John Aero Posted January 25, 2019 Share Posted January 25, 2019 Mark, I've just noticed that you have rounded the corners of the top wing cutout. On the top wing they are square. The spinner was very like that in shape and size as was fitted to the Morane N. My preferred wood was always English Lime. This can be found in specialist wood carving circles such as walking stick tops. Bass wood is what the Americans call their variety of Lime wood. Jelutong is to me a bit like a hard Balsa. Sycamore is another carving wood but it can be a bit grainy. John Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Quote I've just noticed that you have rounded the corners of the top wing cutout. On the top wing they are square. Well spotted, in fact I've got the two cutouts slightly wrong. Quote The spinner was very like that in shape and size as was fitted to the Morane N. Knowing the way these things go it probably was one off a Morane. Quote My preferred wood was always English Lime. This can be found in specialist wood carving circles such as walking stick tops. Bass wood is what the Americans call their variety of Lime wood. I must admit I tend to use what's handy, balsa for simpler shapes and deal for more complex things. I'm interested to see what the lime wood is like so I'll wait till it arrives before carving the snark (of course that's assuming I get to the snark before that anyway as I have a lot of projects in at the moment ) This is for the Ju87a and it's deal (I think) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 25, 2019 Author Share Posted January 25, 2019 Fixed Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 28, 2019 Author Share Posted January 28, 2019 (edited) Didn't get near the bench much over the weekend, and when I did I concentrated on the DH4a and repairing it after my cat had made a 4 point landing on it, hmmmm. But the bass wood arrived today. €12 for a 3" x 1" x 12" block (inches btw, I am conversant in both and oddly enough when I did work in Aerospace as it was predominantly american engines so I worked in inches.). should be good for many mold blanks. Will be interesting to see how it handles. I pretty much have my Snark sections too so I may get to carving and sanding in the next week or so. I've added the slightly squared profile to give me something to attach the lower wings to. I'll fix it up according to the plans/photos in the carving stages. Edited January 28, 2019 by Marklo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 29, 2019 Author Share Posted January 29, 2019 (edited) I now have a block of wood (basswood I might add) not entirely unlike a Snark. Plastic center, double sided stickied together so I can split it easily for molding once it's carved. Edited January 29, 2019 by Marklo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 30, 2019 Author Share Posted January 30, 2019 Less a blank more a Snark. The basswood definitely carves nicely and has a very close grain, so (notwithstanding Carving errors) may not need any filler to close the grain like the Balsa does. Might even be ready for molding by the weekend, but I may hold off till I get the spinner done (may also go again for a molded cowl for the Pfalz) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 And almost there. Milliput to cover up some overzealous carving and to reshape the very end of the fuselage, which was getting a bit pointy from all the sanding. A bit more sanding and it's there. I have realized that although I have plans and three photos a lot of the fuselage contours will be educated guess work, i.e. where I have a picture or a detail I'll follow it but the underside of the fuselage where it meets the wings will be complete conjecture, so hence the assertion that this will be more of a homage than a 100% scale model. Anyway pleased with how this is going. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted January 31, 2019 Author Share Posted January 31, 2019 The Snark even more nearly there. I Think the section above the wings should be more cuirved but otherwise it looks pretty good to me. Some Pfalz blanks, including a Miliputted (not a verb I know but I like coining new ones or using George bushisms like misunderestimeted isnt etymology great (thats etymology not entomology which is bugs not words)) and re sanded cowl mold. (I'll have a go at a mold when #i do the Snark Fuselage. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Aero Posted January 31, 2019 Share Posted January 31, 2019 Can I suggest that when carving a fuselage to section, it's best to leave yourself a "handle" on the blunt end of the blank, Holding this temporary extension makes the whole carving operation much easier. It can also be held in a vice or clamp which leaves both hands free to control the cutting tool. I much prefer a miniature draw knife or spoke-shave. The 'handle is the last thing to be removed. I also use a 2B pencil to mark the section positions along the spine and bottom so that the template can be placed in the right place every time. In the case of this 'Spitfire' I would have made my blank about twice as long at the spinner end. This is a compilation from the superb book Aircraft in Miniature, by W.O. Doyland. If you mark your centre and datum lines along the extended blank (handle bit included) before you begin, then once you start to shape the fuselage end of the blank you can put a ruler along the visible lines on the handle part and redraw them onto the carved area. John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted February 5, 2019 Author Share Posted February 5, 2019 (edited) Added wing roots (very hard to figure out the detail of the wing attachment to the fuselage from the drawings and pictures, these don't contradict any data I have, but by the same token I don't have any good views of the area, however logically this is what I'd o if I were trying to mate a wooden monocoque fuselage to a spar and rib fabric covered wing and it''s pretty similar to contemporary designs like the Pfalz or the Siemens Shuckert DIV) and made the forward fuselage a bit more cylindrical. Milliput to fill in overzealous carving again. Pretty much ready to be split and molded. I'll do the blank for the spinner first. I must admit the carved basswood does feel silky smooth and won't need any grain filling before molding. The carving of this one was pretty much handled as per the diagram but I used a shape gauge to check the sections not individual cutouts. Overall I think I found the method used for the Pfalz a bit easier albeit less skillful. When next I do this I'll probably go for something in between the 2 methods. I definitely could have done with a spokeshave or a very small woodplane. I did use a surform for roughing out the blank but it didn't work as well as I'd have liked. Edited February 5, 2019 by Marklo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 This arrived in the post a Siemeiens Halske for the Pfalz. Scratchbuilding radial engines isn't my idea of fun... And we have three Snark center section blanks. Profile sanded and ready for skinning. The lower one will be cut in two while the middle and top will have substantial cutouts. I'm using the wing profile of the Pup as A) I don't have that detail for the Snark and I'm assuming that most Sopwiths of the era had the same wing profile. I'm also going to assume that the cutouts are square cut ribs and not shorter chord ones, again this is similar to the PUP construction, 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted February 14, 2019 Author Share Posted February 14, 2019 Now skinned. Just to confuse you all the middle one is the lower one which will be cut in two and very little will actually be used. The top one will be cut laterally hence the square trailing edge and the middle one will have a substantial cutout made. On a semi related note I came across this at the weekekn, the Austin Osprey, it competed with the Snipe for an RAF contract and didn't get past prototype stage, but I think it's a great looking plane, so this may become a quintet yet (or maybe an endless Triplane build, there.s still the Sopwith, the Albatross and many others out there, hmmm ) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 8, 2019 Author Share Posted April 8, 2019 The Snark inches towards critical mass. That's all the major components except the wheels at least at blank stage. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 11, 2019 Author Share Posted April 11, 2019 A bit more work on the Snark. Tailplane and rudder virtually complete (just need control horns) and the wing blanks are well a bit less blank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 12, 2019 Author Share Posted April 12, 2019 Even less blank wing blanks. Skinned, just need to shape the tips and chamfer the inside edge to give me the correct dihedral. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 Progress on the Snark (Mostly) Molded the fuselage and it went really well. Then realized that I had made the wings exactly one rib too narrow and that the chord is probably a millimeter or two too narrow, hence the buff bits, which are where I checked how well the wing additions are blended into the original and the strips of card glued on tho the trailing edges which will be made good with milliput and copious sanding. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 17, 2019 Author Share Posted April 17, 2019 And then disaster struck, not only were my wings too short they're too narrow, so here's the end result with an extra rib and extended trailing edges all milliputed up and ready for sanding, Just to console myself I started on the Spinner/Cowl (I'm going to model 4070 which had a bullet nose with a very Albatros like spinner) here it is filled and ready for sanding, before trimming and making cutouts for the engine cylinders and the prop blades. This went well ::) 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 18, 2019 Author Share Posted April 18, 2019 (edited) The Snark gets a nose. Just needs some propeller blades and (probably) some better looking cylinder heads, the one I'm currently using is a Jupiter from the Smer Bulldog, or rather a collection of unrecognizable blobs, but it's useful for cutting the cowling. Have to see what else the spares box holds.... Edited April 18, 2019 by Marklo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted April 23, 2019 Author Share Posted April 23, 2019 Snark wings fixed and given a rough coat of Khaki Drab ( I find that undercoating with this followed by a top coat of AK PC10 gives a good finish, otherwise the AK paint takes many many coats) I also started transforming the Smer engine from amorphous blob into recognizable ABC Dragonfly (hopefully) photos to follow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted May 27, 2019 Author Share Posted May 27, 2019 Working on a propeller for the Pfalz. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted July 31, 2019 Author Share Posted July 31, 2019 Now that I've (mostly) finished the Interwar trio and the Horsa this and the Snark will probably be my main builds. Cowling cut out. Needs a rub down but not too bad at all. Trimmed the fuselage shells started adding bulkheads and cut out (roughly) the cockpit opening. the Masking tape was used to transfer the outline from the plan. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted August 1, 2019 Author Share Posted August 1, 2019 (edited) Some slightly less blank wing blanks and some bulkheads. Ready for skinning in 10 thou sheet ( i have sanded them quit a bit since I took the photo) . I'm trying to keep these thin, The end result should be around 2.5mm at the thickest point which would be around a scale 60mm. Some interior detailing, formers, stringers and a seat. Undercoated in Desert yellow, before I break out the oils. Just needs seat belts, pedals, a stick and some instrument faces. Should be ready to zip it up at the weekend. Edited August 1, 2019 by Marklo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted August 6, 2019 Author Share Posted August 6, 2019 All the bits for the Pfalz pretty pleased with the wings (although the chord isn't quite right on one the middle ones, but can be corrected) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted September 4, 2019 Author Share Posted September 4, 2019 A little more work on the interior, instrument dials added (random selection from my decal sheet) stick and pedal fabricated. Will fit them and zip it up later today. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted September 10, 2019 Author Share Posted September 10, 2019 Zipped up but I realized I had made the rear fuselage a bit shallow, still after some Milliput and copious sanding, looking good. Started assembling my Siamens Halske. It's a tiny bit wider than the interior of the cowling so some fitting will be required. The Pfalz gains legs, or at least a tail, some wing roots and wings. Need to add some roots for the mid wings before I permanently attach them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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