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Curtiss Racer #3


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Well here I go, I'm in!

 

Let me start by taking you back in time a little.  This machine, which had won the 1921 Pulitzer Trophy (at average 176.7mph), as the Curtiss CR-1...

 

 

Curtiss : CR-1 : Racer

*SDASM

 

.. and had then gone on to place third in the 1922 Pulitzer Trophy (at 193.2mph) as the CR-2, modified to replace those drag-inducing pineapple-like Lamblin radiators with integral upper-wing surface radiators...

 

 

Curtiss : CR-2 : Racer

*SDASM

 

... was further modified by Curtiss for the US Navy as the CR-3 floatplane, contesting in 1923 as the first ever US entry to the annual international Schneider Trophy race - and won! (at average 177.38mph / max 181.87mph):

 

 

s-l1601

 

 

 

*P

 

 

 

(scroll through to watch from 22:00 to 26:05mins for the bit on the 1923 race & the significance of the CR-3, within a lecture by Mike Marsden, former head of wind tunnels Airbus, given to the Bristol Aero Society).

 

This machine would go on to be further modified in 1924, and as the CR-4 it set a closed-circuit speed record for seaplanes of 188.08mph.

 

Back to the present.  Inspired by this group build theme, and Curtiss' successful transformation of a land plane to floatplane I have decided to do just the same at 1/48 scale (hopefully also successfully!!), by converting this kit (labelled CR-2 but I think actually CR-1?!) ...

 

 

Curtiss CR-2

 

... to the Schneider Trophy winning CR-3 floatplane! (Noix did also make a CR-3 .. but I know not to hold my breath waiting for such a thing to appear!)

 

It will be a bit of a kit-bash:

 

  • the lovely Noix resin fuselage & flying surfaces +
  • floats from a donor Testors (Hawk) Curtiss R3C-2 +
  • some etched detail bits for those floats taken from an XS Models upgrade intended for the Testors kit.

 

This may seem a bit wasteful of both the R3C-2 kit & upgrade, but after I had put these in the stash I later came across the far superior Noix kit of the same machine, which made them redundant.  This will be putting them to some use after all.

 

Oh, and finally I'll add a pilot - probably white metal from Phoenix Figures - as I intend to display  the machine in flight.

 

So that's my submission, hope to be underway very soon!

 

g.

 

Here's a final image to build the excitement!

 

 

Curtiss CR-3

 

*SDASM

Images so marked have been sourced from San Diego Air and Space Museum online archives.  I waded through the 'terms of use' and believe I'm not in breach by using these images here .. but let me know if not & I will remove!

  

*P

Pathe .. much the same as above!

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Hi Greggles,

 

Great choice and very interesting historical contextualisation!

 

I wish you luck with your kit bashing project. These are always a display of courage by the modeller :D

 

Cheers

 

Jaime

 

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Excellent! Another record breaking Golden Age aircraft.

 

Looking forward to this Greggles. One day I would like to do a display of Schneider aircraft in 1/72... one day :D

 

All the best

TonyT

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19 hours ago, Fatboydim said:

Hello greggles, great choice. Joe

 

Thanks for your enthusiasm Joe!

 

16 hours ago, jrlx said:

 

I wish you luck with your kit bashing project. These are always a display of courage by the modeller :D

 

Thanks Jaime, .. one could also say a 'display of foolhardy naivety'!

 

15 hours ago, Dazey said:

Very nice! At first, I thought it might have been a Porco Rosso version

 

Thanks David. I have seen that kit out there.  Luckily the rules say no 'what if'.  Also there are so many worthy floatplane golden era racers to keep me busy for sometime yet!

 

11 hours ago, TonyTiger66 said:

Looking forward to this Greggles. One day I would like to do a display of Schneider aircraft in 1/72... one day :D

 

Thanks Tony, I have committed myself to much the same plan, but at 1/48. Four Macchis, two Supermarine, two Glosters, and one other Curtiss in the queue. All going well with this one, there might be time for another after - perhaps or in parallel - before the group build ends.

 

.. oh & I really, really want to finish that Crusader!!

 

This is the the first one on which I'll be tackling those brass surface radiators ... a few ideas brewing!

11 hours ago, John D.C. Masters said:

Pretty, very pretty.  I look forward to it.

 

Indeed it is John.  It's easily overshadowed by the later, sleeker monoplane Schneider racers, but when you take the time to consider it in isolation it really is a beautiful, innovative & successful design.

 

Thanks all, & happy building to the others in this group!  Looking forward to what else pops up once the start date actually arrives!!

 

g.

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Very nice greggles, very nice indeed. Appreciated the documentation putting us slap-bang in the period-feel for this.

 

Happy bashing on a n engaging choice!

:thumbsup2:

Tony

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I had completely forgotten that this was a Schneider Trophy winner. This goes well with Ced's S6B.  Very pleased to read that you are also going to cut thigs up and change them about - makes modelling so much more intersting.

 

P

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And so we are officially started!

 

BM_4_CR-3_take off

 

And I've decided there could be no more appropriate place to start work than on the floats.

 

Here are the parts available for harvest from the Testors / Hawk R3C-2 kit: completely smooth-surfaced float halves & some sturdy triangular support struts:

 

BM_4_R3C-2 floats

 

So how do they shape up when compared to those required for this CR-3 project?  They are both Curtiss machines, only two years apart ... but this was a time of rapid technological advancement.

 

Well, here I've overlayed side views - blue being the CR-3 & black the R3C-2 - using the top spine & end of the floats (E/F) as the common set-out edges for alignment.  On the whole it looks very promising to me, remarkably close!!

air-racer_CR-3 R3C-2_Overlay SIDE

Next a comparison from the front.  This confirms - as also shown above - that the strut geometry is completely different ... so that will need to be scratch built.  The float cross-sections are very similar, but ...

air-racer_CR-3 R3C-2_Overlay FRONT

... here in plan we can clearly see - as hinted at above - that there is a significant difference in the width of the floats, being about 15% wider on the CR-3, and the shape of the nose is less pointy, more rounded:

air-racer_CR-3 R3C-2_Overlay PLAN

So first some thick sheet applied to the joining faces...

 

BM_4_R3C-2 floats (2)

 

Then a little later the halves brought together, aligned at their nose & along their spine (happily these floats are geometrically relatively simple, with a straight edge upper spine!)...

 

BM_4_R3C-2 floats (3)

 

Then later again trial & error using a circle template to set the curve to the nose - sorry, bow - of the floats.  My aim being to balance achieving the desired rounded form, without chewing away so much plastic as to open up the end of the float...

 

BM_4_R3C-2 float bow (1)

 

Ground down like so...

 

BM_4_R3C-2 float bow (2)

 

BM_4_R3C-2 float end day 1

 

So that's my first day's effort done.  I'm underway!!

 

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Hello all,

 

Thanks for the encouragement Jaime, Tony & Pheonix!

 

A little more progress.  One job started today was re-profiling the stern.  First scribed the new plan profile on the underside like so, again to match the drawings, but also checking to keep the change within the plastic wall thickness (only just!):

 

BM_5_R3C-2_Float stern (1)

 

But also today ... another new tool!!  This time a bargain.

 

I had been thinking of how best to blend in the centrally-inserted sheet to the upper curve of the floats, to avoid a flat plateau on top.  So after deciding on a radius - with reference to plans & by slipping the circle template over the floats - I ambled into the local hardware store with my Vernier callipers in hand, seeking something suitable.  I found one size of rigid PVC electrical conduit had exactly the requisite internal diameter.  Thinking I was a little odd, or perhaps taking pity on me, the salesman cut me a short length & for a mere 50 cents got me & my callipers out of his store!

 

Once home I trimmed to length & split lengthwise ...

 

BM_5_Float sander (1)

 

Then lined the inside with sandpaper ...

 

BM_5_Float sander (2)

 

To make the 'Curtiss CR-3 float-rounder-sander 1.0' - which happily seems to work!!

 

BM_5_Float sander (3)

 

That thick white sheet 'keel' made a good hand hold!

 

More soon, hopefully!

 

g.

 

 

 

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That was a really original idea! I do like Heath-Robinson solutions to practical problems - the cheaper he better too. Tools are very useful and sometimes necessary of course, but a little thought and ingenuity can often solve a problem and save a good deal of money!I know as I have to make models with a limited budget.

 

(Tight-fisted) P

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Thanks Jaime, thanks Pheonix!

 

Today's next increment on the floats: refining the form of the bow.  Starting with introducing a slight droop to the top ...

 

BM_6_R3C-2_Float bow (1)

 

... and then removing excess white sheet & shaping the 'V' from below up to meet the nose.  Not so easy ...

 

 

After that a little detail to try to capture the keel strip along the bottom central 'chine', and those sharp edges to the curving junction between top & bottom surfaces, as shown here on the CR-3...

 

BM_6_CR-3_Float bow (2)

 

... & similar here on the R3C-2...

 

BM_6_R3C-2_Float bow (3)

 

Some fine strip CAed on & blended in...

 

BM_6_R3C-2_Float bow (4)

 

I think it's OK, but 'the proof will be in the priming'!

 

BM_6_R3C-2_Float bow (5)

 

While waiting for glue / putty / brain to cure, I took the opportunity to dig out one of my test home-made compressed aerofoil brass struts from my Short Crusader build, to check against the drawings.  Very pleased it looks the part for the float struts, so now I know where I'm going with those!

 

BM_6_CR-3_Strut check plan

 

BM_6_CR-3_Strut check elevation

 

 

 

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Nifty thinking there, Greg! Out of likes again for some weird reason - has the quota been reduced to 25/day or something equally ridiculous?

 

So I'll just have to assign some virtual 'likes' instead :D.

 

Nice modelling :).

 

Cheers,

Alex.

 

Note: you just got in ahead of me with your last post - but the same really applies to that, too

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This is truly amazing work!  I learn a lot from these posts.

 

In regards to going slow...this GB is good practice for me.  I get to be patient and work on smaller details.  Plus...I am off-island a lot this month so I can;t work on it anyway.

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Thought I'd have a go at these today:

 

BM_7_CR-3_Mooring eye (1)

 

Mooring eyelet thingamys.  By the look of it they are either cast or machined metal I guess?  The above on the CR-3, the below on the RC3-2 showing the gap at the top.

 

BM_7_R3C-2_Mooring eye (1)

 

So I rummaged around in the materials box & found some tube, gave it a squeeze in the pliers, then fixed some scrap sheet as flanges to the side ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (2)

 

Then some very fine rod was welded into the junctions, mashed in as the glue dissolved them ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (3)

 

Sanded to blend in & trimmed ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (4)

 

Excess flange removed ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (5)

 

Fixing holes drilled & a start on rounding off corners ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (6)

 

Then nervously micro-saw the slot into the top of the tube ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (7)

 

Then saw off the first one of two ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (8)

 

And here it is in place ...

 

BM_7_Mooring eye (9)

 

... I think I need to go and have a little lie down now ...

 

 

 

 

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