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Curtiss Racer #3


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  • 9 months later...

Well, I’m in a new city and a new job.  So nine months have quickly passed without any activity to show here.

 

But I can report that tonight, at last, I’ve unpacked my gear at my new window-seat workbench, together with this one ...

 

BM_13_CR-3_I’m back!

 

Too tired to launch into it just now, but quietly excited about being back at it soon!

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Starboard float catching up to port. Detailing added: fuel-cap covers, mooring eye & strip to chines at the bow.  Brown card additions to the jig.  Some brass tube flattened & a start made on grinding one to an aerofoil shape. Out of steam for tonight, more soon ..

 

BM_15_CR-3_ starboard float

 

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Hi greggles!

 

Welcome back! It's great seeing this superb build being resurrected!

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

 

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15 hours ago, jrlx said:

Hi greggles!

 

Welcome back! 

Thanks Jaime, very kind - especially considering how far I am beyond the end date to this group build!  I must do something about relocating this thread up to WIP..

 

Meanwhile, one more strut done. Ridiculous. Best not to reflect on the time each one takes.

 

File down angled ends..

 

BM_17_CR-3_Strut 3_1

 

Check fit (& repeat!)..

 

BM_17_CR-3_Strut 3_2

 

Brass wire fixed into the float & bent into alignment..

 

BM_17_CR-3_Strut 3_3

 

Strut end fairings laminated on & trimmed ..

 

BM_17_CR-3_Strut 3_4

 

Strut CA glued in place. Done. Let it sit overnight on the jig to harden up .. what’s a little more waiting ..

 

BM_17_CR-3_Strut 3_5

 

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1 hour ago, greggles.w said:

 

Thanks Jaime, very kind - especially considering how far I am beyond the end date to this group build!  (...)

 

 

 

:-) I know this too well. Started a SMER Macci MC72 in the "Less Than a Tenner GB" many years ago. Missed the dead line and slowly the build shifted to the temporarily shelf of doom. This happed a bit too often with me and GBs so now I force myself to finalize at least some kits before I attentto any GB. Which is a pain looking at the running topics :-)

 

Great to see your build back on the net! :popcorn:

René

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10 hours ago, Courageous said:

Just stumbled across the brilliant thread. I'm currently looking into Schneider racers but in 1/72 and gleaning lots of info and inspiration from your build. :goodjob:

 

Stuart

Thanks Stuart,

 

If it’s inspiration you seek, I recommend this book, one of my absolute favourite:

 

BM_17_CR-3_Inspiration!

 

All in French, so not a source of information as such for me, but the drawings are just so evocative. I leaf through that one again & again, quite often.

 

10 hours ago, Caerbannog said:

now I force myself to finalize at least some kits before I attentto any GB. Which is a pain looking at the running topics 🙂

 

Great to see your build back on the ne

 

Thanks Rene, nice to be back. & your advice re group builds is noted!

 

g.

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  • 2 weeks later...

The last of the upright struts done - finally - done!

 

BM_18_CR-3_struts struts struts

 

And I’m underway with the remaining two horizontal struts, seen above resting on the front of the floats.

 

This here below submitted to make my case for why this is taking me a while:

 

BM_18_CR-3 horizontal struts

 

Raw brass tube stock is shown on right.  This is then squished in a home made vise to make it a rounded rectangle section as shown with the centre horizontal strut.  Then it’s ground to an aerofoil shape using coarse grit sanding stick & finally polished smooth, as shown on the left - that’s one of the horizontal struts ready for trimming!

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Well now, missed this before but catching up now and ramping up my interest in Schneider Cup racers.  Experimenting with plunging the floats for a Macchi M39.  Avidly following.

 

Dennis 

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6 hours ago, Courageous said:

Have bitten the bullet and purchased a copy of Speedbirds...your fault.

 

7 hours ago, DMC said:

Macchi M39

 What scale are you doing this in Dennis?

 

 

Very good Stuart, hope you enjoy the book too.

 

& yes Dennis, what scale? Sounds very interesting, the M39 is most certainly on my to-do list!

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Hi Stuart and Greg,

 

I’m working in 1/48 scale from a plan I “found” on the Internet and enlarged.  These little racers have enormous appeal due to their clean lines and relative simplicity.  There seems to be a dearth of kits but I think they lend themselves to scratch building very well.

 

Cheers,

 

Dennis

 

 

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As you say Dennis, a dearth of kits :sad:. I build in 1/72 nowadays, so any scratch building will be done in that scale. Although I can scratch things like cockpits, undercarriage, etc but complex curves like floats and fuselages, I have no clue on where to start.

 

Stuart

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3 hours ago, DMC said:

I’m working in 1/48 scale from a plan I “found” on the Internet and enlarged.  These little racers have enormous appeal due to their clean lines and relative simplicity.

 

Agreed! 1/48 is a good scale for it, they are so very small these machines.

 

If you’re looking for a reference Dennis, this book could be quite helpful:

 

BM_20_CR-3_Macchi reference

 

Covers the extended Macchi racer family. Lots of images, with plans & sections.  I bought mine online direct from the publisher in Italy.

 

 

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Stuart, Dennis, in response to your queries here & other thread, here follows a quick contrast of the above two books.

 

The Italian book on Macchis is dense with pictures, a few colour profiles, and numerous scale drawings such as these:

 

M.39:

 

BM_21_CR-3_Books

 

BM_21_CR-3_Books

 

.. or the spectacular MC.72:

 

BM_21_CR-3_Books

 

By contrast, Speedbirds contains not measured drawings, but collections of fabulously evocative b&w sketches and coloured renderings of these machines thundering along in their element.  The likes of ..

 

  M.52:

 

BM_21_CR-3_Books

 

M.67:

 

BM_21_CR-3_Books

 

So the question could be asked: which tells the truth? Objective, measured & dimensioned data or visceral, expressive & raucous imagining?

 

I guess as a modeler I’ve decided that I need the former, but only if it helps me reach an outcome which evokes the latter!

 

Hope that helps.

 

(I’ve deliberately provided part page spread samples, as I believe those who put such effort into these works should be paid their due.)

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Ha! Both then.

 

Dennis

 

Seriously, both very nice and hard to choose between the two.  Scale drawings really useful but I’ve always had a liking for pencil sketches.  Birthday this week so perhaps yet another book token.  Thanks for posting.

Edited by DMC
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Absolutely out standing build so far. Really loving your scratch building too.

 

There is an interpretation of this aircraft on one of my favorite Studio Ghibli movies, Porco Rosso where Curtis plays a part in the story line

 

I found this 1/48 kit that I am extremely tempted to get

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B000IW9KME/?coliid=I3H0ZJ44VMTNO&colid=GNK3YZFNBT5&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

 

with this to accompany it

 

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B0007U92XO/?coliid=I37244Q2PKXYR&colid=GNK3YZFNBT5&psc=0&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it

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