1/72 Bristol Sycamore

[Nigel Heath]

Today I started with a mix of white Milliput and dealt with the sink marks on the seat squabs and filled some holes on the cabin bulkhead which are in the wrong place for the passenger seat frames. I also applied a brushed on  coat of matt black inside the main rotor shaft housing. Clearly another coat will be required:

 

 

I would like to display this with the front doors open. I think the spare cockpit sides can be cut out to provide a set of doors:

 

 

I only have my JLC razor saw with me, I made a start using it but it was the wrong tool for the job. I will have to leave these until I have a standard razor saw.

 

Instead I started to glue the broken seat parts to reinstate the vertical members (finnair):

 

 

I then started to make replacement lower seat frames for the passenger seats using 0.6mm tube and 0.5mm rod. The 0.4mm aluminium tube is there to prevent solder wicking into the tube and filling it:

 

 

Here is the first completed seat frame:

 

 

With things like this I tend to make one leg longer than the other as it assists assembly.

 

I then used the first as a master to create the other two frames:

 

 

Here are all three finished frames:

 

 

That was me done for the day, I think I'll start on the cockpit controls tomorrow.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

[TheBaron]

A nice brace of elements shaping up there Nigel. Handy tip that about the rod in the tube to keep the solder out.

Tpny

[CedB]

Great frames Nigel and score 1 for the Dbl-E!  

[StephenCJ]

Mine should be here next week.  I will be able to build  it with the guidance of a master.

 

[Nigel Heath]

The first job of the day was to clean up the Milliput on the seat squabs. After sanding it flat I mounted it on a blob of Blu Tack and reinstated the seam details using a straight edge and this riffler tool:

 

 

It was hard to see how good the result was and may need some further work after priming.

 

Then I cleaned up the filler and uprights on the cabin bulkhead:

 

 

Next I cut off the cyclic control off its base and cleaned that up while still attached to the sprue:

 

 

They were then glued to the cockpit floor along with the centre console facia:

 

 

I don't have all my tools so will be jumping around a bit, tackling what things I can. The next thing I decided to do was to start on the pilot steps, I selected some thick brass sheet (I don't have my micrometer but it looks to be about 0.4mm thick so quite a bit thicker than normal PE fret). That was marked up ready to make the tread part of the steps:

 

 

That was then shaped with files into the required elliptical shape:

 

 

Here is the finished item compared to the kit equivalent:

 

 

I then used my folding tool to turn up the ends:

 

 

 

There are several designs of step out there but the design I am trying to produce can be found here.

 

Next I shaped the end of some 0.5mm brass rod and set it up for soldering like this:

 

 

After some trimming and bending here is the finished item:

 

 

Some while later I had a matching pair:

 

 

I'm not sure what to do next, maybe more metal work like the replacement tail skid.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

[TheBaron]

You can do more metal work if you like - I'm enjoying that Nigel.

Tony

[CedB]

Great stuff as usual Obe Wan - can't see the join in the bulkhead repairs AND a nice pair of steps. Nice  

[hendie]

well, that's a step in the right direction

[heloman1]

Neat work on the steps Nigel.

 

Colin

[JamesP]

It is really worth learning some basic soldering. I had to create the masts for a WWI battleship last year and it's really satisfying to be able to create pieces that you know aren't going to easily break and at the same time are finer in detail than the equivalent plastic parts.

[Nigel Heath]

Today I have been mainly working on the tail skid. The real thing consists of seven sleeved tubes gradually reducing in diameter and ending with curved, spoon like foot:

 

 

Here is a good close up on the foot which will be my starting point:

 

 

First I made a guestimate based estimation of the dimensions I was looking for and did a little sketch on the instructions to get an idea of the shape I needed. I thought this highlighted part might be a possible candidate:

 

 

But I kept looking in my PE spares box and turned up an even better candidate left over from my Osprey build, it just needs the pointed end rounding off a bit:

 

 

Here it is after the necessary sanding:

 

 

Note I have left the "tang" on it to act as a location aid and to significantly strengthen the joint.

 

Here is the soldering set up to join it to some 0.5mm tube:

 

 

Soldering done:

 

 

I then bent the foot to shape and added a sleeving of 0.7mm tube sanded to an angle at the end as a nod to the real thing:

 

 

Here it is Blu Tacked in position:

 

 

When the time comes I will cut the base off the kit part and drill it out ready to receive the new item. It will also will need some trimming as I deliberately made it over long. 

 

Next I took on the pitot tube. Most of the aircraft in my reference photos appear to have had theirs removed but I did find this intact example:

 

 

I soon had it knocked up using 0.3 and 0.5mm nickel silver tube, here it is next to the kit part:

 

 

Again I will cut off and drill out the base after the fuselage has gone together. I'm not sure what to do next, maybe some undercarriage struts.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

[CedB]

Nice stuff Nigel, more tiny engineering.

Score 1 for knocking up the pitot - fnaar fnaar!

[georgeusa]

Love the metal work as it is top notch as always. When I solder, it just ends up a nicely formed lump resembling cow patties!  You make it look so easy!  Will follow this even though it is one of those top blade things called targets. We used to place bets how many times a round would bounce around the Huey cabin before coming to rest. 

[Nigel Heath]

Today has been mainly more metal work with a focus on the main gear struts. I started on the lower V frame, soldering 0.8mm rod which will also act as the wheel axle to the end of some shaped 0.6mm rod:

 

 

On the set up for the second set you can see how the end was shaped:

 

 

They were soon finished by which time one of the kit parts had already broken. I have made the struts somewhat longer than the kit parts as the extra material should make for a nice strong joint:

 

 

Next the upper bracing struts starting with some 0.8mm rod into which I first filed a notch, annealed it then bent to shape:

 

 

The notch was then backfilled with solder:

 

 

Then I shaped the end of some 0.7mm tube which will act as the mounting base for a navigation light. I only have regular solder with me so I protected the first joint with some damp tissue:

 

 

Here is a good picture of what the strut and light should look like:

 

 

The strut was finished off by trimming off the tube (which was now solidly filled with solder), shaping the end and sliding on a length of 1mm tube onto the bottom half of it:

 

 

A little while later I had a matching pair:

 

 

On some examples there is this aerodynamically profiled part on the right hand strut, I assume it is a heat shield to protect the strut which is quite close to the engine exhaust exit:

 

 

Anyway I thought it would be fun to have a go at recreating it. The starting point was some 3.8mm wide PE fret which I bent round some 1mm rod using this set up:

 

 

I folded it over with a slight gap at the rear which I hoped solder would bridge across and could then be shaped to a rounded profile:

 

 

The Blu Tack holder did not work very well and I ended up using some 1mm aluminium tube in this arrangement:

 

 

That had the added benefit of keeping the inside clear of solder. After some fettling here is the finished part:

 

 

It just slides nicely onto the strut:

 

 

Here is the underside. I think I will paint these parts separately:

 

 

As it happens I decided to tackle the exhaust next. First I packed out some 1mm brass tube with 0.8 and 0.6mm aluminium tube, finishing with some 0.4mm nickel silver tube:

 

 

The nested tubes were there to prevent the brass from collapsing when bent. The kit part is pretty much bent to 90 degrees but from references it looks like it should be a bigger angle to me:

 

 

I got most of the tubes out but unfortunately the 0.8mm one broke and will have to be drilled out:

 

 

A bit of careful sanding smoothed out the bumps:

 

 

Well that's it for today, I think I will be working on the hoist tomorrow.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

[CedB]

Great stuff as usual Nigel - you're almost making me want to start soldering; almost...

[Spookytooth]

Very nice work done with the soldering there Nigel.

Always looking for details to refine.

 

Simon.

[keefr22]

Missed watching your magic metal work & other fine detailing recently Nigel - there's just too many great builds going on and I'm getting too old to keep up with them all! Shall definitely be watching this one for the duration though!

 

ATB

 

Keith

[StephenCJ]

Mine arrived on Friday.  I am now going to buy some metal tube and rod.

You have some brilliant ideas on improving parts, Nigel.  Pretty to watch.

Edited April 29, 2017 by StephenCJ

[NAVY870]

Rescue winch, one on our aircraft, the other taking up space on the deck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Nigel Heath]

Great photos of the winch (or is it a hoist?) there Steve, especially the overhead shot. I will be making good use of those today.

[Martian]

Nice work with the brass Nigey!
 

Martian

[Nigel Heath]

Here are the hoist parts. I have already cut off the end part and glued that to the piece of fuselage. There were sink marks on both sides of the rectangular box thing which looks like some sort of tank, these were filled last night:

 

 

The cable drum part had a sink mark on one end:

 

 

Instead of filling that I turned it into a virtue, using it to help locate some detailing made from a length of tube and rod:

 

 

Once dried I will sand back the rod a touch.

 

My plan is to replace the tubular section of the hoist with some brass rod. As this will destroy some details I made a sketch of the area before cutting:

 

 

Next I rounded off the corners of the tank and using a razor saw and fine round file made a groove on the back as well as cutting some 0.8mm rod to length for the jib:

 

 

Next I cut off the circular portion off the diagonal brace and glued the remainder to the side of the fuselage. The circular portion will be replaced with more 0.8mm rod later. I also glued the rod onto the tank and added a small box at the end of the jib:

 

 

Without drills that's as far as I can go on the hoist. I was then left slightly scratting around for things to do.

 

Anyway, I masked the mounting surfaces of the main rotor ready for painting and added the bosses to the centre of the main and tail rotors:

 

 

On the tail the arms of the centre boss should have a linkage to the blades but as assembled there was a gap. I started to add the linkages using some little angular parts from the spares box:

 

 

These were actually the cut down rungs off my Bachem Natter launch pole, I knew they'd come in handy for something:

 

 

Here it is finished:

 

 

I mentioned at the start of this thread that there were some scratches in the transparencies. The last job of the day was to deal with these using some Micromesh. They are visible to the naked eye and quite obvious under magnification but proved quite hard to photograph. I have just about managed to capture a couple on the front RH window:

 

 

There were some more of the downward looking windows but on these you'll have to take my word for it:

 

 

I started Micromeshing with 3200 grit (rather than 2400) which highlighted the areas of the scratches:

 

 

Here is the canopy after polishing was complete:

 

 

Much better.

 

The last scratches to deal with were on the upper LH side window, I think they are just about visible here:

 

 

That has now been restored to acceptable optical clarity.Now I'm definately not sure what to do next. I plan to add some internal details to the cockpit side walls but that would be better left until after the front doors are cut out. I'll have a think.

 

Bye for now,

 

Nigel

[Nigel Heath]

Today I decided that adding the internal framing to the cabin doors was feasible before cutting out the front doors. Before I could start on the framing I had to mask the rear windows. There are two styles of windows which has made me realise that's why the rear windows on the kit have been left as a blank canvas. I have elected to go for the sliding rather than hinged front doors which are paired with a rounded triangular rather than rectangular rear windows. To make the masking for the windows I started by making a scale drawing based on reference photos:

 

 

The next step was to transfer the outline to some translucent baking paper and then onto masking tape:

 

 

With a second piece of making tape applied to the back surface I cut out the masks using a combination of scalpel, fine scissors and finally finishing using a sanding stick to achieve the finished profile:

 

 

Then the window masks were peeled off the backing paper to give an exactly matching pair for inside and out:

 

 

With the internal mask as a guide I could crack on with the door framing using 0.5mm square strip:

 

 

There should be a frame around the window but I decided that was too risky even with the masking in place. I have also somewhat simplified the framing compared to reality. Hopefully it will look OK under a coat of paint. My plan is to drive up to Aberdeen and collect the remaining required tools and materials next weekend, where the most critical items are my airbrush and compressor. Back in two weeks time.

 

Until then, bye,

 

Nigel

[keefr22]

25 minutes ago, Nigel Heath said:

My plan is to drive up to Aberdeen and collect the remaining required tools and materials...... Back in two weeks time.

 

I know it's a long way to Aberdeen Nigel, but two weeks - are you going by horse & cart...?! It's OK, I already have my on & I'm off...!! 

 

That is some very neat framework & a very nice bit of masking!

 

Keith

[Dave Swindell]

1 hour ago, Nigel Heath said:

With a second piece of making tape applied to the back surface I cut out the masks using a combination of scalpel, fine scissors and finally finishing using a sanding stick to achieve the finished profile:

Then the window masks were peeled off the backing paper to give an exactly matching pair for inside and out:

 

That's a very handy tip there Nigel, filed in the memory banks. Watching with interest as I have both this and a CMK Sycamore to build some day.