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Albatros L.60, 1923, scratchbuilt 1/72 scale


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A build from 5 years ago:

 

The albatross is an unwilling character of the infamous Monty Python sketch, but the Albatros (one s) is a nice cute little plane of the early 20s.

Mind you, this is in the thick of the biplane era, that will last for (too) long. This remarkably "modern" design says a lot about about mainstream wrong choices.
After some information gathering and much mulling over photos (found not a lot, but enough to get a sense) one of the plans was selected as a guide (plans are never, ever, fully correct, although they are of course much welcome especially for us, suffered scratchbuilders).
I would like to provide you with a lot of information regarding historic context, similar designs, underlying design concept, the type variants, materials used, number of machines, their uses, the evolution from the L.59 into the L.60, some details in the photos that are a must to consider and so forth, but I won't.
I happened to find in my magic little boxes a suitable pair of wheels, a very nice little engine that Master Modeler Matias Hagen from Argentina once gave me, my own scratchbuilt laminated wood prop made with extremely thin plywood planks and a couple of generic seats from some forgotten kit. So prepared, I proceeded to stare at the building board, a Zen meditation technique that brings relaxation, inner peace and universal acquiescence, but doesn't do much in terms of the practical issue of putting together a model.

Day two
Today more staring is done, not just at the plan but also encompassing the general vicinity and my own hands. The staring was interrupted to sip some Argentinian yerba mate and eat facturas, a pastry of the same origin. Not much actual modeling was done, but a great happiness was achieved nevertheless; i am starting to understand why people do not build models, and why some of them even actually specialize in unmodeling.
Day three
the first fruits of meditation: the inner realization that the Power of Staring does not cut through styrene sheet.
Day 245
The Power of Staring showed the firsts positive effects

 

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Brilliant! (Again...)  I especially like the plywood effect. 

 

I'm getting up to speed with your meditation technique, though it has yet to come close to getting the same results that yours produces. Not entirely convinced by the yerba mate, though; my only experience has been drinking Uruguayan mate (silver strainer pipe from a gourd, so doing it properly) and I thought it tasted - and looked - like regurgitated llama fodder. The gourd was used for beer after that. Sorry...

 

🙂

Jon

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Yet another little cutie Moa - looks like something out of a 30's edition of Aeromodeller! Love the wood effects.

 

I too have discovered that staring does not build models - not tried the strange Argentinian meditation enhancement systems but it appears that they take a little too long to help. I usually get over my indecision by just picking something up and start it!

 

Cheers

 

Malcolm

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7 hours ago, Jonners said:

Not entirely convinced by the yerba mate, though; my only experience has been drinking Uruguayan mate (silver strainer pipe from a gourd, so doing it properly) and I thought it tasted - and looked - like regurgitated llama fodder. The gourd was used for beer after that. Sorry...

 

Jon: the same exact thing our Uruguayan brothers and sisters drink.

Regurgitated lama fodder? that will cost you dearly. My Yorkshire lass wife (that also drinks yerba mate) is applying for your Yorkshireman status to be revoked, and for you to be sent to Argentina to be properly punished.

Atonement is called for. I will accept civil kits of the interwar era in 1/72.

 

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4 minutes ago, John_W said:

I have a dog

Há! there you are, your whole modeling problem has four legs, and does not even fly! (nope, don't try!)

4 minutes ago, John_W said:

And I am studying for a Masters. I have just handed two assignments in, and have no classes until the 20th. Hope to get some KUTA builds done.

Oh, you are still very young, when you reach 120 you will have enough time to spare to do some decent modeling.

 

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2 hours ago, Moa said:

Jon: the same exact thing our Uruguayan brothers and sisters drink.

Regurgitated lama fodder? that will cost you dearly. My Yorkshire lass wife (that also drinks yerba mate) is applying for your Yorkshireman status to be revoked, and for you to be sent to Argentina to be properly punished.

Atonement is called for. I will accept civil kits of the interwar era in 1/72.

 

🙂

Am I redeemed if I call it a bombilla instead of a gourd? And I've nearly been to Argentina a few times, but had to stop about 400 miles east...

Jon

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38 minutes ago, Jonners said:

Am I redeemed if I call it a bombilla instead of a gourd? And I've nearly been to Argentina a few times, but had to stop about 400 miles east...

Jon

No you are not!

The gourd (calabaza or porongo in Spanish) is called "mate" (as it is the beverage). Mate is not pronounced as in English mate, but "mahteh". The straw is called a bombilla.

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Oh, these savages from the north! 🙄

Edited by Moa
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Fair cop, Moa. I'm a heathen and a Philistine...but one that now knows his bombilla from his mate! Thanks for putting me straight! 

 

Aside from the banter (perhaps I really ought to re-try the llama...I mean, mate), how did you get that superb plywood finish?

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20 hours ago, Moa said:

I proceeded to stare at the building board, a Zen meditation technique that brings relaxation, inner peace and universal acquiescence, but doesn't do much in terms of the practical issue of putting together a model.

I discovered the same thing about cussing... Quite satisfying in its own way but tends not to produce results other than alarming the cats.

 

Re the model itself... Another cracker from the master.  If you'll pardon me for repeating myself, you ain't human.

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Just now, Duckwizard said:

This looks quite woody and thus fly-able. Did you try (with a correct CG of course)? Maybe Mr. Reynolds is a problem.

 

A wonderful work!

I had over the years many cases of extremely successful take-offs and very aerobatic (if short) flights, especially when I am out in the open air taking photos of the models and it's a bit windy.

Unfortunately none of those flights ended on an uneventful landing.

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