pheonix

That was quick! I am still struggling to make the wings on mine.... P

You are well on the way to making two models when I have barely started on the wings of mine. I still have to carve the mould for the fuselage too! P

How do you intend to male all of those rivets? That is where the real boredom is ..... P

These look interesting: certainly different. I had heard of the Geest but know little about it so it will be an interesting build to follow. The wings certainly look to be a challenge - hot water could be in your future methinks... P

Thanks Mark for the encouragement. In fact the Germans used several pusher types, of which the Gotha twin engined bombers are perhaps the best known. They also used a small number of Otto Doppeldekkers at the start of the war, and later Ago pushers in 1916-1917. Naturally I have scratch built the latter types even though there are vacuform kits available. (I do not like vacuforms). P

Evening All, Those familiar with the designation of German aircraft types of 1914-1918 will know that a C type machine was an armed two-seater. Albatros built a series of these starting in 1915 with the CI which was essentially an armed version of their successful BII type of 1914. However the next type to see extensive service was the CIII and ia had long wondered why there was no Cii. A few years ago I found out why: only one CII was built and that was a pusher: all of the other C types were tractor biplanes. Cue for me - need to build one. There is little information published on the type but recently P Herris has published Albatros Aircraft of WWI. Volume 1: Early Two-Seaters /Centennial Perspective/ (1) which has 5 photographs taken at various times outside the Albatros sheds near Berlin. These can be seen at https://flyingmachines.ru/Site2/Crafts/Craft25754.htm I cannot find any drawings of the type but close examination of the photographs show that CI wings and undercarriage were used and the front end of the fuselage was reversed so that the engine became a pusher unit and the cockpits of the pilot and observer were in the correct positions. The new front end of the fuselage was rounded off and the tail unit and booms were designed from scratch. I have the dimensions of the type and the DataFile of the Albatros CI so I can construct my own drawings. So something a little different. I will be building this alongside a current project: a scratch build 1/32 scale B.E. 2a. I do not normally build two models at the same time but progress on the BE has been very slow for a number of reasons, but I hope that the new project will perhaps give a little impetus to the old one. Just a quick preview of my kit: P

That is a real stunner. Beautifully painted (as always) - the yellow really is eye-catching. Superb piece of modelling in every way. P

Like Epeeman I too struggled with this kit some years ago - and for the same reason - a trip down memory lane to my teenage years. This is an old and inaccurate kit but what the hell? It has made into a very fine representation in your hands - a testimony to your skill and patience. Hat off to you sir. P

This is looking very good indeed. Fingers crossed that the remaining struts will behave as well as the others and that they will fit into the holes in the lower wing. P

Evening All, After a long delay in which I have made three unsuccessful attempts to mould an upper wing section I decided to change tack and start on another part of the model. I have painted the lower wing half in a mixture of Revell acrylics: beige and white. Lots of very thin coats to build up the paint and get a smooth finish. The rigging wires can also be seen - I had to paint around them: The plastic bag was to protect the fuselage frame while I painted the wing but now it is protecting the wing while I paint and work on the fuselage frame. The frame was first primed with Halfords' rattle can white and then painted in Revell acrylics - a mixture of Okre, Braun and just a small amount of red to give a reddish hue to the wood. Rigging of the frame followed: I am experimenting with materials with this model so I decided to use real wood for the upper and lower fuselage surfaces as they were wood on the original machines. I used some laminate from a pack of assorted wood and I do not know from which species of tree the wood was taken, but after it had been given a coat of varnish it looked fine to me. I have cut an upper and lower decking: The lower decking has been super-glued into place: The next stage will be to add the cockpit details: seats, fuel tank under the observer seat and flying controls and wires before I add the upper decking. This sequence should allow me access to the fuselage so that I can insert the small parts - on the completed model I intend to leave the fuselage sides open. Thanks for looking. P

That certainly looks good - and more importantly, different. P

Another of your extraordinary finds. A pity that it does not have a spare wing or it could have been added to my to do list. P

Super little number. We do not see too many of these - another of the lesser known types. All the more important as a result. Super paint finish and rigging. P

Another gem from your bench Frank. I too was unaware of this type until you brought it to my attention - and your customised additions have turned a basic model into another masterpiece. Just brilliant. P

Evening All, I intend to represent one half of each wing as if it were covered in fabric and the other half to show the structure: the lower wing will be covered on the port (left) side and uncovered on the starboard (right) and the reverse will apply to the upper wing. Hopefully that will distribute the weight of the model more evenly. I have already shown some wing blanks as prepared from the moulds, but here are a pair of blanks after they have been removed from the plastic sheet and are ready to be assembled: They are for the upper wing as they represent the starboard side, but the lower port wing half is very similar. I started assembly of the port wing by drilling holes for the struts and rigging wires in the top face. Thread was passed through the rigging holes and secured with small squares of scrap plastic. The spars were CAed to the top wing surface and the edges of the wing packed as necessary with scrap strip and card. The latter made a better joint surface between the upper and lower wing sections and helped fill gaps caused by trying to marry two moulds together. Experience gained using this method of construction has taught me that filler will be needed in these areas: After the two wing moulds had been joined, using copious amounts of tube and liquid glue, and this had been left overnight to harden, I applied large quantities of filler: At this stage the whole structure looks a mess - indeed it was a mess, but patient filing and sanding, and more filling and sanding eventually resulted in a wing surface which when painted will be quite acceptable: The upper surface ribs were applied by using 10 x 20 thou Evergreen strip which was allowed to dry thoroughly and the sanded to thin it. Mr Surfacer 500 was applied first to the edges of the strips, followed by 1000 grade to eliminate any small undulations and provide a smooth surface for priming. The plastic bag which conceals the fuselage and spars of the starboard part of the lower wing is not there to hide mistakes or horrors of the model: it is there because later I will have to paint the new wing. Following the painting I will have much work to do on and in the fuselage, including painting the fuselage frame, and on the exposed wing structure, and I wish to be able to protect the newly painted wing. Next I will make both sides of the upper wing before I proceed any further with the existing structure. Thanks for looking. P

Evening All, I have managed to make slightly faster progress lately - possibly because what I have done is a little more straightforward: ie I have finished soldering the fuselage frame and lower wing spars. I soldered the lower wing spars to the fuselage longerons first using my usual hyper-complex and expensive jig: The method involves adding a rib to each end of the spars and supporting the longer end of the spars with a simple support. The front spar sits in a small slot created by the fuselage longerons and rib, the rear is held in place by its own weight. A set square was used to check that all was square which it was because the slots in the fuselage frame were correctly aligned. A quick action with the soldering iron ensured that they are firmly and permanently in place. The starboard, (right) side spars are longer than the port, (left) because the port side will have the solid wing and the spars do not need to run the whole width of the wing, whereas the starboard side will be uncovered and so the whole of the spar will be exposed on the completed model. Having put the spars in place I realised that I would have been better advised to wait until I had finished soldering the fuselage frame....... So having made the mistake I nevertheless proceeded to complete the framework. I used plastic strip at the rear as the sections were so short that cutting and filing the brass bar to length was too trying: the strip is easier to cut and file and was CA'd into place. The remaining framework was brass bar and was soldered a few pieces at a time. The top and bottom sections were straightforward as the piece could be laid on the balsa block and pinned, but the side pieces were more difficult because the spars got in the way... However all is finished and joints filed: Deciding what to do next has involved some deep thought, (well deep for me). I had to think about whether to put in the cockpit internal details and the rig the fuselage frame before adding the port wing, or add the port wing and then the rig the frame and insert the cockpit details. I have decided that the potential for damage will be less if I attach the wing first. I will have to prime the brass before I do anything so that will be the next step, and then on to constructing the two wing halves and drilling holes for struts and rigging before they are fixed to the spars. That at least is the plan at the moment, but experience so far with this build means that could yet change. The next post will show what I actually decide to do. Thanks for looking. P

Evening All Many thanks Zac, Ian and Baron for your kind and encouraging comments - they are much appreciated, especially as this build has been very frustrating of late. You may be right Ian that 3D printing would be easier - in fact @Beto has kindly sent me just such an engine, but you are quite right - I wish to make one of my own if I can. It is just that doing so has taken longer and tried my patience more than I had anticipated. I was unhappy with my first attempt to make the engine cylinders because they seemed to be too small, so I made a second larger set. They were too large for the engine block! When I checked (again) the size of the engine block I found that it was too short....so I had to make another one. Still the new cylinders did not look right, so I did what I should have done long before - I got out the resin kit and looked closely at the parts only to find that the first set of cylinders were the correct size!!! So I fitted 4 on one side of the block and all seemed to be well: Then I had to put on the bolts which were fixed via cruciform brackets on the cylinder head to the engine block. They were external to the cylinders and very thin - but I could not decide what material to use to represent them. I tried some guitar wire but that was too thick. Then I lost motivation..... Later I found some fuse wire which I had completely forgotten about and of course that was the correct size - but I baulked at the idea of fixing it in the small gaps between the cylinders. Another delay. When I came to fit the wire it was not really a problem after all! Fitting the cylinders and bolts on the other side was then relatively easy: I know that some bolts on the inside of the engine are not quite straight but they will be hardly visible when the inlet pipes are in place so I am not going to keep circling trying to get them perfect. For the moment I am setting the engine aside because I need to add tiny details such as spark plugs and inlet valve springs and push rods on the inside of the cylinders, and exhaust valves and push rods on the top. These will be easily and inevitably damaged if I put them on now - I will wait until the engine is mounted on the fuselage before I attempt them. I will also add the inlet and exhaust pipes at a later stage. While I was struggling with the engine and in an attempt to revive my motivation I decided to mould the covered wing blanks. I carved moulds for the upper and lower surfaces from basswood: both ends have wing tips because I intend to represent the port lower and starboard upper wings covered. The wing plans were marked on the wood and the corners cut off. By making the moulds longer than a wing half I can use one set of moulds to make both wing halves. I cut a simple card template to measure the curvature of the surface and then proceeded to file the moulds to shape: I was pleasantly surprised when I managed to get 4 moulds from the first 4 attempts. I have learned something from making large moudings in the past! I am making no promises about when the next posting will be - Easter is looming which means family visit but I am hoping that I will be able to solder the lower wing spars to the fuselage frame and then finish the fuselage structure with plastic strip. After that I can start to make and install the cockpit parts. Well that is the plan! Thanks for looking. P

Only just found this Dave: splendid job all round. The rigging and wood finish on the prop are just two outstanding features, the paintwork being another. I know that you had a bit of a problem with this one, but you won through in the end and the result is well worth the effort. P

Only just found this. An interesting project but not surprised about the Roden transfers! The wood effect on the fuselage is first class. P

What a labour of love - with a brilliant result. P

Not the easiesst of strut arrangements to get right but you have succeeded well. Excellent model. P

A long time go I too reworked the old Frog kit to try to extract something like a Vimy from it. I recognise many of the modifications that you have made and know how long they took. This is a masterpiece in anyone's language - congratulations on a super model. p

Evening All, I have not posted anything for a while because I have been trying to make ribs for the exposed parts of the wings. I need 23 full sized ribs and 6 smaller ones for the tips. I had made the 23 full sized examples and was in the process of making the remaining 6 when i discovered that I had made a mistake - I had drilled and cut the holes for the spars in the wrong places for the larger ribs - all 23 of them....! Given that each rib takes about 45 minutes to make and I am not in the most motivated of states to make them, I will leave to your imaginations how I felt when I discovered my error. (It will save the mods having to delete this post if I do not write any more about that). At last I have finished the new ribs.... That was not as easy as I had expected either because I managed to spoil/ruin 10 more! In all 60 ribs made fro a total of 23 useable ones. I do not think that I will be attempting another large scale strip down model for some time. These are what the new ones look like - not all of them but you get the idea: If anyone is wondering why I am making all of the ribs in one go, the reason is to try to maintain a consistent standard. If I were to make a few ribs, make something else and then start making ribs again I find that it is difficult to remember what has/has not been made/finished, and to keep a consistent standard of parts. I have also been experimenting making my own wicker seats but have not had much success there either so I may resort to some Barracuda resin examples instead. I have been sent two printed engines from Beto: they are superb - I may use one of them but equally I may continue to try to scratch build one using the printed engines as a template. This is no disrespect to Beto's work - it is just that I would like to be able to scratch build as much of this model as possible. I am also experimenting with using some wood for interior parts - hopefully I can now focus on those next and start to make real progress rather than going around in circles and repeating errors... Thanks for looking. P

Just spent a few minutes looking closely at the pictures. So much excellent detail: you have really captured the scene in the photograph. P

Evening All, I have stopped working on the engine for the time being - I am experimenting with some ideas but have nothing worthwhile to show for it. I have also decided that until I am ready to fit the engine to the fuselage frame I do not want to assemble much more because the cylinder head bolts were used to hold part of the cowling in place and I will need to instal part of the cowling at the same time that I put the cylinders in place. If you are confused all will become clear later. The fuselage will need to be robust to support the weight of the model so I have opted to use brass bar for the longerons and some of the frame. I soldered the sides first using the standard method of holding the parts with pins while solder was applied: The forward part of the upper longeron was steel tube on the real aircraft so I soldered some brass rod to represent this. With two sides made it was straightforward to join them with some horizontal bracing: A rudder post was soldered to the rear - again brass rod: All of the joints have been cleaned with a file: the remaining parts of the frame will be CA'd into place later. I have started to make the ribs for the wings. One lower wing and half of the upper wing will have the structure exposed so I will need approximately 30 ribs. The ribs closest to the centre had lightening holes, the remainder had slots. I tried 3 times to make the ribs with holes before I got it right... I have also cut one with slots. The image below shows the sequence of manufacture: top - a strip of 40 x 188 thou Evergreen strip, strip cut and shaped and holes drilled for spars, spar holes cut square, 2 versions of the rib with holes, bottom a rib with slots: I will take some time to make the ribs and will work on some of the fuselage interior while I do so. I will be visiting family next week so progress will be even more glacial than usual and the next update may be some time away. Thanks for looking. P