HRmodel 1/72 Hanriot H.D.2 floatplane

[JackG]

Still doing some research, but hope to end up with something looking like this:

Appears to be two schools of thought towards the finish of these particular aircraft, with either overall aluminum or CDL surfaces -or could that possibly be opaque yellow?

I had thought of using a shade of horizon blue for metal surfaces other than the cowl, but now I'm not sure if the floats were constructed of metal or wood? Any takers??

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Anyhow, this is where it's at so far on the bench. On the left side, below the dime, is initial gluing of the fuselage halves. Not sure if it is warp-age or what, but only applied cement at the cowl end and once that was set, some hand held pressure coaxed the back half together.

Next to that is Small Stuff resin engine of the Clerget 9B/Z (130/110 hp) Engine. This will be a like mini kit to build, I count about 46 pieces in total. Even a tool is provided to handle the tiniest detail.

Lastly, Minute72 PE detail specifically dedicated to the Hanriot.

The PE cockpit detail is done, and although the instructions do indicate four points to attach control wires, I'll likely skip that being 1/72 scale. The seat cushion is not affixed so it can be painted separate.

Lower wing attached, and dry fit of the PE detail inside the fuselage. The interior required both walls and floor sanded down.

regards,

Jack

Edited March 10, 2016 by JackG

[Gremlin56]

Nice subject and a good start,

[wyverns4]

Looking good! That engine is scary, good luck!

The floats were wooden.

C

Edited March 5, 2016 by wyverns4

[Procopius]

Holy crap! That's some nice work on the PE.

[JackG]

Thank you Gremlin56, wyverns4, and Porcupius.

Switched over to the floats for a bit. I've noticed in pictured model builds of the Hanriot float plane, it tends to be back end heavy. So have added some lead ballast to the front halves, suspended in white glue. This should be an improvement, but still won't be completely accurate compared to how it sits in actual water. Also have pointed out an uncharacteristic curved notched at the front of the floats, but occurs only on the the top pieces. I think this needs correcting, so awaiting Christian's (wyverns4) response - but if anyone else wants to field this, be my guest.

Next came the instrument panel. The kit provides both a decal and acetate detail, but they are identical in being only clear with black graphics, so didn't use the decal at all. The acetate film receives some pinpoint white painted behind the faces. The plastic part is painted up to represent wood grain. The two are then joined with superglue around the outside edges.

Some final shots of the cockpit before closing up - first one has no seat cushion or belts. The fit is snug enough that the assembly requires no gluing into the fuselage. I did add a used sanding sponge and some sheet plastic cut to size to spread the wall a bit. This will give a better fit when closing up the top.

regards,

Jack

Edited March 8, 2016 by JackG

[Brandy]

Very nice! I haven't seen this one built up before and I have the land version in the stash, so I'll be paying attention.

Ian

[UKguyInUSA]

Very nice looking kit and great working with the cockpit so far!

Cheers

Martin

[Brandy]

BTW I just checked my kit and it has all the parts for the floatplane also. Only one of the float top pieces has the notch at the front so it looks like it's just a moulding error and should be straight.

Ian

[JackG]

Thank you Ian and Martin, and thanks for confirming the shape of the floats - Christian has come to the same conclusion.

I have come across some step by step builds on the net, but the one found here is particularly interesting:

http://www.internetmodeler.com/scalemodels/aviation/HR-Model-1-72-Hanriot-HD-1-Full-Build.php

The author advises that the top decking on which the guns sit on is well over a millimeter too long, and suggests trimming it. Not necessarily a fit issue, but it does affect the staggered look of the wings.

Discovered the above too late to fix, as all three sections along the top of the fuselage were already glued in place. Note too, this will change how the tail sits (more forward) in relation to the elevators. The pilot seat would also require moving forward in order to line up with the cockpit opening.

----------------------------------------------------

Anyhow, I've finished assembly and detailing at the back end, with just some holes required to be drilled out for the later rigging. Instructions called for 1mm diameter rod to be used as support arms for the elevators, and call for a pair on both sides. I couldn't find photo examples that confirm this, so opted for just single arm on either side. Also went with 0.4mm hollow brass, as it seems to be more in scale.

[wyverns4]

Morning Jack,

That looks great!

If you could remove the top decking, (big if I know!), could you remove the excess from the metal panels forward of the fabric covered section??

The second support is placed just in front of the elevator hinge line. I have had a quick flick and although it is not always fitted those images available to me, it usually is.

On-On!

Christian, exiled to africa

[JackG]

Thanks kindly Christian, and have to agree that this one does require booking into surgery. I think the best way is to remove all three tops sections, as it will be easier to initiate a slice from an outside edge as opposed to starting in the middle of the fuselage where the cockpit and combing section are situated. Keeping the front 'metal' piece untouched will still pose a problem with machine guns as there is some protrusions molded in place.The tail piece also needs to move forward, but the fin itself is fine where it is. See photo below.

1.) Need to create some space between the vertical rod that the rudder attaches to and the horizontal bar of the elevators. On the model right now, these two points are butted against each other.

2.) This one not totally sure, but it seems the forward edge of the fin should lie flush with the lead edge of the tail surface. Right now, the fin is a good millimeter ahead of that line. This b/w diagram (below), though, says the way it is sitting now is correct?

------------------------------------------------------------------

Yes, the second support underneath the tail unit - I had started drilling out the holes on the tail planes for this (you might spot the location holes have been filled in with white putty from the previous post). Then upon seeing this photo, I decided to omit them;

regards,

Jack

[Brandy]

Is this any help?

It seems to show the leading edges of the tailplane and vertical fin are level with each other, and the second strut is a rigging wire!

This is the aircraft that was in the RAF museum, but was swapped with TVAL and is now flying again in NZ!

Ian

[JackG]

Thanks Ian, don't think I have that particular view, but appears to be the same Hanriot that I have of the rudder close-up.

So surgery is complete. Brand new blade for this job, no doubt the thin mating surfaces from earlier sanding the fuselage walls worked to my favour. Only the tail played difficult, and had to score the sides a few time before making the deep cut. Did not need to remove the fin and it's attached post, but the process caused it to break off. Can't complain as the whole task only took a few minutes.

Now still have to shift the pilot's chair forward. This whole setback at least gives me the chance to rectify another error in the interior. Had left the metal sides the same buff colour as the linen. Some sources state metal sections in the inside were a blue grey colour.

regards,

Jack

[wyverns4]

Hi Jack,

Looking good and a very bold move! Really looking forward to seeing this little H.D. develop!

To answer your points;

1. The gap appears to have been variable. By that I mean that when looking at images that show this area clearly they range from no noticeable gap to a thin gap, which usually tapers from the rudder hinge forward.

2. The forward edge of the fin and tail planes should be flush.

On-On!

Christian

[JackG]

Thanks Christian.

With this update, I've caught up to where I was before plowing into the corrective surgery.

For the interior:

- painted blue-grey walls and floor where the metal portions are located

- PE foot board that is situated underneath the rudder pedals was cut into three sections, center section omitted as illustrated in actual examples

- pilot's chair moved forward

tail assembly:

- added a second 0.4mm brass rod to forward portion of the fin

- installed a 0.9mm hollow rod to accept the one described above. This will help with both in strength and centering both the fin and tail

- 'keyhole' on bottom of fuselage for insertion of the 0.9mm post. Some room was made in the hole for longitudinal movement to allow for final adjustment on where the tail sits.

- to get the most of available space adjacent to the elevator hinge, a short piece of 0.5mm white plastic rod

moving top sections forward:

- unlike the linked build, I decided to start with the tail section first, and make my way to the front of the fuselage

- temporarily utilized a thin sheet of plastic underneath the fin to arrive at an even attachment

- required a shim of sheet plastic to move deck section further ... more on this area next update!

regards,

Jack

Edited March 14, 2016 by JackG

[wyverns4]

Nice!

[JackG]

Thank you Christian.

One final bit of detail on the tail end before going forward.

The PE was a one piece affair that wrapped around a vertical brass rod. This gives a solid construction, but is not completely accurate. So the green sections were removed, ending up with two sections.

Next came the stitching on the underside of the fuselage. Current photos of the Hanriot don't show any sign of this detail. At best there looks to be a length of fabric tape covering the area.

It took two tries to super glue the stitching in place. On the 2nd attempt, it was easier to just leave this flimsy piece attached to one side of the fret, and once glued in place, some deft cuts to set it free. A strip of white decal film was laid over top to represent the possible fabric covering.

Up next were the cabane struts. Picture from a Belgium Hanriot;

The kit provides these as individual lengths of plastic. This leaves way too much guess work in arriving at a proper angle and fit. A good week was spent figuring out how to approach this, but finally arrived at solution.

It starts with a section of brass sheet 0.12mm thick, with dimensions 9mm x 31mm. I relied on the PE scissor tool to cut, knife and ruler just didn't work.

Here is the first set test fit in place.

Now a second pair of cabane struts were constructed the same way, but this time the struts are angled inward ...

The center section also had a 0.5mm plastic rod attached with a pair of tabs - these fit in between the two wings, which are actually separate on the real bird.

Another shot of the detail with decking in place...

... and one final of top wing fit:

regards,

Jack

[Darby]

This is going to be a gem. I'm fighting the Pegasus OEF DIII at the moment.

[TheBaron]

Beautiful work. I'm watching this closely,

Best, Tony

[JackG]

Thank you Darby and Tony.

Another update, past week or so has been dedicated to PE details and scratch build on the fuselage and wings.

One of the few times using plastic rod on this one. Here it's been utilized to create the illusion of hinge points for the cabane struts. Once glued and dried in place, only the ends are used, with the center trimmed out and cleaned up.

More underside work of the upper wing:

- brass loop added for later rigging the aileron control line

- holes drilled out for struts. Also trying something different for the bracing wires, no holes drilled, but insert some metal strips as attachment points for later

-access cover better detailed, with a wire representing the hinge and even shorter piece as the latch

Rudder detail, a small trough is scribed into the plastic to give a better strength when gluing the control horns (same idea done to the ones on the main wing).

Rigging wire location points on fuselage. There is a pair of holes made on both sides, and the PE instructions have you place metal rings over the area (PE parts boxed in red) . I opted to place brass tubing instead - a lot easier to handle. The forward location I was able to place a single rod running from side to side, but not the second set of holes as interior detail was in the way.

regards,

Jack

[JackG]

This week was easier on the eyes. Switched over to the floats and some sculpting with green stuff putty. The kit parts are devoid of any detail, but I noticed in one period photo of what appears to be some kind of access cover(s) on the tops of the pontoons.

1. - a trio of holes are drilled, final diameter being 2.5mm

2. - putty is pressed through from bottom, until a little dome forms. This is lobbed off with a knife.

3. - smaller diameter bit is used to tamp down the centers.

4. - final detail involves a thin plastic strip straddling the hole made in step 3

5. - just a shot of the underside, nothing fancy

The putty requires 24 hours to cure. Next day, bottoms of the floats were glued together, with a little extra clamping via clothes pins. Yeah, a lot of seams to clean up.

Brace work for the floats. Again, referring to period photos, the inner struts look to be smaller diameter as well as rounder. So those were replaced with 0.5mm brass rod. The top ends still need to be trimmed, as well as bent facing straight up so they insert into holes in the fuselage.

The main struts between the wings aren't that bad, but the plastic is kind of flimsy. Being too thin to drill holes in, decided to chop the leading edges off, and grafted 0.5mm brass rods in place. The thin wire protruding out the ends will be the actual points of attachment.

Dry fit with a single strut in place.

regards,

Jack

Edited April 4, 2016 by JackG

[Brandy]

Nice work!

Those floats look much better, and that's a very simple but effective way of doing it, I'll try to remember that! I use the same method as you for scratchbuilt struts and undercarriage. It works very well and with a touch of Mr Dissolved putty the join between the plastic and wire is invisible.

Ian

[Procopius]

Geeze, Jack, that's some next-level stuff on the little access covers. Very nice work.

[JackG]

Thank you Ian and Procopius.

Thanks also for suggesting Mr Dissolved putty - that is something I really need, and is on order.

-----------------------------------------

Since the floats required some putty work, I decided to go ahead and fix their shape. They look like they needed a bit deeper curve at the forward bottom end when compared to this side profile line drawing:

To ensure they receive equal treatment, the pair were taped together. After careful study, three points were found as appropriate area for 'fattening up'. The 0.5mm rods were glued straight across both, and once dry, separated with a sharp knife.

A narrow strip of sheet plastic (just slightly wider than the floats themselves), was glued in place. I started from the rear and moved forwards, allowing some dry time at each new curved point. The front and back ends also received some sheet plastic to fix the steps created from the uneven fit. Followed up with some carving of excess plastic and a little sanding. Then it was time to go nutz with the putty ....

regards,

Jack

[Brandy]

Nicely done, the small touches make all the difference!

Ian