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Avro 504K, 1/32, Scratchbuild


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1 hour ago, TheBaron said:

All looking terribly good Steve - adaptation and inventiveness of the finest order. Plus an excellent display of tools to boot. Bravo!

 

There you go encouraging him again.   We'll have to pay for that later you know

 

 

May I suggest one of these - very useful for getting heat into metal very quickly.  It became invaluable in my  train build for getting larger chunks of brass to behave. (They can also be had pretty cheaply)

 

41qfeDItxCL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg

 

Edited by hendie
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On 17/11/2018 at 07:15, HAMP man said:

flower arranging wire is very thin and very bendy and has a myriad of uses to the very determined !

Thanks ‘Handsaw HAMP man’- good tip. Picked some up last weekend. Good stuff - highly malleable and not at all ‘springy’ so it holds its shape nicely. Mine is too thick to fit into the grub-screw thread though so I can’t use it for that particular job.

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I'm glad to see I'm not the only one who wanders through hardware stores wondering if certain items can be repurposed more usefully!

 

Ditto to that,  I also find myself doing the same at the supermarket and (closer to normal) the art and hobby store.

 

Quote

Do it in the hardware store and it's just healthy curiosity - do it in the jeweller's and suddenly you're helping police with their enquiries. I ask you...

I did eventually resort to ebay for fine chain for my MKIV tank, for this very reason.

 

Also wrt the rigging (it has to be somewhere in the conversation) I find beadalon wildfire .15mm to be very good and at 1/32 its probably also to scale   ~ 5mm  full size (they also do a .2mm ~  6.5mm full size)

Edited by Marklo
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On 11/26/2018 at 1:15 PM, Bandsaw Steve said:

I'm nothing if not bodgy!

It is only a bodge if it looks like a bodge, when it looks good at the end it becomes impressive persistence and craftsmanship and I have no doubt it will look superb Steve.

 

I have said before that when I have to revisit a job it is the quickest way to kill my mojo so top marks for your3rd attempt, modelling at it's finest.

 

Have you considered one of these; https://www.ebay.co.uk/i/360592649897

It may help remove much of that unwanted leftover solder making clean up much easier.

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3 hours ago, Head in the clouds. said:

 

 

I have said before that when I have to revisit a job it is the quickest way to kill my mojo so top marks for your3rd attempt, modelling at it's finest.

 

 

Thanks ‘Hacksaw Head inClouds’ but I fear in this case you are being far too kind.

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On 27/11/2018 at 06:30, hendie said:

 

May I suggest one of these - very useful for getting heat into metal very quickly.  It became invaluable in my  train build for getting larger chunks of brass to behave. (They can also be had pretty cheaply)

 

41qfeDItxCL._SL500_AC_SS350_.jpg

 

 

Thank you ‘Heat-Torch Hendie’ 👍 will be looking into a variety of flame-throwers in the foreseeable future.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Avro 504Z Monoplane Racer

 

A little known part of the Avro 504 story is the development, in the early inter-war years, of a monoplane racing variant of the type.  The reason that it is so little-known is that I just made that 'fact' up.  It's a shame really because if it were true I would now be much, much closer to finishing this thing...

 

It's time for the lower wing to go on...

BW5f7wf.jpg

 

A recurring feature of my builds is my tendency to use two different types of glues on one joint. Here 'liquid nails' will provide the strength for this critical joint, while aquadhere PVA will add some rigidity.  The correct term for this technique is - 'making a mess'. Some model-builders seem to be able to maintain a near surgical degree of cleanliness and control throughout their builds.  Not me... 😨

Ye3ODBd.jpg

 

Anyway, slap the two bits, wings and fuselage, together and clamp them for 24 hours.

oPSC888.jpg

 

And then you should be able to do this for the first time - take a photo of the model in 'mid-air' with the lower wings at least in the right spot. I'm happy with this,  it's a major milestone, if for no other reason than I can now walk around the house 'flying' my Avro going Bzzzzzzz... Budda-Budda-Budda-Budda….Bzzzzzzzzzz…. which really is the entire point of the hobby I think... 😉

121D9F6.jpg

 

Next step was to remove the rather flimsy plastic tail that was probably not going to survive the rest of the project anyway (who would be so stupid as to try to build a model from plastic? I ask you...)

 

Use some Lego to ensure that the tailplane goes on straight, whack some liquid nails on it and clamp it down for 24 hours.

jvZ2MXB.jpg

 

vWKaKmG.jpg

 

Now have another go at the tail-fin. Cut out the correct shape from some 'Magnetic Formica' - I'm going to write a lot more about this stuff in a forthcoming post because it's completely awesome stuff and apart from @albergman (who kind of clued me into it when I read his absolutely awesome 'Flying Scotsman' thread) I do not know of any other modeller who uses it.

oIdKihl.jpg

 

Anyway - Magnetic Formica - Yes it's a real thing, and yes you can stick magnets to it, and yes I never want to build another model without it - ever again... ever.

K4CjeWp.jpg

 

So now we have it - a 1922 Avro 504Z racing monoplane - resplendent with a stripe of British racing green running down it's back.   Thanks for your support I couldn't have finished this model without it...  👍  Will be posting this on RFI very soon.  :happy:

 

No I won't - them's all lies...  still got miles and miles and miles to go...:penguin:

 

Soon I'll have to face some more fears - the cockpit (again) and how on Earth to put that damned top wing thing on...

 

Bandsaw Steve...

 

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Yep - Would pay about $2.20 I reckon - Sod’s law and so forth! 😂

 

In my numerous sillier moments I sometimes think of presenting this one (once complete) to Peter Jackson as a not-so-subtle hint. 😀

I would consider it a charitable act for the benefit of my Kitset-building brethren. 

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Some model-builders seem to be able to maintain a near surgical degree of cleanliness and control throughout their builds.  Not me... 

Me neither, most of my modelling is brought to you mostly by the good people at Squadron (they make green stuff, my favorite filler)

 

But still the Avro is coming along wonderfully.  Given a good trailing wind, (or herself having to go out with her mates) I might even catch up with you at the weekend on my Gamecock,  (somehow that just doesn't sound right)

Edited by Marklo
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1 hour ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

So now we have it - a 1922 Avro 504Z racing monoplane - resplendent with a stripe of British racing green running down it's back.   Thanks for your support I couldn't have finished this model without it...  👍  Will be posting this on RFI very soon.  :happy:

Was the mono a jet? I ask as there doesn't seem to be prop, and - even to someone lacking in an aeronautical engineering background like myself - it seems unlikely that this setup would fare that well when racing. :shrug:

 

Are you planning create the stretched skin effect on the tail with bondo like you did for the former for the cockpit sides?

 

 

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9 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

Anyway, slap the two bits, wings and fuselage, together and clamp them for 24 hours.

So, where's the mess, I wanted to see the mess.

Putting the mess aside, she is looking great but you haven't said why you're using that magnetic stuff!

 

Stuart

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Avro 504 F3 - and a merry Christmas to all...

 

Before launching into the main body of this post I must answer some questions:

 

So, where's the mess?

 

You obviously haven't been looking at the photographs very closely - the mess is mostly in the background - sometimes concealed behind a blue backdrop made of insulation foam. (have a look at the first photo below for example).  The mess is also plainly visible if you look closely enough at the model. I believe that a strict 1.5m minimum viewing distance should be enforced for all of my work. 🙂

 

You haven't said why you're using that magnetic stuff!

 

Actually the Formica is not itself magnetic and it's not magnetism that I'm after. Why this stuff is so good is that it has is a thin sheet of very strong steel (that's the stuff that any other magnet like a fridge magnet for example will stick to. ) This sheet of steel is 'welded' permanently between two thin sheets of Formica and imparts great strength to the stuff. Formica, on the other hand, is  a sort of very hard plastic or maybe resin sheeting but is susceptible to carving and shaping and works well with a wide variety of glues. So - what this material gives us is a hard, ridged, cut-able, shapeable, gluable sheet of modelling material that is extremely strong and quite workable.  I've used it on the tail and now have a very strong yet thin vertical tail-fin. I think this stuff will have all kinds of future applications. So far the only bits I've managed to procure are these small samples from a kitchen renovation outlet, but I want a lifetime supply of big sheets of this stuff. 🙂

 

1Q2WYRQ.jpg

 

Was the mono a jet?

 

Yes - it was also a pioneering UAV - as you can see it had no provision whatsoever for a pilot. The aircraft was a single-use airframe as it had no undercarriage... 😂

 

Anyhow - now that the preliminaries are over - let me continue with some more historical details...

 

Following the success of the Multi Role Avro 504 GR1 and the Avro 504 Monoplane Racer the British Ministry of Defence, in conjunction British Aerospace and the Royal Air Force set about developing a long-range air defence interceptor based on the Avro 504 airframe...

 

First they permanently affixed a 'turtle-deck' to the rear of the fuselage as shown below...(using PVA Glue clamped overnight).

VMvyAWU.jpg

 

Then - they assembled an engine and some other bits and pieces that had been developed previously - added a Foxhunter radar, four Skyflash Semi-Active Radar Homing Missiles , four Sidewinder missiles, a single Mauser 27mm cannon and painted the whole thing Air Defence Grey.

 

The result was the Avro 504 F3 monoplane, as shown below. The Royal Air Force based the type at Conningsby, Leeming and Leuchers - where it gained a reputation as a capable air-defence asset - but always with the caveat that it was never a sufficiently capable dogfighter to engage with first-rate air-superiority fighters such as the F15 eagle or the Sukhoi 27 - at least not on even terms.

 

n12OhhG.jpg

 

The aircraft received only limited export success, being purchased by Saudi Arabia, and used on a lease basis for a few years by the Italian Regia Aeronautica.

 

H2VESiy.jpg

 

The type is now retired, having been superseded by the generally superior Eurofighter Typhoon.

 

F8RD8su.jpg

 

An experimental biplane version of the Avro 504 F3 was developed with a view to increasing the aircraft's agility and weapons load. However, the resulting benefit was considered insufficient to enable this aircraft to tackle any fifth generation fighter - including the F35...😜

 

EMjrJdJ.jpg

 

Anyway - that's where I'm up to; Mr Hobby primer all over the thing (finally) and the wings and other main bits on (finally). This photo makes my little Avro look more complete than it actually is though, since many of the components are just held in place with blue-tack for the purposes of these photos - so don't worry you haven't missed anything.

 

I'm off on holiday for a bit now so probably won't be making any further major updates prior to Christmas.

 

With that in mind - have a great festive season everyone and thanks very much for following along with this project. 🎅

 

Best Regards,

Bandsaw Steve...

 

 

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Ahhhh- sorry - the ‘bondo’ Question. The true answer is ‘maybe’. I wanted to see how ‘severe’ the ribbing looked in the tail once primed. To me, it still Visibly stands too far clear of the surface so I might get keen and try to ‘merge it in’ a bit further. That might happen in January...maybe.

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  • 3 weeks later...

NICE.COM😉

 

like it so much i stared making a twin otter(or something that resembles that plane)  sorry no pics tho..

 

not quite to your standard

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5 hours ago, SA80A2AR said:

 

 

i stared making a twin otter(or something that resembles that plane)  sorry no pics tho..

 

I’m sure I speak for all when I say that pictures are compulsory!

 

What scale?

 

 

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23 hours ago, Bandsaw Steve said:
On 12/23/2018 at 3:31 PM, SA80A2AR said:

 

 

i stared making a twin otter(or something that resembles that plane)  sorry no pics tho..

 

I’m sure I speak for all when I say that pictures are compulsory!

 

What scale?

errmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm

 

about a 1 ft wingspan?

 

i cant get any photo hosting sites to works so sorry!!

 

On 12/7/2018 at 1:49 PM, Bandsaw Steve said:

(who would be so stupid as to try to build a model from plastic? I ask you...)

the best part of people on BM!😉

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New Year’s Resolution 

 

Despite the fact that I have just started a new build of RMS Carpathia - that you are all welcome to have a look at on the maritime pages - I hearby resolve that this Avro 504 will be completed during calendar year 2019.

 

If I fail to comply with this resolution I authorise @Matt @hendie @Redshift

And anyone else who wishes to be associated with such a band of raggamuffins to harass, harangue, lampoon and generally ridicule me in any way they see fit. 😳

 

So There we go... this one might go a bit quiet for a while, but once Carpathia is finished (I’m aiming for early May) I’ll have no Choice but get straight back on this one. 👍

 

Sincerely

Bandsaw Steve.

 

 

 

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10 minutes ago, Bandsaw Steve said:

New Year’s Resolution 

 

Despite the fact that I have just started a new build of RMS Carpathia - that you are all welcome to have a look at on the maritime pages - I hearby resolve that this Avro 504 will be completed during calendar year 2019.

 

If I fail to comply with this resolution I authorise @Matt @hendie @Redshift

And anyone else who wishes to be associated with such a band of raggamuffins to harass, harangue, lampoon and generally ridicule me in any way they see fit. 😳

  

So There we go... this one might go a bit quiet for a while, but once Carpathia is finished (I’m aiming for early May) I’ll have no Choice but get straight back on this one. 👍

 

Sincerely

Bandsaw Steve.

Well Steve, that beats loosing half a stone or not drinking so much which is good because you can plough ahead and get merrily drunk while eating the rest of the Christmas left overs without a feeling of guilt.

better crack on dear fellow....much to do 😉

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