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Wingnut Wings Bristol F.2b closed cowling fit


Beardie

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H all,

 

Has anyone built the Wingnuts Bristol F.2b with the cowlings closed?

If so did you have fit problems?

 

It may be my cack-handed construction of the kit but I found that, in order to build it with the cowlings neatly closed, I had to do some extensive carving of the inside of the upper cowlings where the cams snuggly fit into molded depressions and I was wondering if this is, indeed, just me or if it is a neccessary evil if you choose not to leave the cowlings off. I would have removed the cams which would have solved the problem but the front ends are visible through the cowlings.

 

I have to say that, to date, this has been my least enjoyable Wingnuts kit. Brilliantly engineered as ever but it often feels like a slog putting it all together. Much more invovled with the underslung lower wing, busy, wide open cockpits and delicate empennage and tail skid assembly.

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Marty.

 

Three people I know who have built this kit have (all) had the same or very similar sounding problems with the cowling and indeed, the front end of the kit in general. Indeed, one bloke was so frustrated he built it twice because he thought (wrongly) he had done something wrong himself first time around only to encounter the same problem and thus end up with the same result. From memory as well, when it got built in the 'Windsock' magazine review at the time of initial release some years ago now, problems were identified with the engine bearers which seemed to create problems keeping the engine and cowlings in line.

 

To be clear, I have not built this kit in person but I haven't met a single person (and all very capable modellers) who haven't had a 'fight' in some way with this kit. Others of course will know more or indeed possibly say different.

 

On a final note and given it was amongst the batch of 4 kits they initially tooled and released, I wonder if WNW were they to do it today with about 10 years of additional kit engineering experience would do it any differently?

 

Cheers Marty

Gary

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Hi Gary,

 

I have to agree, I snipped about 1mm off the lower mounting points of the engine bearers (I had to saw through where they were glued in first) as the engine was tilted up to the front and I then left the lower ends free relying on the cowlings and radiator to align it as neccessary. The port upper cowling positioned just fine but the starboard one required the gouging I described above. It's altogether now so downhill from here on in :winkgrin:

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Great  I've got two - the wartime and post-war versions. I've been putting them off because - from previous experience in both 72 and 48 - I know what a pain the lower wing always is. Now I'll prevaricate a bit longer.

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The lower wing assembly on the Wingnuts kit is a doddle and solid as a rock. You only have to attach the centre section and undercarriage initially. Just pop the struts into the underside of the fuselage and allow them  to set thoroughly then offer up the centre section/undercarriage assembly.

 

As to the engine end, don't glue the bearers in until the engine and radiator are ready to install allowing you to use the lower cowlings and radiator to get it lined up correctly and trim the lower bearer attachment points to bring the forard end of the engine into true with the radiator and lower cowlings. After that you should only need to gouge out the inside of the upper cowling (If you want to have the upper cowlings on) as it is moulded inside to fit the camshafts but needs space as the camshafts are higher up than the molded depressions.

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Here is the results of what amounts to minimal tinkering to get it all trued up.

 

By the way, if you are still iffy about building the Wingnuts Bristol I am more than happy to give it a new home although lack of funds means I could only cover postage :winkgrin: I already have another in the stash but I wouldn't say no to having more, especially if someone puts out some of the fancy schemes like the crocodile and pike.

 

P1000204

 

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Oh, I'll build them - eventually - but thanks for your kind offer to rehome one of them!

 

I purchased the initial one because I intend to do it in the pike scheme - someone has done decals in 32, and I have them, but it'd be a bit tricky to dig them out right now (maybe something like OH Decals?). I'll let you know within a couple days who produced them. I do recall that I got them via Smallcars (or something like that) in the UK, who had a pretty unfriendly website at the time, so I rang the from Oz to place the order. Accent hilarity ensued - I couldn't understand a word the guy who answered said (to my ear, his accent was bloody thick as) and he probably struggled with my accent. So I just kept repeating the name of the proprietor (who had asked me via email to ring through the order) until he was put on. Luckily we understood one another!

 

Just to be crystal clear: their website was dodgy (primitive), but their service was excellent.

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Thanks for the info. I will see if I can track a copy of the decals down.

 

I have to say that the kit builds up solidly. As you can see in the following picture, the upper centre section (with invisible mending thread rigging) is plenty strong enough to support the complete top wing on it's own

P1000206

 

 

The lower wing halves were then slotted into the lower centre section and the preinstalled struts fitted perfectly into their mounting positions.

 

P1000207

 

Paint tins are only neccessary while glue sets to avoid too much sag in the wings.

 

As well as being a testament to the quality of Wingnut Wings kits it is also a testament to the designers of the original aircraft.

 

I am guessing those styrene struts are somewhat weaker (In equivalent scale of course) than the wood and metal of the real thing with elastic rigging instead of steel wire all bearing the load of solid dense plastic wings as opposed to the canvas and wood structures of the real thing and yet the whole assembly is still strong.

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Thanks for the tip @jckspratt1 apparently they are available from fantasy printshop here in the UK (I believe they print the Pheon decals) who do both the crocodile and Pike decals in 1/32 and both appear to be available. I am guessing it was the Cornish accent that caused the communication problems.

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Update:

 

I see that Oliver Holmes (OH Models) was a member on BM but was banned two years ago and was also cast in a dubious light as a trader. I guess I better be wary about splashing my cash although I am guessing that Fantasyprintshop are probably fine to deal with.

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Never had any real probs with the kit.

If you coat the inside of the cowling parts with a felt pen ( remember that the ink is usually veg oil based , so clean it off diligently ) then offer up the parts to the fuse , you can see the marks left on the felt pen coating where contact occurs.

Start material removal in those areas first and the parts will begin to fit.

I've added a lot of build pics on the fbook page link below.

Edited by krow113
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Beardie:

 

I've just managed to dig the kit and decals out, and can confirm that they are OH - and that I bought them through an outfit called Littlecars (not Smallcars, but I was close!). Littlecars' service was excellent, albeit unintelligible on the phone! My recollection is that I managed to grab the last 1/32 Pike that they had at the time. If you can confirm that the Croc scheme is available in 1/32, please let me know - I have the Eduard 1/48 version sitting here, but rather like the idea of using the WnW kit instead. I have built the Ed kit in the Pike scheme, and am fairly happy with it but still want to upscale, which will happen one day.

 

Thanks for your tips on building the WnW Bristol - always nice to slipstream on someone else's experiences, and your WnW builds on here give you a lot of cred in this area. The Ed kit is actually pretty good (from memory - it's been a while), and the undercarriage was fairly well done in the scale but I seem to recall having to shave the wheel struts to get them to fit through the wings correctly. I've also done the Roden 1/72 in AFC livery, and that was pretty tricky. Like most Roden kits - in my experience - the decals were dodgy and it was over-engineered, particularly for the scale. I finished it cowls off, because although the donk was very finely detailed I just couldn't get everything to fit - and I'd spent so much effort putting the fiddly bloody engine together I really wanted to be able to see it.

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Jeez a 1/72 Bristol must have been a nightmare. I have always shied away from Roden as I just can't get on with their soft soapy plastic and awful decals.

The two Eduard Bristols I built (1 Pike and 1 normal) both went together pretty well from what I remember but the 1/32 scale gives the Bristol a real 'presence'. I will drop a line to fantasyprintshop.co.uk to see if the actually do have the decals in stock. They aren't cheap though as they are listed at £24.99 a set.

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Pretty sure that I paid at least 25 pounds for the Pike decals when I bought them, so it's no surprise.

 

I've just checked fantasyprintshop.co.uk, and did a search showing 'only in stock' - looks like you/we are in luck, as they have both Pike and Croc. They are the same OH brand as the Pike's I already have, which appear to be good quality.

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As far as I am aware OH is no longer  involved and hasn't been for some time. Fantasy did the original printing and they were sold by Paul at LittleCars. Both well known reputable traders. I believe his banning on here was nothing to do with the decal sales.

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Beardie i see you went for the kite that Park posed in front of.

 

while i sympathize with your pain i'm glad you took one for the team, so at least when i have the same problem i know what's up. 

 

i'll probably do McKeever. given the challenges it won't be my first WNW because Biffs are a fav of mine and i want to get it right... 

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I did indeed Jeff. As discussed above I may well go for one of the fancy schemes on my next one (or two) and will also try and work out a way to do one of the Scottish Bristol aces at some time in the future.

 

In all honesty the kit really is very nice to build with the only real bit that needs care and attention being getting the engine and front end sorted out. Everything else was smooth and trouble free. I often put off doing a next step (like mounting the lower centre section) worrying about getting it right and then, when I screwed my courage to the post and did it, I was left wondering just what I had been nervous about. The only other thing I would avoid in future is the Photoetch ammo ddrum bag for the gunners position as I think that could be done much better in thin cloth or even paper or thin plasticard without nearly as much hassle as trying to form the PE part.

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Once I get my hands on the decals there may well be but I have a lot of other Wingnuts to get through so it may be some time. I think that next on the block might be a Gotha or possibly a Pfalz D.IIIa or maybe an Albatros D.V or a Fokker D.VII or it could be an SE.5a or a DH.9 etc. etc. :drunk: So many choices so little time :D

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