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Heather's Workbench - building a Civvie Auster


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27 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

:)

 

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Last evening I got as far a cobbling the nose together - I can't say it was "assembled", because of the way the parts vaguely attach to each other. I also installed the tubular framework. A test fit of the canopy shows a little fettling is required to the frame to make it a comfy sliding fit. Some attention to the short-run seams was required, particularly underneath, but so far no filler has been deployed.

 

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That nose, from below. I am at a loss to explain why a single piece of resin has been created for the exhaust manifold. Why, oh why, couldn’t it be injection moulded as part of the nose itself? Now we have a shonky fitting part, superglued randomly among four IM parts, none of which have any location ledges or pegs. Doncha just lurve short run kits?

 

The rear nose bulkhead may or may not be in the right place. Dry fitting the nose assembly seems to show it fits the fuselage, but if the bulkhead is supposed to meet the front of the body, well, that’s never going to happen. My only hope may be to add packing to give a secure fixing point, and hope the nose doesn’t just drop off at a later date!

 

A cursory coat of aluminium paint went on most of the rest of the parts, to be retouched as required later. Time to investigate that belly tank, I think.

Heather I see you've followed the kit's instructions as regards to the 'rudder pedals'.

The trouble is the instructions are wrong, those two big paddles are at the wrong end of the fuselage, they should be under the tailplane fixed horizontal(ish) as they are trimmers not rudders pedals.

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38 minutes ago, Aeronut said:

as they are trimmers not rudders pedals

Ooh. Interesting. I’ve checked the photos of the plane I’m trying to reproduce and there’s nothing obvious like that at the tail. I have noticed the rudder is different to the kit, but that can be sorted easily.

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21 hours ago, Martian Hale said:

@Moa and good influence in the same sentence? First time for everything I suppose.

Ooh- that one's going to leave a mark! Immediate and measured response will be forthcoming, I fear, from the biographer of Styrenedes! Incoming!

Mike

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42 minutes ago, Heather Kay said:

Ooh. Interesting. I’ve checked the photos of the plane I’m trying to reproduce and there’s nothing obvious like that at the tail. I have noticed the rudder is different to the kit, but that can be sorted easily.

You’re both correct on this one, the trimmers applied to the early versions but had been replaced by a tail plane tab controlled by a car Window winder in the roof by the time they got to the autocrat (Many Civilian Auster parts were from cars of the period, the trim handle, door handles, parking brake handles)

 

I fly an Auster (the Autocar so later than this one!) so watching this with interest!

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6 minutes ago, Kestrel19 said:

You’re both correct on this one, the trimmers applied to the early versions but had been replaced by a tail plane tab controlled by a car Window winder in the roof by the time they got to the autocrat (Many Civilian Auster parts were from cars of the period, the trim handle, door handles, parking brake handles)

 

I fly an Auster (the Autocar so later than this one!) so watching this with interest!

Oops, sorry Heather I forgot you were doing a civvie. My defence is that I spend far too much time at Middle Wallop where all Austers are military.

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I'm trying not to be a pain here but for information the Auster III is the wrong version to make an Autocrat. The fuselage geometry and shape, though similar looking are actually quite different. The better starting point would be the Airfix Auster AOP 6. as this has the correct lower rear fuselage. The Auster III was the last of the original Taylorcraft derivatives and the Auster IV introduced the new fuselage frame which then changed little for the life of the breed.

 

My abiding Auster memory is being flown at a very, very low level by a Lincolnshire farmer down an endless potato field towards one of the farmers hapless employees, who was so used to the experience, he carried on hoeing, he didn't even look up!

 

John

 

I've been doing a similar exercise in 1:48th. This I hope will illustrate the difference.  Foreground an Auster IV and behind the Auster III. Windscreens also can vary as the screen on the Autocrat is more rounded.

 

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24 minutes ago, John Aero said:

I'm trying not to be a pain here but for information the Auster III is the wrong version to make an Autocrat.

John, your thoughts and information are very much appreciated. For my other modelling I try to get things as right as possible, so I am happy for you to point out I’ve taken a wrong turn! I’m going to press on with this model, and make something that will be vaguely the right shape. Best Beloved will be happy with it, so that’s the main thing.

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3 hours ago, 72modeler said:

Ooh- that one's going to leave a mark! Immediate and measured response will be forthcoming, I fear, from the biographer of Styrenedes! Incoming!

Mike

Given @Moa's "Ha Ha" reaction, I suspect he his pleading guilty as charged. Anyway, there is sufficient evidence to sentence him to life in the naughty corner with @corsaircorp without possibility of parole. If that's not enough, I call my first witness, Mrs Moa!

 

Martian 👽

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42 minutes ago, Cookenbacher said:

Quick work Heather, you're definitely skilled at this modelling thing!

It’s only got twelve parts. Well, a few more, but it’s not an Airfix Wellington. :D 

 

For @AdrianMF...

 

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I sanded the frame down a little, but the canopy fits quite snugly over it. It fits so well, I could fail to glue it on, only the wings attach to it and the model could fall apart!

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6 hours ago, Heather Kay said:

Now we have a shonky fitting part

Hmm; a new addition to the modeling lexicon: "shonky."

 

And while we are on the subject of Austers (an example of which this Texan has never seen; I don't think any made it this far west of the Prime Meridian), does anyone remember an old Airfix Magazine article, probably by the late, great Alan Hall, on converting the Airfix Auster Antarctic kit to other versions?

 

Nice work, Heather!

 

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2 hours ago, John Aero said:

I'm trying not to be a pain here but for information the Auster III is the wrong version to make an Autocrat. The fuselage geometry and shape, though similar looking are actually quite different. The better starting point would be the Airfix Auster AOP 6. as this has the correct lower rear fuselage. The Auster III was the last of the original Taylorcraft derivatives and the Auster IV introduced the new fuselage frame which then changed little for the life of the breed.

 

My abiding Auster memory is being flown at a very, very low level by a Lincolnshire farmer down an endless potato field towards one of the farmers hapless employees, who was so used to the experience, he carried on hoeing, he didn't even look up!

 

John

 

I've been doing a similar exercise in 1:48th. this I hope will illustrate the difference.  forground an Auster IV and behind the Auster III. Windscreens also can vary as the screen on the Autocrat is more rounded.

 

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Interestingly I’ve just been looking at my 1/72 Auster kits, I’ve got the AZ MkIII that Heather is building, the AZ AOP6 and the Airfix Antarctic/AOP6.

The two AZ kits both use exactly the same Sprues, the difference between the two is solely in the resin items (including the cowling and flaps) and more importantly the canopy which is the part John is highlighting above. Therefore if anyone has a spare AZ AOP6 canopy then it’s a straight drop in to place and solves the issue!

 

Unfortunately I don’t have anywhere near the skills to Vacform you one using mine as a mould - but just in case anyone can...! 

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I did a vacform one for my AOp6 but the shape is not really much like the one in Heather's kit

 

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This was based on the Auster Antarctic in Cosford and does not have the same shaped screen as the one in your kit Heather

The museum example has a screen like this on the AOP9 that was being recovered in the pictures I found recently

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There may be other screen shapes available so careful choice when deciding on a subject will repay attention

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6 minutes ago, perdu said:

careful choice when deciding on a subject will repay attention

Absolutely. However, as explained, Best Beloved is quite happy that the finished model will be roughly the right shape and colour, and isn’t too bothered if it isn’t absolutely correct to the actual plane he flew.

 

Cracking little Auster, there, Bill. Very nice indeed. :thumbsup:

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Definatley one to keep an eye on.

 

I have the AZ Auster Mk 6,  the Kiwi Resin Auster Antarctic and the few decal sheets from the last repop of the Airfix AA (which are really good). My plan is to cross kit the Kiwi  and AZ kits to get the best of both Worlds and build the best AA I can from the two. So far I have only got as far as starting to clean the  Kiwi kit and there is more excess resin resin than there is kit, but the detail is light years of ahead of both the Airfix and AZ kits, but is the ultimate builders kit.

 

I have not as yet worked how to integrate both kits, I'm hoping this build will give me the inspirartion and some ideas.

 

Oh! Keep up the excellent work.

 

Tommo.

 

 

Edited by The Tomohawk Kid
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I didn’t really get as much done yesterday as I had hoped.

 

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The seam along the bottom was filled and sanded. I then spent a while trying to work out the shape of the extended range belly tank. In the end, I guesstimated it, and sanded something from a block cut from 2.5mm thick styrene sheet. From various comments I found on the interwebs, the tanks appear to have been made by Bert in the metalworking shop to fit the plane at the time, so there was some variation and no real series production. There is some evidence of straps or reinforcement that ran longitudinally, so I replicated that from thin masking tape. The filler neck is a bit of bent brass wire. 
 

I am risking a butt joint for the stabilisers. I don’t feel my measuring skills are quite up to making and fitting wire pegs. This decision will return to bite me, I’m sure.


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The exhaust silencer has been bodged from some 1.5mm Evergreen rod and brass wire. I had hoped to include the four exhaust pipes that literally pop out from the cylinders so the silencer was standing away from the nose slightly - both the Cirrus and Gypsy Major engines used in these aircraft were inverted - but my patience levels are low. I’ve simply glued the exhaust directly to the bottom of the nose. Sorry. 
 

I think I’m seriously going to have to engineer some jigs to aid fitting the undercarriage and wings so they’re not squiffy. No pegs or blocks or tabs to guide me here.

 

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I totally respect Heather's right to do as she wishes to achieve her goal. The following is in respect to Post 38.

 

The canopies can't just be exchanged beteen a III and IV or later derivative . To modify the III canopy, the plastic has to be slit part way up the canopy top and the resulting tab bent down and triangles of material removed on each side X. Similarily the fuselage top needs to be lowered by again removing slim triangles of plastic from the sides, Y. Once the top is lowered the "Taylorcraft curve" along the underside of the fuselage needs to be built up on the IV to a straight line and then the bottom edge near to the U/c fairing squared off.

 

My modified and polished canopy will be used to make a mould for a vacformed item. The near fuselage is the modified one. The lower edge of the canopy sides on the III have a curved dip at the door area towards the windscreen. The IV onwards frames do not have this so it needs to be painted fuselage colour or filed flat and the top edge of the door area built up. 

 

To be clear the Autocrat uses the basic Mk IV frame. The only later Austers to use a Taylorcraft type frame (IIRC) were the Atom and the Arrow.

 

John

 

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Slow progress.

 

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The instructions section on installing the canopy and undercarriage. Note the requirement to scratch build struts for the main legs? Ten millimetres, eh? Would you be at all surprised to discover that’s a great deal too short? 
 

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Before I got there, the canopy was fixed in place. Don’t forget, the wings are butt-jointed directly to the glazing, so I hope it stays in place. Oh, and the rather lovely Peewit masks went on, too. 

 

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Quite apart from not having any plastic rod of small enough diameter, I couldn't help feeling this area was going to need a bit more strength. So, 0.5mm brass wires were made up, 12mm long plus a bit to go in holes I drilled in the fuselage to firmly locate them. The main leg fairings are randomly glued somewhere on the fuselage, with a nice solid butt joint. Well, I compared the destructions' idea of where they go to photos of the real thing. It’s near enough for Short Runland.

 

While I let glue set, I am pondering the best way to fit the wings. The real thing has no dihedral on the wings, so I’m thinking about deploying Lego to make a jig that will let the wings sit aligned with each other while supporting the fuselage upside down. You’ll soon find out if that works!
 

 

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Cheers chaps!

 

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Lego has been deployed. Starboard wing and struts glued - I hope. As you can also see, the port struts didn’t survive extraction. I think there was actually a tiny mould flaw that gave rise to a weakness where it broke.

 

Walking away now to avoid the temptation of fiddling before the glue has set.

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