Dove Tail Joints

[alancmlaird]

No on-going build pics yet - tedious reshaping of cockpit sides and canopy underway, but I'd forgotten I'd recently acquired in among a batch of "Scimitar's" 'worst kits in the stash' collection, the very vac-form conversion kit we've been debating! I'll see if he can remember if if was an Airmodel production, and how old it is....

Seen here direct from his vaults!

I might have other plans for this....that don't involve a Dove!

[nimrod54]

Just catching up with this build Alan. Great job so far, looking forward to watching further progress.

 

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

On 09/11/2016 at 9:05 AM, Graham Boak said:

 

I am sure that Airmodel did a Dove vacform (conversion?)

 

Yes and guess who just inherited mine along with the wings from a Heron (Sorry Alan but you have 30 years worth to catch up on)

Alan that conversion was started around the same time as we frequented the 'Sun Inn' and 'Burnside Hotel' so must have been around 1970.

A question about the tailplanes?

Were both cropped ?

Somewhere,possibly in Sea Devon build,mention of only one being cropped.

Anyway enough of this looking at civvy stuff, I'm off back to my usual haunts

Richard

 

Ah I see he has beat me to it.

[huvut76g7gbbui7]

On 14/11/2016 at 11:46 AM, alancmlaird said:

Scimitar's" 'worst kits in the stash' 

He hasn't seen the rest of the surprises I've got for him 

[alancmlaird]

20 minutes ago, Scimitar said:

He hasn't seen the rest of the surprises I've got for him 

I knew those couldn't have been the worst of the worst.

[stevehnz]

That looks a lot like the fuselage halves I've got tucked away & I'm pretty sure they were Airmodel, I got quite a few Airmodel bits from one of the retailers who advertised in I think Airfix mag back then.

Steve.

[alancmlaird]

23 minutes ago, stevehnz said:

That looks a lot like the fuselage halves I've got tucked away & I'm pretty sure they were Airmodel, I got quite a few Airmodel bits from one of the retailers who advertised in I think Airfix mag back then.

Steve.

In among that historic stash, do you have some Meteor fuselages? I built, probably from Frog Mk4, two civil demonstrators, a T.7 and an F.8 with early conversion kits  I'll bet they were Airmodel too. MPM do both those marks as kits now, of course! There might be an Anson XIX in there too.

[stevehnz]

Sorry Alan, but no, the Devon/Dove fuselage was the only conversion set I got from them, there were some canopies, Metor NF.14 & T.7 & Skyraider AEW radome but these latter were very crude & once seen I gave up any idea of using them. There was also a full kit ???? of a Sikorsky S-51/Westland Dragonfly which I made a start on but alas laguishes all these decades later only partially completed. Pretty crude too but it could be made into something reasonable I think, then again, some-one might do a nice plastic kit for one.
 Most of my purchases back then were toward FAA & RNZAF stuff, thats still the case but the last few years, I've succumbed to the lure of "ooooh, that looks good in that scheme", a very slippery slope.

Steve.

[alancmlaird]

On 11/22/2016 at 0:02 AM, stevehnz said:

There was also a full kit ???? of a Sikorsky S-51/Westland Dragonfly which I made a start on but alas laguishes all these decades later only partially completed. Pretty crude too but it could be made into something reasonable I think, then again, some-one might do a nice plastic kit for one.
 Most of my purchases back then were toward FAA & RNZAF stuff, thats still the case but the last few years, I've succumbed to the lure of "ooooh, that looks good in that scheme", a very slippery slope.

Steve.

I bought the Dragonfly too! Was it an entirely clear moulding? I seem to remember that it was - no guarantee though. I do remember I gave up due to the lack of cockpit interior and references for same. Went in the bin a long time ago - but I've just bough the new(ish) Mach2 kit - seems ok despite the much-maligned manufacturer. These young 'uns have all gone soft, complaining that the pitot tube on the new Hasegawa is too short or somesuch - they should try building some of the low-vol stuff WE had to contend with!!!

I came back to modelling with the firm intention of building ONLY WW1 British aircraft. That resolution lasted about 6 months until my friend Scimitar decided on his stash reduction programme which seemed to have all the models I hadn't built in the last 30 years but wanted to. (To punish him, I am building them all as civvies, he being a millitary enthusiast)

[alancmlaird]

Not much progress other than dust production due to sanding-down, but here's a montage of some details to keep you bored.....

 

Assymetic tailplane tip (re)instated - other side is squared off.

Rudder chord is increased (my fault or 30 year old magazine drawings?) and trim tab added. Also rudder base height moved up a bit (to correct previous error). Added elevator trim tabs are visible (just) too.

Cut down canopy and built up fuselage still with final work to do. Laboriously polished old canopy in place now needing re-polished. Transparent df aerial fairing hand-carved out of a piece of clear sprue (plunge-moulding unsuccessful due to small size or lack of talent).

[stevehnz]

Alan, my Dragonfly has clear cockpit halves, is from rear cockpit bulkhead forward with rest in white plastic. I think it could be turned into a decent model, it just needs more time than I have currently. I'm liking the look of your Dove, its become a major rebuild rather than a refurb, to my mind.

Steve.

[alancmlaird]

1 hour ago, stevehnz said:

Alan, my Dragonfly has clear cockpit halves, is from rear cockpit bulkhead forward with rest in white plastic. I think it could be turned into a decent model, it just needs more time than I have currently. I'm liking the look of your Dove, its become a major rebuild rather than a refurb, to my mind.

Steve.

Maybe that's what I remember, just the cockpit halves. Sounds sensible for production. I do remember having great trouble working with the clear plastic - I used a single-tube glue (my dad fixed everthing with it!) but it was too rubbery - tried Araldite but inadvertantly glued just about everthing else with it too. Probably just as well I gave up on the Dragonfly before I could do any serious damage with the new, innovative Superglue.

Thanks for your encouraging words Steve, the Dove is way more of a task than I intended, very enjoyable in a hitting-your-head-off-a-brick-wall way though - I reckoned on it being the only Dove I'd build so might as well get on with it......now I'm thinking to have it joined by one of the soon-to-be-released Amodel kit for comparison. I'd like my old one finished ahead of that though. 

[nimrod54]

Great progress Alan, the strip back and rebuild will be worth it in the end.

 

[SleeperService]

This thread makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. I did this conversion back in about 1975 (long since departed) but not as well as your start. I will follow with my rose tinted glasses to hand.

[alancmlaird]

2 hours ago, SleeperService said:

This thread makes me feel all warm and gooey inside. I did this conversion back in about 1975 (long since departed) but not as well as your start. I will follow with my rose tinted glasses to hand.

Stay tuned......it gets worse!

[alancmlaird]

So there i was, applying pigment with the hirsute stick (a brush to use the technical term), and watching with rapt attention to the fascinating process of the enamel's solvent evaporating to the atmosphere, occassionally applying myself to making smaller items like the undercarriage doors and losing them when something stuck me - "I wonder why the de Havilland designers needed to make the small rear window lower that the rest?" It didn't take me long to find out they didn't - but Airfix did. Doh!

It was apparent that trying to mask for the cheatline (black) that is just deeper than the main windows was impossible to get right when the little window was too low - it would break into the straight line, so it had to be moved up - verrrryyyy carefully. Both existing windows had to be knocked inside (they were too big to be lifted out), a small piece of card glued to the sill, cut and smoothed off,  and the window top cut upwards (using masking tape as a guide.....

Fortunately this was all done to an area that hadn't been painted yet. I'll fit a new window after painting. The other side has been done the same way.

If you are building an Airfix Heron - the same correction applies. 

 

You might have noticed the props not only have a piece of 20thou card added to the base to extend them, there's an extra prob blade too (I stole them from my old Heron model - needs must!).

[nimrod54]

35 minutes ago, alancmlaird said:

So there i was, applying pigment with the hirsute stick (a brush to use the technical term), and watching with rapt attention to the fascinating process of the enamel's solvent evaporating to the atmosphere, occassionally applying myself to making smaller items like the undercarriage doors and losing them when something stuck me - "I wonder why the de Havilland designers needed to make the small rear window lower that the rest?" It didn't take me long to find out they didn't - but Airfix did. Doh!

 

Nice work on the window Alan. It was fortunate that I had filled the windows on my Heron so it was just some paint touch up for me. I have a set of Heron canopy window masks going spare if you can use them.

[alancmlaird]

Just now, nimrod54 said:

 

Nice work on the window Alan. It was fortunate that I had filled the windows on my Heron so it was just some paint touch up for me. I have a set of canopy window masks going spare if you can use them.

I would have left it alone if only the cheatline had been a little wider - but I can't hide stuff from you guys. You do wonder though how, or why,  Airfix got something so simple so wrong.

I was going to point out your model as a solution on my very next post! 

 

I've never used these pre-prepared mask thingies and I wouldn't mind having a try - I'll pm you if that's ok.

[nimrod54]

That's fine Alan, just pm some address details and I will get them in the post for you.

[Grandboof]

Great progress Top marks 

Martin H

[alancmlaird]

To those few fortunate survivors of asphyxia waiting for my next two-steps-forward-one-step-back incident report, here it is:

I was proceeding in an orderly manner in the direction of completion, masking for cheat lines, doing a little paint repair, finishing off some smaller items and losing them, when I (ir)rationally decided the canopy/cockpit was all wrong, and with some violence removed the offending item. Fortunately 'Scimitar' had a spare one going, well, spare, which I cut about with more care than the old one. 
The mug-shots are below for all to see. 
I'd lost the u/c doors long since (no great loss - not very accurtate), so made new ones (I stole the wheels off my old Heron model), the kit nosegear, which bravely had stayed attached to the model after 40 years, had the oleo in the fully extended position, so the knuckle-joint was re-angled as shown.

With the top off, I included some rudimentary cockpit detail (mostly now invisible, fortunately, since the 40-year old seats are incorrect), but the cockpit rear bulkhead and the 'widow's peak' instrument combing were almost worthwhile (the new twin steering yokes weren't).

The model is now sitting on its wheels (nose weight perfect!!!), props on (much easier to paint them on the model - I hope).
There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel at last

.....though it might just be Casey Jones and the Deadline Express fast approaching...

[CliffB]

19 hours ago, alancmlaird said:

There appears to be light at the end of the tunnel at last

.....though it might just be Casey Jones and the Deadline Express fast approaching...

 

 

Fortunately there are no more stops between here and the end of the of the line

Cliff

 

[alancmlaird]

On 12/11/2016 at 10:37 PM, nimrod54 said:

 

Nice work on the window Alan. It was fortunate that I had filled the windows on my Heron so it was just some paint touch up for me. I have a set of Heron canopy window masks going spare if you can use them.

Thanks for those - they arrived in perfect condition! I was glad I didn't use them on the old canopy, now I reckon they are incorrect for the new one - If its ok with you, I'll use them on my old Heron model renovation - its already been in the 'soup' so I might get on with it quite quickly now - would be a good companion model in BEA Red Square livery for my Herald and this Dove - and anyway, I've got all this red, black and grey paint to use up!

[nimrod54]

Good to know that they arrived OK Alan, and you should use them in whatever way suits you best. I am sorry to read about your canopy woes on this build, but it looks as though you have got it sorted out and that's a lovely job on the cheat line.

I wish that my planned KUTA build was progressing as well. The Christmas/New Year break has slowed things down considerably and I have just got back to continuing work on a couple of 1/144 Mustangs.

[alancmlaird]

5 hours ago, nimrod54 said:

...... and I have just got back to continuing work on a couple of 1/144 Mustangs.

I wanted to do a quick build straight from th ebox (nearly) on a 1/72 Airfix Mustang (or two, a second near identical one), but the Dove took up the little spare time left, and Scott's Models in Glasgow had run out of kits (can't say I'm sorry - a new model shop selling stuff is what we want to hear). Should have bought one or two sooner. It would probably have annoyed all Mustang fans - the clue is, I would have been using the same tins of red and black enamel as on the Dove and GB Airliner Herald! Maybe can fit it in later. 
I hadn't seen your Mustang build - I'll rectify that now.