My first WW1 build - WNW Hansa-Brandenburg W.29

[lcarroll]

Peter,
    I hope the Bz.IIIa works out. Nice "catch" on your part, this really will be a unique subject. How about the radiator and cowling, are they just as cleanly removed?
    Absolutely beautiful work so far, a very attractive and interesting Build.
Cheers,
Lance

[petero]

Lance,

The diagonal struts from the top corners of the radiator to the engine block were quite securely superglued, because I didn't want the struts to come adrift when I remove the cowl side panels; chances are that I'll destroy them when trying to remove them.  Because of that , I'll leave the radiator/cowl attached until I'm sure the new engine will fit properly.  They'll be easy enough to replace with plastic or brass rod once the new engine is in place.

Peter

[lcarroll]

Lance,

The diagonal struts from the top corners of the radiator to the engine block were quite securely superglued, because I didn't want the struts to come adrift when I remove the cowl side panels; chances are that I'll destroy them when trying to remove them.  Because of that , I'll leave the radiator/cowl attached until I'm sure the new engine will fit properly.  They'll be easy enough to replace with plastic or brass rod once the new engine is in place.

Peter

    Makes good sense to me. As the Romans did, never toss the old shield until you prove the new one works!
I'll be following to see how this develops.
Cheers,
Lance

[petero]

I've been working on the floats while waiting for the new engine to arrive.  The floats and struts are painted PollyScale Engine Black, and weathered with a "salty seawater" colored wash of artist's acrylics.  The center turnbuckles have been glued and trimmed, but I'll wait till I mount the floats on the fuselage before tightening the lines at the floats.  The rigging line is acrylic "invisible thread", colored silver with a Sharpie.





Peter

[ALBATROS1234]

Very well executed Peter. I like the wooden parts. Keep up the good work
.

[bobs_buckles]

Lovely work, Peter!
A pleasure to behold 

von B

[petero]

The new Bz.IIIa engine arrived from NZ today, only a week after I ordered it.  Great service!  With my fingers crossed, I removed the cylinder halves and engine block from the sprue, held my breath, and tried them for size...





It fits!  .  In fact, it fits so well that the three locating nubs on the bottom of the engine block fit the holes for the original engine perfectly.  I'll need to widen the engine bearer's slot just a tiny bit for a perfect fit, but I think I can handle that.

The pipe at the top of the rear cylinder is, I think, the coolant pipe, so it will be re-routed to the radiator.  I'm not sure where I'll put it till I get the cylinder heads and details in place, but it will probably be similar to the original engine.  Of course, I won't use the cylinders with the pushrods and details molded in, so it'll take me awhile to scratchbuild the various details onto the plain cylinders.

Now I'm glad I took the chance and swapped... I wouldn't have been able to sleep nights knowing the wrong engine was installed 

Peter

[bobs_buckles]

I think you can handle anything!
Lovely work 

Von B

[petero]

The basic parts of the engine have been assembled, so I figured I'd better re-check the fit.





It still fits! 

The slot in the engine bearer had to be widened slightly, by carefully scraping with a scalpel until the engine block fit.  The propeller shaft comes out perfectly centered in the hole in the nose piece.  I've scratchbuilt the trays that hold the ignition wiring, but those won't be installed yet.  On the original Bz.III, the trays went between the cylinders and the pushrods, but on the IIIa, they go outside of the pushrods.  I'll use 0.016" wire for the pushrods, sprayed with Alclad Steel.

Peter

[RAGIII]

Your engine and your fitting  of it into the model look perfect!
RAGIII

[petero]

The new Bz.IIIa is finally complete and has been installed.  It's definitely a tighter fit than the Bz.III.  I had to relocate the diagonal struts from the top corners of the radiator to the engine block, as well as thinning the cowl panels where the struts go.  I also added the ignition wiring and wiring tray.



On the starboard side, I added the oil filler pipe from the old engine, because the new engine's pipe was at the very front, and wouldn't fit.



The protruding radiator pipe on the top of the radiator was removed, and a section of the old engine's pipe was added at the front.  I noticed that the photo of the mail plane doesn't show the cylindrical item next to the gauge in front of the windscreen, so I've removed it, and I'll put a cover plate over the hole.



I have a choice of two exhausts.  The top one is from the new engine sprue, and the bottom one is a BarracudaCast Pfalz D.XII Late Production exhaust.  The single starboard side photo of the mail plane doesn't show the exhaust well, so either one is plausible.  I'll finish painting and weathering both, then decide which one looks cooler.



Peter

[petero]

Thanks for the kind words, RB.  I don't usually model subjects that need a lot of guesswork, but it seems to be a trend lately.  My last build, Zoukei Mura's 1/32 Horten Ho 229, was an exercise in assumptions and plausibility too.

Peter

[steveb]

Cool! Super nice!

Steve

[coyotemagic]

Awesome work, Peter!  I'm excited to see what's next!
Cheers,
Bud

[RAGIII]

Awesome work, Peter!  I'm excited to see what's next!
Cheers,
Bud

I agree with my Amigo! The wiring and exhaust are indeed awesome!
RAGIII