Scratching a 1/144 1913 Rumpler-Etrich Taube.

[SUB-SAM]

I love my 1/144 ww1 and early aviation but have been getting frustrated trying to get the poor choice of kits available to work well.

I managed it with the Fokker eiii but the Sopwith Pup has been an absolute pig and it's gone back on the shelf, not something I normally do.

I just feel like I'm putting in most of the time correcting errors instead of enjoying building due to poor kit accuracy.

 

I'm fairly confident with my modelling skills and have scratch built before, but never an aviation subject.

So I'll jump in at the deep end with a 1/144 Rumpler built Etrich Taube.

One of my favourite aircraft. 

 

I have been especially encouraged by recent examples of early aviation models posted here. 

 

 

[SUB-SAM]

Last night I experimented with a technique for very fine rib lines on this 1/144 Taube wing.

Stretching out sprue wasn't cutting it for me, this technique is much faster and looks better in my opinion.

 

[SUB-SAM]

The technique worked on the test piece so I start making the actual wings.

 

I cut out a piece of styrene sheet and use the plans as a stencil and a flexible length of aluminium as a ruler.

 

 

 

Then use a knife to score deeply.

 

 

The wing pieces will stay connected until they are shaped with boiling water.

 

With this technique, the scored lines push up material either side of the blade.

This must be stabilised by painting the whole wing with extra thin cement, this 'seals' each score line and prevents it being a starting point for snapping.

 

 

When primer and a thick layer of paint are daubed on, the 'trench' is filled and a canvas sag effect is produced between the ribs due to surface tension of the paint.

This produces the effect shown on the first picture of last night's test piece.

 

[SUB-SAM]

Wings shaped using supercritical water.

(Heat water in a smooth container in microwave) as water from a boiled kettle just doesn't get the plastic pliable enough.

 

[Bandsaw Steve]

Good start - am watching and learning. 👍

[SUB-SAM]

Shaping the trailing edge.

 

[Bandsaw Steve]

That looks great. 👏

[Jonners]

Blimey. Every day is a schoolday etc.

 

I would never have thought of that technique for producing the wing rib effect. I'll have to give it a try!

 

Watching with great interest.

 

Jon

 

 

[SUB-SAM]

2 hours ago, Jonners said:

Blimey. Every day is a schoolday etc.

 

I would never have thought of that technique for producing the wing rib effect. I'll have to give it a try!

 

Watching with great interest.

 

Jon

 

 

Well I came up with it on Monday after frustration with stretched sprue which is very hard to get a consistent thickness.

 

I'm hoping that I can develop some new techniques for making decent 1/144 models because kits arnt going to take me very far.

 

I think 1/144 can be super detailed, some people say there are limitations to the scale but I think it's just about using the right techniques.

[Marklo]

Wow, lovely work so far, 1/144, now that's just torture  . I used to have a book on Taubes (may still be hiding in the attic) and they are such interesting machines. I would love to add an Etterich Taube to my collection, but probably in a much larger scale.

[Brandy]

That's a very interesting technique for the ribs. I ended up with something similar on my 1:72 Bleriot XI-2 but only by accident after I removed the monofilament I'd added.

 

Ian

[pheonix]

Only jusyt found this - WW1 and scratch built so it MUST be good! Actually it is! I really like the ribs - splendid idea! Will be following with interest in future.

 

P

[SUB-SAM]

A touch more tonight (busy = slow progress)

Wafer thin tail surface.

The thing that looks like a dead fish is a thermoplastic clay that I roughly formed oversized and then set which will be whittled down as a plug for the fuselage. I will be press-forming sheet in two halves.

 

[ajmm]

Crumbs. This is impressive. No surprises there judging from your past builds but wow. Shaping up nicely!

[Silenoz]

looking good so far....

[SUB-SAM]

Fuselage is coming on nicely now.

 

 

Sand, sand, sand...

Lots of work to create 'organic shape' fuselages like this. Something slab sided would be much easier.

[SUB-SAM]

Internal struts and 'rigging' was done prior to joining fuselage halves.

It's extremely difficult using tiny pieces of wire to do this so I simply used scratches in the paintwork to emulate rigging, which unless you get the magnifying glass out (or this phone camera) you couldn't tell the difference.

 

Cockpit details have to be added ship-in-a-bottle style now because I had to add curved top pieces and cut/sand them to make the openings correct, which would have disturbed internal detail.

 

Edited September 22, 2018 by SUB-SAM

[SUB-SAM]

Tiny dashboard and internal frame piece.

 

[Murdo]

Absolutely fabulous work sir!

[pheonix]

That is truly amazing detail on the dashboard.

[SUB-SAM]

Dashboard fitted.

 

 

The distinctive 'steering wheel' here with column and pedals and even the 'chain drive.

 

 

Who says 1/144 has to lack detail?

 

[pheonix]

Gobsmacked!!

 

P

[mackem01]

Not a scale I would attempt, but very impressive none the less.

Great work.

[SUB-SAM]

Not done anything on it for a while but today I finished the interior with seats and front observer position 'dashboard'. 

Includes wires plugged into the dashboard, that are 0.01mm thick, the finest material I have worked with.

 

[Martian]

This is highly impressive stuff!

 

Martian 👽