Author Topic: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt FINISHED!  (Read 38395 times)

Offline RichieW

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #15 on: July 02, 2020, 06:27:45 AM »
Thanks SP and Giuseppe, please don't expect a masterpiece though. It's great and very motivating to have your interest, please feel free to offer up any advice, however simple it may seem. This is all very new to me so I will need plenty of help!

Hoping to be able to post some proper progress pictures soon.

Richie

Offline smperry

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #16 on: July 02, 2020, 07:10:09 AM »
OK Richie, a piece of advice.
Get in the habit of writing down what you are going to do step by step before you do it. It can be to yourself, to an e-mail modeling buddy or even post it on the forum. That part doesn't matter much. The important thing is you writing it out. Makes you think it through more thoroughly, because when you read it back to yourself it needs to make sense. Edit until it does and then follow your steps. More often than not it goes fairly much as hoped/expected. If not it is easy to pin down what didn't work and figure how to deal with it. I find it helps me through complicated or new procedures. Hope you find it of some use.
As they say, "Scratch and get glad."

sp
There is something fundamentally amiss with a society which forces it's modelers to work for a living.

Offline RichieW

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #17 on: July 02, 2020, 07:19:56 AM »
That is great advice SP, it's a far cry from the shake and bake Spitfires and Hurricanes I am more accustomed to. I will definitely do that. Funnily enough I feel less overwhelmed by this project than by the first WNW kit I tried, mostly because a mistake isn't going to ruin an expensive kit but also because it's just going to be a bit of fun to beat the lock down blues. :)

Offline bobs_buckles

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #18 on: July 02, 2020, 04:23:19 PM »
Good luck, Richie!

You can do this!!

vB  ;)



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Offline Dave W

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #19 on: July 02, 2020, 05:18:06 PM »
Hi Richie

I love the Bristol Scout so am following your build with much interest. I couldn't scratch build a model to save myself so am in awe of anyone who can do this. I did make the Gavia 1/48 scale kit and found it a most enjoyable albeit dainty build.

Please post your progress reports on the forum.

cheers

Dave Wilson
Gold Coast
Australia
Owner and Administrator of ww1aircraftmodels.com and forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Offline RichieW

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #20 on: July 02, 2020, 06:21:19 PM »
Thanks B Von B and Dave. I'm in awe of scratch builders too and am not starting this with any high hopes. It feels fun and exciting though so even if I don't make a success I will not have lost anything except a few styrene sheets and strips.

I have found a resin engine on ebay but it is coming from Russia so may not get here for a very long time. Today I will experiment with building the engine and try to get the frame finished.

Thanks for the interest
Richie

Offline Alexis

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #21 on: July 02, 2020, 09:10:33 PM »
Following with interest Richie  8)



Terri
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Offline Old Man

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #22 on: July 03, 2020, 02:26:41 PM »
A worthy project, Sir.

Looking forward to seeing what you do.

As I work in the 'gentleman's scale' I expect few of my tricks would be of use, but I will repeat that I know scratch-building is more a matter of nerve than skill. If you have the nerve to start, the skill will be there.

Offline RichieW

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #23 on: July 04, 2020, 03:26:18 AM »
Thanks Terri and Old Man, any nuggets of wisdom of modelling you might cast my way would be gladly received. Believe it or not I used styrene sheet for the first time this year so am a total novice at this kind of thing.

Well it may seem like I have done very little but I have been using every available moment to get something done and after many hours spent making a plug and trying to vac form a cowling I hoisted the white flag on that method. The part was coming out far too thin and brittle.

Salvation came from a bottle top (Hot pepper Sauce, yummy), this was sanded down, the top was cut out and a piece of of circular styrene sheet with the right sized aperture was added from my cutting machine. When this replica was first built it didn't have the vast vent in the cowling seen today which was cut to aid cooling and castor oil dispersal. I decided to go with how it looked when first flown. It will make life much simpler later. 

I hope the owner don't mind me posting this photograph but it was on their facebook page so is in the public domain.

Bristol Scout 1264 by Richard Williams, on Flickr

Who wouldn't want to have a crack at modelling that?

Bristol Scout 1264 Cowling by Richard Williams, on Flickr

It's not much but it took a heck of a long time and with a bit of refinement I think I can use it.

Thanks for reading, all offers of advice, criticisms are most welcome. Have a great weekend evrybody.

Richie



Offline kensar

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #24 on: July 04, 2020, 06:08:32 AM »
A little polishing and there's nothing wrong with that!

Everyone has to find what methods and material work for them.  I'm sure you're learning a lot as you go along.

Offline Alexis

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #25 on: July 04, 2020, 09:53:45 PM »
You can pick away with your questions Richie and will try my best to answer them for you .

Ken has a very good point . There are no set rules too scratchbuilding , use whatever you have or can use for making parts and go with what methods works for you .

You said that on the cowl you tried to vac-form but it come out thin and brittle . The sheet you used was to thin causing not enough plastic to form the shape . When you have a next go at it try using a thicker sheet such as .40 thou card or even .35 thou .

I agree with Ken , nothing wrong with the cowl you made now , nicely done  ;)



Terri
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Body and life is a vessel we use to travel the planet . Femininity is the gift , The miracle comes from what we do with it .

Offline RichieW

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #26 on: July 05, 2020, 12:14:49 AM »
Thanks Terri and Ken. Yes thicker sheet makes perfect sense, I will order some and have a play. Been filing away at the thick plastic thread inside the cowling/bottle top and thinning the walls. It's a long job with a file. Think I need to invest in a Dremel!

On the subject of wings. Do you laminate the sheets, bend then cut the profile or is that the wrong order?

The top wing has a level centre section with a considerable dihedral to the outer sections. I'm guessing this needs to be made in 3 pieces and pinned together.

Glad I didn't think this through before starting, I would never have started! :)



Offline kensar

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #27 on: July 05, 2020, 01:33:53 AM »
Sounds like the top wing will need to be done in 3 parts due to the dihedral.

The reason for laminating the wing is to get the cambered shape with less sanding.  One could use a single thick sheet of styrene and sand in the wing profile, but I choose to do less sanding and get the camber by laminating thin sheets (five 0.020") together, taping it over a round object.  I have a glass jug that I use.  The picture below shows the plastic sheets taped to the glass jug while curing.  Try to avoid air bubbles between the layers.



I tried the Gorilla glue (polyurethane based) in the picture, but it didn't work.  I use liquid styrene glue to laminate.  Apply thin layers with a brush - too much will make the styrene too soft and it won't be sandable (learned from experience).
After curing a couple of days, untape the sheets and trace the wing profile onto it to cut it out.

For the wing rib detail, I emboss the ribs on 0.010" styrene sheet and glue on the top surface, like laminating the other sheets.  Here's a pic of the skins.



Here I am gluing the skin on the top surface of the wing.  Using the air inflated bag ensure even pressure across the entire surface without messing up the embossing.





Hope all this makes sense.  This is why it takes me 6 months to complete a scratchbuild!

Again, this is just my method that has worked for me.

Offline RichieW

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt.
« Reply #28 on: July 05, 2020, 02:48:48 AM »
Ken, thank you so much, that is a brilliant explanation of the technique, I will definitely be trying this method. I have most of what I need to hand but will need to order more styrene sheets. Less sanding sounds very appealing after the 3 day battle of the bottle top.

I am in no way surprised that it takes 6 months for you to complete a scratch build Ken, having seen your immaculate results and exacting methods it is time very well spent.


Speaking of the bottle top, I had completely forgotten that I had ordered an engine from ebay over2 months ago! This is the same one I mentioned in an earlier post from Russia. Anybody heard of a company called Newport max? I certainly hadn't, well it arrived and is quite presentable but far too big for my cowling. Luckily very little of it will be seen so after butchering the cylinders and much scraping, filing and sanding of the cowling I think it passes.I will do a bit of work on the visible part of the engine to pretty it up a bit.

20200704_173022 by Richard Williams, on Flickr

Lots more sanding, priming and buffing needed to make it presentable but that's just a regular process. One major hurdle cleared, so many left!

Richie
« Last Edit: July 05, 2020, 02:56:10 AM by RichieW »

Offline kensar

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Re: Bristol Scout C 1/32 First scratch build attempt
« Reply #29 on: July 05, 2020, 03:40:23 AM »
Hi, Richie.
I just recently saw those engines on evil bay and wondered about them.  They are the only Le Rhone 9C engines in 1/32 scale I have found.  How was your buying experience?  The engine looks good in your picture, but not all is visible.  What is your opinion of the level of detail.  How do the cylinder heads look?