greggles.w

One step f’ward, one back .. I noticed that when transitioning to white primer for the wings, the spray white wasn’t effectively entering the aileron panel line joint. So for the floats a decided to do as I see done by those painting houses - cut in’ the panel lines in advance with a brush. Like an inverse pre-shading? Does anyone else do this? As I began layering up the white coats, it seemed to be working, so that’s fine... ... & then I dropped one! Standing height to the floor .. see that strut-to-float junction there in the foreground: Snap. Oh well. Painting on hold for the floats then, while that goes back into traction on the jig, for the fracture to be re-set. .. sigh!

Looking very dapper in that pinstripe suit! Cheering work as ever, thanks!

Agreed! Very much so .. I thought of you a day or two ago Adrian - I follow the daily updates to ‘this day in aviation’ website, & it noted a milestone for the Fairey Long Range Monoplane: https://www.thisdayinaviation.com/24-27-april-1929/ ... have I overlooked an update to your version? Where have you got to with that one?

Wings are progressing too! That issue with the hairline splits finally resolved by the last minute re-cementing. The various sub assemblies - floats, fuselage, wings - are now in a relay from night to night in my (Tupperware) spray booth. The wings have progressed to white primer! Here briefly with fuselage gravity fit over ... For the first time I’m starting to feel like this might have a chance of being finished soon. So much so that I even wrote a list of tasks remaining!

Thanks Tim, yes you’re correct. To clarify as per CH Barnes book ‘Shorts Aircraft since 1900’ (were there any before that??): “the Mercury-engined [Crusader] project was supervised by Col W. A. Bristow, a well-known consulting aeronautical engineer ... and he secured as designer W. G. Carter, formerly of Hawkers and soon to progress, via de Havillands, to become chief designer of the Gloster company” Great pedigree!

Thanks Marklo, quite true, as I understand it this machine was designed by a freelance designer - Bristow - but fabricated by a contractor - Short Brothers - specifically to showcase the potential of radial power - by Bristol. So there is a link of sorts to the Bristol Bulldog. If Wikipedia is to be believed (!!) the two machines had their first flights within a fortnight of each other in 1927. Engine in both by Bristol, but interesting (if unfair) comparisons to be had: Bulldog w Jupiter v. Crusader w Mercury; BD 450-500hp v. CR 800hp; BD 180mph v. CR 270mph ...

Well thanks Rob, & do so at your leisure as there’s no risk you won’t catch me up given my rate of progress!

Profile in primer ..

Fuselage work to report. Time to fix on the tail fin & rudder. There’s no alignment holes, the only guide being the seam of the fuselage halves. Holding the fin in place showed a less than perfect fit, but it wasn’t easy to be confident where to get to work, front or back, so a temporary fix: ... the set-square helped hold the rudder hinge line vertical, then I could see where to target sanding back the underside of the fin to match the fuselage: That image above also shows an issue with the extreme end of the tail-cone: it is notably rounded, blunted, with each half of the fuselage having a tiny bit either not completely cast, or damaged. I can’t recall the former, can understand much more likely to be the latter! So here we go with fin fitted ... ... together with a ‘sting in the tail’ - a piece of resin from the kit beaching trolley .. I think an axle .. with a hefty dollop of CA glue to fix in place ... (also scribed the prominent tail-cone panel joint aligned with the rudder above) Here it stands the day after, with the point suitably sharpened! so it slowly goes...

For those impatient for this group build to begin, here’s another active forum on the topic to maintain your enthusiasm: https://m.facebook.com/groups/370486913361334?ref=share (if an external link such as this contravenes site etiquette, please let me know & I’ll happily delete!)

Hurray! Scrolling down a plane emerges like conjuring! Great craftsmanship, congratulations!

Those elliptical wings - beautiful! A very stylish scheme indeed.

Fantastic indeed - spectacularly so!! I’m so glad your expansive civil stable includes these thoroughbreds! And scratchbuilt too - so inspiring! I can confess to having spent far too much time admiring the lines of this machine, but it is this otherwise pointless expertise which gives me great confidence in declaring your craftsmanship astonishingly accurate! So inspirational, congratulations

Thanks Ian, an upgrade it is .. merely having it all on standby rather than packed away in shoeboxes is a luxury. So much better than always needing to first set up shop & then de-camp again at the end, for even the smallest task. Now I can fit a bit in here & there as opportunity presents. However in unpacking I have been reminded of a niggling issue with the wings which was emerging around the time I packed up to move. See here ... ... that hair-line split parallel to & in front of the aileron. Hard to photograph, but clearly visible to the eye. This is a ghost of the laminated sheet I spliced into the wing to increase chord. Some hardy souls may recall this stage: Well I got stuck in a frustrating & baffling cycle of putty & prime, sand & surfacer (Mr.), which would seem to have hidden these scars, only for them to reappear. Having been forced to put it aside while moving house, & now rehandling it .. I think I worked it out .. I think the Mr Surfacer was doing its job, but when rubbing back, following the curve of the airfoil I was inadvertently levering the gap open with every pass of the sanding pad. It doesn’t seem to be happening along the CAed resin to styrene seams, just the styrene laminations. So, at this late stage I find myself running beads of cement over the primed wings! Top ... ... & bottom too ... I plan to let that cure for some time before trying, once again, to blend in seamlessly. Here’s hoping this resolves things!

Rainy, rainy, rainy weekend. Much tidying and organising of the house, including my new workbench space in the back room - I’ve graduated from the kitchen table! A nice little space with lots of natural light .. And to declare the space open, I’ve gone ahead & CA’ed the Crusader fuselage halves together! Which has started the challenging task of filling & finishing those longitudinal internal corner junctions ...