1/32 BE2c

[lone modeller]

Richie - I would strongly recommend that you fit the upper wing as one piece otherwise I can see disaster in your future! So far you have achieved amazing results - do not risk all at this stage...!

Stephen.

[RichieW]

Richie - I would strongly recommend that you fit the upper wing as one piece otherwise I can see disaster in your future! So far you have achieved amazing results - do not risk all at this stage...!

Stephen.

Sound advice as ever, one piece it is then.

Richie

[Rookie]

If you think away your hand in your last picture, it looks like a genuine BE2c flying over you garden!

It looks awesome with this translucency.

Cheers
Willem

[RichieW]

If you think away your hand in your last picture, it looks like a genuine BE2c flying over you garden!

It looks awesome with this translucency.

Cheers
Willem

Thanks Willem,  things have ground to a bit of a halt recently though. I had to make yet another batch of wing ribs and have got a bit of a sore shoulder from all the sanding and filing. I'll get back to it in a couple of weeks.

Richie

[RichieW]

Hi everybody,

I haven't updated this for a while. There's a reason for that.

I have barely done any modelling for a while. There's a reason for that too.

I've been a bit stuck. This has been compounded by suffering a frozen shoulder. There's a reason for that too.

I ended up having to make well over 100 wing ribs after a few failed attempts to make the top wing. Usually repetition resukts in better results but somehow I kept making a total pig's ear of the job. After finally managing to get the 3 top wing components made I failed miserably to get the wing tips symmetrical. The resulting corrections caused a great deal of damage to the surface.

At this point I felt like quitting as using filler and primer would destroy the translucency I was hoping to achieve. The answer came in the form of clear UV cured resin.

BE2c wing tip correction. by Richard Williams, on Flickr


With that hurdle cleared I set the dihedral and used 2 part epoxy to glue the top wing elements together. This was easier than expected, a simple bit of measuring from the drawings showed that clothes peg parts 8cm from the edge of the centre section gives the correct angle.
Brass rod (0.8mm) was threaded through the wing spars, bent at the right angle and the job was done.

20230626_131717 by Richard Williams, on Flickr

Once that had cured overnight I was really unhappy with the upper surface, trying to sand and buff it into shape caused more problems so more UV resin filling was needed. I found a bigger UV lamp online and coated the whole top surface.

BE2c scratchbuild by Richard Williams, on Flickr

The resin needs to be brushed on with care to avoid introducing air bubbles but it cures into a very hard surface which sands well. The translucency is still there, even in the cloudy evening gloom so I feel happy to have got over the wing making stage at long last.

BE2c top wing by Richard Williams, on Flickr

That's all of the major components made for this project, there are many fiddly things left to do but I finish work for the \summer next week so will have the time if I have any mojo left.

Many thanks for taking the time to read my ramblings, please feel free to comment, advise or admonish as you see fit.

Richie

[lone modeller]

Really good solution to the wing problem by using clear resin. It looks to me as though that has been a success so well worthwhile. The wing looks very good - especially the translucency.

I approve of the jigs to hold the wing while it set - an excellent idea which I will file away!

Stephen.

[Borsos]

That’s without doubt a fantastic pair of wings!
Andreas

[KiwiZac]

Excellent progress Richie and I’m very excited to see it, however your mention of a frozen shoulder is concerning. I hope it’s not serious and that you’re looking after yourself.

[DaveB]

That wing looks the business, Richie!

Wonderfully clever work.

Regards

Dave

[Tim Mixon]

Stunning work Ritchie. Your patience is truly paying off. 

[RichieW]

I approve of the jigs to hold the wing while it set - an excellent idea which I will file away!

Stephen.

Thanks so much Stephen, I laughed when I realised how simple setting the dihedral actually was and thought my mentor might approve!

That’s without doubt a fantastic pair of wings!
Andreas

Thanks Andreas, let us hope I can get them successfully attached to the fuselage. You might hear me whoop with joy all the way from London if I do!

Excellent progress Richie and I’m very excited to see it, however your mention of a frozen shoulder is concerning. I hope it’s not serious and that you’re looking after yourself.

Thanks Zac, much appreciated. The shoulder is recovering now. A few more weeks without having to file and sand wing ribs should see it fully functional again.

That wing looks the business, Richie!

Wonderfully clever work.

Regards

Dave

Cheers Dave, I'm getting there slowly. I'm finding that solutions to problems always appear after much head scratching. I saw a thread on Britmodeller where a chap used UV resin for lamp lenses and had a feeling it might just be the answer to my problems.

Stunning work Ritchie. Your patience is truly paying off. 

Many thanks for your continued support Tim. It's been a long hard slog so far but I have high hopes that I will have a biplane at least test fitted to show you soon.

Have a great weekend everybody and thanks again for helping to keep me working on this project!

Richie

[Rookie]

Richie,

Having physical discomfort is always a PITA (no pun intended) and I know that from experience. Good to hear things are getting better.

I think you have solved the problem with the upper wing brilliantly. I wasn’t aware of the existence of clear UV cured resin. Only the UV torch looked slightly familiar. My dentist uses something similar when he is doing restoration attempts…

I’m glad that the translucency was not affected, because it is one of the highlights of your model.

Sometimes it feels like all the Gods are working together to stop you from doing your thing. It’s hard to keep your mojo and carry on.

I know this is going to be a great model. The finish line is in sight and we are all here to support you.

Cheers,

Wiilem

[RAGIII]

I am not 100% sure what exactly you used the resin for but the wing Still looks Fantastic 
RAGIII

[RichieW]

Thanks Willem,  yes I'm creeping slowly towards the finish line and hope I'm on the downward slope now.

I am not 100% sure what exactly you used the resin for but the wing Still looks Fantastic 
RAGIII

Thanks Rick, the UV resin saved the day because  I needed to do a lot of filling after damaging the wing skins through rough handling and general clumsiness.

Richie

[Flamingo]

Never even thought about transparent filler, but here it works phantastic.
Very impressive model!
Greetings Joe