Biggu Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 How do you do this micro work without going blind ! ?? Absolutely spectacular ! Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RichieW Posted May 12, 2020 Share Posted May 12, 2020 Hi Olivier, I'm intrigued by the magic powder. Does it speed the setting time for the CA glue as well as act as a filler? I'm very inspired by your precision and have ordered a digital caliper in the hope it might help. I don't think my hands and eyes will allow me to approach your level but accurate measurements seem to be a good starting point! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 Coming back from pro work yesterday night, I took again a look at my 2 nd version of the arm and considered it was still not good. I decided to make a third one, with several changes: - I used a 0,4 mm steel rod instead of the 0,4 mm alu tube, and cut a portion of 2,5 mm, total lenght in which I tried to insert the up ring (rather than glueing it). So, I was sure to get a good continuity of the arm. - A round pad of 0,8 mm diameter (instead of 1 mm) was cut in 0,2 mm tin sheet with RP Toolz P and D - the challenge was to drill, into this 0,8 mm pad, a well centered 0,4 mm rod. I did it and could insert this ring on the 0,4 mm arm - then the 0,6 mm diameter, 0,7 mm lenght brass tube was inserted and glued in turn - and finally a 0,9 mm diameter, 0,24 mm thickness brass round pad, figuring the lower ring, was glued at the bottom of my 0,4 mm arm. Now the proportions are correct or nearly so, imho, and there won't be a 4th version, unless I lose the 3rd (it was stored carefully waiting for the bipod 2 nd version... Of course, as ever mentioned above, some additional elements will be to add (as soon as possible) on this arm... Cheers, Olivier 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted May 13, 2020 Share Posted May 13, 2020 Nice work Olivier! Don't stop until you're happy with it. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 21 hours ago, Biggu said: How do you do this micro work without going blind ! ?? Absolutely spectacular ! Jeff I must be honest with you, luckily, I work with fine pro magnifying glasses (4 x) with led light. I would be unable to do such a job without them: Even if you can’t get such glasses, I recommend you to work with good magnifiers. It is clear that seeing things 3 or 4 times bigger allows to push the bounds of what’s possible... However, JMV gets amazing results naked eye, I was very surprised to learn that considering what he was able to do. Cheers, Olivier 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 14 hours ago, RichieW said: Hi Olivier, I'm intrigued by the magic powder. Does it speed the setting time for the CA glue as well as act as a filler? I am not sure I understood your question, Richie. You can use the CA as a filler (I often do it) but I don’t recommend the MP in this situation, because it hardens the CA and you get a rough surface. I just use it to fasten the setting time on very delicate bondings, such the rigging... Did I reply to your question ? Cheers, Olivier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 N.B: the state of surface with the acetate sheet is much better than with the brass sheet (see the close-up in my post# 249). A word about the material aspects: some modelers consider more noble to work with metal, or with wood, or yet leather, considering the plastic with a kind of disdain. Personally, I am a pragmatic guy, trying to always use the best and easiest materials following the job to do. In some situations, it may be metal, but I have no shame at all to work with plastic, as anyway parts will be painted. I may even be quite proud (I admit) when I succeed to get a real wood aspect (as for my Nieuport propeller, fe)... Things are different when, as Harvey for his Fiat 806 100% scratchbuild (amazing build, amazing builder), he decides to leave unpainted his masterwork. All his build or nearly so is metal made, unlike my own Fiat 806, deeply modified but painted, that is mainly plastic, even if all kinds of materials were used to get the best and most faithful replica possible. Now, before glueing with a drop of CA, let's ensure that all is OK, with a last merciless comparison: Yet the latter shows that the front base should be narrower. I could decide to accept it like that, and honestly I would if this bipod had taken me 2 hours, but, as I said above, it was made in less than 30 mn, and that is why I will do another version (the last, hopefully!) for my bipod support. Cheers, Olivier 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 13, 2020 Author Share Posted May 13, 2020 The bipod support has been redone, then glued on the arm, and details were added... N.B: all holes (except the 1,8 mm used to give the rounded shape on the lower portion) have been widened: 0,6 instead of 0,5, 0,5 instead of 0,4 and 0,4 instead of 0,3 mm. I could maybe have been a bit farer in this increase of the holes size. But better is sometimes enemy of good and I won't take any risk. So, it is time to paint this part: N.B: the nickel silver 0,2 mm rod has disappeared during the painting job (I had just glued it with MMFA), I will add it at the end... The last part to make for my build is the gun. Let's focus now on the one I decided to represent (not the De Turenne one, I recall, I explained above why), the "Navarre" pic one, very neat on this close-up: So, what can I improve for my 2nd build? mainly 5 things imho: 1- there should be a gap between the 2 barrels, that is missing on the Eduard part (the red arrow on the ref doc just above) 2- I will add the heatsink*, present on the "Navarre" pic. Notice that some Lewis guns had no heatsinks, some had stripped ones, and from this point of view, the Eduard gun is not wrong, it is just that I will add it as I represent the Navarre" gun (hope this explanation sounds clear) 3- the wire will be better represented (softer and so more conformable) by a portion of tin wire than by a portion of stretched plastic. 4- the connection gun/ support with a hinge is missing on my first version 5- the rear handle is too thick (not the handle itself but the half round portion connecting it to the gun: Funny, the more I study this great pic, the more corrections appear necessary. Model making learns to carefully examine... Cheers, Olivier * is this cylinder portion we may see on the doc above really a heatsink? I am not sure, being not (far from it) a specialist in weapons. If someone may confirm... P.S: I mentioned somewhere in the thread the Xuron plier 450. In fact, if you want serrated blades (it is the one I have), you have to order the 450S. The 450 may be probably great too when you want smooth plier blades, I will probably order it... 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 14, 2020 Author Share Posted May 14, 2020 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 sorry for the pixels due to a maxi close-up... To determine the lenght of this tin sheet (the width is 0,5 mm, like the Eduard backward portion, and a 0,2 mm thickness should be OK), a fast calculation: 2,3 mm x 3,14 = 7,22 mm A tube would certainly have given a neater result, but considering the scale, I think it is acceptable. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 (edited) On 5/13/2020 at 6:45 PM, Olivier de St Raph said: T * is this cylinder portion we may see on the doc above really a heatsink? I am not sure, being not (far from it) a specialist in weapons. If someone may confirm... Olivier, Yes it is a "Heat sink" as such but a bit more sophisticated. The army version of the lewis gun has a long cylindrical shroud over the barrel. The heat sink is finned and situated at the end of the shroud over the breech area of the gun. When fired the air around the heat sink and barrel got hot The gun was originally designed for ground use with an aluminium barrel shroud, this barrel-shroud caused the muzzle blast to draw air over the barrel and radially finned aluminum heat sink to cool it, the hot air was replaced by cooler air drawn through the heat sink and cylindrical shroud , this air movement promoted a gradual flow of air to the muzzle end of the gun that cooled both the barrel and the breech as it flowed over them. When the Lewis was modified for air use the shroud was deleted, as the aircraft gun was usually only used in short bursts as apposed to more sustained fire used by troops in combat. Removing the shroud saved weight, and the airflow over the gun during flight was enough to cool the barrel and the heat sink became nothing more than a radiator and barrel support. Selwyn Edited May 15, 2020 by Selwyn 4 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Thanks a lot Selwyn for these very impressive explanations! (so technical that a french translation would help me to understand everything). Best regards Olivier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 N.B: the Eduard barrel diameter is 0,82 mm! (not surprising that there couldn't be a gap between both tubes...) To be followed... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggu Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Your work is impeccable, and in such a small scale, makes it even more exacting ! This is a MASTER class ! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 Thanks a lot, Jeff! One more time, I would certainly have not been so far, especially on the gun and its support, if I had not felt the interest of modelers like you, through this thread. In France, there is a bad trend (not shared by everyone, happily) to discourage pupils and students. I think on the contrary that you get the best of people by encouraging them, with rather positive comments what doesn't exclude of course constructive criticism when necessary. Cheers, Olivier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggu Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 I have to say, you encourage me, to go well beyond my skill set, and I can only 'TRY' do emulate your skills, but it is builds like this, and your willingness to share that makes this hobby and forum what it is.... THIS is what scale modelling is all about ... Jeff 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 It's a pleasure for me to share with guys like you, Jeff, so friendly. And skills come with practice and training, be sure of that! Every build learns me a lot... Cheers, Olivier 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 15, 2020 Author Share Posted May 15, 2020 N.B: in particular, the lower barrel is too long. Every day is enough, and I will wait tomorrow or Sunday for next updates and maybe the end of this build... Cheers, Olivier 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandy Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 Beautiful detailing, as we've come to expect from you Olivier. Lovely work! ian 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted May 15, 2020 Share Posted May 15, 2020 7 hours ago, Olivier de St Raph said: Thanks a lot Selwyn for these very impressive explanations! (so technical that a french translation would help me to understand everything). Best regards Olivier When you have a half hour or so look at this; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FlsEmE5pM10 gives the history, mechanical breakdown and operation of the lewis gun. (excellent animation!) It will also give you an appreciation of the modifications done for air use. Selwyn 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 Thanks a lot Selwyn for this link. The video lasts 1h20 mn, and I just flew over it, by lack of time and because my english is not good enough to understand it without spending 6 hours or more 😄. But I made some interesting screen captures that could be useful for my build. I also noticed that the correct name is "machine gun" rather than simply "gun" that doesn't make the difference with a simple gun (in french, we call that a "mitrailleuse" while a simple gun is a "pistolet" or a "revolver". A little regret: the video mentions just a few the use on WWI airplanes (not a criticism as this gun was mainly used on earth) and focuses mainly on a specific model (the one this collector owns). As you are a specialist of weapons, your point of view about the Lewis gun used by De Turenne on the pic below (posted many times in the thread) will be interesting, as it hardly seems to be an uncommon variation: If I had found a better quality pic of this machine gun, I would certainly have reproduced the latter, rather than the one on the Navarre Nieuport. Do you have such a HQ pic for such a Lewis gun? Best regards Olivier Here are some of the screen captures I made from this video. Even if the Lewis machine gun shown here is different from the one I represent, they bring useful infos: 1) the one just below shows clearly the trigger (1), the rear sight (2), the handle (3) and the main spring casing (4). It also shows the steel aspect, and gave me an idea about an option to represent it (we shall see that later) 2) the one below shows precisely the rear sight in 3/4 view, with the gap in the middle: 3) this 3rd one shows the magazine seen from the bottom. It is also interesting for the steel aspect, that I will try to represent as well as possible. On my first build, following JMV, I applied first a coat of Tamiya Alu XF-16, and then a light coat of Black 950 Vallejo (like for the engine). A flat dry brush was then applied to enhance the edges. A very good option definitely. But I will make trials to possibly use the Uschi Steel Powder for this 2nd build and will choose the option I prefer. Cheers, thanks for watching Olivier 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 Yesterday evening, I was a bit tired after challenging works on the heat sink and the barrels, and I said "every day is enough". Well, today is another day, and I think it's time for a new merciless comparison. You will see that, while my Lewis gun seemed not bad, it requires in fact many improvements and corrections, if I want it to be really quite good. I have to go to pro work now, but be sure I will work in the we on these corrections. And if the build is not over tomorrow, it DOES'NT MATTER! Only the result matters... Cheers, Olivier 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JeroenS Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 There's no need to rush this one Olivier, not at all. I'm sure you will be able to improve on this, your attention to detail is second to none. 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Selwyn Posted May 16, 2020 Share Posted May 16, 2020 (edited) 7 hours ago, Olivier de St Raph said: Thanks a lot Selwyn for this link. The video lasts 1h20 mn, and I just flew over it, by lack of time and because my english is not good enough to understand it without spending 6 hours or more 😄. But I made some interesting screen captures that could be useful for my build. I also noticed that the correct name is "machine gun" rather than simply "gun" that doesn't make the difference with a simple gun (in french, we call that a "mitrailleuse" while a simple gun is a "pistolet" or a "revolver". A little regret: the video mentions just a few the use on WWI airplanes (not a criticism as this gun was mainly used on earth) and focuses mainly on a specific model (the one this collector owns). As you are a specialist of weapons, your point of view about the Lewis gun used by De Turenne on the pic below (posted many times in the thread) will be interesting, as it hardly seems to be an uncommon variation: Olivier, I will try and keep my English as simple as possible! This is a interesting picture, and shows a very early use of the Lewis gun in the air. It is not a machine gun that was made on purpose for air use. The Gun is a Mark 1 Ground machine gun that has been converted for use in the air. The aluminium fins have been cut away but can still be seen around the barrel in front of the magazine. Here is a better picture, it is an early gun but with the later 97 round magazine : Finned lewis The gun in your picture has a square Gate Sight on the end of the barrel which means the gun could be fired in the position you see it in the picture. The pilot would fire up into the bottom of the enemy aircraft. The rear sight was not used. The gate sight is a very early item. It was soon replaced by the round "Cross Hair" type sight . You must understand firing a machine gun in the air was a new thing so a lot of pilots experimented, it seems every picture you see is different. The Machine gun you are scratch building is a later type made just for use on aircraft. The aluminium fins have been replaced with a much simpler heat sink. If you look at the barrel of the picture you have put on labels, it has a Bead sight on a post the end of the barrel. The circular magazine is an 47 round magazine. Later a 97 round magazine was also used, it was much deeper. Selwyn Edited May 16, 2020 by Selwyn 2 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Totally Mad Olivier Posted May 16, 2020 Author Share Posted May 16, 2020 Thanks a lot, Selwyn, very interesting! Even if I will go on with the scratch built later Lewis machine gun (the "Navarre" one), knowing that De Turenne had a Mark I Ground converted for air purpose satisfies my curiosity. Learning that there were 2 heights magazines (47 and later 97 deeper) is also interesting and expalins that Gaspatch made a so high magazine (the 97 in fact) on its Lewis guns... And now, back to the workbench: I have removed the barrels and the heat sink, not satisfying as seen above. I had the idea to use copper instead of tin for the front part of the heat sink. I found copper rings of 5 mm diameter (these copper rings were used long ago in dentistry for crowns impressions). I cut the ring in lenght to get 0,5 mm width and adapted it to a 2 mm plastic rod: N.B: the slot on top of the heat sink front part will be just represented by a little black line, later... 2 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