John Masters Posted March 28, 2020 Author Share Posted March 28, 2020 (edited) Using a ruler and some CA, I have attached the undercarriage struts to the pontoons. I have set them in as perfect/eyeball measurement as possible. I can adjust them individually once I am ready to attach them to the fuselage. More eyeballing... And I did so easily. Some wiggling here and there, etc...no worries. And here is the finished trolly. I may add some tow-line to complete the look... Trolly and W4 so far... And together as they'll go... Rigging and decals tomorrow folks, and that might be it! I have since painted those bare spots on the struts where they attach to the pontoons. --John Edited March 28, 2020 by John D.C. Masters 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 The trolly looks great, you are really racing through this build. Can't wait to see the finished kit. Cheers Markus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 4 hours ago, Shorty84 said: you are really racing through this build. Thanks Markus! Racing? I am not sure about that. I build in stages. For instance, you cannot attach only part of the interplane struts. You either do it, or not. And there are parts of the build that I did not document because I was putting things together. So that creates an illusion of speed. Today I will probably get to the rigging, which isn't difficult but requires a certain amount of thought to rig correctly without sagging lines. No...I don't use heat. It's all about initial attachment points. And once you start, you should finish it. Don't do half and wait until Tuesday. I will use monofilament for the wings and stretched sprue for the tail feathers. I might use mono for the pontoon struts too. I haven't decided yet. I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. Once that is done the decals go on. I hope they are alright. I might have to use some decal fix. They look a little old. We shall see! --John 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted March 29, 2020 Share Posted March 29, 2020 Hi John! Well, 9 days from start to finish is racing for me (but I'm a notoriously slow builder so that doesn't mean anything), especially with scratch building a beaching trolly too. Looking forward to your rigging and decaling efforts. Cheers Markus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 10 minutes ago, Shorty84 said: scratch building a beaching trolly I can get a bit obsessive and tunnel-visioned when I sit at the bench. 😀 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 29, 2020 Author Share Posted March 29, 2020 A fine and cool spring day outside. Sunny, bright...and here I am stuck inside. I'll have to go for a walk this afternoon, get my paperwork in order so I can leave the flat. But until then....rigging. I am using .005 monofilament that I have dyed black by running it through a permanent black marker. then I cut it into snips of about 8-10cm each. There is always leftover but it is best to have too much. Up on the jig it goes! Some glueing I have done without the jig. In the case of this Albatros (all of them, actually) you have to attach the points on the fuselage first and then run the lines outward. If that makes sense. The hemostats create the tension; the CA secures the ends near the struts. Here's the other side... And the other lines... Once they are all in and the glue is set, trim the ends off the wing with a new, curved, hobby blade. Don't worry...we will fill the holes later. Now the landing gear. I have decided to use sprue so I have made some nice pieces. I won't use them all but it is good to have leftovers. It all gets used eventually. Simple matter...measure thrice and trim to fit. Attach the ends with CA. You can also use white glue with sprue or regular plastic cement. But not with the monofilament. You must use CA for that. Now that the CA has dried, let's clean up the wing with some of the MisterKit German CDL. It'll fill in the holes. Also, if I am not mistaken, the decals will cover a fair amount of these areas. And a bit of Medium Sea Grey paint on the undercarriage rigging to help them blend and cover up the CA spots. I'll let the paints dry and then slide on the decals. I will do some weathering, but not a lot. --John 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 I am rebuilding the trolley. Those big spoked wheels looked comical when all was said and done. Not a big deal. Pictures to follow... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 (edited) This is a good thing to do if one wakes up at 5AM... I start with 4 layers of thin plastic card. I suppose you could use thicker card, but I did not. It's easier to punch out the thin stuff. I glue the 4 layers together. Then, for the rim, I take a piece of strip about the same width, and CA one end to the wheel. I rotate it around, CA-ing all the way, until the end and then trim, sand, etc... I drill the center hole large enough for a bit of tube. The axle will go through the tube. Then I prime it grey. A good industrial colour. I won't paint it much more than this. I will give the rim a bit of gunmetal and maybe some rust. Assembled, it looks like this. Much more sturdy than those funny spoked things! The spots on the planks are where I had just glued the Albatros. You won't see them when I glue it back...I also shortened the tongue wheel support. --John Edited March 30, 2020 by John D.C. Masters Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 The bird is finished and weathered...better images to follow once the trolly is dried and ready. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 And there she is...there are more images in the gallery. -John 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted March 30, 2020 Share Posted March 30, 2020 Very nice Albatross ... I never really knew they put them on floats. I understand why the wheel change on the cart to bad the original ones weren't smaller. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted March 30, 2020 Author Share Posted March 30, 2020 Thanks Dennis. Yes, they had about 160 of the W4 Albatri. Regarding wheels...I would like a small supply of wheels the right size. I might look into HO scale railroad supplies. They often have stuff like this. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shorty84 Posted March 31, 2020 Share Posted March 31, 2020 Hi John, the Albatros came out great 👍 The new wheels on the trolly are clearly an improvement and look better proportioned now. Cheers Markus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 1, 2020 Author Share Posted April 1, 2020 6 hours ago, Shorty84 said: the Albatros came out great 👍 Thank you Markus! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JOCKNEY Posted April 1, 2020 Share Posted April 1, 2020 Congratulations John That sir is a thing of beauty and no mistake, outstanding Cheers Pat Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 2, 2020 Author Share Posted April 2, 2020 4 hours ago, JOCKNEY said: a thing of beauty Thank you Pat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted April 6, 2020 Share Posted April 6, 2020 Another learning curve and great result from you Martin H Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Masters Posted April 12, 2020 Author Share Posted April 12, 2020 On 4/6/2020 at 9:32 PM, Grandboof said: Another learning curve and great result from you Thanks Martin. 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