Heather Kay Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 Hmm. Now, that’s a high wing! Faffing about with the wreckage last night, I realised I could sort of get the top wing sitting on the three remaining nacelle struts. Better still, it was pretty well aligned with the tail and more or less the right orientation with the fuselage. Cement applied, and things left alone overnight. Turns out I have no dihedral on the upper wing(s). They should have a tiny upward tilt from the centre. Mine has a very slight downward tilt. That, of course, pushed the lower wings out of true. Nothing for it, but to accept my Walrus will have a subtle droop about the wings. Anyway, my cunning plan sort of worked. So, how to hang the lower wings… A fair splodge of Revell Contacta at the lower wing root, to give some wiggle room. Careful manipulation, and gently lever one outer interplane strut into the location holes and apply some liquid cement… This might just work. Walk away, let things set. Calm down! Not there yet! The wings, I’m afraid, may not be quite aligned when viewed from certain angles. The positive is all the wings will be attached. It’ll look like a biplane. Walking away and letting things set again. Hopefully there won’t be huge crevasses at the wing roots. If there are, well, the wings are supposed to fold back. Maybe it’s meant to look like that! More soon. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 Oh! I think this has worked. In fact, the wings aren’t at all badly aligned as much as I feared. I think I’m happy with that. For a bipe, the Walrus wing struts are fairly simple. A pair of outer struts, plus a single thin one supporting the upper leading edge near the root. For whatever reason, one of the thin struts was too short (more likely the wings are out of alignment and the gap was too large). Into the styrene stocks and select a suitable Evergreen rod replacement. For the record, this diameter is bob on to fit into the moulded holes in the wings. Just so. It’ll look like a Shagbat at the back of the display cabinet. I will leave things alone for a while, to let glue harden and so on. Then, painting the struttage, filling an odd hole here and there, and thinking about the rigging. I will attempt the cross bracing above the engine nacelle, but I hope you will forgive me if I chicken out of it. More later. 10 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 Wheels and rudder on. And then the rudder on again, and then again after reinforcing the pin with brass wire. The very basic engine has been attached to the nacelle. I wish I could have upgraded this area in some way. I know there are aftermarket engines, but it’s just so very 1974. Still, there you go. The propeller is just poked in for effect. I’ll glue it later on. I have added brass wire antenna masts on the wings and tail. I don’t think my hands are steady enough to start the main rigging today. Perhaps tomorrow. 15 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dad's lad Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Heather, I believe that the engine nacelle had a circular intake which you could represent south a circle of black decal (I wouldn't suggest drilling if you want the wings to stay on)... 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted October 2, 2021 Author Share Posted October 2, 2021 1 minute ago, dad's lad said: Heather, I believe that the engine nacelle had a circular intake which you could represent south a circle of black decal (I wouldn't suggest drilling if you want the wings to stay on)... You are correct. I’ll see to that eventually. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andwil Posted October 2, 2021 Share Posted October 2, 2021 Nice save on the wings Heather. Always a challenge with the three dimensions geometry and inherent flimsiness of biplane wings. At least the real things were firmly attached to the interior structure of the wings and didn’t rely on the tiny mating surfaces (snurf) of our plastic replicas. AW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planebuilder62 Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Good save Heather👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Sorry to hear of all your issue’s Heather, for what its worth your Walrus is looking good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 7 hours ago, Andwil said: Always a challenge with the three dimensions geometry and inherent flimsiness of biplane wings. I've got a load more biplanes to build. I think I should seek out, or design and make, a useful jig to help me. Once the wings are in place, the whole thing becomes quite strong - though it wouldn’t take much to break it. 1 hour ago, Planebuilder62 said: Good save Heather👍 Ta! 27 minutes ago, Corsairfoxfouruncle said: Sorry to hear of all your issue’s Heather, for what its worth your Walrus is looking good. Thank you, m'dear. I can just see it sitting on my bench, and it looks about right. With the rigging in place it should be okay. I am pondering some mild weathering at present. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 (edited) Before I attempted rigging the wings, I wanted to weather the model a little. I reasoned that an amphibian, like the Walrus, that lived on a seaplane tender and operated in a known rough environment, wouldn’t have been allowed to get very mucky at all. I wanted just a bit of grime, some staining, but no real paint chipping and so on. I mixed up some matt varnish with a greeny-grey matt enamel, thinned it a lot, and used a wide flat brush to sort of streak along the direction of airflow on most surfaces. It sort of worked. Ish. What hasn’t worked have been my attempts at losing a little silvering under the walkway markings on the top wing. When matt varnish resolutely fails to dry matt. I’m going to have to mask up things and blast some more through the airbrush - and I’ll bet it doesn’t work then, either. Anyway, wire being deployed into holes. It’s a bit saggy in places, but will have to do. I did chicken out of the cross bracing above the nacelle - though I managed the bit that’s really visible at the front. Nearly there. Edited October 3, 2021 by Heather Kay Interruptions causing duplicate images 12 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planebuilder62 Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Dear Heather Nice job with the rigging. No need to scratch build your own biplane assembly jig, Modelling tools have them in stock. regards Toby 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 5 hours ago, Heather Kay said: I think I should seek out, or design and make, a useful jig to help me. Once We’ll I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but you can’t beat Lego. Lovely Walrus btw. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 I can’t beat Lego. It always wins, but not in the right direction. I try, it sometimes helps, other times it doesn’t. It didn’t help me glue the lower wings in place, for a start. Everything was actually set level - I measured it to make sure - but it was still wonky when I had finished. Fixing the upper wing on the Walrus was done by eyeballing it and carefully holding it until the glue had set enough to hold it without my help. I've got a wing alignment jig from EBMA. It’s a wonderful bit of kit, but I’ve not yet managed to make it work for me. either I can’t hold the model properly in place, or something subtly shifts before glue sets. It’s very frustrating. I’m missing something very obvious somewhere. In other news, all wires now fitted. Matt varnish is still satin, and tacky. The undercarriage legs are likely to snap. All in all, I’ll be glad to get this model finished, photographed and safely in the cabinet. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LorenSharp Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 Despite the trials and tribulations Heather, this is still a magnificent build. Although I would have a word with the person or persons that left all those shoe foot prints all over the upper wings. Definitely need to wipe their feet. No consideration at all for all the great work you did on this little gem. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Heather Kay Posted October 3, 2021 Author Share Posted October 3, 2021 Thanks Loren! It’s done. I couldn’t be bothered with the proper camera for this one, so iPad camera shots will suffice. Gallery entry will be up shortly, once I’ve learned all about where this Walrus was deployed. Gallery entry posted. Thanks for playing along. I don’t have any further builds planned for this GB. In fact, I’m a bit GB'ed out, so I shall step back into the shadows and build something else from my 1940 stash. I suppose I could get that Special Hobby Blackburn Skua built, so it can complete most of my FAA collection. 4 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marklo Posted October 3, 2021 Share Posted October 3, 2021 I also use this which I made from cardboard for setting lower wings. And of course the cardboard box method for upper wings. Mind I would consider myself a relative expert having built three Quadruplanes 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Corsairfoxfouruncle Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Well done Heather … Many thanks for bringing a Walrus to the game. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grandboof Posted October 4, 2021 Share Posted October 4, 2021 Congratulations on this one . A valuable reference for Walrus / Seagull builds . Thanks for finishing this one Martin H 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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