AdrianMF Posted December 9, 2019 Share Posted December 9, 2019 Looking lovely. Plumber's tape is great stuff. Regards, Adrian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 (edited) One of my favourites it is. It’s a bit on soft side, so takes inprints easily, for good and bad. Point of no return has passed: the wing is mounted, using the Lego jig. As a stress test I flipped her to rest on the wing: There is an air gap above the engine so only the thin cabane struts are holding the wing. Here you also see my interpretation of the elevator actuating system. A rod rather than wire, since it is only on one side so it should be able to push as well as pull. The rudder I believe is controlled by rotating that rod sticking down from it behind the back edge of the fuselage - I should probably paint it aluminium. Can’t wait to get the rigging in place; this is flimsy and the wires will help keeping things together. And I just realised that I have to make a propeller. I had planned to take one from the store - after building 3-4 Roden kits I have a dozen or so spare propellers - but they all spin the wrong way. Last hurdle before the markings. Edited December 10, 2019 by Torbjorn 7 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 On 9/13/2019 at 5:23 PM, Torbjorn said: first scratchbuild. “first”? Really lovely, you’ve hit the ground running. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted December 10, 2019 Author Share Posted December 10, 2019 (edited) Hehe, well, first complete scratch at least. I’ve built several Roden kits, maybe they count as partial scratch? Edited December 10, 2019 by Torbjorn 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Make sure you have a pusher prop too! She's looking great with the upper wing on. Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 Excellent progress! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 4 hours ago, Torbjorn said: Roden kits, Hmmm, I have an Roden Albatros l/ll and there’s enough flash on the parts to build another kit so I get what you mean. Dennis 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted December 10, 2019 Share Posted December 10, 2019 If the top wing is strong enough that you can invert the model and rest it as per the photo, it should be strong enough to handle while rigging. You may be surprised to learn just how strong such a model can be - I know from experience and was surprised myself. The model is looking better with each post - with rigging it really is going to be a stunner. P 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted December 11, 2019 Author Share Posted December 11, 2019 On 12/10/2019 at 4:00 PM, limeypilot said: Make sure you have a pusher prop too! She's looking great with the upper wing on. Ian Hmm, stupid question time: how does one of those differ from a tractor propeller? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DMC Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 1 hour ago, Torbjorn said: Hmm, stupid question time: how does one of those differ from a tractor propeller https://www.bing.com/images/search?view=detailV2&ccid=t5Ci1I2a&id=B0CF3142228F5ADD8F2D87C5A93C6DA00828E58C&thid=OIP.t5Ci1I2aK7Aig6RUHHwDcwHaHa&mediaurl=https%3A%2F%2Fd2ev1gaou5sisr.cloudfront.net%2Fitems%2F7339%2F1509227441-1918-Isotta-Frascini-Pusher-Propeller-1.jpg&exph=700&expw=700&q=pusher+propeller&simid=608013363845857904&selectedindex=43&vt=4&eim=1,2,3,4,6,8,10&sim=11 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JWM Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 On 12/9/2019 at 12:19 PM, AdrianMF said: Looking lovely. Plumber's tape is great stuff. BTW - Andrian, the white plumber TEFLON tape is a great stuff for winows curtains Sorry for OT, Macchi looks really great. Beautiful work on it! Cheers J-W Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeterB Posted December 11, 2019 Share Posted December 11, 2019 (edited) AFAIK there are both "left handed" and "right handed" props. For example when the Merlin in the Spitfire was replaced by the Griffon I believe it turned in the opposite direction so the prop would have to be the opposite handed version. When used as a pusher, then it would have the opposite "handing" to one used on the same engine in tractor configuration I would have thought, but still look essentially the same. I presume that as it is "pushing" rather than "pulling" the stresses might be somewhat different so the connection to the shaft might be modified? Pete Edited December 11, 2019 by PeterB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 12, 2019 Share Posted December 12, 2019 16 hours ago, Torbjorn said: Hmm, stupid question time: how does one of those differ from a tractor propeller? In the direction of rotation/thrust. You can't use the same prop as you would use for that engine if it was mounted as a tractor engine. The engine still rotates the same way, so what was the leading edge (furthest from the engine) when facing forward becomes the trailing edge (furthest away from the engine) when facing backward. If you use the same prop, it will be pulling the aircraft backwards instead of pushing it forwards. Ian 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jrlx Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Great progress! Beautiful looking machine! Cheers Jaime 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted December 14, 2019 Author Share Posted December 14, 2019 (edited) The wings have extra outer struts: I soldered the main parts (the inverted A) using .5 and .3 mm brass rod: the remaining parts going to the upper roots of the V-strut will be .3 mm rod glued in-situ after attaching the soldered sections. In the image below they are in place, painted aluminium. I also started with the rigging, it is fairly simple: a pair of landing wires, a pair of flying wires, single wires from lower V-strut bracket to nose of fuselage (between gun ports and vents), support wire on tail (to elevators) and some aileron control cables. The landing wires are attached to the engine cradle: to strengthen the structure I will use one single wire for the front pair, straddling it over the cradle in front of the engine. For the flying wires I made little holes in the struts, but managed to fill them on the starboard side. Therefore I just made a knot around the struts: they are narrowest on top, so tying the knot slowly makes it travel all the way up. In process: I also started on a base. The ship modellers impress me with their bases so I wanted to have a go. The acrylic gel took three weeks to harden so I’m glad I started long ago. Tried to replicate the muddy grey-green colours of the canal at Porto Corsini. Tips and criticism very welcome. Edited December 14, 2019 by Torbjorn 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Courageous Posted December 14, 2019 Share Posted December 14, 2019 Beautiful work. Stuart 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 Very delicate struts - but very close to scale so very realistic. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted December 15, 2019 Share Posted December 15, 2019 Very nice! Amazing work on the rigging and struts! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted December 19, 2019 Author Share Posted December 19, 2019 Thank you for that. Rigging is finished - bar cutting off excess wire - using my dedicated third hand (my table lamp). As said relatively simple, only had to make a two holes going through an entire wing (for the landing wires and ”nose wire” or whatever that is called), which means minimal touch ups are required: I sourced roundels from here: Print scale’s Italian WWI aces part 1. I’m minus a couple of Nieuports but is limited how many of those I want to build anyway. Prop and floats to go. I dreaded making the propeller but it turned out to be fun. It is currently drying after being varnished so I don’t even dare to take a picture - the stuff is collecting dust like nothing else. 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AdrianMF Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Looks great. The colours are working well together and the linen looks fantastic. Regards, Adrian 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johnson Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 She looks stunning! As Adrian says, the linen on the top of the wing looks great. Looking forward to seeing more pics! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pheonix Posted December 19, 2019 Share Posted December 19, 2019 Super finish for the fabric. Rigging looks very good too. First class scratch building. P 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 (edited) Thanks again. Here’s a last update. Carved a propeller from a posicle stick and painted the metal protecting the leading edge. The hub is a PE piece from a Nieuport kit. In hindsight I should have painted it or used a wood with smaller grains: I made some home made decals for the serial numbers M 7229. They weren’t kidding when they said spray a protective layer after printing. I first failed, then used satin varnish which worked ok. Not sure if the special products would be any better. Just some levelling of the sea surface and then finding a better camera for the gallery: Edited December 22, 2019 by Torbjorn 8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted December 22, 2019 Share Posted December 22, 2019 Very nicely done Torbjorn. She really looks the part and everything looks good and in scale. Lovely work! Ian Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted December 22, 2019 Author Share Posted December 22, 2019 Thanks Ian. It was fun, though it did take a lot of time. Think I’ll try something easier and quicker next Pics are in the gallery. My thanks to the hosts, and hoping for another installment! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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