fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 The cockpit/radio area is a bit vague in the instructions, and does not match well with I can see in photos. This assembly is a bit provisional, so I can put it in place and see how things work. As usual, the side of the kit parts that face the cabin should be smooth (the kit's parts show a wobbly surface product of the corrugations molded on the other side) and a doubler has to be glued on. The cockpit floor is oversized and will have to be trimmed back: 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 11 minutes ago, Courageous said: ...and maintain the correct wingspan. And yes, nail biting it is Stuart Hi Stuart The span is correct if you do it the proper way (i.e. over-mounting the wing a bit), meaning that most kit builders I can see slid the lower wings out due to that butt joint, but perhaps only about 5mm, nothing that will lead to committing sepuku with the kit box. Cheers 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 1 hour ago, pheonix said: I am entirely confident that you already have a cunning plan and will reveal all to us mere mortal modellers in due course... P. Or do I, P.? 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 That particular corner of the cabin -because of the configuration created by the partition angle- had an odd, smaller, asymmetrical seat, that needs to fashioned: 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martian Posted April 13, 2019 Share Posted April 13, 2019 1 hour ago, Moa said: Or do I, P.? I have no doubt that you do Moa, the only question is what sort of cunning plan? Is it a genuinely cunning plan, so cunning that you could put a tail on it and call it a weasel, or is it one of General Melchett's Baldrickesque type cunning plans? We await the answer with baited breath! On tenterhooks of Mars 👽 1 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 13, 2019 Author Share Posted April 13, 2019 ¿Où est le radiateur d'huile? Research provides responses to many questions. I was looking and looking for the second pair of oil coolers, and couldn't find them until today, because they were located on the plane's armpit: 6 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 7 hours ago, Moa said: Trembling and biting nails yet? Well, we aren’t because we are sure you will have a Cunning Plan. Splendid work so far and I’m sure you will manufacture a corrugated fillet that looks better than the vac! I guess you could overlay the fillet onto the fuselage to get a correct outline, albeit a little thinner. I can’t see rounding off the fuselage as a viable option... Regards, Adrian 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigbadbadge Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Hi Moa Great work so far, wow it is a huge beastie. The lower wing issue looks a bit of a nightmare, especially to us mere mortals, however as Phoenix stated, I have every confidence in your abilities in solving this issue. Although I am still biting my nails. Keep up the great work All the best Chris 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Several ebil plans are taking form. To start with, there is no problem with normal modeling on shaping and thinning the plastic, it can be brought to adequate gauge sanding the corrugations on the wing root from underneath, and the rest of the root can be carefully conformed to the fuselage shape (besides, the area that it covers can be lightly sanded a bit too on the fuselage roof): As per the spar, I will try to circumvent the kit's solution of a flat 1.5mm spar made of sheet, and instead will try to apply what I used on my Rohrbach Roland, aluminium spars within aluminium sleeves: (Link to the Rorhbach post and below images of its alu spar) This arrangement has the advantage of self-alignment, i.e. the dihedral is set as well as at the same time the wings can not deviate back or forth, nor change their incidence (they can't "twist") a movement that a round spar/sleeve could have allowed. Just in case, I pulled from the bottom of the magic drawer some corrugated aluminium sheets I bought about 12 or 14 years ago. One has its label, the other I have no idea. Both were bought from model train stores that are no more (like all the hobby shops that were in my area). This in case I need to change the plan and use something like that: The pitch does not match (nor does the kit match reality very well, for that matter), being finer, but in a pinch and because of its location I will use it without hesitation, if need be. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Preparing the spar and sleeve of adequate size: Sumarizing: this is what most builders did, butt joint and leaving all corrugations outside the fuselage. Again, not a mortal sin, but ideally those corrugations should have mounted on top of the fuselage: This is approximately the incidence of the wing, the leading edge more or less coincides with the stiffener that runs the length of the fuselage, whilst the trailing edge "drops" to a place about mid-way from the stiffener and the top edge of the windows' panel: Viewed from the top, we can see that some sizeable amount of material will have to be removed for those corrugations to mount over the roof. If that happens to have a not very pleasant finish (being the corrugations too thick and not blending well on the roof), then the real corrugated aluminium sheet will be used): 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 Accordingly, a spar and sleeves are fashioned following the angles on the plan, BUT not the measures on the plan, that do not correspond to the actual kit parts (i.e. width of fuselage): The exit points are measured and cut on the fuselage sides, with just a bit of wiggling, to have some adjusting latitude: The spar will attach to that partial bulkhead and divider: Then, eventually, the sockets/sleeves are going to be epoxied inside the wing roots before any assembly, that is: the sleeves will slide on the spar (the loose spar, that is, off the fuselage), epoxy applied to the sleeves as the wings are rigged on the board at the proper positions. Once the epoxy is set, the wings are removed from the spar, and eventually the spar glued in the fuselage. At a later stage the wings will rejoin the assembly, with their sockets firmly in place and correctly pre-aligned: 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Great work, very ingenious. Stuart 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 So you did have a cunning plan (and the materials to bring it to success) all the time! Congratulations on a very ingenious solution to a tricky problem. P 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted April 14, 2019 Share Posted April 14, 2019 Fantastic work and as Courageous said, an ingenious solution to the problem. It will also make for a very strong wing/fuselage joint. AW 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 14, 2019 Author Share Posted April 14, 2019 The front emergency hatch is removed, to provide yet another visual and illumination access: 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 The tail assembly is completed. I'll leave the rigging and a couple of structural members until paint is applied: 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 15, 2019 Author Share Posted April 15, 2019 Interesting how it looks when you provide scale: You could live inside that tail, it's bigger than some places I have stayed 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 One BIG mother! Stuart 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted April 15, 2019 Share Posted April 15, 2019 Coming together really well 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 Now it's time cut cut away the cockpit window panes. Instead of cutting three individual panes, the area is removed and the frames will be later added as decals or aluminium strips. The first side panels are carefully cut with a new blade: The front panels are approached in a different way: a hole is drilled, and then an then a bit on the rotary tool is used to enlarge it: Then an Xacto or files can be used to remove the rest: The roof windows are incorrectly depicted in the kit, so they are re-traced in pencil: The same procedure is repeated, some drilling, some carving and the refining. At this point the are has been weakened, so caution is needed when carving, cutting and filing: If you commit a mistake, vacs are in general more tolerant, and you just simply glue a piece of styrene where you carved too much and wait until is completely set before re-carving or cutting again. Another approach will be to remove the whole area and build the glazing up with clear material sections, or carve a master and vac the glazing. I have done all of these in other models, but here, given the astronomical amount of work still needed in this model, I will keep it simple. 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 All the openings that can or need to be practiced are already done: Now it's the turn of the landing gear. The metal rod provided with the kit is too big and can't, in any way, be wrapped by or inserted in the leg parts provided. Yet another aspect of kit fantasy here. There are two solutions: to make the "wraps" in embossed styrene and keep the thick rod or to get another, thinner piece of metal, which I did, with some brass "Strutz". The legs as they come are very long (intentionally?) so eventually they will have to be cut to size: The mounting holes are drilled and the metal part tried out, to good result: 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JosephLalor Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Can't wait to see this one emerge from the chrysalis. Great work modelling one of the first aircraft I knew anything about at all. I'm not that old, but it so happens that when I was growing up in the 1960s nearly all the books about aviation in the house were Boy's Own type publications from the early 1930s. The most modern airliners depicted were the Douglas DC-2 and the Short Atalanta. 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Britman Posted April 16, 2019 Share Posted April 16, 2019 Great work again Moa. Interesting how " modern" the cockpit glazing looked for the time. Keith 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 20 minutes ago, Britman said: Great work again Moa. Interesting how " modern" the cockpit glazing looked for the time. Keith Hi Keith Timelines and fads (aka engineering tendencies) in aviation are as interesting as they are puzzling. Look at this enclosed cockpit on a four-engined, mostly metal monoplane airliner, in 1919. They literally dismantled the plane and forgot about the concept for about two decades, favoring biplane (or even triplane) stringbags with open cockpits. Go figure. This plane from 1919 is more advanced in many aspects than the lumbering, double biplane (wing and tail), fabric covered ungainly beast that I am building now, conceived 10 years later. 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fjaweijfopi4j48 Posted April 16, 2019 Author Share Posted April 16, 2019 17 minutes ago, JosephLalor said: Can't wait to see this one emerge from the chrysalis. Great work modelling one of the first aircraft I knew anything about at all. I'm not that old, but it so happens that when I was growing up in the 1960s nearly all the books about aviation in the house were Boy's Own type publications from the early 1930s. The most modern airliners depicted were the Douglas DC-2 and the Short Atalanta. Hi Joseph Being a native of the South American pampas that spent much of his youth on trees and eating coconuts, I was unfamiliar with the cultural reference. They seem interesting. Cheers 6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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