Author Topic: Yet Another Dolphin  (Read 8728 times)

Offline Gisbod

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Yet Another Dolphin
« on: January 08, 2018, 07:56:10 AM »
Hello All,

Sorry again for the lack of postings - my modelling mojo has been struggling over the last few months and lots of other stuff going on. But... I’ve been sent the lovely Dolphin and as soon as I started poring over the content my mojo seemed to come flooding back! Good old Wingnuts.

I’ll refrain from posting pics of the boxing and sprues as everyone else seems to have done that already. There seems to be lots of build threads already going, but I hope there’s room for another?

I’ve decided to go for the 87 Squadron version. Just looked a bit different, and I like the idea of the wing mounted Lewis guns. The main other difference seems to be the PC10 cowling and struts, although the instructions state it could be this or the standard Battleship Grey, so I’ll give that a bit of thought...

The first thing that struck me was the super detailing to the interior and engine bay, most of which would disappear once closed up. Wanting to display a little more - I decided to take the plunge and do a bit of plastic surgery on the front end; the idea being to have it stripped back a little to open up the interior detail. So, the port side panel was first; I scribed along the edges with a new scalpel blade and just kept repeating until it finally came loose. Quite a bit of care was required here as it leaves a very thin strip connecting the bottom front cowl to the main fuselage. Although it will be fine once the interior side panel is in place.

Liking the look, I thought I may as well do a similar operation on the starboard side inspection panel. I drilled the corners then scribed the straight edges - although looking at the macro picture it needs a little refinement. The edges were chamfered to give the impression of a thinner lip. There’s also a small access panel behind the cockpit but I’ve left that alone for the moment...

The kit looks absolutely cracking and I’m thoroughly enjoying my bench time again!  ;D











Thanks for looking in...


Guy
“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth -
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”

P.O. John Gillespie Magee 1941

Offline Des

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #1 on: January 08, 2018, 07:59:06 AM »
Great to see another Dolphin build and the mods you are doing will make yours a special treat, I will be following along closely.

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

Offline bobs_buckles

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #2 on: January 08, 2018, 05:29:31 PM »
Mojo-tastic!
Popcorn at the ready  :)

Looking forward to seeing more updates.
Cheers,
vB



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Last Minute Man Of Faith

Online RAGIII

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #3 on: January 09, 2018, 07:52:46 AM »
You are a braver man than me. Your cut away inspection panels will surely showcase the awesome interior!
RAGIII
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"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler

Offline Iancshippee

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #4 on: January 09, 2018, 11:25:39 AM »
Looking forward to seeing how your open nose turns out!

Offline Gisbod

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #5 on: January 09, 2018, 07:04:46 PM »
Thanks!


Moving on to the 200hp Hispano-Suiza V8 Engine. As the plan is to have this exposed, I went a little bit further on the detailing than I otherwise would. However, this is somewhat generic. I just wanted the engine to look ‘busy’. There’s a super picture on page 5 of the instructions that show the side & top cowlings removed, and it’s a mass of wiring and piping. This will be done later on as it fits into the framework, but for now I just added 0.5mm brass tubing as ‘spark plugs’, some 0.2mm brass wire as ignition leads which runs back into a brass pipe at the rear - and a few bits out of the spares box to add some ‘bling’.

The plan was to feed the wire into the 0.5mm ‘plugs’ but this went awry, as when I glued the plugs in, I hadn’t accounted for the CA to wick into the tubes and block them. So, i ended up drilling another hole alongside and poked the wires in... ok if you don’t look too closely!

Still looks a bit clean, but it will get an overall light, grimy wash before it’s finished.

On to the cockpit!


Guy







.
“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth -
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”

P.O. John Gillespie Magee 1941

Offline Gisbod

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #6 on: January 11, 2018, 06:20:54 AM »

Evening,

Cockpit is pretty much complete. The usual method of oils for the wood then detail picked out once dry. Finished with a pin wash. For the internal rigging I tried using 0.1mm brass wire. It looks very nice, the only drawback being that I can’t tighten it up with heat like monofilament - and it did slacken off a little once the main components were fixed together. The bracing wires were also fitted on the base of the struts. This was back to my usual method of monofilament and Bob’s lovely buckles. The fit is good so far, little bit fiddly but a very intricate interior!

The instrument dials are the kit decals with a blob of clear epoxy to give the illusion of ‘glass’.


Guy




“Oh! I have slipped the surly bonds of Earth -
Put out my hand, and touched the face of God.”

P.O. John Gillespie Magee 1941

Offline Des

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #7 on: January 11, 2018, 07:17:41 AM »
Coming along beautifully Guy, both the engine and cockpit look excellent.

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

Offline bobs_buckles

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #8 on: January 11, 2018, 08:10:38 AM »
Fantastic work, Guy.
I can't wait to see more updates on this bird  ;)

Cheers,
vB



https://www.bobsbuckles.co.uk/

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Offline dr 1 ace

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #9 on: January 11, 2018, 08:58:14 AM »
The more the merrier !!!

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

Offline RLWP

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #10 on: January 11, 2018, 09:17:28 AM »
What are those 'pipes' running around the top of the cockpit? Is it some form of heating for the pilot

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

Offline Iancshippee

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #11 on: January 11, 2018, 01:13:31 PM »
Those are radiator pipes; one of the pilots who flew the Old Rhinebeck replica said he learned to always fly it wearing long sleeves to protect him from getting burnt.

Offline lcarroll

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #12 on: January 11, 2018, 02:23:19 PM »
Those are radiator pipes; one of the pilots who flew the Old Rhinebeck replica said he learned to always fly it wearing long sleeves to protect him from getting burnt.

    Ouch! That's a scary scenario, to say nothing of enormous battle damage risk to the driver!
    Superb work on the cockpit Guy, it's one of the "busiest" I can imagine, the fellows flying it must have been on the small side!
Cheers,
Lance
 

Online NinetythirdLiberator

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #13 on: January 11, 2018, 03:24:01 PM »
Looks super nice!  It's fun to see everyone's interpretations.  I'm learning so much on these builds!

Dan

Online RAGIII

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Re: Yet Another Dolphin
« Reply #14 on: January 13, 2018, 02:05:07 AM »
Looks super nice!  It's fun to see everyone's interpretations.  I'm learning so much on these builds!

Dan

I agree completely! I am glad I work slowly because I am benefitting greatly from the other builds  8)
RAGIII
"A man has to know his limitations": Harry Callahan

"Don't slop it on" Lynda Geisler