Space Ranger Posted June 15, 2019 Share Posted June 15, 2019 Ingenious! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 16, 2019 Author Share Posted June 16, 2019 23 hours ago, Space Ranger said: Ingenious! And really quite simple/easy to achieve as long as the part being scribed is kept stationary/square/perpendicular and not moving in any way, and letting the scribing tool do all the work. I have used this method in the past, with concentric circles on prop spinners for example, makes masking them up a lot easier with a defined, scribed/engraved line to mask up to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 17, 2019 Author Share Posted June 17, 2019 It actually looks like an aeroplane. Wings and tailplanes are glued in place, the rudder tip has been extended with a piece of plasticard and shaped/profiled. Elevators have been 'kicked' downwards and all trim tab actuators (rudder, elevators, ailerons) have been replaced with small strips of plasticard, ready to be shaped when dry, some underwing, so not all are visible. There were a few tiny pinholes, where the clear sheet I inserted in place of the fuselage windows met the fuselage, so filled them with more superglue and will polish the clear sections later. Approx 99% of the rescribing is finished, just a few small access panels and such to sort out. The removed flap sections are clearly visible. That annoying canopy: . As mentioned earlier, the canopy in the kit is completely wrong for the example I am building, so it needs modifying. (In truth, the kit I bought was the Airfix Heron/Beaver/Trimotor triple box set, and the canopy is completely wrong for the 'Jersey Airlines' Heron included in there too .... ). The top of the canopy was sanded down and profiled to the surrounding fuselage and blended in roughly for the moment, and will be finished off and polished more precisely just before the painting stage. When sanding down the canopy, it was inevitable that I was going to 'break-through' the canopy top, so this was made good as I went with a few applications of superglue and activator to fill the resultant void. Fortunately this will not be part of the transparent sections of the finished canopy, it will be painted later and there will also be the aerial/DF loop fairing to add on top of this also. The framing on the kit canopy is completely wrong (the flat, front panes are much too tall) and the front windscreen angle is much too vertical, it should slant backwards more. A couple of pics below, showing the 'before' and the partially modified canopy too. Regarding the flaps, the master-patterns for the deployed ones are now completely finished and ready for moulding, to be cast in resin, and once the fairings for the fixed nose and main undercarriage legs are also finished (should be tomorrow .... ) they will all be moulded in silicone rubber at the same time. Should have some finished resin examples of all of these components in the next few days ...... . 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazzman Posted June 17, 2019 Share Posted June 17, 2019 Wow, what a really interesting article, and one close to my heart as an ex-de-Havilland man! I've even got one hidden in the stash somewhere. I'm definitely up for following this. One question I'd like to ask of everyone interested in Herons; does anyone know of a kit manufacturer who has produced a larger scaled version? I've been searching for months! (Apologies for the hijack). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Edge Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 She's looking great Neil Edge Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev67 Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 7 hours ago, Fazzman said: Wow, what a really interesting article, and one close to my heart as an ex-de-Havilland man! I've even got one hidden in the stash somewhere. I'm definitely up for following this. One question I'd like to ask of everyone interested in Herons; does anyone know of a kit manufacturer who has produced a larger scaled version? I've been searching for months! (Apologies for the hijack). As far a I know, no one has produced a 1/48 scale DH Heron, although Magna did a 1/48 DH Devon/Dove 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 This is coming along splendidly Neil. I'd never noticed that difference in the cockpit roofing area between different aircraft and now having looked at a fe pictures of Jersey Airline Heron's and others, its quite clear. Terry 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevehnz Posted June 18, 2019 Share Posted June 18, 2019 Interesting watching & learning from your labours @Neil. I'm keen to get one (or so) of the re-released kits to do a NZNAC Heron mk 1 with the fixed U/C. I know this latter will in volve scratch building but I have long assumed the Heron cockpit was as the Dove till now. Having looked at a couple of photos of the NAC ones, I see they're as your modified roof line, but it is easy to be lead astray by the large fairing on the roof which can give a jumped look. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 19, 2019 Author Share Posted June 19, 2019 On 6/18/2019 at 12:54 AM, Fazzman said: Wow, what a really interesting article, and one close to my heart as an ex-de-Havilland man! I've even got one hidden in the stash somewhere. I'm definitely up for following this. One question I'd like to ask of everyone interested in Herons; does anyone know of a kit manufacturer who has produced a larger scaled version? I've been searching for months! (Apologies for the hijack). To the best of my knowledge, there isn't one, not even a vac-form one. Mind you, something like a 1/48 version WOULD be very nice! On 6/18/2019 at 9:07 AM, Terry1954 said: This is coming along splendidly Neil. I'd never noticed that difference in the cockpit roofing area between different aircraft and now having looked at a fe pictures of Jersey Airline Heron's and others, its quite clear. Terry Bit deceptive, isn't it? In side profile they all look very much the same (especially if the cockpit area is in White), but when you know what to look for, it then seems quite obvious. Nearly caught me out, believe me .... ! On 6/18/2019 at 10:56 AM, stevehnz said: Interesting watching & learning from your labours @Neil. I'm keen to get one (or so) of the re-released kits to do a NZNAC Heron mk 1 with the fixed U/C. I know this latter will in volve scratch building but I have long assumed the Heron cockpit was as the Dove till now. Having looked at a couple of photos of the NAC ones, I see they're as your modified roof line, but it is easy to be lead astray by the large fairing on the roof which can give a jumped look. Steve. Yes, I think the NZNAC Heron is the same as the one I am making regarding the cockpit area. The NAC one is a REALLY nice colour scheme too, one of the nicest out there .... 👍. Regarding the fixed U/C fairings, I managed to finish the master-patterns for mine today, the nose and main legs, and they are now resting in some silicone rubber in order for moulding, along with the separate flaps I finished earlier. The master-pattern for the front nose-leg fairing was remarkably awkward to sort out, especially in this scale, if it were in 1/48 it may of been a little easier to make, maybe not quite so fiddly in that scale!! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 20, 2019 Author Share Posted June 20, 2019 Underside pic, showing the cutouts in the lower wingroot, and boxed in with plasticard, that extend inboard a little in order to accomodate the flaps. Not fixed the nose u/c doors in place yet because I still need to find out how much, if any, weight will need adding inside the nose to stop it tail-sitting. Because of the solid resin engines and some of the internal resin seats, I may not need to add too much weight in there, because they are forward of the main u/c legs. Finally cast the fixed u/c leg fairings and flaps in resin, below. The smaller resin block in the upper left contains both fairings for the main u/c legs and also the nose leg fairing, and the two resin flaps are to the right. In the foreground on the left hand side are the three kit wheels, from what I can make out the diameters of them seem to be reasonably accurate, unfortunately they are all way too thin/narrow though, and hub detail is pretty much non-existant. In the right hand foreground are the wheels that will replace the kit ones, found after digging around in the spares box. The two large wheels are (I think.... ) from a 1/72 S-3 Viking, and I rounded the squarish corners of the tread a little, to give a more curved appearance to them, and managed to remove some three-spoke hubs from a set of spare resin wheels that were on the workbench and graft them onto the S-3 wheels (the aircraft I am building had three-spoke hubs). The small wheel on the far right hand side is a spare tailwheel from a 1/72 Tamiya Mosquito, once it has been modified a little and removed from it's leg, it will then replace the kit nose wheel, as it is just the right size and appearance. 11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul J Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Loving it Look forward to having a set or two of engines when you are able for the couple I have in my stash... very inspiring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 I had to zoom forward to see where the build is up to. Better go back now and read the whole thing! This looks good to me.... 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazzman Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 Yes, this really is coming on a treat Neil..very inspiring! As a small aside, as an ex--DH/HS125/Trident engineer myself, I can see how the cabin internal layouts changed very little between the early DH biplane airliners right through to the Dove, Heron and the 125; the 'Jet Dragon' as she was originally known. A case of 'if it aint broke, don't fix it'. Now, modelling the Heron's intricate cabin walls, complete with cup holders, punka louvres, veneered wooden foldaway tables, wooden drinks cabinets etc, THAT'S food for thought! Just a shame we don't have a 1/48 or a 1/32 kit on the market! Anyway, I'm enjoying this one immensely Neil. Fantastic work! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fazzman Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 ...Oh, and I'd be up for a set of engines or anything you're up to producing too Neil! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted June 20, 2019 Share Posted June 20, 2019 This build is a real education on the Heron, and how to sort an old kit. I have a notion to get the reissued kit and try my hand at improving it. I even thought about the possibility of scratching a set of Lycoming engines for a Prinair carribean type. So this is invaluable bit of reading. Can't wait to see those flaps going on. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyguy Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 (edited) Hi Neil I'am following your build with interest having a interest in Channel Airways.Will you be producing your own decals? Their could certainly be a cottage industry in your resin Engines, flaps and U/C fairings judging by other contributors comments and the forthcoming re release of the kit.I'd certainly purchase two sets of engines and gear fairings. A friend and ex colleague lost a prop en route to Barcelona in a Fairflight Heron many moons ago which resulted in an unscheduled Nightstop on Jersey.As he says it was luck that that the departing Propellor did not damage its neighbour or the tail unit. Edited June 21, 2019 by jyguy punctuation 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 Thanks again for all the comments, much appreciated. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 18 hours ago, rob Lyttle said: This build is a real education on the Heron, and how to sort an old kit. I have a notion to get the reissued kit and try my hand at improving it. I even thought about the possibility of scratching a set of Lycoming engines for a Prinair carribean type. So this is invaluable bit of reading. Can't wait to see those flaps going on. As a bit of a niggle regarding this boxing of my particular example, when they do reissue it I hope that they use a different plastic, the one on this one I am building is very soft, and a bit awkward to sand down and rescribe, a harder plastic would of been so much nicer to use. A Lycoming Prinair one would look rather nice, particularly the Orange scheme! The engines would not be too difficult to make. 8 hours ago, jyguy said: Hi Neil I'am following your build with interest having a interest in Channel Airways.Will you be producing your own decals? Their could certainly be a cottage industry in your resin Engines, flaps and U/C fairings judging by other contributors comments and the forthcoming re release of the kit.I'd certainly purchase two sets of engines and gear fairings. A friend and ex colleague lost a prop en route to Barcelona in a Fairflight Heron many moons ago which resulted in an unscheduled Nightstop on Jersey.As he says it was luck that that the departing Propellor did not damage its neighbour or the tail unit. Nope, not producing my own decals, got round that problem by ordering a couple of 1/144 decal sheets from Classic-Airlines, of Channel Airways subjects. Things like fuselage letters/numbers and also cheat lines etc are not an issue, I can sort those out quite easily, the real issue are the words 'Channel Airways' on the upper fuselage sides of the Heron, above the windows, and the smaller 'Channel Airways' wording on the lower fin sides. Pic below shows how I got around this, the large 'Channel Airways' wording on the Viscount 800 sheet are ideal, size-wise, for the wording I need above the Heron fuselage windows, and the small 'Channel Airways' wording, in White with the Black border, on the fin of the HS 748 sheet is perfect for the fin wording on my Heron! I kind of know what you mean about the resin components I have made for this Heron, there probably would be a market for them. I used to run my own business (Paragon Designs) for many years, manufacturing accessories and conversions for model aircraft kits in resin, photo-etch, vac form etc, although I only concentrated on military subjects, mainly in 1/72, 1/48, 1/32 and 1/24 scales. I never ventured into the civil/commercial aircraft type of model subjects, although judging by the reaction to these bits I have made for the Heron, maybe I should have . If I started the company up again, it would probably pay me to do so! 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Ranger Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 22 minutes ago, Neil said: I kind of know what you mean about the resin components I have made for this Heron, there probably would be a market for them. I used to run my own business (Paragon Designs) for many years, manufacturing accessories and conversions for model aircraft kits in resin, photo-etch, vac form etc, although I only concentrated on military subjects, mainly in 1/72, 1/48, 1/32 and 1/24 scales. So you are the man behind Paragon Designs? We are truly in the presence of greatness. We are not worthy. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jyguy Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Ingenious! Nick produces some nice decals for less well known airline/aircraft combinations. I have a vague memory of Channel Herons carrying Air England titles at one time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Terry1954 Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 3 minutes ago, Space Ranger said: So you are the man behind Paragon Designs? We are truly in the presence of greatness. Ah indeed we are. I believe I had (may still have) a set of Popeye missiles from Paragon. Very neat little things indeed. Terry Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rob Lyttle Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 Lotta people hoping for a Paragon relaunch here by the look of things! Especially into the much-ignored civil arena. Just imagine, guys, there could even be seats with antimacassers.... 😇 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 31 minutes ago, rob Lyttle said: antimacassers.... 😇 What a word, eh? . It was @Mike H who told me what those headrest thingies were called, you can thank him for that .... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted June 21, 2019 Author Share Posted June 21, 2019 1 hour ago, jyguy said: I have a vague memory of Channel Herons carrying Air England titles at one time. This one in the link below (the only one to have that written on it, according to the caption!). https://www.airliners.net/photo/Air-England-Channel-Airways/De-Havilland-DH-114-Heron-1B-C/1469883?qsp=eJwljs0KgzAQhF8lzNmLWAr11p%2BDt3roCyzJolKbhM2CDeK7N9rbx7fMzK6wwSt/9ZUjo0ViEjuiQiShT0K74s15CeIK49GZuj6ZjiV4Y0fynmdDkyyU054Zg4Y7KQ9BMtrmUiEF0VthuKKv1nJUdvj7pziW/cTJHotD%2BaAuwNIfjOZcvJtSnOnoYKVpxrb9AA7lPJA%3D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Space Ranger Posted June 21, 2019 Share Posted June 21, 2019 49 minutes ago, Neil said: What a word, eh? . It was @Mike H who told me what those headrest thingies were called, you can thank him for that .... My Auntie Macasser says nobody's gonna touch her seat! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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