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Fooling around with a little Camel.....


DMC

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..Revell's 1/72 Sopwith, that is.

I started this kit a few weeks ago as a practice piece just to get me back into working with plastic, cement and sharp things. Why a Camel? Not sure really, our local Boyes store had all the the 1/72 WW1 Revell kits going for £3.25 so I bought two of the Camel (I've since bought them all) with the idea of getting a little experience on the one and then using that to (possibility) achieve a higher degree of finish on the other. I knew little about the Camel at first but, thanks to the Internet and the library, I've managed to get myself up to speed on most of the important bits needed to build a reasonably accurate plastic model. I like working "small" and I like correcting and adding details to kits.

I'm well on my way with this build and have taken photos of my progress so, if there is any interest, I will post them here as I progress. The first couple are just test shots to see if I can even get the hang of posting photos using Photobucket.

Cheers,

DMC

IMG_00000896.png[/urlIMG_00000843.png[/urlIMG_00000846.png

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Looks great so far, and will assume you are going to cut the plastic ribs to create some separation between the wing and aileron.

----------------------------

There is a subforum dedicated to posting progress at the work bench, and no need to ask if anyone is interested. If you had a question about the camel or the specific kit, then this is the correct subforum. Otherwise, this type of posting should be here:

http://www.britmodeller.com/forums/index.php?/forum/52-work-in-progress-aircraft/

Welcome back to plastic, and have fun!

regards,

Jack

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Thanks Jack. Thought I was in the correct place. Can a moderator move this over to WIP or is there a way I can move it over myself (bit of a Ludite though)?

Ah, the wing. Yes the tapes will be cut and the aileron snapped back off. I filed and sanded the the kit ribs off to get a thinner leading and trailing edge, then cut the aileron off. Of course, applying the tape to the ailerons would be easier if they were attached to the wing so I tacked them back on. Won't make that mistake with the upper, however.

Thanks Chris. No hawk eyes, just an Opti-visor.

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A few more photos...

Before I started on the kit I experimented with making seats. The Camel seat was woven of cane and had a partly open back. The open bit was a little beyond my abilities but I think the cane effect turned out okay on this example, although a bit too big for 1/72. I made a mould of styrene, rolled out some Milliput in a pasta machine (thinnest setting) and then rolled the handle of a pin vise across the MilliputIMG_00000904.pngIMG_00000861.png

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A few more photos...

Before I started on the kit I experimented with making seats. The Camel seat was woven of cane and had a partly open back. The open bit was a little beyond my abilities but I think the cane effect turned out okay on this example, although a bit too big for 1/72. I made a mould of styrene, rolled out some Milliput in a pasta machine (thinnest setting) and then rolled the handle of a pin vise across the Milliput

hat's off! that's just perfect... I have academy's 1/32 scale camel in my stash, wich isn't much to write home about in the cockpit repartment, especially for the scale (it was only 11€ and i think it will looks awsome haning from my boy's bedroom ceiling),but the medicore representation of this woven seat is rendered useless with ejector marks, so a replacement is due. this is a very inspiring technique, especially in a small scale. but it might translate to a bigger scale... and yes even than the open portion of the seat won't be easy to represent.

looking forward to seeing the rest of this build

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Thanks, guys, for the positive comments.

Up 'till now I've been using my old Blackberry Playbook to log on to BM and Photobucket, etc. But, as posting photos could be problematic, my wife has offered me the use of her laptop and, wow!, the photos I've posted so far look huge. Logging on to Photobucket in a minute to see how I get on with posting using this laptop.

(pause)

Ok, then, much easier than using the Playbook. Photo is of strips of veneer glued together for trying my hand at a little prop carving. Not really trying for the striated dark, light, dark effect as of the many contemporary photos of the Camel I've looked at none had that sort of prop. Different shades should help in achieving a symmetrical carve, however.

Cheers,

DMC

IMG_00000882_1.png

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Really interesting stuff so far and I'm watching with interest. I must admit, I would have gone for a simulated wood effect prop but then I'm clearly far lazier than you! Looking forward to seeing how that turns out. Super effects with the wicker seats.

Cheers,

Roger

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You're brave attempting the prop, i'm curious to see how it will turn out. I've carved a wooden plane out of a block of wood for my son once, and even when it was only a semi scale model getting the prop to look like a prop wasn't very easy.

I don't know what your experience with wood carving is (mine is fairly limited so don't take anything that follows for granted), but something i'd be concerned about is delaminating/chipping during the (final) stages of sanding/carving so perhaps impregnating the wood with some kind of glue or varnish could prevent that, if at all needed of course...

i would also start with drilling an axle so you can rotate the prop while sanding/carving, thus checking for symetry as you go along and not having to worry about drilling the hole off center once the prop is done.

i'm sure with patience and perseverance this will be the best representation of a wooden prop possible!!!

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Thanks, Roger. The seat for the Camel will be about 2/3 the size of that one and with a cushion and padding around the top not as much of the weave will show. In fact, not much of the interior will show anyway at that scale.

Thank you lunar. I hadn't given how to go about carving the prop much thought but drilling a hole for an axle/hub first is a good idea. In fact, using a compass, I'll draw an 8'9" scale circle on a bit of styrene, mount an axle in the center and spin the prop on that. A pattern on one side of the circle will help with the simmetry.

Thanks Mike. Ha! Is that cereal?

Good shot of the Camel. Nice one of the airplane also. (smiley face, too many emoticons)

Thanks Ian, more to come.

Cheers,

DMC

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Thanks Adrian, appreciate the comment.

Camel cowl:

The kit cowl comes with then Clerget moulded into the cowl. I cut it out and cleaned out the back of the cowl with a Dremel and a burr so I could fit it over a scratch built one (more on this later). Wasn't sure about clearance so decided to make a new one in the manner of the late, great Harry Woodman.

Male and female mould required, clamps and a bit of styrene. In this case, .040 Evergreen.

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Rig went into a pre-heated (old) toaster oven. When styrene sags a little and develops a sheen, remove and press male mould into hot styrene:

IMG_00000911.png

Let cool:

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Remove excess:

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Cement length of styrene tube to trimmed cowl. Trim off nipple and enlarge opening. Chuck in drill, rotate and refine opening with scalpel, and finish shape with file, etc:

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Posting this quickly without further ado before I lose it a second time.

Cheers,

DMC

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Finished cowl:

Measures out okay and is much thinner than modified kit cowl. Could have used .030 styrene but didn't have any.

IMG_00000909.png

Cheers,

DMC

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Hi DMC. Great work going on here and some great tips - thanks for the step-by-steps.

I don't usually follow non-WWII threads but this one has me hooked! :popcorn:

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Hi Roger,

Thanks for the hats off. Yes, 1/72 is quite small to work with but I like it because there's a limit to the amount of detail that can realistically be added to a build without overdoing things. Long term projects, of any sort, usually die a lingering death with me as I run out of steam about 3/4 of the way through. Having said that, I couldn't resist getting one of the 1/28 Camels and, well, who knows, might get into that one of these days. I seem to have developed a thing for Camels of late.

Good luck with the Cr.32 (had to look that one up, bit out of touch).

Hi Sgt,

Thank you, appreciate the comments.

Hi Ian,

Thanks! Am working well ahead of my postings so a trail fit and photo seems in order.

Hi Ced,

Very flattering, pleased you'll be around for a while.

Cheers guys,

DMC

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