John Masters Posted April 17, 2018 Share Posted April 17, 2018 Pushing on...The most recent Roden offering I built was over a year ago. It was one of the Oeffag Albatri and although I have always liked the Roden version, it suffered from the same Roden flaws: poorly fitting stabilizers, that sort of thing. Nothing a little elbow grease couldn't fix. I am expecting the same from the Brisfit. I'll build OOB as much as possible and use the supplied decals. I hope they don't fall apart! This particular craft was flown by Maj. W.G. Barker and HRH Prince Edward of Wales manned the Lewis gun. I won't hold his future choices against him! I'll use some of my Mr. Kit paints for the PC-10 and CDL. I am looking forward to the typical high detail found in the Roden boxes. I will also rig with the full assortment of double flying wires. That means a lot of drilling, a lot of holes. I'll use .004 monofilament for this. Control horns will be scratched. So here it is... I'll clean it up and prime tomorrow morning. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 I have primed the sprues with Humbrol rattle-can Desert Tan instead of grey. I find that if the subject matter has a fair amount of CDL, either beneath a darker colour or as the primary tone, then this works better than grey. In this case the undercoat would have been a CDL, so the PC-10 will cover this nicely. A quick looks shows some flash, but not a large amount. The instructions offer an option for an 'engine open' build, which I might try to do. The engine itself is a such a little gem, it seems a shame to cover it with the cowling. It'll be a first for me if I proceed in this direction. --John 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bristol boy Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 Look forward to learning a lot from this, I have a later version waiting its turn. Are you planning using turnbuckles? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 Turnbuckles?!? Holy smokes...sorry BB...much too small for me! Thanks for the encouragement though! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 1 hour ago, John D.C. Masters said: Turnbuckles?!? Holy smokes...sorry BB...much too small for me! Thanks for the encouragement though! That makes me feel better about deciding not to put them on the SE5a! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 18, 2018 Author Share Posted April 18, 2018 I hit the fishing line with black permanent marker and then when they are all on and dry, just touch the ends with a little grey/silver paint to simulate the turnbuckles. I am looking forward to your SE5a! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted April 18, 2018 Share Posted April 18, 2018 2 hours ago, John D.C. Masters said: I hit the fishing line with black permanent marker and then when they are all on and dry, just touch the ends with a little grey/silver paint to simulate the turnbuckles. I am looking forward to your SE5a! I had bought some .15 monofilament which will be slightly over-scale, but the Inpact Fairey Flycatcher kit came with a 30' spool of black Kleintex invisible thread so I might use that, it is very fine and I did try a homemade turnbuckle made from 0.5mm O.D. /0.3mm I.D. Alum tube and managed to get it through but gave myself a migraine in the process hence my decision not to bother. I will attempt to do the turnbuckles for the 1/48 Flycatcher. Definitely going to study your technique for rigging though, as this will be my first attempt. Good luck with your build. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 19, 2018 Author Share Posted April 19, 2018 (edited) Ok...I flipped a coin to see if I would build the open-engine or not, and it came up tails...so open engine it is. A nice little assortment of 23 25 pieces to build the RR Falcon III! First off...some reference images....I thank the Shuttleworth Collection for the image from Wikipedia and http://www.pilotweb.aero/features/flight-tests/flight-test-world-war-i-bristol-f2b-fighter-1-4816989 for this one... From Shuttleworth... ...and this one from a private website. I think it is the same Shuttleworth engine from a different perspective. All three show a nice clean engine, which I will also show. Plenty of little tonal changes from aluminum, to burnt brass to black, copper, red...The Pilotweb image is good because it actually shows what the off-cowling look achieves and also where the rigging attaches. I'll get on it and post some of my images later today...I hope! --John Edited April 19, 2018 by John D.C. Masters 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 Here's a bit of work... I have assembled the motor and the cockpit and test fitted both. The RR Falcon III and its firewall fit in the fuselage nose pretty well. Ok. However, my experience with Roden kits has proved that cockpit fit is sometimes problematic, so with that in mind I made sure that the seats, dashboard, etc...were all sanded down a bit before joining the halves. I also test fitted the halves once that was all there to see if there were any gaps... The top looks easily filled... The underside? No such luck! And then there was the motor. 24 hours of assembly. No joke. But it was worth it. ...and to show some scale... I'll join up the fuselage halves today and press on. By the way...I plan on using stretched sprue for the cabane rigging so I made a quick count of the number of holes I will need to drill for only the inter-plane double-wire rigging--not counting control horns, etc... 64. Now I know how many holes it takes to rig the F2B... I'll keep track and give a full count when I'm finished! 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blitz23 Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Very nice job on that engine, I think it will be worth the effort! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 Impressive engine and more to the point Impressive patience to work on something so small and finely detailed. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 21, 2018 Author Share Posted April 21, 2018 Thanks both of you...We'll see about patience when I have to mount the lower wing on this little teeny struts. The secret, my research has shown me, is to mount the wing with the landing gear and the little whiskers. Cross-fingers! But for now, some housekeeping, so to speak... Wooden bits are painted Vallejo Dark Wood. I won't "varnish" most of these pieces until they are on the plane and the glue is dry. I have removed the wings, etc...cleaned them up and opened up the strut mounting holes a bit since they were barely divots. They await the paint-shop! ...and fresh from the paintshop, the undersides of the wings and things. Mister Kit British CDL with a little thinner and a drop of for enhancer. These are the only CDL parts, so while the puttied fuselage dries, I figured I'd get that out of the way. That's it for tonight! --John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted April 21, 2018 Share Posted April 21, 2018 That does look good John, especially the engine. I haven't tried Mister Kit paints, how easy are they to use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 Thanks Robert. The engine paints, etc, are all Vallejo but I have a plethora of Mister Kit WW1 colours that I need to use, among them PC-12,10, NIVO, different CDLs, Albatros and Fokker colours, Austro-Hungarian specific, etc...I think the company is now UK based out of some fellow's home... I just did 15 minutes of web searching and I can no longer find this fellow. He also offered turnbuckles in 1/48th and 32nd scale, photo-etch bending supplies, etc...Perhaps he is gone? Maybe once these paints are finished, that will be it? In any case, if you have any, make sure you prime first. They thin beautifully with the standard acrylic thinners, spray very well. They are not so great for hairy brushing. Their PC-10 is spot on. One note...after several years of not using them, I opened one up, rehydrated the gummy residue and it worked like a charm. Tough paint. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 (edited) PC-10... The debate has flourished and ruined many a good decent friendship so I won't go into it here...suffice to say the lamp-black added to the green-grey paint was to hinder fading in harsh climates. Maybe it did or not. I think PC-10 is a myth, the Moby Dick of paint colour...yes, it existed on paper and in pure laboratory form, but out on the field it varied depending on who mixed it up! I find the Mister Kit PC-10 is very nice...a drab, mossy grey-green with a touch of something else, possibly red. It sprays well and sticks to a good primer. Now that all the parts are painted I can begin drilling tonight... --John Edited April 22, 2018 by John D.C. Masters 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 22, 2018 Author Share Posted April 22, 2018 (edited) 77 holes. That includes the fuselage points, control surfaces, landing gear rigging and one hole in the rudder, hence the odd number. It may not be Blackburn-Lancashire, but it feels like it. Although the holes were rather small I had to count them all... Edited April 22, 2018 by John D.C. Masters Beatles 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Stuart Posted April 22, 2018 Share Posted April 22, 2018 Good progress with all those holes At least it's not the Albert Hall 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 23, 2018 Author Share Posted April 23, 2018 Thanks Robert...here are some update pictures for everyone's perusal... an example of some holes... And parts 1,2 and 3 of attaching the lower wing to the fuselage. It's not easy, takes time and a jig and specialist handmade tool which one can see propping up the tail...The most difficult section was attaching the landing gear, but eventually they went on. I had to change CA glue for a fresh tube. One forgets it loses its punch after a bit, or so I have found. I let that dry before adding the little struts. Once again, I am confounded by Roden's reasoning on this matter. Then the port side bits... ..and starboard. Note: All of this took place throughout the day, beginning at 8AM and ending about 12 hours later. In between I had a life. There is a fair amount of detail work and painting I need to do before I attach the upper wing. Cowling padding, some painting, stabilizers and rudder, etc... Regarding that top wing...I think I might attach the main struts first and scratch build the cabanes. This way any slight discrepancies on my part will not effect the nicely moulded and very visible Roden products. --John 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 26, 2018 Author Share Posted April 26, 2018 The first round of inter-plane struts...it took about an hour to get these fitted right. I hope the next set will be a bit less finicky. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Sorry for the break in the action...I had to finish up some other work, non-aircraft related...so I'm back it the Brisfit... A minor disaster...as I was fitting the outer inter-plane struts, a little too much pressure on the wrong spot and...sproing-crumple-snap--three struts broken off at their glue points, one snapped in half, three off completely with one still attached...oh my...the colourful language! I gathered my senses, cleaned off the spots, re-drilled the gluey openings, scratch built a new strut from Contrail material, et voila...It basically reattached itself! The gods of modelling were looking on and helping... I also attached the stabilizers and adhered the rudder decal. I was happy that the decal did not go 'poof!' and instead slid off nice and cleanly. Trust me...there was a moment when the rubbish bin was looking like a good place to land this crate. Sorry for the photos...weird light this evening... I'll let everything sit for the night and get back into it upon the morrow... --John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MarkSH Posted April 29, 2018 Share Posted April 29, 2018 They are very delicate John as I found out also with the SE5a just the slightest accidental brush with a finger and it was out with the glue again. Looking good though, nice work and I can certainly see the advantage of the jig you are using. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 29, 2018 Author Share Posted April 29, 2018 Thanks Mark. Yes..they are delicate...not as thin as their DVII or Albatros kits, but still... The jig will really come in handy for rigging. Like an extra set of hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 The cabane struts fit well so no need to scratch build them. In cleaning up the Lewis gun mount, however, it shattered into three pieces. It is easier to build one myself. Some Evergreen, some CA...no problem! I have also fitted the axle. Next up...control horns and decals. -John 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
krow113 Posted May 2, 2018 Share Posted May 2, 2018 Going well. The engine looks ok , only 1 hour for each part...! Using the jig is helpful to say the least. Always in use on my bench. Good stuff! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted May 2, 2018 Author Share Posted May 2, 2018 Thanks! Me too krow. Like a said, an extra set of hands. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now