Author Topic: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72  (Read 27973 times)

Offline IanB

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #90 on: November 22, 2017, 01:03:05 PM »
Many, many, thanks to Rick, Sergio, Manni, Borsos, and Des for the positive comments, they are very much appreciated! I must admit to spending maybe a little too long looking at her in the evenings...it's a pretty little aircraft and I'm very happy with the way it's going!

 Today I started on the final touches. Cleaning up the wings where the rigging left marks was worrying me a little, but some careful sanding, a little PPP, and a fine paintbrush have left little to no trace of the marks. A final dusting with pastels and a gloss coat should hide it all very nicely. The prop hub got painted, and then I started on the tail. First off I added the skid, which I'd made up previously, then it was time to try to attach the stabiliser. That was not much fun, trying to get the brass rod bent to the right angles and cut to the right lengths at the same time took a while - I couldn't use the drawings as they aren't very accurate in that area. Eventually after a lot of trial and error I bit the bullet, put some CA on the ends of the struts and went for it. I think it's about as straight as I could possibly get it so I'm happy with that! The bracing wires were next and that went ok until I cut the wrong one when trimming the ends..so after a few choice expletives, I redrilled the hole on one side of the horizontal stabiliser, being careful not to dislodge the wire coming up from the underside (I'd deliberately done it with one run from bottom to top).....and replaced the upper wire. Job done, rudder attached. All that's needed now is some touching up on the black paint.





 One last "major" task to go...the wingtip floats. I need to finish the wings first so I'll prepare the float mounts, then finish the wings. They'll need to dry before the floats can be fitted, but we're definitely on the home stretch now!

Thanks for looking in!

Ian

Offline Des

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #91 on: November 22, 2017, 01:45:59 PM »
The tail assembly looks superb, well done.

Des.
Late Founder of ww1aircraftmodels.com and forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com

Offline IanB

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #92 on: November 26, 2017, 02:59:38 AM »
Thanks Des! It was probably one of the trickiest assemblies I've yet dealt with, even though it's only 4 struts, but there is nothing else to measure up to!

 I've been busy over the last few days working on the floats and control rigging, so here's a look at what's been happening......

First the floats. I'd previously made up the brackets from thin strips of aluminium cut from a beer can. This is nice and thin, but not very strong, and bends almost too easily! Needless to say, it took a while to get the brackets fitted, straight, and cut to the correct lengths. That was done in stages, first gluing them onto the floats, letting them dry, then tweaking the alignment and securing properly with a drop of thin CA. They were then attached to the wings and the supporting braces added. A lot of hassle but I'm happy with the way they look.





 One of them seems to have got slightly damaged at some point and the rear brace is a little twisted, but it is not really noticeable unless you look for it so it will stay as is.

 Next on the list was the control rigging, starting with the ailerons. I had to add the lower cable before I did the "hardware" in the shape of the brackets fitted to the control surfaces, and the return cable pulleys on the upper wing, The brackets are .008" brass wire, and the pulleys are simply .020" card punched out with a 1.2mm punch. The reason for that was that the centre brace of the brackets on top of the ailerons covers the hole where the centre cable is threaded.
 The lower aileron cable was one piece, attached in the middle to the actuator behind the cockpit, run through holes in the lower wing and up through another hole in the aileron. The other two cables are one piece of line tied around the first. I should have tied the first line around the second to give me a better angle at the join and stop the knot sliding when tensioning! I had to add a drop of CA to the knot to hold it in place but that gave me a little bit of a blob on the line...again not too noticeable, but avoidable if I'd just thought about it first!
 The central line was secured and trimmed, then the brackets were added.



 The upper line was fitted in a similar way, secured to the "pulleys", then tied around (I learnt!) a second piece for the outer cables.



This gave me what I needed to attach to the brace....



 I had thought that it would be easier to trim the centre line, then attach the knot to the bracket at the same time that I tensioned the outer lines, which was almost impossible as I had to tension the lines from underneath at the same time! Not a good plan! I ended up having to attach the knot to the bracket by holding both the outer pieces and pulling them evenly. I would have been better off leaving the centre line in place until it was attached to the bracket, then trimming it off.

With that attached, I could then tension all the outer lines from above and below, making sure that the centre line from below remained straight. They were pegged in place and secured with drops of thin CA.



Job done!





 The brackets for the elevator and rudder had been added at the same time as those for the ailerons, so I could carry on and start rigging those too. I decided on a slightly different plan of attack for these, since the elevator cables exit the fuselage as two lines, one for up and one for down, and then each splits into two lines, one for each side of the elevator. With one join already, I didn't want to add another at the back end brackets, so I threaded the line through the elevator and around each bracket, with the aim of then simply having the one central cable to attach to each bracket. That went well, until I got careless with the CA and touched it to the tweezers that were holding the elevator, resulting in a panic to get the elevator out of the tweezers before it got well and truly stuck!



 The join at the right is done, I was doing the next one in when that happened. Needless to say, that was when I decided to put it down and go for a pint.....

 That was all yesterday afternoon/evening, so today's tasks are to repair the elevator and (hopefully) complete the control rigging to the tail.....

Thanks for looking in!

Ian

PS The lower aileron cable was added before the floats, to make it easier to get it through the hole in the lower wing, which is above them!
« Last Edit: November 26, 2017, 03:33:01 AM by IanB »

Online lcarroll

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #93 on: November 26, 2017, 03:33:16 AM »
    Fantastic work Ian, your work-arounds and improvisation on the rigging challenges are impressive and you are really stepping up the game with this little beauty! The first photo with your hand for reference really brought home to me how small the model is, and the challenges of working on those small assemblies. My sincere compliments, this is outstanding work! 8) 8)
Cheers,
Lance

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #94 on: November 26, 2017, 09:09:16 AM »
Beautiful work Ian I am sure you will have the elevator fixed in no time at all! You are so close to having this beauty done!!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline IanB

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #95 on: November 27, 2017, 12:55:01 PM »
Rick, Lance, thanks so much for the positive feedback. It really does add to the enjoyment of the build to know that others appreciate the work, although I still don't think it's as good as I could get it - but that's also part of the enjoyment, learning from mistakes and finding new methods that work (or don't!)......

 The damage to the elevator was minor, due mainly to the fact that I was quick enough to get the glue off before it set! A quick touch-up and it was good to go....
 I got the bracing cables fitted without further mishap, and attached it using CA to give a little more strength. All 4 control cables were then attached to the fuselage and left to dry before the rudder cables were connected.





 I've left the elevator cables as I still haven't worked out exactly how to attach them, making sure the main cable remains central. I'll think on that a little more.

 Meanwhile I looked at the last bit that needs to be added - the starting handle. A piece of .010" brass wire for the shaft, half of a photo etch strut from a SPAD kit, but how to make the tapered handle? I quickly dismissed the idea of sanding down a piece of plastic rod to get the taper...very quickly! That got me to thinking that it would be easier to build it up to the taper, than cut it down.....so, a piece of .008" brass wire....and I dipped it in Mr Dissolved Putty....not quite right the first time, but promising...the second, third...better but not quite...if it's wrong just wipe the putty off and try again! After 5 or 6 attempts I was happy and left it to dry...



I'll let that dry overnight, tidy it up if needed, and paint it!

Thanks for looking in!

Ian

Offline IanB

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #96 on: November 28, 2017, 04:16:12 AM »
 I had a crack at the elevator cables this morning. I started by trying to hold each side with tweezers and get them both to stick but that didn't work, so on to plan B. I taped the model down, then attached tapes to the wires and positioned them where they needed to be. A little adjustment where necessary to centralise the joint between the two sides, then a dab of thin CA...they were left for a while to be sure the glue set, then I removed the tapes and breathed a sigh of relief - they held, and they were straight!



 The underside was a little more awkward, as I couldn't tape the model down, but it was the same basic procedure. Again, they were adjusted carefully and sealed with a dot of thin CA.



The result:



 Off to work now, so the final step - CAREFULLY nipping off the ends with a new scalpel blade, will have to wait....

Ian

Offline Juan

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #97 on: November 28, 2017, 05:05:51 AM »
Incredible work on this little gem Ian.  Looking fantastic.   :D

Bughunter

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #98 on: November 28, 2017, 05:52:57 AM »
All this fine and carefully done rigging is the icing on the cake - fantastic!

Cheers,
Frank

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #99 on: November 29, 2017, 01:30:26 AM »
All this fine and carefully done rigging is the icing on the cake - fantastic!

Cheers,
Frank

Frank has said it well and I agree completely!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Online lcarroll

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #100 on: November 29, 2017, 03:39:11 AM »
Ian,
    I had a good chuckle over your second photo with the "Rube Goldberg" approach to a simple jig, looks a lot like my bench at times!
Great work, and almost there! 8)
Cheers,
Lance

Offline IanB

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #101 on: November 29, 2017, 06:55:47 AM »
Thanks Juan, Frank, Rick, and Lance, for the comments. Lance, sometimes simple is not only easiest, it's best!
 Well folks, the wires got their trim this morning, and all went well!



 It looks as though the bracing wires on the right have slipped, but they're glued there, so there they will stay!
 That left 2 more tasks, a few little touch-ups, and the starting handle.

One starting handle later....



 Possibly slightly overscale, but it scales out to 21cm which is good to get both hands on it, so it'll stay as it is!

That, as they say, is that!



 I'll post more pics in the completed section. Thanks to all who followed and provided feedback and positive comments, much appreciated!

Ian

Offline RLWP

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #102 on: November 29, 2017, 07:00:52 AM »
What a lovely little thing, you must be proud

Flying boats can be very elegant

Richard
Hendon for flying - the fastest way to the ground!

Offline RAGIII

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #103 on: November 29, 2017, 09:28:05 AM »
Gorgeous results! Your rigging is outstanding as is the painting and markings. One to be VERY proud of!
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline Borsos

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Re: Donnet-Lévêque Type A, Libramodels, 1:72
« Reply #104 on: December 08, 2017, 03:15:38 AM »
What a pretty model of a type I never had heard of before...
Best regards
Andreas
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