Fairey Campania 1/72

[Skyhook]

Hi!!!

I am new here and there seems to be a plenty of amazing stuff being built! I will join in with my first model post here.... it is a Fairey Campania, in 1/72, the usual scratchbuild methods have been used. It still lacks thw wires and smaller details, but it is very close to be ready....

cheers, Skyhook

[RichieW]

A very warm welcome Skyhook, thanks for posting your fantastic Fairey Campania. I must confess, I'm just off to look the aircraft up as I has never heard of it before.

Looking forward to seeing the rigging added.

Richie

[herbarnold99]

Very nice! Thanks for sharing!

[lcarroll]

   ....... as I said in my "welcome" I'm looking forward to seeing more; now this is MORE! Lovely work!
Cheers,
Lance

[lone modeller]

I had to check that it is in God's Own Scale....it is and it is amazing! Never seen one of these modelled anywhere so it is even more welcome. There may be some amazing stuff on this site but this is undoubtedly setting a very high standard indeed.

Do you have a build log? I would be very interested to read one.

Stephen.

[Skyhook]

Thank you very much for the nice comments.... This Campania is a special project for me as there´s a great clip in the IWM archives about it being hoisted in and out from the ship and flown. Lots of good angles to see most of the details you do not normally see in the photos. Probably the best document you can have about a certain ww1 plane, apart from the real thing in a musem. A very handsome floatplane indeed. Actually I have been lately on a roll about seaplanes in general... I have a few Shorts and a couple of Sablatnigs etc in the works.  Here´s the clip I was talking about https://www.iwm.org.uk/collections/item/object/1060000156

cheers, Skyhook

[DaveB]

What a wonderful introduction, Skyhook!

That really is good work so far and it really looks as though it has been built from a kit.

Regards

Dave

[Skyhook]

Thanks for your kind comments! Here´s another pic of the Campania. This model was my first for which I made the floats of real wood. I just sawed a block of wood into the right shape, sanded it properly, added paint and polished it with a small piece of normal photocopy paper. Then I added the details. Much faster and easier way to do it than using plasticard, even with a simple shape like here. And with more complicated shapes, the advantages are even greater... I have recently made floats for a Lubeck Travemunde and a Sablatnig using hardwood. I just didn´t come to think of it previously

cheers, Skyhook

[torbiorn]

Fabulous model, thanks for sharing. I’ve contemplated using hardwood too, but so far have only used it for peripheral items, such as propellers. Too scared of cracks or movement. Which wood are you using?

[Alexis]

Very nice work , will be a gem when finished 


Alexis

[Skyhook]

Fabulous model, thanks for sharing. I’ve contemplated using hardwood too, but so far have only used it for peripheral items, such as propellers. Too scared of cracks or movement. Which wood are you using?

Thanks! I think the actual choice of wood is not that important... i have used birch and pinewood too... depends how much grain You want sand away or is it good as an effect. The most important thing is that it is definetly dry. Sealing it with paint and varnish in the end is also important. One thing I didn’t mention is that you need an electronic sanding tool if you really want to take it easy. I use one and often process the both floats at the same time whenever possible, to get the curves identical. If you have a good saw and proper holder, it is of course possible to work them near finished before sanding the section/top edges into final shape. I have good set of files to finish the bottom steps etc.

Please note that i have used wooden floats for only a year or so....seems that they stay in perfect shape, so far

Cheers, Skyhook

[William Adair]

That looks wonderful 
Brilliant job on the cowling louvres and vents.  The whole thing looks fantastic and I would never have guessed it was 1/72.

[IanB]

Beautifully done!
I have the Karaya kit in the stash and if you hadn't said, I would have assumed that this was that kit!

Ian

[Skyhook]

Thanks again!!!

Here´s another one I worked on during the summer. It is a Short S.38, a pusher trainer, that was in limited use in the early part of the war. I tried to think of an easy method to have translucent wings, so instead of balsawood, I decided to make the core for the wings out of white plasticard...sanded to shape. The scored surfaces are clear plastic sheet (used for the overhead projectors in classrooms). The wings were then put together with contact glue and pressed into shape on a curved surface (I have a several pieces of wood with different curvatures for different wing profiles). I then drew the ribs on the undersurfaces with a permanent marker before painting with Xtracolor CDL. It actually looks quite convincing... but I took the photo on a cloudy day, so the effect is not too prominent here. But will look nice, when rigged and finished.

cheers, Skyhook

[pepperman42]

Now you're in a niche within a niche!!! Very nice work!!

Steve