Royal Aircraft Factory Fe2b in 1/144

[macsporran]

After 50 years of satisfactory modelling, why do I suddenly feel rather inadequate?
Sandy

[bobs_buckles]

[RichieW]

William you are crazy but in the best, most creative possible way! When I zoom in on the pictures I can see all kind of wonderful little details on this microscopic masterpiece. It is truly mind boggling!

Richie

[ColonelKrypton]

I saw your mention of this Ni80 NiChrome wire on another forum ( Kampfgruppe144 I think ) and had a look around to see if I could find a source. Lots of sources for NiChrome wire but nothing this small.  0.05mm is about 42 or 43 AWG. I have a spool of 38AWG ( 0.1mm ) copper wire which I use for some things.

Seems the vape shops don't have anything this small over here.

But I did find a suitable alternative.

Molybdenum cutting wire.  Commonly used for separating the screens of smart phones during repairs. Also called LCD separator wire, screen cutting wire, or various other combinations of LCD, screen, smart phone, separator, separating and cutting.  eBay, Amazon, and your other friendly online Asian sources list many.

Available in many sizes from about 0.03mm ( 0.0012 inches - smallest I can find ) to 0.1mm or so. 0.04mm, 0.05mm, 0.06mm sizes seem to be pretty common.

Molybdenum is pretty tough but I can cut the 0.04mm stuff I found with a sharp scalpel blade although I do tend to use a pair of cutting tweezers similar to these: https://www.ideal-tek.com/scheda.php?m=search&f=8&c=Cutting%20Tweezers&l=3&idp=58  simple and intuitive to use, they get a lot of use and I don't know I managed without.

I can't wait to see how you get on with the rigging. This small wire is just about at the limit of my vision and my BFF  ( Big Fat Fingers ).

cheers, Graham

[lone modeller]

First class scratch building. The rigging is just beyond belief!

Stephen.

[William Adair]

Cheers Stephen!  Thanks too GrahamC for the tipoff on the molybdenum wire.  I will be looking out for that.  0.03mm would be ideal if I can get it. 

Here's a bit more progress.  I added the control horns for the elevators to the sides of the nacelle.  These were a bit of a milestone, as they were the last thing to be added before doing the rest of the rigging.  They are made from a thin piece of sterling silver wire that was hammered slightly flat then shaped with files.  I mixed some PC10 colour and metal primer together as a base coat, then stuck them in place with diluted PVA.  A thin top coat of PC10 finished them off.

I should be clear to tackle the main rigging now.  I used bits of my favourite Albion Alloys .20mm wire as templates to establish each length.  Then labelled each and used them as a guide when cutting the repetitive 0.05mm pieces for each bay of the wings.  I did this when rigging the two Pfalz scouts earlier in the year.  It speeds things up considerably, as there is no need to tailor the fit of each wire every single time.

Here she is, as of today.  I decided to go for broke and add the doubled up RAF wires too.  As I said earlier: I really like the FE2b   

[Rookie]

[William Adair]

 

[RichieW]

Double flying wired in 1/144, yes!!!!! I hoped you would go for it and you smashed it out the park. Just brilliant! 👏👏👏

Richie

[William Adair]

Thanks Richie.  I'm glad that I gave it a go.  We're in stage 4 lockdown over here trying to shake off the latest surge in covid cases, so there's rather more spare time to be had than usual.
Most of the wires between the wings are in place now.  Just the control wires left to go.  I think the next thing will be to detail the booms and attach them to the wings.  I find that exciting and terrifying in equal measure..! 

[torbiorn]

I’m stunned. I did not believe this could be achieved in 1/144 scale. Hat’s off!

And thanks for describing your work for us mortals. I too like the type and am hoping to scratch together one someday, so this will be helpful. You must have a clean workstation - I can’t see a single lint or dust particle despite the tiny size.

[RAGIII]

I am sorry for the delay in commenting on your build! I am absolutely STUNNED at the amount of detail and the superb results! I Truly am at a loss for words. Amazing!!
RAGIII

[Bughunter]

I'm building in 1/48 to be able to add some details ... And then I see this! This is more precise in much much smaller scale.
Great for you, frustrating for the visitors/builders of the bigger scales!

I hope you have your hands and eyes well insured!

Cheers,
Frank

[William Adair]

Thank you again everyone!  It is very encouraging.

You must have a clean workstation - I can’t see a single lint or dust particle despite the tiny size.

My workspace is fairly cramped and messy.  It cant be helped.  I tend to wash my hands regularly though and try not to touch my face or things like that to avoid getting oily marks on the surfaces.  I used to leave the latest model out on the bench between sessions, but found it would become a dust trap after a while.  Lately I've taken to covering whatever I'm building with a square of lightweight freezer bag material when I'm not working on it.  It helps a lot to keep the surfaces clean.  I've been putting the Fee into a small box to keep the dust off it, as I imagine getting any stray specks off it will be difficult between the cats cradle of rigging later on.  Before taking photos I usually hunt down any dust and remove it with a tiny bit of blu tack on a toothpick, or with a "soft" chisel (a paintbrush that I dipped in PVA and forgot to wash properly).

I am sorry for the delay in commenting on your build

Hehe, no worries.  I've got a lot left to do yet

I'm building in 1/48 to be able to add some details ... And then I see this! This is more precise in much much smaller scale.
Great for you, frustrating for the visitors/builders of the bigger scales!

I don't know.  Hats off to all who work in the larger scales.  I got a 1/32 CSM Nieuport from my wife as a Christmas gift and I'm paralysed just looking at the size of the thing!  I'm not sure the sort of skills required for 1/144 will translate.   

[Bughunter]

I got a 1/32 CSM Nieuport from my wife as a Christmas gift and I'm paralysed just looking at the size of the thing!

Oh, what a useful gift!
At first you can build a Nieuport,
and later use can use this biplane as shelf to display all your other models

Cheers,
Frank