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D.H. 83 Fox Moth, half scratch


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Lovely work. It is a wonderfully delicate machine.

 

At this point in a build I often write a list - it's a trade-off between the shock you get when you realise how long it is and the pleasure you get from crossing items off it. (let's not talk about the bit where you add a whole load more items because you forgot about them when you made the list...)

 

Regards,

Adrian

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3 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

At this point in a build I often write a list - it's a trade-off between the shock you get when you realise how long it is and the pleasure you get from crossing items off it. (let's not talk about the bit where you add a whole load more items because you forgot about them when you made the list...)

 

Regards,

Adrian

Hi Adrian

I too write "the list" (a mnemonic device) at the point when the model is quite advanced, because I often fail to add the last little things (Pitot, Venturi, antennas, small struts, props, exhausts, lights, etc) I made and set aside until I take 50 photos of the "finished" model, only to realize the missing bits when I start to post the images, and have to go back to the building board, and then re-shoot. I found more efficient to build more than one model at the same time, so when I have to wait for something to dry I can keep working, and that sometimes produces glitches too (parts for one model end up in the other model parts bin).

I thoroughly check references before starting the build, but unavoidably will discover more things that need attention as the construction proceeds, and I make notes of those too (for example that the specific airframe I have chosen has different landing lights or probes positions, etc).

Needless to say, I sometimes misplace the list and forget about it too, until....

 

Cheers

 

 

Edited by Moa
to correct typo
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The oil reservoir was mounted on the fuselage side on two wood rails:

IMG_4752+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

The conduit on the fuselage top present in some airframes is added. This makes my choice clear: it's going to be Belgian OO-ENC, the plane Poirot once flew in 😉
The wind-driven generator on the wing is added:

IMG_4753+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

Landing gear added:

IMG_4754+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

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A beacon seen in photos on the wing center panel LE is fabricated:

IMG_4755+%25281280x960%2529-1.jpg

 

 The oil reservoir is glued on:

IMG_4756+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

The canopy railings are added:

IMG_4757+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

It's funny that the task of adding details never seems to finish.

Hopefully after a few more touch-ups the model will be ready for the first base coat of paint (gloss black).

The scheme of this Belgium-registered machine was the one used in G-ACDD, that is red bottom half of fuselage and fin flash, blue upper half and regs, silver on part of the nose, wings and horizontal tail. A white thin line divided the colors.

White double outline regs were painted on the fuselage sides. The decals have been already commissioned.

Some careful masking will be in order...

Edited by Moa
to correct typo
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Moa this is coming along wonderfully, you are a fantastic modeller.

Where do you and others get your reference material from?  I only know about google images.

I also miss Aeroclub, I used to buy WWI propellers, engines, wheels and machine guns in the 80's.  Wonderful bits and bobs.

I have Valom's Southern Cross and Dennko's Northrop Gamma I would like to start.

Once again your builds are great.

 

Stephen

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50 minutes ago, StephenCJ said:

Where do you and others get your reference material from?  I only know about google images.

Hi Stephen

I find most of what I need on the Net, but you have to look wide and deep, not a two minute, one phrase search. The more you search, the more you learn about how to search, same as for building.

Occasionally fellow modelers will help, but before even dare to ask and bother people, I will exhaust all the sources I can think of.

I also have a very small library of aviation books, but I hardly ever find very useful stuff there, it is more for inspiration.

Google images is fine, but not all info comes from the images. I always do in parallel a "normal" search, and visit and fully explore what seems to be the better links proposed by the search.

There is no magic, I am afraid, but good ole butt-hours on the chair.

Cheers

 

 

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At this point I decided to make a little detour and experiment a bit on props, working with aluminium sheet instead of re-shaping plastic spares. I have done this before while working on the Rohrbach Roland to render the Reed pressed metal props, but the machine I finally represented didn't have those.

IMG_4115+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

So I made then real laminated wood ones:

IMG_4130+%25281280x1002%2529.jpg

 

In this case, there is a spinner involved:

IMG_4847+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_4848+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_4849+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_4850+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

IMG_4851+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

I am not sure I will use these, but it's fun to try and do things sometimes. They may be useful down the lane.

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6 hours ago, Courageous said:

Is their a special technique for making these ali prop blades?

Hi Stuart

Not really, other than cut the aluminium sheet in strips, and then trimming and sanding to contour the blades, polishing them a bit, and giving the blades a twist to resemble the proper change in the pitch (less toward the tips).

The spinners as you see are made from leftover sprue rods, sanding them by hand or chucking them on a drill and carefully sanding as they spin; then drilling the holes for the blades before removing from the rod to facilitate handling; then the spinner is removed by rolling a blade on the rod, and then drilled for the axle. Practice is all is needed. Making some amount will give you the knack, and then you select the ones that pair better.

After decades of making hundreds of models, the best technique and advice I have is: make a bunch, over and over, until you get it 😉

No instruction or methodical approach will ever bypass or substitute practice. In our field or everywhere else.

 

 

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And here is an even smaller one that will finally go on the model to replace the "wood" one provided with the kit. Tiny Fairey logo light blue stripes will eventually be added to the blades, as per images of the real plane. It has no shaft, but a hole, so I can glue it eventually to the free-wheeling boss that protrudes from inside the nose:

IMG_4865+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

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On 4/28/2018 at 2:44 PM, StephenCJ said:

Moa this is coming along wonderfully, you are a fantastic modeller.

Where do you and others get your reference material from?  I only know about google images.

I also miss Aeroclub, I used to buy WWI propellers, engines, wheels and machine guns in the 80's.  Wonderful bits and bobs.

I have Valom's Southern Cross and Dennko's Northrop Gamma I would like to start.

Once again your builds are great.

 

Stephen

Hi Stephen, In this genre, internet image searches will often find only the tip of the iceberg. Because many pre-WWII civil types are less well known, their photos posted hither & yon are often mis-captioned & will only appear while you are looking for something else entirely, or searching for images under the name of a pilot who flew the thing or a company that owned one. Even on museum web sites, I often find gems captioned simply as "an airplane", "a biplane", "a floatplane (or "float plane")", "plane on skis", etc.

Happy hunting!

 

"Moa", old friend, I am loving this!

 

Cheers, -Lars

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Peeling the masks off reveals the color scheme:

IMG_4906+%25281280x960%2529.jpg

 

Needless to say, and in spite of appearances, completion is not really near. A line separating the colors needs to be added, decals applied, and then very complex upper wing cabane structure and wing struts need to be added, plus rigging, transparencies, prop, wheels and pants, and many small details. Sigh.....

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