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Short Gurnard - 1/72 scratchbuilt FINISHED


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31 minutes ago, Jonners said:

Taking these close-up pics has also highlighted lots of unsightly lumps, bumps and dents; I will have to decide how many I should tackle and how many I can live with. Hmm.

Not trying to dodge the issue but if you look at fabric and wood airframes they tend to have these in real life, so maybe they are character :) even WW2 airframes will have oil canning and divets 

Edited by Marklo
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Looks totally splendid from here. I have found that all of my scratch builds have annoying dents and bumps which invariably catch my eye but seem not to catch the eyes of others.... I know what I would do, but then it is your model.

 

P

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21 minutes ago, Courageous said:

is that black mark on the starboard fuselage roundel meant to be there?

Yes, Stuart - it was a hole in the fuselage, shaped like a capital P lying on its back, from which a retractable windmill electrical generator could be rotated. That's one of those details that I still have to add! The hole in the decal is a bit raggedy-edged at the moment, but I'll sort it:

 

20201010_210950

 

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I've just caught up with this thread for the first time for a bit, hence the slathering of reactions. That is looking super, quite a pretty wee thing, but such a shame they couldn't have done something more elegant with the wheels, though yours are a triumph of construction. :)

Steve

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2 hours ago, stevehnz said:

such a shame they couldn't have done something more elegant with the wheels

More elegant! Steve! That's the Short patent amphibian undercarriage, don't you know? A shining example of British design...that was quietly abandoned. To quote an anonymous Service test pilot, via EH Symonds's 'Trial by Air and Sea' and in turn by Aeroplane Monthly:

 

"Not being just satisfied to fly,

Alight, and take off from the sea,

You must needs carry round the sky

Two wheels, a winding gear and be

Amphibious.

 

But winding gears are apt to stick,

And pins do not slide easily

So, be the pilot ne'er so slick,

It seems results must always be

Ambiguous.

 

You are oddly formed and men do mock

The critics' tongues have never ceased

But you've stood up to almost every knock

And all must admit that you are at least

Ambitious."

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On 9/29/2020 at 4:11 PM, Marklo said:

Well that’s the other side of scratchbuilding like the mirror image exhaust manifolds on my Sopwith pup :) 

There aren't any exhaust manifolds on a Pup, or on any rotary engined aircraft. Are you referring to the engine air intakes on each side of the cowling? 

 

Ian

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Hi folks,

Here's a quick update to show where I'm at with this. I've bodged up a gun ring and decking - how on earth did I forget about that before adding paint?? - and I've fettled a windscreen from clear acetate:

 

20201018_105611

 

The windscreen still isn't a great fit at the edges but, rather than remove it and risk pulling the paint off, I'll fill the slight gaps under the end corners with Formula 560 canopy glue.

 

20201018_105653

 

Once the windscreen is tweaked I'll only have to add a wind-driven generator before it will be ready for rigging, then I can call it done!  I've put some wooden chocks (which still need painting) on the simple base to support the retractable wheels, and I'm trying to cobble together a couple of convincing figures from my minimal 'spare figures' collection to emphasise the ungainliness of the Gurnard in this configuration.

 

I've also been trying to decide what to tackle next after this: another complete scratchbuild, or something much easier like a nice vacform? 😉 A very recent opportunity, however, means that I'll almost certainly have very little time for modelling over the next few months, so I won't be starting anything too complicated just yet. I am under some time pressure to finish this model, though!

Jon

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That is a super scratch build Jon. I for one could be easily mistaken to ask where did you find the "kit"?! When it is rigged it will really look the part.

 

Ungainly it may have been, but from my point of view, all the more interesting.

 

P

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This is first-rate, and your base just adds to the effect.  This thing beauty looks ready to...uh...fly?  I think that's what it was designed to do.  Anyway, congratulations on bringing it to this stage for our collective enjoyment!

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Thanks, as always, for the very generous comments, especially those whom I consider to be master scratchbuilders! You know who you are...

 

As usual at the moment I've only managed to snatch short stints at the modelling desk, but the rigging is 2/3 complete:

 

20201021_200754

 

I've used EZ Line for convenience. It's a shame that it's black and not grey, but you can't have everything. With luck I'll be able to add the last few rigging lines tomorrow.

 

Jon.

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3 hours ago, Jonners said:

 

I've used EZ Line for convenience. It's a shame that it's black and not grey, but you can't have everything. With luck I'll be able to add the last few rigging lines tomorrow.

 

Jon.

 That is coming along great in the home stretch. I use EZ-Line myself, and it can be painted once on. I recall painting some pale blue on a French Great War build. Adhesion is no better than on old Airfix figures, but the stuff doesn't move and isn't handled either then.

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On 10/21/2020 at 8:14 PM, Jonners said:

With luck I'll be able to add the last few rigging lines tomorrow.

Yeah, right! That was 6 days ago...

 

I've eventually completed the rigging:

 

20201027_182813

 

There are just a small number of final jobs that I need to do, such as adding that wind-driven generator on the starboard fuselage side and interwing rigging tiebars:

 

20201027_183017

 

I'm about to tinker optimistically with some figures, though the small number that I have aren't great starting points for interwar aircrew. We'll see.

 

Nearly there!

Jon

Edited by Jonners
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The rigging looks wonderful( a subject close to my heart as I’m trying to build myself  up to starting the Taube but still not entirely sure which method or methods to use ) . What did you use for it?

 

Edited by Marklo
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17 minutes ago, Marklo said:

What did you use for it?

Cheers Mark: I used EZ Line. Dividers to measure the length required, a dot of superglue gel at the attachment points, Zip Kicker accelerator applied to the end of the EZ Line with a very small paintbrush and angled needle-nosed tweezers to position the EZ Line. The line doesn't always stick first time, but it works eventually.

 

I used to use invisible mending thread through small drilled holes and tensioned with clothes pegs as weights; the invisible thread looked right, especially when I used a fairly dark brand, but I could never properly eradicate the holes on the rigging side of each wing...and got fed up with snapping micro drill bits! That method did, however, give lots of strength to the finished model.

 

On the small number of 1:144 scratchbuilds that I've made I used very fine dental repair wire donated to the cause by my father-in-law and superglued in place in the same manner as the classic stretched sprue method, like this:

20181207_113308

It obviously looks about right but isn't particularly rigid, which is fine for the short lengths needed in 1:144 but not really ideal in 1:72.

 

EZ Line isn't perfect, but at the moment it works for me.

 

Jon

Edited by Jonners
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