Listening to the Solstice

[Massimo]

On 26/01/2019 at 21:51, TheBaron said:

 

 

The folding affair for the 2nd pilot.

 

I don't think the size is right....

looks a bit underscaled....

...and maybe the shape isn't really right...a little too round in the corners...or may be not round enough...

even the colour doesn't convince me....looks a bit too bright...or may be not bright enough...should be green...

...no, it's definitely wrong, I'd build another one!!!!

If I were a 2nd pilot I'd never sit there!!!!

Edited January 30, 2019 by Massimo

[keefr22]

3 hours ago, stevehnz said:

sobering 

 

I think this thread is anything but sobering - the skills being shown by the Maestro of Metalwork are so good it makes one think of turning to drink.....!! 

 

Keith

[Brandy]

9 hours ago, keefr22 said:

 

I think this thread is anything but sobering - the skills being shown by the Maestro of Metalwork are so good it makes one think of turning to drink.....!! 

 

Keith

I'm way ahead of you!

 

Ian

[TheBaron]

On 1/27/2019 at 3:46 PM, Heather Kay said:

Would you mind if I popped over later so I can learn how to solder properly from someone who has clearly been a master of the art for some time but pretended he wasn’t?

Garn with you Heather.

Two years ago I hadn't touched a soldering iron; this is the first build that I feel *somewhat* in control of what I'm doing with the golden alloy and even then I'm regularly skittering on the margins of experience. The one thing that has taught me to respect the process is that which is present in learning to work with any material i.e., developing that illusive 'feel' for the material(s) in terms of letting it tell you what it can do.

 

I suppose it's not too far-fetched to say that the brass teaches you about itself if you listen closely enough to what it's telling your fingers... ⚒️

 

Anybody intending to make anything (ever!) could do worse than read Richard Sennett's book:

And yes, I continue to make such a Horlicks of things that it's practically Ovaltine at times!

On 1/27/2019 at 4:34 PM, CedB said:

you could sell those seats as jewellery

Thanks Ced!

Mrs. B is in danger of acquiring some quite singular ear-rings for her next birthday....

This chap is a true Metal God with all the quiet patience in the world. Calming to watch too:

 

On 1/27/2019 at 4:42 PM, giemme said:

Not the first, nor the last, time I use this emoticon on this thread ...

Your jaw is always welcome here Giorgio!

On 1/27/2019 at 4:47 PM, fatalbert said:

At least have the door and flight deck windows open.

Fear nought Mr. F - both are in the production schedule.!

On 1/27/2019 at 4:49 PM, Spookytooth said:

And it seems nearly all will be done.

You have to hand it to Avro Simon, the detailing on their model is unlikely to be surpassed....

On 1/27/2019 at 5:02 PM, hendie said:

my ability to comment on this thread is inversely proportional to the levels of skill, technique, and intricacy of the structure.

A duck from yourself is compliment enough Alan.

On 1/27/2019 at 6:09 PM, bbudde said:

Did you make them workable as Airfix suggested?

In theory the hinge on the tip-up seat could work Benedikt, but I have it on good authority in my imagination that it didn't tip-up on this particular aircraft, for reasons that history is unable to explain. 😉

On 1/27/2019 at 6:28 PM, bbudde said:

Erstmal an die eigene Nase fassen hilft da meistens ein wenig, was man möchte oder nicht

If I've understood that correctly Benedikt then ja - genau.

On 1/27/2019 at 6:51 PM, Hamden said:

It does seem a shame to hide all your superb engineering inside a plastic shell!

That isn't on balance the worst chat-up line I've ever tried Roger....

On 1/29/2019 at 8:50 PM, The Spadgent said:

You ain’t a man if you don’t use brass.

Don't I feel all butch! 🤣

On 1/29/2019 at 9:54 PM, CJP said:

Brass wire filigree - fabulous

Most kind CJ!

I've not tried soldering any tubing below 0.3mm in diamter and to be frank I doubt whether I'd want to try! 🔬

On 1/29/2019 at 11:32 PM, Terry1954 said:

BM's very own Cu3Zn2 expert!

It sounds so snazzy when you put it like that Terry! Ta!

On 1/30/2019 at 2:32 PM, limeypilot said:

You are now officially BM's best brass solderer.

Don't say that too quickly!

Far too kind Ian. 🤝

In fairness now, it's not exactly a crowded field....wait...was that some kind of insult? How dare you sir!

 

On 1/30/2019 at 8:19 PM, stevehnz said:

I totally agree, sobering raised to an art form

Blackguards!I haven't touched a drop since 9am. 🍸

On 1/30/2019 at 10:43 PM, Massimo said:

If I were a 2nd pilot I'd never sit there!!!!

Depends which way up I stick it i- no that's going to sound awful; depends which way round I put it i-...no dammit that's just as bad.

It'll be a suprise!

No....that's never worked in the past either....

On 1/30/2019 at 11:34 PM, keefr22 said:

it makes one think of turning to drink

Why do people always talk about 'turning to' drink Keith? It's always been a straight bee-line if my past is any gauge of such matters!

On 1/31/2019 at 8:53 AM, limeypilot said:

I'm way ahead of you!

Looking at the timestamp on that post I can only assume that there are uncharacteristically liberal opening hours where you are Ian. Is it red or white with the full-fry? 

 

Well, another week of not getting any time in at all though I do believe that a plan of sorts has emerged with regard to getting some kind of logistical map together about what stage to put anything further into the interior framework.  This breaks down into the follwoing broad categories:

 

1. Join front and back of main framework together to be asurred of correct oreientation and  placement inside fuselage. This includes adding a thin 'sill' along the bottom of all side windows and cutting out the respective slots for the framework to slip into it.
2. Build the whole flight deck (I know that's not the exact word but you know what I mean, that bit the pilot sits in. Front cockpit I guess) onto a floor - this can be painted separately for reasons of access and soldered in later as a single sub-assembly.
3. Ditto for the ring and gun mounting for the turrret, which also has to be reconciled with the Aeroclub transparency.
4. Add sundry items to interior of framework, such as 2nd pilot's & tip-up seat, the prominent electrical services panel that sits directly behind the later (seemed a dodgy place to put something like thart if you flung your head back suddenly...). There are a variety of things like crystal monitor boxes, lamps and switches scattered about. I'll look at these later. Also obvious things like stowed parachutes, but also water bottles, flame floats and so forth that I've no idea as to whether these would all have been on Bufton's aircraft, or left out to increase endurance. One would suspect the latter, but 'one' in this instance has no informed experience to draw upon...

Anyway. I'm going to have a start on point 1 later, which if memory serves from my last post requires be to thin out the front fuslelage floor and walls some more to allow the front cockpit framing to amate at the correct angle with the rear structure.

 

Hope you're keeping warm and safe - wherever you are and whoever you're with - in these vortex days!

Tony

 

PS. And of course the not insignificanbt matter of making the correct radio equipment for listening in to Radio Knickebein...

 

 

 

 

 

[CedB]

Great video Tony - more tool envy

I wish I could cut straight with a saw like that… sigh.

[bbudde]

9 hours ago, TheBaron said:

If I've understood that correctly Benedikt then ja - genau

Hello Tony, yes I think you understood that right. So your "yes, indeed" pleased me very much. (Too many psychopaths at the moment on positions, that they should not be). Difficult. (and "Mother Merkel" had said: "Good bye and F*ck yourself"! I'm gone/now). Won't go political here.  But I like to end that historical: No global problem will ever be solved by going national again. It's a fact, if I like it or not!!!!

 

Edited February 2, 2019 by bbudde

[The Spadgent]

Good luck with the list. 

 

Johnny boy.

[bigbadbadge]

Framework looks absolutely lovely Tony and the fold up seat wow.  Great work as always. 

 

Keep up the good work.

 

All the best
Chris

[pheonix]

Tony,

 

Due to a prolonged absence in December and again in January, I have not been able to keep up with progress (let alone the comments). The brass work here is truly stunning - exceptional indeed and for one who has only being doing this for 2 years even more impressive. It certainly makes my punny efforts look very amateurish. I agree very much with an earlier comment - why not scrap the plastic and just make the whole thing from metal, much like the original?

 

Your comment about learning the feel of materials is very apposite - as I have learned to my cost with wood and more lately metal. But it also requires that the modeller takes a leap of faith and just has a go.... something many people find very difficult to do. (Don't ask how I know). Yet the satisfaction one gets having done so more than compensates for the inevitable disasters that await the intrepid explorers of the untried.

 

Brilliant work indeed - keep it up. I shall endeavour to follow more closely in future.

 

P

[corsaircorp]

Hello Tony !

Astonishing !! Really !

This structure look ace !!

Benedikt is right, Must find a way to have it in cabrio mode !!

Just like all your build Indeed !!

What a luck !! We have the pics here on BM !

Congratulations Oh you Brass Master !!

Sincerely.

CC

[TheBaron]

Ced, Benedikt, Johnny, Chris, Pheonix, CC; thanks for your replies and my apologies for not giving a more thoughtful/deranged response.

The eyes.

One is up to them at the moment with the sheer quantity of research projects I'm engaged in through work.

No complaints: I have a decently-paid job and the liberty to push forward into areas that interest me.

Downside?

Lack of human-brass interfacing and more importantly, regular banter with you lot.

Just to reassure you that Annie isn't abandoned, nor has mojo gone into slomo on the affair.

Simply that tempus is agin me for a good while.

You'll be the first to sniff the aroma of flux when it happens but until, then sincere wishes of bonhommie with regard to your own lives and modelling (whichever order you think those last two most appropriate to be in...!).

 

As @Ex-FAAWAFU has mentioned, the damnable thing about being busy is not only lack of access to one's own activities, but lack of time to live vicariously through the work of others on the forum when you're too knackered to say anything sensible...

 

Haven't even time to go to the disco....

Loves ya lots.

 

[TheBaron]

After this morning's rather plaintive missive I decided to shove things aside this evening.

With Mrs. B working in her studio, our youngest out at a friend's party (I say youngest - he's taller than me now...) the eldest doing something unspeakable to aliens on the Xbox and not even  a cat to distract you with demands for food/milk/petting, it occurred to me that there was actually nothing to hindera bit of quality time on the shop floor! The sense of liberty was overwhelming. 

 

Firstly then, this had been bothering me at the start of the week:

Given that I'd been so particular in following the schematics for the framework in three-dimensions, I was baffled to find that after soldering the nose part of it on to the existing rear section, that there was a significant gap between it and the fuselage walls on either side, You know that feeling of vexation when you can't account for such an error creeping in? Annoying isn't the word. At least being too busy to do anything about it was a blessing in disguise so it wasn't until this evening that I had a chance to work out why and the penny dropped

 

I'd missed the obvious in that there was nothing wrong with my measurements/scaling, but I had forgotten that along each side of the fuselage under the windows is a shelf/sill type thing that accounts for the gap. You get a nice view of it with the lads climbing in here:

It runs all the way along from the rearmost window behind the radio station, all the way forward to disappear under the IP. A simple enough matter to replicate with some plastic strip:

I'd anticipated tha there would be some argy-bargy, if not a downright howsyerfather in getting the final overall structure finessed and settled inside the fusealge snuggly enough. Sure enough there was. It's one of the penalties of using 0.3mm tubing - looks in scale but easily bent out of alignment during handling and I found that I had to rethink the build sequence. The nav station had a tendency to pull the forward section in too strongly so I realized I would have to take it out and add the front cockpit floor in order to keep everything aligned correctly up the front:

This also required rebuilding some of the struts of the nose framework to mate with the floor more accurately. I'll redo the nav table mounting late but the important thing is that now works as an ensemble within the volume of the aircraft:

Those solder blobs will get ground down to match the flat aspect of the frame junctions when all this bit is finalized. The intenral fit of the framework now though is dead on. Nice and snug!

Doesn't seem like a whole lot of work when you look at the pictures does it? You know yourself though that getting structures to fit like that needs a lot of eyeballing and adjusting until 'just so'. A rather tense couple of hours getting that right, but I'm relieved it works and can go to bed now with a warm fuzzy Anson type feeling.....

 

Currently reading Peter Harts':

Only a couple of chapters in but just at that stage where you know it's all about to turn to a world of hurt.

Polly Harvey's 'All and Everyone' is a fitting accompaniment in this respect.

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Ex-FAAWAFU]

I had the dubious - but humbling - honour of flying a lot around the Gallipoli battlefields in 1990, when Broadsword went with assorted other ships to the 75th anniversary.  Even after all that time, apart from the various memorials nothing has really changed, so you can picture it all too clearly.  If they’d tried for months, they could not have picked a worse place to land.  It must have been hell on earth.

[giemme]

Excellent progress, Tony!  Your brass artwork finally found the place to stay

 

Interesting reading too. I know very little about that episode, but I just quickly read about it on the 'net

 

Ciao

[TheBaron]

14 hours ago, Ex-FAAWAFU said:

It must have been hell on earth.

The V Beach landing alone would have fullfilled that by what I'm reading.

4 hours ago, giemme said:

Your brass artwork finally found the place to stay

It would have needed a very large drawing-board to go back to if it hadn't fitted! 😆

 

5 hours ago, giemme said:

Interesting reading too. I know very little about that episode, but I just quickly read about it on the 'net

I too know too little of this event Giorgio - miltary history forms only a very small part of my reading diet as a rule. Gallipoli seems in many respects a violent reprise of the medieval Christendom vs. Islam crusades, here on the plains of Troy with modern weapons and on many levels. Britain, Russia and France all greedy to carve up the remains of the Ottoman empire between them.  If only they knew that the easiest way to dispossess the native Turks was to buy time-share holiday apartments...

 

Many years ago myself and an ex-girlfriend found ourselves alone in the amphitheatre at Ephesus (further up the coast) late one afternoon after most of the tour buses had left for the day. The architecture and silence with the sun setting over the plain made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck at how much the sheer 'ancient-ness' of the place seemed to emerge into the present once the tourists were gone.

 

A lot of time then this morning spent rebuilding the navigation and radio stations inside the rear cockpit. I eventually decided that I wasn't happy with the visuals on the previous versions, both in terms of their alignment with the framework and wing spars, but also felt that more could be done with detailing the shelving and so forth. Not very exiciting to watch small pieces of brass being moved around so I just took some photos at the end:

The internal angles for those parts now look a whole lot better:

It's all grubby again and needs a wash to get rid of the excess flux and dust of course but am a lot happier now with how this all lines-up inside:

Front cockpit to do first I think and then I'll work my way back. I have to make a decision about how much stuff to put in the nose; not that there'll be a whole lot visible in the darknes through the small windows for the bomb-aimer so I may just add a couple of panels on either side and the light in the nose.

 

Buttoned-up tio keepthe brass safe until next time:

Feels good to have got that done today - it always chafes at you when you've not done anything for a while doesn't it?

 

Not sure when the next update will be but hopefully I can fit in a few minutes here and there over the week.

 

TTFN!

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Brandy]

"It fits" doesn't quite some it all up. Great work on the tweaking and gentle cajoling, and ot definitely looks better for the rework on the navigation and radio  stations.

 Oh, and that video. Wow. Some beautiful footage there. Typical 1940's RAF film with the accents et al. Although "Just jump in to this bomber and fly it, no reference to the pilot's notes needed, you'll be fine" is a little far fetched methinks!

 

Ian

[hendie]

oh what the heck....  here's another duck!

 

 

[Pete in Lincs]

Lovely brasswork as always. Inspiring stuff. But I think I'll stick to (mostly) plastic. For health and safety reasons you understand.

 

Love that film. Who spotted no Crowbar on the Spitfire entry door? Was that really Alex Henshaw aerobatting on a test flight?

Different marks of He 111, And I think I spotted fin stripes on the 110 dogfighting the Spitfire. So around 1941 I think. 

I'm sure the enemy Aircraft flight had one around then.

 

4 hours ago, limeypilot said:

 no reference to the pilot's notes needed, you'll be fine" is a little far fetched methinks!

See if you can get hold of this book.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Spitfire-Women-World-War-II/dp/0007235364/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1549745270&sr=1-1&keywords=spitfire+women

It was pretty much like that in the early days. They had to make up their own little notebooks to remind them of the 'gen' on different Aircraft.

Later on proper booklets were issued with one page per type. And yes, they weren't allowed to use the radio (nor trained how anyway).

 

[CedB]

Marvellous brassery again Tony, love it!  

[canberra kid]

On 2/9/2019 at 2:29 PM, TheBaron said:

The V Beach landing alone would have fullfilled that by what I'm reading.

It would have needed a very large drawing-board to go back to if it hadn't fitted! 😆

 

I too know too little of this event Giorgio - miltary history forms only a very small part of my reading diet as a rule. Gallipoli seems in many respects a violent reprise of the medieval Christendom vs. Islam crusades, here on the plains of Troy with modern weapons and on many levels. Britain, Russia and France all greedy to carve up the remains of the Ottoman empire between them.  If only they knew that the easiest way to dispossess the native Turks was to buy time-share holiday apartments...

 

Many years ago myself and an ex-girlfriend found ourselves alone in the amphitheatre at Ephesus (further up the coast) late one afternoon after most of the tour buses had left for the day. The architecture and silence with the sun setting over the plain made the hairs stand up on the back of your neck at how much the sheer 'ancient-ness' of the place seemed to emerge into the present once the tourists were gone.

 

A lot of time then this morning spent rebuilding the navigation and radio stations inside the rear cockpit. I eventually decided that I wasn't happy with the visuals on the previous versions, both in terms of their alignment with the framework and wing spars, but also felt that more could be done with detailing the shelving and so forth. Not very exiciting to watch small pieces of brass being moved around so I just took some photos at the end:

The internal angles for those parts now look a whole lot better:

It's all grubby again and needs a wash to get rid of the excess flux and dust of course but am a lot happier now with how this all lines-up inside:

Front cockpit to do first I think and then I'll work my way back. I have to make a decision about how much stuff to put in the nose; not that there'll be a whole lot visible in the darknes through the small windows for the bomb-aimer so I may just add a couple of panels on either side and the light in the nose.

 

Buttoned-up tio keepthe brass safe until next time:

Feels good to have got that done today - it always chafes at you when you've not done anything for a while doesn't it?

 

Not sure when the next update will be but hopefully I can fit in a few minutes here and there over the week.

 

TTFN!

Tony

 

 

 

 

 

 

Hi Tony 

Now my time eating monster is layed to rest I can cast my gaze beyond things Canberra, wow! you're doing a cracking job with this Anson, keep up the fantastic work!

 

John 

[The Spadgent]

Too good to paint. 🤯

 

Johnny.

[TheBaron]

On 2/9/2019 at 4:18 PM, limeypilot said:

Oh, and that video. Wow. Some beautiful footage there.

It is astonishing just how much film seems to have been lying around in archives that never made it near TV.  I know so much more about 1950s hair stylists now than I could ever have dreamed of.

And Keep Fit of course:

 

On 2/9/2019 at 4:18 PM, limeypilot said:

Typical 1940's RAF film with the accents et al. Although "Just jump in to this bomber and fly it, no reference to the pilot's notes needed, you'll be fine" is a little far fetched methinks!

Bit like making models without looking at the instructions!

On 2/9/2019 at 5:16 PM, hendie said:

here's another duck!

Gratefully received. 🙇‍♂️

On 2/9/2019 at 8:57 PM, Pete in Lincs said:

See if you can get hold of this book.

The more I find out about those incredible women the more I admire them, having to fight endemic sexism as well as the enemy.

 

Digging around in the RAF Historical Society's reports recently , I found an account in Journal #28 of trainee aircrew ferrying aircraft across the Atlantic to the UK before prior to being officially commissioned as operational. Talk about baptism of fire!

On 2/11/2019 at 8:09 AM, CedB said:

Marvellous brassery again Tony, love it!

Delighted to have your company as always Ced!

On 2/11/2019 at 8:49 AM, canberra kid said:

Now my time eating monster is layed to rest I can cast my gaze beyond things Canberra, wow! you're doing a cracking job with this Anson, keep up the fantastic work!

I wonder what a brass Canberra would look like John?

On 2/12/2019 at 8:12 AM, The Spadgent said:

Too good to paint

I hate the very thought at times....

 

Been managing to grab a bit of time now & again so a little bit more progress on the interior to report in on.

 

I pulled out the early RAF seatbelt set I'd bought a long time back to see what would be of use:

As far as I can see from photos and the maintenance manual, the harnesses seem to consist mainly of lap-belts for the pilot and rear crew and as  none of these Eduard bits quite fit the bill,I decided to cut some likely-looking sections off from this set to make up a custom set of lap belts later

 

First though, I'd used Milliput to form some cushions for the variious seats scattered through this charabanc of the skies:

 

Then it was time to call the lads totheir seats to check that I'd got all the repective seating heights about right:

A few shaves with the file here and there but nothing drastic needed.

 

Satisfied that would work, I added the fixing points for the seat belts:

To make those side bits, the control horns of the Anson etch set were too flat to be of any use in their intended role, so I'd simply cut them down and folded them into a shape close to that of the attachment points like so:

Those were then solderd on and trimmed down as you can see in the previous photo.

 

Finally the bespoke lap belts were also soldered on:

Looks like a bunch of drunk robots doing a Mexican Wave, but there you go......

 

Enough Umming and Aaahing had gone on about how to sort the IP that in the end I decided to start by cutting down some brass channel to form the central console:

This then had the required curvature sanded down and three slots cut for the fuel and mixture controls:

This was then soldered in to place on the IP alongside the compass mounting:

As well as boxing-in the side,s, you can see where I had to add an additional section at the bottom to make the console higher as I'd originally taken my height measurement for that from the kit part, forgetting that Airfix have their pilot's floor up too high and the console correspondingly too short:

Fuel levers and such like to be added to those slots in a future episode.

 

Thanks for looking mes amis and hope your respective weeks are going well.

Tony

 

 

 

 

[CedB]

Wow, lovely console Tony. Soldering PE now too eh? No limits to the man’s metalwork  

[hendie]

I'm crying fowl !

 

 

 

seriously though,  it's great to see this endeavor come alive piece by piece.  Made all the more entertaining by the quality (and quantity) of scratch building and the sheer amount of imagineering going into it.

 

[Brandy]

I haven't looked at an Anson cockpit, but normally there are 6 slots on a twin: 2 throttles, 2 prop levers, and 2 mixture controls. I'll try to find something when I get home.

 

Ian

Unless of course you are doing 2 levers in each slot, in which case, carry on!