Curtiss H-16 Flying Boat in 1/100 - Murphs Models (beta test)

[gomidefilho]

We are back with another test. The long-awaited Curtiss H-16, opening the Murphs Models seaplane season. It is a complex model and will certainly require meticulous work in the construction and installation of the rigging.



The Curtiss H-16, one of the final descendants of the family of flying boats that began with the Curtiss "America." The H-16 was a definitive design when it entered service with the U.S. Navy and RAF in 1917. (Felixstowe F5) Over 300 of these big birds were produced to hunt German seaplanes and submarines. The H12/16 family served as the basis for many postwar designs, including the Japanese H1N1 flying boats and the F5 family designed by Curtiss at the very end of the Great War.



The model has 9 pages of parts, one of instructions and another with a biplane assembly jig, something that has accompanied Aaron's models for some time now.









The model is in Letter format and its original scale is 1/45, it has formers for the hull, detailed cockpit, control horns on the wing surfaces and extremely detailed liberty engines, which provides an interesting challenge, in addition to the construction itself which involves a boat with wings and a forest of struts and cables.

Updates coming soon.

[NigelR]

I would find that plane a challenge in plastic or resin let alone paper and card............

[gomidefilho]

Many thanks, is a big challenge, like my Caproni Ca 3. 

[gomidefilho]

We started building the model by organizing the assembly and studying a better sequence of steps. We cut some pieces, separated sets, laminated the formers and assembled the construction jig on cardboard.













We will certainly start by building the wings and the internal lintels, moving on to the other moving surfaces of the tail, first, the engines will be built separately and attached practically at the end of construction.

[Vickers]

Cool subject, gomidefilho!

I like the Curtiss flying boats. Being raised bayside in Coronado, I used to watch the Coast Guard's Hu-16s land on the water and taxi up the ramp at CGAS San Diego. There was a steak and seafood restaurant on Orange Avenue that had all sorts of photos of Curtiss, Hall, and Grumman flying boats and seeing a model of one conjures good memories of childhood.

[NinetythirdLiberator]

Oh!  I can't wait to see what you do with this one.  It'll be amazing.  Based on my previous builds, Aaron's models go together well.

I'll be watching for sure!

Dan

[gomidefilho]

Thanks my friends! I'm glad with your kind words!

[gomidefilho]

Well friends, after a short period of absence, we return with the construction of H-16. We started building the wings, which have a prominent wingspan but with a thin chord. I made the internal spars, the tail surfaces, cockpit elements and the wing tip float, which despite being a simple piece I found highly complex to build due to the double curvature.











At the moment, the only thing I haven't done is hollow out the control wheel spokes, but in the original scale it's more than recommended. Today I will build the top wing and start building the fuselage, which is complex because it involves two distinct stages: the keel with its airfoil/hydrofoil and the upper structure of the fuselage.

[NigelR]

A great start. This type of modelling looks very challenging to me.....

[gomidefilho]

A great start. This type of modelling looks very challenging to me.....

Thanks again NigelR! More to show today.

[gomidefilho]

We return to work on the H16, starting with the hull/fuselage. I have built many Aaron models (I confess I have lost count) and I can say that this fuselage involves some interesting challenges, as it has three distinct layers: keel, airfoil and fuselage, with very interesting and complex transitions.





















First we build the keel by adhering its formers, taking care with those that are steps. Afterwards we adhered layer by layer of the airfoil.

 

[gomidefilho]

With everything dry, we started building the fuselage, starting with the cockpit section and then moving on to the others. It was a slow construction, because the pieces were glued only at the tops. It literally took the whole of Saturday and part of Sunday late afternoon to glue everything together, because the top gluing was done in pieces, waiting for each glued stage to dry before starting another. In some places, small pieces of thick cardboard were used to anchor the pieces, preventing them from moving outside the gluing area.











The nose part is laborious and difficult to glue, later on, the next one will have the experience of gluing it to the fuselage before fixing it to the front portion of the airfoil.















Here we have the fuselage practically complete, only missing the cockpit elements, although it was laborious I liked the results and had a lot of fun. I think that in the original scale (1/45) it does not present great difficulties of construction as long as the modeler is attentive. The cockpit in the original scale offers to the group that likes to improve the models a nice space to insert a detailed interior.

Next steps: general construction of the aircraft and testing of the assembly jig.

[gomidefilho]

Well friends! We return again with the test build of the Curtiss H16. In this section we build the cockpit elements, and the general construction of the plane and the wings, without any major problems at this stage, draws attention to the wingspan and slender wing.

















The jig works very well, at least in the arrangement of the fuselage/lower wing assembly. Now let's start laminating the struts and the biggest challenge begins.

[NigelR]

That is coming together very nicely.....and quickly! Well done so far.

[KiwiZac]

It seems like quite a challenge scaling down a large model - but so far it's all looking pretty good! I'm interested to see the next update.