1/32 Handley Page V/1500 scratch build (slowgress report)

[Rookie]

The petrol controls.

"On the starboard wall of the cockpit was a group of eight levers on a common vertical axis. The upper four were the mixture controls, and the lower four were on-off controls for the petrol supply to the engines." (J.M. Bruce)

"Also on the starboard wall were two pairs of throttle levers, for forward and aft. engines, arranged, as in the 0/400, to control port and starboard engines differentially by rotating the knobs." (C.H. Barnes)

This part of the cockpit I have been putting off because it is what I dread the most.

Luckily, I have the instructions of WNW's (never released) HP O/100 to give me an idea of the size, relative to the cockpit/fuselage frame:



There are also two detailed drawings in the Handley Page O/400 Spare Parts Manual:





This is a photograph of the crushed cockpit of the Handley Page V/1500, F7140, Atlantic, after it crashed on 5 July 1919 at at Parrsborough, Nova Scotia in Canada:





And then there is this photograph from C.H. Barnes' 'Handley Page Aircraft Since 1907'




Work on it will start this weekend, so please be patient.

Cheers,
Willem

[Rookie]

Hi all,

I'm still working on the HP/1500, don't worry. The build has not been abandoned, but only slowed down more, due to life and work getting in the way. I am still working on the cockpit / nose segment, specifically the fuel controls, but I don't have anything recognizable to show (yet).

The original idea was to make a full diorama with the V/1500, a Vauxhall D-Type staff car, crew members, techies and some Rolls-Royce engine crates with tools. But as it is, I have less time at desk dan I hoped, and if I want to finish this model sometime this century, I need to change that plan.

So, to achieve some kind of proportional reference of this beast, I was thinking of parking a motorcycle next to one of the wheels.

I was thinking of CSM's Triumph Model H. (Tommy's War's Douglas motorcycle is not available anymore).

Would this be a good choice?

I would appreciate any thought and tips.

Cheers,
Willem

[RAGIII]

I just caught up on what I missed and you continue to amaze Me! I think a Motorcycle by the wheel would be something all can recognize for the size comparison.
RAGIII

[Dutch522]

Hi Wilem, I'm no motorcycle expert (haven't owned one in forty years!) but I believe the Triumph would go well with the big H-P, they made tens of thousands of them throughout the Great War and on into the early 1920s... so you might well find them around an aerodrome anytime right up into the 1940s. Like Rick says, it'd be perfect for adding scale.

Really enjoying this thread, and veel succes gewenst!

Dutch

[Rookie]

I just caught up on what I missed and you continue to amaze Me! I think a Motorcycle by the wheel would be something all can recognize for the size comparison.
RAGIII

Thank you Rick!

The cockpit is giving headaches and sleepless nights, so I have made a cautious start with the fuselage, beginning with figuring out the fabric covering and the lacing.

[Rookie]

Hi Wilem, I'm no motorcycle expert (haven't owned one in forty years!) but I believe the Triumph would go well with the big H-P, they made tens of thousands of them throughout the Great War and on into the early 1920s... so you might well find them around an aerodrome anytime right up into the 1940s. Like Rick says, it'd be perfect for adding scale.

Really enjoying this thread, and veel succes gewenst!

Dutch

Thank you also for your support Dutch 

I think the choice is made than. The Triumph it will be.

Just have a little patience with me...

Willem

[KiwiZac]

Just have a little patience with me...

I think I speak for many followers of this thread when I say I have a lot of patience for you on this one, Willem!