This one has been a must-do project for a while, having built it twice previously: once as a kid, with no additions, alterations, rigging, or anything else not supplied in the box, and once about 5 years ago when I got back into the hobby. That time I added some basic detail such as interior, rigging, and a little engine detail, but when I looked at it later on I realised it was nowhere near what it should be...Once I got hold of a Choroszy engine and Miniworld guns the project was all set to go!
So, what was needed? Here's what went into this transformation:
Choroszy resin engine
Miniworld brass guns and Scarff ring
Barracuda resin pilot's seat
PE stitching, control horns, and seatbelts
Aeroclub prop and wheels.
Everything else was either scratchbuilt or corrected from the kit parts.
The fuselage had the tip of the nose removed to bring it back about 1mm and I removed all hints of the "engine" and coooling air scoop. It was cut through the middle of the pilot's cockpit to shorten it, and again just aft of the gunner's cockpit, to both shorten it a little more and to raise the rear decking to the correct height. The underside was then sanded to give a straight line from the bottom of the tail to the rear wing spar (the kit fuselage slopes from the tail to about 1cm aft of the rear spar) - I had to add some plastic inside the fuselage just below the gunner's position to provide enough plastic for the change in the profile. These corrections gave me the straight line I needed for the upper longeron, all the way from the top of the tail to the nose, just below the front cabane strut - the upper line of stitching follows this longeron. The gunner's cockpit was then moved forward by about 2mm.
The wings were thinned considerably, the span and tip shapes corrected, and the rib detail added with 0.5mm Jammy Dog masking tape - I won't use that method again as I feel it is still a little over done. especially towards the rear of the wing where it should be very subtle, if not invisible. The lower wing was cut into 5 sections: the centre section was attached to the fuselage once that had been completed, and blended in to be a part of the fuselage. The inner stub wings were drilled out and corrected for their shape, then added to the fuselage with brass pins for strength. The main wings were also pinned with brass rod.
Wing struts are kit items, thinned, reshaped, and with brass pins added for secure fitting to the wings. The undercarriage is scratchbuilt from brass rod, with plastic card CA'd on for the fairings.
All tail surfaces are from plastic card, including the little vertical fin on the underside. Rigging is 1.5lb test Gamakatsu monofilament fishing line of .06mm and run across a silver paint pen to give it some colour.
I'm not quite sure why I omitted to add any panel details on nose, it certainly needs some. It looks a little bare, but I'm not going to do it now!
That, in a nutshell, is it....I hope you like her!
Here are some comparison pics with the unaltered one I did a few years back....
Thanks for all the support and good wishes during this build!
Ian
