22 replies to this topic

[cmatthewbacon]

Not quite a CBK, but it's still a pretty good kit of an iconic RAF subject! This is under way for SMW 2010, for the CBK "Gems" display...

The obligatory parts shot with a difference - I have a set of 1/28 plans, for once, courtesy of SWMBO's work photocopier and my Windsock datafile...



And an overview of the bench tonight:



Plastic card filling loads of nasty ejector pin marks, and the cockpit under way.



Milliput to tart up the seat and make a new, more triangular, control grip. The prop is reshaped (courtesy of those nice plans), and I think the decal instrument panel is not at all bad... The engine will smarten up very nicely, as well.

bestest,
M.

[silverkite211]

I did a "nostalgia" build of the SPAD XIII a couple of years ago, straight out of the box, even using thread for the rigging per the instructions. I have the Sopwith Camel and Fokker Triplane kit to build as it's companions at some point in time. They sure are fun, relaxing builds!

[cmatthewbacon]

Here's the lower wing, modified to give it the correct (noticeably greater) dihedral. The lower angle is one of the contributing factors to the kit interplane struts being way too long. For those who care, the correct angle is set with a 10mm block under the leading edge at the point on the span where the control cable holes are drilled in the elevators. I just sawed through the wing and bent it up, then set it with liquid cement.




The nice Clerget engine is made up of only four parts. Mr Metal Iron, with some Citadel washes (I used the blue on the exhausts, if you look hard enough!) The prop has been reshaped, and then is painted with Citadel flesh and brown basecoat paints, woodgrained with Vallejo and overcoated with Humbrol Clear Orange "varnish". I'm pretty happy with the overall effect!

bestest,
M.

[Dances With Wolves]

Hi 'M' (why do I feel like James Bond when I say that?):

Cracking result on the prop and engine - your wood laminations, grain and tones are superb. Apply that standard through the build to the end and even Mr Revell's mouth will be hanging open...


Best regards

Steve

[bigbadbadge]

I love this kit, I have built two of these both now long gone and was thinking I would like another one. I will keep an eye on this thread. Nice work so far, thanks for the info on the wing dihedral.

Keep up the good work.

All the best

Chris

[dr_gn]

Brilliant work on the engine and prop.

[Chaotic Mike]

That engine and propeller are pretty staggering... and pretty, too! Remarkable wood effect.

Mike

[cmatthewbacon]

Thanks, guys... this is where I am tonight



The "tank" is complete fakery - why bother building one properly when all you need is a curved bit of "aluminium" behind the seat? It took five minutes with some card, liquid cement and Citadel "Chainmail". The only other addition is the throttle/mixture control, which is actually low and to the pilot's left, not high on the right sidewall as the kit interior would have it (fortunately in low relief so it comes off easily!). I've also fixed the "hand pump", which is shown under the IP, heading towards the engine, vertically on the right sidewall, where the "throttle" detail was. The seat is done with drybrushing and a nice sharp Faber "Sepia" pen... at a glance it'll look see-through... I hope!



I'd made a new triangular "spade" grip while I had the Milliput out for the cushion, and stuck on tiny M-shaped bit of card for the triggers.



(Don't worry, the prop is only pressed in place!) I attached the air intake tube to the engine gubbins on the bulkhead, rather than trying to fit it on to one half and then get it in place as I put the other side on... I've also shortened and thinned out the outer ends of the intake tube - though I _can_ find pictures of Camels with the longer "angled" intakes, the majority of my references show either just a hole, or a very slight "rim".

Almost ready to close it up and fix the seams before primer on this bit!

bestest,
M.

[Oddball]

That is some pretty staggering work I have to say! I'm absolutely rubbish at picking favourite things, but the camel has to be my favourite aircraft of all time. Therefore I will be following this build with bated breath, especially seeing the work you've done already.

I have one of these in the cupboard, managed to get it from an antique model website. You're inspiring me man, I may get cracking once I've gathered the necessary materials.

[cmatthewbacon]

Thanks, OB... it's a really nice kit, and still fits together surprisingly well, considering its age!

This is where I am after today's sessions:



The lower wing is just taped in place to check the fit, which is pretty clean and tight. For reasons which will become clear (!) I want to have the lower wing, fuselage, tail parts and upper wing separate until as late as I possibly can get away with in the build. So I'm doing a lot of dry fitting and fettling at this stage in the hope of making final assembly and clean up as painless as possible. The struts are taped in as part of my efforts to get the right length for the cabane struts (it's a lot easier to shorten the vertical interplane pair off the plans than it is the angled-in-three-dimensions cabane struts...



The close up shows the generally pretty good fit around the front end. The side access panels really do press fit into place, though mine are held in for security and masking with some Copydex, which will peel off later. A tiny sliver of plastic card is all that's necessary to blend the cowling in. As you can see, I also had to clean up and re-work the filler caps after eliminating the upper fuselage seam, but that took ten minutes with some tube and card stock. In this shot you can see the effect of the wicker set fading into the gloom of the cockpit that I hoped would give the illusion of "basketweave". It's not 100%, but it looks OK at a glance. I also added a few black cylinders behind the instrument panel to give a sense of "gubbins" under the machine guns.

Now to figure out how to mask and seal the fuselage for primer...

bestest,
M.

Edited by cmatthewbacon, 31 August 2010 - 07:47 PM.

[HOUSTON]

Very IMPRESSIVE work and really LOVE the engine...

[cmatthewbacon]

Thanks, Houston!

It's taken a while to get to this point, but you can now see the "camo" taking shape! Lots and lots of masking and pretty much every kind of tape or frisket film that I have... (I've included the reference in the pic just in case anyone didn't believe that there was ever a real Camel painted like this!)



Three more sessions to go and I should be there or thereabouts, then tidying up, varnish, decals and mattcote. THEN I'll have a kit of parts to start working on to rig the darn thing!

bestest,
M.

[cmatthewbacon]

The fuselage all masked up for the last session of black:



Since I've never done a "digital" scheme, this is the most complex masking job I've ever had to do!



And here it is going on... Zero paint, which dries nice and quickly...

Finally... the "ta-dah!" moment:




One more pass with the olive drab, and then the underside linen colour...

bestest,
M.

[bigbadbadge]

Wow Matt that is fantastic, where did you locate that scheme ?

All the best

Chris

[Séan Pádraig]

Oh my eyes.... I must say that is most unusual colour scheme I ever seen on a WW1 aircraft especially on a British one.

Nice build.

[cmatthewbacon]

Thanks guys, and apologies for tardiness... I've been travelling. The scheme was over on Aeroscale, on a 1/72 build by Nigel Julian:

Razzle Dazzle Camel

There's a single B+W picture in the Windsock Datafile on the Camel, so either there are more around the place or the artist made a lot up!



Here we see the benefits of building directly to drawings - the struts are set up and trimmed according to the plan.



... and here's the first good idea of what it'll look like eventually... I've glossed, decalled and matt coated since the last update, and added the guns.

Now another pause before rigging commences...

bestest,
M.

[dr_gn]

Thanks guys, and apologies for tardiness... I've been travelling. The scheme was over on Aeroscale, on a 1/72 build by Nigel Julian:

Razzle Dazzle Camel

There's a single B+W picture in the Windsock Datafile on the Camel, so either there are more around the place or the artist made a lot up!



Here we see the benefits of building directly to drawings - the struts are set up and trimmed according to the plan.



... and here's the first good idea of what it'll look like eventually... I've glossed, decalled and matt coated since the last update, and added the guns.

Now another pause before rigging commences...

bestest,
M.

Brilliant work. Love the finish.

[Oddball]

That is absolutely STUNNING! I do love the colours, I too have seen the b/w photo of this scheme, but to see it in colour....words fail me. I always wanted to do the 1000th camel from the ruston proctor factory, that has a very wild scheme too, for any of you who haven't seen it.

[cmatthewbacon]

Thanks, chaps... it's taken a while to get here, but today has been a good day!



The upper wing with all the rigging set in place. I'm using EZ-Line. The cross bracing is the thinner black stuff, the flying wires (the doubled ones) are the heavier gauge. The cross bracing at the front gave me pause for thought. In the end I ran a line tightly between the top of the struts and hooked the lower line over it, then tightened the lower one until the angles looked right. Finally, the "egg" was done with a blob of epoxy.



Close up the like of which will not be seen again after the top wing is on! I've added a little more decking around and between the guns, based on the plans. The leather padding highlights the asymmetry.



The upper wing on, held in place by the cabane struts. I let them set thoroughly, and then popped the interplane struts in, clamping the wings with a rubber band. I put tiny pins in the ends to help locate them.



And the rigging in place. The lower ends are all held with some of Bob's finest Buckles. The wires still need trimming and colouring, but at least it's all together.



And finally, we can see how the upper wing works with the lower. Jazzy...

bestest,
M.

[T-Tango]

Great build and a most unusual colour scheme, looks brilliant.