Nieuport 17bis

[RLWP]

Lovely work, so far Richard! I have no good advice for the side panels, maybe just try a plastic sheet, score as required to represent stringers, and see if it fits! You could get really lucky.... Regards, Marc.

I’ll make formers and indeed use scored styrene sheet. The issue is - until I have the engine I don’t know what diameter the aeroplane will be at the front.

The kit is overscale which I’m not particularly surprised at. I have found from my scratchbuilds that fitting  kit engines into scale models often leads to them interfering with the cowl. So I just need to wait for the postman.

Richard

[RLWP]

The engine has arrived:



This is the rather nice Lukgraph Clerget, a 3D printed engine with lovely detail. And it builds up to a pretty near scale size too:



This means I can now make a cowling and bring the firewall down to the correct size, meaning I can then get on with the fuselage sides

Richard

While I was waiting, I built a card rocket:

[RichieW]

That 3d printed engine looks great, glad you can move on with the build now. The card rocket looks like a lot of fun too!

Richie

[RLWP]

That 3d printed engine looks great, glad you can move on with the build now. The card rocket looks like a lot of fun too!

Richie

It was, I downloaded it from here: https://currell.net/models/v2.htm

Richard

[RichieW]

What a brilliant website! They even that the R101 airship. My Grandad helped build it, looks like I shall have a fun project to distract me soon!

[RAGIII]

That engine is going to be awesome! A lot better than the Hobby Craft Clerget I was planning to use 
RAGIII

[Monty]

That engine looks great, Richard! Rocket on! Regards, Marc.

[Alexis]

Always nice when a build can move forward , that engine looks really nice ! Also really like the rocket ...that is really cool !


Alexis

[RLWP]

Always nice when a build can move forward , that engine looks really nice ! Also really like the rocket ...that is really cool !


Alexis

Just for even more fun, the V2 with a 1916 R.A.F Aerial Target:



Different generations of unmanned aerial vehicles.

What Josef Jacobs and his dog make of it all, I don't know

Richard

[kensar]

The engine will make a fine addition to your build.
Are the V2, aerial target, and Jacobs figures all in the same scale?

[RLWP]

The engine will make a fine addition to your build.
Are the V2, aerial target, and Jacobs figures all in the same scale?

Yes, all 1/32 scale

[RichieW]

I suspect Josef's dog is wondering where his ball went and why he hasn't had a snack for a while.

[RLWP]

I suspect Josef's dog is wondering where his ball went and why he hasn't had a snack for a while.

Richard

[RichieW]

At least he has a stick to fetch there!

[RLWP]

Anyway...

I'm not sure why it is that these pretty interchangeable rotary engines (Gnome, Clerget, LeRhone, Oberursel) all ended living in quite different cowls. I haven't managed to reuse a mould yet! I turned up one for the short Clerget cowl of the 17bis and vac formed one:



I wanted to avoid a difficult join between the cowl and the upped deck, so I stuck them together. This means the Clerget has to be finished and installed before I could finish the fuselage:



The Lukgraph Clerget is a beautiful thing, highly recommended. It's a same this cowling hides so much of it

And, having scratched my head about 'are both sides the same?' (yes - otherwise the oval openings don't work), 'where is the centreline of the curvature of the fuselage?' (I stuck with running parallel to the upper longeron) and 'where did the support go?' (I guessed) - I have made the sides:





Now I can paint those, make and install the empty belt reel, repair all the handling damage and close her up

Richard