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1:72 Sikorsky Ilya Muromets, Maquette/scratchbuilt - the beast is back!


Brandy

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Thanks P!
 Here is where I am now, with the cylinders and the gear wheels added..

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 I now need to start adding the induction and cooling pipework....

Thanks for looking in!

Ian

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I just caught up with this superb thread again :).

 

Those Engines look great :thumbsup2: . A lot of patience involved there, and still more needed yet. I think you're enjoying it though ;)?

 

The etch gear wheels looks perfect. 

All best regards

TonyT

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Top Gear(s)! 

 

Those engine look uber-tasty with some colour on like that. Another gem on this already gem-encrusted err..tiara? of an aircraft.

 

Auto-correct on my tablet was insistent that I put 'germ' instead of 'gem' there..It would I fear have spoilt the compliment somewhat by questioning the hygiene of a brother modeller...:banghead:

 

Lovely progress Ian.

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Mainly because I had no idea how awful the kit was when I bought It! Scratchbuildimg would certainly have been easier, but I do enjoy beating these crappy kits into submission just to see what can be achieved with them!

 

Ian 

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On 3/10/2017 at 10:39 PM, TonyTiger66 said:

I just caught up with this superb thread again :).

 

Those Engines look great :thumbsup2: . A lot of patience involved there, and still more needed yet. I think you're enjoying it though ;)?

 

The etch gear wheels looks perfect. 

All best regards

TonyT

Thanks Tony, and yes, I am enjoying it!

 

19 hours ago, TheBaron said:

Top Gear(s)! 

 

Those engine look uber-tasty with some colour on like that. Another gem on this already gem-encrusted err..tiara? of an aircraft.

 

Auto-correct on my tablet was insistent that I put 'germ' instead of 'gem' there..It would I fear have spoilt the compliment somewhat by questioning the hygiene of a brother modeller...:banghead:

 

Lovely progress Ian.

Cheers Tony! Hopefully more germs on the way...

 

 I had another day to work on this today due to the airport being covered in ice, so I worked on the plumbing. First, the return plumbing for the cooling system...made from some scrap copper wire (I have no idea of the size I'm afraid, but it looks right!)....

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and all done....

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I then decided to do the inlet manifolds. For these I used .020" brass rod. Aluminium would have been nicer but I didn't have any in stock, so I'll just have to paint it!

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I'm happy with that! 
 The biggest problem now is going to be adding more detail without breaking off what is already there, so I may mount the engines on the wing for the next steps...not sure yet, but it's a definite option.....

Thanks for looking in!

Ian

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Thanks chaps!

 I won't be able to get anything done tomorrow, but Tuesday we're forecast another big storm so I may get some more done then. I have a horrible feeling that after painting the engine mounts, I may have to alter half of them. The mounts are all the same, but the inner engines should sit slightly further forward. Since the mounts fit in the same place on the wings, that will mean changing the front angle and lengthening the tops a little .....

 

Ian

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Thanks OM! 

I'm a little disappointed in myself for not checking the engine mounts before painting them. All the mounts are the same, but the inner engines sit slightly further forward, so that meant I had to add a small piece of plastic card to the front of 4 of the mounts, then sand them down to a wedge shape....

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 This will allow the mounts to fit the wing in the same place, but for the engines to sit further forward on the mounts. They are now in the process of being painted, and once done, I will start to attach the engines to the wing. I'll do that one engine at a time, starting on the right, so that I have easy access to the left side of each engine in turn to add the push rods and other final details without having to worry about actually handling the engines and breaking bits off. The wings will be attached to the fuselage only after the engines are done.

At least that's the plan......

Ian

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Evening all!

 I got the engine mounts finished and attached this morning, then started on the engines. I did (of course) change my plan, when I realised after a dry fit that there is plenty of room between the engines and they could all be mounted at the same time with no worries.

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 That first pic also shows the difference in position between the inner and outer engines.

Of course I couldn't resist a dry run with the wings on to make sure it all looked good...

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 Before I finally attached the engines, I added an oily black wash to the crankcases and under the engines to dirty them up just a little.

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 After all that was done to my satisfaction, I made a start on the next step....the push rods! It took over 90 minutes to make and fit them on one engine - hopefully the rest will go a little quicker now I know what is involved....

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 I will probably add a touch of thin CA to the joints with the cylinder tops just to make sure I don't knock them all off when I attach the rest of the cooling system,

Thanks for looking in!

Ian

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Great modelling!

 

I stumbled across an old photo of one of these beasts in flight, i was amazed to see a gunner in position directly above those fuel tanks! Not a position for the faint hearted, for sure.

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Thanks Clive, the later model "G" also had a tail gunner - another first in aviation! He reached the tail via a little internal rail trolley, very "Great Escape-ish"!

 

Ian

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Good lord!

 

Out of interest, did parachutes feature at any time for the crew? You can only admire the courage (or possibly insanity) of a bunch of blokes who climb into what amounts to a wardrobe with wings (and a verandah), with little or no chance of coming out of a mission unscathed should it all go even a bit wrong :(

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I don't think parachutes were issued, but I'm not certain. It would certainly surprise me if they were, as at that time in the war, not even the Germans used them.

 

Ian

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I read somewhere a few years ago that although parachutes existed during WW1, British pilots were forbidden to wear them as the hierarchy believed that they would encourage 'cowardice', and abandonment of military property!

 

Sorry for the thread drift, it just interested me to try and visualise what the crews of these aircraft had to contend with

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7 hours ago, clive_t said:

I read somewhere a few years ago that although parachutes existed during WW1, British pilots were forbidden to wear them as the hierarchy believed that they would encourage 'cowardice', and abandonment of military property!

 

They weren't issued 'chutes in the belief that it would tempt them to abandon their aircraft prematurely, and possibly over concerns that the added weight would negatively effect the rather marginal performance of many WWI-era British machines. Balloon observers were issued parachutes, and by the end of the war it was intended to issue them to aircrew as well, but not implemented before the armistice. I don't believe any other Allied air service issued them to pilots either. I'm sure on some level the Germans had greater impetus to develop and use them, since the majority of WWI air combat on the Western Front took place over their lines, and so they would naturally acquire the lion's share of pilots who bailed out.

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АНГЛИЙСКИЙ
Parachutes of course were, but the command was of the opinion, the plane is expensive, the pilot has a parachute, at the slightest danger can leave the plane, so the parachutes were in the warehouse ...
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6 minutes ago, Sergey said:

 

 

6 minutes ago, Sergey said:
АНГЛИЙСКИЙ
Parachutes of course were, but the command was of the opinion, the plane is expensive, the pilot has a parachute, at the slightest danger can leave the plane, so the parachutes were in the warehouse ...
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