1/32 Jungmann "Aresti Sequence Planning Tool" ( a model on a stick!! :-) )

[Army_Air_Force]

It was time to start on the decals! I almost always go to the underside first, especially with new decals to test their properties.

 

 

The port side registration, red cross marker and fin stripes were next.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The fuel, Bucker logo and stencilling came next.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The tail markings are all complete here. Not included in the original kit, I made some decals for the lace up inspection panels on the tailplanes. The 0.1mm nylon fishing line bracing has been added also. It is a bit invisible in this shot, but later was painted with a Molotow Chrome Pen to make the 'stainless wire' stand out.

 

 

The wing walkway decals is added and the start of the flying and landing wires.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

With all the fuselage decals applied, it was time to make the final assembly jig. This would hold the fuselage and upper wing still and aligned while the glue set. Wood blocls were glued to a piece of MDFF which supported the fuselage with the handle wire clear of the base. The lower wing tips were also supported so the whole model couldn't move, except upwardly out of the jig.

 

 

The upper wing supports slotted over the lower wing supports from the outside with a snug fit. There were small notches for the leading and trailing edges of the wing to slot into, holding the wing at the correct height and incidence. A lead block would hold the centre section down onto the struts.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

Before fitting, the wings were drilled for the rigging wires. The notches for the leading and trailing edges of the wings can be seen more clearly in this shot of the upper wing jig.

 

 

Poking the 0.1mm line through the holes in the wings was a challenge, especially at the engine they were drilled at and having the lower and upper wing skin to get through. All the other bits of the aeroplane tend to get in the way at this point.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The brass wires from the cabane struts were folded over and tacked with cyano while I was pulling the rigging through. This would allow the centre section to be fitted.

 

 

After the rigging was complete, the tops of the struts were coated in epoxy.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The rigging was fed upwards through the top wing at the tip, which took lots of prodding and poking to get it through the second hole out of the top skin. This allowed the wire to be pulled tight from above while it was glued.

 

 

Once glued and trimmed, they were given a little wet sand before a little filler was added. This was left to harden before further sanding.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

With the rigging sorted and the struts all glued, the centre wing panel was test fitted, sanded as needed and then glued and clamped in place. The first coat of filler has been applied along the joint.

 

 

I then had a change of pace and materials. I went from plastic to oak and began by drilling the wooden handle to allow the stainless rod to fit inside. After that, the end of the handle was turned into a taper towards the hole.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

A quick test of the handle! The model didn't feel too heavy hanging off the front of the handle, but my aeros were limited at this point as the handle wasn't glued!!

 

 

The wing jig made a good support for the model while filling and sanding the rigging wire points and centre section.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[k5054nz]

Still watching and thoroughly enjoying each update as it comes, fantastic work Stephen!

[Army_Air_Force]

The rigging wires were looking quite good, but a bit invisible from some angles. The transparent line could vanish under some light, but I had a cunning plan! I'd recently bought one of those Molotow chrome pens, so used a brush to draw some of the chrome ink out and then painted along the wire. Instantly I had nice chorme/stainless looking rigging wires.

 

 

Also just visible in the above picture is the boot around the bottom of the struts and wires. The real aircraft has leather boots. I mixed up some PVA glue with some milled fibreglass fibres and built up the little leather fairing. Once dry, these were painted black to match the real aircraft. The rest of the airframe was also masked off so the top wing centre section could be sprayed.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[spitfire]

As a rigging dodger this is a great introduction to this art, it might even edge me closer to building a biplane.

 

Cheers

 

Dennis

[Army_Air_Force]

I generally don't like biplanes and rigging, but I think the larger than normal scale took some of the stress out of it and allowed my fingers to fit where they usually don't!! I took a moment to sit back and enjoy the build in daylight but there was still work to do.

 

 

I than started spraying the handle with varnish, rubbing down between each coat.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The brass landing gear was glued in place next, using small spots of epoxy. The wheel angles were set up after the landing gear was dry.

 

 

The leading half of the prop blur was also dusted over in black with the airbrush, fading to little paint towards the trailing edge. The wing joining tapes were also added to the top wing, where the outer wing panel joins the centre section. These were painted strips of decal film.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The next job was to look at the model, its weight and the base and work out an angle to drill the base to hold the handle. The base was to hold and display the model when it wasn't being used for display planning.

 

 

The hole was drilled and sanded a little oversize to allow a slightly loose fit of the handle in the hole. The last thing I wanted was to pick the model up and the base to stick on the handle.

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The oak base was also sprayed and sanded back a number of times, baking it in my curing cabinet each time.

 

 

It took a few goes spraying the blurred prop. This is one of the failed attempts that got contaminated with dust. I didn't know whether the owner would like the blurred prop, so also painted the kit prop. Both were fitted with M3 studding to screw into the cowling. 

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

It was now mid November 2019 and the model was almost complete. The base and handle had been given several more coats of varnish and the windscreens were added to the model. A few other small details were also painted and the handle was then epoxied to the stainless wire. Both props had spinners added and their painting completed, including the tip stripes.

 

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The model was delivered to its new owner at the end of November. Here's a selection of pictures of the aircraft on and off its display stand.

 

 

 

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

 

 

With a little editing to remove the handle from the picture.

 

 

Engine stopped!

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

Another "flying" shot - it appears that both crew have bailed!!

 

 

Engine running. I'm fairly pleased with the way this prop turned out. I certainly prefer it to those 2D etched brass blurred props.

 

 

The balance of the model when held by the handle feels good 'though I haven't flown a full aerobatic schedule with it!

 

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[Army_Air_Force]

The last shots.

 

 

I was also pleased with the chrome painted bracing wires.

 

 

The bottom of the oak base was covered in self adhesive felt to protect any surface it was placed on. Very pleased with the end result and it seems fairly sturdy with all the brass work.

 

 

All done! That was my first large scale plastic model in quite a while, normally working in 1/72, 1/48 and sometimes 1/144 scales. The rigging wasn't so difficult, probably helped by the larger scale, so we'll see how I get on next time I rig a 1/72 scale model.

The next customer projects on the bench will be a wooden Lockheed Constellation to refurbish and a 1/48 Spitfire.

Edited October 23, 2020 by Army_Air_Force
Picture link problem

[Army_Air_Force]

For some reason, the forum software has repeated two of my pictures, despite the fact that when you click the pictures, the correct image opens up. Even after clearing cookies, on both my laptop and phone, there are two photos duplicated. Very odd. When I insert the picture link, the correct images shows in the comment box, but as soon as I post them, the wrong ones appear.

 

I've ended up deleting the duplicates. Doesn't matter what I do, the correct images won't show, despite adding the correct link! Even in a new post, rather than editing the previous posts.

Edited January 29, 2020 by Army_Air_Force

[k5054nz]

Thank you for sharing this build Stephen, I really enjoyed it. I trust the owner did too?

[Army_Air_Force]

He loves it and there's a good chance I'll get to fly with him at some point this year in the Jungmann.