Ted Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 I'm hoping one of you smart folks can help me understand a fit problem on the Wingnut Wings MVR kit. It seems that the photoetch seatbelts in this box are quite different from those in the other boxings. The cross belt is so high that the ends can't reach their mounts on the rear bulkhead. In other kits the cross belt is much lower. Page 5 of the kit instructions show no cross belt on the shoulder belt assembly. So should I cut out the offending belt section and replace with masking tape? Or should I relocate the mounting holes on the bulkhead? I've emailed WNW but was hoping to work on this this weekend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Torbjorn Posted February 22, 2020 Share Posted February 22, 2020 Just one thought: how would a pilot have to look in order to fit into that? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 3 hours ago, Torbjorn said: Just one thought: how would a pilot have to look in order to fit into that? Yeah, it would be across their forehead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
72modeler Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Maybe it was at the very top where the two shoulder belts were attached to a bulkhead or framework to keep them apart? When it comes to WW1 aircraft, I'm like "Lawsy Missy Scarlett- I don' know nuthin' 'bout birthin' no babies!" Mike Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
europapete Posted February 23, 2020 Share Posted February 23, 2020 Good morning, it looks like replacing the cross strap with tape lower down would be your quickest/ easiest bet. Or, run over to your LHS and see if they have some Eduard belts in stock. Regards, Pete in RI Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted February 23, 2020 Author Share Posted February 23, 2020 52 minutes ago, europapete said: Good morning, it looks like replacing the cross strap with tape lower down would be your quickest/ easiest bet. Or, run over to your LHS and see if they have some Eduard belts in stock. Regards, Pete in RI Thanks Pete, I agree. Other thing I might do is cut the belts off between the buckles and flip them end-for-end. Mostly I'm just confused about why WNW would produce parts that work in their original kit, then change them to parts that don't fit on the MVR release. But mistakes happen even for the best kit designers. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Edmundson Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 That 'cross piece' was able to slide up and down on the shoulder straps in real life. I've seen it way up the straps and down by the buckles and places in between. Tony 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted February 28, 2020 Share Posted February 28, 2020 I’ve just come to this on my Albatros build. I am thinking, cut out the offending portion, back with v thin foil and replace lower down using the magic of superglue. I shall report back. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted February 29, 2020 Author Share Posted February 29, 2020 On 2/27/2020 at 11:25 AM, Tony Edmundson said: That 'cross piece' was able to slide up and down on the shoulder straps in real life. I've seen it way up the straps and down by the buckles and places in between. Tony 15 hours ago, melvyn hiscock said: I’ve just come to this on my Albatros build. I am thinking, cut out the offending portion, back with v thin foil and replace lower down using the magic of superglue. I shall report back. Thanks guys, I sorted it out by cutting it apart between the buckles then flipping it end-for-end. Worked out fine. I was hoping to hear back from WNW about it, in case they are supposed to be anchored at another spot or something but thy haven't responded. I know they have much more important things to do, like designing a Bristol Scout kit, or a BE2 kit 3 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 And a SPAD XIII...... i got waylaid by one of the other projects last night so shall attempt this today. I was just going to cut out the centre piece but that would heave the overlays. Oh the problems of model making, SO important in the scheme of things.... haha. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted February 29, 2020 Share Posted February 29, 2020 (edited) So, plan A failed. The cunning plan was to cut the harness, back it with foil, and I get loads of that stuck to various drug packets that also come in useful for giving me lots of little paint mixing bowls. The Lymacycline is am antibiotic that helps the chemo side effects, but that is neither here nor there, but foil on the back of these is quite thick and comes off really easily. The only problem was it still wasn’t strong enough to take side loads. Sadly, I was way too hamfisted to make up the harness I bought for my Spitfire VIII, I had the remains (did they *really* expect me to thread those buckles???) so I cut some strips and used that to make up the new harness. The shoulder pieces are scrap fabric with glued in buckles, the lap straps are WNW. What a palaver the inside wood grain failed inspection too, so has been redone. i hate harnesses Edited March 1, 2020 by melvyn hiscock 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 1 hour ago, melvyn hiscock said: i hate harnesses Hah, they look good Melvyn. Have to say I am loving this kit. Only other difficult part was assembling the four bulkheads to the engine bearers (start of step 4). it was an unwieldy house of cards while I tried to glue it all together. If I build another I'll temporarily put the bulkheads in place in the fuselage halves and then glue the engine bearers to them, then remove the subassembly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 That is what I did. Yes, it is easy to miss the angle of one of them, the horizontal pieces are loose too, not very WNW at all. Fiddliest today was getting the rudder bracket in place at the same time as fitting the control column. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 Mind you, I didn't include all the cabling, like I did on the Camel. I might put in the rudder wires and need to look at how to represent aileron cables. Not using the fabric belts on my Spitfire build was annoying. It is not the principle, it is the money... the very first bit I tried to put together went pinging across the (very untidy) room and into the ever open mouth of the carpetosaurus, the next took four attempts to put on a buckle, all of two atoms long, and each time, despite checking, ended up being wrong. Now, I can be as OCD as the next man but I gave up and went back to using the metal belts which I really hate working with. Being able to cut up some of the excess fabric and make something that did not disappear onto the floor, either by accident or being propelled, did make me feel a little better about myself. When I win the lottery next (£2.80 last week, I am in a roll) I shall employ an ‘officer of the belt’ whose job will be to assemble fabric belts. I expect he will have VERY thick glasses.... I am sort if happy how the Spitfire turned out, but fabric would have looked better, and I think what I have done here is not perfect, but is a whole lot better than it could have been. The project after this one is the WNW Pup and I am already thinking about how to do those ones. The only area of criticism I have in either of the WNW i have started (so far) is the instructions. They are, in the main, superb, but there are always two details that get difficult to see, especially in colour. The colour call out for the cockpit on the DV is a bit of a mess, and the internal rigging diagrams can get..... interesting. I will have a dig on the old laptop later and see if I can find the photos of the actual engine from the blue and white striped one. As far as I am aware it is only one of one or possibly two WW1 aeroplanes that have been dug up. I can’t remember the full story of the recovery, or even when it was, but there were two known crashes in the immediate area, and we know that one pilot parachuted. Being as no human remains were found in this one, we had a pretty good idea it was the stripey one which, at that time still thought to be that of Hans Bohning. I have not heard the results of the research into why that opinion has changed, but knowing the Memorial Flight the research will be good. It was also an important (as if any of this research into 100 year old aeroplanes is actually ‘important’ in the general scheme of things), as the wreckage answered some interesting questions. The guys from France were asked to go to Canberra to cover the wings of the surviving DVa there. Whilst it was apart, Peter Jackson (with whom we work very closely) took a Lidar machine to scan the fuselage. Prior to this, the best detail we had was from the Smithsonian book on the ‘restoration’ of theirs, which left a lot of stuff unanswered. The Lidar scan was so good you could make out the thickness of paint on the fuselage cross. It showed up some differences between the plans drawn up in Washington and what was in front of us, but which was way too precious to pull apart to look. Meanwhile, of course, Vintage Aviator were drawing it all up again. We then found the parts taken from the Smithsonian one were supposed to have been trashed, but a guy couldn’t bring himself to do that, so he kept them. Over the years some well-known and some lesser-known collectors had looked into this as being the possible basis of an airworthy ‘restoration’ but it was all just small pieces. They were actually very useful so a deal was struck and they moved to France. There was still some questions about the internals in the cockpit area. The known plans were overlaid with the Lidar information and things like nail lines noted. The stuff from the US horde was integrated and then the wreck was found to have a lot of parts from the previously disputed areas and managed to answer all the remaining positional questions, giving us, and whoever uses it in the future, the definitive drawings. It is stuff like this that keeps me ticking and which I find fascinating and is why I’ve been doing it for over thirty years. We were even going to move out to France so I could be more involved, but the minor gene mutation problem I have means I can’t move too far from hospital, as they have saved me a few times. The engine from the wreck was in great condition. The carb had broken off, which rendered the casing unusable, and the front cylinder had taken a knock, but the overall condition is amazing and there are parts that could be used again. It is doubtful if they will, but looking at crash remains from 1918, 100 years on, and seeing just how good condition it is in, is amazing. The Memorial Flight are working in two DVa, one for the late Javier Arango (one of the nicest, most clued-up, generous and enthusiastic people I have been lucky to meet through WW1 aviation, and a devastating loss) and his son is keeping the project, and a bunch of his Dad’s other projects, going, as he had been working closely with us on other things too. Ours will be as the striped one, as we found Bavarian blue paint drips on the engine from when they painted it in the field, and whilst we have enough original parts to term it a ‘restoration’ it is going to be considered new-build replica. It will have some components, mostly from the fuel/ air panel as the plumbing in that is challenging. We do have other projects, as just keeping the airworthy ones going (original SPAD XIII, original Strutter, replica BMW 185-powered DVII) getting the Be2f ready for flying, recovering and re-engining the Morane XXIX, and restoring and replicating the Brussells air museum Aviatik and making copies, several other projects that are bubbling under and doing the work we do on behalf of the Musee de l’Air to pay our rent, takes time and we are a small group. One I am immensely proud of having been involved with. Right, that is this mornings wandering ramblings. I seem to wake up really early, get a load of writing done, either proper stuff like emails or the more fun stuff like this, and then fall asleep again. I shall be back upstairs modelling later but aware I have a couple of small guitar things to do and I have a lot to do on the cover of the new edition of my guitar making book, which is overdue down to illness and 1/32 kits!, but I am chemoing on Monday which is actually not as bad as it sounds, and I could do the cover then. I will try and find some interesting pics now that I have discovered how to post them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 So, in no order.... that’ll do for now! 5 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted March 1, 2020 Author Share Posted March 1, 2020 Thanks for posting those Melvyn. That shop looks like a pretty magical place. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 It is just modelling in 1:1 scale! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 yep, it has been a fun 30 years! 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 1, 2020 Share Posted March 1, 2020 And today’s progress. Just a bit of tape holding the pipe I left until late, engine placed in. The fuselage cross pieces are in place, I just need to check I’ve not forgotten anything before sealing it all up. I like WNW wings kits 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) I know I should be doing this in Work in Progress, but I was not looking forwards to this bit, especially with the current clumsy chemo fingers. So, I dived in today and thought that, in the field, they would have done this *almost* as roughly as I have here, and I will have to touch up with a hairy stick, but I am quite pleased with how average it is. I was expecting an overwhelming urge to throw it across the room but I can live with this. I also know the original was rough as there was a drip of Bavarian blue in the engine casing and yes, I am going to replicate it, if I can find the original photo I took of it. I am surprised at how how quickly this has come together and I have already started my Gosport Sopwith Pup, whilst I was waiting for the massive amount of white paint to dry on this one. It’ll be similar on the Pup, WHY am I daft enough to do two striped aeroplanes? Next will be all red, then I shall delve into some EDSG/DSG/Sky with another one with local connections. Meanwhile I shall wait for my phone to dry out after it’s full cycle through the washing machine, whilst drinking a glass of very good Crement de l’Loire (Lidl, £6.99) and watching eBay auctions for models I shouldn’t be buying and guitars I struggle to play since the chemo! Edited March 7, 2020 by melvyn hiscock 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 7, 2020 Share Posted March 7, 2020 (edited) Oh, and of COURSE I broke off the pipe from the water pump to the radiatior, I thought that was obligatory Edited March 7, 2020 by melvyn hiscock Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted March 8, 2020 Author Share Posted March 8, 2020 Don't take this as encouragement for posting in the wrong spot 🤨...but that does look really cool, especially considering your personal hands-on relationship with the real plane. You also get a pass from me because you posted so many great reference pictures. 🤩 I'm having a lot of fun with mine. It. Is. Taking. So. Much. Time! Between wood grain, multiple colours, decals, some areas matte, some gloss. Oh man it's the most complicated paint job. And then I'll have to be super careful when I glue it together and rig it. I didn't want to do a WIP thread for mine because I just wanted to focus on the build but I'll post in the RFI eventually. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 8, 2020 Share Posted March 8, 2020 The other one shown in the workshop pictures belonged to the wonderful Javier Arango who was sadly lost in a Nieuport 28 crash. That loss hurt, as he was a truly great guy, a good friend, a real enthusiast and excellent researcher, generous (my Rearwin would not have flown without him), funny, and a really good friend to the guys in France too. I remember taking him into the Grande Gallerie of the Musee de l’Air and telling him that he had to remember it was less of a museum and more of a shopping list! Luckily his son has decided to keep at least a significant part of his father’s collection going and so the Albatros will get done and I quite like the idea of making that one too. That will give me a chance to play woodgrain. Because this one is predominantly white, the painting has been boring, apart from the stripes. I think I may actually get the wings in next session. I am seriously thinking of drilling through the wings for the rigging wires. This happened in a couple of places in the Camel (still to be weathered) and turned out ok and gives a little more gluing area on the wires. I know I don’t have many more reference pics of the Albatross but I have tons of LVG, from both the original and the copy we made for Vintage Aviator, I have a lot of SPAD (come ON WNW, you know you want to), a fair few on the Dr1 and DVII. I am looking forwards to seeing yours. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melvyn hiscock Posted March 12, 2020 Share Posted March 12, 2020 Interesting addition in the Wingnuts hints and tips page! http://www.wingnutwings.com/ww/productdetail?productid=3216&cat=6 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ted Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 Not really the right way to fix the issue but at least they are aware of it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now