After I finished my Gotha G IV
http://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=4859.0 , I started looking into the possibility of converting another into a G V. I was still concerned if it would be possible to make the conversion and then I made contact with Ron Kootjie as he had done a G V build. He told me he had a few sets to sell and at that point the build was on. So I took Ron's conversion but i wanted to take it to the next level. I decided to add the box tail, add the Sossfargestell and the redesign the nose and convert it to the G Vb.
So here's what I have to start the project. Obviously the WNW kit, the The Kootije set, lots of various HGW and Van de Rosten sets....who knows what will all be used
by the time this is all done...
First order was to see if I could do the box tail? What I did was scan the plans from the Gotha! book, and enlarged them to 1/32 scale. Then I traced the plans for the box tail. Once I traced them I scaled them to the proper size and I cut them out of Acrylic on the laser. I then sanded a taper on the edges. Once I got the shapes the way I wanted, I needed to figure out how to to put on rib tapes that match the kit tapes. I tried to order the tapes from the different places like HGW but I wasn't thrilled. So I went back to Illustrator and I drew up some rib tapes. At work we have a tool called a digital printer. What I can do is print on hard surfaces and I can print different ink and adjust the thickness a little bit. So I printed the rib tapes and I thought they matched the kit pretty well. The rear top of the fuselage needs some modification. I taped the parts together to test the fit. I also taped it to a board to hold everything in place for testing........
Then I turned to the cockpit. Ron Kootije included the bulge on the port side but honestly I didn't like the part. I thought it was not the correct shape
and I have pictures to show the correct look. So I cut the hole in the side and added the bulge. I'll need to patch in all the surrounding pieces to make it fit together.
The other element of the G Vb is the nose. It it shorter and it has a steeper angle. We drew up the nose in Rhino and I had a 3D part printed. I cut the nose off and I taped the new nose in place for test fitting. The gun ring mount is totally different as well. I laser cut rings to stack up to make the gun ring. I have also begun work on the new dash board.
Long way to go, but it's a start.....
