1/18 scale Wallis WA-116 Agile autogyro scratchbuild model

[Nick_Karatzides]

1/18 scale Wallis WA-116 Agile autogyro scratchbuild model

The following construction is a tribute to RAF Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis DSO MBE CEng FRAeS PhD, a pioneer gyrocopter aviator, who passed away early on Sunday morning, September 1st 2013. Ken was 97 years old. During the WWII, Wallis served in the Royal Air Force as Westland Lysander and Wellington pilot and flew 28 bomber missions over Germany. After the War, he flew the massive Convair B-36 and later involved in research and development, before retiring in 1964. He later became one of the leading exponents of autogyros and earned 34 world records, still holding eight of them at the time of his death. He was an inspiration to us all and we shall greatly miss him. A local hero and a national treasure.

He was born on the 26th April 1916, at Ely in Cambridgeshire. With his father and uncle having built an aeroplane in 1908 to fly the channel in a competition that was eventually won by Louis Bleriot, Ken Wallis acquired an interest in practical mechanics at an early age and by the time he was eleven years old had built his own motorcycle. He eventually turned his attention to aviation following a flying demonstration he watched in 1936 of the Henri Mignet HM-14 Flying Flea / Pou Du Ciel.

Ken will be greatly missed by the Flixton museum members. He was a frequent visitor, generous fundraiser and a great ambassador. In addition to the numerous professional institutions who welcomed Ken as a member and the vast number of clubs who regarded him with great respect and fondness, many ordinary people will also feel a loss in one way or another. Even a short chat with him left the individual feeling that it was something special and his warmth made them feel that he would remember them! Ken was recognised wherever he went. Admirers would soon gather and he would usually produce a small clipboard from a pocket, to sign and give away autographed postcards of him flying the “Little Nellie”. I am sure that many a childless adult has asked for a card to give to their “offspring”. Ken was inspirational, a great role model and possessed a rare old-world charm plus the impeccable manners of his age; all without a hint of grandeur. I am not alone in thinking that he was probably the grandfather figure we would all have liked to have had at some time. Norfolk was Ken’s home from 1963 and I venture to think he was appreciated by such a large part of its population that he was likely a close second to its most revered inhabitant: Horatio Nelson.

Goodbye Ken - our gyrocopter aviation hero and national treasure.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Nick_Karatzides

[Rodders154]

A wonderful tribute to a great man.

Rodders

[The Cameraman]

Hi Nick,

lovely tribute to a wonderfully gifted, aviation character, who'm I'm proud to say I met at his home.

I'm really looking forward to watching this build develop.

Regards

Reggie

Edited September 29, 2013 by The Cameraman

[Val]

Ken is a local legend around here, I live just down the road from Flixton, and I'm really looking forward to the build. This will be a great tribute to him, best of luck

[Nick_Karatzides]

CHAPTER I - Little Nellie only lives twice

The autogyro differs from the helicopter in that it has a upwards thrusting propeller and a second prop to drive the forward. The gyro's upward’s prop lifts air much the same as a glider. The autogyro's roots go back in 1921 when it was invented by Juan De la Cierva, when he was looking to develop a light and fast bomber for the Spanish military. Development continued over the years and during WWII both Germany and Japan built their own autogyro versions. Wallis Autogyros Ltd was founded in 1961 by RAF Wing Commander Kenneth Horatio Wallis and has produced an extremely wide range of special purpose autogyros. The Wallis WA-116 Agile created by Wallis runs on the same principles as that built by Cierva but it much smaller and more nimble. The first prototype, registered G-ARRT, was a single seater ultralight autogyro first flown on 2 August 1961 and being developed with different models over the years, with such uses as military training, police reconnaissance and survey work. It could lift twice its own weight, fly 210 km/h and rapidly climb to 4100 m, even though it weighed 110 kg. This aircraft could take off in 30 yards of space at a minimum speed of approximately 20 km/h. In 1962, five WA-116s were built by Beagle Aircraft at Shoreham, three of which were for evaluation by the British Army Air Corps.

In 1966, one of the Beagle built WA-116s, registered G-ARZB (nicknamed as “Little Nellie”), was modified for use in the 1967 James Bond film “You Only Live Twice”. Few Wallis autogyros have been operated privately, with nearly all of them being used for research and demonstration flying by Ken Wallis himself.

The Wallis WA-116 Agile was powered by a McCulloch Model 4318A four cylinder horizontally opposed air cooled engine, providing a top speed of 185 km/h and a range of 225 km. After building nine single seaters, the construction of a two seat variant the WA-116T was begun in 1969; Ken Wallis tested a four blade rotor and finally produced the WA-116F with which he won the closed circuit world record in 1974 in the 670.26 km category. Wallis autogyros have been powered by various types of engines, within the range 72 hp to 160 hp (the latter is used in the two seat Wallis WA-122) and have been employed for research programmes, including one promoted by Sperry Radar. In 1983 development of a production version, powered by a Weslake engine, was under way in association with Vinten Ltd. Intended primarily for paramilitary use, including policing and survey work, the definitive aircraft is due to be certificated in 1984. Ken Wallis, developed a number of improvements to the autogyro design, including the offset gimbal rotor head which gives the autogyro hands-off stability.

Technical data & general characteristics:

• Type designation: Wallis WA-116 Agile,
• Manufacturer: Wallis Autogyros Limited,
• Usage: Reconnaissance / recreational autogyro,
• Crew: 1 pilot,
• Year of first construction: 1961,
• Year of first flight: 1962,
• Country of production: United Kingdom,
• Length: 11 ft (3.38 m),
• Height: 6 ft 1 in (1.85 m),
• Rotor diameter: 20 ft 4 in (6.20 m),
• Empty weight: 255 lb (116 kg),
• Gross weight: 550 lb (249 kg),
• Maximum speed: 100 mph (161 km/h),
• Rate of climb: 1071 ft/min (5.44 m/s),
• Service ceiling: 10000 ft (3048 m),
• Range: 130 miles (209 km),
• Flight endurance: 2.5 hours with 58 lb fuel,
• Powerplant: 1 x Wallis McCulloch 4318A piston engine, 54 KW (72 hp).

Edited January 27, 2016 by Nick_Karatzides

[Nick_Karatzides]

CHAPTER II - Converting Mbytes into actual model parts

Before start building a new scale model, I always try to study as much as possible the object of construction. Any available technical manuals and detailed walkaround photos, always help during model building process. As previously described into my previous WIP (feel free to have a look on the 1/18 scale Instytut Szybownictwa IS-A Salamandra 53 scratchbuild model already uploaded into the present forum), the plan is to design a CAD file and then print it, on a 3D replicator. This method, helps a lot and gives the opportunity to scratchbuild almost anything, under any scale, within only few minutes. The 3D printing technology introduction into scale modelling and free access to the average modeller is a great evolution in the hobby and a creative tool that helps us to build better and more realistic models. Certainly the new technologies and gadget tools in the hands of talented enthusiasts open new horizons and provide wide potentials on scale model building.

It took a couple of hours of CAD work on my laptop, to 3D design, scale into correct 1/18 size and then digitally cut the autogyro’s compartments into virtual pieces, having always in mind that the later printed parts, should perfectly fit and finally become a fine scale model. And voilà, we have a winner! A new Wallis WA-116 Agile autogyro virtual model, is ready to be forwarded to the 3D printer and become an actual object under 1/18 scale, within short time.

After building the 3D model and double check for possible mistakes, I saved it as a digital file and forward it on a 3D printer to start generating the individual parts of the autogyro scale model. Shortly thereafter, the printing proceeding outcome pleased me, while watching the Mbytes, magically converting into actual items. Once again, the 3D printing technology on scale modeler’s service. As seen in the following pictures, as soon as the produced parts were cleaned, I checked for broken parts & imperfections. The model now consists of only a few parts, found into basic frame sections. Some additional details such as supporting rods, control bars & wires etc made of styrene, will be later added.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Nick_Karatzides

[Norman]

Great Tribute to a great man

Had the pleasure and honour of meeting him at Wadddington air show a couple of years ago

Model looks good too Nick

Cheers

[Nick_Karatzides]

CHAPTER III - Attempting to join the basic parts

As soon as the individual scale model’s parts were already produced, cleaned & dry fit tested, I had to assemble everything as one piece, without damaging the frame construction. The plan is to assemble all model’s parts first, sand if required and later apply paint and weathering effects as a final touch. During assembling process, everything was secured in place & glued with CA liquid adhesive superglue, which does bonds in only few seconds, reaches extremely strength at room temperature and it is suitable for materials such as wood, rubber, plastic, metal, ceramics, leather, marble, polyethylene, polypropylene, teflon etc. Some tiny gaps were filled with putty, applied with an old brush. As soon as the joints were securely glued with CA superglue and later filled with putty on tiny gaps, it was carefully sanded with nail files & sanding sponge block. When it looked OK to me, the whole model was sprayed over with Humbrol acrylic primer to spot any mistakes and placed into a box to wait the final paint applying.

After my sweetheart wife (aka “4-star General in home” & “family's financial director”) conducted a strict quality control and result evaluation, she smiled & proudly signaled green light for further building & painting. Each section was dry fit tested to ensure that anything can be combined together as one piece, the parts forwarded for assembly.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Nick_Karatzides

[melvyn hiscock]

Was there an autogyro in that pic?

[Norman]

Melvyn

you need to look harder, concentrate !!!!

took me three goes !

[John_W]

Where can I get a moddeling stand like that?

[fatalbert]

That's a lovely looking model you have there............the auto gyro isn't bad either 😄

[Radleigh]

Still can't see the Autogyro.....................................

[NormanD]

Still can't see the Autogyro.....................................

It's on the computer screen image photo .. the rest is just a blurrrrr

[Miggers]

Well done Nick,an excellent tribute to a great British innovator,highly skilled pilot and engineer.

97 isn't a bad innings at all,well done WCdr Wallis and thankyou.

Nice models too Nick,both The Boss and the autogyro .

[Nick_Karatzides]

CHAPTER IV - Wool flock covered seat

While studing on Wallis autogyros photos, I noticed that Ken had covered the Wallis WA-122 G-BGGW passenger's seat with wool flock fiber stuff. To be honest, I 've never seen any of the Wallis WA-116 autogyros having seats covered with this way, but I thought it was a good idea to replicate under scale and maybe possible to have happened in real gyro.

Using a small amount of Milliput putty, I made a small ball, dust it with talcum powder and pressed it against the working bench with a roller until it becomes about 0.5mm thin. The use of talcum powder is necessary to avoid Milliput sticking on roller or fingers and get easier to handle without tearing to pieces. While Milliput putty was still soft, I cut it into shape and placed it on pilot's seat, to form into a right to scale blanket cover.

Then, seat covered with masking tape in such way to leave only the Milliput blanket area vissible. To recreate the seat cover, I used the #KF-00017 flocking powder product by KA Models, which is commonly used by scale car modelers to represent carpets. As you can see in the following photos, the flocking powder sprinkled through a sieve, over the Milliput blanket. When it looked OK to me, the powder secured in place, by airbrushing hairspray over the result.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Nick_Karatzides

[John_W]

There are modellers, and there are true artists...

[giemme]

There are modellers, and there are true artists...

I couldn't agree more!

@Nick: just out of curiosity, how long did it take to print those parts with the 3D printer?

[Pete in Lincs]

About time one of these was on sale.

I know there was the old Airfix kit. But it had it's faults.

I scratchbuilt one years ago, Starting with a 1/24th Beetle engine.

Not strictly kosher but good enough for me at the time.

How about it Revell? If gliders sell, why not a Wallis.

One of my hero's too.

Nick, Well done.

Pete

[Nick_Karatzides]

@Nick: just out of curiosity, how long did it take to print those parts with the 3D printer?

If your question relates only to the time it took the machine to print the kit, the answer is about 2-3 hours. On the other hand, the design process that includes a careful study on the actual subject, blue print diagrams & photographs research and of course the creation of the digital CAD file, lasted weeks.

Having already experienced the old fashioned scratchbuilding scale modeling, I can definitely say that the time required for the construction does not differ much. IMHO, 80% of time is research and about 20% actual building. The only difference between the two methods is that in the CAD design, if you cut wrong line, you simply undo. Also, once you build from scratch a virtual CAD model, you can fix errors, add or delete details, rescale it in any desired size and ofcourse print it as many times as you like.

[giemme]

Thanks Nick. I'm familiar with 3D design, and I can imagine it took you a whole lot of time; I just wondered about the machine time, since I've never seen one working, so thanks again for your answer. If you don't mind me asking another question, what sort of plastic is this printer output?

Cheers

GM

[Nick_Karatzides]

what sort of plastic is this printer output?

The injecting matterial might be different each time, depending the detail level or the type of scale model part we like to print. Could be:

• PolyCarbonate,
• LASER sintered nylon plastic,
• Acrylic-based photopolymer,
• UV cured acrylic polymer etc

Industrial printers are able to print objects by injecting more sophisticated stuff such as plastic filled with aluminum dust, or even have 3D printed results made by rubber or stainless steel.

[giemme]

Thanks again Nick

[Nick_Karatzides]

CHAPTER V - Applying paint, wash & weather effects

Before dealing with this project, I had the impression that all Wallis autogyros, were all same - at least identical. The fact that each one of them is not a product of a factory assembling line but the result of custom hand work, shows that there are plenty of differences between them - obvious differences or just small details identified after careful observation. The autogyro represented here, is the s/n G-ARZA, one of the five first built WA-116s, typed as "Wallis WA-116/Mc Srs.1" (the “Mc” means McCulloch engine and the “Srs.1” goes for series 1). The three of these first five Wallis autogyros were produced on behalf of British Army Air Corps for further evaluation and had no cabin cover. After a brief military carreer, these three Wallis WA-116/Mc Srs.1 remodified, repainted and received new civilian callsign reguster. One of them, was destined to become very famous as "Little Nellie" after appearing in the 1967 James Bond film “You Only Live Twice” movie. Research based on the published files & info, shows that the serial numbers of these first built "Srs.1" are the following:

• G-ARRT was the first Beagle Aircraft built prototype, first flown on 2 August 1961 at Shoreham. Aerodynamic cabin cover added later.
• XR942 initially built on behalf of British Army Air Corps and later renamed to G-ARZA. Aerodynamic cabin cover & beacon lights on rudder fin added later.
• XR943 initially built on behalf of British Army Air Corps and later renamed to G-ARZB. Aerodynamic cabin cover & dummy rocket launchers added later to become the widely known 007 James Bond’s "Little Nellie".
• XR944 initially built on behalf of British Army Air Corps and later renamed to G-ATTB. Aerodynamic cabin cover and longer main rotor blades added later.
• G-AXAS was the last built "Wallis WA-116/Mc Srs.1" and was Ken's favorite, since he was usually demo flying with it at Reymerston Hall Dereham, UK until his last days. The tail rudder fin was replaced on 1986, by a Wallis WA-122 spare part.

My goal is to paint the scheme of the G-ARZA, dressed up with it's new civilian colours, as appeared at EGBK Sywell, UK during the PFA Rally, back in 1973. Keep in mind that the specific autogyro, was initially built for military use, registered as XR942 and painted dark olive with official British Army markings - as seen at EGKB Biggin Hill, UK during the Biggin Hill Air Fair, back in 1964.

Model parts were washed with liquid soap and warm water to disappear leaving oil traces, fingertips etc and prepared for painting process. When it comes to apply paint on a scale model, I usually have the following two available options:

• Paint the individual parts first and assemble the scale model later and
• Assemble the scale model parts first and paint the overall built model later.

Since I designed this 1/18 scale Wallis WA-116 Agile autogyro in such way to look like a kit instead of 3D printing it as a fully built model, the first option seemed as more appropriate and would certainly make my job much easier. After preparing the engine’s basic elements, connecting electric cables and oil or fuel lines, the aft part consists of the tail boom & rudder fin structure, the McCulloch 4318A engine and the transmission components etc painted by using fine brush. The front part consists of the cabin aerodynamic cover & flight controls, airbrushed with with Life Color LC01 Matt White FS37925 acrylic paint for exterior and Life Color LC02 Matt Black FS37038 for interior. The red stripe on aerodynamic cover and tail fin, painted with Life Color LC06 Matt Red FS31302.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Nick_Karatzides

[snapper_city]

This is something else. The future of modelling.