1/32 Sopwith Tabloid, RNAS No. 168, Lt. Marix, Oct. 1914

[rhallinger]

Thank you all.  LM, thanks for the advice.  I learned this the hard way my first time out with vacforming of the Lloyd C.V fuselage.  I used balsa for my master rather than basswood, and sprayed it with Krylon to reduce the grain.  Big mistakeon both counts!  The heated plastic must have melted the Krylon and fused the formed plastic to the master.   I literally had to chisel the balsa "masters" out of the formed plastic fuselage shells.   Fortunately I had made separate halves so I had a complete fuselage that worked well, but no more masters.    Lesson learned.

Cheers,

Bob   

[coyotemagic]

Outstanding work, Bob!  That turtle deck is d' BOMB!
Cheers,
Bud

[rhallinger]

This update is a cautionary tale for the casual scratch builder like me.  Here is the first vac pull.  On a positive note, the master came right out undamaged.



After trimming and sanding the cowling to fit, I found that I was not satisfied with the overall shape and fit, particularly the way the way the rear portion does not lay flat against the turtle deck:





I worked on the part a bit more, but finally decided to make a new master a bit more carefully this time.  I made a set of forms to get the correct profile of the cowling:



I am happy that I have learned to be patient enough to start over and get something right, rather than trying to save time by taking shortcuts and forcing unacceptable tolerances.  I am confident that the second go round will be much better.   More soon!

Cheers,

Bob

 

[bobs_buckles]

Beautiful work, Bob 
Keep going!!

vB

[Des]

Excellent vac forming Bob, this is one process I have never tried. Looking forward to seeing your next updates.

Des.

[Nigel Jackson]

This is such an interesting build, Bob, and I feel that I'm learning so much. Thanks for sharing it with us.

Best wishes
Nigel

[uncletony]

I am happy that I have learned to be patient enough to start over and get something right, rather than trying to save time by taking shortcuts and forcing unacceptable tolerances.  I am confident that the second go round will be much better.
 

When the parts stop getting any better and I stop learning anything -- that's when I pick up and I move on. Your patience here will pay great dividends.

[IFF1418]

Hello Bob,

This unbelievable build continues to amaze me. Really admire your work my friend!

Kind regards
Patrick

[lone modeller]

I am happy that I have learned to be patient enough to start over and get something right, rather than trying to save time by taking shortcuts and forcing unacceptable tolerances.  I am confident that the second go round will be much better.
 

When the parts stop getting any better and I stop learning anything -- that's when I pick up and I move on. Your patience here will pay great dividends.

I wholly agree with Bo - learning is as important a part of getting models right as any other activity. More haste, less speed has always served me well. I think that what you have done so far is just excellent - and that mould is very good.

[lcarroll]

   You have a spectacular model coming along here Bob. Your cautious and thorough approach is the hallmark of a great builder; stay the course, take those backward or repeat steps when required, and you'll be far more happy with the results. I really like this Build, keep the updates flowing!
Cheers,
Lance

[radio]

Bob you have make an outatanding work.
Martin

[Umlaufmotor]

Beautiful, realy beautiful!!! 

Servus
Bertl

[rhallinger]

Thanks for the encouragement everyone.   Progress has been slow lately for a variety of reasons, but partly because I have been struggling a bit to get the cowling molding right.  This is the new basswood master along with the last pull and the master for the chin cowling:



Here is the progression of three pulls; the second and third are from the new master:



The second pull fit better, but after cleaning and trimming I found that it was too wide.  I promptly broke out the sandpaper and narrowed the master accordingly, to produce the last pull:



As you can see, the last two pulls had some webbing at the corners.  This might be because my plastic holder for the vacform is fairly thin and warps a bit when heating, resulting in the hot plastic maybe not drawing down evenly.  I plan to correct this by making a sturdier holder from thicker wood this week, and trying some more pulls.

Here is the latest cowling sample in place.  It's close, but not quite.  I also need to narrow the slots for the cabanes, as the openings are far too wide:



So, the trial and error and tinkering continues.  I'll get there soon!

Regards,

Bob

[coyotemagic]

Looks fantastic, Bob!  I think that once you get the cockpit cut out it will really look the part.
Cheers,
Bud

[IFF1418]

Bob this is extremely nice to follow. I admire your craftmanship very much. Very good progress!

Kind regards
Patrick