Spitfire Mk.IXc (1:7 scale balsa) modified to Mk.Ia

[P.o Prune]

Thanks Fozzy, it means a great deal coming from you.

I'm still a little worried about when the time comes to attach the wings to the center section. I hope I can get the angle right.

[Fozzy]

Take your time Finn...you can do it!

[P.o Prune]

Time for a little update here.

With the center wing all done and put aside it's time to get the port wing done. There aren't that many pictures showing the process since it's pretty much the same as for the starboard wing:

     

 

 

 

All the various ribs and spars is found and laid up for inspection.

Yep! They're all there (still)

 

Making sure that all the ribs were in the correct angle I glued them on one by one. It took a little longer but surely made the measuring a lot easier.

 

T-Pins ... can't live without them. Especially at the outer ribs where there's no support. Note the big "cut-out" for the "Center to wing" assembly.

 

 

The angle template in place at the most inner rib.

 

 

Here the top and bottom main spar is glued on giving a little more strength to the wing and making handling it a lot easier.

    

Now it's beginning to look like a real wing, isn't it?

The trailing edge spar is glued on and set to dry. I was actually quite impressed with the way the parts fitted on this wing. I didn't have half the problems that I did with the starboard wing.

 

 

The support for the leading edge is glued on and held in place. First I tried to just glue it on. But after having fought with it for a while I decided to steam it in shape and that did the trick.

 

That's pretty much it. The port wing assembled...
Of course I couldn't wait but had to see how it looked. Not enough room on the desk so I took it outside to get a decent picture. Jeez.. it is going to be a big bird. :-)

    

 

Lesson learned... Patience, patience and patience...

Lifting up the wing to bring it back in the garage the inner rib broke... yes, there was a foul smell of numerous swearwords in the area. (If I'm remembering correctly Fozzy did somethign similar with his B-17... Well, friend.. you're not alone anymore :-) )

Repair in progress... I turned out ok, I might add.

 

Next will be the fuselage... Stay tuned ;-)

Edited November 3, 2017 by P.o Prune

[P.o Prune]

Time for a little update.

In my last post I mentioned that I was starting on the fuselage next. Well, change of plans. I decided to start the ailerons in order to finish the wings (once and for all)
I started with having seriouis problems finding the various parts. Partly my fault, but I must say in my defense that the instructions are a bit confusing.

Looking at the building plan, I'm told to cut the aileron leading edge and ribss from two named templates SWFXWXX (you can see what I mean if you go up 5 pictures and look at the plan.) The problem was that those two templates didn't excist. As a last resort I read the instructions. Nothing was mention about the SWF templates, but instead I was told to cut the leading edge and the ribs from a measured stick of balsa. That was a couple of hours wasted..
Anyways, the leading edge was cut and, as usual, (had the same problem with the rudder and elevator leading edge) I had to measure the middle of the leading edge and make a groove in order to support the aileron core.

 

 

The aileron core is glued on to the leading edge. While it was drying I did the same with the other aileron. This time I chose to build both ailerons at the same time. the advantage of this being that it would take less time. The disadvantage being that I should I make a mistake I would probably make it on both ailerons.

         

 

 

The outer rib in place and lined up. Lucliky I discovered that it should be moved all the way to the outer edge of the aileron before I glued it on.

 

some of the ribs are installed. It was kind of weird. I would have thought that the aileron ribs would be set at a 90 degree angle on the leading edge, but instead they are alligned with the wing ribs. Hmmm
Mind you the picture isn't showing this very clearly since the wing / aileron isn't alligned with the drawing.

 

Ok, both ailerons done (pretty much) I just need to sand the ribs into shape.

 

 

Which is done here. In order to get as steady a work platform as possible, I have chosen not to sand one side of the aileron until later.

 

 

This was the only drawing I had of the aileron control lever to begin with. As you can see it looks as if the middle arm is set at an angle, so that's what I worked with.

 

Looking pretty good, doesn't it?

 

 

Then I found this schematic of the aileron control lubrication ... Back to square one!

 

 

 

This shows even clearer that the three arms are of equal length.
I have made a rough sketch of the control lever.

 

 

It's really fun going into these little details, and it gives me a perfect "excuse" to use my Proxxon tool that I bought ages ago.

The aileron control levers are cut into shape and just needs a bit of sanding.

This is all for now... My next project will be making the rods connecting the lever to the aileron.

See you then.

Edited November 3, 2017 by P.o Prune

[Fozzy]

This Spitfire Finn...no doubt ....is going to fly!

[goggsy]

Old school! Impressive, I'm following this with interest.

[P.o Prune]

Back again. I had a little problem inserting pictures but everything should work now.

Dry fitting the aileron and the aileron control crank and connection rod.

 

 

 

The lower control crank shaft is going into that little hole.

 

 

Things are beginning to look like something that could be aileron flight controls.

 

 

Here I have connected the control rod to the aileron. I will have to make a slot in the trailing edge of the wing and the leading edge of the aileron in order to allow the rod free movement.

 

 

Not that I expect there to be a lot of movement of the aileron (it's going to be a static display model) but just for the hell of it I decided to strengthen the aileron rib.

 

 

 

The slot has been made in the aileron leading edge and the top support of the shaft for the control crank is glued in place. The control rod needss to be shortened (of course) but I'll wait with that until I'm ready to install the whole thing and adjust it so I get the correct movement deflection.

 

 

 

 

Cut outs for the aileron hinges.

 

 

So this is how it's going to look.

 

 

 

 

This is all for now. I'm currently working on the aileron hinges and will post more when I'm done.

Edited November 3, 2017 by P.o Prune

[P.o Prune]

Looks pretty cool doesn't it? Well... think again.. But more about that later....

On with the build...

 

With the aileron control mechanism in place (or so I thought) I moved on to the aileron hinges.

I got this little beauty for my birthday and I'm happy to say that is has been used quite often... This is the L/h aileron inboard hinge.

 

Just for show.. Nothing important... placing the hinge (to be) on the Spitfire plans.

 

Another view.

 

The hinge in place (dry fitting) Doesn't look too bad I think.

 

For some obscure reason... (I'm still trying to figure out what went through my mead) I decided to make the hinge saddle from aluminium. The pieces are cut out, sanded and cleaned thoroughly. Ready to be glued.

 

Sanded into shape and tested with the hinge. Everything looks pretty good.

 

 

And then THIS! happens... Trying to make the slot that would allow the hinge saddle to fit over the aileron core.. Apparently the glue wasn't good enough.  I gave it another couple of tries with the same result.
So it was back to the drawing board.. (I seem to be spending an awful lot of time there, thinking about my mistakes... :-)  )

 

 

Like I said; Back to the drawing board. I decided to go with the old tested method of using the fiber scraber from work. (It's much easier to work with anyway)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here everything is in place.

 

That's all for now folks.. I hope my next update won't take as long as this one.

Thanks for watching (the ones that have been patient enough, that is... :-)  )

Edited January 10, 2018 by P.o Prune

[Fozzy]

Nothing is easy in this game Finn!....well done for over coming the problem!.....It doesn't matter how long it takes until the next post ...as long as you keep posting this brilliant build!

[P.o Prune]

On 8. juni 2017 at 9:39 PM, Fozzy said:

Nothing is easy in this game Finn!....well done for over coming the problem!.....It doesn't matter how long it takes until the next post ...as long as you keep posting this brilliant build!

Tell me about it *lol*

[P.o Prune]

Had a little time to work on the "bird" this weekend. Big lesson learned. Well big doesn't really covers it, humongus is more like it.
I have now learned the definition of "back to the drawing board"
Anyways. After having assembled the aileron control (dry fitting) I found that the angle of the push/pull rod from the crank to the aileron itself was too small. There was no problem pushing the aileron down, but when it was next to impossible to pull it upwards.
So I had to rethink the whole thing.

 

 

So it was back to the drawing board (again)
I stripped a couple of ribs from the aileron and cut a slot in the core.

 

 

Then I made a moveable lever (from the trusted fiber)

 

 

And glued it to the trailing edge of the wing...

 

 

Learning another important lesson.... Glue has a nasty habit of running.
Luckily I discovered it before the glue had dried completely and I managed to loosen th elever making it able to move freely.

 

 

To avoild this happening again I tilte the wing in the vice and glued one side at a time. More time consuming, yes! But a lot safer.

 

 

This is what it looks like now.

 

 

And it works!

 

 

Need a few minor adjustments to the push / pull rods. But it's looking good so far.

 

 

Well, that's all for me for now...

See you around.

[John Masters]

I can't wait to see this thing in the air!

[P.o Prune]

Just to let you all know that I haven't given up on this baby. 

I have been busy putting back the pictures that Photobucket so brutally "blocked"

[P.o Prune]

I discovered that I might run into a spot of trouble if I continued with the aileron control mechanism. In short, the control wires goes in a straight line from the control column to the aileron crank (movement) mechanism and I wasn't sure if I had installed that crank far enough forward in the wing.
Fozzy (thank you, life saver :-) ) suggested that I put the aileron mechanism on hold and went on with other stuff. So that's what I decided to do. 
My next project will be the fuselage.

 

 

The "main stringers" in place on the drawing board... So far so good :-)
These stringers are for the upper fuselage.

 

The first (or last ) frame looked pretty good. the fitting looked nice and snug.

 

However! I realized that if I want to have any kind of working flight controls I'd need to do some drastic modifications.

The frames are too big (solid) which is no surprise considering that this was supposed to be a r/c model. So I decided to trim the frames so they would fit my purpose.
This is, roughly what I had in mind.

 

And after the sawing and sanding.

 

Problem is that cutting this much material away leaves the frame somewhat fragile (Hmmm more about that later ;-)  )

 

Frame #10 glued in place with a little assistance to make sure it stays up straight.

 

 

 

[Fozzy]

Good job Finn

 

I guess you are going to have to trim up the formers around the cockpit area as well ...so you can place all the detail that your going to put in there?....I am going to have to pay you a visit and take a look at this Spitfire when your done!

 

Keep at it Finn!....and Merry Christmas and New Year to you and your family

[P.o Prune]

13 hours ago, Fozzy said:

Good job Finn

 

I guess you are going to have to trim up the formers around the cockpit area as well ...so you can place all the detail that your going to put in there?....I am going to have to pay you a visit and take a look at this Spitfire when your done!

 

Keep at it Finn!....and Merry Christmas and New Year to you and your family

First of all, you'll be more than welcome if you ever drop by. 
As for the other thing, I believe that you're right. I've thought about building it according to the plans and then modify what's necessary when that time comes. But it's definitely something I'll have to look into.
Wishing you and your loved ones and wonderful and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year. 

 

[Army_Air_Force]

I think I read earlier in the thread that this is a non-flyer, so weight and structural integrity aren't a major concern? You could replace the fuselage sheeting in the cockpit area with 1/32inch plywood. This would allow a strong but thin self supporting fuselage skin that would allow plenty of detail and some scale fuselage formers. For a bit of inspiration, here's the cockpit of a 1/4 scale Spit Mk.Ia, modelled on AR213.  This one was R/C and electric powered, weighing in at around 70 pounds!

 

 

 

Have you thought about finishing techniques on the balsa? My preferred method for a metal skinned aircraft would be "glass skinning". Fine fibre glass cloth attached with epoxy resin. The weave of the cloth is filled with a fine layer of epoxy after the initial layer has cured and been given a light sand. This final layer can be sanded to a smooth finish and then panel joints built up with filler/primer sprayed against the edge of some electricians tape. When the tape is removed, you are left with a slight raised edge. Flush jointed panels can be simulated with very fine tape, sprayed over and the tape removed again, leaving a slight gap. Rivets at 1/7 scale would be tiny, but possible. PVA glue applied with a syringe for mushroom head rivets, and a tiny piece of brass tube in a soldering iron, burning tiny rings into the primer for flush rivets. See below for some 1/4 scale flush rivets on a Sea Fury.

 

 

 

[P.o Prune]

Stephen, Thanks a million for the pictures and your great suggestions. I will most certainly take them all into consideration as the build progresses.
As for the finish of the balsa I originally had planned on copying Fozzy's B-17G, meaning covering with alu tape which I can get from work. But your idea sounds interesting because you have explained how I can make the various types of rivets.

Once again, thanks for the input and please feel free to keep them coming. 

[Army_Air_Force]

The riveting takes a bit of practice and is a slow process initially until you get into a rhythm, but it works well, and weathers nicely with washes. It's something you can practice on a test sample before you get to that part of the build, on the days you don't want to face balsa dust!!

 

The glass skinning also gives a nice tough "ding proof" surface that is more able to be handled without damage. The glass skinning is also a technique that takes a bit of practice, but worth considering. For the fabric elevators and rudder, there is of course "Solartex", an iron on, heat shrink fabric used by aeromodellers for years.

Edited December 21, 2017 by Army_Air_Force

[P.o Prune]

Frame #9 glued in place and supported: (Don't worry, I'm not posting a picture of every frame I attach  ) But it shows the process pretty well.

 

Frames #10 & #9 glued and the rest dry fitted. Frame #6 (the most forward frame in the picture gave me a slight headache.

 

The top vertical "beam" is supposed to be the support for the cockpit floor of the R/c model and I had my doubts whether to cut it off or not. Not quite knowing what the effect it would have on the build.

 

Well, I ended up modifying frame #6 like I had the others and when I dry fitted the cockpit floor it didn't make much difference.

 

Frame #3 is the bottom part of the instrument  panel. I haven't quite figured out yet how to get this to work with the upper half since, on the plans, the cockpit floor is supposed to be attached between the two.

 

 

Like this:

 

 

So the end result is going to be something like this:
All the crossed-out areas has to go. I'll have to attach a support on frame #5.

Frame #4 will, for the time being, be left as support for the longerons.

[P.o Prune]

Frame #5 from the previous picture getting the extension. A toothpick, a 1 m/m drill and a lot of patience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

And finally a touch of glue.

[ModellerUK]

Spitfire balsa builds can be a bit of a challenge, but that is a fantastic kit and brand you have there, I have built a couple of balsa models in my time. 

[P.o Prune]

You have no idea how right you are... ;-)

Turned out that the toothpick and my patience wasn't enough. The bloddy thing broke...

 

So it was back to the drawingboard, or rather the workbench.

It was quite a breathtaking job to drill out the broken toothpick. I was afraid that the drille would "slide" and go out through the side.

 

Using something a little more sturdy (like a 1 m/m nail I was pretty confident that things would hold.

 

 

 

I swear that this frame #5 has given my quite a large number of new grey hairs. It was like evrytime I touched it something broke off:

They did say in the manual that to handle the frames with care but this was getting redicilous.

 

Well, while I still was reasonable sane I decided to glue the extension back on with the reinforcement.

 

After a reasonable drying period I continued to repair the other damage.

[Fozzy]

It's a bugger Finn!....happens though!....when working with Balsa it's always going to split/break following the grain....as you have found!!....so irritating!!.....

 

Don't know if you have considered the idea of cutting out a new former from Balsa/hard wood?....also how are you actually cutting the former shape out?... I'm sure you are using sandpaper to get the shape as this will reduce the chances of breaks!

Keep at it mate!

 

BTW...... Happy New Year 😀

[Army_Air_Force]

A mini drill and a round sanding drum is the best way to shape the inside of the former. I'd be tempted to make it again using two layers of 1/16 birch ply laminated together.