Brandy Posted February 21, 2016 Share Posted February 21, 2016 (edited) Fresh from the mammoth Short 184 build I decided I wanted something a little more straightforward. My display cabinets are getting full and they include my earliest efforts, built when I got back into modelling 5 years or so ago. Not surprisingly they are not up to the standard I now aim for so I will be remaking at least 4 or 5 of them. I was going to go for the Eduard Fokker E.III Profipack, since the Revell E.III was my first build and definitely needs an improved version, but that has everything in the box, and I need to cut up some plastic! So here it is, the Airfix (actually the Heller boxing) Roland C.II. I'll be building it in the same scheme as the one I did a few years back, which will hopefully emphasise the differences, and I'll be using a Roden Mercedes engine, and Miniworld Spandau and Parabellum. Here's the sprue shot... Nothing surprising there, standard Airfix issue! The first jobs were to remove the pegs for mounting the crew and engine, open up the front cooling vents, fill a couple of sink marks on the front of the fuselage halves, remove the overscale "vents" just below the radiators (there were also too many of them!), and remove all the surface detail from the fuselage and wing undersides. The wing upper surfaces were sanded lightly to reduce the ribs, and the rudder was thinned down considerably on its outer surfaces. It's pretty thin now as it is molded in 2 halves so I'll wait until I've got the fuselage halves joined before removing it, thinning it further and repositioning it a little further forward. Then I compared the fuselage and wings to the plans: The fuselage is not far off lengthwise When I lined the cockpits up, everything matched perfectly with where it should all be, but it showed the nose as being about 1.5mm too short. The solution to that was to cut off the nose and add a filler piece. The rudder will also be moved forward slightly later on to correct the length. The wings are a little worse. Both wings have too much of an angle at the tips, they should be much squarer, and the cutout around the fuselage is too rounded on both wings. The lower wing is not too hard to correct as the span is a little too great, so the tips can be corrected simply by sanding them down to the correct profile. Job done! The upper wing, however, has the correct span meaning that it can't be sanded. I opted to chop the ends off and glue on a piece of plastic card which will be sanded to profile when dry. The centre cutouts were squared off at the front ends and then the sides were sanded back to give a square edge, to which I glued bits of the outer wing I'd just removed! They will also be sanded to profile when dry. That's about as far as I've got today. Hopefully the pieces I added will be good and solid tomorrow and I can continue with corrections. I also need to blend in the gun ring a little more as it is way too angular, instead of being faired neatly into the rear fuselage. Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 11, 2017 by limeypilot 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 Great! another Limeypilot tour de force! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergey Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 HI Ian. I bought popcorn and with interest will follow the assembly. Good luck ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted February 22, 2016 Share Posted February 22, 2016 and at the ready! Looking forward to this one! Christian, exiled to africa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 22, 2016 Author Share Posted February 22, 2016 (edited) Thanks gents! Today I mostly sanded plastic...... I must admit that when I got to bed last night and started thinking about what I'd done, I was a little worried that I'd overdone it! I had the same corrections to do on the Hannover's wings and just added small slivers - much less work and it worked very well. Not sure why I hacked the whole ends off but as it turned out, it worked just fine - it just took longer! The wings' additions were sanded down to match the existing wing section, then cut and sanded to shape. A little filler was required in places, then a little more sanding to finish them off. (It all sounds so easy when you say it quickly!). The upper surface detail was also removed as it turns out the ribs are in the wrong places so I'll add them back with .25 x .5mm strip, then sand them down a little to blend them in - that will be tomorrow's job! After that the ailerons can be removed. The fuselage correction worked out better than anticipated and I got that sanded down fairly easily. The opening for the engine was altered slightly by bringing it back through the plastic strip I'd added, so it ends just short of the wing leading edge. The pilot's cockpit was also altered slightly by moving the front of the opening a little further forward and squaring it off slightly. Both of these openings were then thinned around the edges. I added a little filler around the front and rear of the observer's cockpit to start to blend it in to the fuselage a little better, that will be continued tomorrow too. Finally I removed the fin and rudder. It appeared that the elevators' front edges were in the right place, yet I had to remove a couple of mm from the rear of the fuselage which would bring the cut within the mounting slots of the kit items. That was when I noticed that the kit parts are 2mm too deep front-to-back, so the slots were filled and I'll scratch all new tail surfaces. Before I close the fuselage I'll add some plastic in the very rear of the tail so that I can sand the fuselage to shape when it's all together - it'll need to be narrowed in both elevation and plan due to losing the last couple of mm from it. Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 11, 2017 by limeypilot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Moon Posted February 23, 2016 Share Posted February 23, 2016 Excellent! I cannot wait to see this unfold - your scratchwork is second to none. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 23, 2016 Author Share Posted February 23, 2016 (edited) Thanks Jake, although I think there are plenty on this forum who have far greater scratchbuilding skills than I do! Much appreciated anyway! Here's today's installment. I was going to add wing ribs, then I realised that the strut locating holes need to be filled as they are over 1 rib space too far outboard - quite a difference! Those have now been filled & sanded a couple of times and the wings are now ready for the 0.5mm masking tape which I will use for the ribs as per Old Mans' suggestion. My only worry is that they may start to lift over time, hopefully the paint and clear coats will stop that! I also finished preparing the fuselage - the observer's cockpit has been faired in properly so now I can start on building up the interior. Whilst waiting for various applications of filler to dry I decided to make up the tail surfaces from plastic card. The horizontal stabilisers/elevators were not even close: so those were made, as well as a new fin and rudder. Finally today, I took a look at the engine. I had a spare Mercedes from a Roden Albatros, but it had the wrong induction manifold and no camshaft assembly. The induction manifold was easy enough to correct, I carefully removed the centre part with a razor saw and cleaned it up to give me the 2-branch manifold I needed. The camshaft assembly was done with a piece of brass rod CA'd to the top of the cylinders and I then sanded down the sides of a piece of 1.5mm plastic channel, cut 1mm slices off it, and CA'd those over the brass rod to form the caps. I'm happy with it... Once it's all painted it should look fine. Thanks for looking in. Ian Edited July 11, 2017 by limeypilot 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wyverns4 Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Looking good! I have always , when using masking tape to simulate structural details as here, to give them a coat of varnish once they are on, as this will seal them to the surface. Why? The adhesive used on the tape can be affected by changes in humidity and your carefully crafted details can come adrift. Once sealed down, they stay down. Also it stops any further masking lifting them up. HTH! and keep going Christian, exiled to the world's cesspool Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sergey Posted February 24, 2016 Share Posted February 24, 2016 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 24, 2016 Author Share Posted February 24, 2016 (edited) Today's installment! First thing today was to apply some melted sprue to the inner rear fuselage so that I can be sure of having enough there when I come to thin it down later. Whilst doing that I also filled the holes for the landing gear which are, surprise, too far aft! Not by much admittedly, but enough to need correcting. I then spent most of today sticking tiny pieces of masking tape on the wings. Using Jammy Dog 0.5mm tape I've applied all the ribs to both wings - one slight mishap, one of the new tips felt a little loose so I ran some glue along the seam and have refilled it, so that will be tidied up and finished off tomorrow. After that, and while looking throught the pics on WNW site, I noticed that the front of the engine cowling is obviously open, so that was the next job. First I sanded down the forward fuselage to make sure it matched exactly to the spinner, giving me a good reference for fitting the engine. As you can see it needed a little refining... I then marked the flat face on the fuselage which butts against the spinner with a black sharpie so that I could clearly see the edge, and then removed all the marked area, leaving just a very thin black line. I then thinned the upper fuselage a little more, immediately in front of the upper wing, and tried a quick test fit to make sure there would be room for the engine and plumbing..... I think it should fit nicely! I also started on cleaning up a few (there are only a few!) of the other kit parts that I'll be using and drilled out the top and front of the exhaust, I'll wait on doing the rear until I'm certain it should be done! Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted February 25, 2016 Share Posted February 25, 2016 aha... this is where you are hiding out now. - Nice progress so far. I have to admit to having little to no interest in aircraft this early, but I do enjoy reading about how you tackle all the different issues you come across. ... and I do love your enthusiasm for cutting a kit into pieces Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 25, 2016 Author Share Posted February 25, 2016 (edited) Welcome aboard Hendie! Always nice to have a little support when it comes to chopping things up! I finally got a start on the interior today. The engine mounts were added to the engine, and when dry, were fine-tuned with a little sanding . The fuselage now closes up nicely and holds the engine snug in place. Then came the start of the cockpit detailing. The main structure is complete, with the main longeron and the formers in place. Surprisingly enough, they do all match up to the floor and to each other on the other side! Sometimes I amaze myself! So tomorrow will be spent continuing with the interior. What would we do without WNW as a reference site? Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 This is progressing really well! However, your cunning plan of building something a bit more straightforward looks like it might not survive first contact with styrene! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 Thanks Martin, bear in mind that "straightforward" is a relative term.....chopping up plastic kits and scratching an interior is much more straightforward than the rigging on the Short! Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ArmouredSprue Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 fantastic job so far! Keep up the good work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted February 26, 2016 Share Posted February 26, 2016 I quite enjoy seeing how you deal with the inaccuracies of these early kits. However, your rapid progress shames me. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 26, 2016 Author Share Posted February 26, 2016 (edited) DMC - unfortunately I am able to work every day at this as the Commuter Airline I worked for closed its doors in December...I have another job lined up, just don't have a start date yet.....maybe the only plus with being unemployed! Just a quick update for today.... The interior structure is now finished and awaiting paint! I also made up the instrument panel and 2 fuel tanks today, and will do the oil tank later. Once the interior is painted I will finish the instrument panel and install it, then install the fuel tanks and start on fitting it out! Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 Thanks Martin, bear in mind that "straightforward" is a relative term.....chopping up plastic kits and scratching an interior is much more straightforward than the rigging on the Short! Ian Nah! Rigging is a doddle! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hendie Posted February 27, 2016 Share Posted February 27, 2016 nice internals! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 28, 2016 Author Share Posted February 28, 2016 (edited) On 2/26/2016 at 7:16 PM, martin hale said: Nah! Rigging is a doddle! Martin This one should be! Another small update today, again all interior work - now painted, and details have been added. I'm not going to go over the top on the details, I've just added enough to make it look a little more lifelike, and all that is really left to add now are the seats and flight controls. and a start on the control column: Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Moon Posted February 28, 2016 Share Posted February 28, 2016 That interior is coming together beautifully! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted February 29, 2016 Author Share Posted February 29, 2016 (edited) The next "milestone" was reached today! I spent yesterday making up a couple of seats and doing some other small bits and pieces including the rudder pedals and control wheel. I cut the seat bases from plastic card and held them together in a pair of pliers for sanding so that they would be identical. I then measured the length and height required for the rear of the pilot's seat and cut a piece of paper to size. That was then folded in half and the shape of half the seat drawn on, then cut out. I used that template to cut a piece from a beer can to form the seat back. The same template was cut down and used for the observer's seat. They were then given a little "body" with some milliput. I painted them this morning, added PE seatbelts and glued them, along with the flight controls, in place. The engine was then given a little more detail, in the form of some detail painting and the water pipe along the right side, and the oil tank was sanded out of plastic stock, painted, and installed. The engine was then glued in place. That completed the interior...fortunately I started thinking about the exhaust, and noticed that I would have to remove a little more plastic from the rear right of the engine fairing area. The engine was removed and this was done, and then thinned, before reinstalling the engine. That's probably the last that will be seen of most of that detailing as the final task today was to close it up! So tomorrow I can fill the seams and start on correcting the tail profile. Then there are some inspection panels and a couple of vents to add around the nose..... Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted March 1, 2016 Share Posted March 1, 2016 Impressive work! Martin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted March 3, 2016 Author Share Posted March 3, 2016 (edited) A lot of filling and sanding over the last day or so to get the fuselage profile correct and take care of the seams. I then attached the lower wing...about 1mm further aft than the kit would have it..... Evidently a lot more filling and sanding to do, so today was spent on that. The lower wing joints were faired in, and the curvature of the underside was added with putty and then sanded down. A couple of repetitions and all appears ok, so now it's all prepared for primer. The inner ring of the observer's gun mount was also added and the joints cleaned up. Tomorrow the first primer coat will go on and I'll see what needs doing next..... Thanks for looking in! Ian Edited July 12, 2017 by limeypilot 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Learstang Posted March 3, 2016 Share Posted March 3, 2016 Excellent work, Ian! I had wondered what it would take to bring the old Airfix 'Walfisch' up to specs; it looks like I'll be waiting for Eduard to someday downscale their 1/48th scale kit. Regards, Jason Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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