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1/32 BE2c Scratch build


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2 hours ago, AdrianMF said:

Looks good so far! I’m intrigued by the open construction - tissue and dope?

 

Regards,

Adrian

Thanks Adrian, I'm intending to skin with 0.15mm styrene. Experiments suggest it will be translucent enough. Will need to be very tidy to avoid using a lot putty and paint. I'm usually very messy, so this will be testing! :)

 

Richie

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Looks good so far. Scratch building doesn’t have to always be scratch building, I treat myself to the odd engine  and make full use of the spares box as well as making resin casts of kit parts, all part of the fun.

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Great job so far! getting back to page 1, the egg shaped thing on the front is the reduction gear housing. It holds two gears that allow the prop to turn slower than the engine. The little triangle webs are not for cooling, but to add support/strengthen the round shaft housing.  Ok, tech session over, back to the main event. Regards, Pete in RI

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10 hours ago, europapete said:

Great job so far! getting back to page 1, the egg shaped thing on the front is the reduction gear housing. It holds two gears that allow the prop to turn slower than the engine. The little triangle webs are not for cooling, but to add support/strengthen the round shaft housing.  Ok, tech session over, back to the main event. Regards, Pete in RI

Thanks Pete, I really appreciate that. My technical knowledge is miniscule so am glad of all the help I can get! 

 

Richie

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Richie.....great start with this BE2c!....it's good that you have manufactured parts for the engine....but my advice (for what its worth) is to scratch build the engine along side the kit parts and copy what you see....you'll be surprised what you can achieve with a little practice!...I mean ...you started out brilliantly!...I will enjoy watching what ever you do in any case so keep up the great work!🙂

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  • 3 weeks later...


I have not updated this for a while because very little has been done due entirely to life getting in the way, not in bad way though! Last time I was whooping with delight after a friend kindly sent me an engine sprue I could use the cylinders from. After assembling and painting the cylinders I started to fit them but realised that the engine cover will need to be mounted to the engine before mounting to the frame. This would need to match the fuselage shape. I decided the best way ahead for me would be to finish the fuselage cell by cell so;

 

51447743927_2286d7870b_c.jpgIMG-20210911-WA0000 by Richard Williams, on Flickr



I made the next beam and struts along from laminated styrene then sprayed all the 'wood' with Hycote filler/primer. I have grown to love this stuff.It coats very smoothly straight from the rattle can but best of all it's a great base colour for wooden structures.

Yesterday I made a start on the instrument panel, the shape was cut from styrene to which I then added a layer of wood veneer. The wood was given a coat of clear orange then sealed with extra thin CA glue.

I decided that rather than using my Airscale bezels (which are excellent) that I would try to make the instruments myself. I started by punching a disc from aluminium sheet, 3mm alu tube was then reamed out to make the wall thinner before cutting a slice by rolling with my scalpel. The walls are still to thick but I found they buckled if I made them any thinner.

51448958099_ef636636fe_c.jpgStarting instrument panel by Richard Williams, on Flickr

Rivets were then added using my cutting matt to help keep the alignment within reasonable limits

51447460862_77a0205073_c.jpgStarting instrument panel by Richard Williams, on Flickr

The centre was then filled with black paint

51448213721_17db7979e4_c.jpgStarting instrument panel by Richard Williams, on Flickr

A few more hours playing with brass tube and wire and this is where I left it today;

51455163222_2ed19f06d7_c.jpg20210912_161853 by Richard Williams, on Flickr

I ended up resorting to using a couple of Airscale decals (they are excellent!) after failing miserably to make a realistic enough instrument faces.

The last photo shows the finished woodwork. I don't think I really needed to add studs to the pilots back support, I can't see them even with my glasses on but it was fun to do. 

51450572700_1f84b2c4a9_c.jpgBE2c 'woodwork' progress by Richard Williams, on Flickr

Many thanks for reading, I hope you are all well.

Richie

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Thanks Clive and Chris, I'm trying to push myself with this one and make as much of it myself. Photo etch instrument bezels would definitely make  life a lot easier and be more delicate but nowhere near as much fun! :)

 

Richie

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Lovely work Richie.

A tip for the bezels. I often cut slivers of tube, then I drop it over a rat tail file and keep rotating the part against the file with my thumb and fingers - you can get down to some really fine wall thicknesses that way

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7 minutes ago, hendie said:

Lovely work Richie.

A tip for the bezels. I often cut slivers of tube, then I drop it over a rat tail file and keep rotating the part against the file with my thumb and fingers - you can get down to some really fine wall thicknesses that way

 

I will try that Hendie, sounds like a fine idea! I found another way today as you will see but that sounds like an excellent technique to try. A rats tail file is a tool I must have, I have found a supplier of miniature washers (Prime Miniatures) which would save the need for cutting slivers of tube. 

 


Well I finally had an entire day free for the firs time in ages and cracked on with the instrument panel. Here is one of James Fahey's brilliant photographs of the real thing;

51467544185_4130f2f027_c.jpgTVAL BE2c instrument panel, PHOTO BY JAMES FAHEY. by Richard Williams, on Flickr




I made the compass next from bits of styrene rod and brass tube. It was a fiddly business but nothing complicated, the compass face is just a miniature brass washer.

51466348528_5ec2db47ea_c.jpgScratch built BE2c Instrument panel by Richard Williams, on Flickr

The last two bezels were made differently from the first. This time I made wire rings by winding 0.25mm tinned copper wire round a 3mm tube and cut them off with a scalpel. One of the rings had to be flattened so I used my engineers square as an anvil and bashed it with the hammer from my punch and die set. The rings were then stuck down with Future Floor Wax so I had time to position them correctly. The instruments were then finished off with black paint, an Airscale decal and 0.25mm rivets.

 

51467044200_7592a24336_c.jpgScratch built BE2c Instrument panel by Richard Williams, on Flickr

Airscale instrument decals and other after market parts are great and I have nothing against them but I want to do a 100% scratch build one day so will need to print my own from now on.


The original has a beautiful dark stain by the fuel gauge but after spending a few days on making this I just can't bring myself to make it look filthy.  

51466098831_5e859bb026_c.jpgScratch built BE2c Instrument panel by Richard Williams, on Flickr

I am really chuffed with it, it's close enough to the original but most importantly I think I had more fun with this part of the build than anything I have done before. Next I need to make the pilot's seat, thankfully it isn't wicker, the observer's seat is though. Looks like I might be using another aftermarket part then...

Many thanks for stopping by and reading. If anybody has ever scratched a wicker seat before I would love some tips please!

Richie

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Lovely work again. That UP is looking great.

I sort of scratch built a wicker seat in either my Camel, or F2b thread (I think). It's been a while but I seem to remember doing something seat wise in one or both of those threads.  Don't quote me in that though

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Just now, hendie said:

Lovely work again. That UP is looking great.

I sort of scratch built a wicker seat in either my Camel, or F2b thread (I think). It's been a while but I seem to remember doing something seat wise in one or both of those threads.  Don't quote me in that though

Cheers Hendie, do you have a link to those builds? I would love to see them. I'll see if I can use the search menu if not. 

 

Richie

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I'll try and add links later - I'm supposed to be working at the mo, and doing it on the phone is a real pita

Page 1 of this build...

Oops, can't get the link to work but these photos should explain the process

 

 

PB050044.jpg

 

PB060050.jpg

 

 

 

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