Duxford Rapide G-AKIF ++ Finished ++

[The Spadgent]

8 hours ago, CedB said:

Thanks Johnny - is that the 'Crooked House'? Weird place but great fun watching marbles 'roll uphill' - just don't drink until it looks straight!

Ha! No I was thinking about "The Waggon and horses" it had the bendiest floor by the bar you ever did see. Such great beers too. "Every day is a beer festival."

but the crooked house actually makes more sense. 

[CedB]

3 hours ago, Greg in OK said:

Recently had the good fortune to visit the Paris Air Museum and took a bunch of shots for my planned Rapide build so took some "modellers" shots like:

 

[snip pictures]

 

If you are having a hard time finding a reference shot drop me a line and I will see if I happened to take it in Paris.

 

Greg in Oklahoma

 

Thanks Greg - useful shots and thanks for the offer of more  

 

59 minutes ago, Biggles87 said:

You really live the high life Ced, going to the pub for lunch and shopping! What more could a boy ask for?

The Rapide's looking good so far, can't wait to see little Ced, PC and 06/24.

 

John

 

PS Great pictures from Greg

 

Thanks John - Mrs B is on holiday so things need to be done, apparently!  

 

54 minutes ago, philp said:

Coming along Ced.

I do think the floor has a bit too much curve to it and that the seats should probably sit even with the windows (as in, all at the same height).

 

Found these online if they are any help:

 

[snip pictures]

 

Thanks Phil - those pictures definitely show that the kit part is too bendy - I shall stiffen it later! (Fnaar fnaar!)

 

Thanks Johnny - is that Bill's local?

 

More later, hopefully, after our services to the gods of retail.

[brianj1uk]

I feel very lucky to be able to fly such aircraft as these, and with the added bonus of being able to share the experience with so many people at the same time. Glad you liked the flight. Actually that's the first photos I've seen of me in the hot seat, so thanks for that!

What do you intend to use for the rigging buy the way?

[CedB]

Thanks Brian - lucky indeed! I got my multi-engine rating on a '60s Twin Comanche; not quite the same but I appreciate the emotion of flying something 'classic'.

 

Rigging? Perhaps my nemesis! I have some Infini latex stuff, 40 dernier (0.068mm) and I've ordered some thicker 110 dernier (0.121mm) and some pointy tweezers from Jamie at Sovereign this morning. I need to double check my reference as the pictures I have seem to show some double lines, some single and different thicknesses. I've also ordered some rigging eyelets just in case (and for future builds).

 

Some planning required!

 

I did jam some strip under the floor this morning:

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

[PlaStix]

It all seems to be progressing well Ced. 

Kind regards,

Stix

[giemme]

So you now have the actual pilot of this aircraft and Nigel Heath following your thread, Ced - this is becoming more and more interesting  

 

Nice going with putting the floor back in a straight shape

 

Ciao

[keefr22]

2 hours ago, CedB said:

 I need to double check my reference as the pictures I have seem to show some double lines, some single and different thicknesses. I've also ordered some rigging eyelets just in case (and for future builds).

 

I don't know if it carried on post war, but from the WW1 builds I've done, British aircraft usually had double flying wires between some of the wing struts, and the control wires to the rudder/elevators etc were a different thickness (& profile I believe, but I ignore that in 1/72!) 

 

I'm sure Brian has seen the wires a few times in his walkrounds though Ced....!!

 

Keith

[keefr22]

7 hours ago, Greg in OK said:

 

 

 

Note to self - do not fill gap in top wings when you get to yours...!!  

 

Cracking pics Greg!

 

Keith

[Greg in OK]

1 hour ago, keefr22 said:

Note to self - do not fill gap in top wings when you get to yours...!!  

 

I forgot to mention that several small pieces of fairing trim were removed.

[Greg in OK]

Yes, LOTS of double rigging wires

 

 

 

 

Greg in OK

[TonyTiger66]

Wonderful to have caught up with this Ced. Extremely, erm, ´rapid(e)' progress...

 

 

I'm watching with great interest as one day, very soon, I hope to build G-AYCR. This was the Rapide flown by (naughty) Cecil Bebb, in a  highly dubious arrangement planned over lunch at Simpsons on The Strand; the flight that directly facilitated the start of a long and rather horrible war:

 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cecil_Bebb

 

The actual aircraft still exists, residing at Quattro Vientos museum. 

 

The rigging  looks like an 'interesting' challenge Ced  .

 

De Havilland made such absolutely gorgeous aircraft, surely the pinnacle of Golden Age design?

 

What a superb memory for you and PC, and you have the pilot from the actual day here too.

 

It doesn't get much better .

 

Lovely work so far.

 

Not to put a kybosh on it but:

 

Now the floor is straight, should the front bulkhead be angled back, or have Heller made it a little too tall? Does it need a little trimming off the bottom so that it may stand vertically again? It could also be my eyes, apologies if that's the case, no spectacles on at the mo .

 

All best regards

TonyT

[Greg in OK]

Of course you could always scourer through these 15 pages worth for any useful shots. 

 

https://abpic.co.uk/pictures/model/De Havilland DH.89A Dragon Rapide/?f=&sort=operator&order=desc

 

Greg in OK

[CedB]

Thanks Stix  

 

9 hours ago, giemme said:

So you now have the actual pilot of this aircraft and Nigel Heath following your thread, Ced

 

Thanks Giorgio - I know! No p..p..pressure then!

 

Thanks Keith - I'll have a paw over the reference shots and discuss a 'plan' before I start if that's OK with everyone - and we can see what the Infini stuff is like.

 

6 hours ago, Greg in OK said:

Yes, LOTS of double rigging wires

 

Thanks Greg for the extra pics AND the link to the ABPic site - I did find that you can move through the pictures once you've clicked one so I'll browse and report later.

 

Thanks TT - great story and I'll look forward to your build of G-AYCR. 

"Now the floor is straight, should the front bulkhead be angled back, or have Heller made it a little too tall?" Now then, let's ponder... if I take a shot from the side the bulkhead is currently upright:

 

 

BUT there's no leg room for the port front passenger. This shot, if you zoom in, seems to show the bulkhead level with the window frame:

 

 

(Oooh, is that Brian again?) so I've broken the join on the bottom (fnaar fnaar, oooh nasty) and will decide what to do when the grey haired lady is in position (keep up you lot!):

 

 

It doesn't look as though we'll see much through the windows anyway:

 

 

but at least we'll have Paris the pictures. (the Baron's quote is in my head!) 

 

I have been pondering the window masking and had a brain wave; why not cut a mask using the window frames?

 

 

I was worried that the PE would cause problems later so, if I did this, I could apply the masks whenever. But then I stuck them on. Now I'm worried they'll get glued with the clear parts. I think I'll pull them off again if it's not too late now I've done this:

 

 

The BluFix worked well one the other side, fixing one end and then the other without needing to clamp, but then this side kept popping out again. I wonder if, like @perdu there's a problem with the glue. Perhaps my UV torch batteries are going flat. Hmmm.

[Greg in OK]

2 hours ago, CedB said:

This shot, if you zoom in, seems to show the bulkhead level with the window frame:

 

The drawing at this link suggest that it is indeed angled back.  Greg in OK

[CedB]

Thanks Greg - I can now sleep peacefully!  

[brianj1uk]

I always liked the look of the Twin Comanche, it's a classic in its own right now! I mostly flew Grumman Cougars and Senecas which were not in the same league as the Comanche.

i noticed years ago that White Ensign Models had on their website plans for photo etch rigging for this kit, but this disappeared after they got taken over, so they've stayed in my stash ever since, hoping that this might change. Looking on with interest how the eyelet rigging goes, I've never tried that before.  I was going to say some things about the wires and their thickness but the great photo's Greg's put up say it better than I can. Keep up the good work!

[Spookytooth]

Damn, late again on parade, well looks like I will have to stand at the back again. 

Three pages in, and things look great.

Like the I.P. mate, neat work.

I shall watch with interest.

 

Simon.

[CedB]

Thanks Brian. She was the pride and joy of the Chief Instructor and he visibly brightened (unusual) when I asked if I could do my multi-engine rating after I passed my PPL. Cougars and Senecas are no doubt better aircraft and I bet they had all sorts of conveniences!

Interesting point about the plans for the rigging - Jamie is on here so I'll bump him and see if @SovereignHobbies have any news; Jamie can you help please? Pretty please?

I'm not sure if the eyelets are going to be used but I need all the help I can get!

 

Hi Simon and welcome!  

 

Excitement (sad man) today as the figures arrived. I suggest you have 'a visit' before reading the rest of this post to avoid accidents...

 

Untitled by Ced Bufton, on Flickr

 

Now then, I wasn't expecting much from 50 figures for £9.99 and I wasn't disappointed. The painting is not up to 'Stew Standard' but hey, I expect the kids are still learning and the light in the factory isn't the best:

 

 

I was disappointed to find that one of the figures had a missing head, until I found it up someones bottom:

 

 

 

 

No politics please. Or rude comments on otherwise trustworthy professions. You can have a pop at colleagues if you must

 

In my usual non-PC way they were divided into male and female:

 

 

 

 

(Click on an image to go to my Flickr account if you want a zoom).

 

I think these might do for me. @Procopius and @06/24 let me know if you have any preference from these:

 

 

What the...

 

 

Dirty raincoat anyone?

 

 

Couple of, er, Jockeys? (Sorry about the focus, I was giggling too much):

 

 

Fashionable colours:

 

 

but they have promise, even with the eye patches. I think this is possibly me, pre-diet:

 

 

These have been working on their abs:

 

 

and these obviously haven't had 'man spreading' training:

 

 

Plenty of options chaps - they will get painted properly!

 

Brian I've ordered some PJ Productions pilots - I couldn't do it to you and, besides, you'll be visible through the canopy!

[Beard]

I was pretty happy with my first days' work at the figure-painting factory.

[giemme]

Nice crew there, Ced I shall be curious to see who ends up being who

 

Ciao

[Jamie @ Sovereign Hobbies]

Hi Ced,

 

I don't know what might have happened to any PE rigging for the Rapide, but it didn't materialise. Here's the complete 1/72 catalogue:

PE7201    S-100 
PE7202    Sunderland exterior details
PE7203    Type VIIc 
PE7204    Kreigsmarine catapult Arado
PE7205    PT109 
PE7206    Sunderland cockpit details
PE7207    Sunderland depth charge bay 
PE7209    carrier tie downs
PE7210    TBD exterior set
PE7218    TBD interior set
PE7219    SB2C exterior
PE7220    SB2C interior
PE7223    OS2U Kingfisher (Airfix kit)
PE7224    F6F Hellcat
PE7225    Lancaster exterior
PE7227    Lancaster interior
PE7228    Lancaster bomb bay
PE7229    Lancanster wing flaps
PE7232    U-boat drain holes
PE7240    Gato conning tower
PE7241    Gato radars
PE7242    Gato prop guards
PE7244    Halifax interior
PE7245    Halifax exterior
PE7246    Halifax bomb bay
PE7247    Bismarck/Tirpitz catapult
PE7248    Stirling interior
PE7249    Stirling exterior
PE7253    Swordfish
PE7255A    Vulcan interior
PE7255B    Vulcan exterior

PE7255C    Vulcan bomb bay
PE7256A    Victor interior
PE7256B    Victor exterior
PE7259    CantZ501

 

 

But never mind anyway - the Infini line is definitely the right thing for the job. Well, I can't say that for certain, but whenever I've tried using photo etched rigging I never get it looking taught. One slip of the tweezers stretches one bit more than the other and it's knackered. If you have a look towards the end of my HMS Hood build thread about 1/3 the way down  <click here> you'll see how I prepared some relatively complex rigging using bits of 1/700 scale PE ladders as eyelets off the model to transfer to the model. It might give you some ideas for tackling the Rapide?

[Biggles87]

Finding the " head up someone's bottom " made me laugh out loud.

So did you really wear pith helmets/ top hats during the flight, bit formal, what?

one of the figures bears more than a passing resemblance to a certain German (Austrian? ) gent, sans moustache, who caused rather a lot of unpleasantness.

 

John

PS. Many years ago there was a Rapide on the UK display circuit which whistled, which I thought rather attractive. When I mentioned it to one of my colleagues who knew about these things, he replied rather disparagingly that the rigging was out of line with the airflow, I still liked the sound.

 

[bbudde]

Hello, don't know anything about this one. The Heller were (are) usual correct in shape and a good base. Maybe I can find a good old Boxart for a wallpaper. I like these old ones as much as the old Airfix, especially for the ships. Cheers

[CedB]

Thanks Simon  I know you'd do better than that!

Thanks Giorgio - sadly, we'll have to re-think (see below)

Thanks Jamie - the rigging on the Hood looks really good and I'll keep the 'off model' technique in mind for later - great stuff. Thanks also for the PE catalog, useful.

Thanks John - sadly the figures are unsuitable, and not because of their historical resemblance. Great story (as usual) - I shall try to make sure mine don't whistle!

Thanks Benedikt  

 

 

The glue on the PE dried:

 

 

Nice. Just make sure you get it lined up at the front or there won't be anywhere to glue to and you'll have to fill in with CA (ask me how I know - the other side).

I could now try the figures:

 

 

Rats. I have trimmed the thighs on the lady in front (fnaar fnaar!) and chopped her toes off. Now I remember the seats being a tight fit but this is ridiculous - the figures are just too big. I'll have a look for some smaller ones, otherwise there's going to be some serious surgery.

 

By the way, I've looked closer at the chaps "who had worked on their abs" and it seems to have had a peculiar effect:

 

 

Be warned - body building may result in unwanted results!

[The Spadgent]

 honestly how little plastic figures can make a grown man Guffaw so much I don't know, but thankyou Ced that's made my night that has. btw that PE looks the bomb, if slightly over shadowed by the top hat mob and the awkward body change men. I think I'll have another look before I drift off. Brilliant. 

 

Johnny dirty raincoat.