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  1. Gidday All, my next model is going to be a scratch build (apologies Mr Airfix) of a German K-class cruiser, DKM Karlsruhe. As with most of my ship models it will be in 1/600 scale, of which there are no kits that I'm aware of. (That's a subtle hint Mr Airfix ). 🙂 Karlsruhe was the second of a class of three cruisers built immediately after the solitary Emden who was the first cruiser built by Germany after WW1, and their design was subject to very severe tonnage restrictions, 6000 tons. As a result they had longitudinal frames, their hull was welded instead of riveted, light-weight metals were used where possible, armour was light (although on a par with similar sized cruisers at the time), two screws only, limited endurance, and very little margin for improvement (board margin in RN parlance). This was to place considerable restrictions on their deployments during their lives. The ramifications of their light construction became evident in 1936 when Karlsruhe encountered a full-on typhoon in the Pacific Ocean, a storm from which she was very lucky to survive. Some of her longitudinal frames buckled and her hull split right across the boat deck. She needed emergency repairs in the Aleutians then the USA before she could sail home to Germany. None of the three had particularly illustrious careers although that wasn't the fault of their crews. Two of them (Konigsberg and Karlsruhe) were sunk on the same day, 10th April 1940 during the invasion of Norway. Karlsruhe was scuttled after being torpedoed by the submarine HMS Truant. Anyway, enough of the ship, on to the model. I've chosen this ship to model for a number of reasons. It's larger than my previous scratch builds (I'm working up in size) and yet looks reasonably simple in design. The off-set aft turrets are unique to this class of ship and I like a bit of variety in the display cabinet, and I was able to get some diagrams of her. Below is one of the diagrams that give me hull cross-sections. As it was accessible free off the internet I don't think I've breached copyright. Anyone could access it, plus my model is for my enjoyment, not for monetary gain. I've enlarged the diagram to 1/600 scale, the overall length of the model is 290mm, the beam 28mm. Another diagram was kindly forwarded to me by @iang which will assist me with superstructures and deck fittings. And further still, I've had some advice from @Richard502 regarding the ships deck coverings. Many thanks guys. This will be my third (and largest) scratch built ship to date, and the first with large revolving turrets. And this has resulted in a change of modus operandi (procedure) for me. I like to have turrets that can rotate so that if the barrels get knocked the turrets turn rather than the barrels break off. Also I like them removable so they can be left out until the build is almost complete. For the last few years I've fitted turrets to model ships by having a long turret trunk with a single key glued to the front of the trunk and a keyway in one side of the barbette, usually to the left. Turn the turret 90* to the left and the turret simply lifts out, in any other position it's locked in. That has worked well with kitted model ships up to now. But my method of scratch building, with a centre profile longitudinal bulkhead doesn't allow that, for turrets mounted on/near the centreline of the hull decks anyway. So I've had a rethink, and decided that the turrets need very short trunks with a double cross key, and as much of it inside the barbette as possible to maintain the integrity of the centreline profile bulkhead. I've decided that they should be my first task, as success or failure with them will have a considerable impact on this build. So, as is often said in TV cooking shows or handyman/DIY shows - "Here's a set I prepared earlier". I've been hanging out for months waiting to say that! 😁 One of the turrets and barbettes are inverted to show that most of the keyway and turret trunk will be inside the barbette. The trunk might protrude down into the deck a little but not by much. To get an idea of size the squares on the cutting mat are 10mm a side. I've made a tentative start on the hull but not worth a photo just yet. So I'll call it quits for tonight. Thank you for your interest. Stay safe, and regards, Jeff.
  2. Bloody Mary is a hillclimber, built in the UK by John and Richard Bolster in 1929, when they were both schoolboys. It has a wooden (ash) chassis and was originally powered by a single J.A.P. V-twin of 750cc. Through the years, pre-war, it was refitted with bigger engines and ended up with two 1000cc J.A.P. KTOR V-twins, mounted in tandem. It competed until 1959, when it was put on display at the Montagu Motor Museum - and it's still there. It appears these days at events like Goodwood - the picture below is a from recent visit.
  3. Hi guys, welcome to my proposed build for 2021, after I have finished my tug that is. As the title says, this will be a scratch build of the Japanese steam ship, Fushimi Maru. She was laid in 1913, launched in 1914 and her first voyage in 1915. Built primarily for the NYK’s European Routes with a typical routing in the 1920s were Yokohama, Kobe, Moji, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malacca, Penang, Colombo, Aden, Suez, Port Said, Naples, Marseilles, Gibraltar and London. Why may ask, why this ship? It’s a family history connection where sometime after WW1, a Spanish ancestor of my partner, travels from Gibraltar to London. I suggested ‘would you like me to build your Grandma’s ship and here I am, albeit a few years later? Anyways, the Fushimi Maru sailed her European routes until the outbreak of WW2, where upon she was pressed into military service as a troop ship. Unfortunately for her, she was sunk by the submarine USS Tarpon in 1943. Searches found little, most being postcards that show very little detail and images that tend to be from the 1930’s, neither showing the detail needed to reproduce a model of the 1919 era. I did come across this photo a couple of years ago: Once a museum exhibit at the Mariners Museum, Virginia, USA of all places. I approached the museum with the view of getting more details about the model and maker but at the time, my request fell on deaf ears and the project went on the back burner. I tried again a year later and must have contacted the right person at the right time, put my questions forward and to my surprise, the museum sent me a copy of a publication 'International Maritime Engineering' Vol. XX No. 7 and dated July 1915. Struck gold is all I can say, a very useful document indeed containg descriptions of things ranges from berths, holds, engines, boats, winches, etc and also had a Profile and deck plans. Brilliant! Further requests were made about the model or its maker but nothing could be found. I asked about the possibility of photos of the model exhibit and to my surprise, a member of staff was asked to liaise with myself about photos. In the end, I got about 20 images of the exhibit from stem to sten, both sides, with some nice close-ups…and they didn’t ask for a dime and declined a donation. Why can’t more places like this exist? I will be building a waterline model and I don’t think I’ll have any problems with the mid-section or the bow but the stern under section leading to the rudder is problematic to someone who doesn’t have a clue, unclear images or lack of profiles to get the curves. I’m thinking plastic but would wood be a better option for the hull? I chose the scale of 1/350, hoping to find generic offerings to make things easier but it doesn’t seem to be that easy as yet. Later on in the build, I'll be looking at possible cutom 3D options for the winches, custom PE for the davits and as for the boats... Until then. Stuart
  4. Instead of add the WIP pictures to a discussion of a different object I divert the discussion here. An engine from a Frog V1, droptanks from an Airfix Viggen and probably the horrible from the Gripen prototype from Revell became the start. The Gripen tank was cut in the middle and parts added to the ends. Plastic card added for the shape to take the form of the missile.
  5. Hi folks. This is my first post here, so first - small introduction. I am SF and fantasy modeller (mainly scratch build and kitbash). I am also a middle aged man without language skills, so sorry for my English And that's what I'm doing now. Ian McQue's Remora in 1/35 scale, scratch build from HIPS styrene, with using parts of military and aviation models. Yes, I know - lots of people do it. And yes, I know - you can buy a Remora's kit from Industria Mechanica. But I will build my own This is how it should be: -------------------------------------------------------- And that's my way to it. First steps with the hull (3mm styrene sheets, and Tamiya's L-shaped styrene profile). Strips of thinner styrene (1,5 mm) as frame plating. Rear section arches formed on the wine cork First attemps to wheelhouse Control panel (some junk and parts from aviation models). And the pilot's seat: Let me introduce Helmut. A guy who worked with me on several projects as a 1/35 scale comparer. I've started that project on April. At first it was going very slowly, now I am much further. But I would not like this post to be too big, so I will post the remaining photos in the following days.
  6. Hi everybody, After recently completing my first ever scratch build I am jumping back into the deep end. The BE2c has long been a favourite of mine but has never been available as a 1/32 kit so the only option is to get stuck in and have a go at scratch building one. The version I want to model has a Royal Aircraft Factory 1a engine which is not available as an after market kit so that is where I shall start. The engine looks quite complicated so let's just see how far this goes, if nothing else the modelling Gods might take pity and give us a kit. Here is a picture from the front; Royal Aircraft Factory 1a V8 engine by Richard Williams, on Flickr Scary stuff! The crank case at least is just a box and the massive fly wheel is just a circle at the back. A few bits and bobs stuck together gives me this; RAF 1A V8 engine by Richard Williams, on Flickr The mounting beams are left long for ease of handling and will be cut down once the frame is together. RAF 1A V8 engine by Richard Williams, on Flickr Not he most impressive work for sure but it's a start! I don't know the name for the tear drop shaped housing that the prop shaft goes into, whatever it is called I made with laminated 2mm styrene sheet cut and filed into shape. Handily this gave me a centre line for adding the bolt fixing channels. The bolts (correct number of!) were added by using a similar method to my riveting method. 2mm lengths of 0.5mm brass tube were cut and using a paintbrush were applied with Future floor wax. Nice and easy because it can be rolled into position. 20210811_224652 by Richard Williams, on Flickr Once dried super thin super glue is applied to each one and zapped with Zip Kicker. Hopefully this gives the look of them being part of the casting rather than separate parts stuck on. A quick lick of paint to see how it looks reveals a few blobs of CA glue that need to go but I quite like the overall look. 20210811_231525 by Richard Williams, on Flickr Cooling fins were added to by cutting tiny pieces of styrene. Gel super glue was added to the engine part and using tweezers the fins were added. Great care needed to be taken to hole the fins so the tweezers didn't touch the glue, not 100% successful but at least nothing pinged across the room. 20210812_193956 by Richard Williams, on Flickr Again, super thin super glue was run down each fin in the hope of making them look like part of a 1 piece casting. The main parts are just tacked together with a tiny blob of glue for ease of handling but it is beginning to look like an engine! I won't have any time for a few days so here it will stay for now. Thanks for watching, all comments, criticisms and advice gratefully received. Have a great weekend. Richie
  7. So this is as much a statement of intent and a request for help as the start of a build thread. It’s the centenary of the formation of the Irish Air Corp, and the Martinsyde was the Air Corps first plane. So what better model to mark the event. This is the beast. But I have a slight problem, this is the closest drawing I can get hold of; and notwithstanding the obvious fuselage and rudder differences I’m not sure if the planview is correct for the Big Fella. So can anyone point me in the direction of a correct plan view?
  8. This project has come about almost by default. When I completed the 1/32 de Haviland 1A scratch build : I put it in a purpose made perspex display box, only to find that I had made a measurement error and the box is only just big enough to hold the model! I bought a second larger box for the de Haviland and now have a spare box. What to put into it? The box restricts the size of the subject: I had thought of an RE 5 or RE 7 but both of these are too large to fit. Other smaller subjects either do not interest me, are available as kits or are going to be released in the future, so they were all crossed off the list. Then the idea came to me to build a Royal Aircraft Factory BE 2a, (the predecessor of the better known BE 2c), as this was my first "free-lance" conversion (ie. I did not use an article but built it myself using the Airfix DH 4 as a donor kit for the wings, wheels, prop and struts), and it is very unlikely that a kit manufacturer is going to issue one at any time soon. This is the model I built in 1978: When I made the above model I had originally wanted to build a BE 2c but detailed sources were limited and I could not find any drawings of the type. Therefore I built the BE 2a because I had a copy of Profile No 133: Building a model of an aeroplane in 1/32 scale means that a great deal more information is needed. Fortunately DataFile No 163 provides excellent 1/48 scale drawings and many photographs: There are also many photographs of replica machines at Point Cook in Australia and Montrose in Scotland, and there is a replica BE 2b in the RAF Museum at Hendon. Recently this fine volume has appeared on the type: This book is a mine of information on the type and a go-to source for information: there is a review in Cher Ami vol. 10 no 1. There was only one outstanding problem: I could not find enough information on the 70 hp Renault engine dimensions to be able to scratch build one, (there are no kits of this type available in this scale). In the meantime I continued with other True Scale projects until I had a breakthrough via RichieW of ww1aircraftmodels.com. He is scratch building a 1/32 BE 2c and has to make a 100 hp RAF 1A engine. He was discussing how to make the cylinders on that website when "Rookie" gave him the engine sprue of the WingnutWings RE 8 which had an RAF 4A engine. The RAF 4A engine was a 12 cylinder V which had been developed from the 8 cylinder RAF 1A. The latter was an upgraded version of the Renault 70 hp and as Richie only needed 8 cylinders for his model that left two spare cylinders which he kindly passed over to me. I now had a potential solution to my biggest problem - how to scratch the 70 hp Renault engine - because I could now calculate the critical dimensions and had sufficient information about specific details to make an attempt. If I can build the engine, I can build the remainder of the model. I intend to use as little aftermarket material as possible on this build, so I will only show it if I use any. Apart from the engine the other part that I was concerned about making was the 4 bladed propellor. I have made 2 bladed props in 1/32 scale, and 2 and 4 bladed props in the True Scale, but this would be my first 4 bladed prop in 1/32 so I started with this. I have a supply of hardwood strip, (I do not know what the wood is - I inherited it from my father many years ago), which I use to carve RFC and RNAS props. I cut two long strips and 4 shorter ones: The long strips were glued to make a cross and the 4 shorter pieces then glued to each of the 4 arms with Evostick wood glue to give me the correct thickness of wood to carve. This was pressed for 24 hours in my state-of-the-art press (a pile of books): The shape of the blades was drawn on to the surface of the cross and arrows drawn to indicate which way the blades needed to be filed: The shape of the individual blades and boss were cut and filed first. This ensures that each blade is the correct shape and size when looked at head-on. The next step was to shape one of the blades: this was done with files only - it is too easy to slip when using a knife and the wood does not always cut smoothly, so an accident is possible and much time and effort can be wasted in a second if a mishap occurs. Filing may take longer but errors are much less likely. The arrows indicated the slope of the blade face - each one has to be identical to its neighbour and mistakes can be easily made here too. Final shaping and smoothing was done with glass paper: The quantity of dust that filing and sanding one blade is shown here: This is the finished propellor waiting to be varnished: I will use a resin boss from Proper Plane, (an aftermarket product), as this will be in a very prominent position on the model and for once I am taking the quickest route! I will post more on the engine later because at present it consists of a lump of laminated plastic waiting to be filed to shape. Thanks for looking. p
  9. Gidday All, in the Inspiration Gallery of this GB I mentioned a couple of contenders for this, one an 'R' class battleship and with some photos of battleships I've previously made. Well, sorry but I've decided to go to the other end of the scale of sea-going warships and do a Flower class corvette. I like to work in 1/600 scale and AFAIK there are no kits available so I'm going to have a go at scratch building her. While I've done a lot of scratching of ship's superstructures and fittings and such this will be the first hull I've done, discounting carved balsa hulls decades ago. So this will be something new for me. I won't be doing a specific vessel but a generic ship of the class with the longer foc'sle. I've been giving it a bit of thought as to how I'm going to do this, with a few ideas bouncing around inside my head. There's not much else in there to stop them bouncing, I guess. 😁 Anyway, I've made a start. I got some drawings, fiddled with them a bit, cut them out and traced them onto 0.4mm thick styrene sheet. That's rather thin but it was what the LHS had in stock, and it's possible to cut them out with scissors which makes concave curves easier. As you can see but I didn't notice, the profile (side) drawing is slightly longer than the plan drawings, which are a touch too short for the scale. Oh well, I'll work something out. I slotted the profile and main deck pieces to fit them together, and wedging them between two blocks of wood I started to glue bracing bits of styrene to them. And I've ended up with this:- Why so many? A number of reasons, the first being that I have a highly developed sense of overkill. Plus I had to pull the main deck down to follow the curve of the profile. And finally because I thought the thin styrene sheeting I've used would need some stiffening. But I've probably overdone it a little. Oh well . . . You can see that the main deck dropped below the pencil line at the bow but I don't think that will matter as it'll be hidden by the foc'sle deck. I think the next job will be to fit some ribs. The heavy bracing blocks I've used here might work against me in that they take up a lot of space. If this particular model turns out to be a pig's breakfast I'll cut my losses, absorb the lessons learned to date and have another go. I won't have lost much. So until then, thank you for your interest. Stay safe in these times and regards, Jeff.
  10. Some of you may remember me eventually turning out the Hansom Cab a couple of years ago, a long and protracted road but I am happy we got there in the end. This time I am turning my eye to the horse drawn buses which made Birmingham (not alone of course, but I am a Brummie and not even ashamed of it guys) the workshop to the world. As factories were opened they needed men and womens to get down and dirty making their products and as Brum got bigger a transport service was needed to feed the factory's desire for more, more, more employees. Birmingham's first horse buses first ran in May 1835 and by 1869 there were 20 horse buses in service on 15 routes. Trams drawn by horses came later, in 1873, hmm maybe later... Anyway a reminder if you dont mind me slowing the section down to hoof pace I shan't be making wheels with fellies and the like, in this scale I am going to stick with my own tried and tested method of protractoring away any plasticard that isn't a wheel rim. And using these as wheel hubs. 👍 So that is me, this will be my fourth piece of Brummie Victoriana and maybe this is a time to show what I have in mind. A B.C.T Co Ltd 'bus unloading, possibly at New Street near the station. Allegedly, so little of Birmingham's great Victorian buildings was left after a town planner got his bulldozers into them in the fifties and sixties that it is difficult to identify the place definitely (rant over, no promise that it won't recur as we get into the business) This style of 'bus with three windows is more commonly photographed than the four window style popular in "that London" and is intended to be what I build if progress happens If... These happy folks look as if they are in their Sunday best which gives me to think they must be boarding the Balsall Heath 'bus to ride to Cannon Hill Park. Anyway, this is the plan Co-incidentally these are the plans The Model Wheelwrights kindly supplied me copies of their plans of the London Omnibus by John Thompson which have given me immense amounts of useable data and sizing clues (the plans had some scale info but were reduced from the original before I got them and I have had to resize and scale them as I go along, this is going to slow me down. If you thought the Hansom's pace was glacial, this time consider continental drift as a pace maker. (I was a little scathing about town planners destroying the Victorian infrastructure in Birmingham, but Manzoni did not get it all) Here is a Victorian bus in Sparkbrook with the same road now courtesy of Google Maps And a shot of the planning underway Work has begun on the lower deck foot well. And the BCT Co Ltd markings are being adjusted to. Well this is me at the moment, if you are interested on riding the bus please kick in with any comments helpful or not. (I am used to being told I am a dumb dolt ) Glue and knife time now, ciao.
  11. Having been talking around this one for a while now, I’ve sort of talked myself into this one. So I’ve decided to go ahead and build a large scale Hetzer now instead of waiting for the GB, if it does happen. Of course in the process of building the Hetzer I’ll have to mold it fabricate quite a few sub components that will be of use for any 38(t) chassis so I’ll just build a Marder or a 38(t) for the GB when (if?) it happens
  12. Another oddity from warplanes of the First World War. Designed as a fighter pre synchronising gear the idea was that the observer could stand up to wield the single Lewis gun. I think it looks wonderfully quirky so fits the collection perfectly. The Sage. First order of business some working 1/48 scale drawings. As I’m committed to getting my KUTA builds and 109s done ( hopefully) this side of Christmas I think this will be a comparatively slow build, but as 2022 is looking like I’ll be building a lot of kits for GBs I thought I’d get at least one scratch build in to the bench.
  13. Here is my latest maritime subject, the tug 'SA Everard' in 1/100 and with the exception of two items, she is scratch built. I started this back in 2018 and is built using mostly plasticard and rod, metal tubing, clear acetate for the wheelhouse. The windlass and anchor are 3D printed by @Iceman 29, thanks Pascal. Paints were wide and various, and the decals came from my decal bank. Figures are 1/96 from Deans Marine. WIP here: Stuart
  14. I’ve been threatening to scratch build a Cheyenne drop ship for a long time, but just haven’t gotten around to it, so as a preamble to the drop ship I’m going to do a 1/72 APC, which I will duly put inside my drop ship when it’s done. First decision which scale. My first thought was 1:48 the apc works out at anout7 inches which is a nice size however the Cheyenne would be 20 inches which is a bit big. So in 1/72 the apc is 4.7 inches and the Cheyenne 14 which although big for me works out ok. So blueprints in hand were off. Thr floor pan for the M577.
  15. Came across this while surfing the interweb and thought I had to build one, I may even attempt the digital camouflage. Step 1 as the plan is slightly bigger than A4 I resorted to good old pen and paper drawings to scale it to 1/48. I’ll mold it as wings, tails, booms and fuselage/canopy so quite a bit of woodworking to follow.
  16. So my first contribution to the GB will be the Scout F a development for the Scout but I’ve chosen it firstly because I like it’s looks and secondly because it looks much more like an interwar fighter than a WWI plane. First job is to scale these to 1/48.
  17. Built for the GB but owing to life etc getting in the way of modelling didn’t quite make the GB deadline. For 1917 they were both somewhat ahead of their time. The F was powered by the Sunbeam Arab while the F1 was essentially the same airframe with a Mercury engine, both aircraft performed well but neither engine was reliable enough to go into series production, hence neither Scout got past the prototype stage. The Scout F And the F1
  18. Evening All, I have already written in the chat thread that I am keeping up the habit of a lifetime: I am late to the party. However I have only just started on this project, so under the 20% completion rule I honestly think that I am eligible to enter with what I have done so far. Before I reveal all however i will show you some images of my kit and instructions. First the kit: I know that these limited run kits are a bit basic these days, the more so as some parts may be missing - I will need some rod, hardwood for a propellor, and some wood for a plunge mould, but I am sure that you know what those parts look like. (I am aware that there is a vacuform of the SP 3 variant but as I do not like vacuforms I am building one of my own). So on to the instructions/plans: There are two small problems with the above image. First it does not show the plans - I am not doing so because I do not wish to infringe copyright, but there are good 1/72 scale plans in this monograph which I will be using. Second problem, the aircraft shown on the cover is an SP 3, a development of the SP 2 which had a two bay wing, (the SP 3 had a three bay wing), and the shape of the nacelle on the SP 2 was different. So here is a photo of an SP 2 so thet you have a better idea of what I am going to try to build: http://www.ww1-planes.com/Italy/Savoia.php Scroll down to the second photograph on the above link. Photographs of the SP 2 on the net are unfortunately in short supply because this is not a well known type - indeed I only found it via the WS DataFile catalogue. So far I have cut out the blanks for the flying surfaces, (wings and horizontal tail unit), from 30 thou card which has been bent in hot water in a plastic pipe: Also shown are the rudders, a plate for the engine base, (most of the engine was buried in the nacelle and will not be visible on the completed model so I am not making a sump which will never be seen), and some laminated card for the radiators. I have added 10 x 20 thou plastic strip to the wings which I am in the process of sanding down to represent the ribs: I have scribed the radiator blocks and added 10 x 20 thou strip to represent the metal straps and cemented the header and bottom units: So I am off to a flying start, well at least for the moment. Thanks for looking. P
  19. Connecto Brass Tubing Connectors (C-08) Albion Alloys Modelling has a root in our creative urges, and we’re always looking for new ways to make things better, quicker and easier. If you’ve ever tinkered with brass tubing, you’ll know that it can be tricky to form shapes from the material with any reproducible regularity in shape or angle, thanks to the vagaries of our human fallibility and judging angles, lengths etc. Connecto is a new(ish) system from Albion Alloys that makes it almost as easy as making things from Lego or its rival Kinex. It is a Photo-Etch (PE) sheet with many shapes etched out of it in the form of crosses, stars with different points, plus other angles my brain can’t convert into words right now. The arms of each piece is suitable to slot snugly inside brass tubing of the same type. For example, if you want to join Albion's 0.8mm tubing, choose C-08, as it is patterned to fit precisely. Continuing to use the 0.8mm as the example, the brass is 0.4mm gauge, and the individual arms are 0.55mm wide (approx.) to slide into the 0.6mm internal diameter of the 0.8mm tubing. Clever, eh? The product is available in sizes 0.4mm to 1.4mm, which gives plenty of range for your mind to come up with uses for the system. Albion kindly provided the correct lengths of tubing for our use, which is a good job as I’ve still not found my stash of brass tubing from the workshop refit earlier this year! This review focuses mainly on the Connecto system, but I’d certainly recommend their tubing, which arrives in a plastic cylinder with flexible cap and sealed bottom that can be used to store your brass safely as well as being good for damage-free shipping. The sticker has both the outer and inner dimensions, plus the product code (in this case MBT08) to ease re-ordering when you run out. The video below shows the best way to cut small diameter tubes, courtesy of Albion’s YouTube channel: The set arrives in a clear foil pack with a carousel display slot in the top, held closed by a sticker at the bottom, and covered with a card that includes simple pictorial instructions, but you can also watch the video on YouTube, as below. You will of course have to purchase (or have in stock) the correct tubing for the task in hand, and a sharp blade in your scalpel to both cut the tube and remove the Connecto parts from the fret at their thinned attachment point. Then you need to apply your imagination, cut your tubing carefully by rolling it under the blade, and apply Super Glue (CA) to the parts to lock them in place when you are satisfied with their positioning and length. When you are creating shapes that require some tweaking to get the last parts in place, it’s best to leave them loose until you are done, then apply a little CA on an old blade, allowing capillary action to draw the CA into the tube, removing the stresses on any existing CA that has begun to cure. If you cut the brass tube and damage or squash the ends a little, grab a push-pin (I have one that is like a short hat-pin), and push it carefully into the tube end to reopen it. You can also use a file on any particularly truculent arms, thinning or rounding them off a little. From one piece of tube and less than thirty of the Connecto pieces I made up four example pieces of different types, and found them fairly easy to use, with a small hammer useful to tap the arms home in certain circumstances. The only real warning is to make sure you don’t push too hard and skewer yourself on a tube or arm, but Albion have sensibly places a small warning on each pack because metal can be very sharp. Having accidentally stabbed myself with a pair of tweezers yesterday in an unrelated incident, I can’t recommend pain. To finish off an assembly, you can nip off any unwanted arms, and even bend them to create 3D shapes, such as tubular fuselage frames like in the Martin-Baker MB-5 or Tempest, tent frames, and so on. Their use is quite literally limited by your imagination. WARNING: Do not watch these videos while tired. They are really relaxing, and the music is too. Conclusion A scratch-builder’s dream that should be very useful. You won't be reaching for them every day of your modelling life, but when you need them, you’ll be so glad you know about Connecto. You should also check out Albion's other products on their site, because they contain so many cool tools and supplies that you might not otherwise know about. Extremely highly recommended. Available in the UK in most good model shops both online and bricks & mortar. Review sample courtesy of
  20. In a world of social media and texting, abbreviations and initials are common place, but unless you're a youngish girl, 'MLP' probably doesn't mean much to you! If you are a young girl, you probably know that 'MLP' is short for "My Little Pony"; popular toys for many years and an animated TV series. I can hear the murmurs of confusion echoing around the internet, so what does all this have to do with modelling? WELL!! If you're looking for aeroplanes, armour, warships etc, you've come to the wrong page. If you want to see something a bit different, with lots of scratch building and an unusual theme, then take a seat. My daughter ( now heading towards nine ), loves making things. She's built several plastic models, starting just before she was four years old. The Spitfire diorama below was one which she sold for a healthy profit! Around June 2016, I was looking for a project to help to fill in the six weeks of the Summer school holiday. My daughter was six at the time and for a while, we'd talked about making a small model railway. This would be a good holiday project involving lots of different skills. However, for a six year old girl, I didn't think a normal railway model was interesting enough to capture her imagination. My wife suggested a more fantasy railroad with fairy castles etc., but I wasn't sure. A few days after the initial conversation, my daughter and I were watching recorded episodes of "My Little Pony" on TV, and the particular episode featured the railroad that runs through 'Equestria', the land of "My Little Ponies". Hmmmm! the gears in my brain began to grind around and suddenly made a connection!! Kinder Surprise chocolate eggs had recently featured small toy "My Little Ponies" that were about an inch and a bit long. These would make ideal characters for a small "My Little Pony" themed railroad. My daughter was over the Moon with the idea; so that's what we did. The layout would be about three by two feet in size, which would fit in the top of her wardrobe when not being used. It would be a simple oval with one switch leading up a small track to a station. There would be a dividing backscene through the middle of the layout to create two different areas of interest. Here's the initial idea. I've been doing some more work on it recently, but really need to take you back to the beginning of the story first.
  21. Evening All, “It is a truth universally acknowledged, that every serious aircraft modeller makes pusher biplanes, either from kits, vacuforms, conversions or scratch builds: they are landplanes, floatplanes or flying boats, and can have a combination of tractor and pusher engines. Ideally they should be in God’s Own Scale, but other scales are permitted. When the modeller has built up a suitable collection in the Proper Scale, it is quite appropriate for them to turn to a larger scale and build them in strip-down form.” Making Real Model Aeroplanes by Pheonix, Idontgoto University Press, (in prep). In keeping with the above, I will attempt to build another large scale (1/32) strip-down pusher, this time the Airco de Haviland D. H. 1A. When I built the Vickers FB 5 Gunbus I wrote that this was an alternative possibility but because of a lack of information about some parts of the machine, especially the internals of the nacelle, I chose to attempt the Vickers. I am still lacking some information but have come to the conclusion that it probably does not exist. Consequently I intend to use modeller's license and the fact that G. de Haviland helped to design the Royal Aircraft Factory FE 2a: the two machines were remarkably similar in many ways. Given this I intend to construct what I think is a plausible representation - if anyone has contradictory evidence I would be very pleased to have it. I have already converted one of these from the Airfix 1/72 D.H. 4, the build log of which is at https://forum.ww1aircraftmodels.com/index.php?topic=3261.0 It looks like this: So I have put together my kit which consists of the usual plastic strip, card, rod, brass rod and bar, wood, thread, etc and some odds and ends from specialist suppliers: As the engine in the above image is a bit small and the wrong type, I have selected this lovely specimen from WingnutWings: I had toyed with the idea of making one of these from scratch but decided that I might want to build another model before senility prevents me from doing so. I also used these wheels on the Gunbus and recommend them to anyone building early aircraft in this scale: I used these instrument bezels on the Gunbus and although they are barely visible on the model at least I know that they are there together with Airscale transfers for the instrument faces (not illustrated here): Another small detail will be provided by resin representations of the pulsometers: That is enough pre-manufactured material, now to start the real modelling. The Gunbus was a half-strip down model but that presented unforseen problems because the weight is concentrated on one side, making the model inherently unstable and in need of permanent support to stop it leaning. The undercarriage is also not as strong as I would like it to be, so I have decided to build this model as a complete strip down. This means that all of the interior detail in the fuselage nacelle and the engine will be fully exposed, together with the structure of the flying surfaces. I know that there are kits that represent different aircraft in varying degrees of strip down, but as far as I am aware, none of the Airco D.H. 1A. I have been experimenting with some parts as I was finishing the FE 2d, the first being how to make the wing ribs. There are rather a lot of them and they have to be the same size in two patterns: some with holes and some with slots and holes. To ensure that they are all the same size I am using the following procedure: a. cut a length of 60 x 180 thou Evergreen strip (top) b. shape the strip to the shape of the rib. This will be the master strip for all subsequent ribs of this size. (second from top) c. using the master as a template, cut and shape another piece of plastic strip and mark on with a sharp pencil where the spars pass through (4th from top) d. drill holes between the lines which mark the spars (bottom) e. cut out square holes for the brass bar spars (middle): Complete the rib by drilling holes and cutting the slots as necessary. There are 40 full chord and 29 narrower chord ribs to make for both sets of wings, so I will make some and then work on another part of the model, go back and make some more, repeat etc until they are all made.... I also want to try out another idea which is to use wood laminate for the propellor. I have already commented on DMC's Revell Big Camel build that British propellors were made from laminated mahogony or similar wood and so should be uniformly dark, as on my Gunbus, but I decided to be a little inaccurate on this model and have used two types of wood instead. Strips of laminate were cut to length: These were glued with Evostick wood glue which dries clear, and the piece put under a press overnight: Not much chance of that delaminating when it is shaped! First mark out the plan of the propellor and file the wood so that the basic outline of the propellor is made: I marked on both surfaces where the bosses would be and the curved flat faces between the bosses and the edges of the blades. By carefully filing one face at a time the propellor can be shaped: As stated this is not strictly accurate as the laminations should be much thinner and darker but most people who look at the model will not be aware of this and I want something a little different. It may be a little while before the next post because although like others I am currently confined to my home, I have rather a lot of ribs to make and I need to work out the internal structure of the nacelle, and then how to start making that and the internal fittings. If you have been, thanks for looking. P
  22. After almost a year, FPV Jura is finally ready for inspection. Unfortunately I can't give her to my friend David due to Covid-19. She was his first command as a sea Captain. Build thread is here: Night shot, the LEDs and Fibre Optics worked well: Hope you like her.
  23. Hi all, some pics of my recent project, nearly finished - a few ammo boxes missing Cheers Macki
  24. MAYBACH HL210 P45 ENGINE FOR TAMIYA 1/35th TIGER I EARLY (Frühe) MM Series Kit no. 216 SCRATCH BUILD HAND TOOLS ONLY Sorry, but I just can't resist the temptation! Besides, this may fail disastrously and it's better to fail HERE and now than during the Pz VI (Tiger) STGB itself. So, I bought this Tiger a while back now, specifically for the forthcoming Pz VI Tiger STGB, which just won't come quickly enough! It's a very old, but good kit, and in my opinion it depicts the best looking Tiger I of all. The S-mine dischargers, high commander's cupola, the bulky air filtration system at the rear and the absence of Zimmerit are all 'added extras' that later Tigers lacked (making the later Tigers less appealing, to my eye anyway) And, having recently completed a whitewashed Nashorn,and previous to that a whitewashed Sherman, I thought I'd continue with that theme for this Tiger I. (BTW, IF you haven't been down there, get yourselves to the Group Builds section and vote for your THREE favourites in the Pz IV STGB!) But, having settled on that, I realised this wasn't going to be much of a challenge - and famous last words here - because I THINK I've sussed out my whitewashing technique, and a 'Snow Tiger' would be a relatively quick and easy build, and only a slightly harder 'paint'. So, I thought about depicting the Tiger abandoned and looking rather worse for wear. And then I thought 'why not fire a round or two into it and blow some covers open?' Yes! That's the answer! Blow some grills/covers off the rear and expose the interior. I just happened to have a rather bad, but completed, Tiger I mid. It was my first 'entry' when joining BM and it sat in a street diorama called 'Somewhere near Villers Bocage' or maybe just 'Villers Bocage'. Well, that dio doesn't exist any more and the tank itself has been sitting on a shelf for a few years, gradually 'falling' to pieces. For 'falling to pieces' read 'having bits and pieces broken off, either deliberately, or accidentally.' To see if my idea was feasible, I set about removing the cover over the cooling fans RHS, and one of the front fenders LHS. Yep, it was do-able, although the grills over the fans have a different er.... grill pattern.... than the early type. Having removed them successfully, and having limited damage to the remaining structure to a bare minimum, I set about removing the fan cover from the 'new' Tiger. I now have a Tiger's upper hull with an 'amputated' fan cover RHS, and a hole where I've not fixed the engine cover, and a lower hull with nothing in it. So I can dry-fit the two parts together and stare down into a big cavernous hole. What it needs then, are smashed-up cooling fans (there are two per side) and a dirty great big Maybach engine and its accessories. But I'm not forking out money on them straight off. I will attempt to build it all in plastic and wire and spare PE, using hand tools alone. IF I succeed, it will be popped into my Tiger I when the STGB commences and the construction reaches that stage. Otherwise, I will give up on the scratch-build idea and explore the dearer options. BTW, there is a '25' percent rule which states that a model may enter the STGB so long as it has not been constructed past the 25 percent stage. An engine and some additional pieces shouldn't break this rule. Wish me luck! Badder ps, IF THIS IS THE 'WRONG' THING TO DO WITH REGARDS TO AN STGB, PLEASE INFORM ME AND I WILL CEASE THIS THREAD AND HANG FIRE.
  25. Evening All, I have been through a complete loss of mojo recently: after completing the Dornier Rs II and base I was looking for a similar challenge and I had tried to continue with a 1/72 scratch build of an FE 2d, (an FE 2 with a Rolls Royce Eagle engine instead of a Beardmore), which I have been working on for about a year, but when I found that I will probably have to make a new nacelle I simply baulked at the idea: no particular reason why, just the thought was enough to put me off. I then floundered around with several different ideas and decided that perhaps a change in scale might offer a new challenge. This would mean that I would be abandoning the Sacred Scale, but I am determined that I will return to it in future as I have many interesting subjects on my “to scratch-build” list that I wish to make. I was looking for a subject to scratch build of course, and rapidly came to the (for me), obvious conclusion that it would have to be a pusher of some kind. I looked up several types but kept finding that I lacked enough information concerning the details of engines or interiors as I was thinking of 1/32 scale where details matter. In 1/72 scale I can make parts from drawings that look right, but in this larger scale I would need accurate 3D drawings and other information, and for many of the types that I considered such information could not be found. I also had the feeling of “done that” for some of the subjects I was researching. I do not usually like to make the same subject twice which may have been why I was put off the FE 2d - it is too much like the F E 2b, which I have already made. Then I happened to find a cut-away drawing of the Vickers FB 5 Gunbus. A couple of years ago it had been suggested to me that I try a cut-away model but to do this in plastic in 1/72 scale would be very difficult and probably leave a weak model. There are several cut-away model kits in PE in 1/72 scale but I do not like PE and I am not a kit builder any more, so that idea was a non-starter. But what about a cut-away in 1/32 scale? Problem: the engine. I can scratch build or convert engines in 1/72 scale and just get away with it, but that would not be possible in this scale, so I looked around to see what engines were available as aftermarket items. I went back to some earlier ideas and thought about either a DH 1A or the FB 5 Gunbus as engine kits are available for both. In the end I decided that I could not find enough information on the interior of the DH 1A so I settled for the Gunbus. I have built a Gunbus in 1/72 scale already - it was a conversion from an Airfix DH 4 but it was one which I started in 1981 and finished 31 years later! I am not planning to take quite so long this time…. This will be a CBSB (Classic British Scratch Build), - a basic, limited run kit with some aftermarket parts. As it will be a partial strip down the parts count will probably be quite high. I frequently leave my models unarmed but on this occasion I decided that I would model an early variant with the Vickers mg so I bought one of these from Gaspatch: it is resin. I also needed an engine - a 100hp Gnome rotary to be precise, and Wingnut Wings make a beautiful aftermarket specimen for an affordable price. ( Another difficult item to model is the wicker seat for the pilot but I found that Baracuda make one of these in resin. These three items are all little gems in their own right. Finally I have bought some PE instrument bezels, (I only have to cut and fit these so I can just about manage), and transfers from Airscale for the instrument faces. The remainder of the kit will be made from the usual plastic sheet, rod, strip, wood, brass bar for the wing spars and rod for the fuselage frame and booms. The fuselage nacelle of the Gunbus was made from steel tube, as were the booms, so I am going to have to learn how to solder brass rod and bar as CA will not be strong enough. My intention is to make a model that looks similar to the drawing I found on the net, with half of it cut-away showing the underlying structure, and the other half covered. I scaled up the plans from the DataFile number 56 and ordered some plastic strip from my LMS so that I could make the wing ribs. That was a mistake: after a month the shop had still not been able to get the strip, so I cancelled the order and got some in three days by post. I will not be using my LMS in future unless they have the items I need In stock, which is annoying because I like to support local traders: unfortunately that one will not be getting much of my custom in future. While waiting I had tried to make wing ribs from bass wood but these were not particularly good - I could not make the triangular hole at the front end and the very narrow slot at the rear, and cutting square holes for the spar to go through also proved to be almost impossible, so I intend to use 180 x 40 thou plastic strip instead. In all I have had a frustrating month ordering parts and supplies but getting almost nowhere in terms of actually making anything, except that I did manage to carve a propellor. This was made from 2 pieces of hardwood, (I know not of what type), which I regularly use for propellors. Gunbus propellors seem to have been coated in a dark varnish and this wood is just the right colour. The kit propellor (grey) is an example from a Wingnut Wings kit which was Kindly lent to me by fellow modeller Epeeman. The first shot simply shows the wood: This shows the wood being carved - the blade on the left has been shaped, the one on the right has not - taken from the side of the propellor. The extra thickness for the boss was unnecessary and was removed: The completed propellor - still to be varnished and a boss added: So after all the frustrations and stop-starts of the past couple of months I have at last begun a project which I hope will bring some results in the not too distant future…… Thanks for looking. P
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