Author Topic: 'El Sonora' in 1/72  (Read 20286 times)

Offline RAGIII

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #60 on: September 10, 2020, 11:55:19 PM »
Looking good on the second attempt! I am sure you will sort it all out!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline lone modeller

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #61 on: September 11, 2020, 02:28:54 AM »
Being out of practice can be a real problem. However it looks to me from where I am sitting that your old skills are returning and I see no decrease in the very high quality of the modelling that you are doing. This really is a very delicate but large structure and I can well understand the nightmare of handling it. However it is looking excellent now - it will look even better later!

Stephen.

Offline Old Man

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #62 on: September 11, 2020, 12:24:10 PM »
Looking good on the second attempt! I am sure you will sort it all out!
RAGIII

Being out of practice can be a real problem. However it looks to me from where I am sitting that your old skills are returning and I see no decrease in the very high quality of the modelling that you are doing. This really is a very delicate but large structure and I can well understand the nightmare of handling it. However it is looking excellent now - it will look even better later!

Stephen.

Thanks, guys, I appreciate your confidence. If I were advising someone starting on one of these 'flyers' I would strongly recommend doing the wings and motor first, and only then putting the undercarriage in place. That would have saved me some difficulty.

Offline Old Man

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #63 on: September 18, 2020, 12:40:25 AM »
Lost ground has been recouped and more now.



Strut length has been adjusted here and there, after rigging was in place. The outer bay landing wires are functional. They are deliberately short, and pull the wing structure up and level. This will be repeated with the final bay. I have left this off for now, because I need to dope out the aileron arrangement. A fellow over on Britmodeller, one Matti64, was kind enough to send some good Curtiss drawings that are a godsend for that.

Once the rigging was done, I could do the tubular arrangements in the center section.




 
This is 0.6mm rod, and matches up with existing pieces. The triangle is got by bending ends of two lengths of rod. I had previously cut a little length of rod that matched the width separating the verticals. I placed this 'gauge' on some two-sided tape, and then stuck bent rod stuck down on the tape till I had the triangle right in relation to this standard width. Then a crosspiece could be trimmed to fit. A dab of CA gel on joints, and then douse things in accelerator. This, I found by happy accident long ago (I swear I've spilt more of this stuff than I've actually used), obliterates the tack of any tape quickly. So the assembled piece can just be lifted up and rinsed for use.

The lower portion of one of the rear supports is a bit askew. I will leave it for now, but will think again when assembling the tail. That's a bit down the road --- 'cockpit' arrangements, controls and such, ailerons, radiators, and forward stabilizer arrangements are the order of the day.



Rigging is slowly coming back to me. Got my failure rate down to about one in four from four in five. Once all the lines were in, I trimmed down the struts a bit by scraping with a blade's edge. With color on they look all right to me.

Offline kensar

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #64 on: September 18, 2020, 03:48:33 AM »
Good to see progress on this, OM.  The rigging must seem to take forever.  It will be interesting to see the ailerons sorted out.

Offline Old Man

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #65 on: September 18, 2020, 10:02:37 AM »
Good to see progress on this, OM.  The rigging must seem to take forever.  It will be interesting to see the ailerons sorted out.

Thanks, Ken. When I had it down, it wasn't that time-consuming, The method is pretty simple. When things don't work it is very tedious.

I'm reviewing close ups of Curtiss reproductions and museum pieces, as well as the new drawings for the aileron details (can't rightly skip what ya don't know's there). Am not sure yet how it pivots at the inboard end. There are not a lot of pictures of these 'flyers' taken from the rear.

Offline lcarroll

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #66 on: September 18, 2020, 12:02:27 PM »
    Great progress O.M. I'm in awe of your patience, it's resulted in a very impressive and totally unique model. Keep up the great work and you'll have it complete in no time! This project is a fine example of the talent of our Members, you've really done some great Real modeling" here,  my sincere compliments!
Cheers,
Lance

Offline lone modeller

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #67 on: September 19, 2020, 03:09:27 AM »
Every time you post something on this project it looks even more impressive. This is a truly fine example of a bird cage model - and of first class modelling.

Stephen.

Offline Alexis

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #68 on: September 19, 2020, 10:14:12 AM »
Really starting the to have a fawniess for this bird , but i still wouldn't want to sitting in the any of those seats ....my god I would be scared shitless . The Men and Woman back then were very brave pioneers in aviation .


Terri
Hurra ! , Ich Leben Noch
Body and life is a vessel we use to travel the planet . Femininity is the gift , The miracle comes from what we do with it .

Offline dr 1 ace

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #69 on: September 20, 2020, 07:53:45 AM »
Ditto all the above compliments !

Ed
Life is short, enjoy it, nobody gets out alive.

Offline RAGIII

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #70 on: September 21, 2020, 01:47:10 AM »
Ditto all the above compliments !

Ed

Ditto to My Amigo's Ditto  8)
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline Old Man

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Re: 'El Sonora' in 1/72
« Reply #71 on: September 24, 2020, 10:57:20 AM »
Thank you all for your kind comments and interest.

Terri, you couldn't get me up in one of those either. Here is a view to confirm the worst imaginings:



Lance, a couple of people have done some image modeling, a CAD and a 3d render of some sort.





These are consistent with the photographs (there are others out there more fanciful). I don't know if the CAD was not quite completed and abandoned, for the mid-gap ailerons are missing, and enough else is right the modeller must have known of them.

I have found among the photographs one which settles the fitting of the ailerons. While I make them, I might as well do the tail surfaces and front stabilizer too.I will have to match paint, but expect I can.

Hope to get time in on this and the Roland this weekend.