1/16 Sopwith Camel

[nick]

didn't think I could make the other parts (such as the 'hump' over the vickers) very well by hand, no matter what method I chose.

I'm interested in the wire wheels- did you make your own for the Albatros? To be honest it's not something I'd thought about because the model will weigh so much! It'd look much nicer if it's possible though.

Let me know what you want in the way of CAD images- I used this plan to build mine from:

I don't have a WIP for the albatross as I started it a few years ago and the build isn't up to my current standards, here's my Hasegawa DR-1 build that shows some wire wheels I constructed for it. They aren't load bearing, but could be by soldering the spokes, rather than glueing. as the rims are ali, the solder just forms a 'blob' preventing the spoke pulling through the hole in the rim rather than actually soldering (fusing) to it of course.

heres the link:-

http://www.britmodel...57756&hl=fokker

Nick

Edited September 22, 2012 by nick

[Rizzo]

Nick, that DR1 looks awesome. I'm quite looking foward to the Model Airways DR1, it'll be easier to find room for at least

I've been working on the tail for the Camel over the last week.

This is what you start with- that U shaped thing is actually one of the hinges!

You can imagine how bad that will look, so I replaced them with loops of brass, hidden inside the rear bar of the stabiliser. The front bar shouldn't be there either, so that's been cut away and replaced with wood. And the attachment points are all replaced with photoetch.

The rear of the horizontal stabiliser is also lifted up to make it level- the kit plans just have it level with the sloping rear fuselage, making it point upwards... probably not too good for level flight

You can see here there's a small bar at the back to lift up that central compression bar:

With that corrected, the rudder won't fit properly- it's too short of course, so I'll have to make a new one next. But the kit doesn't really make the rudder assembly attach to the fuselage correctly anyway (it has two fictional blocks of wood to close up the rear of the fuselage instead), so plenty more to change there.

Edited October 2, 2012 by Rizzo

[Rizzo]

Been a while since I did much on this one! I've got the tail nearly finished though.

I said before that the fixes to the tail had made the rudder fit badly.. well it turns out that a big part of the issue is the kit part is simply much too small. So the new rudder actually makes things fit much better with the plans:

I've also covered this part of the aircraft- unlike most parts of the fuselage or wings, the rudder assebly has no internal rigging and the whole thing looks a bit basic and empty on its own.

I used salartex linen, and it gives a really nice translucent effect.

Edited October 27, 2012 by Rizzo

[James G]

Wow this is something else...fascinating

[woody37]

Yet another amazing build, what a great year !

[depressed lemur]

That's it, I'm hanging up the glue and taking up flower arranging.

Seriously though, this is absolutely amazing.

[Dan]

Absolutely mind blowingly good! Can I ask... How long have you been into model building? I have one build under my belt and was just wondering how long it's taken you to become the master craftsman you clearly are?

[Rizzo]

Thanks for the comments

Absolutely mind blowingly good! Can I ask... How long have you been into model building? I have one build under my belt and was just wondering how long it's taken you to become the master craftsman you clearly are?

Thanks Dan I just had a look at your Hawk- looks fantastic, and shows that you don't need to have been building for long to get a good finish.

Me, I'm certainly no master craftsman- I'm honestly just making it up as I go along, and that seems to have worked just fine so far. I also copy from what a lot of people here are doing (1/24 Buccaneers, 1/16 Jaguar, the B29... there's loads to copy from!!)

I'm in the same situation as yourself, just started modelling again after a break of about 20 years, this is my 5th model. Only problem is that I'm sloooow as a result of not knowing what I'm doing half the time. After this one I think I will build some more 'normal' kits, as I'd like to be filling up the shelves at a faster rate (and filling up the stash at a slower rate... but we all know that problem).

[HOUSTON]

Rizzo,

May I say that your work is EXTRAORDINARY and quite EXCEPTIONAL.

I absolutely admire fine detailed work , no matter the subject.but this

BEAUTIFULLY built aircraft just evokes ones imagination of those pioneers who created such a

beauteous aircraft such as this.

Your work is VERY exacting and even though it is not yet finished it looks very RESPLENDENT as it takes

shape in your skillful hands.very minute details is professionally looking and simply . . . .

AWESOME.

Delightful , breezy work/ build to follow,I salute you Sir.{ of course it won't seem that way to you... }

KUDOS.

Edited October 28, 2012 by HOUSTON

[Parabat]

Mind blowing stuff, the seat, the prop, the PE bits, the cowl... So much to comment on. Really superb craftsmanship, seriously impressive.

[Rizzo]

About time I updated this thread! I've made a few small steps foward. Not much, but this all had to be scratch built so it's proving to be quite time consuming.

I finally got around to finishing the instrument panel:

I've also made and installed the contols, and rigged them up to the tail. It all works, with some brass pulleys that smooth out the movement quite nicely.

The other additions are the fuel tanks, throttle quadrant, fuel pump, and the plumbing to link it all together.

Next I'm going to add the ribs down the cockpit sides, before starting on the Vickers guns.

[Daniel]

Subscribed.

Dan

[christof]

This is mindblowing. I wouldn't be surprised to hear the engine running! Exceptional work.

Christof.

[Rizzo]

I managed to get the cockpit sides done at the weekend, as well as adding in the oil tank.

And a quick trial fit of the top panels, that I'll need to have ready to get the guns lined up correctly. Still plenty to do before it fits well though!

[SimonR]

This is amazing, engineering in miniature of the highest order, i'll keep watching this...

cheers

Simon

Edited December 3, 2012 by SimonR

[Rizzo]

Small update... I've been getting the guns ready for painting. I decided to use the barrels from the kit to speeed things along a bit, and rebuild the rest from plastic card and tube.

The next step will be to get the rest of the parts built up around the guns, including the metal panels. I think I'll get some Alclad polished aluminium for that. Never used it before though, it sounds like it has quite a delicate finish?

[rmcclure]

Inspiring work. The Alclad Airframe Aluminium is a bit on the fragile side and I wouldn't advised masking over it. If you just want a surface with a lustre rather than a high gloss shine then a good gloss varnish over the Alclad will be ok and will protect it too.

[erikmuntz]

I'm really curious, does it fly?..It looks like you might go the bench one day and it'll be gone!

Simply fantastic work!!

[trickyrich]

simply stunning!

have seen the Hasegawa one around and wonder what it would be like to build, have no room for something that big.....would have to get rid of the nightfighters!!!!

You're doing an amazing job, was very interested to read about the 3D stuff....that gets the mind thinking.....maybe I can convince the wife..

will watch the rest of the build in awe!

[Rizzo]

I've been busy making the lower wing in the last few weeks:

One of the final bits from the PE sheet that I'd made was for the inspection windows and pulleys. The kits pulley (in the lower right of the picture) is probably from a boat model and doesn't look like it would work too well.

And I've finally got the wing attached to the fuselage

[gishuk]

wow great detail work here.

do you have a photo with something next to it for scale, like a humbrol tin or something? not at all familiar with this scale and how big this is.

[Rizzo]

How about a lego Camel for scale? They're actually very close in size

It's certainly a big model, but not too much IMO, as the real aircraft is surprisingly small. The TSR2 I have in 1/48 looks like it will end up the longer model, although the wingspan of the Camel will make it a difficult one to find room for. Especially as my cat is so keen to get her claws into it.

[Rizzo]

Some progress on this one from the last month:

I got some of the 3d printed parts finished in alclad airframe aluminium, so was able to finally get the guns fitted to the front.

3d printing leaves a lot of ridges that need to be smoothed down, so it takes ages to get it smooth enough. I do like the alclad finish though, even if it is way too shiny for a Camel.

And with that done, I was able to get the upper wing in place

I've ditched the struts from the kit. They're metal while they should be wood... and painting metal to look like convincing wood isn't easy when it's right next to real wood. But they also have a weird attachment system that looks nothing like a real Camel.

So instead I have wooden struts pinned into the frame of the fuselage and wings with brass pins.

[MIRAGEF1]

Wow...how sweet this that....flipping brilliant

[Rizzo]

I've got most of the rigging done now, and added on the undercarriage.

One of the more annoying accuracy errors the kit makes is the wheels. The reason for the problem? They didn't bother to make Camel wheels, and instead seem to have just used the wheels from their Albatross kit.

They're useable though- I sanded down the detail, cut in the valve hole, and covered it with layers of solartex linen.