1/32 Aerotech Spirit of St Louis. FINISHED

[egalliers]

Recently I was contacted by John Simons of Marsh Models asking if he could use photos of my recently completed 1/32 DH-88 Comet for publicity of the forthcoming re-release of the Comet kit. I was only too happy to agree and in return he very kindly offered me the choice of his range. I chose the Spirit of St Louis kit, as I have had my eye on it for quite a while and I feel that it will sit well in my collection of completed kits.

 

 

 

 

Now, I know I have heaps of kits started but they are mostly jets and I like to mix things up a bit. Thinking about next years shows that I plan to enter I realized that I needed to get things started on a civil (non airliner) aircraft.

 

 

 

 

 

Firstly a look at the two Aerotech kits that I have finished. They are fairly basic kits that build into impressive display pieces if care is taken in assembly and finish. You certainly don't see many built but they make for very nice alternatives to the many 109's and Spitfires that clog the forums and display tables at shows. To be honest, if my great mate Brent hadn't handed me the box of the Supermarine S4 a few years ago with an offer of a great price and a `lets see you mess this up' style grin on his face, I may have not have embarked on the challenge of getting these kits into my display cabinet. Thanks mate!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The kit. Upon hearing the postman at the door with a model shaped parcel, it is always a race between me and my 4 year old son to see who can get to it first. Of course he always wins, and he gets the pleasure of unwrapping a parcel from afar, whilst hopefully I inspire the younger generation into getting into our very rewarding hobby.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The long box was very well packed and full to the brim of resin, metal parts, decals and more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I was curious as to how big the model would be, especially the wingspan. I was surprised at how big the wingspan is, although it is quite heavy being think solidly cast resin. Luckily, Aerotech have cast the weight bearing parts of the undercarriage in Zinc.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fuselage fits together quite well, with some very nice detail cast into the cowling.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The instrument panel is white metal with photo etch instrument dials.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The built up instrument panel. I forgot to include the fret of photo etch in the first pic that includes the brass instruments. It is quite accurate to the reference pic that I have of this area.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cockpit interior. Mostly white metal with the resin fuel tank. Once again, it is a little basic and could benefit from some further wiring. I am still tossing up whether to do some more work in here or leave as is. I would like to TRY and keep this out of the box.....

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The fuel management system has been well cast in white metal.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2017 by egalliers

[Romeo Alpha Yankee]

Watching with interest Eric. While I would never build something like this (especially in this scale!), I await to see how you work your magic on it!

Ray

[TGA]

Your DH-88 is one the prettiest builds I have ever seen. Your concorde build is really impressive too so I can't wait to see how this pans out!!

[egalliers]

Some more work.

I decided to make a small amendment to the kit instrument panel and used Airscale decals, which I reckon have made a big improvement on what is supplied with the kit. I had to work hard to get it looking close to my reference though as there is instruments from quite a few of the Airscale sheets here; 1/48th scale, Soviet dials, Jet dials, upside down dials.... anyway, I reckon I got it pretty close.

Here is the finished panel. I thought for a while about whether to depict the white marks that Charles used to count off how many hours he used in each tank in the top right hand corner of the panel. I guess it brings a human element to the project regardless of how hard they will be to see. It gives the aircraft a lived in/Historical feel. Apart from the Airscale decals, everything else is `from the box'. I also had to scratchbuild the magneto switch as the kit one pinged off into the distance, courtesy of some fine tipped tweezers. I used some scrap white metal from the kit to carve a new one.

Here is the painted fuel management system. I painted the small silver shape on the rectangular part for reasons which will become clear soon.

The built up instrument panel and fuel tank/system. The silver paint was to depict the mirror in the periscope.

The cockpit side walls have been sprayed Tamiya rattle can bare metal silver, with the kit cockpit frame laid over the top. There is not much detail here, but with some careful painting some can be added. I am struggling to find references which confirm how the side walls were painted, so if you have some please feel free to add!

[egalliers]

Sometimes when you are confronted with a challenge during a model, you need to draw inspiration from the subject itself. My thoughts were turning towards a solution to the bare metal cowls, which are a unique and very eye catching feature of this particular aircraft. The kit does include decals which are reasonably nice, but in my heart, I knew they just wouldn't cut it and I wouldn't be satisfied with them. I wanted the cowls to be as real as possible and I thought of various ways in which I would be able to achieve them. The process by which the real aircraft has the texture applied to the cowling is `engine turning' so after some research, and a good deal of thought as to how I would accomplish it I set up to do some real engine turning. Each part takes a while to do but I thought that if Lindbergh could spend 33 hours flying across an ocean with no sleep then a few hours spent here would be no big deal.

I recently purchased a Proxxon micro drill press with a compound table which is entirely suitable for the task in which I set it. By mounting some thin aluminium (the stuff that forms the membrane on a Milo tin) on a piece of MDF I was was able to clamp it to the bed of the compound table, giving me a very flat surface to work on. I chose a small length of brass rod at an appropriate diameter (3.2mm) and punched out disks of 240 grit wet and dry sandpaper which I then glued onto its end. Each full wind of the X and Y axis wheel gives me 1mm of movement in either direction and everything in between. I worked out that I would wind 2 mm in one direction for each circle, then overlap its adjacent line by moving the part 1.5mm across and then do another line. I took rough templates of each part from the kit decals which are not quite the same shape as the scribed lines, So i adjusted each template to suit and then transferred it to the work piece. Once I got the hang of it, the process is quite easy. I used the lowest RPM possible on the drill and used very light pressure to make each circle.

Here is a panel in progress. I found that I achieved better results by leaving the Aluminium dust where it was rather than blow it away. Notice how precise each circle is.

A panel with the engine turning completed. It was at this point that I thought F%^# YES!

Dry fitted for final adjustment.

I used a toothpick to push the vents in, then filed them from the back. I will cut them neater once I have glued each panel on.

A comparison between the kit decals and the new metal panels.

[gingerbob]

I think it looks great, BUT: a couple of things to consider.

1) In some shots the "turning" looks rather aggressive or stark- I don't know whether this is a trick of photographing, or the same appearance exists in real life. Bear in mind that you're scaling down the diameter, but the "depth" of the treatment probably is much like the full scale. IF it does look too stark in real life, perhaps something like a dusting of flat-coat would help to diminish the reflectance? (As it is now, the cowl seems to have a yellowish patina, but I don't know if that's from age or from engine heat or oil or some such contemporary cause.)

2) No doubt you'd already had this thought, but make sure that you are orienting the scallops correctly for the various panels. I won't go to the extent of getting the number/placement exactly right compared to the original!

Lovely Comet (and Supermarine)- I'd sure like to have either of those, but don't know that I'll feel that flush anytime soon...

bob

[egalliers]

Hi Bob,

Thanks for the comments.

The photography makes the circles look a bit stark. In person they look pretty well spot on. Also remember that your screen is blowing them up by a huge amount.

The real aircraft had a protective coat of varnish applied to it a long time ago which has yellowed significantly with age. I will be keeping these as bare aluminium with a clear coat to stop any oxidation that may occur.

I will try and orient the circles to each cowl.

Eric.

[Geoff King]

Give this a look, there may be a couple photos that give you a good idea of interior layout.

Beautiful work so far!

http://oldrhinebeck.org/ORA/ryan-nyp-spirit-of-st-louis/

[mcdonnell]

Hello,Eric - This is a masterpiece in the making.Beautiful work on those panels.All the best,Paul.

[perdu]

What did you say back there?

Hmm maybe

"It was at this point that I thought F%^# YES!"

I hope you arent offended that it is exactly what I'm saying too

Ever since my toolroom days I have loved an engine turned finish, this is marvellous

(this reminds me why I was never happy with my Frog Ryan NYP too)

[egalliers]

OK, I have decided that I will work on my 4 WIP's that are out of their boxes at the same time (being the Mirage, Eurofighter, Winjeel and this thing) I figure that I have finished 8 this year, so completing something soon is no big deal.

One of the reasons this one was set aside for a while was for the simple fact that yet again, I found myself neck deep in heavy modifications that I probably shouldn't have started in the first place. Of course, it is precisely this method that delivered me my Comet, which i consider the jewel of my collection. 

The fuselage sides were very `gaunt' and each stringer lacked definition, almsot like the fabric was loose. To do the aircraft any justice I just had to re-do them. I sanded each side of the fuselage flat (a fairly uncomfortable exercise on a $250 kit!) and started again. Using Tamiya tape, I masked up the 3 stringers.

I then sprayed a few heavy coats of Mr Surfacer over each one to build up the detail.

Removing the masking reveals some sharply defined lines.

I then freehand sprayed thick coats of Mr Surfacer over each one to build up the stringer further and to blend it in.

After this process was completed I gave it all a light overcoat of the Mr Surfacer to check the progress. Pretty good! I will be able to sand in between each one to further refine the shape once it has cured. As can be seen, it already looks like tightly stetchd fabric over thin stringers.

[ElectricLightAndy]

Fantastic work, I love the miniature engine turning and as many have said, that Comet is stunning

 

Cheers,

 

Andy.

[egalliers]

My models usually spend a little time on the sidelines if I run into an issue, whilst I work out how to fix it. I was having trouble with the wing struts. From the outset, they were a little warped from the box and I tried to bend them back into shape and then attached them to the model. They stayed straight for a little while until I picked up the model and bent them again. The resin struts are far too flexible for the application for which they serve and I knew that they had to be fixed before I proceeded with the build. Any warping of the struts once this thing is finished will stick out like a sore thumb. I like my models to travel and don't want to get a couple of thousand K's from home and have a strut malfunction. Also the variables of heat may cause issues further into the future. 

 

The problem, with just two of the struts installed. They are extremely flexible and will not stay straight.

 

 

Removed from the model. I could straighten the strut with hot water, but it wont resolve the flexibility issue.

 

\

 

I was determined to come up with a solution. 

 

Some Dymo tape laid along the inner length of the strut allowed a nice straight groove to be cut with a conventional scriber.

 

 

I made up a scriber that would exactly fit the profile of my intended material that I was going to fit inside the strut. this is a short length of music wire with a small angle ground on the end to make it sharp 

 

 

Using the new scriber, I cut a deeper and wider groove into the strut following the thinner line.

 

 

I cut lengths of the 1.4mm diameter music wire to suit each groove. The good thing about this stuff is that it is super tough, and immediately springs back to its position if bent. 

 

 

 

The only problem with cutting the groove at the exact profile of the wire is that there is barely enough room for the super glue to hold it position, so each wire was hammered into position  once glued. I sealed the gaps by sanding the strut creating resin dust in the groove before running super glue over it. once sanded, the wire is still visible due to the clear nature of the glue but once primed there will be no difference. 

 

 

Way, way better. I feel alot more confident with this model now. All 4 struts have been completed and I fit the aft two.

 

 

[perdu]

Great cure

 

Then again it would be if you were working on it

 

I like to use cyano supergoo for its brilliant stiffening ability too 

 

I hate using it as an adhesive.  

[egalliers]

Now that the struts were fixed it was time to get moving on this model. Lot of fitting and fiddling with the struts ensued with much work going into the forward struts and fairing to get them to all work together. I found some decent pics on the net for reference, as the kit is a little vague as to how each of the parts interact. I scratchbuilt replacement gear legs from brass rod soldered together as the kit metal parts were a bit brittle and I also wanted something a bit longer. 

 

 

Considering the poor fit of the kit, I am quite happy with how it has turned out. 

 

 

It was important to get the `sit' of the model right now as I want to avoid doing much to it once the engine turned parts are applied to the model. I have spent a bit of time looking at and comparing period photos to the model. I am still struggling to find any pleasing angles to this aircraft. It is one ugly machine!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Teuchter]

Nice work, starting to look like an image from the Wonder Book of Planes

[perdu]

Beautifully straight wings on this sweetie even before we look at the rest of the work

 

I love it better each time I look in

[woody37]

Lovely progress. That's a creative solution to the strut problem and very effective

[egalliers]

Some more work.

 

An area of the kit that I just wasn't happy with is the combined landing gear wing strut parts. These parts are far too agricultural and really give the kit a heavy look to it. I was eager to capture the look of the real thing.

 

Here is the kit as it was. I had thinned the part a fair bit already at this stage, but could see that more needed to be done. Notice that the wing strut and the gear strut seem to share the same hinge point.

 

 

 

A period photo of the Spirit shows a completely different set up with alot more individual parts working together.

 

 

Out came the razor saw and I cut off the non load bearing gear strut.

 

 

Much work later and the struts look alot better. I rebuilt the entire forward strut, shifting the wing strut up slightly to accomodate the gear strut.

 

 

 

The unmodified struts look much worse from the rear.

 

 

Much better. A fairly large shim was required, not just due to the width of the razor saw blade and the material it removed, but the change in geometry of the rest of the strut.

 

[perdu]

These little changes really mount up to make the whole thing become more realistic

 

I'm a great believer in realistic, you got it right here

 

[Covjets13]

What a lovely build, can't wait for the next instalment 

 

Si

[egalliers]

Before the project proceeded further I needed to get the metal cowlings sorted out. Whilst I was sort of happy with my previous engine turning technique, I felt that it was very labour intensive and could be done a bit better. Studying various `full size' techniques online, I decided to try and find a new way to accomplish the engine turning on this model. I tried out a few different tools mounted in the drill press but settled on a felt bob that Dremel makes. I also tried out a few different cutting pastes, such as valve grinding paste,Autosol Metal polishing paste and Tamiya polishing compound. All of these were either too harsh or not harsh enough. In the end I used a light coat of polishing compound that is also made by Dremel. I also abandoned using my compound table in conjunction with the drill press as I wanted to try and achieve a more hand applied finish as per the real thing. Instead of winding the compound table 1-2mm per circle and repeating it in the x-y axis, I lined up each circle and each line of circles by eye. 

 

Firstly. I sent the Mrs on an errand to get me a large tin of Milo. I removed the `membrane' very carefully to allow the maximum amount of useable material.

 

 

 

I then covered each panel in Tamiya tape before cutting along each panel line with a No.11 blade to make a template.

 

 

 

I lightly traced the outline of each template onto the metal with a pencil and then cut it out oversize before applying the engine turned finish. Lining each element up by eye as discussed earlier.

 

 

The panel has a very 3D holographic type effect and moves around as you shift it.

 

 

It was then a simple matter pf re-applying the template and cutting it out. 

 

 

By considering where each panel was going to sit against the model, I was able to cut each one out so that instead of a panel line, I have made each panel overlap as per the real aircraft. I would consider this exercise to be a great success!

 

 

 

[egalliers]

I then faced the challenge of cutting out the grilles and inlets into each panel. I pressed against each hole in the resin with my finger to reveal the location of each one.

 

You can just see the impression of the hole on the right hand side of the panel.

 

 

I then used a beading tool to break through the panel into each hole. Due to the metal being quite flexible it was a simple matter to bend it into the hole and open it up.

 

 

Still some more panels to do around the nose but I am pretty happy where this project is heading.

 

 

I did a quick video of the process for my Facebook page here: (be sure to 'like' it!)

 

https://www.facebook.com/manscale/

Edited March 17, 2017 by egalliers

[perdu]

I dont have faceache but please take this Like as for there too if you can

 

It really is a special model

 

 

[egalliers]

Thanks very much guys.

 

As this project inches ever closer to the finish line I have started to closely examine as many period photos that I can get my hands on to find the small details that will give this build a more realistic finish. 

 

Due to significantly thinning the wheel spats, I had to replace some of the raised detail on them, added with plastic small disks of plastic card, Also visible in the photo is the aerodynamic fairing in white metal that covered the wheel nut. Whilst building this kit, it has become pretty apparent that the designers of the aircraft tried as hard as they could to make it as slippery as possible.

 

 

 

I wanted to capture the look of the mechanical workings of the undercarriage. There was no provision made in the kit for these parts, so it was out with the plastic card to scratchbuild the brackets that the undercarriage strut attached to. I feel that this small detail in particular has made a big difference.