enlarged with a saw blade.

Then I cut 16 3mm lengths of .4mm rod to add as the locator pins. A dab of CA on one end, line it up over the slot, and squeeze from the side with the tweezers. The pin pops nicely into the slot and is (usually) straight too. Easy enough to tweak it a little if not. Oh and they very rarely stick to the tweezers if you're quick with the squeeze!

The pins will be trimmed to length later.

So tomorrow's jobs are: final shaping of the tub's rear end, and cleaning up the strut pins with a dab of ppp then sanding down to ensure there are no gaps anywhere, also correct any flaws caused by sawing and inserting the pins.

Stay safe all, and thanks for looking in!

Ian

NinetythirdLiberator · « **Reply #52 on:** March 30, 2020, 01:37:21 PM »

Great attention to detail, Ian. You are doing this model proud. It will look so neat when completed.

Keep plugging along!

Dan

RAGIII · « **Reply #53 on:** March 31, 2020, 12:54:16 AM »

Your careful application of Miliput certainly has transformed into an excellent representation of the correct shape

The struts look great and You make it look easy! I am sure I would botch the job

RAGIII

IanB · « **Reply #54 on:** March 31, 2020, 03:37:00 AM »

Thanks Dan, Rick, your comments are much appreciated!

As to today's progress, again much work but not much to photograph. the first job was to tidy up the struts. A quick smear of PPP over the pin joints and a sand down, taking the time to check for splayed ends due to clamping the brass pins in. Easily corrected with a swipe of the sanding stick.

Then on to the tub. I thought it prudent to test fit the lower wings and it's a good job I did. I forgot about the incidence angle! Easily rectified at this stage by sliding a scalpel blade between the framework and the tub sides, then gently bending the rear end down a little so the rear spar sat below the level of the tub bottom. Reattach with a little CA and Bob's your Uncle! Unfortunately that loosened the panel I had added on the rear underside so I cut another one from .010" sheet and slid that in. It actually fits better than the original did!

PPP helped tidy it all up and the final test fit is far better.

I also spent some time with a jeweller's file tidying up the spine fairing, added some more PPP to the rear engine plate and cleaned that up, and gave the whole thing a final once over before spraying some Humbrol Light Grey on it to see where any extra work might be needed.

I'm pretty surprised at how little extra attention it needs, considering the surgery it's had!

A couple of areas either side of the cockpit where I added the extra pieces, and a coupe of extra bits here and there but that's about it. I'm not going to worry about small inconsistencies in the nose as the originals were metal and very often dented. I don't want seams where I've added new bits, but it's not a problem that it's not perfectly curved and even all around.

Another job ticked off was to drill and pin the ailerons. A .030" drill bit and 010" brass rod did the job. For this task I always drill the ailerons first then fit the pins. Once they're set the get trimmed to length and I line them up on the wing and mark along either edge of the pin with a FINE marker. The hole in the wing gets drilled between the lines! The most important thing is to get the hole drilled centrally on the wing and aileron edges, as otherwise the aileron will sit either too high or too low and the only way to correct it is to re drill the holes.

Finally for today a few more smears of PPP on the tub.

Note that I also changed the way I'd secured the rigging lines. I kept knocking them so I cut a couple of small lengths of .6mm tube and threaded the lines through those. Tape secured the lines to the tube and the tube was slid into the hole. I also notice then how far off the holes are, they don't match up either side at all. I have no clue how, as they were measured of with calipers, but they can't be changed now. Fortunately the view from directly above will be obscured by the top wing but it's annoying.

That's all for tonight, stay safe and thanks for looking in!

Ian

Alexis · « **Reply #55 on:** March 31, 2020, 08:51:35 AM »

Must say Ian , she is really taking shape now with the wings and all , which turned out fantastic ! The closer you get to paint , more excited I get . Awesome just Awesome !!!

Terri

kensar · « **Reply #56 on:** March 31, 2020, 10:43:00 PM »

Great progress on the Ian. It's a lot like a scratchbuild.

RAGIII · « **Reply #57 on:** April 01, 2020, 12:22:15 AM »

Nice recovery on the wing mounting. Your Tub is looking superb. Terrific work all around!!
RAGIII

Monty · « **Reply #58 on:** April 01, 2020, 01:43:08 AM »

This is amazing work, Ian! Very complex and virtually a rebuild of the kit! Not for the faint-hearted! But I'm learning a lot and enjoying the problem solving! Regards, Marc

IanB · « **Reply #59 on:** April 01, 2020, 03:25:51 AM »

Thanks for the feedback everyone, ad welcome aboard Ken and Marc, and glad you're finding it useful!
To be honest Marc the kit is terrible. If you are up to vac forming your own cockpit tub I'd go that route, but it's my kind of modelling so I'm having fun!

Ken, it is indeed like a scratchbuild, but with the added difficulty of having to correct crappy parts instead of making them correctly to start with! Can we say "sucker for punishment"?

Terri, steady! Emergency medical help may not be available!

I was asked to go into work tomorrow for training but all involved decided that discretion was the better part of valour and we wanted to complete at least 2 weeks out, so that will start next Monday instead.
After a few phone calls sorting out our training schedule this morning I settled down to the tub. I spent all day on the tub! (on it, not in it!)

First I sanded down the filler I'd added yesterday, along with the remnants of the surface detail as seen in the previous post. I wanted to get all the final detailing done, so that meant a lot of measuring and plotting to get it right. It's always easier when you have a datum, so I marked the line along the top of the inspection panel which is roughly half way up the side. That gave me reference points for the panel, all the stitching, and from that, the struts and rigging holes.

Needless to say it's a lot quicker typing it than it was doing it! The first thing was adding the PE stitching. I know it's a tad over scale but I still think it looks better to have it than not to, as long as it's stuck down well and there are no gaps under it.

Having the PE in place gave me the references I needed for the drag wire holes that needed drilling just under the lower front edge, and then I could cut the access panels from plumber's tape and stick those on. The top edges of the PE also gave me the references for the strut holes so after much measuring and remeasuring those were drilled, then the rigging holes.

That pretty much took care of the sides, so I drilled the spine for small pieces of .25" rod to represent the fuel and oil filler caps. There is also one thing which I haven't figured out, but I think is part of the fuel system. On the right shoulder, just in front of the forward cabane strut, is a small attachment which looks like a fairing of sorts. The fuel gauge is on that side of the cockpit against the rear wall, so I think it is part of the plumbing for that. Anyway, it's been added! I think I'll need to add the gauge itself too, if i can get in!

Here's where the tub is as of this evening

The reason it hasn't received another grey coat is that I applied another thin skim of PPP to the sides and as of pic taking I was still waiting for it to dry.

The last detail job on the tub is the spare drum racks. I have used .010" strip and fabricated those. I just need to cut the slots for the strap handles and maybe drill them for a small piece of brass rod to represent the mounting bolts.

The base plates have since been sanded to shape to match the sides.

That's pretty much it for today, who knows what tomorrow will bring! Hopefully I'll be able to finish the tub and solder the booms. I'd like to get this at least assembled before next Monday!

Stay safe all, and thanks for looking in!

Ian